Welcome to the regular Thursday post which, this time, has a slightly different look.
First (and as promised last week) there are the Talent Scouts’ reports where you, the subscribers, tell everyone what you have enjoyed and can recommend.
That is followed by the usual review of offers at the main High Street retailers in a briefer format this time as several of you felt that the Promotions Post was getting too long.
As per usual, though, pictures and hyperlinks are included where possible to help guide you towards the exact purchase.
Talent Scouts
A few weeks ago, I inaugurated a “Talent Scouting” section.
It tunes into the shrewdness and feel for what people will enjoy that so many MidWeek Wines subscribers seem to possess.
All I need is a brief email about wine that ticks boxes for you and I can start the process.
Here are three I have been told about recently.
MidWeeker Dave was so impressed with this that he wanted others to share the enjoyment it has given him.
Jacob’s Creek Double Barrel Matured Shiraz is sold by Morrisons at £12 and, after a conventional maturation in wine barrels, is then given additional aging in former whisky barrels to create a rich and smooth wine that observers find delivers plum and blackberry influences with hints of spice.
MidWeeker Richard was taken with this Beaujolais which,as he says, leans very much towards the “serious wines” of the region that he considers represent “great value alternatives to expensive red Burgundies”.
2018 Henry Fessy Fleurie (currently £15.49 at Waitrose) which differs from the lightness often associated with Fleurie to provide wine with aging potential that nicely illustrates where top end Cru Beaujolais wines seem to be heading.
MidWeeker Sandy reported that this Argentinian red was on good form when he tried it recently.
2018 Trapiche Finca Las Palmas Malbec (£12 at Asda) featured, he felt, “tasty blueberry flavours” while one of the wine’s five star ratings on Asda’s website described it as “thick, weighty, and luxurious”.
Keep a note of these wines against the time that they come on offer so you can then enjoy a healthy discount as well as flavoursome wine.
Over to You
Why not join that band of Talent Scouts to develop the “help each other” community that the website has become?
No need for it to be in text just a brief note about the chosen wine’s flavours and other components, I can do the rest.
Latest Promotions
Here, in a slightly different format, is the latest news about wine promotions.
Tesco
A fresh promotion – as usual only for Clubcard holders – began on Tuesday and runs through to 23 May and my star recommendation from its content is Yalumba Y Series Viognier (Down from £8.50 to a clubcard price of £7.50).
Sainsbury’s
The promotion here is a couple of weeks old and will continue until 17 May. My recommendation from that list is Plaimont Cȏtes de Gascogne (£6 as against a list price of £8).
Morrisons
My recommendation from this promotion (which is in force until 24 May) is for The Best Toscana which drops in price from £10 to £8.
Asda
This retailer has a large selection of multi-buy and price reductions in force on beers, wines and spirits that will run until 18 May and here is a link to see further details. If I had to pick one to recommend to you it would be the Yealands Sauvignon Blanc (reduced from £9 to £7.50).
Waitrose
The promotion here is only part way through so plenty of time before it is due to end on 17 May to catch up with my recommendation from that selection – Bird in Hand Sparkling (now £11.99 instead of £15.99).
Co-op
The latest Co-op promotion will be in place until 17 May and one of my favourites appears among its deals this time – Muriel Tempranillo Rioja – which is reduced from £8.50 to £6.50.
Remember, though, that this retailer’s structure is complicated by its (often autonomous) local groupings which can mean that prices differ from place to place.
Check the price on the shelf (the definitive one) in any particular store.
If you enjoyed that, call in again Monday when I share my Top Tips on good value options that you may have missed
10 responses
Morning Brian,
A wine that ticks my box and is on offer at Tesco (for Clubcard members only) down from £9 to £7 is Montes Reserva Chardonnay 2020.
This is a delightful Chilean Chardonnay which is fruit driven with the perfect balance of acidity (at least for me!) It should go down well with lovers of this grape.
Offer runs until the 23rd of May.
Hi Brian.
The Best Toscana I have had before and thoroughly enjoyed it.
It will be on this week’s shopping list, as will the Plaimont Coted de Gascogne.
Thank you.
Michael
Hi Brian .. good to hear their thoughts, from some of your talent scout subscribers. Richard’s Fleurie sounds interesting, though a tad above my own usual price point. I have access only occasionally to a Waitrose but they do send me money-off vouchers so maybe I could use one and treat myself to a more expensive bottle when it can happen. But the cru Beaujolais and Gamay Noir being a substitute for true Burgundy and Pinot is something to which I too subscribe and could point at any number of bottles around £9 to £12 at TWS, though I do understand not everyone is a member of the society. Getting several of these cru village bottles with all their different and enjoyable characteristics has been an eye-opener where oft maligned Gamay is concerned. Just to say the Morrisons Best Toscana you mention at £8 is very good and even better after you flagged it up a while back when I got 3 bottles for £20!! £2 off the Muriel Tempranillo Rioja is a deal too… a very nice bottle when I tried that. I’ll maybe pen a an email about something I like that others may like to hear about too. Best now ….
Excellent stuff, Fred., that will go as a Talent Scout update next Thursday for anyone missing this comment. Thank you so much.
Hi Michael and thank you for coming onto the Comments section. I agree about the Toscana – a good illustration of changes wine producers thereabouts are introducing. I think you will enjoy the Gascogne too – Plaimont seldom produce anything short of excellent.
Hi Eddie …. Glad to see another endorsement for that Toscana and, like you, I enjoy the Muriel Tempranillo. As you also say, excellent gamay is now emerging from areas like Morgon and Moulin a Vent; it is heartening to see the region emerging from the adverse reaction to Beaujolais Nouveau overkill of yesteryear. A few years ago I was really sad to see the number of abandoned vineyards there.
Hi Eddy, The Fessy Fleurie was bought in April when Waitrose had an excellent offer of various wines at £10, including the Fessy and the ever enjoyable Graham Beck fizz. An imaginative offer that gave an incentive to try some wines beyond one’s everyday price point. The price of cru Beaujolais is really creeping up, but, as you say, TWS still have a selection at reasonable prices. The current TWS (temporary?) policy of free shipping for any quantity is interesting. I have to keep remembering that whilst I love a bargain offer from supermarkets, TWS remains a superb organisation offering great value and interest at all price points. And their array of online tastings and “lectures” etc initiated during lockdowns, and beyond, have been absolutely brilliant.
Hi Richard!
Ewan, PR Manager at The Wine Society here. Thanks for your lovely comments about our wines and services.
We have 26 Cru Beaujolais on line at the moment, 15 of them ranging from £7.95 to £14.95. In that price bracket are 5 x Fleurie, 3 x Moulin-à-Vent, 2 x Chénas, 2 x Régnié, 2 x Côte de Brouilly and 1 x Chiroubles. Four of these are our own Exhibition label. Definitely worth a try. Would be pleased to hear what you think if you get to try any of them.
Thanks Richard really helpful stuff – and it always nice to hear praise for innovation and for good service in a world that often seems dominated by what is going wrong.
Good to see a supplier well attuned (and ready to respond) to customer feedback even when it is within a comment on a website. Pleasing too that so much Beaujolais is stocked by The Society – I can also add that Exhibition wines always seem to offer great value and seldom, if ever, disappoint.