#supermarket

Nov 7, 2019

WINE OF THE WEEK: Taste the Difference Western Australia Shiraz 2018, Australia

£6.75, Sainsbury's I thought the price must be an error when I saw it in the tasting booklet. Whoever heard of a red from Western Australia at this price, not least a blend with a Margaret River component? When I tasted it and saw who the winemaker was, I did double-take mark two. It’s bright and pure with spicy red berry fruit, earthy sweetness and a touch of chocolate – easy to drink, unforced and wearing its alcohol lightly. The man behind it is David Hohnen, who in a form

Oct 31, 2019

WINE OF THE WEEK: Alheit Vineyards Limited Release Chenin Blanc 2018, Western Cape, South Africa

£14.99, Majestic Welcome back, Majestic. After we nearly lost the pioneering wine warehouse chain altogether earlier this year, it’s good to see it not just hanging on but bouncing back with a revitalised wine range that recalls its heyday. Stalwarts such as the gorgeous Inama Soaves have been joined by old favourites that had been dropped, among them Château Caronne Ste-Gemme, and boosted by a raft of captivating new wines, of which this Chenin is one and the light, lip-smac

Oct 24, 2019

WINE OF THE WEEK: Castello Collemassari Montecucco Rosso Riserva 2015, Tuscany, Italy

£14.99, Waitrose This is the perfect wine for people who like the thought of Chianti but sometimes find the reality too lean and tangy. It has Sangiovese's earth-sweet tobacco and autumn-forest flavours, but it's plump and fleshy with a velvet texture and perfumed cherry fruit. It's polished and structured but slips down effortlessly – in other words, the flavour of Sangiovese but none of the potential pain. The Montecucco wine region is in warmer southern Tuscany, sandwiched

Sep 19, 2019

WINE OF THE WEEK: Wirra Wirra Church Block 2016, McLaren Vale, Australia

£9.99 (on offer) Waitrose; £10.11 (on offer) Ocado I've just done a captivating and illuminating tasting of 12 wines chosen as Australia's future icons*. Running freely across region, grape variety and style, themes emerged nonetheless: a focus on specific sites and vineyards, Australia's old-vine heritage, and low-intervention winemaking among others. There was an orange wine and other new-wave wines, but there were also some classics, which is where this week's wine comes i

Aug 22, 2019

WINE OF THE WEEK: Finest Peumo Carmenere, Valle del Cachapoal, Chile

£9, Tesco Carmenère is something of a Marmite wine. It has a leafy, herbal note that some people don’t like, especially in red wines, but I’ve always liked a fresh, sweet green element (if green sweetness doesn’t sound too contradictory) as long as it’s more like freshly picked bay leaves than green capsicum and, more importantly, as long it doesn’t dominate. In the case of Carmenère, the signature flavours include plummy, ripe, blackberryish fruit, a savoury, smoky soy-sauce

Jun 26, 2019

WINE OF THE WEEK: Finest Saint-Chinian 2017, Saint-Chinian, Languedoc, France

£7.50, Tesco I’ve got a soft spot for Saint-Chinian, Minervois’ less well-known northeast neighbour, and always look for it on restaurant wine lists (usually in vain, it has to be said) and if I need to grab an impromptu bottle of red in a wine shop or supermarket. It’s usually good value, whether cheap like this or a more expensive single-estate wine, but more important is its characteristic flavour: sometimes intensely stony and savoury, sometimes more obviously fruity and

Jun 20, 2019

WINE OF THE WEEK: Litmus Orange 2016, England

£14.99, Waitrose I've had to wait weeks for this unusual and delicious wine to be on the shelves before recommending it. It's now in selected stores and online later in the month, coinciding neatly with some discussion in the trade/on social media about whether Bacchus, the grape from which it's made, is a one-trick pony and/or should be pushed as the UK's signature white variety. Here's my two pennyworth: Litmus Orange is proof that Bacchus is capable of more than one expres

May 9, 2019

WINE OF THE WEEK: Cosme Palacio Rioja Vendimia Seleccionada 2016, Rioja, Spain

£14, Sainsbury's This has been aged in oak – and not any old oak but "lightly toasted, hand-cleft French new oak barrels from the very best cooperages in France," according to the bodega – but as it spent only eight months in the barrels it isn't either a Rioja Crianza or a Reserva, both of which have to be at least a year in oak. It's certainly none the poorer for that. What the oak provides here is a lightly oaky backdrop and polished texture to support the glossy blueberry

May 2, 2019

WINE OF THE WEEK: Moss Wood Semillon 2016, Margaret River, Western Australia

£16.99, waitrosecellar.com and 8 stores Sémillon is in decline pretty well all over the world, often losing out to the more aromatic, feisty Sauvignon Blanc. Sémillon is still big in Bordeaux, of course, giving the world exceptional botrytis sweet wines, but as a dry wine it's just not in vogue. And yet it can be wonderful, with flavours not unlike Sauvignon, but more muted, and a distinctive, rich, lanolin-like texture. With age, it often develops a nutty or toasty character

Mar 28, 2019

WINE OF THE WEEK: Descendientes de J Palacios Pétalos Bierzo 2016, Bierzo, Spain

£15.99/£17.99, Majestic; £18.50, Berry Bros & Rudd, WoodWinters Álvaro Palacios of Priorat and Rioja fame and his nephew Ricardo Pérez are the dynamos behind this Bierzo, but more than that they’re the people who spearheaded the 21st century renaissance of this northwest region and its Mencía grape (white Bierzo – not much more common than hens’ teeth – is also well worth tracking down). The key to the red wines is the old vineyards – a patchwork of steeply inclined, schist/s

Mar 7, 2019

WINE OF THE WEEK: Bohoek Semillon 2017, South Africa

£6.66 on offer, Marks & Spencer (stores only) This is made for M&S by Boekenhoutskloof, a winery that never seems to put a foot wrong, whether it's producing its cult red, The Chocolate Block, or the good value, dependable Porcupine Ridge range. The Bohoek Semillon, reduced to £6.66 from £10, is practically being given away. It's from old vineyards dating back to the 1900s, which means small crops but with the benefit of intense flavours (all the more reason to marvel at the

Feb 21, 2019

WINE OF THE WEEK: Krasno Pinot Bianco 2017, Goriška Brda, Slovenia

£7.99/£9.99, Majestic Pinot Blanc, or Bianco, is one of those grape varieties that has a bit of a B-list image, certainly in Alsace where it plays second fiddle to Pinot Gris, not to mention Riesling and Gewurztraminer, but where it's especially valued, such as in Goriška Brda in the far west of Slovenia by the Italian border, it can give wines full of charm. Witness this deliciously approachable, fresh dry white, with its gentle citrus and jasmine perfume, soft citrus and re

Feb 14, 2019

WINE OF THE WEEK: Boschkloof Syrah 2015, Stellenbosch, South Africa

£19.99, WaitroseCellar.com and 17 branches This cracking Syrah – full-bodied and velvety but with a peppery freshness that has echoes of the northern Rhône – is from the Borman family, whose farm is on the granite Polkadraai hills west of Stellenbosch. It starts with an inviting perfume of violets and peppery spice, adds a savoury suggestion of game, moves through rich red and darker fruit and draws on complexity and immaculately polished tannins from 14 months' ageing in oak

Jan 10, 2019

WINE OF THE WEEK: Yalumba The Y Series Viognier 2017, South Australia

£5.49 mix-six sale price, Majestic Even at £8–£8.25 (Sainsbury's and Morrisons) this is great value, so at Majestic's mix-six sale price (until 27 January) it's an absolute bargain. I've just had a bottle of the 2014 that I'd forgotten about (bought in a 'buy 6 save 25% offer', probably in May 2016). I didn't expect it to have lasted – Viognier isn't long-lived – but it was stunning: bursting with ripe apricot and peach fruit, zippy grapefruity acidity, Viognier's oily richne

Dec 27, 2018

WINE OF THE WEEK: Graham Beck Brut Chardonnay/Pinot Noir, Western Cape, South Africa

£10.99 (offer price), Waitrose Crowd-pleasingly approachable fizz with generous nutty, toasty, yeasty, fresh bread flavours wrapped around a fruity heart – the ideal bargain bubbly for New Year's Eve (down £4 until 22 January). It's made in the the same way as Champagne (known as the Méthode Cap Classique in the Cape) using Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the two main varieties of Champagne, and it's aged on its lees for 15–18 months to give the generous creamy flavour and texture

Dec 20, 2018

WINE OF THE WEEK: Bodegas Pazo Tizón Extramundi Blanco 2017, Ribeiro, Spain

£14.99 (£12.99 in a 6-bottle mix), Majestic; £16, Booths This is already in my Festive White Wine Guide, but it's an absolute favourite and has reasonable distribution through Majestic, Booths, Berry Bros and a few others, which is useful when last-order dates for Christmas are sailing by. It also gives me the opportunity to say a bit more about it. Why a favourite? It's the combination of floral perfume, citrus, white peach and pear flavours with the textural richness from l

Dec 18, 2018

The Festive Sweet, Sticky and Fortified Guide 2018

SWEET WINE Domaine Cady Coteaux du Layon Saint-Aubin Les Varennes 2015, France Old-vine Chenin made from botrytis (aka noble rot) affected grapes. Lovely intensity and depth of honeyed peach, apricot and spice flavours allied to riveting freshness. Those with willpower could cellar it for a decade. Those without could drink it with a wide variety of puddings (but ideally not chocolate) and cheeses, or instead of them. 12%. for 75cl: £17, The Wine Society Château Roumieu Saute

Dec 18, 2018

The Festive White Wine Guide 2018

Dry and off-dry whites from around the globe to cover the festivities and all eventualities at prices from £6 upwards and from the supermarket giants to small independents. Listed in ascending order of price, as usual. Moncaro Verdicchio dei Castelli Jesi Classico 2017, Italy A rounded, off-dry white with almond nuttiness, leafy freshness and a hint of citrus-pith bitterness on the finish to off-set the touch of sweetness. Good value. Can be drunk solo or with light fish, pa

Dec 17, 2018

Festive fizz for 2018: anything except Champagne

17 December: I've updated this post (first published on 3 December) with the addition of two more English wines: Denbies Cubitt Blanc de Noirs 2013 and Nyetimber Classic Cuvée. The first of the season's round-ups is anything sparkling except Champagne. (That comes next.) They're selected for quality, interest and value for money and cross four continents, spanning the spectrum from easy-drinking crowd pleasers to quirky Pet Nat. There is, though, nothing ultra cheap. If you w

Dec 14, 2018

The Festive Red Wine Guide 2018

Red wines from all around the world to take you through all kinds of festivities and in some cases festivities for years to come. As always, they’re listed in ascending order of price, give or take differences in retailers’ prices and special offers. Ostoros Pinot Noir 2016, Hungary Astonishing to find something that tastes of Pinot Noir at this price – light and soft textured with fresh, sweet berry fruit and Pinot's delicate stemmy earthiness. Hats off to the Society's East