So it would appear that a few on here really know their wines, so maybe you could help improve what the rest of us drink? I’m not a total wine pleb, but tend to buy a bit randomly and erratically! Prefer old world stuff, usually French or Rioja but, particularly the French stuff, seems to be very hit and miss for me.

I’m thinking supermarkets and other easily available places (laithwaites, Majestic etc) rather than specialist wine merchants. And let’s keep it sensible prices – my normal budget is around the £7/bottle mark, a tenner for something special and £20 for a right proper occasion!

So what’s good out there at the minute? Which supermarket wines are actually worth buying (and weren’t bought in at a bargain price, sold for a few weeks at a premium and then reduced to “half price” to look like a bargain)??

Oh, and first rule of wine club – no white’s unless they’ve got bubbles 😀

I’ve had a few really good Argentinian Malbecs from Majestics recently.

Argie reds

Take your pick

Oh, and first rule of wine club – no white’s unless they’ve got bubbles

Well, it’s your thread, but you’re making a mistake. A nice, crisp Vinho Verde or Rueda? Lovely.

I’m a Naked Wines member. NEVER had a bad bottle. Excellent service, and lovely wines. Worth a look.

Toro Loco from Aldi £3.50 a bottle, you can’t go wrong buying it by the case. Been quaffing it for a few years and now have several friends and family as fans. The Observer food magazine blew the gaff on it in the run up to last Christmas when they placed it in their top ten wines under a tenner.

Seriously get yourself to Aldi and buy a tester bottle of a few different ones. You and your wallet will be pleasantly surprised.

Laithwaites for me for my special wine rack, for the weekday boozing right now, Sainsbury’s have Montpierre Fitou Reserve at a 5er a bottle, bloody lovely it is too, tonight, with rib eye steak just collected from the butcher, and last night’s jonathan creek special… all excited I am.

Never had a decent bottle out of Laithwaites

Naked Wines, a little research and all was brilliant. I used the cashback an went with the plan of £30/month in buying a case every 2/3 months. 6 Drink Now, 2 Nice occasions, 3 for the cellar. ended up working very well.
Put me on to these two

Neither cheap, both a bargain 🙂 Went up to Fowles (ladies who shoot) a few weeks ago to sample the 2010 releases…

We think the Fairtrade ones from Co-op are nice; if I remember right there are nice malbec, carmenere and cab sav.

For white and Rose Chatuea Bauduc. You have to order that by the case direct but really nice stuff from Bordeaux! There red is also good but out of stock.

Si

Allegedly the 12quid Chateauneuf in Lidl atm is very good. If you see any deals on 2009 bordeaux then buy them as they are very nice. I picked up a lovely 09 Bourgone in Ludlow at the weekend for 15 quid…I’m going to order a case when my wallet has recovered from the weekends trip!

Mcguigan Bin Series Merlot from Sainsburys is half price at the moment @£4.99 a bottle, bloody lovely drop of wine.

[Unlurks for wine lush Tuesday]

More cheap Fitou! Seigneurie d’Arse, a personal fave. Partly for the name, but also because it is usually 4€ at Casino supermarkets and when it’s on a promotion I’ve seen it at 2€50.

So many Languedoc wines for stupid prices and good quality, a current favourite is a St Christol for 4€60 from the local caviste.

A few other good pointers, not quite as cheap, but great wines
For St Chinian: Canet Valette, Jougla or Rimbert
Montpeyroux/Terrasses de Larzac: Mas Jullien, Domaine d’Aupilhac, Mas des Chimeres
Pic St Loup: Ermitage, Mas Bruguiere, Morties, most of the others to be honest!
Sorry, they’re easily available to me!

For white wines, I would recommend Jean-Francois Ganevat’s Cotes de Jura Cuvée Florine. It’ll be somewhere between 20 and 30 quid and maybe difficult to obtain, but it will be the best white wine you have ever tasted (cos that ’46 Yquem was sooo overrated)

I don’t particularly like Languedoc whites, apart from the odd Muscat (some of the Lunel producers are knocking out some really nice ones) and some of the Marsanne and Rousanne. Too much bloody Viognier around here otherwise.

If you must insist on bubbles, I prefer a Crement d’Alsace brut to champers anytime. Half the price and minus the excesssive acidity that you get with cheap poo.

Just to counterbalance some the gallic bias in this post, may I say that we had a lovely bottle of Barbera d’Alba the other night at 8€. Bargain 🙂

I’m a total novice when it comes to wine but I tend to have a look at this site when I’m at the supermarket. http://www.supermarketwine.com/blog
It collates reviews of new wines from the newspapers. I tend to pick up whatever red I like the sound of and is within budget (it also notes which wines are discounted which can be good for bargain hunters!) Not bought a bad bottle yet!

Can recommend New Zealand marlborough region sav blanc from my travels there last year

mikewsmith – Member

Naked Wines, a little research and all was brilliant. I used the cashback an went with the plan of £30/month in buying a case every 2/3 months. 6 Drink Now, 2 Nice occasions, 3 for the cellar. ended up working very well.
Put me on to these two

Neither cheap, both a bargain Went up to Fowles (ladies who shoot) a few weeks ago to sample the 2010 releases…

That Ladies Who Shoot is lovely. Had a few bottles of that. Lovely winter wine for cold Sundays and stews!

I quite enjoy the Beyerskloof Pinotage from sainsburys. 7.99 I think.

Can recommend New Zealand marlborough region sav blanc from my travels there last year

I suggest you try heading to Aconcagua in Chile or Barossa Valley in Australia for your holidays this year, and reporting back with some more earth shattering recommendations.

Aldi is great for slurping wine – their montepulciano and white burgundies are amazing for about a fiver a go.

For a real treat I often go for Chateau Musar – about £15 a bottle. It’s Lebanese but grown from the Bordeaux grapes, from a Bordeaux-educated winemaker. He’s been bombed, shot at and survived droughts but still gets amazing wine out each year.

Sainsburys and bargain booze carry this:

Avoid their Merlot though. Bitter/horrid.

Tesco are doing 25% off 6 bottles, but it ends today if anyones interested.

Berberana is a lovely Rioja that Tescos do for about £6 a bottle on special for the standard stuff and it looks like it is £7.50 for the reserva right now

The biggest problem with buying wine in the u.k is the price.Faustino V11 and Campo Viejo cost about £3 a bottle at our local wine merchant and my normal tipple Lozaniel is about £1.60.Best if you can get it is Sangre de Toro-translation is literally bulls blood-very nice.

I like Chat-eu-Oeuf from Waitrose £5.99 a bottle also ASDA can be worth looking at as it often has offers, got Chiliean Cono Sur – Pinot Noir the other day cheap. They also often have Australian Rosemount Estate Shiraz on offer thats worth trying.

Cant really advise on supermarket wine as I dont buy it* and I gave up on a liathwaites a few years ago having got fed up with rubbish, over-hyped, wines and annoying marketing scams.

I know little of wines outside of France and Rioja DOC and what I know of those is based on nearly 8 years of research and even then I only “know” maybe <100 wines.

I second ocrider re Fitou and other Languedoc/Rousillon wines. Much overlooked by those who favour the snobbier AOCs some of their wines now are really worth looking out. Personally I will never bother buying another Bordeaux for as along as I drink – over-priced junk, heavily marketed and deceptively branded.

* I do confess to liking Morrisons “Good French Red” box of wine. Really consistently good – sometimes a Pinot, usually a Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot mix. The white is invariably a poor Muscadet, but one in 5 is something a bit better. AT least its not junk Sauvignon Blanc – cant think of much worse.

And the best wines in the world are white wines: Savennieres 😀

After a poor experience with Naked Wines, I wouldnt use them again.
Had 6 or 7 cases off them over a couple of years, got home one day, and found a case on my doorstep, I hadnt ordered anything, so thought it was from a very happy customer from the previous week who had left it as a tip.
Then my bank statement arrived, with a £80 charge for the wine.
I rang them, told them I hadnt ordered any (didnt often get red then, just white and rose, and this case had 8 reds in it).
They were adamant that I had ordered it. Then it turned out I had opted in to a case every 2 months. Which I hadnt.
They said they wouldnt refund, as I had ordered it.
Told them they were shysters, and that I’d never order again off them, they were not bothered at all.
So they have lost my custom.

If you are looking for Loire, Rhone and other “lesser” regional wines then Yapps are very reliable.

Oh, and first rule of wine club – no white’s unless they’ve got bubbles

So, discounting half the decent wines out there in one fail swoop!

I’m not a total wine pleb

The jury may be out on this one.

Wine in the UK is expensive due to duty and tax.

I would second @stonker suggesting Languedoc/Rousillion (reds) try Cahor and Chinan, also Cote du Rhone is generally very good value and oretty consistent, Guigal excellent if you can find it here (£5 in French Supermarket)

Bought some excellent wines recently in France at equivalent of cash and carry at 1/3rd to 1/2 of UK prices inc some of those above, a stonking Loire Sauvignon Blanc at £3.20 a bottle (we bought 42 !)

one fail swoop!

It’s actually one fell swoop.

Interesting that you used the word fail…

🙂

And just enjoyed most of a bottle of white from the langeudoc but generally I prefer red. Doesn’t make me a philistine – just my preference… As a wise Scotsman once told me, the only way to take your whiskey is the way you like it… Same goes for wine! If you want white wind thread bugger off and start your own

Thanks for the helpful suggestions – will crack on with the tasting in the name of research!!!

Our village Spar (rural Fife) is doing Hardy’s ‘Stamps of Australia’ for just over a fiver at the moment… and Aberlour at twenty.

I do need to expand my horizons.

Love the suggestions for regions

Can recommend New Zealand marlborough region sav blanc from my travels there last year

for example
there are some great ones and it’s a good place but there are some stinkers too, also year makes a huge difference.

m&s wine of the month merlot.
buy 2 for £12 offer or 6 and get 25% off.
great wine. bonus at this price.

I am NO expert but tesco have ‘ Jacobs creek reserve Shiraz barossa’ on offer at the moment for £6.99. I love it!

I’d tend not to snob it up too much these days, as money is forever more hard come by.
But as opposed to the same and comparing price, I’d prefer to throw a few more unusuals into the mix. Because as they are not the main stream you will naturally find them better value.

With whites a Chardonnay is usually to sweet for me, and a Sauvignon to dry.
Try a realy chilled Voignier.
It’s no probs to pick up a decent one for well under a tenner.

For reds I’d suggest a Carmenere. This Chillian new world wine was started by the flying wine doctors and until a some years ago was little known of. Mid bodied and fruity, needs room temperature and a good decanting to appreciate.
A tenner will still get you a good reserva if you look.

Thanks to this thread I have a headache this morning

Having skimmed the thread I’m surprised to see no one mentioning the wine society. I started off with Virgin/Naked wines etc and then joined TWS.

I’ve been very pleased with what I’ve ordered, good wine at a fair price.

(I’m no cork sniffer, if it’s nice I’ll drink it)

Had a thought this morning, rather than just recommend AOCs or grape varieties (which if you think of it is like recommending a cheese based wholly on which animal’s milk and where in the country it was made – which is obviously laughably unhelpful), it would be more helpful to suggest some names of producers.

For Fitou, I would recommend Mont Tauch as an affordable and findable producer. It is a co-operative in the Languedoc producing AOC Fitou and Corbieres. Over the last few years theyve changed their internal pricing structure to incorporate competition between the coop members to produce better quality wines rather than sheer volume and they a really are knocking out some great ones, especially from some of their Vielle Vignes parcels. Their basic Mont Tauch Fitou is good, but some of their named cuvees are quite excellent. YOu can find their basic wine in most supermarkets, but try and check out their premium ones in your LWS.

http://www.mont-tauch.com/

Simple Sainsbury’s recommendation – Taste the Difference Cote du Rhone – has to be the M Chapotier (sp?) one. Picked it up from a wine guide a few years back and remains a good affordable example.

The only consistent/regular wine I buy is Cabalie only available from Laithwaites (the only reason I signed up, after trying it)
http://www.laithwaites.co.uk/DWBase/jsp/article/index.jsp?productId=prod4863609

Its a Grenache and blows the socks off any other red I have tried. If you like strong and fruity reds, you’ll love this.