Supermarket Sweeps - Six for £60 - Tesco Part 2

Hello All,

 

 

Welcome to the second installment of my look at the supermarket shelves for value wines, this time Tesco Part 2. Last time we looked at two whites and a Rosé, this time, three Reds and a lovely Port! Total spend was only about £55 for seven bottles. So, let's see if the reds can do a bit better...

Oh and don't forget to follow me on Twitter for further little nuggets of wine-related stuff.

Kleine Zalze, Shiraz-Mourvedre-Viognier, 2010

£6.99. I remember seeing this a while back in Decanter, and as far as I can remember it had a good review so caught my eye. Made in a cool climate region a few miles from Stellenbosch it was keenly priced too! 14.5%

The Look: Intensely dark, opaque black-plum, almost no rim just a slight fade to violet.

The Smell: Awesome smells of blackberries, sweetness, think dark berry cheesecake or a blackberry and apple Nutrigrain bar!

The Taste: Pow! Intense blackberry hit, violets, good fresh acidity, slightly chewy tannins and a great long finish. Some peppery spice and warming but not overly alcoholic - handled well.

The Score: Delicious, punching well above its weight. 8/10. Highly Recommended

VFM: At £6.99 this is a serious bargain. Great flavour intensity for the price. VFM = 1.14

Tesco Finest Crozes Hermitage, 2008

£8.29. Crozes Hermitage is a region in the Northern Rhone in France famous for Syrah (Shiraz) based wines. Normally up to 15% of the white grapes Roussanne or Marsanne can be added but this didn't specify so I'm assuming 100% Syrah. Normally dark fruits and a peppery spice are evident. High hopes for this... 12.5%

The Look: Purple core with a ruby rim and completely translucent.

The Smell: Nose is reticent, faint whiff of berries and slight oak but not much else.

The Taste: Disappointing. Light bodied, limp, insipid and tasteless. Slight spice but mainly very mild hints of red fruit, none of the dark fruit and black pepper I was expecting. Smooth tannins but bitter.

The Score: Not worth the IWSC Bronze sticker on the bottle in my opinion. 5.5/10.

VFM: At £8.29 this is overpriced in my opinion. VFM = 0.66

Tesco Finest Valpolicella Ripasso, 2009

£6.99. Valpolicella Ripasso is Valpolicella passed over the leftover lees from making Amarone (strong flavoured wine made from dried grapes) to give it extra flavour and colour. Interesting and it caught my eye at this price. 13.5%

The Look: Dark purple/ruby.

The Smell: Sweet cherries, oaky and leesy with some mild spice too.

The Taste: Very bright cherryade taste, plenty of acidity, refreshing for a red, some vanilla hints. Good accompaniment to a tomato based pasta sauce, but thin tannins and sadly became a bit of a chore to drink. After the second glass it was all acidity and no fruit.

The Score: Started well but soon became undrinkable.  5.5/10.

VFM:   Better value than the Syrah at  VFM = 0.66 but one I would not purchase again.

 

Tesco Special Reserve Port, NV

£7.82. I hadn't spent my total of £60 and was looking for something else when this caught my eye. A great price even if it turned out a bit nasty, but I doubted that with this being made by the famous Port conglomerate; Symington Family Estates. 20%

The Look: Deep dark opaque purple, slight violet rim. Much like Port surprisingly!

The Smell: Sweet, raisiny/curranty berries with mild woody spice. Lovely smell.

The Taste: Deliciously full of sweet, raisiny, warm fruit. Very nicely integrated, not overly sweet or alcoholic. Dangerously drinkable - we had sore heads to prove it the next day! 

The Score: Cracking NV Port and a bargain to boot! 8/10. Highly Recommended

VFM:   Superb value Port. VFM = 1.10

So, in summary, Tesco didn't quite do as well as Co-Op, but then again the majority were own-brand wines and on the whole a fair bit cheaper. Still, the Riesling was great, as was the South African blend and the port. Not too bad.

Next time, the fantastic wine section of Waitrose!

As always, speak to you soon!

Cheers

WBFTF

Birthday Celebrations 2

Hello all!

So, Sunday was my birthday. That meant wine! Plus we've been doubly-celebrating both D's, and mine in the last few weeks. Anyway to cut a long story short; I was spoiled. Treated to filtered coffee and pastries for breakfast and then had Steak Diane cooked for me in the evening (although I was responsible for the roasted sweet potatoes!). As an aperitif we had a great bargain champagne; Charles de Ravon Brut NV. I can't remember where I had this one (possibly Tesco), or how much it was , but I'm sure it was only about £12! It was a pale watery lemon colour, light citrussy nose but had great apples and pears, lively bubbles and a bit of toasty/biscuity complexity. A great marriage of fruit, acidity, bubbles and a touch of sweetness. Absolute bargain, 7.5/10 and Recommended. 

We had a bit of a Shiraz/Syrah week as I've been stock-piling a few lately. We also had a nice Pinot Gris from NZ (embarrassingly I always used to think this was pronounced "Peen-oh Grease" rather than the correct "Peen-oh Gree").

Tinpot Hut, Pinot Gris, Marlborough, 2009

Another name for Pinot Grigio but more often than not called Pinot Gris in NZ (similar to the way they only call it Syrah not Shiraz). This one's from Slurp. 13%

The Look: Medium lemony yellow.

The Smell: Apples. The typical  varietal aroma (for me anyway) of  "fruit salad sweets".

The Taste: Lovely freshness. Apples. Some tangy passion fruit with a minerally edge to it too. Very balanced and refreshing.

The Score: Good. Very good. There's nothing not to like. 7.5/10. Recommended.

VFM: At £9.95 the value-quotient is pretty good at VFM = 0.75. It's not the cheapest Pinot Gris/Grigio but if you've yet to try the NZ style then give it a go.

Vidal, Gimblett Gravels Syrah, 2008

From the spiritual home of NZ Syrah (Hawkes Bay) and the revered Gimblett Gravels area. It's no secret that fantastic wines are made here and this is a real value offering at just over £10. Vidal is one of the oldest producers in the area. Another from Slurp and again, 13%...let's see if it's any good...

The Look: Deep, dark purple with a slight violet rim.

The Smell: Smells of dark berries; blackcurrant and blackberry with hints of violets and pepper.

The Taste: The taste is very similar, blackberry, violets and some peppery spice but BY GOD; the acidity is sharp!!! It made me wince and I could almost feel it eating the enamel off my teeth! A good one for Chianti fans...

The Score: Good. Tasty, but too acidic for my palate. I think it needs a year or two to dim the acidity a bit - which is entirely possible as this should keep for a few years yet. 7/10. 

VFM: At £10.50 the VFM is reasonably good at = 0.66.

 

Waterford Estate, Kevin Arnold Shiraz, Stellenbosch, 2007

A "luxury" Shiraz here from South Africa's Stellenbosch region. This was recently listed in Decanter's top 50 Syrahs for under £25.  This one has 10% Mourvedre in the blend. Another from Slurp . Big at 14.5%

The Look: A very silky sheen to it. Opaque purple with only the slightest rim of violet. Big and clingy on the glass it exudes quality, to the eye at least...

The Smell: A peppery warmth of black fruit with some nuttiness, woody and smoky. Hint of cherry-drops.

The Taste: The lightness was surprising; a "barely there" ethereal quality in the mouth. Spicy, warm, black and red fruit combine and fade to a dark chocolate finish. Still very young. Sharp, bright acidity (a little too much for me) suggests that this needs another few years in bottle.

The Score: Definitely drunk too young, but this could be "class in a glass" in a few years.  7.5/10. Highly Recommended. if you can wait. I'd like to revisit the 2007 in a few years, but do I really want to spend another £20? Hmmm....

VFM: At £19.55 the VFM is obviously going to be fairly poor at = 0.38., but this was a treat. You can probably match the taste quality for £12 to £15, but not perhaps the overall feel and experience? This is one to nurture and return to I think...

D.V. Catena, Syrah, Mendoza, 2007

From the Catena Zapata stable. This one is named after  Domingo Vicente Catena who married Angelica Zapata in 1934 creating the Catena-Zapata tradition. Or so the bottle says anyway...This is from Majestic . 13.5%

The Look: A dark, inky black-purple with a slight rim of violet. Opaque.

The Smell: Smoky black fruit, pepper, sawn-wood and dark chocolate.

The Taste: Again, a combo of blackberry, violets, pepper and some chocolate. Bright acidity, apparent tannin and still a bit in-your-face. Could do with a year or two...Very long finish.

The Score: Delicious, but again, perhaps drunk a little too young  7.5/10. Recommended.

VFM: At £11.99 the VFM is reasonable at 0.63 but there is a buy-2-for-£9.99-each deal on at the moment.

So, that ends our celebrations for the time being. We're both another year older. Maybe not entirely wiser.

 

Back to normal frugality next week as I start reviewing the "Society's Top Sellers" case from the Wine Society. It's a mixed-12 of their "own label" stuff but made by some very serious players; Villa Maria and Concha Y Toro to name but two!

So, as always;

Speak to you soon,

Cheers

WBFTF