One of six ‘Taste the Difference’ Chardonnays on offer from Sainsburys (four French, one Chilean and one Australian), ranging in price from £6 – £11. This Limoux Chardonnay comes from the well respected producer, Paul Mas. Tasting notes: Straw colour. Initially some creamy, toasted vanilla notes from oak barrel ageing. Dry. Region of Origin –…
Chardonnay, Barossa Riverland, Sainsburys Taste The Difference
Tasting notes: Straw colour. Initially some stone-fruit notes and finish with crisp apple. Some mineral notes. Dry. Very drinkable. Region of Origin – Barossa Wine Colour – White Price – £7 Where do I get it from? Sainsburys Current Vintage – 2016 Producer – Château Tanunda Grape – 100% Chardonnay Country – Australia Points –…
Ca’ Marrone Rosso Puglia
At the risk of going on about how much I love Italy – I’m especially fond of the country’s shapely heel. At a huge, three-hour Easter feast in a remote part of Puglia, my wife and I were sent over vino spumante by a large party of very well-dressed local farmers & their families, who…
Camino del Angel Chardonnay
I suspect that Sainsbury sells this wine in the full knowledge that it bears a striking resemblance to Concha y Toro’s ‘Casilliero de Diablo’ wine (reviewed here). Cheeky? Rude? ‘Banter’? It’s a fine line – and who knows if it’s intended to deceive? It’s quite good – but not as good as the ‘original’. Tasting…
Gavi – Tesco Finest
Tesco introduced this ‘Finest’ Gavi recently, from another big Italian producer Fratelli Martini Secondo Luigi SpA. ‘DOCG’ on bottles is perceived as being some kind of guarantee of quality – but this is not the case. I’ve been to Piemonte (Piedmont) a few times and I love Gavi and the Cortese grape. Tasting notes: Citrus, white…
Boschendal Chenin Blanc 2017
I reviewed a £4 bottle of chenin blanc recently – which was pretty good and washed down a takeaway well. At twice the price this Boschendal should have been twice as good, surely? Sadly not. I’ve had this wine many times and it’s usually good. With Tesco’s 25% off if you buy any 6 bottles…
Grant Burge Reserve Chardonnay
New on the shelves with a funky, monochrome label is this Aussie chardonnay. I thought it was good, if not memorable. My wife really didn’t like it and forced me to open her a bottle of Gavi… Good value at £4.50 (if you’re quick) especially as the 2015 vintage retails at £9.49 in Waitrose. Tasting…
Macon-Chardonnay Bouchard Aine & Fils
Bouchard are a well regarded producer from Beaune in Burgundy, where they have been producing wines (pinot noir and chardonnay) since 1750. This wine has pedigree… I liked this, though at £10 I suspect you are paying a premium for their name and label, but I didn’t feel ripped off. Tasting notes: Pale colour. Initially some…
Wolf Blass Yellow Label Chardonnay
I have a lot of affection for this brand – 20 years ago this was my favourite wine and I used to try to persuade people that, for the money, it was better than chablis… I’m not so sure whether I’d agree with myself now. Times change. I hadn’t had this wine for about 10…
Trivento Reserve Malbec
We visited Mendoza less than a year ago and spent 5 days tasting Malbec, Torrontes and Chardonnay. Located in the eastern foothills of the Andes, in the shadow of Mount Aconcagua, vineyards are planted at the some of the highest altitudes in the world with the average site located 600-1,100 meters above sea level. The…
Pecorino Tesco Finest
My first visit to Italy was to Abruzzo. I’d wanted to visit Rimini. We went to a travel agent who told us that not only could we not go there, we couldn’t go anywhere in Italy. Instead we could go to Rhodes. Nowhere but Rhodes. It was the late 1990s; we plugged our home computer…
Rocca Murer Pinot Grigio
As I’ve written before, there are a lot of ‘meh’ Pinot Grigios on the shelves. This one, in a tall bottle and from Trentino, Italy looked promising. I thought it was good, slightly different to the majority of Pinot Grigios; it had an interesting initial taste and a little complexity – good value at £6….
A Time for Wine 