‘You get what you pay for.’ Not always with wine, I’m afraid. I saw an interesting clip on YouTube this week of some Dutch wine Vloggers who took 3Euro wine into a wine tasting and offered it to experts who pronounced it good and worth up to 80Euro a bottle… I’ve had plenty of disappointing,…
Tag: tesco
Passerina – Tesco Finest
When we were in Abruzzo, we walked to a beautiful hillside restaurant and ate langoustine and drank the local wine. It was excellent. The entertainment was provided by the spectacle of the only other diners; a very elderly mafia-don type and his very young, very glamourous girlfriend. When his phone rang the ringtone was the…
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…
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…
Chenin Blanc Tesco
Good value Chenin Blanc, although I would prefer it if it were fairly traded. But at £4 a bottle – for goodness sake, you can’t go wrong. Wash down a takeaway with this. Tasting notes: Crisp, dry, melon notes. Region of Origin – Western Cape Wine Colour – White Price – £4 Where do I…
Verdicchio de Matelica Tesco
Verdicchio, in its distinctive bottle, may look rather naff, however as Decanter Italy expert Ian D’Agata (in his book ‘Native Wine Grapes of Italy’) asserts that ‘Verdicchio is arguably Italy’s greatest native white grape variety.’ It’s highly regarded there – but UK supermarkets rarely stock it, which is a shame as it’s good wine. This…
Fiano, Tesco
Fiano is particularly associated with Sicily. I’ve been there twice and loved it. The wines available on the island ranged up to over 500Euros, but we never see these here (except perhaps in a couple of stores in St James, London). Cantine Settesoli produce this wine for Tesco; they are a large but good producer….
Trivento Private Reserve Malbec
Trivento is the global market leader in Argentinian wines. We visited the winery in November 2016 and tried their entire range. The UK offerings are mostly retailed in Tesco, which sells the Parra Alta Malbec and the reserve Malbec. They have also recently introduced this ‘Private Reserve’ Malbec, which is grown at altitude in the…
Plaza Centro Prosecco
I first tried prosecco about 20 years ago at a blind tasting of sparkling wines, which included vintage champagne, cava, prosecco and cremant de Loire. We had to identify them correctly and there was a prize to be won. I didn’t win – but I enjoyed myself! Back then prosecco was niche; for cheap fizz…
Vire-Clesse, Bouchard Aine et Fils, Tesco Finest
‘Bring your own wine’; love those words, wish more places did it! We had a booking at ‘Rocky Bottoms’, a good lobster/crab place near Sherringham, which inexplicably has no alcohol licence. I often resent the mark up on a bottle of wine in pubs/restaurants, so was grateful of a chance to select a decent bottle…
Bourgogne Hautes-Cotes de Nuits
An attractive bottle from a well respected producer, Bouchard Aine & Fils. Carrying the Tesco finest label, currently reduced to £9.60. Pinot Noir is my favourite red wine grape, so my hopes were high… This was good wine for the price but when it reverts to £12? I’m not sure… Tasting notes: Light, soft…
A Time for Wine 