[Closed] STW Winos

Rioja is normally very enjoyable. Majestic corner the market in Marques de Riscal with 33% if buy two or more often ie <£10. Try white Rioja too, a very nice change.

For value, red try the Chilean Carmenere. Often great value but sadly becoming popular now so prices starting to rise.

Rioja is definitely not rough - or shouldn't be.
Baron de Ley do some lovely ones.

I'm definitely a fan of Spanish and Italian wines these days - for the same price I would rank then above New World at the moment. But I do have a weekness for Brazin Old Vine Zinfandel from over the pond.

i recently bought a rioja and a pinto noir from aldi - very impressed with them and excellent value for the money (£6 and £5 respectively i think).

I reckon Aldi is the best uk supermarket for wine right now

if you like spanish red, get the toro loco - it's just about their cheapest wine but don't let that put you off, it's a cracker.
The NZ Pinot Noir that djambo mentions is also very good indeed (not tried the rioja) and the argentian malbec/carmenere would be right up your street as well

I bought an Argie Malbec from Morrisons recently and it was exceptional for the money. (cheap offer)

Can't recall what it was though! 🙁

Awaits kiwijohn in the thread if he's finished making wine.
There are good and bad wines from all varieties and regions. Anyone suggesting regions or grapes over makers is asking for trouble.

I've had some great rejoca and some piss poor. Though I don't think I've ever had a good merlot.

edhornby - Member

I reckon Aldi is the best uk supermarket for wine right now

if you like spanish red, get the toro loco - it's just about their cheapest wine but don't let that put you off, it's a cracker.

It is only 10.5% (rare for a red) and I think that is what makes it easily drinkable!

I seek out the weaker reds on purpose.

I seek out the weaker reds on purpose

I bought an Argie Malbec from Morrisons recently and it was exceptional for the money. (cheap offer)

Can't recall what it was though!

Doesnt matter in my experience Argentinian Malbec's are all good. My favourite being Norton but I havent seen it locally for ages.

Rioja is one of my favourite everyday wines, quality can vary but for £10 you should get a very decent wine. In Spanish wines I also like the white Alborino (from Galicia in the North), it's quite dry and goes very well with fish or as an aperitif if you like dry wines.

EDIT another vote for Argentinian Malbecs, they seem to be doing a very good job these days with these wines

Rioja is often a bit too smooth as it ages, so many people prefer to go for the cheaper and younger Crianza version.

I had an awesome bottle of Medoc from Lidl last week but sorry can't remember the name.

I bought an Argie Malbec from Morrisons recently and it was exceptional for the money. (cheap offer)
Can't recall what it was though!
[i]
Doesnt matter in my experience Argentinian Malbec's are all good. My favourite being Norton but I havent seen it locally for ages.[/i]

Agreed they are generally very good, but some better than others and this one was a 'stand out' bottle......at a bargain price to boot! 🙂

Note to self: must go back and get some more!

if you like spanish red, get the Aldi toro loco - it's just about their cheapest wine but don't let that put you off, it's a cracker.

+1. Less than £4 a bottle too

Morrisons own label French Cabernet Sauvignon is surprisingly drinkable too, £4.99 a bottle

Alborino

Albariño 🙂

For Spanish whites I prefer Rueda, although Albariños are nice too.

For red Somontano wines are a personal favourite, as are Ribera del Duero - although that said I was in La Rioja this weekend, including a visit to the Cune winemaker, and their Reserva was very drinkable! (And certainly not rough at all...)

Aldi Malbec.

hic!

Lidl £3.99

[img] [/img]

I'm currently enjoying Pinotage for red wines and Pinot Grigio for white.

Tesco "Simply Pinotage" at under a fiver is flipping lovely for the price.

About 10 years ago I had an Pinot Grigio that I found a little mleh so I stopped buying it. Last week, a bloke who let me put a load of rubble in his skip said "White Pinot please" when I asked him "wine or whisky?" as a thank you. I tried one myself and then I tried another. Few.

Rioja is often a bit too smooth as it ages,

The one I had was 2011 and was very smooth, which I liked.

Malbec seems to be a buzzword recently, maybe I'll jump on that bandwagon next.

Aldi' s Malbec is good.

As is their rioja.

I struggle to choose.

Tonight we're having a bottle of Aldi Californian Merlot. Not too bad, about £4.50. And some of their cheesy nibbles. #theresposh

Aldi' s Malbec is good.

As is their rioja.

I struggle to choose.

Dont beat yourself up Dunc, do what I just did and buy a few of each 🙂

I like my redwine however I'm struggling with Aldi's award winning reds.

Is Lidl better/different wines? The ones I tried at Aldi's were either chalky, watery/bland or slightly off.

Kinda put me off.

Is Lidl better/different wines?

I don't know Aldi wines but if you're talking about LIDL's cheaper ranges like the chardy, Sauv Blanc, Merlot, Cab Sauv etc they are all fine...and excellent value for Barbecue type glugging. Their French Sauv blanc is probably for me, the best of the sub £5 bunch.

However, if you do drink a lot of wine and aren't a snob, then a trip to Calais wine warehouse is a must. You can do a day trip (if you live in the SE) and spend over £500 and save £600 on what you'd spend in the UK. Seriously some of their £2 bottles are very drinkable (better than Lidl) and you can buy a few better bottles cheap too for occasions.

They had one French Sauv blanc which disappointingly is no longer on sale for £2 and I gave a glass to a wine snob friend who nodded approvingly thinking it was an £8 wine. [url= http://www.calaiswine.co.uk/calais-wine-offers/ ]they even pay for your fare[/url]

+1 for the Aldi Toro Loco.

Recently slurped bottle of this excellent nuzzler:

[img] [/img]

Sainsburys. £14.

Seriously some of their £2 bottles are very drinkable (better than Lidl) and you can buy a few better bottles cheap too for occasions.

A £2 French bottle is equivalent to a £5 UK bottle as there is £3 of duty and VAT on a £5 bottle in the UK.

true about the duty but the cost of travel from manchester to france wipes out any potential saving 🙂

if you're prepared to buy 6 at a time then majestic is good because you can talk to a person who knows about wine

if you can find a good local independant then use them!

[url= http://www.tesco.com/wine/product/details/default.aspx?id=278973764 ]This[/url] is what annoys me about buying wine in supermarkets.

This £10.99 wine reduced to half price based on buying 6 bottles plus postage. What a bargain eh?

Or alternatively one of the £2 options at Calais Wine Warehouse!

true about the duty but the cost of travel from manchester to france wipes out any potential saving

If you tie it in with a summer trip to France though on a advance aferry discount offer?

I brought over what sounded like a milk float on my return from Belgium/Brugge/France last time 😀 (hic)

Rockape63 - Member
This is what annoys me about buying wine in supermarkets.

This £10.99 wine reduced to half price based on buying 6 bottles plus postage. What a bargain eh?

... and yet it's really only a £5 wine after all: http://www.wine-searcher.com/wine-373452-0001-parra-alta-malbec-mendoza-argentina

I wonder why nobody trusts supermarkets any more!

Am currenlty trying a few different Aldi wines - I'm not keen on the NZ pinot or the Malbec but I like the Montepulciano. In the whites, the Gavi and the Muscadet are lovely.

[i]if you're prepared to buy 6 at a time then majestic is good because you can talk to a person who knows about wine[/i]

I buy wine from Majestic and whilst I always ask the assistants about the wine, I sometimes find their 'all encompassing' knowledge irritating. I mean, how can they know everything about all their wines?

Anyway, current fave from Maj is John Beck Sauvingon Blanc at £6 a bottle. Very nice it is! 🙂

John Beck Sauvingon Blanc at £6 a bottle

I think you mean Graham Beck, it is ok, I bought some on my last order. I tend to use Majestic too as I get an additional 10% off.

Is Majestic better value than supermarkets?

[i]I think you mean Graham Beck, [/i]

oops! 😳 How do you get an extra 10%?

[i]Is Majestic better value than supermarkets?[/i]

Its different and more honest. It can be a bit intimidating for a newbie as they talk the wine talk, but if you simply say what you are looking for and your budget, you will do okay. Very similar value tbh.

I reckon Aldi is the best uk supermarket for wine right now

Well you'd be wrong! 🙂

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-2825213/Experts-crown-Lidl-best-supermarket-wine-says-wotwine.html

How do you get an extra 10%?

Good fortune.

Is Majestic better value than supermarkets?

Can be, you are probably paying a bit extra for well informed staff, which means you avoid bad buys.

Thanks Rockape. Years ago I used to buy from Oddbins but now it's the supermarket where there seems to be fewer offers these days.

A £2 French bottle is equivalent to a £5 UK bottle as there is £3 of duty and VAT on a £5 bottle in the UK

Don't forget the distribution costs.

Top tip for the lovers of Chateauneuf du Pape: buy yourself some Rasteau. Same terroir and grape varieties, but a bit cheaper and of a far more consistant quality.

Just stumbled across this, coincidentally. Might be of help.

[img] [/img]

cinnamon_girl - Member
Is Majestic better value than supermarkets?

[i]No, they're fairly expensive. [/i]

They CAN be, but they do some very enjoyable £5 bottles so you just need to avoid getting carried away. Silver Ghost (I think!) is a very drinkable sauv blanc for £5...as good if not better than a supermarket wine on offer.

[i]My cynical side says Majestic are like any other big business, buying stock to create the biggest profits for the business rather than buying the best for their customers.[/i]

So you think the small independent Specialist is out to buy the best for his customers whilst making as little profit as possible?

Whilst I too have a cynical side, I'd suggest that the buying power of Majestic allows it to sell good quality wine, whilst generating big enough profits to keep everyone happy.

[i]Just stumbled across this, coincidentally. Might be of help.[/i]

The nice thing about this thread Cougar is that no one has made any pretensions about their wine knowledge...just what they drink and enjoy.

[img] [/img]

Rockape63. For over a decade I think the wine buyers at M&S are driven by profit margins and deals.

Hideous overpriced piss

So you think the small independent Specialist is out to buy the best for his customers whilst making as little profit as possible?

Typically an small independent specialist will source wines and sell them at 20% mark up. Based on that any wine in the entire world is available, they just go out and find the ones they love and will feel happy selling. Often the person who buys the wine will be selling it.

As an example, Majestic recently told all their suppliers that they expect them all to pay an extra 4p a bottle to fund a new warehouse. If the supplier doesn't like it, they're out the door, doesn't matter how good their wines are. Majestic buyers will be working on which wines will generate the most income. In fact they're probably working on which supplier will generate the most income, what wines the supplier has in their portfolio is probably further down the list of priorities, probably less important than payment terms.

[i]For over a decade I think the wine buyers at M&S are driven by profit margins and deals.

Hideous overpriced piss[/i]

M & S are a Clothes retailer/supermarket...not exactly a wine specialist.

And...I'm certainly no Majestic expert or even fan. I go where I get good value wine and if that changes, I'll find somewhere else. All I'm saying is that making profit is fine as long as the value remains for the consumer, or they'll go out of business.

If you use Laithwaites, try out their Cabalie. Its a very distinguisable taste from most other reds, and is bl**dy lovely! Unfortunately only available at Laithwaites and 12 bottles+del is pretty expensive.

Co-op do a very reasonable wine, Andrew Peace £4.99 a bottle.

I misread this.

Got fed up on Tuesday night, drank a bottle of cheap Aldi white in about an hour on an empty stomach. Thankfully I also had so little sleep that I don't think I noticed a hangover, I just felt queasy all the next day and slowly got back to normal.

Now I remember why I don't usually do these things....

As you were 😉

n small independent specialist will source wines and sell them at 20% mark up. Based on that any wine in the entire world is available, they just go out and find the ones they love and will feel happy selling. Often the person who buys the wine will be selling it.

Also they will take parcels of wine that are too small for a national merchant, and punt it on at a keen price to keep cash flow high.