If there’s an Aldi nearby, grab a bottle of their Grande Alberone Zinfandel. It’s £7.99 and as smooth as can be. It’s a delight.
For the price , it’s an absolute bargain.
They also do a Barolo which gets good reviews.
Well this is the george and dragon so alcohol related chat seems more than appropriate.
Anyway, I'm firmly in the real ale camp but do love a glass of red with a meal, unfortunately being mildly northern and a tight wad mostly its a 5-6 quid Rioja or Malbec I/we enjoy.
I dont know enough about wine to venture out that 'comfort zone'.
So, its my 40th bday next week and because we can't go out for a nice meal thought I'd cook me and the better half a meal (once young one gone to bed) to celebrate and was thinking maybe I should splash out this time on a decent bottle (or possibly two?) of red.
As I said, I like the Spanish stuff so Rioja, tempranillo etc and enjoy a Malbec and a Shiraz. Based on that, what would you wine aficionados recommend for a decent (readily available ie. Supermarket) bottle around the £25 mark? Or would i be better off sticking to the £5 aldi/lidl Rioja?
Help and advice appreciated as always :-)
Last edited by j4ckal; 14th February 2021 at 18:36.
If there’s an Aldi nearby, grab a bottle of their Grande Alberone Zinfandel. It’s £7.99 and as smooth as can be. It’s a delight.
For the price , it’s an absolute bargain.
They also do a Barolo which gets good reviews.
If you can find it...
Chocolate Block
https://www.waitrosecellar.com/red-w...hocolate-block
I am not a wine drinker at all but this is a wine I actually enjoy.
I first tried it in SA and buy cases anytime I see it for sale. The Mrs is almost Tea Total and she loves this as well.
Trivento Golden Reserve Argentine Malbec, I had a look in Tesco's earlier today and it's £16, pre Christmas in their 25% off promo, absolute steal at £12, good value at £16.
From another Ale drinker this is good: https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/produc...-224822-224823
Costco’s Kirkland Malbec is a winner £6-7.
Join this:
https://www.thewinesociety.com/
It’s genuinely superb. So good I try to avoid ordering much now. Hic!
i’m very much into mid range organic reds from italy at the moment
this is my current fave, very easy to drink
https://gnarlyvines.co.uk/products/m...uso-di-collina
19 Crimes reds are fantastic for the money. In Asda
This is really nice if you’re near a Waitrose
https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/produc...-348541-348542
A. don't spend more than £10, there's no benefit
B. Majestic is open, very very quiet (Covid secure) and you can try wine. Recommend: The Guv'nor
Exactly what I'm drinking now, they do 3 different reds, the basic red, then the uprising and the banished I think, go for one of the latter 2.
Barossa ink is another nice Australian red, all of these are far less than your budget as well, about £8-10 depending where you go.
Chateau Musar
In the Sotadic Zone, apparently.
I know that it’s not strictly what you asked for by my favourite ‘plonk’ is Cabalie from Laithwaite’s online https://www.laithwaites.co.uk/product/0022620
It’s quite often in the Big Reds case which is usually good vfm
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Actually drinking a 2017 bottle right now. It is very good. As mentioned the 19 crimes is good and one the wife like as its quite fruity and well, jammy is "the jam shed" and can be picked up for about £7. A bit left field, chateau Musar from Lebanon. The trick with that is to pour it from one jug to another about 15 times as it really opens it up.
I try to limit myself to £25/bottle for special occasions as to be honest my palette isn't sophisticated enough and the law of diminishing returns kicks in for me around that price point.
Wine society is good of you can join and vivino is good as well. You can get some real bargains on there and they do a flavour breakdown (dry - sweet, tannins etc) of each wine as well which I found useful
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Oh dear asking in G&D not the best idea.
Some cracking Burgundies to be had in Waitrose in the £20 to £25 range. Can't go wrong.
Wine - The duty on a bottle is the same. The bottling and shipping costs are the same. deduct the VAT and then work out how much the wine costs!
While there are good wines in the sub £10 range you need to step up a gear for special occasions.
Another vote for 19 crimes, very nice. Rijoca wise, anything with that mesh stuff around the bottle is usually pretty good in my experience!
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Tbh the Aldi Select Malbec for around £7 a bottle takes some beating. Otherwise if you want to push the boat out a bit more, Sainsbury’s, French wines; St Emillion, Chateaux Neuf du Pape or Crozes Hermitage (apologies for spelling!). For the record I like Spanish too such as Rioja, Temperanilo and Valdepenas; plus Malbec from New World is great, Blaufrankisch from Austria is also superb.
If you're anything like me, you'll struggle to discern any benefit from spending more than £10 on a bottle.
I find this £8 Malbec from Tesco to be very nice, and at that price you can buy a couple.
https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-G...ucts/264534413
Trouble is, their range can be a bit overwhelming! I was trying to put a Christmas order together last year and gave up due to indecision!
My go to cheap and cheerful is Gallo family Merlot. It stays very drinkable once opened and so no need to neck the whole bottle at one sitting.
Not that expensive, but Ravenswood is one of my favourites:
https://www.majestic.co.uk/wines/rav...infandel-18641
Chateauneuf Du Pape may be a boring choice but at that price point you'll not go wrong. Usually around £18 a bottle in a supermarket.
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This is one of the best ‘meaty’ Red you can buy at the moment in the £25-30 range. Absolutely delicious, smooth and tasty.
Also Meerlust Pinot Noir or even better their Rubicon is another cracking SA wine.
The Cloudy Bay Pinot Nior is a lighter style but also very good but I prefer the nine above.
If you like Australian then you won’t go wrong with a Wolf Blass Cab Sav. or a decent Penfolds.
Santa Rita Cab Sav Reserve from Majestic is a great Chilean Red for around £15
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Last edited by paw3001; 14th February 2021 at 20:57.
Jam shed Shiraz from Tesco punches well above it’s weight for £6-7.
Quietly mentioned, but, based on the fact your like something with some oomph this is a beautiful wine from the original vines I believe…. Also saying you had some Lebanese wine!
Try Vaqueryas, Gigondas or Rasteau…. All within a stones throw and great value…. Rhône is my favourite red region in France
There is absolutely no need to pay more than £10...plenty of lovely wines within that price point.
Without listing loads here’s one from Waitrose. A lovely Puglian,normally £8.99 but on offer for a bargain £7.
Chocolate Block
ChateauNeuf du Pape
Are great choices, but the Cabalie is the easiest drinking red I’ve found in a long time - so much so I ordered a couple of cases.
I do still love a good Barolo or Amarone though.
It's just a matter of time...
Chocolate Block is a lovely drop... the 2015 was particularly good but the ‘16 is lovely too.
Also, if you can find it I’ve yet to find a bad bottle from the d’Arenberg vineyards although it’s definitely worth opening the reds an hour or two before you drink them as they need time to soften.
I like Rioja but it’s good to branch out
Just bought another 6 of these - super value at £12.50 a bottle and really smooth
https://www.buonvino.co.uk/primitivo...fitta-mocavero
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Delicious but, imho, quite an 'acquired taste' (resiny). If they still make a Cuvee Hochar, it's a very pleasant half way house. Good advice and favourites of mine.
Two other comments based on previous comments:
- I found Jam Shed undrinkably sweet - it really was like someone had taken a reasonable wine and stirred a good spoonful of jam into it
- I don't agree it's not worth spending over £10, in fact I wouldn't spend much less than £10.
My latest favourite red wine is Jammy Red Roo, full bodied and fruity it’s very well priced to.
I just finished a bottle of 19 Crimes The Bannished... excellent value, a case at Costco was around £40!
Porta 6 Lisboa punches massively at £7.50 a bottle.
Tesco finest Chateauneuf 2016 is a bit special if you can get it
The range of suggestions shows that there's no right answer! There are wines suggested that I wouldn't touch with a barge pole, and others that are on my favourites list.
I would second the suggestion to go to majestic - their staff are really knowledgeable and can make recommendations for you in any price range based on what you know you like.
That said, if you like a rioja, you might well love a riserva rioja from the likes of CVNE or Marques de Caceres, both at around £15 a bottle.
Edit: happy birthday, by the way!
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Last edited by martinupnorth; 15th February 2021 at 09:41.
I tend to go for , Chateuneuf du pape , Bordeaux , Cotes du Rhone , usually available for £8-18 .
Had a lovely Bordeaux last night from Morrisons for £8 .
A few poster have mentioned Cabalie from laithwaites (excellent wine) but another few to try if you use Laithwaites: Pillastro (the gold labelled bottle) and Black Stump
I'm a complete convert to the '£10 a bottle brigade', absolutely no need to spend more in my opinion
Having a £10 limit on a bottle is like having a £500 limit on a watch. Each to their own
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Can't go wrong with a Merlot from Casillero del Diablo, we always pick up at least a bottle or two on the weekly shop
Any Cru de Beaujolais is usually magnificent, I find. The supermarket in Calais does them at around £4 a bottle. That's about a third or more less than here. Calais though...
Well, lots to read through there, thanks for all the replies, didn't think it would generate so much interest :-)
I'll be picking one up this eve on way home from work so limited to Supermarkets I pass really....