Tesco Côtes de Gascogne Blanc, France 2014 (£4.69) Is Tesco worried about the twin-pronged discounting German four-letter assault of Aldi and Lidl? That certainly seemed to be one of the subtexts at its latest wine press tasting, where the retailer was keen to point out that 30 of the 131 wines on show were priced under a fiver. That sounds great on paper. The problem is that, even once the chancellor’s recent wine duty freeze is taken into account, making a palatable sub-£5 wine these days is not easy – with £2.05 duty plus 20% VAT going in tax, plus packaging and transport costs, only a meagre few pence are left for the wine itself. That Tesco’s racy, pungent, Loire-like Gascogne white is more than merely drinkable is, therefore, something of a feat.
Tesco Simply Bulgarian Merlot NV (£4.29) As for the rest of those sub-£5 bottles, there were many more misses than hits. Even at £4.99, there is more folly than sweetness in the four French La Folie Douce wines, for example, and both the Simply Claret and the Vintage Claret provide a masterclass in meanness. But there are a handful of wines that could, as football managers are wont to say of journeyman pros, ‘do a job’ in tough financial times. There’s a dose of flattering sugar in the Simply Bulgarian Merlot, but the black fruit is bright; Simply Garnacha Rosé NV (£4.69) is robust, and strawberry-juicy; the appley off-dry Tesco Anjou Blanc 2014 (£4.99) works with spicy noodles; and the coconut-scented La Nonna Rioja Crianza 2010 (£4.99) is a boon for fans of trad’ Rioja.
Kanonkop Pinotage, Stellenbosch, South Africa 2011 (£25, Tesco) As they should be, things are generally better as prices rise at Tesco. The retailer has 25% off if you buy six bottles until Tuesday, which make the scintillating dry Australian Finest Tingleup Riesling 2012 (£9.99 for a single bottle) and the spicy, sinewy southern French red Château de Fauzan Minervois 2013 (£8.99) excellent buys. Both stores, but, frustratingly, many of the best bottles are only available by-the-case online – and not always at better prices than independents. If you’re tempted by special-occasion bottles – such as the deep, powerful, exotically scented Cape red Kanonkop Pinotage or the fine cellar-worthy Bordeaux of Château Sociando-Mallet 2009 and 2010 (both £25) – check at Wine-searcher.com.
