Simple (and cheap) wines can be totally delicious. 4,5 € means cheap in the wine world (in Europe for sure), you only get entry level quaffers for that price but when well-made they can be more enjoyable than some more expensive ones lacking balance. And this is pretty solid.
grenache
Summer red: Rhonea Les Artistes Rouge 2022, Cotes du Rhone
If you know the red wines of Southern Rhone then this might surprise you. 11,5% ABV? Does not taste like an early harvested wine and it turns out that some of its alcohol was just removed. Sounds weird but the result is appealing.
Supermarket wines: Hacienda Uvanis Garnacha Old Vines Navarra 2022 from Lidl
Solid garnacha from Lidl. Old vine material for €4? It rather tastes like just cheap, €4 red wine, but a very good one.
Rhone reds from Lidl
I’m a big grenache fan and sadly there aren’t many available on the Hungarian market, so I was happy to see new Southern Rhone reds popping up in Lidl recently. I cannot say they impressed me, though.
Bondar Rayner Vineyard Grenache 2021
Supermarket wines: Pierre Chanau Plan de Dieu 2021, a solid Rhone red
I had a bad experience with the 2017 of Auchans Plan de Dieu, but this 2021 is quite the opposite. Rock solid for the price. Continue reading
C.V.N.E. Rioja Ecologico 2020
I hoped that I would find a great value here, but there is one detail which makes it less enjoyable – at least for now. Continue reading
Supermarket wines: Tesco Finest Campo di Borja garnacha vs tempranillo
The only difference between these two bottles from Tesco is the grape variety – tempranillo versus garnacha. The latter is one of my favourites, I consume more of it than anything else, but I must admit I never was really interested in the former. However, this time I clearly prefer the tempranillo, to my big surprise… Continue reading
Pure pleasure: Ferraton Père & Fils La Tournée Rouge 2020
Just a €7 syrah-grenache from the Languedoc, but so enjoyable that I’m tempted to call it the wine of the month.
Great Rhone Cru: Domaine Brusset Les Travers Cairanne 2020
It’s not the first time when a Brusset red amazes me. A top producer in the Southern Rhone for sure.