HOW times have changed. Who’d have thought to see two budget supermarkets battling to flog us Canadian Eiswein as our Christmas 2015 sweetie? Lidl and Aldi, of course, have been locking horns for some time to subvert the wine market pecking order and Lidl in particular with their quarterly French classics one-offs have ventured into some pretty recherche regions to tickle our palates.
These bargain basement supermarkets are making great strides
But Canada and a wine made from grapes that have been allowed to freeze on the vine (or after picking) is something else. The sweetness comes from shrivelling and concentrating the berries, intensifying the luscious sweetness of the final product, which is quite low alcohol at 11 per cent. Traditionally, it’s not cheap, so Aldi’s Trius Canadian Icewine 2014 at £24.99 a half bottle is about par for the course, while Lidl’s Vidal Icewine 2013 from Pillitteri Estates in Niagara, at just £14.99 a half, is a real bargain. I’ve tasted the latter and it has a rich concentration of pear and exotic fruit flavours. Lidl’s wine buyers suggests sipping it well chilled on its own – I’d recommend that, too, as a strangely palate cleansing treat after Christmas pud.
Lidl are also promoting a 9 per cent ice cider from Quebec called Neige (at £19.99 a half bottle), but I’d venture elsewhere in their great value Christmas offering (but strike quickly; once the shelves are cleared, there’s no re-stocking).
I love simple, nutty White Burgundy at an affordable price and Lidl comes up trumps with Philippe de Bois d’Arnault, Bourgogne Blanc 2014 for £7.99. For a quid more you get the ripe complexity and depth of Jean Cornelius, Riesling, Grand Cru Ollwiller 2012 (£8.99), a great seafood wine with its undertow of acidity.
Two Lidl French whites£13.99 buys you a roast-friendly Tuscan red, Casato dei Medici Ricardi, Bolgheri 2012, whose blackcurrant fruit and hints of chocolate are matched by very Italian structure and acidity.
The last is a special occasion wine. Both my Aldi choices, each at £6.99, are worth buying a batch of for those festive sipping/party moments. The Exquisite Collection Clare Valley Riesling 2014 is Classic Oz riesling, a perfect lime-laden, citrussy thirst-quencher, while The Exquisite Collection New Zealand Pinot Noir, Wairarapa, New Zealand 2014, is equally excellent, packed with spicily oaked juicy red fruit – amazing value.
These bargain basement supermarkets are making great strides, but perhaps the most ambitious wine list on the high street comes from Marks & Spencer. Try this Aegean trio this Christmas – not cheap but it really is a case of Greeks bearing gifts.
The Atlantis Santorini (£10.50) white, from the island of that name, has a minerally tang of the sea, zesty but with substance, while Thymiopoulos Malagousia 2013 is peachy but again with underlying acidity.
The red Thymiopoulos Xinomavro 2013 (£10.50) from acclaimed winemaker Apostolus Thymiopoulos offers food-friendly grip from its mix of sour cherry, aniseed and taut brambly fruit.
Christmas, of course, is up there with the most special of special occasions, so it feels right to splash out at a specialist wine merchant. Among Manchester’s best is Hanging Ditch, whose late November Wine Fair heralds the festive season in increasing style. This year I was looking among the 200 wines up for sampling to partner our ordered goose and am not looking any further now than a white Hermitage from the Northern Rhone,
Christmas, of course, is up there with the most special of special occasions, so it feel right to splash out at a specialist wine merchant. Among Manchester’s best is Hanging Ditch http://hangingditch.com, whose late November Wine Fair heralds the festive season in increasing style. This year I was looking among the 200 wines up for sampling for a partner for our ordered goose and am not looking any further now than a white Hermitage from the Northern Rhone, Chapoutier Chante Alouette 2014. It’s a blow-out at £50 a bottle, but it boasts real substance with a huge almondy finish. On the nose it’s even more beguiling – quince, honey, ginger and all kinds of blossom.
Hanging Ditch Wine Fair - Manchester CathedralThe red of the night, perfect for cheese deployment, might well be another Chapoutier, the dark and spicy Cote Rotie Les Bescasses 2015 (£60), but it really needs more bottle age, so perhaps the silky, rose scented Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Asili 2008 at £135 or, considerably cheaper at £25, an equally highly perfumed off-dry white from Alsace, Rieffel Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Zotzenberg 2012, perfect for smelly soft cheeses. And, finally, for sparklers, go for any of the glorious English Nyetimber range – superior to so many Champagnes swamping our market this Christmas.
Beware many supermarket special offers at this time of year and look out for true bargains from independent merchants. A particular favourite, the Wine Society is running a special Spanish offer until December 18, or while stocks last – ranging from everyday whites and reds to some of Spain’s finest producers such as la Rioja Alta.
At the everyday end I recommend Jaspi Blanc, Terra Alta 2014 – a crisp, floral Catalan white made from Garnacha Bblanca and Macabeo at £8.50 bottle – and Salvaje del Moncayo Garnacha 2014, a soft, approachable Ggarnacha red from high altitude vineyards in Aragon, a snip at £6.95.
Chapoutier Chante Alouette 2014La Rioja Alta offers different kinds of red altogether. One of the oldest companies in the Rioja region (so an unintentional ‘brand’ name), it hosted a recent wine dinner at the Hearth of the Ram restaurant in Ramsbottom. Culmination of the wines (including a benchmark Rioja Reserva Vina Ardanza 2005) matching a six course Hispanic tasting menu was a Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 2004, served surprisingly with baked Cabrales cheesecake and cherry sorbet. The cherry link is obvious on nose and there’s classic Rioja mint and leather aromas and depth of fruit that lingers on the palate.
Majestic sell the lighter but still very attractive 2005 for £36 (with special offers on mixed cases), the Wine Society for £28 and Berry Bros for £33. The latter also stock vintages going back many years at prices that increase with bottle age. The 1982 works out at £1985. Now that would be splashing out for a goose partner.
Finally a Christmas stocking filler. Not everyone who’s partial to do a drop of Merlot or Sauvignon is going to splash out £40 on Jancis Robinson’s exhaustive Oxford Companion To Wine, which has just made it into a fourth edition, but for a concise, demystifying introduction to the subject (with some great one-liners) I’d recommend I Don’t Know Much About Wine But I Know What I Like by Simon Woods (www.simonwoods.com, pb £7.99), The Saddleworth-based writer is a former co-ordinator of the International Wine Challenge and editor of the Which Wine Guide. Follow his book’s advice to drink more adventurously without breaking the bank by following the regular recommendations on his Drinking Outside The Box website.
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