FROM Lidl acorns mighty wine offers grow. A bit like Jeremy Corbyn, the Cinderella store has shaken the supermarket establishment with its thinking outside the box. There are actually a lot of boxes littering its wine departments, housing its 60-strong core range, most of which are cheap, hardly cheerful and, whatever the country of origin, called Cimarosa.
Spread across 620 stores, they won’t go far and, as they say in the trade, when they are gone they are gone
The big deal, though, is the quarterly pop-up quality wine release, which started a year ago with a highly hyped Claret Offensive. Now this September they are back again, pamphleting the Sunday papers with a booklet showcasing 40 wines scored out of a 100 – all French, some from obscure regions – as they refresh the shelves. These palate-ticklers include an Alsace Pinot Noir, a white Chateauneuf du Pape, an Arbois Reserve from the Jura and an even more unsung (on these shores) white from the Savoie called Apremont.
Budget supermarkets such as Lidl and Aldi have shaken up the wine establishmentLead taster Richard Bampfield and fellow Masters of Wine on his team have acquired one million bottles in total, with 6,000 - 60,000 of each type of wine. Spread across 620 stores, they won’t go far and, as they say in the trade, when they are gone they are gone.
So pay attention to my recommendations and act quickly:
Tired of tropical Kiwi sauvignon and averse to spending big licks on classic French Sancerre? Consider Reuilly. Along with Menetou Salon and Quincy it’s the poor relation among Eastern Loire Sauvignons. Lidl’s Fiefs des Comelias Reuilly Cuvée Prestige (£8.99) from the excellent 2014 vintage is a great advertisement – delicate and grassy with a sustained gooseberry aftertaste.
Up a notch are a couple of White Burgundies from a negociant called de Marcilly and that unusual white Chateauneuf. The Hautes Cotes de Beaune 2014 (£8.99), is fresh with a creamy texture, while the vanilla-scented Rully 2014 (£9.99) from south of the region is riper and great value, as is the herbal and apricoty Chateuneuf Cuvee Particuliere at £12.99 with a rich texture in the mouth.
Also from the Rhone, two reds stood out, Crozes Hermitage Les Petit Vallons 2014 (£8.99), a little young yet but with a characteristic dash of pepper among the purple fruit abundance. Good value, but even better is Cotes du Rhone Villages Chusclan Serabel 2014 at just £5.99. For that you get oodles of warm damson and spice flavour.
For a quid more try another great everyday red, Domaine L’Estagnol 2014 from Minervois in the Languedoc. Upfront raisiny fruit and soft oak. Lovely.
Cellar Key RieslingsElsewhere, Chorlton’s excellent wine bar Cellar Key on Barlow Moor Road is launching its new fine wine list this week. We expect it might feature a Riesling or two, judging by this picture owner Andy Leathley put up on Facebook of the grape in its varied manifestations. We share his passion and will report back.
It’s the countdown to the Manchester Food and Drink Festival’s Big Indie Wine Fest in Manchester Town Hall’s Great Hall on the evening of Friday September 11 and across two sessions on Saturday September 12. For £25 a head (book via www.foodanddrinkfestival.com) you can sample wines from merchants such as Reserve, Corks Out, Pacta Connect, T-Wright Wines, Alpine Wines, Italy Abroad, Tour de Belfort, Cru Bourgeois de Medoc, Epicerie Ludo, Veeno and Carrington as well as Manchester Wine School.
Alternatively download the MFDF Wine passport off their website or take along Page 42 of the festival brochure and you’ll be able to buy top quality wines for only £5 a glass throughout the Festival at venues such as Hawksmoor, Salvi’s, Salut, Harvey Nichols, Iberica, Wine & Wallop and many more.
Follow Neil Sowerby on twitter @AntonEgoManc
