Supermarket Sweep: Lidl
In a semi-regular feature, I travel to a major UK supermarket or retailer to find three bottles for no more than £30, ideally at the £8, £10 and £12 price-points, aiming to show the breadth and depth of wines on offer on the high-street which offer exceptional drinking and tremendous value.
Lidl
King of the value shops, Lidl is a firm family favourite with its excellent selection of meats, cheeses, wheelbarrow wheels, and other curio from its magical middle aisle. It has also carved out a niche in finding small parcels of interesting wines from around the world at keen prices, usually peaking around Christmas time with a judiciously chosen Champagne or Prosecco, which inevitably feature newspaper stories on value fizz for the festive season.
Lidl’s buyers know their stuff and the greatest challenge for me here was actually spending over £10 on a bottle of wine, which I barely managed, so I’ve kept the selection to two whites and one red and I was pleasantly surprised with what I found. I’m a firm believer that we should spend at least £8 on a bottle of wine but the cheapest option here is £6.99 and it manages to deliver.
The supermarket sweep selection:
£8 Clare Valley Riesling 2018, Australia - £6.99
£10 Domaine de la Combe Dieu, Rasteau 2016, France - £9.99
£12 The Pledge Sauvignon Blanc, 2018, South Africa - £10.99
Total spend: £27.97
Verdict: Whilst limited in size and scope, these three wines offer good drinking pleasure for the price, with the pick of the bunch being the cheapest wine, the Clare Valley Riesling, which is very good indeed. Whilst I wouldn’t head to Lidl for wine on a whim, I’d certainly chance my arm with a bottle in the £7 to £9 bracket when doing my shopping there.
A reminder of the Sour Grapes rating system, where a 1 is a good value wine can be read here
Clare Valley Riesling 2018, Australia - £6.99
Colour: Pale gold
Nose: A classic Riesling nose of fresh rubber, a touch of petrol (no, really!), nectarine, mango, honey, with touches of acacia, passion fruit and lime. The warmer climate makes for a really sumptuous nose on this wine – a treat for under seven quid!
Palate: Lovely fresh citrus fruit, lime peel, nectarine, honey and a touch of mango. This Riesling has lovely viscosity and weight, fresh acidity and good length on the finish. For the price this is a fantastic wine and a good example of Clare Valley Riesling, which would make a real midweek treat or turn heads at a dinner party. Try this before it goes!
Domaine de la Combe Dieu, Rasteau 2016, France - £9.99
Colour: Medium ruby
Nose: Rich black fruits, cassis, new leather, juniper, menthol, herbs and a hint of dark chocolate. This is a Southern Rhône wine with a really punch nose – you can close your eyes and imagine standing on a sun-baked hill in the South of France, under the midday sun. With time in the glass notes of sweet, burnt caramel come through.
Palate: There are fine tannins here that caress your mouth without drying the it out. Plump juicy black fruits come to the fore, with black plum, damson and blackcurrant. There is good acidity to keep the palate refreshed and lingering spice, too, like white pepper and a hint of clove. The finish is good with light toastiness from the oak, along with smoky minerality. After a few hours in a decanter this Rasteau softened up beautifully and would be an excellent companion to a good steak. Another impressive value wine.
The Pledge Sauvignon Blanc, 2018, South Africa - £10.99
Colour: Pale lemon
Nose: This is a crisp and fresh Sauvignon but with a little less green than you’d get in a typical offering from Marlborough, New Zealand. There’s gooseberry, lemon, white peach, green melon, cut grass, under-ripe nectarine and a hint of crushed stone.
Palate: This is greener on the palate than on the nose, with hints of asparagus, garden peas and damp leaves. There is also blue cheese, lemon peel, flinty minerality and a touch of passionfruit sweetness which makes a late appearance on the finish. This is certainly an unusual wine which manages, just, to come together on its own, though I imagine it’d be excellent with goats cheese or smoked salmon. Not as successful as the other Lidl offerings, for me.
