RAISE A GLASS
SUMMER is a-coming in and loudly say yoo hoo! Or something like that. The summer vibe is beginning to crank up and I’ve visited a few spring and summer tastings, where retailers showcase their new wines.
In the shops, right on time for the Bank Holiday weekend (enjoy it by the way), is the latest selection of wines from Lidl.
They’ve revamped their core range with a collection of New World wines including Winemaker’s Selection Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc
(£8.99, 12.5% abv) from Marlborough, which has all the notes of a New Zealand savvie but with the added boost of a tickling fizz.
The Winemaker’s Selection wines are available all year round but new to the shops this week (from May 24) is Lidl’s latest The Wine Tour range.
In the line-up is another sparkling sauvignon blanc,
Forget Me Not Sparkling
Sauvignon Blanc (£9.99, 12% abv) which hails from Slovenia. It has notes of green fruit (think pears and apples) and a shiver of gooseberry with a dryness of green pepper skin. It is refreshing for warmer days.
A deliciously grown-up person’s pink, Les Gourmandises Tavel Rosé (£6.99, 13.5% abv), below left, from the Rhone is a blend of syrah, mourvedre and a dash of cinsault which together deliver cherry and redcurrant notes. A fabulous red, Outlook Bay
Pinot Noir (£8.99, 13.5% abv) from New Zealand’s Central Otago has notes of burnt toast. Trust me… it is savoury, peppery and smoky with lots of blackberries. Clostre Brunel Saint-Chinian (£5.99, 13% abv), meanwhile, was ripe with plums and blackberries and I sneaked a glass to sip with Mexican nibbles (shhh, our secret). There are some great whites too and this one got a Big Tick from me. Les Aubrières Chardonnay (£5.99, 12% abv) from the Loire Valley attracted
a little “tasting” gathering. It has a flash of citrus (lime and lemon) with a hint of apple and whispers of stone fruit and a flower bed. It is fresh, it is slightly buttery, it is delicious.
Elsewhere, my travels took me to the Co-op’s tasting where I sipped their Irresistible
Marsanne (75cl, £7.99) which I gave a nod to the other week.
I mention it again as its honey, peachy and nutty notes have just won silver at the International Wine Challenge.
A new release is the Co-op’s exclusive pink champagne Les Pionniers Rosé Champagne (£21.99, 12% abv) which is created for the retailer by Piper Heidsieck. It’s a must-have crisp sparkler for summer celebrations with its lush, ripe strawberries,
red fruits and a lick of lemon.
Majestic’s tasting was at the Oval, a famous cricket ground, I believe. I’ll come back to Majestic wines another time but for now here are two released in shops this week – Elara Albarino Waimea Estate 2016 (£9.99 in a buy six deal, 13% abv – peach,
guava and pear) and Elara Oaked Sauvignon Blanc 2017 (same price and abv, zesty and complex). I hovered over them, sipping and sniffing, watching groundsmen doing cricketythings. These wines are “wigig” – which means “when its gone its gone”. Have fun folks.