Coming of age
M&S’s new 18-strong Classic wine range offers plenty to tickle the taste buds this summer without breaking the bank.
apparently will not be part of the usual price promotions. But the real test is the taste, so I pulled the corks and twisted the screwcaps of a significant chunk of the range. These are the ones I like best... Pinot Grigio delle Venezie 2019, No. 4, Italy, £7: Supermarket shelves are awash with Pinot Grigio, much of it soft and anonymous, but this one has flavour – ripe pear and crisp apple fruit, with lemon zest mid-palate. Good enough as an aperitif, but this is a wine that will happily see you through a summer lunch.
Touraine Sauvignon Blanc 2019, No. 32, Loire, £8: If you are used to New Zealand Sauvignon, you will like this, yet appreciate its difference. It is aromatic and fresh, with leafy, white flowers and ripe pear notes and a long, dry finish.
Gavi 2019, No 3, Italy, £8: Gavi is in the beautiful Piemonte region of northern Italy, and it is the Cortese grape that gives this wine its greengage, fennel and herby character. Dry, with a mouth-filling texture that will stand its ground against risotto, creamy pasta or even salmon. Mineralstein Riesling 2019, No. 2, Pfalz, Germany, £9.50: Most new wine ranges wouldn’t bother to have a German
Riesling, but I am delighted to find this one. If you haven’t drunk a German Riesling for decades then why not start now? The supplier, Gerd Stepp, was a winemaker with Marks & Spencer for several years and with that experience behind him, he knows exactly what this retailer is looking for. The grapes come from Gerd’s own vineyard and those of his neighbours, and the wine’s name, Mineralstein, reflects the minerally
Studio by Miraval Rosé 2019, IGP Méditerranée, France, 13%, Co- op, down from £ 12 to £ 11 until July 21: Made from a whole bunch of Southern French grapes, this is silky with refreshing flavours of redcurrants, raspberries and nectarines.