Enjoy luxury wines for less
These affordable styles offer a powerhouse of flavour, without the high price tag. By Sam Wylie-harris...
HERE’S how to drink smart and switch out some swish styles from famous regions for something a little less spendy…
CHÂTEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE
One of the most famous labels in the world, this southern rhône blend – key varieties are grenache, syrah and mourvèdre – seduces us with its grace and strength, expressive aromas of red and black fruits, hints of garrigue herbs, savoury spice and smooth, velvety palate.
Sophie Lord, Virgin Wines’ head of buying, says this blend of grapes with its bold structure can be replicated in a lower-cost
Australian or French GSM blend.
“Elsewhere in the rhône, GSM wines are being made and they possess many of the same qualities to Châteauneuf-du-pape, but at a fraction of the price as they’re not as well-known, such as Lirac AOC.
“Or you could spend even less on some Languedoc wines which use this same blend. GSM blends coming out of sunny Australia are also worth a try – look to Barossa for a powerhouse of flavour,” she adds.
MARLBOROUGH SAUVIGNON BLANC
A racy style we can’t drink enough aromatic tropical fruits leap from the glass with vivid grassy notes, flavours range from pronounced gooseberry to passion fruit, peas, nettles, capsicum and ripe stone fruits, ending with zippy acidity.
Ben Cahill, Co-op wine buyer, says to set your sights on Chile, particularly the Leyda Valley region, with an enviable climate for growing sauvignon blanc.
“The vines are planted close to the Pacific Ocean and benefit from the cooling sea breeze which helps the grapes to fully ripen. Bursting with bold, tropical fruit flavour, very similar to the punchy wines of Marlborough, with a bracing, refreshing acidity.”
of,
BORDEAUX
The red wine capital of the world, who wouldn’t love to hold the keys to a resplendent château with a wellstocked cellar safeguarding wines with good ageing potential?
“Split into two halves, on the Left
Bank are prized appellations like
Pauillac, Margaux and Graves, while the right Bank houses iconic names like St-émilion and
Pomerol, where some wines cost up to 4,000 Euros for a single bottle,” notes Lord.
As she points out, the most prominent Bordeaux grape blend is a mix of cabernet sauvignon and merlot, which produces a fullbodied, savoury style with grippy tannins – and usually noticeable oak.
“It’s pretty well replicated in cabernet merlot blends from South Africa, especially wines from Stellenbosch,” says Lord. “Another great alternative is a Lebanese cabernet blend, a worthy contender with a similar style to Bordeaux.”
PROVENCE ROSÉ
Fashionable and a wine of the times, top quality Provence rosés exhibit attractive strawberry aromas, a complex range of fruits from dried cherry to redcurrant, to peach, gentle silky texture with balanced acidity and freshness. Usually a blend of cinsault and grenache, these ballet slipper pinks don’t come cheap.
“Look for a pale rosé made from a blend of cinsault and grenache,” suggests Lord. “If you want to keep to France, then the Languedoc is a great place to start – but my top tip is to look out for any rosé wines with IGP Méditerranée on the label.
“That’s because it will be a wine drenched in Mediterranean sunshine and caressed by the Mistral, just like the vines of Provence, but at a lower cost.”
For an alternative, Spanish soils shouldn’t be overlooked. As Cahill puts it: “Provence may be traditionally seen as king when it comes to rosé, but there are plenty of winemakers from other countries who have taken note and are producing beautiful, pale and seductive pinks of their own.
“This Spanish rosé has a beautiful pastel pink hue which was selected by Co-op members and has a bewitching, delicate palate of strawberries and ripe summer fruits.”
RED BURGUNDY
With its silky texture, floral aromas, rapturous palate of cranberries, raspberries and gentle red berries, fine red Burgundy is cited as the pinnacle for pinot noir. However, this fickle, thin-skinned grape is notoriously difficult to grow, sensitive to its surroundings and prefers a moderate climate.
Lord says the key to finding a more affordable alternative to red Burgundy finding a region that shares a similar climate.
“Pinot Noir made in German wine regions (where it’s called Spätburgunder) tends to be of outstanding quality, thanks to the cool climate fussy pinot noir adores.”
With an annual output that’s only just behind France’s, Lord says German pinot noir has garnered quite the reputation in recent years, admired for its freshness, gentle tannins, crisp acidity and graceful body. is
MAE’R actores, cyfarwyddwraig a sgriptwraig Jessica Hynes yn adnabyddus i filiynau o wylwyr fel “Cheryl from next door” yn y rhaglen boblogaidd The Royle Family, ac wedi serennu ar y sgrin fawr mewn nifer o ffilmiau fel Bridget Jones.
Jessica fydd y seleb nesa’ i fynd ar Iaith Ar Daith ar S4C nos yfory. Ac i helpu hi ar ei ffordd, cynnig cymorth a gosod sawl her bydd actores boblogaidd arall – Lisa Palfrey.
Er i Jessica gael ei magu yn Brighton cyn iddi symud i Lundain, mae gwreiddiau ei chyndeidiau’n ddwfn yng Nghymru, gan mai un o
Laneilian ger Bae Colwyn oedd ei Nain. Y dyhead i fedru cyfathrebu yn Gymraeg gyda’i mam yw ei sbardun dros ddysgu’r iaith: “Mae fy mam yn siarad Cymraeg,” meddai Jessica, sydd eisoes wedi treulio tri mis yn dysgu’r iaith. “os ydw i’n llwyddo i ddweud unrhyw beth yn Gymraeg iddi, mi fase hi’n hapus iawn. Dw i’n gobeithio fydda i’n medru.”
Tydi’r ddwy actores erioed wedi cwrdd o’r blaen, ond mae Lisa Palfrey yn edrych ymlaen at roi help llaw i Jessica gydag ambell her ieithyddol – a mwy – ar hyd y daith.
“Sa’i erioed wedi cwrdd â Jessica o’r blaen ond dw i’n meddwl bod hi’n fenyw hynod o dalentog,
dw i’n siŵr bod hi’n hynod o ddoeth, a dw i’n siŵr bod hi’n laff – y cyfuniad perffaith!” meddai Lisa.
“Dw i’n edrych ymlaen i deithio rownd gogledd Cymru, achos dyma lle mae ei theulu’n dod. A jest cael lot fawr o hwyl yn dangos rhyfeddodau gogledd Cymru iddi.”
Yn ystod eu siwrne, bydd y ddwy’n ymweld ag Amgueddfa Lloyd George ym mhentref Llanystumdwy, sy’n gartref i ystafell ddosbarth o Oes Fictoria, ble maen nhw’n cael clywed hanes y Welsh Not.
Fe gawn nhw flas o ddiwylliant wrth glywed barddoniaeth a cherddoriaeth werin fyw yn nhafarn y Glôb ym Mangor, a chyfle i gwrdd â chriw gweithgar Cangen Llanrug o Ferched y Wawr lle mae’r ddwy’n cael cyfle i feirniadu gwaith llaw’r aelodau.
Yn nhŷ lleiaf Prydain yng Nghonwy, y dasg o werthu tocynnau i ymwelwyr sy’n wynebu Jess. Ond mae’r her fwyaf i ddod, a hynny yn eglwys pentref Llaneilian, lle mae mam Jess a’i chefnder Chris yn eu croesawu. Mae Chris wedi trefnu sialens go unigryw i Jess – mae côr wedi ymgynnull yn yr eglwys i ganu emyn, a thasg Jess fydd canu’r pennill gyntaf ar ei phen ei hun. Sut hwyl gaiff hi tybed? Bydd raid gwylio nos yfory.
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Iaith ar Daith, S4C, yfory, 8yh
Without Sin
Monday, ITV, 9pm
Line Of Duty star Vicky Mcclure, pictured,
goes back to her native Nottingham for this four-part drama, which is showing across consecutive evenings.
She plays Stella Tomlinson, a grieving mother whose 14-year-old daughter Maisy was found dead in the family home, with the bloodied, hooded figure of Charles Stone (Johnny Harris) standing over her. Three years on from her devastating loss, Stella is struggling. When she’s contacted by
Restorative Justice, Stella agrees to go to the prison to talk to Charles in person, expecting he will apologise for killing Maisy. How will she react when he insists he was framed and suggests that she dig deeper into the case?
Waterloo Road
Tuesday, BBC1, 8pm
The school drama only returned to our screens after an eight-year hiatus in January, but fans are already getting another term of romances and friendships. Viewers will be keen to know whether Kim’s old flame Andrew is back with good intentions or not.
Meanwhile, a community football match gets under way and new boy Myles, who has been let go by a football academy and is struggling to come to terms with a life back in mainstream education, makes it clear that he’s not there to make friends.