Top up for Jubilee
The four-day bank holiday weekend in June won’t be repeated any time soon – so cash on in price cuts at Asda while you can.
Asda has long been the go-to supermarket for good value drinking and this month there is even better value in the aisles as much of the Extra Special range is reduced in price. The best deals have knocked 25 per cent off the price of some wines, while others are reduced by £1 and in some cases 50p which doesn’t seem much, but they are often the wines that are just great value anyway.
Unlike many stores, you don’t need to buy by the half-dozen to get the offer, a single bottle will do. But with such cracking deals on the shelves, it might be worth looking ahead and stocking up. Now that lockdowns seem to have ended and we are all starting to see friends and relatives on a regular basis again, there will be the need to build up a collection of bottles to pour when people turn up. And with the long June Jubilee weekend this year, it makes sense to start stockpiling now. A four-day weekend is something to celebrate with garden gatherings and barbecues.
Here are the best buys in the Asda offer plus a few others that are not reduced but are still excellent value.
Whites
Extra Special Pinot Grigio Trentino 2020, Italy, down from £6.50 to £4.88 until March 23: Pinot Grigio can range in taste from frankly nothing to ripe pears, crisp apples and even a hint of orange zest. It all depends on where you plant your grapes and how much you expect the vine to produce. This PG comes from the mountainous region of Trentino, where cool air rolls down the hills, keeping all those flavours in the grapes. It will drink well all through summer.
Extra Special Sauvignon Blanc 2021, Western Cape, South Africa, down from £7 to £5.25 until March 23: Fresh, lively, citrus and pineapple flavours in this crisp and zesty Sauvignon. If you have found New Zealand Sauvignon climbing a little high in price, try this great value version from South Africa.
Extra Special Gavi 2020, Italy, down from £8 to £6 until March 23: This comes from Araldica, one of the best producers in the region. Made from the classic Cortese grape, it is distinctly food-friendly with crisp apple, ripe pear and a streak of greengage on the palate. Try it with grilled scallops.
Extra Special Fiano, Terre Siciliane,2020, Sicily, £6: Not part of the special offer but this wine offers great flavour for money. The Fiano grape was once on the edge of extinction but now it has been replanted, especially in Sicily where it gives peachy, apricot and greengage flavours.
Extra Special Albariño 2020, Rías Baixas, Spain, down
BORDER COUNTRY: Alsace produces some excellent sparkling Crémant for the Asda range; inset left, Argentinian Malbec grapes.
from £8.50 to £7.50 until March 23: Albariño is especially quaffable in summer, but it is good now too, heralding spring flowers in its floral aromas with peach, tangerine and apricot flavours. Try with grilled fish, fishcakes and herby salads.
Reds
Extra Special Malbec 2020, San Juan, Argentina, down from £7 to £5.25 until March 23: Bright and juicy with plenty of dark fruit and a definite streak of spice on the finish. Soft and food friendly, especially if there are sausages on the plate.
Extra Special Rioja Reserva 2018, Spain, down from £8 to £6 until March 23:
Good positive dark red fruits, layered with vanilla oak and finished with a dusting of spice. Swirl it around in the glass to let the flavours really open out.
Extra Special Pinot Noir 2020, Leyda, Chile, down from £6.50 to £6 until March 23: Not a spectacular price reduction but this is a reliable Pinot from a very good producer. It comes from the cool region of Leyda, near the coast with breezes wafting in from the Pacific. It has soft, rounded red and black cherry fruit, a supple backbone and enough weight to take on grilled duck breast or a rare steak.
Extra Special Marqués del Norte Rioja Gran Reserva 2014, Spain, down from £11.50 to £8.63: Despite having spent a minimum of two years ageing in oak barrels, the real feature of this wine is the fruit. Fresh-tasting blackberry, cherry and plum flavours are supported by hints of clove and chocolate. The oak is in the background, lending weight and style. Malamado Malbec, Zuccardi, Mendoza, Argentina, £11.33: Asda must have picked up a parcel of this outstanding fortified wine and found that it is difficult to sell outside the Christmas period, hence the bargain price. Pick up a bottle if you see it. It is like a port, made with Malbec grapes, sweet but not over-sweet and full of bramble and spice. It goes fabulously well with a late-night chunk of cheese, and it keeps for ages even when opened.
Fizz
Extra Special Mas Miralda Brut Rosé Cava, Spain, down from £7 to £5.25: A great good value sparkler with plenty of light strawberry fruit and just an edge of sweetness which helps it go down a treat. Great for sipping in the garden on a sunny day.
Extra Special Organic Prosecco Brut, Italy, down from £8 to £6 until March 23: Nicely presented in a rounded, oldstyle bottle, this has floral scents and frothy apple and ripe pear flavours. No need to wait for a special occasion to open this fizz. Its great value price means that it is suitable for Fridays, pets’ birthdays and getting a good mark for your child’s homework.
Crémant d’Alsace, Metz, France, £8.99: A delicious, crisp bubbly made from a blend of Pinot Blanc, Auxerrois, Riesling and Pinot Gris, and then aged for two years to gather depth and complexity. Stylishly packaged in distinctive bottle, this looks and tastes well above its price point, even without being in the price reduction deal.
Asquith Gardens English Sparkling Wine, £18: Sounding very much like a desirable residential area in Harrogate, the name of this wine harks back to the days of the Asquith family who started out with a butcher’s shop in Knottingley and eventually merged with Associated Dairies to form the Asda chain. Made from the classic Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier grapes, and aged on lees for five years this has fresh, clean, summer garden aromas with citrus and biscuity notes.