Battle of the bottles
The supermarket wine contest has started as customers hunt the best buys for autumn and Christmas. Christine Austin chooses her personal favourites under £10 from two Northern competitors.
IT was all change at the Morrisons tasting last week. This was the first opportunity to look at the Morrisons range of wines since long-standing head buyer Mark Jarman decided to move on. In his place is experienced buyer Emma Jenkinson who has stepped up into the role from the wine-buying team. Just a few days before, Asda had opened a huge selection of its wines, at its London tasting for journalists. Many of these wines were new vintages or new blends and in charge of sourcing them is Cliff Donaldson, who, until three years ago, was on the Morrisons buying team.
So it was interesting to consider these supermarkets against each other. Has one managed to sneak ahead of the other in flavour for money and consistency? Between them, Asda and Morrisons have around 25 per cent of the UK’s spend on groceries and the fact that they are both Yorkshire based means that they don’t just have stores here, they employ a lot of head office people here too. Are they keeping an eye on their Northern customers as well as their Southern ones, making sure they pack plenty of flavour in those wines and still provide value for money?
Here are my best buys at £10 or under from each of these Northern giants.
ASDA
■ Le Manoir Viognier 2022, £4.95: Remarkable value in this light, crisp wine with apricot and peach flavours and a touch of spice. Team it with roast pork and lightly spiced dishes.
■ Wine Atlas Feteasca Regala 2022, Romania, £6.25: acked full of delicious aromatic honeysuckle notes with peach, crunchy apples and a sprinkle of spice. Try this alongside a lightly spiced dish of prawns.
■ Extra Special Gran Reserva Sauvignon Blanc 2022, Chile, £7.75: A vibrant, lively citrus and passion-fruit style of Sauvignon that works well as an aperitif but will also accompany salads, grilled fish and crab.
■ Extra Special South African Chenin Blanc 2021, £7.75: A silver medal winner in the International Wine Challenge, this has rounded, textured, crunchy apple, citrus and honeysuckle flavours. Perfect with chicken and tuna.
■ Extra Special Barossa Valley Chardonnay, Australia, £8.75: Australian Chardonnay used to be all about oak but now it is definitely about fruit. This has honeydew melon fruit with a rounded style and a fresh, citrus finish. Team it with a creamy risotto or pasta.
REDS
■ Extra Special Douro 2021, Portugal, £7.50: This is a chunky, positive wine with dark cherries, plums and savoury tobacco notes. Perfect with roast lamb.
■ Extra Special Bordeaux Supérieur 2021, France, £8: The main problem with this wine is the label. I am sure it is intended to be classic but it really is boring. So look past the label and taste the wine. Terrific style with soft cassis fruit, a hint of meat-friendly grip and a long finish.
■ Extra Special Chilean Merlot, Colchagua Valley, Chile, £8: Full of blackberry, cherry and plum flavours with supple tannins and a friendly finish. These are Saturday night flavours at a Wednesday night price.
■ Extra Special Barossa Shiraz, Australia, £8.75: his is a wine to be bought by the case
and rolled out during the long, chilly months ahead. With an immediate, dark damson nose, a rounded blackberry palate and a definite twist of spice on the finish, it will go wonderfully with sausages and mash.
■ Marques del Norte Extra Special Rioja Reserva 2018, Spain, £9: Fresh-tasting blackberry, cherry and plum flavours supported by hints of clove and chocolate. There is some oak but the fruit shines out.
MORRISONS
■ The Best Pecorino 2022, Abruzzo, Italy, £7.50: With bright citrus fruit, touches of pineapple and a delicious, rounded finish, this goes well with herb-dusted chicken.
■ The Best Verdicchio 2021, Italy, £8: This is a stylish curvy bottle, with stylish wine inside. Fresh and lively with pears, honey and a sprinkle of herbs, it goes well with fish and salads.
■ The Best South African Sauvignon
Blanc 2023, £8.50: Made by Trizanne Barnard, one of the most dynamic talented female wine makers in the Cape, this is fresh and bright with passionfruit and pear notes and a citrus finish.
■ The Best French Chardonnay 2022, £10:
If you have avoided Chardonnay for a while, then try this light, fresh style of the grape from the Languedoc. Made with just enough oak maturation to add texture, not flavour, it is perfect alongside chicken and creamy pasta.
■ The Best Grüner Veltliner 2022, Austria, £10: With stone fruit flavours and a touch of spice, this is a great introduction to the Grüner Veltliner grape. Try it with grilled fish.
REDS
■ The Best Primitivo 2021, Italy, £8.75: From the sun-soaked “heel” of Italy, this is ripe and soft, full of dark plum fruit, finished with chocolate and spice notes.
■ The Best South African Pinotage 2022, £8: This is a great example of the new-look Pinotage coming out of South Africa. Gone are the dull, stewed flavours and now in their place are brighter mulberry and plum notes with a chunky, winter style. Well worth a try.
■ The Best Cahors Malbec 2020, France, £9: Malbec started out in France before it found its home in Argentina. This is a taste of the original, with big mulberry fruit, a hint of spice and enough structure to handle a steak.
■ The Best Côtes du Rhône Villages 2022, France, £9: Full of soft, ripe, cherry and damson flavours with enough flavours and weight to pour alongside a meaty casserole..
■ The Best Marques de los Rios Rioja Reserva 2017, £10: A consistent, well-made Rioja with lively red fruit, thyme and rosemary notes and a creamy, food-friendly finish. Good enough for Sunday lunch.