Pooled resources
They’re swimming in wine Down Under after frosty diplomatic relations cooled trade from Australia to China. Christine Austin examines the bargains that have reached UK shelves.
IT is always fascinating when buses, football pitches and Olympic swimming pools are used as units of measurement. Just how big are they, and do they make the situation easier to understand? While Australia copes with an excess of wine, they have used the vision of 850 Olympic swimming pools to demonstrate just how much is still sloshing around in tanks this winter. With another grape harvest almost ready to pick there is a degree of urgency about how to deal with it.
Olympic pools are not small. When I last ventured out of my cosy little local pool into one of Olympic proportions, I was astonished just how far it was from end to end. So, if you are also baffled by pools, let me put it this way. If all the excess Australian wine is bottled and then piled up in a column one bottle on top of another, they would stretch to the moon and back, with some left over.
That is a vast amount of wine, and the real problem is that it is not bad wine. Excess can be caused by all kinds of things, and it is a spat between China and Australia that caused their thriving trade in red wine to suddenly shut down. The great shame is that the Australian grape growers have seen all this before. Decades ago, there was a similar glut which caused many producers to look at their vines and pull some of them out. The trouble is that it is always the old vines that get pulled. Those majestic old vines that have put their roots down deep, battled through all the changing weather patterns for decades, or maybe a century and as they age, they produce fewer grapes but with much bigger, complex flavours. These are the ones that go on the bonfire, and it is a tragedy to lose all that important vine DNA.
So, as we come to the end of the self-inflicted period of abstinence known as dry January it is worth looking at the Australian wine shelves to see if there are bargains waiting to be snapped up. It is also worth tucking away some of the old vine wines too – it might save some of them from the chop.
THE BARGAINS
■ McGuigan Classic Cabernet Sauvignon 2022, South Australia, Asda £5.25: Considering that half the price of this wine goes to the Chancellor in duty, with VAT on top, it is surprising just how good this wine is. Deep in colour with plum and cassis fruit and a smooth easy finish. Team it with meaty pasta or a lamb chop.
■ Andrew Peace Black Label Signature Shiraz 2023, Australia, Morrisons down from £6.50 to £5.50 until February 14: Well worth its full price, this is a genuine bargain while it is on offer. It has soft, rounded brambly black fruit with a hint of spice, supple tannins and a creamy finish. Perfect with casseroles and cheese.
■ Oxford Landing Merlot 2023, South Australia, Booths down from £8 to £6.75 until February 13: I recently re-tasted my way through the whole of the Oxford Landing range and was really impressed by the quality of wine they manage to get in the bottle. On offer they are terrific value. This Merlot has bags of plush, velvety red fruits with raspberry and red cherry notes. Owned by Yalumba, Oxford Landing wines are all made in a sustainable way.
■ Botham All Rounder Cabernet Sauvignon 2021, South Eastern Australia,
Booths down from £8.75 to £6.75 until February 13: A blend of grapes from selected vineyards across South Eastern Australia with some coming from the cool region of McLaren Vale. Always good and reliable, this has blackberry and cherry fruit, with a streak of earthy spice and ending with just a touch of mint.
WORTH STOCKING UP
■ The Best Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2021, Morrisons down from £10 to £7.50 until February 14: It is the red soil of the Terra Rossa that makes Coonawarra wines so special. Then there is the cool breeze that comes off the ocean, so ripening is slow, developing complex, delicious flavours. With deep black cherry and blueberry flavours, layered with pepper and chocolate this tastes well above its price point. Stock up.
■ Grant Burge Shiraz 2021, South Australia, Waitrose down from £9.99 to £7.49 until January 30: Get on the website or dash to your local store to stock up with this wine before the offer ends. Packed full of heart-warming flavours with plums, brambles and spice, this goes perfectly with winter casseroles.
■ Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2021, South Australia, Morrisons, down from £11 to £9 until February 14: A flagship brand for great value drinking, full of blackberry and blackcurrant fruit, laced with spice.
■ Taste the Difference Barossa Shiraz 2021, Sainsbury’s down from £12.50 to £10.50 until January 31: The Barossa makes wines with deep, rich flavours that are just perfect for this time of year, and this has layers of blackberry and plum fruit, layered with spice. Pick up several bottles for drinking now, but it won’t come to any harm for the next year or so. It will also go wonderfully with the first sausages to come off the barbecue when spring arrives.
SAVE OLD VINES FROM THE BONFIRE
■ Old Vine Grenache 2021, South Australia, Marks and Spencer down from £8 to £7: A lively, bright wine full of raspberry, cranberry and plum flavours, with a touch of spice on the finish. Team this with charcuterie or a pizza, and this one is also good if lightly chilled. It comes from 60-year-old vines in Australia’s Riverlands.
■ Summer Road Old Vine Grenache 2021, Riverland, South Australia, Waitrose
£9.49 down to £7.49 until January 30: Lively, crunchy red berry fruit made from Grenache vines planted in the 1940s for returning soldiers and this is one of the last remaining soldier blocks. This is a wine that drinks really well with a simple supper or a plate of pasta, but when the warm weather comes it will be terrific chilled down and sipped in sunshine.