THE DRINKER
EAT - DRINK - BE MERRY
PAST DRINKS OF THE WEEK
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2022 Past Drinks of The Week
DRINK OF THE WEEK
27th December 2022
Grapevine Pinot Grigio
Aldi £3.79
Drinker Rating 89
Cost of living crisis you say? Well no worries here at The Drinker, you'll have seen last week's Drink of the Week was a fab rosé from Tesco at only £4.30 - well this week we're going one better with a wonderful Pinot Grigio from Aldi and this time it's only £3.79.
So what to expect? Well, don't think that your word will change on drinking this, but it is a perfectly acceptable white with enough light lemon and white floral notes. Great for a party or if you're on a real tight budget.
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
12th December 2022
Caparelli Italian Blush
Tesco £4.30
Drinker Rating 90
So what do we want from our rosé?
Pretty - Tick
Dry - Tick
Fresh - Tick
Fruity - Tick
Affordable - Tick
This is a wine that ticks all of the boxes, light, easy and fresh, some interesting fruit character and under a fiver!
Let's not get to fraught with rosé, let's keep it simple and this is just the ticket to be your house pink for Christmas.
There's 25% off when you buy 6 bottles from Tesco now using a Club Card - sadly, as this wine is under a fiver it's not available in this offer, but do check out my Tesco vids on ">Youtube and TikTok and for all my recommendations click the link to the left on this page.
DRINK OF THE WEEK
5th December 2022
Blended Scotch Whisky
Marks and Spencer £18.00
Drinker Rating 91
To mix things up Drink of the Week this week is a whisky! This is a cracker and part of a range of great spirits that M&S are offering all at £18 - look out for the French Brandy, London Dry Gin and Spiced Rum too.
This is a lovely blended whisky, it's got enough dried fruit, orange peel and Christmas spice character to stand on its own but it would make a great Rob Roy or be a lovely evening pick me up with a dash of soda water.
Looks great, tastes great and is very much in the affordable category - top job.
Check out my TikTok Review
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
28th November 2022
Taste The Difference Barbera D'Asti
Sainsbury's £7.00
Drinker Rating 89
25% OFF CLAXON!
In an attempt to pull you in to do your big Christmas shop loads of retailers are running wine promotions - most (as is this one at Sainsbury's) are 25% off when you buy six bottles.
There's also a pound off this particular wine right now - down to £7 from £8.
This is a fabulous food wine, enough fruity character and tannic structure to match with winter dishes, think stew, bolognese and hearty roasts - but equally it's interesting enough to be sipped by the fire in the darker nights.
A perfect winter wine.
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
21st November 2022
Loved and Found Sciaccarellu
Waitrose £8.99
Drinker Rating 89
Rosé is an odd beast isn't it - it sometimes feels that winemakers don't really take it seriously, occasionally it's sold at WAY too expensive a price - particularly if it has a celebrity endorsement and very often it's just poor quality.
But what do we want from our pink wine? Very often we're simply after something light, pretty, dry and with just a hint of red berry character. But sometimes we need something with a little more depth and this is just the ticket - from Corsica and made with the sciaccarellu grape this is part of the every brilliant and ever growing Loved and Found range at Waitrose.
It's perfectly lovely but also has some interesting peach and raspberry notes - would make an excellent winter house rosé.
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
31st October 2022
Abbotts and Delaunay Malbec
Majestic £8.99
Drinker Rating 98
Malbec's become a bit of a go-to grape variety and most of the stuff on the market is made in Argentina - but it's a variety that has its home in France. In Bordeaux it's known as 'cot' and this one is from the Languedoc.
This is a great example of the French getting hold of one of the older and more traditional grapes and making it something new - dare I say new world in style?
It's got a wonderful bold fruit forward beginning, all bramble and black cherry, which then develops into liquorice and pepper spice and finishes on a new leather savoury note. There's lots to like here, do look out for the other Abbots and Delaunay wines, two of which feature in my film below.
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
17th October 2022
Colpasso Nero d'Avola Appassimento
Morrisons £9.00
Drinker Rating 90
I'm all for these big hearty Italian reds at this time of year, proper wines to keep the chill out and great sippers outside by a bonfire.
Appassimento is the process of drying grapes before they are fermented, this intensifies all the fruit flavour and sugars in the grape jucie and it leads to big, warming wines crammed with rich, deep, complex fruit character.
Two additional things, first there's 25% off when you buy any 4 bottles at Morrisons right now - second, go look up El Vino Collapso by Black Lace, it'll have v=you humming along with this Colpasso.
Cheers!
10th October 2022
Specially Selected Castelore Valpolicella Ripasso
Aldi £7.99
Drinker Rating 90
With the leaves changing and the cooler nights upon us we're in need of a bit of a big old hug from a glass of wine right now.
Italian ripasso wines always have a lovely spiced warmth to them, cloves, vanilla and nutmeg backing up velvety fruit, in this case black cherry and bramble - this is a cracker for an autumn evening and works really well with food too.
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
3rd October 2022
Coastal Region Pinotage
Lidl £5.49
Drinker Rating 90
So the leaves are turning, the sky is darkening and we must make haste or we shall be forced to make camp!
If we do make camp we'll need a lovely warming red to salve our cockles and this Fairtrade Pinotage from South Africa will be just the ticket.
It has a lovely light plum and blueberry palate with a background spice and a lovely earthy tarmac finish - affordable complexity - just look at the price - all this wine for under five and a half quid!
Get on down to Lidl and stock up on this beautiful seasonal wine.
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
26th September 2022
Trapiche Merlot
Tesco £7.00
Drinker Rating 90
Still on the hunt for great value? It's well worth searching out the occasional 25% off deals that many of the big supermarkets run - Tesco and Sainsbury's have them on right now which makes this wine an even bigger bang for your buck (currently £1.03!).
This is a wonderfully warm and generous Argentinian merlot, soft and silky as you'd expect but with a little added oak it makes it all the easier as a weekday sipper.
Ful on black fruit with a lovely spiced, cedar and vanilla back drop, at only £7 and £5.25 if you buy any 6 bottles, it's an awesome bargain.
Get down to Tesco and stock up while offers last!
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
19th September 2022
Found Nerello Cappuccio
Marks and Spencer £7.00
Drinker Rating 90
I'm loving it that many of the big retailers are making a virtue of finding lesser known wines, that's both new grape varieties and also regions we might not be familiar with.
The M&S Found range is wonderful and it produced this brilliant Nerello Cappuccio a wonderful floral and spiced red from Sicily.
It's got a lovely rose petal and violet nose backed up with elegant black fruit on the palate, not too tannic - it would work really well with a bolognese.
Go explore, try something different, you never know, you might like it!
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
12th September 2022
Taste the Difference Gaillac Rouge
Sainsbury's £8.00
Drinker Rating 90
This is a really interesting blend of grapes, including bruacol (no, me neither), syrah, merlot and duras. It comes from Gaillac (near Toulouse) - and it a great multi-purpose wine.
With a Bank Holiday coming up and the chance of a BBQ but equally a chance of rain, this wine will work well for both.
It's got some lovely deep black fruit notes and a beautiful hint of wood smoke, Real complexity, very generous and only £8.00!
Great for a lovely long weekend.
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
5th September 2022
Terre di Faiano Organic Primitivo
Waitrose £7.99 offer from £9.99 to 27/09
Drinker Rating 90
According to Waitrose it's Organic Month and they're reducing the price of all 100 organic wines in their range to 27th Sept. They're reporting that sales of organic wine have increased by over a third in the last three years so it's clearly of interest to consumers.
The one I've selected from the Waitrose is a lovely cherry and violet scented primitivo from Puglia - full on with powerful oak and intense fruit, this is a belter.Buy and few bottles for the colder nights incoming.
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
29th August 2022
Incanta Romanian Pinot Noir
Majestic £6.49 Mix 6 Price
Drinker Rating 90
It's another one of those dual purpose wines this week - pinot noir is so useful as an apt wine as the season's change - it's a much lighter red berry with a thinner skin, producing elegant, fruity reds that in Burgundy have the ability to develop into something really exceptional.
This one's from Romania and it's got that lovley bright strawberry and violet character moving into cherry and balckcurrant, could be chilled or work well with a late season BBQ.
Top stuff at a great price.
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
22nd August 2022
Extra Special Fleurie
Asda £8.50
Drinker Rating 90
25% off when buying 6 bottles CLAXON!
So it's August Bank Holiday and naturally we can't work out what the weather's doing, hot and dry, hot and muggy, stormy, rainy - how the hell are we supposed to enjoy the last knockings of summer with weather like this?
The answer's quite simple really, we need a good dual purpose red, good for the coller, wetter days but also shines on the hotter days. A red that you can chill for example.
This little belter from Beaujolais is just the ticket, ruby red with light floral perfume and a good dollop of cherry fruit to it - there you go, cherries, perfect hot and cold! And with 25% off when buying 6 bottles at Asda right now, stock up for the Bank Hol.
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
15th August 2022
Organic Pinoit Grigio
Morrisons £7.25
Drinker Rating 90
With a Bank Holiday just around the corner I think we're still in summer party season and what you need for such a do is an affordable fresh white wine with a bit of character. This is just the ticket - lovely flinty nose and bags of apple and lemon zippiness on the palate, fresh, simple and light, chill well and serve straight or with soda water over lots of ice.
Simple wines like this are much under-rated - this fits the bill perfectly and OFFER ALERT! - buy 3 and get 25% off right now.
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
8th August 2022
Specially Selected Ribolla Gialla
Aldi £6.99
Drinker Rating 90
Drinks Sale Alert! Aldi have a sale n in the booze department this week - get down there to see some real bargains - particulalry if you're into you brown spirits - the scotch and brandy is well worth a punt - most bottles under £20 and all pretty good.
If you're looking for wine you can see all my recommendations from Aldi by clicking the link to the left here and my seasonal under a tenner picks on YouTube via the link below.
One of this seasons choices is this wonderfully light sparkler from Italy - it doesn't matter if you can't pronounce it, it's a belter at the price. Super, affordable fizz.
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
1st August 2022
Winemakers Selection Fairtrade Shiraz
Lidl £5.49
Drinker Rating 90
So back to my theory that if a supermarket puts its own name on a wine it's always going to be reliable - this works in most supermarkets possibly excepting the one where Every Little Helps.
Lidl have a range called Winemaker's Selection and this beauty is from there. They do two shirazes (is that a word) in the range, this Fairtrade one from South Africa and one from Barossa in Australia - look for the one with the elephant and not the boomerang on the label. Although they're both pretty good, this one is £1.50 cheaper.
This is big, bold and generous, fruit driven and powerful, perfect for a BBQ - not going to lose a fight with a burnt sausage and could even be chilled a little.
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
25th July 2022
Porta 6 Portuguese White
Tesco £7.50
Drinker Rating 90
Really steaming into proper white wine season now, so what do we want? Affordable, fresh, dry, characterful wine - introducing Porta 6.
I've covered their reds in the past when they were sold by Majestic and now you can find both reds and white at Tesco - all really well made and all at decent prices.
This one is a blend of Portuguese grapes, peach and pear on the nose with mouthwatering acidity and tropical fruit on the palate with a long finish.
Super stuff in the category and hitting all the right notes.
DRINK OF THE WEEK
18th July 2022
Vibrant and Zesty Sauvignon Blanc
Marks and Spencer £5.00
Drinker Rating 91
When the pinch comes (and it's coming to us all) we're going to need a battalion of affordable and drinkable wines to call upon and here's one for the rosta - only £5 from M&S!
They do a whole range of these wines under the label 'This is...', they're pretty good across the range in both reds and whites and all at a fiver.
This sauvignon comes from South Africa and it's exactly as it says, fresh and zesty, think citrus, lime peel, crisp apple and a touch of fresh cut grass. A affordable real crowd pleaser at the time we need it most!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
4th July 2022
Taste the Difference Fronton-
Negrette Rosé
Sainsbury's £7.50
Drinker Rating 90
The rise of rosé continues apace, particulalry in the summer months - and when this summer eventually takes off we'll be in need of a good affordable pink for the patio.
So this is why I've selected this lovely pretty pink from Fronton down near Toulouse this week - negrette being the grape variety. This is a wonderful drop all violets on the nose, crushed raspberry and blackberry on the palate. It's a rosé that actually tastes of something - dry, refreshing fresh with red berry character
Perfect summer drinking - now bring on the sun!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
27th June 2022
Sous le Soleil Merlot
Waitrose £5.99
Drinker Rating 90
This is a wine that's been on my recommendation list for Waitrose since the Old King died and it's still fabulous and it's still under six quid.
Merlot got very unfashionable (thanks to the film Sideways) but peoples' disdain of it is totally unjustified. As a grape it works really well in blends (Bordeaux and the blends of Margaret River for example) but it also holds it's own as the star of the show too.
This is quite light and simple, red rather than black fruit on the nose, but is full of ripe bramble in the mouth.
A lovely wine from Waitrose and at a discount price too.
DRINK OF THE WEEK
20th June 2022
The Men In White Coats Viognier
Majestic £6.99
Drinker Rating 91
So if you didn't know (or frankly aren't interested) the cricket season is upon us and England are currently thumping New Zeaand in the Tests and walloping Netherlands in the one day game - so it's full steam ahead for leather upon willow action.
Interestingly Majestic now sell a lovely cricket related wine, The Men In White Coats - a lively viognier from South Africa. The men referred to are cricket umpires so all good there.
The wine is a crackerjack of a bargain at under seven quid and is bursting with peach and apricot with a floral honeysuckle back-note, dry, refreshing and great value.
DRINK OF THE WEEK
13th June 2022
Extra Special Pinot Grigio Rosé
Asda £6.00
Drinker Rating 89
With the HOT weather coming what we're after is a lovely house cooler to refresh in the sunshine and enjoy as the sun goes down.
This pinot grigio is a perfect multi use pink, cool, dry and refreshing with a hint of crushed raspberry about the nose, it would also make a perfect pink spritzer - chunks of ice, half and half with soda water in a tall glass and a strawberry to dress.
Perfect summer sophistication!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
23rd May 2022
The Best Rueda
Morrisons £7.75
Drinker Rating 89
I'm still keeping a beady eye on the price of the wines I recommend this season and for that matter going into the forseeable future - prices are creeping up everywhere but many wine retailers are doing their damnedest to keep a lid on wine inflation.
Morrisons has always been competitive price-wise and has turned out a good number of keenly priced well made wines over the years. Here's another to add to the list, it's 100% verdejo from Rueda in north-central Spain. Light and refreshing but with a lovely lemon streak running through it, perfect for the BBQ, drinks well with food or on its own.
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
16th May 2022
Valle Hermoso Chilean Pais
Aldi £7.99 (currenly on offer at £6.99)
Drinker Rating 90
As we hurtle towards Barbecue Season we'll be looking for wines to suit a variety of challenges - robust enough to win a fight with a burnt sausage, supple enough to be drunk in the open air and flexible enough to drink with a variety of dishes - while also ticking the boxes of affordability ad simply being interesting to drink.
This is a great contender, you might not be familiar with pais as a grape variety well know in Chile and Spain, it's thin skinned and used for a lot of rose but seems to be coming into it's own as a red.
This one has enough tannic structure to work well with food and it supports a lovely complex nose of violet and smoke and a palate of bramble and black pepper.
First class BBQ wine and on offer right now at Aldi.
DRINK OF THE WEEK
9th May 2022
Winemakers Selection Fairtade Chenin Blanc
Lidl £5.49
Drinker Rating 89
Here's a beauty for when the sun comes out, all lemon drop and grapefruit freshness and lovely mouth-watering acidity. This would make a great party wine, interesting, affordable and really really well made.
Check out all the Winemaker's Selection range from Lidl - they're great across the piece and so well priced you'll wonder why you went anywhere else for your vino.
DRINK OF THE WEEK
25th April 2022
Finest Saint Mont
Tesco £6.50 (£6.00 with a Club Card)
Drinker Rating 90
This is just the wine for springtime, light and quite simple but with enough citrus character to carry it through to the right side of interesting.
Coming from South Western France this is a zippy, fresh and easy wine with peach notes on the nose and fresh acidity on the palate. At only £6 if you have a Tesco Club Card it's exceptional value and well worth considering for your house spring white.
Great value lovely wine.
DRINK OF THE WEEK
18th April 2022
Luis Felipe Edwards Merlot Gran Reserva
Majestic £7.99 mix 6 price
Drinker Rating 90
In these reviews I'm going to start focussing on some of the producers that I really like, these will be mid-range winemakers, not the massive multi-national conglomerates and on the garigistas either but those big enough to supply our bigger retailers while retaining their own character and identity.
First up Luis Felipe Edwards one of the most consistent and progressive producers in Chile founded in 1976. Making reds whites and roses.
This Merlot from Majestic is a fab entry level wine, is't quite big and generous (14.5% alcohol) and is all casis and black cherry on the palate with enough tannic structure to support the wine but not be over-bearing and astringent.
Proper bargain at £7.99
DRINK OF THE WEEK
11th April 2022
Extra Special Carmenere
Asda £6.00
Drinker Rating 90
Easter weekend coming up and you'll need a good multi-purpose red to see off lamb, chocolate, kippers and simnell cake. So here's one for you - a bright and ballsy carmenere, spice, black fruit, vanilla - it's got the works, a perfect example of a workhorse Chillean red.
Oh yes and it's on offer down from £6.50 to only £6.00. And oh yes, Asda currently have 25% off when you buy any six bottles of wine - check out my seasonal review of the best from their list at up to £10 by clicking the link below.
DRINK OF THE WEEK
21st March 2022
La Cascata Passivento
Marks and Spencer £9.00
Drinker Rating 91
This is my kind of wine - i love these Italian reds made from partially dried grapes, they give so much opulence and generosity in the mouth feel and this one is so bit it hasn't had the need for oak ageing, so you get full on unadulterated powerful fruit.
Like the wines of this style it has an alcohol level to match the magnitude of the palate (it says 14% on the bottle but I'd expect it's a touch higher) and this gives a nice warming finish to the wine.
I love this as it's all figs, damson, dried fruits and black cherry - lots and lots of wine for the money.
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
14th March 2022
The Best Marques de los Rios Garnacha
Morrisons £8.50
Drinker Rating 90
I need a complex wine for such a changeable time of the year, something that reminds me of the summer but also has a spicy, ceadary colder months character to it - and this garnacha is just the ticket.
This has enough red berry character to make me think of summer pudding and again enough warming spice to make me think of Christmas. Super wine and it's on offer right now - buy 2 and get 35% off - takes a bottle to under £6.50!
Super multi-purpose wine, buy lots!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
7th March 2022
Specially Selected Roussanne
Aldi £6.99
Drinker Rating 90
You know there's been a bit of sun in the sky this week and so it might be tempting fate to recommend a perfect springtime white - but what the hell!
This wine is what Aldi do SO well - it's all about the balance of quality and affordability - in short the standard that this wine sets for the price is an impossibility. This has a wonderful touch of almond blossom with a lifted lemon acidity on the palate - amazing stuff, classy looking and classy in the glass.
Now bring on the sun!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
28th February 2022
Cimarosa Pinotage
Lidl £3.89
Drinker Rating 89
Cost of living worries getting to you? Interest rates going up, petrol prices through the roof, National Insurance rise soon to kick in and that's before the energy price rises - so we need to start being a bit more frugal with our wine outlay.
The solution is getting yourself down to Lidl and to start us off here's a banger of a South African red, it's all black currant and wood-smoke on the nose with a warming 14% alcohol, bags of character at a really pleasing price - UNDER FOUR QUID!
Amazing, get down there and stock up!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
14th February 2022
Taste the Difference Primitivo
Sainsbury £7.00
Drinker Rating 90
Everyone seems to be doing a primitvo these days - interesting grape variety usually bold and full, lots of spicy bramble and black cherry and often with a hefty dollop of alcohol. In California it's known as Zinfandel but there do seem to be more labelled up as primitivo right now and not only from Italy, many are now made in Australia and South Africa.
This one is from Italy however (puglia in fact) where the grapes ripen fully and provide a really opulent wine, enhanced by the use of some spicy oak. On the Sainsbury's website it's currently listed at £6 - which is an incredible bargain.
Buy lots! Cheers!
7th February 2022
Finest Stellenbosch Pinotage
Tesco £7.50
Drinker Rating 90
Wines from South Africa continue to impress with both quality and value improving year on year. Pinotage is their signature grape variety - a hybrid of pinot noir and cinsaut which seems to thrive in the long ripening period of the Cape.
This wine is made in Stellenbosch by the family owned Stellenrust winery, a fab producer making consistently good wines since the 1920s.
It has a great deal to offer in ripe black fruit character backed up with a complex coffee and chocolate finish. I love this wine and at only £7.50 is a cracker for a cold winter's night.
DRINK OF THE WEEK
31st January 2022
Behind Closed Doors Reserva Red
Majestic £7.99 Mix Six price
Drinker Rating 89
Still pretty cold and stormy out there isn't it? Well I suppose it is still mid-winter so what would I expect? So what we need is a real deep, ripe fruity, hearty wine to warm those toes.
This Portuguese red bland is a belter, it's full on plum and damson with a rich vein of vanilla supporting the fruit - at 14.5% it's a bit of a whopper but just what's needed to keep the cold out - and perfect for a stew, bolognese or moussaka.
There are some crackers at Majestic - particularly in the sub £10 bracket - get yourself off down there and stock up on the good stuff.
DRINK OF THE WEEK
24th January 2022
Wine Atlas Feteasca Regala
Asda £5.00
Drinker Rating 89
Mid-winter, bit of a miserable old time, I don't subscribe to Blue Monday or any of that old bollocks - in my experience depression doesn't tend to follow a calendar.
But how about a little glass of Romanian sunshine - I often think of wine as time capsules of long summers past. Romania is often under-rated when it comes to its wines - and that's great for us as we can leave our prejudice at the supermarket door and pile in for some well made, great value vino.
This has been on my list for a very long time - super value at only a fiver and it shows such class from the wine-maker, clean, precise, fresh and sunny.Just what we need right now.
DRINK OF THE WEEK
17th January 2022
Heredad Del Rey
Waitrose £6.99
Drinker Rating 90
Cold isn't it? What you need is a lovely generous, warming wine - it doesn't need to blow your head off alcohol wise, but it odes need winter spice and body.
This is just the ticket, think cinnamon, bramble, oak and smoke - a velvet smooth wine, real mouth filler with body and depth.
Waitrose is really getting bck into stride now and this is one that's well worth looking out - and look, it's under seven quid!
Amazing wine.
DRINK OF THE WEEK
10th January 2022
Sheppy's Low Alcohol Cider
Generally available approx £1.30 500ml bottle
Drinker Rating 90
Continuing with the low/no alcohol recommendations I really rate this brilliant cider from Sheppy's - it says low alcohol but it's 0.5% - about the same alcohol as you would get in a ripe banana - can we just say 'virtually alcohol free'. So if you're havign a month off the booze I still think this is ok for you.
It's very much like Sheppy's Classic Draught Cider in it's toward medium in sweetness but that's balanced with a really refreshing acidity which makes is bright and mouthwatering - really like biting into a crisp green apple.
Perfect if you're scaling back on the sauce.
DRINK OF THE WEEK
3rd January 2022
Guinness 0.0%
Generally available £4.00 for 4x440ml cans
Drinker Rating 90
I don't do Dry January - it's my birthday month for a start off - bu I know many folk do try to cut down at this time of year and if that's you then you're in for a treat.
On the YouTube link below you'll see a little round-up of my best picks of the no/low alcohol beers and my two faves from this list are Luck Saint - a pilsner style lager at 0.5% (the same as a ripe banana) and Guinness 0.0%.
Guinness is a real feat as it's not jsut recreating a zero alcohol version of a beer - with this one there's so much more to it - the look and mouthfeel have to be spot on too and by god they've cracked it. It's magnificent.
DRINK OF THE WEEK
27th December 2022
Grapevine Pinot Grigio
Aldi £3.79
Drinker Rating 89
Cost of living crisis you say? Well no worries here at The Drinker, you'll have seen last week's Drink of the Week was a fab rosé from Tesco at only £4.30 - well this week we're going one better with a wonderful Pinot Grigio from Aldi and this time it's only £3.79.
So what to expect? Well, don't think that your word will change on drinking this, but it is a perfectly acceptable white with enough light lemon and white floral notes. Great for a party or if you're on a real tight budget.
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
12th December 2022
Caparelli Italian Blush
Tesco £4.30
Drinker Rating 90
So what do we want from our rosé?
Pretty - Tick
Dry - Tick
Fresh - Tick
Fruity - Tick
Affordable - Tick
This is a wine that ticks all of the boxes, light, easy and fresh, some interesting fruit character and under a fiver!
Let's not get to fraught with rosé, let's keep it simple and this is just the ticket to be your house pink for Christmas.
There's 25% off when you buy 6 bottles from Tesco now using a Club Card - sadly, as this wine is under a fiver it's not available in this offer, but do check out my Tesco vids on ">Youtube and TikTok and for all my recommendations click the link to the left on this page.
DRINK OF THE WEEK
5th December 2022
Blended Scotch Whisky
Marks and Spencer £18.00
Drinker Rating 91
To mix things up Drink of the Week this week is a whisky! This is a cracker and part of a range of great spirits that M&S are offering all at £18 - look out for the French Brandy, London Dry Gin and Spiced Rum too.
This is a lovely blended whisky, it's got enough dried fruit, orange peel and Christmas spice character to stand on its own but it would make a great Rob Roy or be a lovely evening pick me up with a dash of soda water.
Looks great, tastes great and is very much in the affordable category - top job.
Check out my TikTok Review
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
28th November 2022
Taste The Difference Barbera D'Asti
Sainsbury's £7.00
Drinker Rating 89
25% OFF CLAXON!
In an attempt to pull you in to do your big Christmas shop loads of retailers are running wine promotions - most (as is this one at Sainsbury's) are 25% off when you buy six bottles.
There's also a pound off this particular wine right now - down to £7 from £8.
This is a fabulous food wine, enough fruity character and tannic structure to match with winter dishes, think stew, bolognese and hearty roasts - but equally it's interesting enough to be sipped by the fire in the darker nights.
A perfect winter wine.
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
21st November 2022
Loved and Found Sciaccarellu
Waitrose £8.99
Drinker Rating 89
Rosé is an odd beast isn't it - it sometimes feels that winemakers don't really take it seriously, occasionally it's sold at WAY too expensive a price - particularly if it has a celebrity endorsement and very often it's just poor quality.
But what do we want from our pink wine? Very often we're simply after something light, pretty, dry and with just a hint of red berry character. But sometimes we need something with a little more depth and this is just the ticket - from Corsica and made with the sciaccarellu grape this is part of the every brilliant and ever growing Loved and Found range at Waitrose.
It's perfectly lovely but also has some interesting peach and raspberry notes - would make an excellent winter house rosé.
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
31st October 2022
Abbotts and Delaunay Malbec
Majestic £8.99
Drinker Rating 98
Malbec's become a bit of a go-to grape variety and most of the stuff on the market is made in Argentina - but it's a variety that has its home in France. In Bordeaux it's known as 'cot' and this one is from the Languedoc.
This is a great example of the French getting hold of one of the older and more traditional grapes and making it something new - dare I say new world in style?
It's got a wonderful bold fruit forward beginning, all bramble and black cherry, which then develops into liquorice and pepper spice and finishes on a new leather savoury note. There's lots to like here, do look out for the other Abbots and Delaunay wines, two of which feature in my film below.
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
17th October 2022
Colpasso Nero d'Avola Appassimento
Morrisons £9.00
Drinker Rating 90
I'm all for these big hearty Italian reds at this time of year, proper wines to keep the chill out and great sippers outside by a bonfire.
Appassimento is the process of drying grapes before they are fermented, this intensifies all the fruit flavour and sugars in the grape jucie and it leads to big, warming wines crammed with rich, deep, complex fruit character.
Two additional things, first there's 25% off when you buy any 4 bottles at Morrisons right now - second, go look up El Vino Collapso by Black Lace, it'll have v=you humming along with this Colpasso.
Cheers!
10th October 2022
Specially Selected Castelore Valpolicella Ripasso
Aldi £7.99
Drinker Rating 90
With the leaves changing and the cooler nights upon us we're in need of a bit of a big old hug from a glass of wine right now.
Italian ripasso wines always have a lovely spiced warmth to them, cloves, vanilla and nutmeg backing up velvety fruit, in this case black cherry and bramble - this is a cracker for an autumn evening and works really well with food too.
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
3rd October 2022
Coastal Region Pinotage
Lidl £5.49
Drinker Rating 90
So the leaves are turning, the sky is darkening and we must make haste or we shall be forced to make camp!
If we do make camp we'll need a lovely warming red to salve our cockles and this Fairtrade Pinotage from South Africa will be just the ticket.
It has a lovely light plum and blueberry palate with a background spice and a lovely earthy tarmac finish - affordable complexity - just look at the price - all this wine for under five and a half quid!
Get on down to Lidl and stock up on this beautiful seasonal wine.
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
26th September 2022
Trapiche Merlot
Tesco £7.00
Drinker Rating 90
Still on the hunt for great value? It's well worth searching out the occasional 25% off deals that many of the big supermarkets run - Tesco and Sainsbury's have them on right now which makes this wine an even bigger bang for your buck (currently £1.03!).
This is a wonderfully warm and generous Argentinian merlot, soft and silky as you'd expect but with a little added oak it makes it all the easier as a weekday sipper.
Ful on black fruit with a lovely spiced, cedar and vanilla back drop, at only £7 and £5.25 if you buy any 6 bottles, it's an awesome bargain.
Get down to Tesco and stock up while offers last!
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
19th September 2022
Found Nerello Cappuccio
Marks and Spencer £7.00
Drinker Rating 90
I'm loving it that many of the big retailers are making a virtue of finding lesser known wines, that's both new grape varieties and also regions we might not be familiar with.
The M&S Found range is wonderful and it produced this brilliant Nerello Cappuccio a wonderful floral and spiced red from Sicily.
It's got a lovely rose petal and violet nose backed up with elegant black fruit on the palate, not too tannic - it would work really well with a bolognese.
Go explore, try something different, you never know, you might like it!
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
12th September 2022
Taste the Difference Gaillac Rouge
Sainsbury's £8.00
Drinker Rating 90
This is a really interesting blend of grapes, including bruacol (no, me neither), syrah, merlot and duras. It comes from Gaillac (near Toulouse) - and it a great multi-purpose wine.
With a Bank Holiday coming up and the chance of a BBQ but equally a chance of rain, this wine will work well for both.
It's got some lovely deep black fruit notes and a beautiful hint of wood smoke, Real complexity, very generous and only £8.00!
Great for a lovely long weekend.
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
5th September 2022
Terre di Faiano Organic Primitivo
Waitrose £7.99 offer from £9.99 to 27/09
Drinker Rating 90
According to Waitrose it's Organic Month and they're reducing the price of all 100 organic wines in their range to 27th Sept. They're reporting that sales of organic wine have increased by over a third in the last three years so it's clearly of interest to consumers.
The one I've selected from the Waitrose is a lovely cherry and violet scented primitivo from Puglia - full on with powerful oak and intense fruit, this is a belter.Buy and few bottles for the colder nights incoming.
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
29th August 2022
Incanta Romanian Pinot Noir
Majestic £6.49 Mix 6 Price
Drinker Rating 90
It's another one of those dual purpose wines this week - pinot noir is so useful as an apt wine as the season's change - it's a much lighter red berry with a thinner skin, producing elegant, fruity reds that in Burgundy have the ability to develop into something really exceptional.
This one's from Romania and it's got that lovley bright strawberry and violet character moving into cherry and balckcurrant, could be chilled or work well with a late season BBQ.
Top stuff at a great price.
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
22nd August 2022
Extra Special Fleurie
Asda £8.50
Drinker Rating 90
25% off when buying 6 bottles CLAXON!
So it's August Bank Holiday and naturally we can't work out what the weather's doing, hot and dry, hot and muggy, stormy, rainy - how the hell are we supposed to enjoy the last knockings of summer with weather like this?
The answer's quite simple really, we need a good dual purpose red, good for the coller, wetter days but also shines on the hotter days. A red that you can chill for example.
This little belter from Beaujolais is just the ticket, ruby red with light floral perfume and a good dollop of cherry fruit to it - there you go, cherries, perfect hot and cold! And with 25% off when buying 6 bottles at Asda right now, stock up for the Bank Hol.
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
15th August 2022
Organic Pinoit Grigio
Morrisons £7.25
Drinker Rating 90
With a Bank Holiday just around the corner I think we're still in summer party season and what you need for such a do is an affordable fresh white wine with a bit of character. This is just the ticket - lovely flinty nose and bags of apple and lemon zippiness on the palate, fresh, simple and light, chill well and serve straight or with soda water over lots of ice.
Simple wines like this are much under-rated - this fits the bill perfectly and OFFER ALERT! - buy 3 and get 25% off right now.
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
8th August 2022
Specially Selected Ribolla Gialla
Aldi £6.99
Drinker Rating 90
Drinks Sale Alert! Aldi have a sale n in the booze department this week - get down there to see some real bargains - particulalry if you're into you brown spirits - the scotch and brandy is well worth a punt - most bottles under £20 and all pretty good.
If you're looking for wine you can see all my recommendations from Aldi by clicking the link to the left here and my seasonal under a tenner picks on YouTube via the link below.
One of this seasons choices is this wonderfully light sparkler from Italy - it doesn't matter if you can't pronounce it, it's a belter at the price. Super, affordable fizz.
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
1st August 2022
Winemakers Selection Fairtrade Shiraz
Lidl £5.49
Drinker Rating 90
So back to my theory that if a supermarket puts its own name on a wine it's always going to be reliable - this works in most supermarkets possibly excepting the one where Every Little Helps.
Lidl have a range called Winemaker's Selection and this beauty is from there. They do two shirazes (is that a word) in the range, this Fairtrade one from South Africa and one from Barossa in Australia - look for the one with the elephant and not the boomerang on the label. Although they're both pretty good, this one is £1.50 cheaper.
This is big, bold and generous, fruit driven and powerful, perfect for a BBQ - not going to lose a fight with a burnt sausage and could even be chilled a little.
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
25th July 2022
Porta 6 Portuguese White
Tesco £7.50
Drinker Rating 90
Really steaming into proper white wine season now, so what do we want? Affordable, fresh, dry, characterful wine - introducing Porta 6.
I've covered their reds in the past when they were sold by Majestic and now you can find both reds and white at Tesco - all really well made and all at decent prices.
This one is a blend of Portuguese grapes, peach and pear on the nose with mouthwatering acidity and tropical fruit on the palate with a long finish.
Super stuff in the category and hitting all the right notes.
DRINK OF THE WEEK
18th July 2022
Vibrant and Zesty Sauvignon Blanc
Marks and Spencer £5.00
Drinker Rating 91
When the pinch comes (and it's coming to us all) we're going to need a battalion of affordable and drinkable wines to call upon and here's one for the rosta - only £5 from M&S!
They do a whole range of these wines under the label 'This is...', they're pretty good across the range in both reds and whites and all at a fiver.
This sauvignon comes from South Africa and it's exactly as it says, fresh and zesty, think citrus, lime peel, crisp apple and a touch of fresh cut grass. A affordable real crowd pleaser at the time we need it most!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
4th July 2022
Taste the Difference Fronton-
Negrette Rosé
Sainsbury's £7.50
Drinker Rating 90
The rise of rosé continues apace, particulalry in the summer months - and when this summer eventually takes off we'll be in need of a good affordable pink for the patio.
So this is why I've selected this lovely pretty pink from Fronton down near Toulouse this week - negrette being the grape variety. This is a wonderful drop all violets on the nose, crushed raspberry and blackberry on the palate. It's a rosé that actually tastes of something - dry, refreshing fresh with red berry character
Perfect summer drinking - now bring on the sun!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
27th June 2022
Sous le Soleil Merlot
Waitrose £5.99
Drinker Rating 90
This is a wine that's been on my recommendation list for Waitrose since the Old King died and it's still fabulous and it's still under six quid.
Merlot got very unfashionable (thanks to the film Sideways) but peoples' disdain of it is totally unjustified. As a grape it works really well in blends (Bordeaux and the blends of Margaret River for example) but it also holds it's own as the star of the show too.
This is quite light and simple, red rather than black fruit on the nose, but is full of ripe bramble in the mouth.
A lovely wine from Waitrose and at a discount price too.
DRINK OF THE WEEK
20th June 2022
The Men In White Coats Viognier
Majestic £6.99
Drinker Rating 91
So if you didn't know (or frankly aren't interested) the cricket season is upon us and England are currently thumping New Zeaand in the Tests and walloping Netherlands in the one day game - so it's full steam ahead for leather upon willow action.
Interestingly Majestic now sell a lovely cricket related wine, The Men In White Coats - a lively viognier from South Africa. The men referred to are cricket umpires so all good there.
The wine is a crackerjack of a bargain at under seven quid and is bursting with peach and apricot with a floral honeysuckle back-note, dry, refreshing and great value.
DRINK OF THE WEEK
13th June 2022
Extra Special Pinot Grigio Rosé
Asda £6.00
Drinker Rating 89
With the HOT weather coming what we're after is a lovely house cooler to refresh in the sunshine and enjoy as the sun goes down.
This pinot grigio is a perfect multi use pink, cool, dry and refreshing with a hint of crushed raspberry about the nose, it would also make a perfect pink spritzer - chunks of ice, half and half with soda water in a tall glass and a strawberry to dress.
Perfect summer sophistication!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
23rd May 2022
The Best Rueda
Morrisons £7.75
Drinker Rating 89
I'm still keeping a beady eye on the price of the wines I recommend this season and for that matter going into the forseeable future - prices are creeping up everywhere but many wine retailers are doing their damnedest to keep a lid on wine inflation.
Morrisons has always been competitive price-wise and has turned out a good number of keenly priced well made wines over the years. Here's another to add to the list, it's 100% verdejo from Rueda in north-central Spain. Light and refreshing but with a lovely lemon streak running through it, perfect for the BBQ, drinks well with food or on its own.
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
16th May 2022
Valle Hermoso Chilean Pais
Aldi £7.99 (currenly on offer at £6.99)
Drinker Rating 90
As we hurtle towards Barbecue Season we'll be looking for wines to suit a variety of challenges - robust enough to win a fight with a burnt sausage, supple enough to be drunk in the open air and flexible enough to drink with a variety of dishes - while also ticking the boxes of affordability ad simply being interesting to drink.
This is a great contender, you might not be familiar with pais as a grape variety well know in Chile and Spain, it's thin skinned and used for a lot of rose but seems to be coming into it's own as a red.
This one has enough tannic structure to work well with food and it supports a lovely complex nose of violet and smoke and a palate of bramble and black pepper.
First class BBQ wine and on offer right now at Aldi.
DRINK OF THE WEEK
9th May 2022
Winemakers Selection Fairtade Chenin Blanc
Lidl £5.49
Drinker Rating 89
Here's a beauty for when the sun comes out, all lemon drop and grapefruit freshness and lovely mouth-watering acidity. This would make a great party wine, interesting, affordable and really really well made.
Check out all the Winemaker's Selection range from Lidl - they're great across the piece and so well priced you'll wonder why you went anywhere else for your vino.
DRINK OF THE WEEK
25th April 2022
Finest Saint Mont
Tesco £6.50 (£6.00 with a Club Card)
Drinker Rating 90
This is just the wine for springtime, light and quite simple but with enough citrus character to carry it through to the right side of interesting.
Coming from South Western France this is a zippy, fresh and easy wine with peach notes on the nose and fresh acidity on the palate. At only £6 if you have a Tesco Club Card it's exceptional value and well worth considering for your house spring white.
Great value lovely wine.
DRINK OF THE WEEK
18th April 2022
Luis Felipe Edwards Merlot Gran Reserva
Majestic £7.99 mix 6 price
Drinker Rating 90
In these reviews I'm going to start focussing on some of the producers that I really like, these will be mid-range winemakers, not the massive multi-national conglomerates and on the garigistas either but those big enough to supply our bigger retailers while retaining their own character and identity.
First up Luis Felipe Edwards one of the most consistent and progressive producers in Chile founded in 1976. Making reds whites and roses.
This Merlot from Majestic is a fab entry level wine, is't quite big and generous (14.5% alcohol) and is all casis and black cherry on the palate with enough tannic structure to support the wine but not be over-bearing and astringent.
Proper bargain at £7.99
DRINK OF THE WEEK
11th April 2022
Extra Special Carmenere
Asda £6.00
Drinker Rating 90
Easter weekend coming up and you'll need a good multi-purpose red to see off lamb, chocolate, kippers and simnell cake. So here's one for you - a bright and ballsy carmenere, spice, black fruit, vanilla - it's got the works, a perfect example of a workhorse Chillean red.
Oh yes and it's on offer down from £6.50 to only £6.00. And oh yes, Asda currently have 25% off when you buy any six bottles of wine - check out my seasonal review of the best from their list at up to £10 by clicking the link below.
DRINK OF THE WEEK
21st March 2022
La Cascata Passivento
Marks and Spencer £9.00
Drinker Rating 91
This is my kind of wine - i love these Italian reds made from partially dried grapes, they give so much opulence and generosity in the mouth feel and this one is so bit it hasn't had the need for oak ageing, so you get full on unadulterated powerful fruit.
Like the wines of this style it has an alcohol level to match the magnitude of the palate (it says 14% on the bottle but I'd expect it's a touch higher) and this gives a nice warming finish to the wine.
I love this as it's all figs, damson, dried fruits and black cherry - lots and lots of wine for the money.
Cheers!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
14th March 2022
The Best Marques de los Rios Garnacha
Morrisons £8.50
Drinker Rating 90
I need a complex wine for such a changeable time of the year, something that reminds me of the summer but also has a spicy, ceadary colder months character to it - and this garnacha is just the ticket.
This has enough red berry character to make me think of summer pudding and again enough warming spice to make me think of Christmas. Super wine and it's on offer right now - buy 2 and get 35% off - takes a bottle to under £6.50!
Super multi-purpose wine, buy lots!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
7th March 2022
Specially Selected Roussanne
Aldi £6.99
Drinker Rating 90
You know there's been a bit of sun in the sky this week and so it might be tempting fate to recommend a perfect springtime white - but what the hell!
This wine is what Aldi do SO well - it's all about the balance of quality and affordability - in short the standard that this wine sets for the price is an impossibility. This has a wonderful touch of almond blossom with a lifted lemon acidity on the palate - amazing stuff, classy looking and classy in the glass.
Now bring on the sun!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
28th February 2022
Cimarosa Pinotage
Lidl £3.89
Drinker Rating 89
Cost of living worries getting to you? Interest rates going up, petrol prices through the roof, National Insurance rise soon to kick in and that's before the energy price rises - so we need to start being a bit more frugal with our wine outlay.
The solution is getting yourself down to Lidl and to start us off here's a banger of a South African red, it's all black currant and wood-smoke on the nose with a warming 14% alcohol, bags of character at a really pleasing price - UNDER FOUR QUID!
Amazing, get down there and stock up!
DRINK OF THE WEEK
14th February 2022
Taste the Difference Primitivo
Sainsbury £7.00
Drinker Rating 90
Everyone seems to be doing a primitvo these days - interesting grape variety usually bold and full, lots of spicy bramble and black cherry and often with a hefty dollop of alcohol. In California it's known as Zinfandel but there do seem to be more labelled up as primitivo right now and not only from Italy, many are now made in Australia and South Africa.
This one is from Italy however (puglia in fact) where the grapes ripen fully and provide a really opulent wine, enhanced by the use of some spicy oak. On the Sainsbury's website it's currently listed at £6 - which is an incredible bargain.
Buy lots! Cheers!
7th February 2022
Finest Stellenbosch Pinotage
Tesco £7.50
Drinker Rating 90
Wines from South Africa continue to impress with both quality and value improving year on year. Pinotage is their signature grape variety - a hybrid of pinot noir and cinsaut which seems to thrive in the long ripening period of the Cape.
This wine is made in Stellenbosch by the family owned Stellenrust winery, a fab producer making consistently good wines since the 1920s.
It has a great deal to offer in ripe black fruit character backed up with a complex coffee and chocolate finish. I love this wine and at only £7.50 is a cracker for a cold winter's night.
DRINK OF THE WEEK
31st January 2022
Behind Closed Doors Reserva Red
Majestic £7.99 Mix Six price
Drinker Rating 89
Still pretty cold and stormy out there isn't it? Well I suppose it is still mid-winter so what would I expect? So what we need is a real deep, ripe fruity, hearty wine to warm those toes.
This Portuguese red bland is a belter, it's full on plum and damson with a rich vein of vanilla supporting the fruit - at 14.5% it's a bit of a whopper but just what's needed to keep the cold out - and perfect for a stew, bolognese or moussaka.
There are some crackers at Majestic - particularly in the sub £10 bracket - get yourself off down there and stock up on the good stuff.
DRINK OF THE WEEK
24th January 2022
Wine Atlas Feteasca Regala
Asda £5.00
Drinker Rating 89
Mid-winter, bit of a miserable old time, I don't subscribe to Blue Monday or any of that old bollocks - in my experience depression doesn't tend to follow a calendar.
But how about a little glass of Romanian sunshine - I often think of wine as time capsules of long summers past. Romania is often under-rated when it comes to its wines - and that's great for us as we can leave our prejudice at the supermarket door and pile in for some well made, great value vino.
This has been on my list for a very long time - super value at only a fiver and it shows such class from the wine-maker, clean, precise, fresh and sunny.Just what we need right now.
DRINK OF THE WEEK
17th January 2022
Heredad Del Rey
Waitrose £6.99
Drinker Rating 90
Cold isn't it? What you need is a lovely generous, warming wine - it doesn't need to blow your head off alcohol wise, but it odes need winter spice and body.
This is just the ticket, think cinnamon, bramble, oak and smoke - a velvet smooth wine, real mouth filler with body and depth.
Waitrose is really getting bck into stride now and this is one that's well worth looking out - and look, it's under seven quid!
Amazing wine.
DRINK OF THE WEEK
10th January 2022
Sheppy's Low Alcohol Cider
Generally available approx £1.30 500ml bottle
Drinker Rating 90
Continuing with the low/no alcohol recommendations I really rate this brilliant cider from Sheppy's - it says low alcohol but it's 0.5% - about the same alcohol as you would get in a ripe banana - can we just say 'virtually alcohol free'. So if you're havign a month off the booze I still think this is ok for you.
It's very much like Sheppy's Classic Draught Cider in it's toward medium in sweetness but that's balanced with a really refreshing acidity which makes is bright and mouthwatering - really like biting into a crisp green apple.
Perfect if you're scaling back on the sauce.
DRINK OF THE WEEK
3rd January 2022
Guinness 0.0%
Generally available £4.00 for 4x440ml cans
Drinker Rating 90
I don't do Dry January - it's my birthday month for a start off - bu I know many folk do try to cut down at this time of year and if that's you then you're in for a treat.
On the YouTube link below you'll see a little round-up of my best picks of the no/low alcohol beers and my two faves from this list are Luck Saint - a pilsner style lager at 0.5% (the same as a ripe banana) and Guinness 0.0%.
Guinness is a real feat as it's not jsut recreating a zero alcohol version of a beer - with this one there's so much more to it - the look and mouthfeel have to be spot on too and by god they've cracked it. It's magnificent.