Past Drinks of the Week

2025 Past Drinks of The Week

DRINK OF THE WEEK
5th May 2025
Taste the Difference Rheinhessen Pinot Noir
Sainsbury's £8.75
Drinker Rating 90

I love Pinot Noir in the springtime - find a good one and you get a lovely combination of summer fruits and a wonderfully savoury backnote.

This German Taste the Difference wine is just the ticket, opening with a splash of beautiful red currant and raspberry and finishing on some spicy black pepper and a hint of soft new leather.

It's the perfect springtime drop - beautiful if it's cloudy and it works really well chilled if the sun comes out!

Cheers!

DRINK OF THE WEEK
28th April 2025
Cambalala Sauvignon Blanc
Aldi £5.70
Drinker Rating 90

So the sun is here at last - well let's make the most of it, it might be all we get! So what do we need - obviously a sippable sauvignon for the patio and an amazing price.

I tend to steer away from New Zealand sauvignons as they are a little over-blown for me - way too much blousy tropical fruit and floral notes - i prefer something a little more restrained such as this Cambalal SB from Aldi.

Buyer beware, for some reaso there are tow South African Cambalala Sauvignons on the shelves at Aldi - this is the slightly more expensive on - look for the bottle with the zig-zag pattern rather than the one with the elephants.

All the zippy freshness and slightly restrained fruit character that you need, a real fridge filling crowd please and under six quid!

Where's the Factor 40?

Cheers

DRINK OF THE WEEK
14th April 2025
Masterpeace Shriaz
Tesco £6.75 £6.00 with a Clubcard
Drinker Rating 89

I continue to get dog's abuse on my socials whenever I recommend a wine that seems a bit too low in price. Folks, it's my job to sniff out these bargains and here's another one that attracted some unsavoury comment on the Gram.

It seems unlikely but Tesco have unearthed a little gem at £6.75, this is a perfectly acceptable - I'd even say good Aussie shiraz. It has all the right elements of full on ripe black fruit, black pepper and decent structure you need. Perfectly balanced and really well priced.

Whizz off down to Tesco while they have this on offer, £6.00 with a Clubcard and 25% off when buying any 6 bottles - check out my seasona recommendations on the YouTube link below.

Cheers!

DRINK OF THE WEEK
24th March 2025
Wine Atlas Roditis/Sauvignon Blanc
Asda £6.97
Drinker Rating 90

This is such a good value wine. It seems strange that it's taken so long for us to get into Greek wine but all the supermarkets now stock a line or two and about time.

With the country's long history of wine making and recent improvements in wine tech there has never been a better time to buy Greek - get in now before it goes up in price.

The reputation of Greek wine has always been somewhat sullied by Retsina and the irony with this bottle is that the grape variety Roditis is one of the key grapes of the much feared resinated wine. Please don't let that put you off - as this one is beautifully pure and has great fruit character and good refreshing acidity.

Who knows, maybe we'll get into Retsina after all?

Cheers!

DRINK OF THE WEEK
17th March 2025
The Society's Chinon
The Wine Society £9.99
Drinker Rating 91

If you're not already then it's very much time you joined The Wine Society. Membership is £40 for life and it gives you access to a MASSIVE range of really well priced wines from entry level right up to fine wine. Because the Society is a not for profit any money made goes back into sourcing fantastic wines from across the world.

The two showcase selections they have are 'the Society's' wines and the Exhibition range. The former being the more modestly priced.

And this weeks drink of the week is The Society's Chinon a perfect affordable example of this Loire Cabernet Franc, a light, elegant, brasserie style red. Really super stuff.

DRINK OF THE WEEK
3rd March 2025
Burra Brook Shiraz
Marks and Spencer/Ocado £7.00
Drinker Rating 89

This is one of those wines that been on my list for EVER! As I taste a billion wines every year I often forget bottles I've recommended in the past and this is one of those - I always love it and I always come back to my site and see it's been on my list since God was a boy.

This is a perfect easy drinking shiraz, 13.5% so not too much of a whopper and the fruit really sings, casis, blackcurrant and a lovely spicy undertone. All this and still only £7 (up 50p from when I recorded my review back in November - but still amazing value).

Here's to the springtime!

Cheers!

DRINK OF THE WEEK
24th February 2025
Parad'isula Ile de Beaute Rosé
Tesco £9.00
Drinker Rating 89

I'm of a mind that we can crack open the rosé even when we're in the middle of what appears to be an endless dreary winter. What we need right now is a little drop of sunshine in our glass and this wine is just the ticket.

It's part of what appears to be a push for more and more wine from Corsica, this lovely little Mediterranean islend that lies halfway between Marsaille and Rome that has been strangely absent from our shelves. This very welcome addition brings a wonderful redcurrant and dry tinned strawberry freshness. Zippy and just the ticket in the midst of winter storms.

Cheers!

DRINK OF THE WEEK
17th February 2025
Blueprint Vedejo
Waitrose £7.00
Drinker Rating 90

I'm still able to find decent wines at affordable prices and at the moment the stuff coming out of Rueda in north central Spain is alarming value.

Regions come and go and Rueda is deff on the up - the main wines is white and produced with the Verdejo grape providing fresh, fruit driven, on-oaked deliciousness.

This one from the ever reliable Blueprint range at Waitrose is astonishing value at £7.00, a perfect candidate for your house white for the half term.

Cheers!

DRINK OF THE WEEK
3rd February 2025
Finest Rueda Verdejo
Tesco £7.50
Drinker Rating 90

Welcome back to the land of the living Dry Janners - have you been on a massive bender since early Saturday morning? No, of course not, we all drink responsibly here don't we?

Well what you'll definitely need is a lovely glass of something summery to remind you that the days are getting longer and springtime is in sight.

This verdejo is just the ticket, beautiful grassy citrus character and a light hint of basil - sunshine in a glass from northern Spain, perfect for a responsible drinking Feb.

Cheers!

DRINK OF THE WEEK
27th January 2025
Loved and Found Sousao
Waitrose £8.99
Drinker Rating 90

Blimey, these storms keep on rolling in don't they? And tis bitter cold. So what we need is a full on hearty red to warm our battered souls.

Big, powerful wines are just what;s called for here but so often a 'big wine' can be a blunt instrument - all sugary, jammy fruit and a lump of alcohol to boot. This sousao is a belter, sure it does have a big black fruit character but there's some lovely peppery spice in there too.

It's a new grape on me but apparently one of the key ingredients in Port and you really get that with its 145 alcohol supporting the bold fruit.

If you're not keen on it you can rub it on your chest!

DRINK OF THE WEEK
20th January 2025
Wine Atlas Ile de Beauté Rosé
Asda £7.00
Drinker Rating 90

There appears to be a new kid on the block and it comes in the form of wines labeled as Ile de Beauté. These are wines from what sounds like the perfect Mediterranean idyll, Corsica.

Why wouldn't this lovely little island plonked halway between Marsaille and Rome produce fabulous wines? Owned and occupied for three thousand years by the Greeks, Romans and now the French there's a lot of history here.

But more recently the wines from this little jewel have been hitting our shelves. A perfect location for growing international grape varieties such as those used in this rosé, grenache and syrah in particular. Perfectly balanced and really well priced this is a super wine from asn interesting new region.

In the words of the great Tim Vine:
Q: Can you tell me what a person from Corsica is called?
A: Corsican!

Cheers!

DRINK OF THE WEEK
13th January 2025
Deluxe Australian Cabernet Sauvignon
Lidl £6.79
Drinker Rating 90

It's tat time fo the year when we're all shagged out and skint from Christmas, there's only one thing for it - a glass of wine I'd say!

And what better than a well priced glass of wine, full on fruit and a proper winter pick me up - a glass of Aussie sunshine at the time we need it most.

The Deluxe range at Lidl is pretty good across the board and this little Coonawarra number hits all the right notes for under seven quid.

Cheers!

DRINK OF THE WEEK
6th January 2025
Vitis Nostra Pinot Noir
Morrisons £7.25
Drinker Rating 89

With the new year upon us we're all feeling the cold and we're all feeling the pinch so we need something to bring us into the pink - yep, you're one step ahead of me it's rosé time!

It's not just for the summer time you know - lovely pink wines should be enjoed all year around, especially if like this one they have a little bit of red grape grippiness.

This has all the hallmarks of a Provence style wine but a light touch of pinot noir tannin, which is delicate even in red wines made from the grape.

Oh yes, and this one is down in price at Morrisons to only £7.25!

HNY all.