Wine of the week!

[NoMercy]

Well my nomination for WOTW is Languedoc (no prizes for guessing where that's from!) which is available from Sainsburys for £7.99, as part of their Taste The Difference range. It's an expert blend of 4 fantastic grape varieties: Grenache, Marsanne, Vermiento and Viognier.

This is a very complex wine with great length. Hints of white fruits and blossom are followed by flavours of citrus, minerals and limeleaf practically bombarding the palate. Clean, structured and classy... an excellent companion to salads, white meats, fish, pasta, continental cheeses and crusty bread.

This wine was a huge hit with the MIL who said I could choose all her wines from now on! Definitely a firm favourite of mine and long may Sainsburys continue to stock it. :-)

[ttfn]

I like to read your wine threads, NoM, as you obviously enjoy and appreciate the difference.I drink less wine mainly because I would only do so with a meal and the drink-driving precludes that. I will always enjoy my favourite Chateauneuf-du-Pape because I prefer meat to fish. Just a boring wine drinker, sorry.

Now cognace is another bottle ...

[NoMercy]

Hi TTFN. Morrisons were recently stocking Chateauneuf for a tenner. I enjoy it myself and haven't had a good hearty red in ages. I may buy a red later depending on what I cook for dinner. Or I may even buy some bubbles (moving into the new house tomorrow) :-)

[DTCwordfan]

God damn it - I had just posted and as I hit sent, bammmm the Ed strikes with his corkscrew.

Back from my hols

Just to say I found a wonderful wine in a Ventoux....a Domaine de Tara a 11 ha property run by a young couple in the Louberon Parc. A blend of Grenache Noir, Syrah and Carignan - good depth, flavour and berries and a tad unmder £8. They also have a "Haut Pierres" a reserve with loads of depth to it £10 - found them at my little vino shop in Truro, Experiences.

Also wanted to ask if any of you had tried the Rioja Reserva that Sainsbury's are offering at £6-49 (50% off) - an Altivo...

Also have tried a wine along from the Languedoc - my sis brought back 3x bottles of Bormani for me and 3 of their "Gran" as a cadeau de la Belle France" - the vineyard is not far from their maison az Lavendu, pas loin de Toulon. The Gran was delicious.....packed with typicla Provencal depth and full of fruit.

[NoMercy]

Hi DT. I haven't had a Rioja in years as I discovered Ribera Del Duero when I lived in Spain and I never looked back. Ribera Del Duero is also made from the Tempranillo, but, as it is grown under more extreme climatic conditions, the intensity of flavour is more concentrated.

Your wines sound fantastic and I love a good, rich Syrah! Grenache Noir I'm not familiar with so I will keep my eyes peeled henceforth - you've really got me interested now!

I've just returned from Sainsburys and I've bought a Taste The Difference Barossa Valley Shiraz for £8.99. I'll let you know what it turns out like.

[supersuezy24]

Hi NoMercy, I was in Lidl the other day and they have such a big selection of wines..can you recommend any? I tried the Cimarossa Chenin Blanc before and liked it. It was only €3!! Was wondering if you could recommend any others.

[DTCwordfan]

Experience ship across the country for a wee fee for a case......
here's their web site.


www.experiencewine.co.uk/

[DTCwordfan]

Interested in the Barossa - not usually an all Shiraz fan but if it is good.....

Having said that, one of the most stellar wines that I ever have had was a Block 64 from Longview, Adelaide Hills and this tasted like a really deep, mature, smooth Bordeaux - exquisite wine.

[NoMercy]

DT, you are an absolute Gem! I may treat myself to a case to fill up my new wine rack (purchased at a car booty for the bargain price of a quid!)

SS, I rarely venture into Lidl due to its location in Hereford. Having said that, it's only round the corner from where I am working at the mo, so I'll pop in and have a look at what they've got. It's always nice to find more and more wines to choose from and their selection will be entirely different to what the other supermarkets have got.

[DTCwordfan]

Where do you buy the Ribera Del Duero, NoM.....?

[supersuezy24]

Thanks NoMercy.
I like trying new wines but I am not fond of sweet wines at all.

[DTCwordfan]

They may well do a mixed case - young crew running the shop and very knowledgeable, esp the boss - just give me a reference - if you say the redhead who buys the Tara and uses the coffee shop opposite, they should know me straight away!

[NoMercy]

Majestic have about 4 varieties in their stores and they are at the better end of the scale. Tanners have a couple and I would probably guess that Waitrose stock it. I wouldn't bother with what they've got in Tesco - not a patch on what I drank over in Spain.

SS, nice to hear that Lidl have a large selection of wines - thanks for telling me that. I will definitely do a little detour at some point.

[NoMercy]

Thanks again, DT. I think I will treat myself to a case. Why not ....?!!

[DTCwordfan]

suezy, it will develop as your interest grows....( usually!) - its a question first of all to match the food and sweet wines go with desserts

I love a good Tokaij from Hungary as they have a deeper tone to them to say a Barsac and other sauternes. There are some nice German wines that aren't too sweet but just a hint like a Kabinett (QmP)

I occasionally will have a glass of a good sauterne or Tokaij before a good dinner - learnt that "trick" in Belgium.

One new one - I am not a massive Sherry drinker but Harvey's Bristol were promoting drinking it on the rocks with a twist of orange in it......might try that at the w/end. I was picking a bottle of it up in Sainsbury's today for my mother - she bathes in the stuff I think!

[ttfn]

Nothing but bubbles will do NoM! So your special box for the move will have dog bowls, tin opener, corkscrew and glasses wrapped in tea towels. I bow to you ☺ Hope it goes fabulously well xxx

[supersuezy24]

My dads friend always gives him several bottles of German wines at Christmas as he spends a lot of time there. They are really lovely.

[NoMercy]

Thank you, TTFN. We pick the keys up at lunchtime tomorrow so it's bubbles and an Indian tomorrow evening. x x

SS, you can't beat a good, dry German Riesling. They are very fruity and easy to drink without food.

DT, I'm just having a glass of the Languedoc while the dinner cooks. BJ is having a glass of the Barossa and his verdict was, "Absolutely gorgeous". I had a sip earlier and it was quite full-bodied with strong flavours of dark red berries with a lovely oaky finish. I'd better grab some before he drinks it all.

:-)

[NoMercy]

DT, I'm just having a good look through the website you recommended and I'm delighted to see they stock a 2007 Californian Zinfandel (2007 is perfect to drink right now). I also love the fact that you can search by Country, Type or Grape. I'm currently looking for Pinot Gris, Rousanne and Viognier, all of which I've come to love in the past couple of years. What an excellent website!

[NoMercy]

Oh balls, I meant to post this link:

http://www.experience...gories&category_id=87

And bingo, I've found one of them:

http://www.experience...ucts&product_id=31063

My debit card is about to trampoline out of my handbag!

[supersuezy24]

I quite like Faustino Rioja 2009, that's one of my faves although iot's probably horrible to some people..