A bit extra for you today, so let’s skip the lengthy introduction and lead you straight to the wine recommendations.
Suffice it to say, a “go to” Italian red, a “not just for summer” rosé, a birthday celebration and a nudge towards inexpensive claret all await your attention.
As usual – pictures and, where possible, hyperlinks are provided to guide you towards the right wine.
Year-round Rosé
Which wine should I buy? 2024 Toro Loco Rosé
Why should I buy it? If you’ve tried Aldi’s popular, great value Toro Loco red and wondered whether the same magic could work in a rosé, wonder no more. This is from the same source — bobal grapes from Spain’s undervalued Utiel-Requena region — and is equally impressive for the price.
What does it taste like? Salmon pink in the glass with an inviting floral nose, it delivers delicate red currant and red cherry flavours, combined with fresh citrus acidity. That is accompanied by a contrasting mild savoury backdrop to add complexity and take the result beyond “another pretty summer sipper” status.
Where, how much and what abv? £5.49 at Aldi (but prices and availability may vary slightly) and 11% abv
On to the red
Which wine should I buy? 2023 Belorante Montepulciano D’Abruzzo
Why should I buy it? Montepulciano is a “go-to” standby in home or restaurant – providing sound, kindly priced, easy-to-like red wine versatile enough to go beyond merely partnering pizza and pasta.
What does it taste like? It features tangy, medium-bodied, cherry, raspberry and plum flavours led by dark fruit aromas but embellished with nippy acidity and modest tannin. Allspice, thyme and mineral influences complete the picture.
Where, how much and what abv? £7.50– down from £9 as a Sainsbury’s Nectar card promotion until 17 March –and 13% abv
And while in Sainsbury’s…
FOOTNOTE: Creditable claret below £10 is scarce but 2022 Taste the Difference Bordeaux Superieur could meet the challenge.
However, it does involve a liking for merlot-led examples and needs drinkers comfortable with versions that carry fewer of Bordeaux’s classic leafy, vegetal components than usual.
As a little stimulus, it is also down in price to £8 (instead of £9.50) until 17 March with a Nectar card at Sainsbury’s.
The wine itself contains ripe and smoothly textured cherry, plum and blackcurrant flavours with attractive acidity but reasonably firm tannin.
BONUS ITEM
It is almost 600 years since the first cellar log reference to riesling and, as that entry was dated 13 March 1435, we can regard this week as the variety’s birthday.
For seven years now that day has been designated International Riesling Day by Wines of Germany.
To celebrate, try this dry riesling from a family operation in a loop of the Mosel river just north of Bernkastel – 2024 Peter & Ulrich Griebeler Riesling (from £13 at Majestic).
With a fruity, floral nose, it centres on peach, pear and green apple flavours.
These are partnered by lively grapefruit and sherbet acidity with hints of lime, pineapple and savoury spice.
Use this hyperlink for a picture and fuller details and I will try to bring you another riesling next week.
Other mouthwatering recommendations await you next Monday so sign up for these weekly emails if you haven’t already. Meanwhile see the knowledgeable insights provided Thursdays and Saturdays on our sister site – https://midweekwinesguild.substack.com. Keith Evans piece on music and wine is an especial joy.
12 responses
Hi Brian, I find Spanish rosé wines, with their often darker colour, are good food, rather than just sipping wines. Which suits our habits. So the Toro Loco wine looks like it fits our bill! I remember a 2017 Toro Loco Reserva red Aldi stocked back in 2022, for £5.99, that impressed. But I’ve got out of the habit of going to Aldi. In Suffolk, their stores are the least reliable of all the supermarkets, certainly in terms of stocking recommended wines.
That red remains a good option but, as you say, availability can be an issue with Aldi.
Inspired by “La Vita Belorante” (living life boldly), the Belorante range includes four still wines: Grillo, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC, Pecorino, and Primitivo.
All about £9 to £10 , variously in Sainsbury’s,Asda and Morrisons.All pretty decent everyday kind of wines and worth considering when on offer.
I do like the maximalist,colourful label of a Peacock- whose name is Massimo.Perhaps hoping to emulate the success of the Chicken wine?
Fair description – “pretty decent everyday kind of wine”. No frills or anything sensational but very effective as pleasant, informal, suppertime red wine.
Hi Brian, I’ve tasted that Toro Loco rose and it was very enjoyable, but as you say, it’s not a Strawberry n Cream rose, it has a bit of an edge, and a bit more of a savoury thing going on, which makes it an excellent food wine, and at that price it’s definitely worth a go.
I remember everyone raving about the Toro Loco red when it first hit the shelves a few years ago, which was a blend of Tempranillo and Bobal and that was pretty good again, especially for the price.
Glad we are on the same page with that rosé and it does confirm that Bobal can certainly raise its game in the right hands.
Sainsburys also have 25% off 6 bottles at the moment.
Thanks David for the alert. Since Sainsbury’s operate a “double dip” with offers, the price of the Montepulciano and Bordeaux can become very affordable indeed.
Hi Brian
Another one to look at in the current Sainsbury’s double dip is their TTD Cote du Ventoux which you can get for £7.50 down from £11.75. It’s a consistently good southern Rhone red which is well worth buying in
Good call, Carl. Ventoux’s altitude-driven coolness slows the grape ripening process to create lighter, fresher wines compared to many of the substantial versions produced in adjacent wine regions.
I bought the two wines from Sainsbury’s yesterday with the added bonus of 25% off as I bought 6 the Nectar reduction still stood so over £20 off 6 bottles
Canny purchases Paul – and a grateful nod towards Sainsbury’s for its “double dip” policy, when some retailers end other promotions as multi-buy deals begin. If that Bordeaux was among those purchases, I would be interested in what you think. Traditional cabernet-led claret it is not, but it seems to me to be a good example of “Bordeaux lite”.