Impressive Wines and Discounts Too

Two great wines that highlight the strengths of their region of origin.

Here are a couple of examples of wines their respective homelands do well.

To add extra gloss, both are on promotion until next month.

Those discounts start today in one case and tomorrow in the other.

Languedoc has justifiably won wide acclaim for great value and well made (especially) red wines and today’s choice helps to cement that reputation.

Meanwhile Northern Portugal has outgrown its “last century” categorisation as the home of just light, lively, uncomplicated white wine.

Accentuating the massive potential of its better grape varieties is one way that has happened – and here is a great example of the result.

Enjoy them both.

Adopting my traditional format, images and, where possible, hyperlinks accompany the assessments of the wines.

Starting with that Born Again white

2024 Best Vinho Verde ‘Loureiro’ (£7 with a Morrisons loyalty card – £6 in Scotland – until 15 July against a list price of £8.25, and 10.5% abv):

Looking for the perfect warm-weather wine that won’t break the bank?

This Vinho Verde made from Loureiro (one of Portugal’s hidden gem grape varieties) is a good answer.

With gentle levels of alcohol and a handy discount wherever you are, it is an option that punches well above its weight.

The pale, greenish hue hints at what’s to come – which initially are verdant, soft fruit aromas.

Next come ripe greengage and crisp red apple flavours accompanied by bright lemonade and lime elements and subtle mineral undertones.

And then to Southern France

2022 Tesco Finest Saint Chinian (£8.50 – instead of £9.50 from tomorrow and until 14 July with a Tesco Clubcard – and 13.5% abv):

Many wine experts contend that Saint Chinian consistently outperforms other Languedoc reds and this great value option suggests that they may be right.

It seems to have added carignan to the classic GSM blend and provides full-bodied, rich (and slightly meaty) red wine.

The dark cherry flavours on display are supported by black olive elements to embellish the wine with a sense of Mediterranean complexity.

Subtle tannins provide structure without harshness while suggestions of rosemary, thyme and lavender complete the picture.

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13 responses

    1. Those were the promotion details confirmed by Morrisons. Some retailers do give an extra discount in Scotland if abv is low as “compensation” for times when Minimum Unit Pricing pushes up prices appreciably.

      1. Interesting, not aware of that before. Did notice the low ABV though. Not very ‘United Kingdom’ pricing anymore!

  1. Agree, the St Chinian is a lovely drop and usually a go to, although I might have to pass on the discounted offer this time as I have just taken up your wise advice to order a ‘Father’s Day’ case from the Wine Soc., arriving in their nice red liveried van later in the week! Some really good value on offer.

  2. Morrison have an offer in England on the best selection 25% of if you buy 3. This should equalise prices across the nations

    John

  3. I agree with the “many wine experts” (including yourself?) who rate St Chinian among the best red appellations in the Languedoc and will certainly be trying Tesco’s offering. I was therefore amazed at an autumn 2024 Languedoc Wine Society tasting that none was included. In its absence, for my money a couple of sub £10 examples from Fitou won the price/quality prize. Incidentally, I was amused to see David Williams in yesterday’s Observer Food Monthly recommend that perennial MWW favourite – Eglise St-Jaques – as ‘a supermarket wine that could easily pass for something you’ve sourced directly from the vigneron’!

    1. They all get there in the end David E, where the Eglise St Jaques Bergerac is concerned, no matter how long it takes! Cheers …

      1. And you deserve much of the praise, Eddie. T’was you that found it lurking on the bottom shelf in Tesco – must be fulfilling to be a trend setter!

        1. I too made a double-take when I saw the reference to ”our” wine in the Observer last Sunday.

          It’s more than just a salient point you make here Brian and using the word ”lurking” about the Tesco Église St-Jaques, Bergerac, because in truth it was precisely that. It might have remained so, in relative obscurity, purely because its provenance looked fairly innocuous and uninteresting and the bottle label did nothing to promote anything other than a run-of-the-mill rack-filler.

          BUT … and here is the thing where we in the UK need to wise-up better, all that glisters is not gold and when something is promoted with more front than Blackpool it does not necessarily mean it’s the real deal. The French know this of course. Just put ”Bergerac” on the label and it tells almost all they as a wine-drinking nation need to know. Unfortunately it takes way more than that in this country to engage the masses. Back to education, education, education … eh, Sir Tony??

          I do wonder what else still lurks on a lower shelf that we here at MWW might turn up that becomes a strong choice of mainstream wine critics, while retaining a semblance of real affordability, that the Bergerac was originally at £5.50 a few short years ago when first it caught my eye. Not that expensive now of course and cheaper if we can catch it on a Clubcard deal/25% multi-buy.

          Back unfortunately to kissing too many frogs in a way of experimentation maybe. A lot, too much maybe, of what we drink disappoints but then that leads back here and this particular blog to help us with our choices.

          1. Kind of you to add the bit at the end, thank you. As for bottom shelf hunting, I did “Operation Trawlerman” last year trying to find other “Bergeracs” but discovered that most wines were sitting on that shelf for a reason! So abandoned the idea.

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