A new Lidl Wine Tour started this week and this review considers the wines forming the backbone of the promotion.
The company do add wines to that backbone when there are bottles expected to have particular appeal to chosen localities.
Although most stores should have almost all the wine listed here, a few may not – or have sold out already.
However, all of the “anchor wines” fit in the £7-£10 price range with about half of them from Germany or Austria and most of the remainder from the Iberian peninsula.
My selection criteria aim for wines that seem of above average quality for entry point offerings or represent especially good value for money – or both.
Starting with reds
2023 Hacienda Uvanis Garnacha (£8.49 at Lidl while stocks last and 14% abv):
Predictably for summertime, only a couple of reds in the selection and this option from Spain’s Navarra region was the pick for me.
It appeared in a Wine Tour last spring and makes a welcome return this time, having lost none of its charm in this new vintage.
Based on soft cherry, red plum and raspberry sauce flavours it opens with aromas of fruit pastels and lavender.
Those elements are accompanied by discernible – but balanced – tannin, grapefruit peel acidity and suggestions of cinnamon, rosemary and cedar.
Across to Portugal now.
2024 João Pires Peninsula de Setúbal (£7.99 at Lidl while stocks last and 12%):
Over the bridge from Lisbon, we find Setubal – and another returning hero – which once again underlines that region’s enduring reputation with the luscious muscat of alexandria grape.
Rounded with honey aromas, it features intense passion fruit, honey and mandarin orange flavours freshened up by gentle acidity.
There is a savoury component too that counterbalances any sweetness and prevents the wine toppling over from merely being off-dry.
Moving to Germany
2024 EM Junge Winzer Pinot Gris (£7.99 at Lidl while stocks last and 13.5%):
Pinot gris now represents just under 7% of the vineyard area in Germany with its wines thought to offer more texture than, say, versions from Alsace.
This example is from Baden – arguably the best region for the variety – where geology and a little extra warmth bring out its best.
With depth and an attractive savoury foundation, this is the pick of the “under £8 whites” here displaying ripe peach, melon and menthol flavours.
Joining them are zesty tangerine acidity and just a trace of sweetness that, together, provide a lingering finish.
Now for a terrific threesome.
In a welcome riposte to claims that supermarket wines are always bland and predictable, Lidl include three very different wines at the top end of this selection, yet all are under £10.
Which is the best – well, that depends on your own configuration of taste buds but what is beyond doubt is that all three are great wines that merit the high scores they have been awarded.
Better still, two are on offer at the moment – but I have quoted their full prices since this is a semi-permanent review.
First, back to Portugal.
2024 Encostas de Caiz Avesso (£8.99 at Lidl while stocks last and 13%):
Last century, Vinho Verde was all about blending a range of local grapes with the simple aim of producing light, crisp, slightly effervescent wines.
When re-inventing itself, the region began appreciating how good some of those contributing varieties could be if allowed to give solo performances.
Avesso was one of the beneficiaries, as this example testifies.
White gold in colour and much fuller than those Seventies offerings, this example delivers rounded red apple, white plum and ripe melon flavours.
Adding valued support come active orange acidity, a creamy textured depth and just a subtle edge of sweetness.
Across to Austria now.
2024 PFAFFL Muskateller Selection (£9.99 at Lidl while stocks last and 13.5%):
There are local names aplenty for the muscat grape but, be assured, muskateller in Germany and Austria is from the best winemaking part of the muscat family.
While it remains a niche grape even there, versions from Austria seem to excel because they have more complexity and sophistication than rivals from warmer climes.
However, let the wine do the talking – as this award winning version is fully able to do.
Perfumed and viscous, it is centred on rounded melon, lychee and ripe pear flavours.
These are given contrast by a pithy backdrop, verve by sharp apricot acidity and tangerine elements that help leave a beautifully clean mouth feel.
And staying in that country.
2024 Müller Gruner Veltliner Löss & Schotter (£8.99 at Lidl while stocks last and 12.5%):
One cannot leave Austria without a glass of its flagship white wine – gruner veltliner.
Löss and Schotter on this label refer to the soils in the vineyards concerned – and indicate a combination of gravel (with its helpful free draining) and enrichment from fine grained sediment (löss).
Perhaps because of those conditions or perhaps from other causes, the wine does have a mineral theme – courtesy of the fairly typical and warmly appreciated flinty complexity that is built into it.
That – along with oregano, white pepper and celery constituents – neatly embellish the wine’s acidity enhanced pear, quince and apple flavours.
Footnote: Those knowing my tastes will guess that the gruner is my personal favourite, but do not hesitate to explore all of this latter trio – none of them is likely to disappoint.
Best of the Rest.
- 2024 Peter Bendel Sauvignon Blanc Kalkstein (£7.49 and 12%): Gently textured German sauvignon with sharp apricot acidity, gooseberry flavours and a pithy undercurrent.
- 2024 Sassi del Mare Vermentino Toscano (£7.99 and 12.5%): Delicate herbal and green apple flavours with almond based savouriness.
- 2024 Deidesheimer Hofstück Pfalz Riesling (£7.99 and 12%: Ripe pear, melon and greenage flavours with zippy lemon acidity.
- 2024 Cabriz Colheita Selectionada Rosé (£8.49 and 12.5%): Smooth red currant and red cherry flavours bolstered by good citrus acidity.
Pop by on Monday for the latest Top Tip – featuring chardonnay and pinot noir.
13 responses
That Muskateller is currently on offer at £7.99 with the Lidl Plus Card – hopefully as much of a bargain as your recently recommended Mezquiriz Navarra Rosado – a second glass of which is by my side.
I second that about the Navarra Rosado, purchased on Brian’s recommendation, it’s delicious.
Thank you Rebecca and Phil for the endorsement. I hesitated about recommending this wine because of its colour and the sweet edge but concluded that the balance actually made the finished article exactly right. It is reassuring to hear experienced MidWeekers drawing a similar conclusion. Much appreciated.
Hi Brian,
I bought the Gruner Veltliner in advance of your post’s appearing and much enjoyed it with a chicken supper. (Am I alone in placing some trust in the teutonic discounters’ abilities when it comes to German and Austrian wines?)
A bonus was that it was £2 cheaper with Lidl Plus until next Wednesday 6th. (I know, I know – they have my entire life mapped out on their database!)
I also took a chance on the 2024 Pfaffl Muskateller, which seems to have won every prize going – including Best Producer Austria, whatever that means. The reason this particularly appealed was that I have often found grapes one normally associates with a sweeter wine are really interesting when vinified for a dry(er) finish.
Good to see the Lidl wine tour back on song.I felt that the last few tours were a bit lacklustre.As ever with Lidl, I do find that 90 point wines and above sell out in annoying days , rather than weeks.So if any are of interest, act quickly.
I tried the Pinot Gris and the Vermentino and agree with Richard Bamfield that the latter shades it for me, and I think would have wider appeal.
Here is what I thought about it-
Vermentino Toscana Sassi del Mare 12.5% abv £7.99
Smart label,featuring a naughty bird and a smart wine choice.
Pale golden.Lime,grapefruit, green apple on the nose. Floral- some Welsh people would say daffodil and a crushed wet stone and almond long finish.
Refreshing,dry,light bodied,high acidity but with more weight on the palate,with echoes of viognier aromatic complexity.No oak.
A great alternative to Sauvignon Blanc and a classy summer sipper.
Thank you Brian for an early heads-up when recently we spoke and I said I was headed to Lidl for a splurge on their new August Wine Tour. And a case of fancy labels for bird-spotters mean little, it’s what’s in the bottle that counts!
This German bottle, Junge Pinzer Pinot Gris, just ”quality wine” from Baden, dropped in the shopping trolley, chilled on my return, opened and drunk sofort! Blimey what a corker if that is no pun for a screw top bottle, that bland, innocuous looking label that carried no obvious clue here.
I told you I was going for the Austrian stars you mention but the stock at my place of the cheaper of the two discounted bottles had shifted very quickly. I’ll hopefully have both to try next week instead and went for the 2024 Deidesheimer Hofstück Pfalz Riesling amongst others.
What interests me a lot as a wine hobbyist using English retail outlets is how the trade can influence us to the extent it does. 10 years ago who would have thought it, the prevalence now of so much in the way of Austrian and indeed Portuguese offerings and Lidl itself giving us more and, very welcome yes, German stuff at last.
Given that Lidl can tantalise-and-tease with their loudly professed WIGIG at least their usual, typical, customer base is not taken to the cleaners financially with unaffordable pricing, albeit many of their exclusive Tour bottles are not dirt cheap.
If quality is held high in terms of this process then who are we to avoid their offerings and might I say at times they will say WIGIG but every now and again comes back a bottle previously enjoyed as part of a previous tour. Thank you!
So here again is Portugal and the acceptable Cabriz rosé and even better the quite lovely Caiz Vinho Verde to be enjoyed during the warmth of summer. (sic). Add to this a certain amount of discounting too in the shape of new offerings. The Austrian Müller rosé if they still have some left is most enjoyable too.
But no mention of the Cabriz Dão? I thought worth 8 quid of any happy-wine lover’s money. Whether it shows better than the Aldi Dao is subjective; others will say. As long ago as 2017 the waiter serving us at Porta Grande at Sao Raphael in Portugal suggested at €12 this well-promoted red, prize-winner-at-home; a very acceptable purchase. We bought it over there regularly but didn’t spot any here. Now Lidl have some.
A mention for a 6 bottle haul at Waitrose as I travelled away recently. An exceptional rosé jumped out. Le Bijou de Sophie Valrose Coteaux De Béziers Rosé IGP 2024 12% abv £8 less 5%.
Given the price of so much Provençal pink over here gets hiked pure and simply on the basis of fashionable provenance nevertheless the light end of pink has got its massive fan base these days, understood for good reason where better offerings exist. I love it and my wife too. Head slightly south and west and this Coteaux De Béziers also fits the model perfectly. Don’t know if it is still discounted but at less than the £8 I paid, terrific value.
I also called at a Co-op when out shopping and got last Monday’s Chianti recommendation. Dear me, another wee gem. Slow down there …..
Salut … und prost!
The Grüner Veltliner passed our 2 wine tests: (1) We reached out to top up our glasses, and realised we had drunk it all; (2) We made a note to go and buy some more, which I did first thing this morning.
Because I forgot to put the bottle in the fridge until late afternoon, the wine was served less chilled than usual. But, on opening, we realised, for us, that it really benefitted from being served slightly less chilled. I guess because it was not really lightweight, but had quite decent texture/body – so a really versatile white at a great price. Don’t really think about precise temperatures, just whether I take a bottle out of our fridge or cooler, say a few minutes, or say, 20 or 30 minutes before serving.
I wasn’t so lucky. My lacklustre local Lidl still hadn’t got any of the August Wine tour wines on their shelves by yesterday. It was still full of the previous range, as well as bottles of rum, beer and gin.
I need to roam further afield it would seem.
Hello Alf King … I think some kind of response is in order! I personally can empathise with your problem at Lidl as you describe.
I use five different stores local to me and the idiosyncratic nature of area management and in-store management too can bring problems at Lidl shops when customers who make the effort to shop for specifics, and especially heavily advertised items like wine, are met with platitudes about none deliveries and all else, that is nobodies fault really!
It’s obvious that WE must pay the price in some ways for some cheaper prices, that obviously includes lower staffing levels, trying to get stock onto the shelves, or not as the case happens.
Nevertheless our time and travelling costs are valuable and no-one should feel satisfied about the need to attend twice or more to try and obtain that which is punted at us from both Lidl’s own, extensive advertising and genuine recommendations from wherever that we may like to go and get this and that, but the cupboard was bare when we went!
We live in Britain … I’ll leave it at that …
Thanks Eddie.
it’s nice to know that I am not alone in my suffering. 🙂
I bought that Old Vines Garnacha from our local back in January think it was £6.99 then, not seen it since. I wish I’d bought more, I really liked it. It did need some air, though, to soften it a bit, it’s a little on the rustic side but thoroughly enjoyable ( going to stick a few in the basket this time). Pinot Gris and GV as well, thanks for the heads up, Brian
Hello David,
Have you tried Co-op Spanish Garnacha 2024, Campo de Borja, Spain
13%, £7.65 at Co-op?
I was suitably impressed by the value.
Hi Paul, Yes I have, and as you say for the money it’s pretty decent, plenty of bright fruits. The Co op also do another decent Spanish Garnacha the Davida, this is even better I’d say.