Wines For Christmas

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ardross
  • Start date Start date
A

Ardross

Guest
I have been drinking less this year but I can recommend the following for Christmas having necked them !

Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 Chile- about £5.99 everywhere - rich , Cabernet Sauvignon with no green unripe flavours

For champagne - Louis Roederer NV remains the best NV in my view but the Charles Heidsieck Mis En Cave - the one with the blue label is on offer in Waitrose at about £20 and is excellent

At the other end of the scale the reliable and likeable Cristalino Cava is just £4 at Majestic if you buy three !

A friend of mine brought round a bottle of Sainsbury’s Coonawarra Cabernet 2003 to dinner - about £7 I think but very good - certainly surprised this wine snob . The Waitrose Classic Cotes Du Rhone 2005 at just £3.99 I bought to put in a vegetable stew with cheese dumplings and ended up drinking most of it - really soft and easy to drink

On whites Sainsburys have a half price Pouilly Fume which isn't bad but i would not pay full price for it . The classy dry Clos D'Yvigne Bergerac Princess de Cleves from Majestic is excellent at £6 .

Very enjoyable red too is the Chinon Les Petites Roches 2005 Joguet from Waitrose at about £8.95 . This is really fruity and refreshing just the wine for a cold spread on Boxing day

Finally the Tesco Finest and Sainsbury Taste the Difference Chablis are both good at about £7 and at Majestic the very classy Jackson Estate Savignon Blanc 2006 is £7.99 if you buy two.

I forgot two excellent southern french reds - Chateau de Pennautier from Majestic at about £5 and Petit Verdot Les Preignes also from Majestic at about £5.99

Last of all the new Oddbins house red and white at £3.99 seemed perfectly OK to me when I tasted them in the Manchester branch
 
In a blind tasting of thirty supermarket champagnes carried out at the Dorchester over three sessions by experts led by Egon Ronay and invigliated by the Press Associaton, one of Marks and Spencer's was judged to be the best.

The judges were unaware of the champagne type, supermarket brand, producer or price at the time of testing.

Ronay described the range and quality of supermarket champagnes as "a revelation". "It would certainly be a mistake to buy the well-known brands just because of the name on the label when some of the supermarket champagnes stand up to them very well. Those which were in the first three are as good or better than some of the best," he said.

"Psychologically, because they are lower in price, people may think they are not as good - which would be a mistake."

He added: "Certainly the winning three and perhaps one or two others are better than some of the very well-known names."

"To me it was a revelation. I had never bought champagnes at supermarkets before because one is prejudiced."

Ronay's team's blind taste test showed the top three champagnes as follows:

First: M&S Champagne de St Gall Premier Cru Brut, £14.99 to December 31. Non-promotion price £19.99.

Second: Sainsbury's Vintage 1999 Blanc de Blancs Brut, £17.99.

Third: Sainsbury's Blanc de Noirs Brut, £13.99.

I cleaned out Marks & Spencers in Sutton of their stock (they only had eighteen bottles left!) and got a further 5% discount as a case price - it really is very good.
 
M& s have also launched a range of growers champagnes from small producers . I haven't tried them but they are meant to be good
 
Well it is, yes - but not quite as much cheaper as you'd expect! Then again, I do get additional discounts from Danny around the corner, he's a star!! :D

Of course the biggest problem is bringing the stuff back - BA charged me £47 in excess baggage last time I flew, bastards! My counter argument that there were fat bastards on the plane who were double my weight didn't cut much ice either! :lol:
 
:lol: I have heard you got hollow legs mind!!!! :P and it never ever gets to your head..

Do you remember 1 year ago(time just flies by don't it?) us all dashing to Tesco to buy that raspberry vodka................ :rolleyes:
 
Originally posted by Shadow Leader@Dec 13 2006, 07:12 PM
I'm happy to make do with Bolly.....:D
Click to expand...
Lucky you...

I'll be be getting stuck into the trusted fav Lambrusco Bianco. :D
 
And why not? One should drink what one enjoys. Ardross is quite partial to Blossom Hill Rose in summer, I believe...

So, that's the Perrier-Jouet Belle Epoque for me, then, thanks! Will enjoy a bottle with the Wonder of the Ages (aka Mommie Dearest) at Christmas, and another when she turns 90 on January 4th. (Unbebloodylievable - no-one in our family stays that distance!)
 
At Majestic the vincent giradin white burgundies are oustanding (if they have them in stock)

The argentinian winemaker Cantena (majestic again) is superb. The chardonnay is as good as you will find

Overall i think the south american wines are best value at the moment

Saintsbury Pinot noir (california) is a great one to splash out on
 
ERNIE!!!!! sent me a cheque this morning :) so I bought a few ?? btls of champagne A.CARPENTIER BRUT @ halfprice £10 a btl .......IS THIS ANY GOOD??? please.. ta for any info.............
 
I agree . The Norton Privada is a top notch red and the Catena wines are very good too.
 
Apologies...it is Catena ...not Cantena!

Coo Sur Pinot noir is superb value too. Yali cabernet sauvignon as good as you could hope for at that price too

Majestic too....
 
I think it is a Tesco brand ? I haven't had it but I think there have been suggestions on some wine sites that it certainly isn't worth its full price but is worth a tenner .

You do have to be a bit careful with some of these discounts from the big supermarkets . Some wines they mark as half price when in fact the higher price is was over the odds for the wine . The Hardys Crest range for a start - ok at £4 rip off at its supposed real price of £8
 
What our wine expert said...
"This is our most popular party champagne - perfect for any celebration and tastes just as good as any of the top brands. Andre Carpentier is a crisp, dry Champagne with light lemon flavours and a biscuity aroma. Delicious with party nibbles."

ARDROSS ta for for that....... I found the above on the TESCO SITE..they seem to have a discount on all champers, not only this one.............
 
The Del Diablo sauvignon blanc is worth trying.

An unusual red is the Brown Brothers Cienna. Rich and slightly petillant (? can't be arsed checking the Concise Oxford) but only about a fiver. It's a crime to pay too much for drinking wine.
 
I'm drinking a rather crappy bottle of Banrock Station at the moment. Yet another dodgy wine my mother so kindly bought me. Not recommended but I'll finish it anyway.
 
Maybe we need an 'Avoid These!' sub-section - I tried out a Marktree (S.E. Oz) blended white on a friend and myself a few nights ago. Ghastly - thinnish, with a slightly sour aftertaste. I found a very pleasing Pinot Grigio the other day, then a couple since which were also thin and boring. I find some white wines give me a fair bit of indigestion while others don't, and wonder if something is put into some which causes that?

Hey-ho, it should be such a simple business to find something rich, fruity, and smooth which comes in at under a tenner, surely? Any suggestions for a really pleasant white, folks - NOT dry, but not horribly sweet, either?
 
Back
Top