Wine: Save your pennies

Published on Wednesday 21 January 2009 09:04

The supermarkets now have a stranglehold on our palates – selling one third (Tesco) and one fifth (Sainsbury's) of the wines we buy. For the last few years, these big retailers have been encouraging customers to trade up. There was a time when Tesco was proud to boast that 70 per cent of its wines cost over £5. Now, it seems, they have changed tack.

In a desperate bid to keep the threat of discounters Aldi and Lidl and warehouse club Costco at bay, Tesco has recently introduced three budget wines at 2.89 per litre from Spanish producer, Felix Solis Avantis.

The new Tesco Value Spanish red, white and ros come in lurid Tetra Prisma cartons. Perhaps people don't really care what the container looks like – as wine boxes prove, it's the way it tastes in the glass that counts.

But how can a wine that costs only 2 or so a bottle taste good? There is surely no hope, with taxation, rising logistics costs, exchange rates and the retailer's margin gobbling up most of the price. There is not much left for the grapes.

According to Tesco's Spanish wine buyer, Andrew Carpenter, they were worried some customers might drop out of the wine market altogether, so this is their response. I wonder whether it is really a good introduction; I would have thought it would put people off!

Is there really a demand for this type of plonk? I think some supermarket own label wines such as Asda's soave, Tesco's Chilean cabernet sauvignon or Tesco Finest fiano can be very good buys (all under 4), but I am not very impressed by these new efforts.

Sainsbury's Basic range works out at around 2.20 a bottle. Their plain labels are poor, they look cheap, and taste confected and sweet. Sainsbury's Kimberley Davenport says Basic bottles have been on the shelves for some time, and are not just a response to the credit crunch.

Asda's Smartprice wins my vote for the best packaging, with neat, simple labels. At this level of the market, labelling is important, as the consumer starting out in wine needs to be given confidence in the product before he unscrews the cap.

All three supermarkets have sourced Spanish Vino de Mesa wines. There are better Spanish bargains on the market, however, such as Aldi's Vina Decana ros from Utiel Requena, at 3.29.

The alcohol level of these wines is only 11 per cent, so they taste much lighter – but at least it's a change from the advancing 14 per cent or 15 per cent plus levels of Australian shiraz, Californian zinfandel or South African pinotage.

Taste test: Cheap and not very cheerful

Tesco

(2.89 for 1 litre)

Tesco Value Spanish White

This is almost the closest I have come to finding a wine that tastes like water. It doesn't taste of wine at all. Not that it's horrible or unpleasant; it's just light, dry and flavourless. 9/20

Tesco Value Spanish Red

Red fruits on aroma and palate, dry, and dull. 8/20

Tesco Value Spanish Ros

Smells mildly of cherries, quite thin; very poor. 6/20

Sainsbury's

(2.21 for 75cl bottle)

Sainsbury's Basic Spanish Red

Burnt rubber nose; this tastes austere, rough and bitter. 5/20

Sainsbury's Basic Spanish White

Doughy aromas, appley flavour, very sweet, confected, with a nasty, bitter finish. 5/20

Sainsbury's Basic Spanish Ros

Very cherried nose, too sweet; lacks balance. 8/20

Asda

(2.21 for 75cl bottle)

La Comida White

I barely noticed it cross the palate, it was so watery, thin and underwhelming. 7/20

La Comida Red

By far the best of the bunch – quite fruity, slightly spicy, with reasonable balance. 11/20

The best Burns Night quaffers

Whisky: ARRAN 250TH ANNIVERSARY ROBERT BURNS WHISKY 1998

(49, Peckham's, Royal Mile Whiskies)

Official tipple from Burns Federation; pine and toffee notes.

White: PUNT ROAD CHARDONNAY 2006

(9.99, reduced from 12.99, House of Menzies, Aberfeldy, 01887 829666)

New, stylish, lightly oaked Yarra Valley chardonnay.

Red: CHATEAU LA GRAND CLOTTE 2005

(8.21, reduced from 10.95, Edinburgh Wine Merchants, 0131-343 2347)

Deliciously succulent, spicy, silky St Emilion.