Most of us began our wine drinking with main stream brands that started appearing in our supermarkets many years ago, a few well known names to begin with followed by more - I remember new labels being launched through Tesco Wine Community.
Now we all look for that bit extra and the popular brands are left on the supermarket shelves, our buying styles changing to dedicated wine suppliers. This suggests the well known branded wine is not really that good, even though it commands high sales figures .....
... is it really so bad? Are we being lead down the road by better label higher price must mean better wine?
The only solution to this question was to test our palates. When I first began the wine evenings most people who came had not tasted any other wine than the main stream brands, over time we have tasted many more wines from many more producers. This time we revisited some old favourites to see if they were still wines we'd buy ..... the results were quite surprising.
 |
| Wine tasting table all set to go |
Everyone enjoyed both the doux (sweet at just 2%) and the brut (dry at 4.5%) especially as accompanied by pork scratchings.
These cidrés are far more appley, almost like pressed apple juice and quite similar to cider bought in the West Country where English apples are mainly grown.
The sweet cidré was preferred although everyone thought both bottles would be great, well chilled, in the garden during this exceptionally hot summer, with pork scratchings of course.
One of our members has just celebrated a significant birthday and donated two bottles of wine to celebrate. I did not include these in the blind tasting but did pair them with a wine from the same region and same grape so the theme continued throughout the evening ...well I tried to!
The first donated wine was Koru Savignon Blanc from New Zealand - a pale clear wine in the glass with a typical New World Sauvignon Blanc nose of passionfruit and citrus which continued in the mouth with added lime zest.
It's finish was elegant and long and although I had not had this wine before it was exactly as I expected.
My wine to compare was Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc again from New Zealand, one of the first Sauvignon's I tried from the Southern Hemisphere. In all honesty there was not much difference, same colour, similar nose and same flavours although surprisingly a lighter finish.
Personally I preferred Villa Maria but then I do like softer Sauvignons however the Koru was a good wine that everyone enjoyed.
For the main wine tastings I had paired the wines up; both wines being from the same grape, same country, same producer - but would they be the same in taste and flavour? And would we like them?
To ensure we had no preconceptions I covered all signs of labelling on each bottle, including the neck and top - the result - a real sellotape fest!!
 |
| The white selection |
We all struggled to detect any aroma for either wine, in fact I was wondering if I had gone 'nose blind' until someone mentioned they were finding it difficult to smell anything. This was something we found with many of the wines. Taste wise both were crisp and clean, Wine 5 had more of an appley flavour whilst Wine 6 was more tropical.
After much discussion and deliberation - this increased as the night progressed in both volume and animation - the general vote was for Wine 5 which was Yellow Tails in preference to McGuigan Classic Wine 6 ..... quite a surprise all round.
Our second white was Chardonnay, again from Australia and again similar in percentage (13 and 12.5 respectively). I purchased these from Pidou when on holiday but they are both available in the UK from various supermarkets at around £5 each.
To accompany our glasses of Chardonnay I served sweet popcorn, what a great pairing for both wines. Wine 7 had plenty of citrus some vanilla and a good finish; Wine 8 had a little more depth, with apricots adding to its flavour.
These two wines split the room a little more than the Pinot Grigio but Wine 8 was, by majority, the favourite ....... McGuigan Classic. The other wine when revealed was again a surprise as some had chosen this in the past over other Chardonnays, Wine 7 was Banrock Station.
Leaving whites behind it was time to compare our two rosés, these were definitely not wines I would buy but are firm favourites with a few of our wine tasting ladies. I also bought these in France but they are widely available in the UK at around £6 a bottle.
These White Zinfandel rosés from California were lighter in volume, both 8.5% and quite a dark pink in the glass. Far too sweet for me and too artificial so I did not really join in this tasting. To pair with, and maybe add to, their sweetness I paired them with another holiday buy, Turkish Delight; of course I did join in in this!
The findings on the rosés were as I expected, they were enjoyed more by the ladies with flavours of strawberries, pineapple, cherries and raspberries. The preference was for Wine 10 which was Gallo Family; the reveal of Wine 9 caused a little bit of a stir as it was one ladies 'favourite' ...... Barefoot.
As so our first blind discoveries ended - the general comments on our whites and rosés were that the wines were very drinkable, nothing unpleasant with any but they were all lacking in depth and finish.
After our buffet we moved onto our reds, we did all notice the level of merriment seemed higher although quantity and percentages were on par with our other tastings - I have a few thoughts on why this might be so, a discussion another time maybe.
 |
| Mystery reds |
The first red was the second wine donated and I had thought it to be a Cotes du Rhone so I paired it with our all time favourite Les Dauphins. However the wine was actually a Costieres de Nimes so still Southern France and made with Grenache, Syrah, Carignan and Mouvedre grapes. There was a definite difference between these two but both were great wines and a good way to move into our blind red tastings.
Cabernet Sauvignon from Australia with volumes of 13% and 13.5% this grape variety for me is always a food wine. That said we tried them with spicy tortilla chips which brought out the spiciness in both. Wine 13 was full of blackcurrants and other soft dark red fruit, a definite background of mocha and a hint of spice on its finish.It was thought this wine would be good to have with a meal and to share.
Wine 14 was as equally fruity but with slightly sourer fruit such as blackberries and cherries and it's spiciness had a hint of oak. This wine was Hardy's VR and everyone thought it a good recommendation for a party, a good red for a summer BBQ.
It would have been the one chosen but everyone thought Wine 13 Yellow Tails as equally good.The conclusion - both are good wines but suited for different occasions, simillar to session beer and a single pint it depended on the occassion.
Spain was the destination for our next pair, Rioja Tempranillo paired with Iberico cheese. Of all the bottles these were the two most difficult to disguise with branding everywhere and distinctive shaped bottles. As with the rosé this is not a wine for me and so I passed on this tasting letting others try to decide which brands they were and more importantly which they preferred.
Not an easy task as both Wine 15 and Wine 16 were full of dark fruitiness, vanilla and spice, a combination of flavours many of the chaps at our tastings enjoy. The winner was Wine 15 Faustino VII bought from Tesco £6.50; Wine 16 was Campo Viejo also from Tesco but a slightly higher price £8.00, a difficult choice as both wines were enjoyed.
Our final two came from Chile, single grape blend these Merlots travelled home from holiday with us. Retailing in the UK at £8.99 and £6.50 these dark reds were both around 13% in volume. Much darker in the glass than the other reds these also had great aromas of plums and red fruits.
It was hard to split these as they had great flavours of dark fruits, plums, vanilla and spice, both also had a good body and finish. Final decision went to a very well known and much liked label - Wine 18 Castillero del Diablo made by Concho y Toro who make many of the wines we all enjoy. The Merlot runner up was Wine 17 Santa Rita 120 a label most had seen but not many had tried.
What a superb evening and what an eye opener - everyone agreed knowing which brand it was often influenced their buying styles.
One thing I have discovered recently is that just because a wine is in a wine store with a good label at a not so cheap price does not necessarily mean it is a good wine (as our sink will testify) - and in the same way a wine that is big brand, bulk made, supermarket bought is not necessarily a bad wine.
Think of chocolate - Dairy Milk and Galaxy are much loved and enjoyed bars of chocolate, Hotel Chocolat and Thorntons are that little bit extra - each have a place and time to be enjoyed
Whilst popular brands in main supermarkets are no longer my go to wines I would, given the right occasions, buy them again - as they say if we all liked the same thing life would be a little on the boring side - cheers !!
Wine 5 - Yellow Tails Pinot Grigio Wine 6 - McGuigan Classic Pinot Grigio
Wine 7 - Banrock Station Chardonnay Wine 8 - McGuigan Classic Chardonnay
Wine 9 - Barefoot White Zinfandel Wine 10 - Gallo Family White Zinfandel
Wine 13 - Yellow Tails Cabernet Sauvignon Wine 14 - Hardy's VR Cabernet Sauvignon
Wine 15 - Fautino VII Riojo Tempranillo Wine 16 - Campo Viejo Rioja Tempranillo
Wine 17 - Santa Rita 120 Merlot Wine 18 - Castillero del Diablo Merlot
No comments:
Post a Comment