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Grapes: Primarily Chardonnay; Riesling and Chenin Blanc lending ‘flavour’.
Owned by the largest wine producer in Chile, Concha Y Toro (Casillero del Diablo, Sunrise, Frontera).
The label depicts the church tower in Maipo Town, one of the earliest colonial settlements in Chile, and heart of the region’s winegrowing area. For centuries locals have gathered to pray here; where the vineyards – essential for the region’s economy – have always been protected.
As with most non-vintage (NV) sparkling wines, the winery has blended wines from different vintages to maintain a recognisable taste from year to year. I would probably describe this bubbly as crisp and dry, with primarily tropical fruit flavours and maybe a slight biscuity hint. Nothing sophisticated, or long lasting but a great budget sparkler to welcome in the spring.
Try a raspberry on the top of your flute grass for something a little different.
£10.99 down to £5 – Sainsbury’s (until 16th March)
Shelter Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2009, Marlborough, New Zealand.
The ever popular Sauvingon Blanc grape from this celebrated region of New Zealand’s South Island, has a cult following in the UK, and with competition driving prices lower and lower, this wine is an absolute steal at £4.99Typical of Marlborough, this zingy white offers intensely aromatic, green, tropical fruit and citrus characteristics on the nose (grapefruit, pear, quince, floral) followed by similar flavours, with well-balanced acidity and a long finish.
Why buy the other famous ‘Bay’ wine at four times the price when you can get your hands on this? Stock your fridge up on this crowd-pleaser while you can.
£9.99 down to £4.99 – Sainsbury’s (until 30th March)
Cono Sur Gewürztraminer 2009, Bio-Bio Valley, Chile.
Another ‘European’ grape adapting and producing wonderful wine in the New World, is Gewürztraminer. Naturally high in sugar, the wine produced from these grapes is usually on the sweeter, sometimes flabbier side, so I really enjoy this rather different, drier style from Cono Sur, another of Chile’s wine producing giants. Meaning ‘Perfumed’ or ‘Spiced’ Traminer (this being the ancient varietal from which it comes), this really is a feast for the nose, offering overwhelming notes of lychee, spice and a rich, almost Turkish-delight rose aroma.
Gewürz is the number one spicy-food wine. The high acidity and potent aroma means it’ll stand up to Thai or Indian curries, so try it as a substitute to your regular Friday night, lager and curry takeaway.
£5.99 - Sainsbury’s
La Gitana Manzanilla, Bodegas Hidalgo
This dry, salty-style Fino Sherry from Spain’s famous Jerez region (Sherry to us Brits) is not to everyone’s taste, but when paired with a hard, Spanish Manchego cheese, Chorizo sausage and practically any tapas or seafood, and this wine really comes alive.
Javier Hidalgo, of the Hidalgo wine dynasty – founded way back in 1792 – once told me that when the whole family got together for a meal, this was the only wine that was on the table. I really do see this as both an aperitif and food wine. It is bone-dry, light, with pleasant sharp astringency and a characteristic nuttiness that I find incredibly endearing.
Make sure to drink this wine within a few days of opening; it is a wine that really deserves to be drunk ‘fresh’.
£7.99 – Sainsbury’s
2 comments:
Hi Kurt,
Totally agree about the Manzanilla and the Gewurztraminer. Both very good value and beautifully made. The Reserve Gewurz is also superb from Cono Sur, if you get a chance. The Shelter bay though, I thought it was a bit Disappointing: perhaps I have just tasted too many Marlborough Sauvignons over the years and it just felt a bit ordinary. Mind you the 2009 Cloudy Bay is also quite drab and that costs £20, so...
On a side note... Is Shelter Bay bottled in NZ or UK? I have noticed in increasing tendency for supermarkets to ship in tank and then bottle over here, to avoid duty I suppose, increasing margin, and I have found that quite a few of the "offer" wines on sale, especially the 50% off ones, are treated in this way. For me, it tends to take a bit of the attraction away and it feels like the customer is being cheated. I want my wines to be bottled at source, or a least in the country of origin if possible. What do you think, and does it really matter?
Pills4menerves
I bought another Shelter Bay Sauvignon Blanc today (happened to be in Sainsbury's) and this time the wine was completely different: really crisp and vibrant, packed with fruit, tropical finish. Very good, so I take it back, what I posted before. A real bargain, not sure I'd pay £10 for it though.
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