Tag Archives: Port

Aldi’s superb Christmas offerings

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Champagnes and sparkling wines from Aldi

Over the last few years Aldi’s wines have been one of the great success stories of British retail. This year – in addition to the normal ranges – they have got some superb sparkling wines and Ports, which are ideal for Christmas and which will also make superb gifts.

Last week Aldi unveiled its range of wines for Autumn/Winter 2016. They are continuing with the extremely successful Exquisite Collection – a range of good quality wines for around £6 a bottle. I really enjoyed the Claire Valley Riesling (£6.99), but they are all worth drinking.

More exciting was a range of excellent sparkling wines. The Valdobbiadene Prosecco Spumante, was a classy prosecco – lots of citrus flavours and medium dry – for £7.49. If you want to create a bit of a splash at Christmas, then the Veuve Monsigny Champagne Brut at £10.99 is an absolute bargain. Lovely light grain – not too fizzy – and a refreshing slight taste of toast. The ideal thing to bring along to a party.

Another interesting sparkling wine is Asti Spumante at £4.99. This is a bit retro – a throwback to the seventies. But it’s fun. It isn’t too alcoholic (7 per cent ABV), it has lovely flavours of ripe pears and would be just the thing for younger people who currently drink cider. Stick a bottle on the table at Christmas dinner!

The collection of fortified wines is also pretty impressive. If you want to splash out Maynard’s Late Bottled Vintage Port 1992 at £19.99 has lovely flavours of chocolate and cherries and a slight hint of pepper. If you’re on a budget Maynards also do a 2012 Late Bottled Vintage Port for £9.99 – which is almost as nice.

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Great wines in lovely bottles – Aldi has some exciting ports for Christmas

Oh, and there’s a Maynard’s 40 year old tawny port for £29.99. It comes in a lovely bottle and makes a great gift. Tawny ports are made in much smaller barrels than ruby ports, so there is more oxidation. Ruby ports taste of fresh fruit, tawny ports taste of dried fruit. This one has lovely flavours of dried figs, dates, raisins. It would make a great gift and would be just the thing to serve with the mince pies.

Just desserts! Two top quality wines for Christmas

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As Christmas approaches, it’s nice to round off a good meal with a glass of something sweet. Traditionally you’d expect to have a glass of Port or a dessert wine such as Tokay (Hungarian) or Sauternes (French) – preferably in front of a fire.

However there are some great varieties from Australia and New Zealand. De Bortoli in South Australia has produced ‘Old Boys 21’, which is described as ‘barrel aged tawny’. To all intents and purposes this is a sort of Port, although for legal reasons the word ‘Port’ does not appear anywhere on the bottle.

Tawny port is aged in small casks. So it tends to oxidise more than the ruby port. This gives it a flavour of dried fruit – figs, raisins and lots of spice. It’s an ideal accompaniment for apple or pear tart or caramel. Old Boys 21 has these characteristics. It positively bursts with flavour. I really enjoyed it, although I’m a bit of a traditionalist and would probably want to buy a genuine bottle of Port, simply because it has a bit of a cachet and everyone will know what to expect.

Ned Noble Sauvignon Blanc 2014 is from the wine growing area of Marlborough in New Zealand. The word ‘noble’ suggests that it has been allowed to stay on the vine until affected by fungal ‘noble rot’ which results in a sweeter more intense wine. This is lovely: full of flavours of tropical fruit – lychees and passion fruit. It’s a bit syrupy, so you wouldn’t want to drink more than a couple of glasses, but it’s just the thing for a small drink after dinner. Alternately, keep a bottle out at Christmas and give a glass with a biscuit or a slice of cake. It’s a treat and reasonably priced.

De Bortoli Old Boys 21, 50cl, Oddbins £22

The Ned Noble Sauvignon Blanc 2014, 37.5cl, Waitrose or Majestic £12.99

More thoughts on food and wine are available on Jack’s food blog

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Graham’s Late Bottled Vintage Port 2008 Review

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Graham’s Late Bottled Vintage (75cl) £13.50

 Graham's Late Bottled Vintage Port 2008, port, grahams

Graham’s Late Bottled Vintage Port 2008 is a particularly fine port. It is a deep, red colour. It is full and generous with great tastes of black cherries, fruit and kirsch with a chocolate edge. It is dry with a smooth finish and is very drinkable. This was one of our favourite ports that we have tried and we would definitely buy it.

 

Perfect for drinking on a hot summer night. It is richly inky in hue and bursting with fruits of the forest, whilst its time spent in oak barrels gives it its dryness. Enjoy its lingering velvety smooth finish on its own or pair with some hard cheese.

 

Stockist Information:

Available from Tesco, Waitrose, Morrisons

 

 

Vintage Seekers launches ‘Shop by Celebration’ for Wine & Spirits

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Vintage Seekers are a Frost Magazine favourite. We went to their amazing launch have been charting their rise ever since.

The latest thing Vintage Seekers are doing is allowing you to buy the gift of great wine, from the vintage year that matters to you

Whether it’s a 1982 Chateau Cos d’Estournel for a 30th birthday, a 2002 Dom Pérignon Rosé for a 10th wedding anniversary, or a magnum of 1991 Château Mouton Rothschild to mark a loved one’s 21st, Vintage Seekers presents a concise hand-picked selection of wine, spirits and Champagne to match all the significant birthdays and anniversaries of 2012.

Until now, gifting someone a wine from their birth year or anniversary required a directionless and time-consuming trawl on the Internet through pages of results of different merchants and wine guides.

New for spring 2012, Vintage Seekers has given the industry a luxury makeover to provide a stylish source that both satisfies the experts and makes great wine accessible for everyone. With gifts starting from just £70, Vintage Seekers aims to dispel the myth that fine and rare wines or spirits are prohibitively expensive.

On the site you’ll find a reliably curated collection to rival that of the leading luxury retailers, sourced from Vintage Seekers’ network of leading wine merchants. We see it as your little black book for the best wines in the business.

Vintage Seekers presents you with the most show-stopping offering from each vintage, comprising not just fine wines, but also Armagnac, Cognac, Calvados, Port, Madeira, Sherry, single malt whisky and prestige multi-vintage Champagne.

Finally, beyond the online range, Vintage Seekers’ concierge ‘Seeker Service’ is able to source clients specific vintages to order for no additional fee.