A tale of two Montepulcianos

I'm a big fan of Aldi. Since the economic crash of 2008, the German discount retailer, along with its Teutonic counterpart Lidl, have surged in popularity in the UK, and now control around 8.5% of the nation's grocery market combined. It is a testament to the two chains' no-nonsense approach and sensible pricing of a wide range of products that mean more and more of us (and not just cash-strapped students like myself!) are spending our money there. And it's not just groceries that can be found cheaply: the savvy, unpretentious wine lovers among us know that there are a myriad of gems just waiting to be unearthed and enjoyed.

A case in point is Aldi's Montepulciano d'Abruzzo from Italian producer Castellore. The 2011 vintage, bought for a staggeringly low £3.49, was a sublime wine which I had no hesitation in recommending to anyone and everyone when I tasted it back in July 2013. Of the 2010 vintage, the Telegraph's wine correspondent Victoria Moore commended the wine's value, drinkability and ability to deliver on typicity:  

"What I am really asking is: does the wine bear any resemblance to what it’s supposed to be[...]? And can I get it down? Happily, yes is the answer in both cases here: soft, fruity, easy — where’s that plate of spaghetti amatriciana?"

In a similar vein, writer Ned Halley said of the 2010 vintage in his 2013 book 'The Best Wines in the Supermarkets':

"Brambly whiff of healthy hedgerow fruit comes off this well-coloured, bouncing, friendly pasta-matching red. I cannot understand how they do it at the price".

I was equally as complimentary about the 2011 vintage, with its nose of subtle spiced fruits and balanced acidity. The real attraction for me, however, was the wine's sumptuously jammy structure, bursting with soft red fruits and further leathery spice. It was truly a winner, and could have easily retailed for three times the price whilst remaining good value.

It was therefore with great optimism that I approached the 2013 vintage, currently on sale on Aldi's shelves (this time adorned with an IWC award sticker). Unfortunately, whilst the vintage started promisingly with its distinctive spiced aroma, the wine did not have the same poise and balance as its older siblings: the red fruits were less apparent and unable to cope with the cherry tomato acidity running through the backbone. Overall, Aldi's 2013 offering is probably closer in true value to its price of £3.79 than its predecessors: that is to say, still a reasonable pasta wine, but not spectacular.

'Tis the season for wine traditions

I don't know about you, but there are certain little things that signal the start of the festive period chez Tom. For me, it's the first time I hear a Christmas song on the car radio, the initial few cards that arrive in the early December post, and the sights of twinkling tinsel and fairy lights emanating from the front rooms of households in the street. In the last few years however, a new tradition has joined the repertoire of pre-yuletide indicators: that of the big Christmas supermarket wine shop!

Last year, both Tesco and Marks & Spencer shared the honour of being my Christmas supermarkets of choice, with Tesco's delightful Cambucha Carménère 2011 and M&S' intriguing Rincón del Sol Bonarda-Shiraz 2012 grabbing the headlines. However, my 2014 star supermarket for wine has - by some margin - been Sainsbury's, and considering their very generous 25% off any 6 bottles offer and their consistently fabulous own brand wines, it seemed fitting that this year's supermarket foray would be to the UK's third largest grocer.

Feeling festively jolly and adventurous, I selected what I thought was a good mix of styles, regions and grapes. Aside from my mum's customary reserve port, my choices were:

• Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Verdicchio Classico 2013

• Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Chilean Pinot Noir 2012

• Sainsbury's Winemaker's Selection Riesling 2013

• Kanonkop Kadette 2012 

…as well as a nice little Côte de Beaune burgundy (Bouchard Aîné & Fils Côte de Beaune Villages "Les Abbesses" 2010) which I will cellar until Christmas 2015/16.

I fully expect several more bottles to join this selection, but overall I'm happy with my classic Old World whites and my inviting New World reds. Watch this space for reports on my success or otherwise! In the meantime, if you have any Christmas wine rituals or you've made your festive selections from other UK retailers, please feel free to comment and share.

Hi there!

...And thank you for stumbling across my blog! Allow me to introduce myself: my name is Tom Boddy, I'm from Milton Keynes in South-East England and I'm a wine lover. It's been far too long since I decided to start writing a wine blog, but I've finally bitten the bullet and taken the plunge into the world of online opinion-sharing (so please play nicely!).

My love of wine stems from family holidays to the south of France in my teenage years. (Incidentally, my earliest memories of the noble beverage involve observing, with some amusement, the older members of my family getting through copious amounts of sherry over the festive season, but maybe more of that another time!). I distinctly remember arriving at a small gîte in the lovely coastal resort of Gruissan, Languedoc-Roussillon, to find a handsome bottle of Château Ricardelle Combemale Rouge 2010 awaiting us as an arrival gift. That night, under the fading Mediterranean sun, my Uncle Loz and I slurped away happily, exuding our shared pleasure at the wine’s many attributes and nuances and looking forward to the week’s holiday ahead. From that moment on, wine has continued to utterly captivate me, and I have strived ever since to recreate moments like the one I experienced in Gruissan. To this day, the lip-smacking, full-bodied reds of Languedoc-Roussillon continue to intrigue me, the Grenache, Carignan and Syrah grapes endure as my personal favourites, and my Uncle Loz remains my biggest influence and inspiration in the wonderful world of wine.

So I hope you enjoy reading my blog and future posts, where I intend to wax lyrical about all things wine in an informal, approachable and – with any luck – interesting manner. Please feel free to comment on, respond to and indeed contest any posts that arouse your interest; after all, wine appreciation is nothing if not opinionated. Happy reading!