Paula Goddard’s Wines of the Week starting 9th December 2019
Top Ten Red Wines Over £6 of 2019 this week. The Co-op and Tesco are making their return for another year. While the independents are making a good show with wines priced over £10.
So what’s the best way to serve these wines? Their complexity often gets better if you decant the wine – just open the bottle and pour the wine into a jug or a decanter if you have one (I use a decanter emblazoned with “Stowells of Chelsea” which I bought at a charity shop years ago) and let it sit there for half an hour or so while you rustle up the evening meal.
This action of pouring the wine and leaving it in a wide brimmed vessel allows for a tiny amount of aeration – just enough to get the molecules mingling in the wine and uncovering the juicy, enjoyable flavours that can stay hidden if the red is left in the bottle.
Well here they are in ascending order of price.
Top Ten Reds Over £6 of 2019
1. Doudet-Navdin French Pinot Noir 2018
£7.25 Co-op
Lots of flavours with smoky blackberry and cherry coming through with a touch of Marmite. But not a heavy wine. A good match for Christmas turkey.
2. Gloria Portuguese Reserva Douro 2017
£7.29 Aldi
A complex wine that keeps popping up in the Top Tens listings – because it’s so good! Flavours of plum, black coffee and treacle.
3. Casillero de Diablo Reserva, Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon 2017
£8 Tesco
Fresh fruit flavours that make for a nice wine. Blackcurrant, cherry and choc.
4. Davida Spanish Garnacha
£8 Co-op
A complex layering of fruit flavours gives you a lot to think about as you sip this wine. Expect creamy plum, dried cranberry and some woody flavours.
5. Trivento Private Reserve Argentinean Malbec 2017
£8 Tesco, Ocado
Cherries, raspberries, coffee and violets. Nice.
6. Cru des Cotes du Rhone 2016
£8.50 Sainsbury’s
An interesting wine with some fruity sharpness that will match with rich foods. Smoky violets and black cherry.
7. Warwick First Lady Cabernet Sauvignon 2016, South Africa
£8.75 Morrisons
Morrisons are selling this wine a couple of quid cheaper than I’ve seen elsewhere so get it while you can. A smooth wine with flavours of blackberry and almond.
8. Carnivor Californian Zinfandel 2017
£10 Sainsbury’s , Ocado
A nice mix of vanilla and cherry with a smoky note.
9. Les Cardinaux 2016, Rhone red
£10 Co-op
Oh boy this is a stonker of a wine. It starts off tasting like Black Forest Gateaux then add on some violets, blackberries and raspberries. Despite all those flavours this is still quite a light wine. A bargain at the price.
10. Freestyle Figure Libre 2018, France
£13.59 JN Wine, Northern Ireland
Cherries and toffee with a floral lift.
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© Paula Goddard 2019 www.paulagoddard.com
