Paula Goddard’s Wines of the Week starting 25th November 2019
Top Ten White Wines Over £6 of 2019 this week with recommended wines starting at £6.50 and going up to £15.99. The Co-op (for successive years) is providing half of the Top Ten with other supermarkets and retailers making up the rest.
So what can you expect from a white wine that costs more than £6 and so puts it in the above average price per bottle bracket? Lots of flavours that all complement each other so that no one flavour dominates, plus the ability to keep on drinking to the end of the bottle rather than getting bored half way down – which can be the case with some cheaper whites where only one or two flavours make up the wine.
And when you start getting into the £9+ range you’ll also notice a distinct change in the label quality and design. This is because when a wine maker can get more profit per bottle they can justify spending just a little bit more on good graphic design and thicker paper for their labels. Which is part of the ‘posh’ feel you sense when handling the vessel leading to warmer, possibly less judgemental analysis, on drinking the wine.
So how can you avoid this high price bias? Well you could buy all your bottles ‘blind’ without seeing the label (which is going to be difficult to do unless you attend what is know as a ‘blind tasting’ where the labels are deliberately covered up) or you could seek someone else’s advice on what to buy – possibly a wine columnist who has tasted lots and lots of wines so is able to put each wine into context.
Well here they are in ascending order of price.
Top Ten White Wines Over £6 of 2019
1. Is this it? Hungarian Pinot Blanc 2018
£6.50 Co-op
A really fruity and really nice wine. Pear and apricot flavours.
2. Jean-Marie Garnier French Chardonnay 2017
£6.50 SPAR
Melon, pear and lemon. Nice and fruity.
3. Tesco Finest Saint Mont white
£6.50 Tesco
A blend of four grape varieties with rather ugly names but the result is delicious with flavours of fresh lemon, apple and peach.
4. Finca Las Moras Argentinean Pinot Grigio-Trebbiano 2018
£7.25 Co-op
Complex flavours of peach, apricot and rose petal with some almond and apple. You get a lot for your money.
5. Vignobles Ferrandiere French Pinot Gris
£7.69 Aldi
Very pleasant as long as you like the flavour of tinned fruit salad.
6. Tuna Club Spanish Verdejo Sauvignon Blanc 2018
£8 Co-op
Pear with a tingle. Not your usual Sauvignon Blanc.
7. Indomita Chilean Gran Reserva Viognier 2018
£8 Co-op
Light and creamy with apple flavours and a honey tinge.
8. RAW Really Awesome Wine Organic and Vegan Spanish Verdejo
£8 Co-op
Creamy peach, lemon, apple and a bit of pineapple. Fruity.
9. Marques de la Concordia Spanish Tempranillo Blanco 2018
£10 Sainsbury’s
A nicely balanced wine that is best drunk after it’s been out of the fridge for half an hour. Drink too cold and you’ll miss the light apple and banana flavours.
10. Muscadet Sevre et Maine Chateau Thebaud 2014
£15.99 Virgin Wines
Flavours of lemon digestive biscuit. Nice.
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© Paula Goddard 2019 www.paulagoddard.com
