Your Top Wine Reviews of 2021
Aldi jostles alongside Kylie Minogue and zero alcohol wines in the Top Reader Choice Wine Reviews of 2021 on wineuncorked.co.uk.
Top overall clicks went to Aldi’s Aimone Italian Red Blend (£4.99) closely followed by two more red wines – the Co-op’s 4 Winemakers Malbec (£6) and Tesco’s Di Marco Primitivo (£7). Popular white wine reviews were dominated, again, by Aldi while singer Kylie Minogue’s still and sparkling rosés matched their overall popularity with the UK public where they’ve sold over a million bottles since the range launched just 10 months ago.
Zero and low alcohol wines featured prominently in what you wanted to read but only M&S’s Sparkling Alcohol Free Muscat made the Top Three within the sparkling category. Although this wine may have the cache of the M&S brand, at only 1* rating it isn’t worth bothering with. But you found that out with the review.
The rest of the best were all top scoring 3, 4 or 5* reviewed wines, with Aldi’s Premium Chablis Premier Crus being the most expensive wine you read up on at £19.99.
Lidl’s Cremant de Loire topped the sparkling wine list, with their Spanish Cava coming in fourth. Which is a nice surprise for the marketing folk of Cava as they’ve been having a tough time of it for some years as Italy’s Prosecco has stolen their thunder. French Champagne was not high on your list of wants and neither was English sparkling wine – so that English wine renaissance overtaking Champagne highlighted by the press may still actually be some way off.
So what can we learn from the wines you chose to find out about? You prefer fuller flavoured red wines and don’t take too much notice of wine critics who say lighter Pinot Noir is king. Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay are ever-popular but will consider less fashionable whites, while Kylie Minogue has caught your attention as well as zero alcohol wines.
And what of next year? Will branded wines like Lindemans, Hardys and Barefoot start moving up the charts? Morrisons and M&S are fighting it out in the mid-price range, while the corner shop brands of SPAR, Nisa and Budgens may creep higher up the ratings without anyone really noticing.
Top Three Red Wines
Aimone Italian Red Blend
£4.99 Aldi
5*
Aromas of blackberry crumble and some slight liquorice is added to by flavours of fresh grape, cherry and mocha coffee. A bargain.
4 Winemakers Malbec
£6 Co-op
3*
Jammy cherry, plums and cocoa.
Di Marco Primitivo
£7 Tesco
3*
Earthy, fruity flavours dominated by liquorice.
Top Three White Wines
Aldi Castellore Specially Selected Pinot Grigio
£5.49 Aldi
5*
Enticing aromas of fresh pear are mixed with almond and brown bread and the flavour adds apple pie.
Albert Lucas Premium Chablis Premier Crus
£19.99 Aldi
5*
Part of the Classic Icons range, this pale-yellow loveliness is part of the posh Christmas range at Aldi. And while you may not usually spend twenty quid on a bottle of wine at this discount store then today is good time to try it.
Aldi Portuguese White Douro Vinteiro
£5.99 Aldi
5*
An extremely enjoyable quaff that matches many foods and moods with flavours of apple, pear and melon.
Top Three Rosé Wines
La Luciole Rosé
£10 Co-op
3*
A pretty wine with aromas of strawberry leaf and almond.
Kylie Minogue Cotes de Provence Rosé
£15 Morrisons, £19.50 Harvey Nichols
4*
This is an excellent wine. Floral and fruity with a light meringue sweetness.
Wine Chat Pink Flamingo Pinot Grigio Rosé
£7.50 Morrisons
3*
Strawberry cheesecake flavours.
Top Three Sparkling Wines
Lidl Cremant de Loire
£8.49 Lidl
3*
Pleasant enough fizz with pear and melon aromas plus a bit of orange on the flavour.
Kylie Minogue Prosecco Rosé
£9 Morrisons, Asda, £12 Tesco
3*
A good level of fizz with light lemon sherbet and apple flavours. Lovely looking bottle.
M&S Alcohol Free Sparkling Muscat
£4 M&S, Ocado
1*
Flavours of watered down Appletise. Aldi’s ZeroZecco Sparkling wine at £2.49 tastes much nicer and gets 4*.
The wineuncorked.co.uk wine rating system uses a maximum of 5 stars:
5* outstanding – the top rating given by wineuncorked.co.uk
4* very good wine
3* good wine but over priced
2* a disappointing wine
1* little to offer
0* avoid – pour down the drain
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© Paula Goddard 2021 www.wineuncorked.co.uk
