13.5% abv £5 Asda, £7.49 Morrison's
Wine of the Week was originally devised to help you, the readers, feel confident about trying new wines, different wines to those you'd normally drink, without spending a fortune. I have tried to make the wines of the week as accessible as possible by using the UK's major supermarket chains. I don't have a Morrison's anywhere nearby, but I will try to feature Co-op at some point in the not too distant future. We've been to Asda, Marks and Spencers, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose, and so far we've been to Spain 3 times, Italy, France twice and the USA. It's time the Southern Hemisphere had it's say. After all, the wine makers from the New World of wine in the Southern Hemisphere are just as capable of making low cost and good quality wines as our European friends. Some may say that keeping costs down is even easier in places like Chile and South Africa. So, it's to Chile we go, to sample our second White Wine of the Week, courtesy of Asda (and according to the website, also available at Morrison's).
The Cono Sur range was born in 1993, founded "with the vision of producing premium, expressive and innovative wines that convey the spirit of the New World". Their philosophy of innovation paired with sustainability and quality makes them a brand that's always going to produce something interesting.
This week, I selected the Viognier from the Bicicleta range, named after the bicycles they use to get around the vineyards.
Cono Sur were the first wine producers in Chile to produce and export this varietal, and this one comes from the renowned Colchagua Valley. When I saw that this wine was on sale for £5 I had to pinch myself. Surely it couldn't live up to the promise? After all, the spiritual homeland of the Viognier grape is Condrieu in France's northern Rhone Valley, and an example from here is likely to set you back at least £20 retail. The reputation of the grape is that it's challenging to grow, and decent American examples have set me back at least £10.
The Cono Sur range was born in 1993, founded "with the vision of producing premium, expressive and innovative wines that convey the spirit of the New World". Their philosophy of innovation paired with sustainability and quality makes them a brand that's always going to produce something interesting.
This week, I selected the Viognier from the Bicicleta range, named after the bicycles they use to get around the vineyards.
Cono Sur were the first wine producers in Chile to produce and export this varietal, and this one comes from the renowned Colchagua Valley. When I saw that this wine was on sale for £5 I had to pinch myself. Surely it couldn't live up to the promise? After all, the spiritual homeland of the Viognier grape is Condrieu in France's northern Rhone Valley, and an example from here is likely to set you back at least £20 retail. The reputation of the grape is that it's challenging to grow, and decent American examples have set me back at least £10.
I'm not suggesting that this bottle will rival a premium Condrieu to a connoisseur. However, as an entry level wine, it's a brilliant way to taste a potentially new varietal, and to gain a benchmark for whether or not you're a fan of it's apricot and peach aromas blended with white floral scents, elderflower, violet and pear.
A friend of mine loves aromatic wines as much as I do, and I know that she is partial to a Viognier, so I requested her help in sampling this one.
Here's what Simone had to say:
"For the price I think this is a fantastic wine. I would normally expect to pay more for a wine like this. I love that it is aromatic and was expecting it to go best with a spicy kind of oriental meal. My boyfriend had surprised me with a fab West Indian concoction on my return from the shopping expedition which complemented it perfectly. I also think this would go well with a halloumi/hoummus/bread/tapas kind of lunch.... Great value."
I'm glad Simone was convinced, as, like me, she had to seek out an Asda store specially to sample this one. Do the Purple Teeth public agree? Let us know via the blog comments.
A friend of mine loves aromatic wines as much as I do, and I know that she is partial to a Viognier, so I requested her help in sampling this one.
Here's what Simone had to say:
"For the price I think this is a fantastic wine. I would normally expect to pay more for a wine like this. I love that it is aromatic and was expecting it to go best with a spicy kind of oriental meal. My boyfriend had surprised me with a fab West Indian concoction on my return from the shopping expedition which complemented it perfectly. I also think this would go well with a halloumi/hoummus/bread/tapas kind of lunch.... Great value."
I'm glad Simone was convinced, as, like me, she had to seek out an Asda store specially to sample this one. Do the Purple Teeth public agree? Let us know via the blog comments.
If you love the texture, body and mouthfeel of oaked chardonnays but you're not a fan of those oaky creamy flavours, preferring fresh, bright stone fruit, I'd urge you to give this a try. It's got apricot, peach and maybe hints of orange. The floral aromas are not as strong as, say, a Gewurztraminer - more honeysuckle than rose. The nose could almost make you believe the wine was sweet, even though it is dry or, at most, off-dry. Indeed, Asda have even marked it up as sweet. Trust me, it's not a sweet/sticky wine. The acidity well balances the 6 grams of residual sugar and the impression is definitely that one is drinking a drier rather than sweeter wine.
If you generally find white wine acidity too taxing for your palate, for example after sampling Sauvignon Blanc, then you might find this a summer's white that won't set your teeth on edge.
Flavours come out more as it comes to room temperature after time in the glass so if you find it too overtly floral, just keep it super chilled. I found that food actually seemed to improve it.
I served it with a home made Chinese sweet and spicy stiry fry with lots of vegetable and later found out that that's almost exactly what was recommended on the label. I must be getting good at this.
Purple Teeth will certainly give this a "buy again" rating. At £5 a bottle, it's too good to miss. It's also on sale at Morrison's for £7.49 and that's a fair price for a wine of this quality.
If you generally find white wine acidity too taxing for your palate, for example after sampling Sauvignon Blanc, then you might find this a summer's white that won't set your teeth on edge.
Flavours come out more as it comes to room temperature after time in the glass so if you find it too overtly floral, just keep it super chilled. I found that food actually seemed to improve it.
I served it with a home made Chinese sweet and spicy stiry fry with lots of vegetable and later found out that that's almost exactly what was recommended on the label. I must be getting good at this.
Purple Teeth will certainly give this a "buy again" rating. At £5 a bottle, it's too good to miss. It's also on sale at Morrison's for £7.49 and that's a fair price for a wine of this quality.
17th April is World Malbec Day so next week's Wine of the Week is Malbec. Yes, any Malbec from anywhere. I've 3 Argentinean examples to enjoy and hope that you'll pick up a bottle from wherever is easiest for you and share your experiences with it, either on the Facebook page, here via comments on on my Twitter. I'll include what I can in next week's blog post.
Cheers!
Cheers!
RSS Feed
