PREVIEW – THE ALDI WINE FESTIVAL

I have already posted a short piece on the forthcoming Lidl French Wine Sale which starts on 12th September. Not to be outdone, Aldi will launch their own Wine Festival on 21st August, featuring wines from fifteen different countries. In the bright surroundings of the Kevin Kavanagh art gallery on Chancery Lane, we tasted our way through 26 wines. It included many decent well-made wines, and a few real stars. Below is a quick run-through of my favourites.

WHITE WINES

Tokaji Furmint 2015, Hungary €7.99
Very crisp and dry with some lean white peach fruits.

Dao Branco Ecosta da Vinha 2014, Portugal €7.99
Light melon and greengage fruits with good refreshing acidity. Made from Encruzado & Bical. Remarkable at the price.

Ried Seiber Gruner Veltliner Reserve 2015 Wachau, Austria €8.99
The star of the show amongst the whites for me. Unusual to find anything from Austria for under €15, let alone €10. From the Domaene Wachau, a high-quality co-op (despite the name)in Austria’s premier wine region, this is a very good refreshing crisp dry white wine, with decent ripe pears and peaches.

Edition Fritz Keller Baden Riesling 2015 €8.99
Off to medium-dry with clean apple fruits, but doesn’t really have much Riesling character. Good well-made white wine at a very cheap price.

Leaf Plucker Sauvignon Blanc 2016, Coastal region, South Africa €9.99
Herbaceous green peppers and lime zest, with crisp gooseberry fruits; if you like Marlborough Sauvignon and Sancerre, chances are you will enjoy this.

RED WINES

Edition Fritz Keller Baden Pinot Noir 2014, Germany €9.99
Fragrant, and elegant; the acidity might stick out a little, but this is a lovely light wine with red cherry fruits. Nice wine at a mouth-watering price.

De Bertoli GS Pinot Noir, Yarra Valley 2015, Australia €10.99
Richer than the German Pinot above with attractive dark cherry fruits. Again, decent wine at an incredible price for a Yarra Pinot.

Nikau Point Estate Syrah Reserve 2014, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand €9.99
Possibly a little over-extracted but this is still a very nice wine, at an incredible price. Clean herby dark savoury fruits, with a nice light tannic structure. V. good.

Nonius Estate Feteasca Neagra/Shiraz 2014, Romania €8.99
Not bad; nice plump fruit, good concentration, but finishes on a slightly bitter note. Worth trying though.

Gloria Douro Reserva 2014, Portugal €8.99
Elegant, dry light claret-like wine with dark brambly fruits. 13% alcohol. Worth trying with food.