Lot 02 Tasmanian Chardonnay, Australia 2013 (£9.99, Aldi) Aldi’s bid for vinous respectability, an important part of its campaign to lure still more middle-class shoppers, continues with the launch of the Lot Series, a set of “boutique wines” (their wording, not mine), each the result of a collaboration with a “leading” winemaker. Three of them go on sale this week (a fragrant, silky Argentine Malbec-Cabernet will be on sale in May, and there will be five more later in the year). The savoury oatmeal and crisp apple of the excellent Tasmanian Chardonnay was the pick of the bunch, just ahead of the piercing, incisive Lot 04 Layda Sauvignon Blanc from Chile’s Leyda Valley and the chewy sweet fruit and spice of the Lot 03 Pézenas 2013 southern French red.
Toro Loco Tempranillo, Utiel-Requena, Spain 2014 (£3.79, Aldi) Good as they are, and while I would be happy to put a bottle of any of them in the trolley the next time I’m scavenging for cheap loo roll and salami, the Lot Series wines wouldn’t on their own be enough to make me plot a trip to Aldi. If I had a tenner to spare, I’d still rather go to an indie or an Oddbins where they have an infinitely wider range at that price. What Aldi does have which the indies (and the other supermarkets for that matter) don’t, however, is a bargain basement wine of the quality of Toro Loco Tempranillo, a juicy, berry-fruited red that is astonishingly good considering tax and other costs leave only a few pence for the wine itself.
The Exquisite Collection Fleurie, Beaujolais, France 2014 (£6.49, Aldi) As I tasted the rest of the slim Aldi range of 50 bottles amid the distractingly spectacular views of London at the top of Millbank Tower, it seemed to me that price remains the over-riding consideration in the retailer’s selection process. There was very little that was egregiously bad, most wines were OK or better for the money, but there was little to stir the soul. There are some real gems, however: Exquisite Collection Fleurie 2014 (£6.49) is a very pretty light Beaujolais; while the zesty limey Exquisite Collection Clare Valley Riesling 2014 and the soft strawberry-juicy Exquisite Collection New Zealand Pinot Noir 2014 (both £6.99) both pull off the Aldi trick of being much better than their prices suggest they have any right to be.
