Fine, Finer, Finest - The Tesco Spring / Summer Tasting 2024
The Tesco Spring / Summer tasting 2024 took place near Borough Market on the 23rd May, showcasing 139 wines, 23 of which were new to the range. Four of the buying team set out their own highlights, eight wines each. Our own highlights included four of Lauren Ballantyne’s eight (she buys Germany, North America, South Africa, Other Europe, England, LoNo), three of Graham Nash’s (Australia, South America, South Africa), three of Kevin Meehan’s (Spain, Portugal, New Zealand and Fortified), and, sorry, Charlotte, none of Charlotte Lemoine’s eight (France, Italy & Sparkling). Overall, we did think it was one of Tesco’s better tastings, especially in its Finest range, so here we go with our 37 reccos.
Sparkling
Tesco Finest English Sparkling Brut, England, £21
This is a classic method blend of the champagne grapes chardonnay, pinot noir, meunier plus 4% of pinot blanc from Balfour Winery in Kent. Pale lemon in colour, it’s aromatically vivid with floral and vanilla-scented notes while, to taste, there’s a ripe stone fruit richness offset by a mouthwateringly citrusy zing.
12% abv. 89/ 100
Tesco Finest English Premier Cru Champagne Brut, France, £25
This blend of two-thirds chardonnay and a third pinot noir from the Union Champagne Co-op in Avize is beautifully aromatic with backgound toasty notes both in its scent and taste; and the flavoursome richness supported by classic Côte des Blancs freshness makes it a satisfying drop of champagne at a not immodest price.
12.4% abv. 90 / 100
Cloudy Bay Pelorus NV, New Zealand, £27.50
You might think that at £2.50 more than Tesco’s Premier Cru Champagne, you should automatically go for the champagne, but that would be false accounting. Why? Because this New Zealand blend of 60% chardonnay and 40% pinot noir is superb, starting out with a complex combination at first sniff of vanilla oak, light toast and appealing freshness; all wrapped up in a mousse of intense peachy richness underpinned by a crisp, sophisticated, dry finish.
12.6% abv. 92 / 100
2021 Segura Viudas Cava Brut Vintage, Spain, £12
If Premium cava sounds like an oxymoron, think again, because this Catalonian fizz, blending the local xarel.lo, viura and parellada grapes with a dash of chardonnay is good value, and looking good too in its Krug-alike bottle; fresh and lemony in aroma, it presents an appealing fruit opulence struck through by lemon zesty acidity and a satisfying dry finish.
12% abv. 88 / 100
Tesco Finest English Sparkling Rosé Brut NV, England, £21
Another zinger from Balfour Winery in Kent, dominated as you might expect in a rosé fizz by pinot noir, with roughly a third chardonnay and meunier added to the blend in a pale coppery pink fizz whose refreshing berry fruit aromas are complemented by a summer pudding-like fruit snap in a refreshingly tart, dry finish.
12% abv. 89 / 100
White
2023 Vista Castelli Trebbiano d’Abruzzo, Italy, £4.75
Yes, £4.75, you did read that right and while we won’t pretend that this Trebbiano is the finest dry white that Italy has to offer, it’s proper wine, cool fermented for fresh pear flavours offset by a pleasing citrusy acidity. We can’t quite see how the members of the producing co-operative are making any margin out of such a cheapie, but e’ cosi com’è, as they probably don’t say in Italian .
11% abv. 86 / 100
2023 Tesco Finest Falanghina, Italy, £8.50
So this dry white, made by the excellent Feudi di San Gregorio from of the three white grapes that dominate white wine production east of Naples in Campania, may be almost twice the price of the Trebbiano, but the quality is there; bright fresh fragrance and ripe stone fruit flavours whose crisp acidity brings with it a salty, food-friendly dry finish.
13% abv. 88 / 100
2023 Tesco Finest Viñas del Rey Albariño, Spain, £11
From the sub-district of O Rosal in Galicia’s Rias Baixas region, this Atlantic-influenced Albariño is vivid and refreshing in aroma and followed when you taste by a rip, peachy fruit quality whose opulence is mitigated by a crisp, saline dry finish, making it the ideal foil for seafood dishes of all stripes.
12.5% abv. 88 / 100
2020 Saint Mont Grande Cuvée, France, £9.50
It’s pretty remarkable that this wine is as delicious as it is after four years, and perhaps is the secret of its success, because the time this dry white from the dependable Plaimont Co-operative has spent in the bottle brings a roundness of texture and maturity of flavour to a south-west French blend of gros manseng, petit courbu and arrufiac, yet not at the expense of an ongoing zesty dry finish.
12.5% abv. 88 / 100
2023 Famille Perrin Côtes du Rhône Réserve Blanc, France, £11
Is it partly climate change that’s making Rhône dry whites so much better than they used to be? Whatever the answer, this full-bodied blend of grenache, viognier, marsanne and Roussanne from the brilliant Perrin family shows bright apple and pear aromas followed by a fresh pear-flavoured opulence that’s supported by a zingy freshness and satisfying dry finish.
13.5% abv. 89 / 100
2023 Tesco Finest Stellenbosch Chenin Blanc, South Africa, £8
Fresh, bright and aromatic, this dry white made by Stellenrust from the Cape’s signature white grape variety, chenin blanc, is intensely flavoured with a ripe peachy fruit quality underpinned by a mouthwateringly juicy freshness. We’re not sure how they manage this at under £10, but who cares; when it’s this good, snap it up.
13.5% abv. 89 / 100
2022 Stellenbosch Manor Barrel-Fermented Chenin Blanc, South Africa, £15
What, another chenin blanc from the same producer as the Tesco Finest Chenin Blanc? Why? Why not? Because this is no common or garden chenin but a full-bodied, immensely rich example of the variety that’s not just powerfully aromatic thanks to time spent in oak casks but the added time spent on the lees has brought an extra dimension of nuttiness of flavour and texture, not to mention opulence, to an impressively complex dry Cape white.
14% abv. 92 / 100
2022 Six Poets Chardonnay, California, £9.50
California chardonnay can sometimes be a little overwhelming, but this example has all the potentially overpowering elements of oak and alcohol well in check thanks to excellent winemaking from Andrea Brambila; yes, there’s a touch of nutty oak, but it’s well handled, as is the appley flavour and juicy ripe acidity, because it’s all nicely balanced and dry on the finish.
13% abv. 89 / 100
2023 Tesco Finest Leyda Valley Chardonnay, Chile, £8.50
This chardonnay from Luis Felipe Edwards hails from Chile’s Leyda Valley which is close enough to the Pacific Ocean for its to benefit from the cooling, air-conditioning effect that brings crisp, mouthwateringly pineappley acidity to the delightful richness of the chardonnay fruit; there’s simply no arguing with a wine this good at the price.
14% abv. 89 / 100
2023 Tesco Finest Western Australian Chardonnay, Australia, £9
Vivid and bright in its aromatic freshness, this is an accomplished chardonnay from Howard Park, one of western Australia’s bet wineries; starting out with a refreshing spritz on the tongue, it morphs into a Mâcon-like ripeness of apple and pear fruit all nicely cut by an incisive blade of vibrantly juicy acidity.
12% abv. 89 / 100
2012 Petaluma White Label Chardonnay, Australia, £17
This accomplished Australian chardonnay hails from the Adelaide Hills, whose altitude and breezes bring the required dimension of freshness to a terrific opulence of flavour that combines elements of grilled nuts and vanilla oak with a textural complexity introduced by the time this wine spends on its yeast less; and the balance here comes from a firm backbone of acidity making it the closest Tesco brings you to a white Burgundy in Australia.
13.5% abv. 92 / 100
2022 Tyrrells Brookdale Hunter Valley Semillon, Australia, £15
The extra warmth of the climate of Hunter Valley in New South Wales has always made this region west of Sydney the most interesting for the semillon grape, and Tyrrells have long been one of the variety’s best exponents; with a fresh prickle on the tongue, the classic lemon meringue-like aromas and flavours are offset by a balanced, dry finish and, as has been shown time and again, this wine will develop further complexity given more time spent in bottle.
11% abv. 90 / 100
2023 Tesco Finest Albariño, Uruguay, £13
As we know from Spain’s western seaboard, the albariño grape shows at its best in Atlantic-influenced regions and, yes, Uruguay is indeed an Atlantic-influenced region even if it is on the other side of the globe; so it should come as little surprise that this albariño from Bodegas Brisas should be as good as it is: bright, aromatic and fine-textured, with plenty of fruit flavour and an almost savoury, dry finish.
12% abv. 89 / 100
2022 Domäne Wachau Grüner Veltliner, Austria, £13
You can usually rely on Domäne Wachau to come up with the goods when it comes to Austria’s signature dry white, grüner veltliner, and they’ve done a good job here, with a wine showing off the typical peppery fragrance of the variety and along with it plenty of juicy stone fruit flavours and a nice spicy note, all well-balanced and dry on the finish.
12% abv. 89 / 100
2022 Hardy’s HRB Riesling, Australia
From Clare valley, Australia’s number one region for riesling, this is a cracking dry riesling made by Hardy’s Helen McCarthy; typically smoky and lime-like in aroma, intense lime flavours follow through on tasting in a wine whose richness of flavour is undercut by an incisive quality of zesty freshness; and while still youthful, it can only get better, temptation resisted, with a year or two more in the bottle.
13% abv. 92 / 100
Orange and Rosé
2023 Bonny Doon Le Cigare Orange, California, £15
The brainchild of California’s original Rhône Ranger, Randall Grahm, this amber gold orange wine from California’s Central Coast really is reminiscent of oranges in its aromas, and for anyone so far reluctant to try an orange wine, it’s an unscary introduction to the style, with lots of juicy stone fruit flavour and zesty acidity allied to the light grip and dry finish that singles out the style as a wine for tapas and pasta.
11.5% abv. 88 / 100
2023 Tesco Finest Sancerre Rosé, £15, France
Made by Domaine Fournier from pure pinot noir grapes, the positive thing about this Loire Valley Rosé is its bright raspberry fruit aromas, its juicy summer pudding fruit quality and well-balanced, dry finish.
13% abv. 89 / 100
Red
2022 Ken Forrester The Misfits Cinsaut, South Africa, £10
Ken Forrester is one of the Cape’s great champions of grape varieties best adapted to the Cape’s terroir, notably chenin blanc in white wine and cinsaut in its reds; here he has come up with a pale, almost pink, red whose cherryish fragrance is followed by a bright, cherry-sweet fruitiness and a light grip on the finish.
13% abv. 88 / 100
2023 Les Terrasses Saint Nicolas de Bourgeuil Cabernet Franc, France, £11
Still primary in its youthful aromas and flavours, this vivid, bright Loire Valley cabernet franc shows a hint of the herbal aromas that so often characterise the variety and a surprising amount of vivid red fruit flavour underpinned by a typically bright, cool climate acidity.
12% abv. 89 / 100
2022 Tesco Finest Saint-Chinian, France, £9
Still in its first flush of youth, this southern French red combines the Rhône grapes syrah, grenache and mourvèdre with the Languedoc’s carignan in an intensely spicy-scented blend whose dark brambly fruit quality is full-flavoured and firm textured, making it the ideal red for barbecues, should summer eventually decide to grace us with its presence.
13.5% abv. 88 / 100
Tesco Finest Châteauneuf-du-Pape. France, £21
We are not always enamoured by supermarket Châteauneuf-du-Pape but here’s an exception that proves the rule; it’s non-vintage and therein perhaps lies its secret, because by blending across different vintages, this classic Rhône blend carries the hoped-for aromas and spicy flavours of the much-vaunted appellation, and, although a full-bodied red of good weight and heft, it’s also surprisingly approachable now.
14 .5% abv. 90 / 100
2022 Tesco Finest Ribera del Duero, Spain, £12
Made from pure tempranillo, this deep-coloured Spanish red shows just a hint of oak vanilla in its attractively scented aroma and the dark cherry fruit is full-bodied without the affliction of being either excessively oaky or alcoholic; yes, it’s still an adolescent, but the texture is nicely rounded and, with a light grip to it and freshness too, it’s already accessible.
14.5% abv. 89 / 100
2022 Fonte del Re Lacrima di Morro d’Alba, Italy, £15.50
Apart from boasting one of the best names in wine, this idiosyncratic red from Umani Ronchi in Italy’s Marche region should be on anyone’s list of wines to try before you die; in its somewhat unnecessarily hefty bottle, it’s an instant surprise with the sort of rose petal fragrance more commonly associated with gewurztraminer; tasting its rose petal-infused dark red fruit is an experience, the tight dry finish demanding grilled meats or pizza.
13% abv. 89 / 100
2021 Nipozzano Chianti Rufina Riserva, Italy, £16
Rufina is one of Chianti’s higher altitude sub-regions and as such usually brings refreshing acidity to the party; as here, where freshness infuses this sangiovese and merlot blend from Marchesi Frescobaldi, with cherryish aromas and an instantly juicy ripe and sour cherry drinkability.
13.5% abv. 90 / 100
2022 Tesco Finest Wrattonbully Cabernet Sauvignon, Australia, £10
When Wrattonbully, close to Coonawarra, first came on the scene, the joke was it sounded more like a pub, the Rat and Bully, than a wine region; but no longer the butt of suspect puns, it’s now highly regarded for its cabernet sauvignon reds like this bight and mintily aromatic example from Wakefield, whose attractively blackcurrant flavours are tinged with that appealing, fresh mintiness.
14.5% abv. 88 / 100
2020 Luigi Bosca de Sangre Cabernet Sauvignon, Argentina, £20
Powerful but not overpowering, this Bordeaux-style red from Luigi Bosca in Mendoza is made from pure cabernet sauvignon grown in the high Andean Uco Valley ; there’s no shortage of of cassis-like opulence and plenty of accompanying vanilla oak both in its aromas and flavours, yet it’s extremely well-crafted and balanced, an Argentina-meets-Bordeaux cru borgeois style red.
14.5% abv. 91 / 100
2023 Zuccardi Serie A Malbec, Argentina, £14
Ever since the Zuccardi family opted to take a stake in the high Uco Valley, they have considerably upped the quality ante in all their wines and this Uco Vally malbec from Sebastián Zuccardi is no exception; vivid, bright and full of mulberry-like aromatics, it’s still primary in its youthful, mulberry and cherry fruit and savoury aftertaste, yet it’s already surprisingly approachable, even if it will be even better after another year or two in bottle.
14.5% abv. 90 / 100
2018 Angelica Zapata Malbec Alta, Argentina, £29
There can be little doubt that Catena is one of the yardsticks of fine malbec in Argentina, thanks in no small measure to the brilliance of its experienced winemaker Alejandro Vigil; bright and vivid this highly aromatic, pure malbec, named in homage to owner Nicolás Catena’s remarkable mother, has been beautifully crafted to produce a wine rich in concentrated dark cherry and plum fruit with a remarkable textural finesse and balance.
13.5% abv. 92 / 100
202 Kleine Zalze Reserve Shiraz, South Africa, £9.50
Oaky, vivid and still youthful, this is a full-bodied rich, Rhône-like Cape red made from pure shiraz (syrah) and while its ripe, spicy red fruit flavours are infused with oak, it’s hard to argue that it’s overdone when it comes in at under tenner.; which makes it a pretty good, affordable barbecue red.
14.5% abv. 88 / 100
Fortified and Sweet
Tesco Finest Fino Sherry, Spain, £7.50
Fine, Finer, Finest Fino. Good things often come in small packages and this half-bottle is one such good thing, full of the briney, savoury notes that characterise fino sherry, there’s plenty to enjoy in this refreshing yet savoury, bone dry fortified white.
15% abv. 89 / 100
2019 Tesco Finest Dessert Semillon, Australia
De Bortoli in Australia’s Riverina region has made a speciality from the production of rich sweet dessert wines, whose grapes are infused with the so-called ‘noble rot’ that brings a honeyed complexity to the style; as in this rich, sweet semillon whose crystallised dried apricot aromas and flavours underpinned by incisive, citrusy freshness, make it an astonishing bargain, albeit in a half-bottle.
9.5% abv. 89 / 100
Tesco Finest 10 Year Old Tawny Port NV, Portugal, £14.50
If rich, sweet fortified ports are your thing, this 10-year-old tawny from the Symington stable of ports should float your boat, not least because it’s full of opulent plum and prune flavours and both well-balanced and approachable to boot; a sweet Portuguese red that gives as good bang for buck as you’ll find.
20% abv. 88 / 100