THE DRINKER
EAT - DRINK - BE MERRY
TESCO TOP WINES IN PRICE CATEGORY 2021
SUMMARY
Tesco have really smartened up their branding, the bottles across the range look great and all the Finest wines have little silver labels on the neck that make them look like medal winners.
Really good, well priced range, particularly strong in the £7 to £9 price bracket across the board, top value fizz and great stuff from Argentina and South Africa. Go to the Tesco website as they have a some great value wines by the case and also a greater availability as not all wines are available in all stores.
Some of the notes here come with thanks to the brilliant Brian Elliott of Midweek Wines.
Buy all of these wines at www.tesco.com/wine
KEY
The reds are written up in this colour
The whites in this colour
Pink in this colour
The fizz in this colour
Sweets and forts in this colour
Wairu Cove Sauvignon Blanc £7.00 /90
The sort of wine that people like, big flowery Kiwi Sauvignon well priced
Tesco Finest Monteforte Pinot Grigio £8.00 /89
Beautiful peach blossom nose, simple and straight-forward, very well made
Tesco Vinho Verde £5.25 /90
Light, clean and crisp a bit of spritz on the palate, lovely low alcohol wine
Tesco Cotes de Gascoigne Blanc £5.25 /90
Racy acidity, aromatic fresh flowers, lime peel and greengage - bloody bargain
Tesco Macon Villages Blanc £8.00 /89
Generous green apple chardonnay, good body and lees softness
Tesco Finest Pouilly Fume £13.00 /92
Lovely understated wine, lime and gooseberry, complex, good for Xmas day
Finest Gavi £8.50 /89
Citrus and green grass nose, fresh acidity, a real bargain
Finest Saint Mont £6.50 /90
Lovely light green and frsh nose, green apple and grass, zippy acidity, great value
Mountain Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc £5.00 /89
Classy looking bottle, good wine, standard, good fruit elements, party wine
Tesco Australian Chardonnay £3.99 /89
Summer party wine, buy lots of this and chill it well.
Penfolds Koonunga Hill Chardonnay £9.00 /91
Classy oak driven Aussie chardonnay, depth and complexity, very well priced
Fairmile Chenin Blanc £6.00 /89
Sounds like it's named after a mental institution, lovely wine however, body and depth
Tesco Finest Vinas del Rey Albarino £9.00 /90
Amazing lemon curd nose, very solid wine, some depth and complexity, interesting
Tesco Fiano £5.75 /89
Floral aromatic nose, citrus blossom, fresh acidity and tropical fruit palate
Coteaux D'Aix en Provence Rosé £7.50 rating 90
A proper cut above, dlicate red berry and citrus, very pretty bottle
Finest Malbec Rosé £8.00 /89
Fruity nose and palate, dry, really well made, great value
Finest Pinot Grigio Blush £7.00 rating 89
Light, dry, pretty rosé, perfectly acceptable
Cono Sur 20 Barrels Pinot Noir £14.00 /91
Properly classy pinot, not cheap, but with this wine you get what you pay for
Finest Puemo Carmenere £8.00/89
Ripe cherry and redcurrant, spicy cinnamon, szechuan pepper
Finest Saint Chinian £9.00 /89
Full on intense black fruit, black cherry, black berry, pepper and spice
Finest Rioja Reserva £8.50 /90
Spice and oak, medicine cabinet and forward black fruit, good Rioja
Finest Rioja Gran Reserva - Vina del Cura £11.50 /90
Powerful stuff, full on black fruit, wood-smoke, development, long finish
Tesco Chilean Merlot £3.99 /89
Nice black pepper and oak, soft and velvety merlot, miraculous price
Tesco Finest Malbec £8.00 /90
Lovely big oaky malbec, bold forward fruit, proper steak wine
Tesco Nero D'Avola £5.50 /90
Good food wine, big fruit, lovely use of oak, rich, bold tannins
Tesco Chianti £5.25 /90
Ripe black fruit, primary, easy to drink, light spice and black pepper, delight at a fiver
Tesco Finest Chianti Classico £8.00 /90
A proper step up in class, black cherry, spicy oak, plum and damson, well structured
Finest Marlborough Pinot Noir 2015 £9.00 /90
Floral and spicy nose, good fruit driven wine, would love lamb and mint sauce
Finest Montepulciano D' Abruzzo £7.00 /89
Sound black fruit and tobacco nose, tarry and dark, intense
Finest Pignoletto NV £8.50/88
Good light fresh fizz, hint of sweetness but no so you’d notice, lovely drop
Finest Blanquette de Limoux £9.50 /90
Lovely apple and grass nose, good body and mousse, creamy with a hint of sweetness
Finest Premier Cru Champagne £20.00 /90
Good bready, yeasty nose, over ripe green apple palate, complex, bargain
Tesco Finest Cava £9.00 /90
Complex, yeasty nose, classy, lime and lychee, malty apple, fantastic
Sweet/Fortified
Finest Late Bottled Vintage Port 2011 £11.00 /91
Lovely open ripe black fruit nose, deep and complex, a bargain at the price
Finest 10 Year Old Tawny Port £12.00 /90
Good tawny look, lovely jammy wine, good deep ripe plum, top stuff
SUMMARY
Tesco have really smartened up their branding, the bottles across the range look great and all the Finest wines have little silver labels on the neck that make them look like medal winners.
Really good, well priced range, particularly strong in the £7 to £9 price bracket across the board, top value fizz and great stuff from Argentina and South Africa. Go to the Tesco website as they have a some great value wines by the case and also a greater availability as not all wines are available in all stores.
Some of the notes here come with thanks to the brilliant Brian Elliott of Midweek Wines.
Buy all of these wines at www.tesco.com/wine
KEY
The reds are written up in this colour
The whites in this colour
Pink in this colour
The fizz in this colour
Sweets and forts in this colour
Wairu Cove Sauvignon Blanc £7.00 /90
The sort of wine that people like, big flowery Kiwi Sauvignon well priced
Tesco Finest Monteforte Pinot Grigio £8.00 /89
Beautiful peach blossom nose, simple and straight-forward, very well made
Tesco Vinho Verde £5.25 /90
Light, clean and crisp a bit of spritz on the palate, lovely low alcohol wine
Tesco Cotes de Gascoigne Blanc £5.25 /90
Racy acidity, aromatic fresh flowers, lime peel and greengage - bloody bargain
Tesco Macon Villages Blanc £8.00 /89
Generous green apple chardonnay, good body and lees softness
Tesco Finest Pouilly Fume £13.00 /92
Lovely understated wine, lime and gooseberry, complex, good for Xmas day
Finest Gavi £8.50 /89
Citrus and green grass nose, fresh acidity, a real bargain
Finest Saint Mont £6.50 /90
Lovely light green and frsh nose, green apple and grass, zippy acidity, great value
Mountain Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc £5.00 /89
Classy looking bottle, good wine, standard, good fruit elements, party wine
Tesco Australian Chardonnay £3.99 /89
Summer party wine, buy lots of this and chill it well.
Penfolds Koonunga Hill Chardonnay £9.00 /91
Classy oak driven Aussie chardonnay, depth and complexity, very well priced
Fairmile Chenin Blanc £6.00 /89
Sounds like it's named after a mental institution, lovely wine however, body and depth
Tesco Finest Vinas del Rey Albarino £9.00 /90
Amazing lemon curd nose, very solid wine, some depth and complexity, interesting
Tesco Fiano £5.75 /89
Floral aromatic nose, citrus blossom, fresh acidity and tropical fruit palate
Coteaux D'Aix en Provence Rosé £7.50 rating 90
A proper cut above, dlicate red berry and citrus, very pretty bottle
Finest Malbec Rosé £8.00 /89
Fruity nose and palate, dry, really well made, great value
Finest Pinot Grigio Blush £7.00 rating 89
Light, dry, pretty rosé, perfectly acceptable
Cono Sur 20 Barrels Pinot Noir £14.00 /91
Properly classy pinot, not cheap, but with this wine you get what you pay for
Finest Puemo Carmenere £8.00/89
Ripe cherry and redcurrant, spicy cinnamon, szechuan pepper
Finest Saint Chinian £9.00 /89
Full on intense black fruit, black cherry, black berry, pepper and spice
Finest Rioja Reserva £8.50 /90
Spice and oak, medicine cabinet and forward black fruit, good Rioja
Finest Rioja Gran Reserva - Vina del Cura £11.50 /90
Powerful stuff, full on black fruit, wood-smoke, development, long finish
Tesco Chilean Merlot £3.99 /89
Nice black pepper and oak, soft and velvety merlot, miraculous price
Tesco Finest Malbec £8.00 /90
Lovely big oaky malbec, bold forward fruit, proper steak wine
Tesco Nero D'Avola £5.50 /90
Good food wine, big fruit, lovely use of oak, rich, bold tannins
Tesco Chianti £5.25 /90
Ripe black fruit, primary, easy to drink, light spice and black pepper, delight at a fiver
Tesco Finest Chianti Classico £8.00 /90
A proper step up in class, black cherry, spicy oak, plum and damson, well structured
Finest Marlborough Pinot Noir 2015 £9.00 /90
Floral and spicy nose, good fruit driven wine, would love lamb and mint sauce
Finest Montepulciano D' Abruzzo £7.00 /89
Sound black fruit and tobacco nose, tarry and dark, intense
Finest Pignoletto NV £8.50/88
Good light fresh fizz, hint of sweetness but no so you’d notice, lovely drop
Finest Blanquette de Limoux £9.50 /90
Lovely apple and grass nose, good body and mousse, creamy with a hint of sweetness
Finest Premier Cru Champagne £20.00 /90
Good bready, yeasty nose, over ripe green apple palate, complex, bargain
Tesco Finest Cava £9.00 /90
Complex, yeasty nose, classy, lime and lychee, malty apple, fantastic
Sweet/Fortified
Finest Late Bottled Vintage Port 2011 £11.00 /91
Lovely open ripe black fruit nose, deep and complex, a bargain at the price
Finest 10 Year Old Tawny Port £12.00 /90
Good tawny look, lovely jammy wine, good deep ripe plum, top stuff