Value goes beyond ‘special offers’

AH NOW, isn’t it nice when you find someone who agrees with you?

I had a moan again here recently about how difficult it is to work out where to get best value when big retailers insist on shuttling their prices up and down. Big retailers perpetually run ‘sales’ that aren’t really sales, but a three-card-trick of raising prices and then dropping them (to the prices they intended to charge all along) solely to keep us consumers agitated.

Well, the other day I came across this from one British commentator: “One of my pet hates is seeing a wine ‘reduced’ from £7.99 to £3.99. How can consumers judge its real value?”

So was this some consumer advocate blogger? Or a campaigning newspaper columnist? In fact it was Aldi’s chief wine buyer, Danny Gibson. While I’m no spokesman for Aldi, and treat their wines with the same scepticism as I do every other retailer, he is correct in saying that what you see is what you get.

And going by the evidence of a tasting this week, what you get is some pretty good wine at great prices.

Selection les Terres Blanches Sancerre 2009 (€Aldi, €10.99): This matches up pretty well to its often costly brethren from the Sancerre appellation. More importantly, it’s an excellent firm and savoury old world sauvignon blanc that could grace any high table at a great price.

Freeman’s Bay New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc 2010 (Aldi, €8.49): Contrasting wonderfully with the Sancerre, this is New Zealand sauv blanc writ large: flamboyantly pungent, followed through on the palate with mouth-watering flavours tinged with crunchy green apple.

Cave de Monterail Châteauneuf-Du-Pape 2008 (€Aldi, 12.99): Despite its grand reputation, the Châteauneuf-Du-Pape appellation often disappoints. This rich savoury red bottle, however, offers an affordable glimpse of the best side of that excellent tradition.

Râmon Lopez Murillo Rioja Reserva 2005 (Aldi, €7.99): Despite the price, this is a proper ‘grown-up’ medium-bodied dry tempranillo. An old favourite of mine at Aldi, it evolves beautifully into a glassful of red fruit cut across with spice and deliciously sweet topnotes.

Bushland Reserve Shiraz, South Eastern Australia, 2008 (Aldi, €5.99): Winemaker Michael Hope’s typically generous and creamy red is one of the best value wines on the Irish market. The welcoming scents of baked sweet red fruit follow through on the palate in a spicy, creamy texture.

Bushland Grape Selection Semillon Chardonnay, South Eastern Australia, 2008 (Aldi, €6.99): You wouldn’t normally expect to see these two grapes together, as they share a tendency to plumpness. But this is a beautifully blanced white, its full texture contrasted by fresh lemony acidity.