Can somebody please name some affordable, quality red french wines available in the UK?!
Can somebody please name some affordable, quality red french wines available in the UK?
also interested in wine from North Africa
Answers: North Africa I am not too certain on, but if you have an hour pop into a bookstore and track down Sotheby's Wine Atlas which is written by Tom Stevenson and see what comments he has. The only wine from that region (loosely) is Lebanon and Chateau Musar (￡15 - 20 bottle) I know they are producing a second wine but I do not know the cost.
As to value French wines, where do I start. The massive area of Vins Pays D'Oc will unearth some crackers, and what the UK call Regional France will do so in abundance.
Always set a limit to what you are prepared to pay for a wine and if it is as much as ￡8 then look at some declassified Bordeaux, or even minor Chateaux as they would undoubtedly fit the bill.
If push come to shove for about ￡5.50 you can get James Herrick Merlot, A Kiwi in Narbonne making truly superb wines. Source(s):
Made a vintage of James Herrick Chardonnay in 1996 why dont you try australian wines in uk ? we where in uk several years ago and we decided not to buy any aust wines whilst in uk . BUT we could not find any wines that suited our taste and budget , so we bought aussie wines . JACOBS CREEK and WOLF BLASS wines are very good and at a fair price . both from the barossa valley in south aust find and enjoy , you want be disapointed , let me know Tesco are currently offering 30 per cent off a purchase of any 6 bottles of wine.... so it becomes cheap enough to experiment!! Depends what you call affordable...For something a bit different and not necessarily found in supermarkets, between ￡7 and ￡8 is good value for some small chateaux wines. I tend to buy from majestic and also recently a small online merchant called provenancewines. As for North African, which is another of my favourite wine, everywine tends to be one of the few stocking it. Again, price varies but around ￡8 mark.
As for Chateau Musar from Lebanon, it might be a bit expensive now since the troubles in Lebanon, but one to get. As mentioned in the first post - Aussie wine is the way forward!
Jacob's Creek
Penfolds
Hardys
(Just personal opinion, but I'd rather drink my own urine than French wine). Tour de By , a top quality claret for about [and I mean top ] for about ￡10/12. From Bordeaux region and crafted to produce a wine of complexity and longevity. French wine is generally overated and overpriced. Napoleon got really miffed as he could not cross the Channel and try some really up and coming English Wines.
Best French wines I have found are from Fitou but need a bit of age. As for North Africa - well
EU stopped import of Algerian wine into France to beef up the body of French Wines so go for Chateau Musar - Lebanon - pricey and not produced every year - depends on where the bullets are flying as to whether the grapes are picked or not.
Enjoy whatever you drink. Don't be put off by supermarket's own brand wines. There are some very good wines to be had. I was shopping in Sainsbury's wine section for my favourite red, when a lady recommended Sainsbury's own Merlot. She was buying six bottles for her husband who she said, thinks it is the bee's knees! I ended up buying a bottle and have to agree that it IS rather good, and packs a punch too, especially on an empty stomach. And no, I don't work for Sainsbury, only shop there.