A full bodied smooth soft red ..obtainable in England recommend please?!
A full bodied smooth soft red ..obtainable in England recommend please?
I have found several that available on occasions , like the Alex Lichner , Robert Mondavi ,Berenger , Gallo ...cabernets ....a pinot noir would be good I guess, must not be acidy ,but smooth and silky to drink
Answers:
Any of the higher quality Australian Shiraz' or Merlot's should fit the bill. Look to spend upwards of a tenner and the quality should shine through.
An alternate in the medium price range would be pretty well any Rioja over ￡10. All of them are full-bodied, but generally get smoother the more you spend - go for a Gran Reserva rather than a Reserva.
However, if you're in quaffing mode and don't want to spend as much, try a Wolf Blass Cabernet Sauvignon or a Rosemount Shiraz - both should be in the ￡6 - ￡8 bracket.
Cheers!
If you're ready to spend at least ￡15, you could try Marques de Murrieta Ygay, Gran reserva 2000 fromTesco or Vergelegen, same shop. So far, the best I had in the UK was a CalonSegur, St Estephe from a small shop in lancashire.
I am not a red wine drinker as I find it too harsh usually, however 'St Emilion' I can drink because of its smoothness.
It can be difficult to get full-bodied and smooth/soft/silky at the same time. A lot of people seem to like generic Merlot because it is the softest grape and theres lots of cheap stuff about but I find it leaves the mouth feeling dry - unless its a really good one. The Pomerol, Graves Red and St Emilion can be smooth because they'll have a high proportion of Merlot, sometimes 100% - but theres so much of it that is low quality that you'll struggle to find one that you really like unless you go somewhere reliable (Waitrose or M&S amongst the supermarkets). And it is really only medium-bodied.
Personally I would go with a Reserva Rioja, as the last answer suggests, as the best value and closest to your spec - although it too is often described as medium-bodied. Martinez Bujanda is a well known, wide spread and safe producer. And you should find a decent Rioja in any good off license or supermarket or restaurant.
French Pinot Noir (Burgundy) I would advise you to avoid unless you have tried one you like: a really good Burgundy is difficult to source on the high street and prohibitively expensive; and most Pinot from elsewhere is either light or fruity. But some of the best Pinot Noir from Adelaide, Aus (eg PIke&Joyce) you would like if you can find it - I'm told the Otago Pinot from NZ is also very good - but rare.
What you could do is get on to some wine supplier websites and see what sort of prices etc you can afford and the descriptions. The Sunday Times site is good and its sister site Laithwaites. Ordering on the internet means you have to pay delivery charges etc but the per-bottle price is a lot cheaper. So its good if you want a case. You can get mixed cases of Rioja - and if you like one especially order more of that.
Other wines to look for is good quality stuff from the South of France. Theres a lot of cheap Minervois, Corbieres etc about but if you pay ￡8-10 a bottle you'll normally find it full-bodied and pretty smooth. Grenache/Mourvedre/Carignan grapes can all make full bodied wines and are usually blended to get the smoothness. Syrah/Shiraz (same grape, different name in France/New World) is many peoples favourite but the Aussie style makes it very strong flavoured and maybe not the smoothness you are after. But try a Vacqueras from the Rhone and you'll get the best of a French Syrah.