Lidl wines

Still not planning a trip back to Boulogne until beginning of April. I do have some of my French whites and roses in my wine cellar but again wanting reds for the winter so I have been buying more in the UK.

A lot of people have recommended the budget supermarkets of Aldi and Lidl. I do have both near me. I will try some wines from Aldi and post on those soon. But as Lidl is a bit closer, I tried some of theirs first. And what good purchases they have been. All reviewed just be me.

Maison Duhard

• Malbec 2020
• £4.99 from Lidl
• 12.5%

Aroma: Quite strong. maybe a bit too strong for my liking as slightly overpowering and acidic.

Taste: Very nice. Confirmation again that there is not always a correlation between aroma and taste.
Not overly elegant. but a very nice smooth wine. Not acidic at all which I was worried I might get from the aroma A rich spicy oak depth bit to it. Lighter fruitiness rather than dark fruits. Overall a very good wine, maybe lacking depth and elegance that one may want for a more special occasion, or to accompany a fuller flavoured meal. But a very pleasant, enjoyable and easy to drink wine. I will buy more

Me

Me

Bordeaux Superior

I was expecting to be disappointed with this wine. As mentioned elsewhere in my blog, I find some Bordeaux Superiors not be be that good, especially at the cheaper end. But was very pleasantly surprised. A very good wine.

• Bordeaux Superior 2019
• £5.49 from Lidl
• 13.5%

Aroma: Quite strong but not overpowering. Spicy and rich

Taste: Full bodied with a strong and rich kick. But surprisingly smoother than a lot of other Bordeaux.

Taste with meal of; stir fried noodle dish with root vegetables and substitute chicken strips, with plum sauce, soy sauce and sweet chilli sauce: The spiciness of the wine really complimented the spices added to sauces in the noodle dish. Definitely tasted better with the meal.

Me

Hardy Ancestors

I was preparing this months post when I got a text message from Ed. By coincidence, he recommended a wine that he had bought in Lidl. It was an Ancestor’s Shiraz. So next trip to Lidl (to buy more of the Maison Duhard and the Bordeaux Superior) I also tried this wine. In the shop, the first thing I noticed about the bottle was that it had a totally flat bottom. There is theory that the bigger the ‘dink’ on the bottom of the bottle, the better the wine. I don’t totally agree with this, but in general, I don’t buy wines that have a totally flat bottle. But on Ed’s recommendation, I tried one bottle.

• Shiraz 2020
• £4.49 from Lidl
• 13%

Aroma: Quite pleasant with rich fruit tones. Not too strong or overpowering, but maybe a bit bland.

Taste: Full bodied and spicy with a good nutty bite. But there was a slight sourness to this wine that I was more aware of the more I drank.

Me

Conclusions

I was very impressed with the two Lidl wines that I originally chose. The Bordeaux Superior being the stronger more full bodied richer wine. Just as good (if not even a little bit better) than the Versant Royal that I often stock up with when in Boulogne. This wine is better with a meaty dish.

With a lower alcohol alcohol level, I really do like the Maison Duhard Malbec. A very good smooth wine. I really am liking a lot of the French Malbecs. This one maybe not quite as good and elegant as the Cahors Malbec one from Morrisons that I reviewed here, but at almost half the price, excellent value.

I have already been back to Lidl to buy more of both these wines, and as it is so near me, and will buy more again. I won’t be buying the Hardy’s Ancestors Shiraz again (sorry Ed not to agree with your recommendation). Not a bad wine at all, but there was a sourness that I did not like. The other two were only between 50p to £1 more per bottle, and much better. I think there is some truth to not buying wine with flat bottomed bottles. But keep posted as I will try more from Lidl, as well as trying out Aldi.