Drinks of the Month
Terrenal Garnacha
Marks & Spencer might not be the first place you think of looking for a wine bargain but their Terrenal garnacha from the Cariñena region of Spain is an absolute steal.
Garnacha is the same grape - and the Spanish word for - grenache so you’d expect a big generous lipsmacking red and you certainly get one. It’s the sort of wine to crack open with a pizza or a hearty spag bol. Or a burger - it’s pretty versatile.
The best food pairings for grenache
My only thing against it is that it doesn’t come from a specific vintage - my concern being you might get a bottle that’s a bit tired - but at that price I doubt it will hang around long enough to deteriorate
At the moment it’s only available in store though you can apparently order it from Ocado with whom M & S has a new partnership (though that has apparently made getting a delivery slot even harder!)
Asda has a very similar Old Vine Garnacha Cariñena from the same region at the same price in its Extra Special range. I don’t think it’s quite as good as the M & S blend but hard to complain at the price.
Wine of the week: Cramele Recas ‘Sole’ Shiraz/Feteasca Neagra 2015
Romanian wines may not be on your radar but judging by this incredibly delicious red you should look out for them.
Mind you if Oddbins head wine buyer Ana Sapungu can’t source the best wines from her home country who can?
It’s a blend of shiraz and the indigenous Feteasca Neagra which gives it a lovely juicy freshness - a versatile, gulpable wine that you could enjoy with a pizza or a plate of pasta and brilliantly good value at £8.75.
The Cramele Recas Sole white, an aromatic blend of chardonnay and feteasca regala that should appeal if you like gewurztraminer and torrontes is also well worth buying at the same price.
Incidentally prices on a number of Oddbins wines are going up on Monday due to the fall in value of the pound against the euro - a pattern you’re definitely going to see repeated over the coming months.
Other wines I’d be tempted to pick up, even though they’re quite a bit more expensive, would be the 2015 Michel Redde et fils Petit Fumé Pouilly Fumé which will be up from £15.50 to £16.50 from Monday, Domaine Justin Girardin Bourgogne Blanc 2014 (up from £15 to £15.75), and an fabulously dark powerful 'Grand vin Seigneur' Cahors from Chateau de Haute-Serre which is going up from £18.50 to £20.
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