Metro journalists select and curate the products that feature on our site. If you make a purchase via links on this page we will earn commission – learn more
I promised I’d step away from sub-£6 wine. Remember?
Because few things make me feel more uneasy. Okay, maybe a WhatsApp voice note longer than three minutes, or someone suggesting we split the bill exactly according to what everyone ordered.
But a sub-£6 wine is still pretty high up there.
Why? The main thought running through my mind is, surely at £5.95 it’s going to taste awful. Because, let’s face it, the odds are hardly stacked in favour of a wine priced at less than £6 a bottle.
By the time you’ve accounted for alcohol duty, VAT, packaging, shipping and the retailer’s margin, there’s sod all to spend on the actual wine.
And yet, here we are again… and Tesco might have proved me wrong.
Last week, I attended Tesco’s autumn/winter tasting event and worked my way through 130 wines so I could let you know which ones are actually worth spending your hard-earned cash on.
I spent three hours there, and let me tell you, even spitting introduces a small percentage of alcohol into your system. But I’m a professional, and it’s nothing a couple of paracetamol and a toothbrush can’t take care of.
It was all worth it, though, as something came along that stopped me in my tracks.
Interestingly, it wasn’t the retailer’s award-winning Barolo (which was lovely) but an Australian wine for under £6. Actually, make that two.
The £5.95 wines that stole the show
They’re called Soft Press, and the range includes a Cabernet-Merlot red blend and a Chardonnay.
The grapes are grown in South Australia by a company called Kingston Estate, and Tesco works closely with the winemaker to ensure they produce drinks that will resonate with their customers.
And resonate, they do.
To be clear, when I taste a wine at that price, I have a pretty low barrier to entry. I’m looking for a wine with balance, flavour, and enough personality to actually want another glass, and these two delivered.
What’s particularly impressive is that Tesco has managed to achieve this with both a red and a white. Usually, when a supermarket releases a pair of budget wines, one is noticeably better than the other. Not in this case.
The Soft Press Chardonnay has a tonne of plush, round, soft white peach alongside notes of ripe Meyer lemon. It’s fresh yet has a juicy opulence about it with a very subtle use of oak, making it the definition of a mid-week guzzler.
While the Soft Press Cabernet Merlot gives you a joyful thwack of plush purple fruit on the nose and palate – mulberries and blueberries – with a light earthiness and a lifted note of violets. Again, there’s some subtle oakiness without being overpowering. A top quaffer.
What's so great about Australian wine?
Australia is an interesting place to look for value at the moment. For years, it was synonymous with those overblown wines with cartoonishly big flavours, which practically required a knife and fork to chow through.
And while there’s still plenty of that around, the continent is capable of producing some really approachable, well-made wines that demand very little of our wallets.
Australia’s scale, winemaking expertise and ability to produce consistent wines in large quantities work in our favour, particularly at the cheaper end of the market. Especially if you have the buying power of Tesco.
What else is new at Tesco?
These weren’t the only drinks I enjoyed at the event; here’s a look at the other standout options hitting the shelves at Tesco soon:
Vista Castelli Trebbiano d’Abruzzo DOC, Italy, £5.50
‘Tinned peaches and lemon sherbet, v. good’ isn’t a bad tasting note.
The Trebbiano grape can be inexcusably dull and neutral tasting, but this one is a dry and zesty little number for the price.
Tesco Finest Mosel Steep Slopes Riesling, Germany, £8
The Mosel in Germany produces some of the best Riesling in the world. The steep slopes and proximity to the river give the wine intense minerality and bags of flavour. This wine is off-dry, green appley with a kiwi sherbet finish. Very impressive for the price.
Des Tourelles Bordeaux, France, £6.50
This is made by a luxury house, Baron Philippe De Rothschild. It’s rustic in style, which leans on the savoury side (which suits me), alongside notes of pomegranate and violets. Rothschild sources grapes from everyday Bordelais growers in bulk for lower-priced wines like this, hence the price.
Faustino Rivero Ulecia Reserva 2020, Spain, £8
I was massively impressed by this. It looks Rioja-like, but it’s actually from near Valencia, an area called Utiel Requena. Interestingly, the same full-bodied red with notes of plum compote on toast is priced at £12 in Morrisons. Get in there quickly before Tesco notices.
Tesco Finest Garnacha, Spain, £8.50
The wine we’ve all been waiting for, me especially. I’ve put ‘very, very good’ in my notes, because of its soft, adorable, pillowy notes of strawberries, plums and rose petals. This is a wine I would quaff until I dropped of a Thursday evening in October. Dangerously moreish.
Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@metro.co.uk