Irish supermarket chain SuperValu is probably the best in the country when it comes to wine. There won’t always be the oddities that you’d find in an independent wine merchant but for good wines at good prices it’s hard to beat.
The current SuperValu wine sale runs from Thursday 6th to Wednesday 26th September and includes some customer favourites at 3 for €25, plus the Duo des Mers Sauvignon Viognier which I reviewed in June down from €11.99 to €9.00 in the sale.
Here are another couple of whites which I highly recommend:
Disclosure: samples kindly provided for review, opinions remain my own
Guy Saget Sancerre 2016 (13.0%, €22.99 down to €15.00 at SuperValu)
This is textbook Loire Sauvignon – reminding us why it became popular here in the first place – and definitely a fruit forward style of Sancerre. There’s lots of grapefruit and gooseberry, giving both lip-smacking tartness and fruit sweetness at the same time.
The back label suggests the usual food pairing of goat’s cheese and seafood, but interestingly also tandoori chicken skewers (where the aromatics and fruit sweetness balance the spices and chili) and sushi & sashimi (where the acidity and clean finish come to the fore, but the fruit sweetness can also counterbalance the heat of wasabi).
For the avoidance of doubt, this wine is also great on its own!
André Goichot Mâcon-Lugny 2016 (13.0%, €14.99 down to €10.00 at SuperValu)
Wines from Burgundy-proper’s most southerly region, the Mâconnais, are often great value as they don’t have the prestige of the big guns from the Côte d’Or. There’s a local hierarchy that’s handy to know if you’re navigating the area:
- The “Crus” – Pouilly-Fuissé, Pouilly-Loché, Pouilly-Vinzelles, Saint-Véran, Viré-Clessé.
- Mâcon + Village name: over 20 villages can add their name, many for red, white or rosé, some for just white and one for just red or rosé.
- Mâcon.
- Regional Burgundy Appellations: Bourgogne, Bourgogne Aligoté, Coteaux Bourguignons, Bourgogne Passe-tout-grains, Crémant de Bourgogne, Bourgogne Mousseux.
Pouilly-Fuissé and Saint-Véran are probably the most celebrated of the “Crus” (a term I have appropriated from Beaujolais), but there are plenty of very good wines elsewhere in the hierarchy. As always in Burgundy, the producer is very important.
This Mâcon-Lugny from the very consistent André Goichot is a winner, even at the usual price of €15. 100% Chardonnay, there’s lifted citrus on the nose which continues on to the palate, but then broadens out into melon and peach. The texture and body of the wine – despite not being oaked at all – differentiate it from the more linear Chardonnays of Chablis. There’s a clean, crisp finish to round it off.
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