Wine of the Month - Three Supermarket Wines For Easter

Three easter wines from Tesco, Sainsbury's and Majestic

For Easter get-togethers, you want reliable crowd-pleasers that will appeal to a range of guests and match with set-piece meals like a roast dinner.

These wines have garnered various awards and recommendations from critics (albeit sometimes other vintages), so are a sure-fire set of winners.

Marques de Casa Concha Chardonnay 2012 (£11.99, Tesco)

What the producers say: From the Limarí Valley at the edge of the Atacama Desert; a region cooled by its proximity to the Pacific Ocean and significant drops in temperature after sunset.

What I say: Toasty-oaky nose with blossom and sweet spice; sweet ripe tropical fruit. Fresh and precise ; mineral, saline and creamy-nutty with just a touch of hedonism. Harmonious and accomplished. Textbook oaky Chardie.

A versatile wine, match with salmon, creamy pasta or roast chicken.

De Bortoli Reserve Petite Sirah 2011 (£8.50, Sainsbury’s)

What the producers say: One of the best lead ups to harvest on record; this is a truly delicious Australian red. This led to fruit with flavour intensity and acid structure not seen for a few years.

What I say: big, mid-level Aussie red full of chocolate, leather, plums and cherries with a cow-lick of sweetly toasty-oaky vanilla spice. Lots of fruit, sunshine and stuffing in here.

Match with roast red meat - lamb with rosemary and garlic or beef with horseradish sauce.

A Sticky End Noble Sauvignon Blanc 2012 (Majestic, £15.99 or mix & match 2 bottles to save 33%)

What the producers say: Made from Sauvignon Blanc grapes that have been allowed extra hang-time on the vine, giving them extra ripeness and promoting the onset of botrytis. Aged for 14 months in French oak.

What I say: golden, Sandy yellow with an intriguing aroma of rubbed sage, seaweed even, mingling with the guava, figs and gooseberry-lime jam. Sweet and syrupy, yet also refreshing - a sort of tropical sweet-sour spiced gingeriness.

 

Match with fruit-based desserts such as Eton Mess or a fruit tart with Chantilly cream.

 

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Image credit: http://www.primrosevale.com/easter-at-primrose-vale/