Drinks of the Month

Wine of the Week: Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Faugères

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on October 31 2021 at 09:48

I must admit I’ve always had a soft spot for Faugères which was one of the wine regions closes to our house in the Languedoc. The reds tendsto have a higher percentage of syrah compared to neighbouring appellations which makes the wines more elegant.

This one, which is part of Sainsbury’s new ‘Discovery’ collection is made by the admirable Laurent Miquel who also makes some of the best viognier in the region. It’s a robust 14% but wears it lightly with a lovely spicy freshness that would work with all kinds of all sorts of wintry food, especially roasts and casseroles. Just what we need now the clocks have gone back.

Unfortunately, along with the other wines in the range, it’s already been repriced since the tasting a couple of weeks ago but on the current 25% off six bottles deal which lasts until Tuesday November 2nd it’s a very affordable £8.25 rather than £11 so I’d definitely snap some up if I were you. (Note the Ts & Cs below* - it's not available in Scotland.)

I’m not as smitten by the other wines in the Discovery range which aims to showcase less familiar wines though the Alsace riesling at the same price is a great buy if you’re a riesling fan and the Verdicchio Classico Superiore is interesting though at 14.5% uncharacteristically rich and peachy for that grape - more likely to appeal if you like chardonnay or viognier than Italian whites. And that’s been repriced at £13 or £9.75 on this offer.

The Chateau Thebaud Muscadet too, which comes from the 2016 vintage, won’t be to everyone’s taste, being nutty rather than the crisp wine that you might expect but if you're a fan of mature muscadet it should appeal, especially at £11.25 on this discount (the full price is £15). It would go with richer fish dishes rather than raw shellfish.

Of the other two reds the Côtes de Beaune Villages 2019 is OK at £15 though I wouldn't pay £20 for it as it’s a bit too young to drink now and I didn’t like the oddly tarry Vino Nobile de Montepulciano (now £12 rather than £10) at all.

It does show that there is a price to be paid for these across the board discounts though it’s always possible there will be an offer on the range in the next promotional period. But prices are heading inexorably upwards.

*Offer ends 02/11/21 Offer not available in Scotland. Excludes bottles under £5 in England or £7 in Wales. Minimum unit pricing applies in Wales. Excludes bottles 200ml and under, Sainsbury’s House wine, fortified wine, boxed wine & gift sets. Max 36 bottles. Available in selected stores. Offer available on orders delivered on or before 02/11/21

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