3 good white wine buys from Lidl

Yesterday saw Lidl release the latest tranche of the limited edition wines it adds to its range every couple of months.

I tasted my way through 11 of them and on the whole was quite disappointed. Either the quality was poor - thin, acidic, clunkily oaked - or the prices a fair bit more expensive than they used to be. £8.99 and £9.99 is by no means rare at Lidl these days.

Here are 3 that made the cut and which I’d strongly recommend

Tornai Juhfark 2017 12% £6.99

My best buy of the three - this unpronounceable Hungarian wine (which sounds a bit 'you f**k' according to this pronounciation guide) is dead classy - very clean, smooth, dry - not dissimilar from a good Soave. A wine you could happily drink with antipasti, seafood pasta dishes and risottos and simply grilled fish.

Incidentally I don't know on what basis wotwine whose ratings appear on the Lidl site says it's worth £8 but I'd actually be quite happy to pay £9 for it.

Riesling Scheurebe halbtrocken Pfalz 2017 11.5% £4.99

Although it says halbtrocken - i.e. medium dry - it really doesn’t come across as sweet at all thanks to a lovely fresh acidity. Scheurebe adds a lush note of grapefruit and passionfruit to the blend. Ridiculously good value at this price - it would be great with south-east Asian or Cantonese food.

Les Figuerettes Picpoul de Pinet 2017 £6.99 Cave de l’Ormarine 12.5%

A good example of the fact that Lidl is no cheaper than other supermarkets these days (Tesco’s pretty reliable own label finest* picpoul is only £33.60 a case - i.e £5.60 a bottle currently.) But it’s a decent example from a reliable co-operative so if you’re in Lidl anyway I’d pick it up. Bright, zesty and lemony. Again, good for seafood.

And, not exactly bargain basement, but if you’re looking for a decent red …

Outlook Bay Gimblett Gravels Reserve Syrah 2015 12.5% £9.99

The most appealing of the reds I tried, this comes from New Zealand’s best area for syrah in the Hawkes Bay region of the North Island. Bright, ripe and juicy but, given the vintage (it's now 3 years old), drink it sooner rather than later.

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