Drinks of the Month

Wine of the week: a cut-price Sauternes

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on September 8 2019 at 08:37

If you’re unsure what to buy it’s always tempting to go for a big name but when you find you’ve got an equally good option at half the price it’s mad not to go for that.

Tesco’s finest Dessert Semillon is an Australian sweet wine, made for them by the respected De Bortoli which would be the perfect wine to have with the last of the summer fruit (especially peaches and nectarines). The 2015 vintage is light (just 10%), lemony (with a touch of apricot) and lusciously sweet and incredibly good value at £6 a half bottle.

The Sauternes is good too and will age better but I suspect you’re not going to do that and at twice the price it really doesn’t make sense to buy it just for the name. (There's a great value one coming up in Lidl at the end of the month though.)

Incidentally a half bottle may not look much but will easily serve 4 and even 5 or 6 if you serve it in small glasses. And because it’s sweet it should be really well chilled.

If you’re wondering what else to pair with the semillon it will go with similar food to Sauternes

The best food pairings for Sauternes

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