Wine of the Month – March 2011

This month has had a couple of themes running through it. Mainly the Languedoc as it featured in four of my blog posts and also our Tongham Tasters wine evening for March. However, Merlot cropped up quite a lot as well in my drinking including the wine I am going to recommend this month. My top Merlot wine experience of the month was undoubtedly a 2005 Pomerol that I selected when dining at the excellent D’Antan Sancerrois restaurant in Bourges and I also tasted a number of Merlot based Bordeaux blends from Bergerac that I will be talking about in my April blogs.

So the wine I am going to recommend this month is a Merlot from the Languedoc. Not only is it a very pleasant wine, it is also incredible value for these hard times. Priced at just £3.84 it is my second wine of the month to have come from Lidl supermarket – although the last was in September 2008 in my first ever blog! The wine is Chevalier de Fauvert Vins de Pays D’Oc Merlot 2010. It is nice medium bodied fruity Merlot that has that typical Languedoc sweetness when it first hits your palate but then gets balanced as some nice acidity hits in. It is very nice for the price. As long as you don’t expect Pomerol quality and complexity, you should enjoy this wine. Get to Lidl quick as it has also been recommended by Fiona Backett in the Guardian and this recommendation was also in The Week. I scored the wine 13 out of 20 for taste and 20/20 for value.

If you are not into sub-five pound wines but still want a bargain, I can heartily recommend at just £7.95 another red but this time from Spain. Altos de Oliva Gran Reserva Catalunya 2000 is a fantastic wine from FromVineyardsDirect.com. Twice the price of the Merlot but probably nearly twice as good and also very good value compared to a comparable Gran Reserva Rioja. It is well balanced between a lovely oaky vanilla flavour and some good fruit. It has an excellent length on the mouth. I scored it at 16.5/20 and again 20/20 for value. It got pipped at the post by the Merlot only because I know that everyone wants to find drinkable wines under £4 and because you have to buy 12 bottles when ordering from FromViineyardsDirect. However, if you drink wine regularly I would recommend trying to buy from their website. You will be able to taste some other of their wines at the May Tongham Tasters wine evening.