# Red Wine



## DappaDonDave (Jan 11, 2012)

We have any drinkers? 

I recently enjoyed a bottle with a mate after we drank all the lager and I can't get enough. Best I've found so far is manor creek in aldi, it's British and 8%. BUT a you can actually taste fruit!

Anybody else got a taste for the red stuff and can anyone recommend a wine that is worth spending more than Â£2.99 (manor creek)

I tried a merlot recently and that was like drinking banana skins (dry mouth instantly)


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## One Planer (Jan 11, 2012)

DappaDonDave said:



			We have any drinkers? 

I recently enjoyed a bottle with a mate after we drank all the lager and I can't get enough. Best I've found so far is manor creek in aldi, it's British and 8%. BUT a you can actually taste fruit!

Anybody else got a taste for the red stuff and can anyone recommend a wine that is worth spending more than Â£2.99 (manor creek)

I tried a merlot recently and that was like drinking banana skins (dry mouth instantly)
		
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Jacobs Creek Merlot is worth a pop


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## PIng (Jan 11, 2012)

Try Chateauneuf du Pape. It's expensive, but you can occasionally get it for Â£10 a bottle. I save it for special occasions, and drink it at the start of the evening - it's wasted if you're already wasted!


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## Mark_G (Jan 11, 2012)

I have visited Italy several times with work and always had fantastic wine with meals when being entertained, never remembered to get any details and can never remember the wines name etc. Problem is the Italians drink wine all the time its hard to keep up.


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## bobmac (Jan 11, 2012)

Not allowed wine any more, on a diet.


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## One Planer (Jan 11, 2012)

bobmac said:



			Not allowed wine any more, on a diet.  

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Not even when sampling for cookery purposes?


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## Slime (Jan 11, 2012)

PIng said:



			Try Chateauneuf du Pape. It's expensive, but you can occasionally get it for Â£10 a bottle. I save it for special occasions, and drink it at the start of the evening - it's wasted if you're already wasted!
		
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Ditto that.
Any red wine, for me, has to be full bodied..........at least 13%, minimum.
Try a bottle of Wolf Blass (yellow label) cabernet sauvignon.  (13.5% ABV)
Best with a medium fillet steak, (with a fried egg on top), sprouts, cauli cheese, mashed tats & fresh bread & butter.
Go on..........................you know you want to!

Enjoy,
*Slime*.


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## NWJocko (Jan 11, 2012)

As mentioned, Chateauneuf de Pape is nice but expensive.

I love Spanish or Chilean Rioja.

Depends on your taste, some of the Australian red is OK aswell.

If it's not for a special occasion I usually look to get a "half price" wine or wines in the supermarkets.  Can get some very good bottles for Â£4/5/6 when they're on offer.


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## GB72 (Jan 11, 2012)

I like a full bodied red but have also developed a taste for the thinner red drunk chilled, my folks have brought me back a few bottles of a red called St Nicholas that is superb. Also like Brouilly.


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## sev112 (Jan 11, 2012)

Cilean Carmenere is a little bit less sugary than some Chilean these days
Argentinian Malbec
Cahors (France)  - is very dark and robust (often called Bulls Blood, or at least a particualr brand is)
Sainsburys and tesco do a Zinfandel (red not rose, or "white" as the rose is tended to be called) from Lodi (Sonoma valley north of San Fransisco IIRC) - typically Â£9.50 !! So if they ever mark it down to Â£6 (whcih they do circa once a year) then it is very worth it.

i drink far too much  - at least it is Red and not White - everyone knows that all middle aged men need to drink half a bottle of red a night for their health


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## DappaDonDave (Jan 11, 2012)

Slime said:



			Ditto that.
Any red wine, for me, has to be full bodied..........at least 13%, minimum.
Try a bottle of Wolf Blass (yellow label) cabernet sauvignon.  (13.5% ABV)
Best with a medium fillet steak, (with a fried egg on top), sprouts, cauli cheese, mashed tats & fresh bread & butter.
Go on..........................you know you want to!

Enjoy,
*Slime*.
		
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Well...the diets out the window this weekend...thank you kindly! Haha

I thought wine was better for you than beer...that's why I stopped drinking the amber nectar


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## Dodger (Jan 11, 2012)

Celler Cecilio negre 2007.........beautiful....tough to get in UK but well worth it. http://www.cellercecilio.com/english.htm  braw!

Spanish reds are IMO very much overlooked and wrongly so.


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## Dodger (Jan 11, 2012)

GB72 said:



			I like a full bodied red but have also developed a taste for the thinner red drunk chilled, my folks have brought me back a few bottles of a red called St Nicholas that is superb. Also like Brouilly.
		
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A red,extremely cheap at 2.50 euro a pop is Jesus del Nero and this is served chilled and is beautiful.Sadly I have yet to come across it in UK.....no surprise at that price.


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## Mungoscorner (Jan 11, 2012)

Asda,Morrisons and Tesco all have very good wine selections,and always have deals on various wines.Could sit here all night recommending wines,but everybodies palate is different.There are lots of decent reds in the Â£8-Â£12 range,that you can get half price,and Tesco will knock another 5% off if you buy a case (6 bottles).
One of my favourite mid priced reds over the last few years was Namaqua Olifants River Reserve Shiraz,it was around the Â£10 a bottle mark,but sadly no longer available.


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## sev112 (Jan 11, 2012)

Not convinced about tescos at all, and i am sure they dont stock their sale wines so tha you are forced to buy full price
I really do like Sainsburys' choice - they always have enough sale bottles on to allow me to buy 3 or 4 bottles a week.
Morrisons have good and bad weeks - the last 2 weeks have been excellent but they were rubbish over Xmas
Asda are just variable - for some reason they discount loads of their really good wines at the same time, and the next week they discount only the sugar water bottles  - but it obviously works for them.
Waitrose, as far as i'm concerned, have priced themselves far out of teh market and their wines no longer distinguish themselves from the others.

However, holiday wines always taste better when you are there. 
And also , year to year, ones' favourite bottles can be horrendously different in taste and quality - but that is wine.


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## sev112 (Jan 11, 2012)

On our annual ski trip to France we used to stop off at the hypermarket in geneva on the night before we flew home, and would get 3 bottles of French Red (usually Bordeaux) - at 1E, 3E and 5E, and then played "guess the price" over dinner (6 of us).  The cheap one almost always won


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## Val (Jan 11, 2012)

Lanarkshire red, also known as Buckfast 

Joking aside I enjoy montepulcianio d'abruzzo


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## Mungoscorner (Jan 11, 2012)

Valentino said:



			Lanarkshire red, also known as Buckfast 

Joking aside I enjoy montepulcianio d'abruzzo
		
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Good auld "Bucky" nearly as good as Lanliq and Eldorado.pmsl


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## USER1999 (Jan 11, 2012)

Can't go wrong with a bottle of Rioja.


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## Crawfy (Jan 11, 2012)

NWJocko said:



			As mentioned, Chateauneuf de Pape is nice but expensive.

I love Spanish or Chilean Rioja.

Depends on your taste, some of the Australian red is OK aswell.

If it's not for a special occasion I usually look to get a "half price" wine or wines in the supermarkets.  Can get some very good bottles for Â£4/5/6 when they're on offer.
		
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Agree with the Rioja advice, my tipple of choice for a nice meal with HID.
For a cheap scoop you could do worse than Asda. They do a great wee Chilean Merlot and Spanish Tempranillo, both for about Â£3.50...job done


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## MizunoGreyhound (Jan 11, 2012)

Decent wine, Argento Malbec http://www.majestic.co.uk/find/keyword-is-argento/product-is-40016
Ideal with a good steak.

Everyday quaffable stuff, try Iceland stupidly enough. Isla Negra Merlot Reserva at 2 for Â£10 and fruity one at 3 for Â£12.


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## CMAC (Jan 11, 2012)

like everything in life you get what you pay for, there's not many-if any- wines that are decent for Â£2.99

if you dont want the medicinal tasting wines-who does- then pretty much any Sicilian wine or one with the Sangiovesy grape can be taken with most foods or taken on its own. Quite smooth and not to many tannins.

The most expensive wine I had was probably the worst I've ever tasted, its all a matter of personal taste, the funs in the trying


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## backwoodsman (Jan 12, 2012)

Not sure about all the support for rioja. I think not worth drinking unless you're prepared to part with decent money. If you want spanish look for stuff from the Ribero del Duero . If you want cheap but drinkable red zinfandel tends to be ok - which generally means from california or other new world areas


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## upsidedown (Jan 12, 2012)

Rioja 

McGuigans Black label goes down very well too


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## bobmac (Jan 12, 2012)

Flippin heck, the forum's full of Oz Clarks


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## StrangelyBrown (Jan 12, 2012)

DappaDonDave said:



			Â£2.99
		
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Â£2.99 pays for the bottle and the transportation. If you pay a bit more you'll actually be paying for the wine and the quality will improve dramatically. If you don't want to spend a fortune look for Argintinian Malbec and if you want to splash out grab a red from Provence in the south of France. Chateauneuf de Papes has been mentioned but Vaqueras and Gigondas are tip top too 
Italian reds are also good, Barolo is the big name but a close second in my opinion (and more affordable) is Bardolino Classico.


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## Captainron (Jan 12, 2012)

Borolo is the dogs danglies mate. Otherwise you won't go far wrong with a good Rioja. Red wine hangovers though.


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## USER1999 (Jan 12, 2012)

Spent Â£40 on a bottle of Barolo once, it was awesome.


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## Snelly (Jan 12, 2012)

I am not a massive fan of heavy reds so don't enjoy Barolo all that much.  Nor Rioja really. 

Most of the wine I buy is relatively easy going claret or pinot Noir's from NZ south island.   I certainly drink more French or Italian red wine than any other.   

In addition, I get two mixed cases per month with tasting notes delivered to home from here.   http://www.southdownscellars.co.uk/   Usually excellent and it's interesting and enjoyable to read about them and taste them against that context.


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## Monty_Brown (Jan 12, 2012)

Snelly said:



*In addition, I get two mixed cases per month* with tasting notes delivered to home from here.   http://www.southdownscellars.co.uk/   Usually excellent and it's interesting and enjoyable to read about them and taste them against that context.
		
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Good man!

Another big fan of Rioja or Argentinian Malbec here.

I find old world wines, esp French, a little inaccesible as they have tended not to put grape varieties on the the bottle, although that is changing.

With new world wines, it's easier to know what you're getting and make an educated guess if it's to your taste.

I do like French wines but need a bit of help choosing ones that suit my taste, which is where a good wine merchant is worth their weight in gold, and where supermarkets are found lacking IMO.


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## Aztecs27 (Jan 12, 2012)

murphthemog said:



			Can't go wrong with a bottle of Rioja.
		
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Is the right answer. Partial to a bit of Faustino myself. Number 1 is the nicest, but unless it's on offer it's usually Â£20+ a bottle.


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## SwingSlow (Jan 12, 2012)

Went to a blind tasting with the school PTA - most drinkable red - Tesco Claret - c. Â£3 a bottle.


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## sev112 (Jan 12, 2012)

StrangelyBrown said:



			... but Vaqueras and Gigondas are tip top too 
Italian reds are also good, Barolo is the big name but a close second in my opinion (and more affordable) is Bardolino Classico.
		
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oooh - you ar etalking dirty now !!!!

Very few people ssem to knwo Vaqueras which is divine, and Gigondas is a Christmas treat (but before they start getting the false Xmas wines in) 

And Barolo, you really have to be in eth right farme of mind for, and get the food right, but it is a beast .


Now, here is the real secret recommendation, so don't tell anyone :

Lachrymae Christae - Italian, means the tears of Christ,
beautiful beautiful red, HAVE to get teh temperature spot on, can't be cool, needs the warmth to bring out teh flavours - special special wne


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## Stuart_C (Jan 12, 2012)

Im not  massive fan of red wine but Yellow Tail Shiraz is absolutely beautiful and it's only Â£5 a bottle.


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## mouth (Jan 12, 2012)

I'm in the Argentinian Malbec camp I'm afraid. My theory-  if they don't sell it in Wetherspoons then it's probably quite nice. Goes for most other forms of alcohol as well...........


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## StrangelyBrown (Jan 13, 2012)

sev112 said:



			Very few people ssem to knwo Vaqueras which is divine, and Gigondas is a Christmas treat
		
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I like to spend my summer holidays in Provence driving around and collecting local wines to drink. I can't wait until July, 3 weeks of wine ponce pleasure, and it happens to be my 30th birthday  :whoo:


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## bobmac (Jan 13, 2012)

StrangelyBrown said:



			I like to spend my summer holidays in Provence driving around and collecting local wines to drink. I can't wait until July, 3 weeks of wine ponce pleasure, and it happens to be my 30th birthday  :whoo:
		
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I hope you find some good terroir


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## StrangelyBrown (Jan 13, 2012)

bobmac said:



			I hope you find some good terroir 








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I'm sure I will  

Love that smillie too :thup:


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## beck9965 (Jan 13, 2012)

If your after a lighter red try a Pinot Noir, Brancott Estate is nice Valdiviesio or a Stoneliegh.


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## Mungoscorner (Jan 13, 2012)

If you like Spanish Reds you could o a lot worse than Campaneo old vines Tempranillo/Merlot Â£4 a bottle in Asda at the mo.


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## Foxholer (Jan 6, 2016)

Lots of good recommendations, but it's hard to tell what's likely to appeal in the 'classic' range, one of which the OP describes as 'banana skins' compared to that of a 2.99 'unknown'. I'd suggest more of the Manor Creek!!

Of the (modern) classics, I'm a 'current but waning' fan of Argentinian Malbec - was 'best value a couple of years ago but has gone the same way as Chilean Merlot and being priced out of my 'great value' slot. Chilean Carmenere appeals to me and. Tesco are currently (or at least have been as some of their offers expired yesterday!) their 'Finest' Tempranillo for Â£5.50 which is pretty good price, flavour and quality (though probably a bit 'heavy' for the OP imo). Majestic - who  now only require 6 bottles to be purchased for discount but will do single bottle sales at the non-discounted price - do a Definition (own brand) Rhone that was superb at Christmas, 'beating', for me, the Vasse Felix Cab Merlot that is my 'special' one these days. Majestic also do tastings, so it's possible to try and find one that you like that way!

Of those otherwise mentioned Rioja, Wolf Blass or even Jacob's Creek  is a pretty good place to start. The Wolf Blass is defying the increase in the Aussie Dollar exchange rate. Lower priced Rhones are also significantly more approachable than other 'classics' and not so heavily flavoured. Southern Italians can be similarly good value for a newbie, but Italy in general just has too much to really recommend.

Oh and 1 piece of Wine Snobbery....There is no such thing as Chilean Rioja (though Carmenere often shows some of the same bricky/earthy old wood style)!

@BobMac That's some sacrifice for the diet! 

Btw. While White is perfectly acceptable on its own, Red tends to be better if matched with food. I'm looking forward to another Argentinian Malbec (another 'Definition' from Majestic) with the Fillet Steak later!


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## Maninblack4612 (Jan 6, 2016)

A surprising number of votes for Argentinian Malbec.  Same grape as Beaujolais and is nice served slightly chilled,  I find.


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## Imurg (Jan 6, 2016)

I wonder if peoples tastes have changed since 2012.........


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## rosecott (Jan 6, 2016)

What sparked the renewed interest from post #41 onwards was that there was a spam post earlier today that has since been removed.


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## patricks148 (Jan 6, 2016)

Maninblack4612 said:



			A surprising number of votes for Argentinian Malbec.  Same grape as Beaujolais and is nice served slightly chilled,  I find.
		
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they make Beaujolais with Gamay grapes, Malbec is a diff grape altogether


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## Foxholer (Jan 6, 2016)

Maninblack4612 said:



			A surprising number of votes for Argentinian Malbec.  Same grape as Beaujolais and is nice served slightly chilled,  I find.
		
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Er...No it's not! Unless you are corrupted by the Californians!

(Proper) Beaujolais is made from Gamay! I'm generally not a fan, though did once have a fabulous Moulin a Vent that I paid less than Â£2 for!


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## rulefan (Jan 6, 2016)

NWJocko said:



			Chilean Rioja.

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No such animal. Rioja is classified as "*Protected designation of origin (PDO)" *and can only be produced in that region of Spain.

Red (tinto) is predominantly tempranillo with a small proportion of Garnacha Tinta, Mazuelo and Graciano.

There are also rose and white Riojas.


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## Maninblack4612 (Jan 6, 2016)

Foxholer said:



			Er...No it's not! Unless you are corrupted by the Californians!

(Proper) Beaujolais is made from Gamay! I'm generally not a fan, though did once have a fabulous Moulin a Vent that I paid less than Â£2 for!
		
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Of course! Old age catching up with me.


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## sev112 (Jan 6, 2016)

Am now on dry January 

Was frustratingly disappointed with my Xmas wines with one exception.
Apothic Red (Californian) has been marked down from a tenner to 7.50 in a few places. Quite heavy normally but this year seems to be a bit lighter and mrs sev112 took a liking to it so went back for a few more 

Took a punt on 3 expensive bottles from Lidl and they all disappointed,
However their Â£10 champagne that won Metro's recommendation in Dec was very good so I let them off a tiny bit.


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## sev112 (Jan 6, 2016)

Wile trawling through the cupboards at Xmas I came across a wrapped unopened bottle of Fonseca Port from 1983.

Quick trawl of Internet suggests it sells for between Â£50 and Â£75 at the moment !


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## louise_a (Jan 6, 2016)

Another in the Rioja camp here.


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## williamalex1 (Jan 6, 2016)

Malbec, Merlot or Shiraz.


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## chrisg (Jan 6, 2016)

Shiraz, Shiraz or Shiraz for me with the occasional Rioja, or if my missus is drinking then Merlot.

The op mention wanting fruity and low tannin... in which case a Bardolino is a good choice, if a little less common in the shops. It's produced overlooking lake Garda and we spent a lovely afternoon tasting at a vineyard there a few years back... A glass of it now always reminds me of a great holiday there.


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## williamalex1 (Jan 6, 2016)

williamalex1 said:



			Malbec, Merlot or Shiraz.
		
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Edit , Barola if i have a few bob to spare.


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## Snelly (Jan 7, 2016)

Amarone is my favourite red wine. Absolutely beautiful. Expensive but good value. All should try it.


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## rosecott (Jan 7, 2016)

williamalex1 said:



			Edit , Barola if i have a few bob to spare.
		
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Snelly said:



			Amarone is my favourite red wine. Absolutely beautiful. Expensive but good value. All should try it.
		
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It's well worth while keeping an eye open for any bargains going for both Barolo and Amarone. Neither, however, are for the faint-hearted.


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## Del_Boy (Jan 7, 2016)

rosecott said:



			It's well worth while keeping an eye open for any bargains going for both Barolo and Amarone. Neither, however, are for the faint-hearted.
		
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Another shout for Barolo and Amarone.  One not mentioned that I love is Nuit St George.


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## Del_Boy (Jan 7, 2016)

Forgot to mention have a regular monthly meet with a mate of mine today where we put the world to rights over a decent bottle of red or port and some cheese.  Will let you know this afternoon what we go for I think it is his pick this month


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## Fyldewhite (Jan 7, 2016)

Love Shiraz but it doesn't like me for some reason....also not a fan of South African pinotage or the Argentinian Malbec. Prefer Rioja or a decent Chianti or Chillean merlot for value. Campo Viejo Rioja is my current favourite and can pick it up for Â£6 on offer. I find french wine in general is better if you spend a bit more but that said, personally I think Chateauneuf is a bit over-rated....one of those people like "because they should" if you ask me.......bit like Champagne before they recently invented Prosecco!!


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## Deleted member 16999 (Jan 7, 2016)

A few years back The Times ran a Â£30.00 and under Red wine article were the "tasters" were blindfolded, the winner was ALDI's Toro Loco at Â£4.99, not a bad little red and decent for introducing people to Red Wine. still available and worth a try.


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## Del_Boy (Jan 7, 2016)

Del_Boy said:



			Forgot to mention have a regular monthly meet with a mate of mine today where we put the world to rights over a decent bottle of red or port and some cheese.  Will let you know this afternoon what we go for I think it is his pick this month
		
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Had a bottle of St Emillion Grand Cru another great drop of wine


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## StevieT (Jan 7, 2016)

Reading through this thread really makes me want to reverse my decision on being Tea total! 

I do miss a nice glass or two of Red.


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## Foxholer (Jan 7, 2016)

Del_Boy said:



			Had a bottle of St Emillion Grand Cru another great drop of wine
		
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Generally been something of a disappointment to me! It's really only another appellation, albeit with a slightly lower yield and higher alcohol requirement! It's a demonstration of how some label information can be misleading - occasionally seriously! The term Grand Cru *Classe*, however, is rather different, especially the top 2! The sale of an old (and leaky!) one of them (a 1947 Cheval Blanc) paid for my air ticket over here!

Not quite one to go to as an alternative to the 2.99 one mentioned by the OP though!


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## User62651 (Jan 7, 2016)

Spent a winter as a ski bum in France many moons ago and drank so much cheap plonk red table wine on a daily basis at 60p/litre from SuperU that basically any bottle of red wine bought here tastes great to me now, its all relatively good in comparison to the french plonk, I do prefer a Rioja but there's just so many good ones out there, use Lidl a bit and they have a rating score for their more expensive ones, worth checking out as for Â£10 you can get a really excellent bottle.
Never really drink white, just can't get into it other than some bubbly at Xmas.


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## vkurup (Jan 8, 2016)

PIng said:



			Try *Chateauneuf du Pape*. It's expensive, but you can occasionally get it for Â£10 a bottle. I save it for special occasions, and drink it at the start of the evening - it's wasted if you're already wasted!
		
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I used to like them, but now i think there are a few flooding the market and not everything with the CdP label is worth the money,,


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