Supermarket Discounting

Joanna Simon's credit crunch recommendations in last weekend's Sunday Times made me wonder exactly how UK supermarkets can offer such low prices. Just as we were writing off the sub-£3 price point, she endorses Asda's own brand Chilean Cabernet for £2.98. Not to be outdone, Jane MacQuitty ("Wine to drink in a recession", Times 25 October) is also raving about Asda, whose Montepulciano - "ridiculously cheap and ridiculously tasty" - also comes in at £2.98.

So how are Asda et al doing it? Are they making a full margin on these recession-proof wines? If so, presumably the producers are selling at rock bottom. The first part of the answer is that they buy in extremely large volumes. Aldi, which has 400 stores, does not buy in lots of less than 150,000 bottles, even for its finer wines. (Tim Atkin reports in The Observer that Aldi's wine buyer claims it is possible to sell claret as cheaply as £2.64, although he is "very reluctant to buy Bordeaux at that level". "Not as reluctant as I would be to drink it", replies Atkin.)

Supermarkets have come in for criticism in the past for inflating the face value of their wines to the extent that their eye-catching 'half-price' offers are actually nothing of the sort, equating in some cases to only the true market price. Naturally, the supermarkets strongly deny this - Tesco says "'We have an absolute rule that for any half-price offer, the wine has to be worth its full price." All very well, but it is almost impossible to verify what a wine which may not be available elsewhere is really worth.

Discounts notwithstanding, a sub-£3 bottle of wine which respected critics assure us is drinkable is impressive and if someone's profit is not being mightily squeezed then the base cost of the wine must be tiny. Bear in mind that £1.46 of each bottle is duty and 17.5% is VAT - that brings Asda's Chilean Cabernet down to £1.25, before we start to factor in transportation, storage and the margins of the supermarket and any agent/importer. Sterling's current weakness means UK buyers are losing out on exchange rates too. Simon says we're fortunate if the wine component in a sub-£4 wine is even 50p, meaning a £2.98-er contains...what, 40p, 35p? Credit is due to the winemakers who are able to turn out drinkable products on such budgets. I for one would love to see the figures.

Info Mine - Carmenère

The Wine Mine Blagging Toolkit - 5 wine nuggets with which to impress your friends...

1. Nowadays, Carmenère is grown almost exclusively in Chile, although pockets can also be found in northeastern Italy and California.

2. Carmenère in France was decimated by the phylloxera epidemic of 1867. The French never re-introduced it due to its susceptibility to pests and relatively low yields. In contrast, Chile has remained phylloxera-free due to its geographical isolation (it is sealed off by the Atacama Desert, the Andes and the Pacific).

3. Carmenère in Chile was for many years incorrectly identified as Merlot, until genetic analysis in the 1990s revealed it to be the distinct Bordeaux varietal, originally planted in the Medoc. Chilean winemakers appear to have suspected that the would-be-Merlot was not the real McCoy, referring to it as rather apologetically as Merlot Chileno.

4. Carmenère needs more time on the vine than Merlot. It requires a fairly warm climate and does not respond well to high levels of rainfall.

5. Carmenère is one of the original six native Bordeaux varietals (the other five being Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot).

Info Mine - Tannins

The Wine Mine Blagging Toolkit - 5 wine nuggets with which to impress your friends...

1. Tannins occur naturally throughout the plant kingdom. In wines, they come from grapes' skins, pips and stalks. They can also come from the oak in which wines are matured.

2. They are a natural preservative and so are vital to wines which are intended to age, particularly red wines. (The name tannin comes from its use to tan animal hides into leather.)

3. They give a wine body, structure and 'grip', so are important for wines which are intended to be drunk young too.

4. The way to detect tannins in a wine is that they make your mouth and gums pucker, as if they are drying out. This sensation is caused by tannins' astringency. It is similar to that from strong black tea or an unripe banana.

5. Tannins fade over time, meaning that in young wines which are intended to be kept for many years they can appear overpowering. With time, the fruit characteristics will develop and the tannins will diminish, although not so much that their preservative and structural qualities are lost.

Credit crunch claims Tom Aikens

The company of London chef Tom Aikens was put into administration last week, owing thousands of pounds to suppliers. The collapse comes only two months after eco-friendly fish and chip shop Tom's Place closed following complaints from local Chelsea residents. Aikens' remaining two restaurants, Tom Aikens and Tom's Kitchen, were bought by private investment company Oakley Capital. AA Gill described the purchase as "one clever body swerve that nutmegs all those impertinent creditors and suppliers".

Life on the front line - Harpers 24-10-2008

Click the images below for a larger version.

Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux London Tasting 2008

This took place yesterday at the Royal Opera House and showcased the 2006 vintage. There were undoubtedly some great wines on show, but with so much to choose from there is a danger of rapidly anihilating your palate - a bit like wandering aimlessly around the British Museum (or HMV for that matter). The second issue with this tasting is that unless you are a professional taster - which I'm not - it is quite hard to project your ideas of a wine 10 or 20 years into the future, when it will be drinking at its best. I find this especially true of Cabernet-heavy left bank Bordeaux. All of which explains why I tried to be selective and slightly favoured the Merlot areas, especially Saint-Emilion and Pomerol.

Some very brief notes on wines which stood out for me:

Chateau Canon-la-Gaffeliere (St-Emilion) - stood out as having more black fruit than the others I tasted and some spiciness

Chateau Clinet (Pomerol) - lovely roundness on the palate

Chateau Beaumont (Haut-Medoc) - spice and zing on the palate

Chateau Lascombes (Margaux) - seems to tick all the boxes, even at this stage in its development - my palate was getting numbed by this stage but it woke it up with lively red fruit

Chateau Pontet-Canet (Pauillac) - very fruit forward - you can taste a concentration of raspberries on the palate, but with big tannins too (62% Cab Sauv)

What better way to finish a tasting than with 15 top Sauternes/Barsac dessert wines. Two which I thought were fantastic were:

Chateau Climens - paler colour than the average and more lemon on the nose, but rich apricot on the palate, with loads of zing

Chateau Nairac - fairly similar to its rivals but seemed to have an added freshness/acidity which cut through the residual sugar

Update in November: I have just read Jancis Robinson's account of this tasting in the FT and she interestingly calls 2006 "the year of the sorting table", remarking that in "this disease-prone year", there was no hint of any rot. She notes that there were, however, traces of green, unripe fruit throughout the wines on show. Indeed, "it was hard to ignore the fact that the grapes were so much less ripe than in 2005 – particularly from the point of view of the austerity of the tannins". Read the Jancis Robinson article here.

Prosecco Tasting 2008

The annual Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Consorzio tasting took place this week at the Institute of Directors in Pall Mall. Here are some interesting facts I learnt:

1. There are 3,000 growers of the Prosecco grape in the Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOC region (shown in the photo). The average vineyard size is only 1.5 hectares (ha), meaning a high proportion of producers buy in some or all of the grapes they use.

2. The area of the Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOC region is about 4,000 ha. Cartizze, a sub-region producing some of the best quality sweeter Proseccos (Prosecci?) is 105 ha. 45-50 million bottles of DOC Prosecco are produced annually, compared to 150 million bottles of non-DOC Prosecco, which is classified as IGT - Indicazione Geografica Tipica (sparkling wines from regions not qualifying for IGT status are not entitled to call themselves Prosecco, even though they are made from the Prosecco grape).

3. Prosecco can be decribed as Brut with up to 15 g/l of residual sugar, above which it becomes Extra Dry.

4. There are 4 main co-operatives in the Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOC region. The Valdobbiadene co-op is called Val D'Oca.

5. The Consorzio has applied to the Italian government for elevation to the highest DOCG status (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita). There are currently only 36 DOCG wines in Italy.

6. Almost all Prosecco is non-vintage. The idea is to drink it young!

Armit 20th Anniversary Tasting

Notting Hill merchant Armit marked its 20th anniversary with its 2008 tasting yesterday at Delfina Art Cafe. Their strong French and Italian portfolio is backed up by some interesting New World wines. My highlights were:

Burgundy

Domaine Leflaive Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Clavoillon 2006 - minerals and loads of citrus/pear, long finish with an almost autolytic taste

Mischief & Mayhem Meursault 2006 - lovely rounded fruit, gentle but full in the mouth

Rhone

Andre Brunel Chateauneauf-du-Pape Les Cailloux Rouge 2005 - classic Grenache - dark cherries, chocolate and spice

Germany

Baron Heyl Estate Brudersberg Grand Cru 2006 - a big, viscous trocken from this producer in Rheinhessen which really rolls around your mouth; lowish acidity though

Italy

Valentina Cubi Amarone - there were 2 Amarones, a 1997 and a 2003. I actually preferred the 03, which seemed richer, smoother and with an (even) longer finish. Both were tawny, with a classic nose of raisins and alcohol vapour; coffee, chocolate and dark spices on the palate.

Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Asili 2003 - light-med tawny colour; 14.5% abv, huge chewy tannins which dried my teeth out, high acidity - too young still? - would be good to taste in 15 years!

Ornellaia 2001 - walnuts and big red fruit (strawberries) on nose, as well as alcohol whiff (14.5%); a bit disappointing on the palate, alcohol masking the flavour a bit

Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia 2000 - 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Cabernet Franc. Still young (average age for Sassicaia is 30 years). Tawny, big aristocratic nose, bit thin on palate?, high acidity, fine sediment, v long finish

Argentina

Nomade Torrontes 2007 - an especially floral, aromatic Torrontes from Cafayate; good acid (compared to other Torrontes I have tasted), although still a bit flabby/watery

NZ

Sauvignons - at the cheaper end, the Momo Sauvignon was classic NZ cut grass, greenery, apples; the basic Seresins (07 and 08) were very good (although a little watery on palate?); the Seresin Reserve was great - fresh minerals and a real mouthful of the terroir

Seresin Reserve Chardonnay 1996 - fantastic, deep golden, not too much oak

Seresin Riesling - strong petrol whiff (in a good way) - v typically Riesling-ish

New Côtes de Bordeaux AOC Approved

An enlarged but simpler appellation system has been introduced in Bordeaux. From next spring, the following new appelations will be appear on Bordeaux bottles from producers in the Côtes region: Côtes de Bordeaux Blaye, Côtes de Bordeaux Castillon, Côtes de Bordeaux Francs and Côtes de Bordeaux Cadillac.

The Côtes account for 10% of Bordeaux's production and cover 1,600 producers, or 120m bottles.