STILL time to get along to Tesco and grab some cut-price offers which end on July 8.
Look for Montana Reserve sauvignon blanc down £2 to £5.99; Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne NV £7 off at £17.98; and Rawnsley cabernet merlot and Rawnsley chardonnay, both half price at £4.99.
This week's bottles: Not much to say
about Amorany cabernet-merlot-tempranillo 2005 (£5.99, Lidl), except that it's oaked, spicy, dry and red. Bland.
Clos Monistrol Vintage 2005 Cava Reserva de la Familia (£9.99 Sainsbury's) smells deliciously of lemon sponge cake and is a richly-fruited Spanish bubbly sipped in the sun. (Funnily, the hotter it gets, the better it tastes).
Spier Vintage selection cabernet sauvignon 2005 (£8.99, Morrisons) delivers black cherry, with sweet caramel-tinged mouthfuls. A South African bruiser (14.5pc) to match roasts or peppered steaks.
Forrster's Back chenin blanc 2007 (£6.99, Oddbins) is a weighty white from South Africa where chenin is a big player. Its pear/apple flavours will match roast pork.
Melon and vanilla abound in Spier Discovery chardonnay 2007 (£4.99, Sainsbury's, Somerfield). It's rounded and enlivened with pleasing acidity.
Piccini Orange Label Chianti 2006 (£5.99, Sainsbury's) is from Tuscany and showers the palate with cherries and leather. Lovely savoury tang.
WINE OF THE WEEKA blend of the red Rioja grape and the Rhone Valley's grenache (garnacha), Soligamur tempranillo-garnacha rioja (£5.99, Lidl) smells of toffee caramel and cherries and is about right with everything, from pizzas to barbie burgers or bangers, to chilli con carne.
BARGAIN OF THE WEEKIf you like your white dry, crisp and flavoursome, try Marques de Caceres Blanco 2007 Rioja (£7.99, Majestic, but £6.99 when you buy two). A gutsy pear and apple-foil for shellfish.
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