Experimenting with cheap wines can be a little like a game of Russian roulette.
If luck is on your side, there’s the exhilaration and relief of having made a discovery; get it wrong however and the pleasure is over for the evening as you pay for your miserliness with each sip of something rather unpleasant.
So I was holding my breath when I wandered into an Aldi store last year to review some of their disconcertingly inexpensive wines.
I needn’t have worried. In fact the wines were sufficiently impressive to tempt me back, this time to see what they might have in the way of celebratory sparkling wine… Or even a Champagne.
At the very low price of £4.29, Castellore Pinot Grigio Frizzante Rosé is a charming Italian sparkler with pale rose colour and a firm but light fizz.
The flavour is full and round with depth characteristic of well vinified Pinot Grigio grapes .
It’s not floral or sugary like some comparably cheap wines but remarkably well balanced; big enough to make a good aperitif and well behaved enough at the table to go well with more or less any food. It’s a ‘hit’ at the price.
To my delight, the Champagne that I tried, Veuve Monsigny Brut No.3 by Philizot & Fils proved to be a well deserved winner of its bronze medal at the 2012 International Wine and Spirit competition; and at only £9.99, it’s a bargain ripe for discovery.
Handsomely bottled in the classic style, Monsigny impresses from the start with good, lush, intense flavours dignified by appropriate yeast structure and a satisfying citrus finish.
In fact I am slightly confused by how such a decent bottle of Champers can be offered at this low price; but that’s no cause for complaint. I just have to declare it another ‘hit’ for Aldi and raise a glass to their wine buyers.