It’s time for everyone to ‘Taste the Difference’
Chris Burr, MW, reviews Sainsbury’s own Wine Range
By Master of Wine, Christopher Burr
16/02/2022
Over the last few months, the Taste the Difference range of wines in Sainsbury's has been extended with some smaller parcels of interesting wines which will change every six months. The aim is to find excellent and interesting parcels, generally not available in the much larger quantities required for regular stocking, and to try to encourage their customers to be more experimental.
The aim is to find excellent and interesting parcels…and to try to encourage their customers to be more experimental.
There are some excellent value Taste the Difference wines, and the following are well worth trying;-
Firstly Fizz. Ellercombe English Quality Sparkling Wine is grown in the south of England and made from the traditional Champagne blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, with the traditional bottle fermentation. At £22 a bottle this is excellent fizz, with a fine mousse. An elegant wine with aromas of fresh green apple and citrus and a toasty bready mid palate.
Another good value fizz is the Cremant de Loire, Brut NV, for £12. Another bottle fermented traditional fizz, with some lovely white flower blossom aromas and brioche and citrus flavours.
Some interesting whites well worth trying are firstly, from down in the South of France, Taste the Difference Cotes du Rhone white is a rich complex blend of several southern Rhone grape varietals, and is a delicious complex wine for £8.
There is also a great Albarino from the best area of Galicia in Northern Spain, the Rias Baixas. This 2020 vintage is crisp, bright and mineral, perfect for most fish dishes.
If you prefer something more aromatic, and less bone dry, Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Alsace Gewurztraminer 2020 from the excellent Caves de Turckheim, is full of ripe exotic fruit and aromatic aromas. Perfect with spicy food or as an aperitif.
Sainsbury's Taste the Difference range have plenty for those who like big gutsy red wines. Tanunda Barossa Valley Cabernet Merlot blend 2019 is rich and full bodied with masses of ripe round fruit and good structure. Great with red meat. £18.
Another red meat wine is the excellent Ripasso Valpolicella. Full of dark cherry and black fruits, very concentrated and spicy, a voluptuous wine for £11.
A lovely soft round red from Spain is Sainsbury's Taste the Difference 2019 Old Vine Garnacha. From the same grape as Chateauneuf du Pape in France, but with the added Aragon Spanish sun, this rich round luscious red is great value reduced a pound to £9.
Also, do try the Taste the Difference Portuguese Douro 2019 red, from the same grapes which make Port in the Douro and top Port House Symington. These still dry reds are complex and intense with wild berry fruit and a lovely balance. Currently with £2 off, at £8.50.
Plenty of very interesting wines to experiment with now on Sainsbury's wine shelves, enjoy exploring.
The final red is for those who love the gentle soft berry fruit of Pinot Noir. In the Taste the Difference range is the juicy but full Rheinhessen 2020 Pinot Noir, again with a £1.25 discount to £6.75. Global warming has led the Germans to plant more red grapes and this is a ripe juicy example of the quality they are able to achieve.
Plenty of very interesting wines to experiment with now on Sainsbury's wine shelves, enjoy exploring.