Can you get a good bottle of Red Wine for less than £4?
I’ll begin by saying, I am not a wine connoisseur and I will not be using words such as ‘bouquet’ or phrases such as ‘with hints of blah, blah, blah’. I will however be using terms such as ‘non offensive’, ‘more like a drink and less like vinegar’ or even in some cases; ‘very drinkable’.
A friend of mine convinced me to buy a bottle of red wine that cost less than £4. I had very low expectations but it was a week near the end of the month so I went with it. So imagine my suprise when I found I actually enjoyed it!
This led to questions; are there other good red wines out there for less than £4? And so began Mike and mines 2 months of trying every red wine we could find for less than £4, we went to every supermarket and bought whatever they had. We found; red wine under £4 was absolutely disgusting.
But, there was a small handful that were actually very pleasant, tucked away on the bottom, cheap shelves , like little hidden gems.
There were 5 that I would drink again, that I would label ‘good’ bottles of wine and are perfect for the more budget conscious weeks of the month.
5th Place: Australia Shiraz (Lidl) £3.99
Your first mouthful it definitely feels a little harsh but it quickly mellows. What was great about this wine is it had almost a spicy kick too it! It worked really well with food and was very drinkable but was quite acidic. It definitely works better on the slightly warmer side though, we had it again the other day and it was quite cold, not as good as I had scored it originally.
4th Place: Vega Roja; Merlot (Asda) £3.89
Though still a little acidic this was very smooth and easy to drink. It was full of flavour without being harsh. It was ‘fruity’ as in you could actually call it ‘fruity’ not; ‘it looks a little like ribenna so therefore we’ll call it…’ There isn’t much more I could say other than it was a pleasant enough drink.
3rd Place: The Wine List; Shiraz (Asda) £3.89
This wine was slightly less red and more a dark pink and the bottle looked cheap meaning we were initially sceptical. However; it was one of the best testing wines only scoring lower because it didn’t keep well if not drank in one sitting (and by sitting I meaning evening, not chug the bottle). Very smooth, not acidic at all, full of flavour and actually a wine I will continue to buy regularly.
2nd Place: Grapvine Merlot (Aldi) £3.69
The wine that started it all, this one split opinion. Mike wasn’t a fan finding it too acidic however I loved it and I’d call it my favourite of the 5. But that’s why it hit 2, because we couldn’t agree on it. I found it smooth and fruity, full of flavour, a good colour and if you don’t drink it all in one night, it saves well. But Mike recommends you have the gaviscon on standby.
1st Place: Kooliburra Reserve Shiraz Cabernet (Aldi) £3.99
Not to be confused with the Kooliburra Reserve Shiraz which scored much lower, sadly as I write this I realise I have made this very mistake myself and the bottle I have in for tomorrow evening I am no longer looking forward too, damn it!
I shit you not, I could actually smell plums. It isn’t a sweet wine but it was much sweeter than I was expecting without this being overpowering. It didn’t have a harsh after taste, it wasn’t acidic, it smelt beaut, it was very rich and yet super drinkable. I tell you now; this is a nice bottle of red wine that confirms for me you can get a good bottle of red for less than £4.
The other end of the scale…
I would be an awful human being if I did not warn you about the wines to avoid like the plague. We drank in excess of 20 bottles of wine, most of which were not great (this would come as a surprise to no one) but only 2 scored 1 out of 5.
The first was Silver Bay Point bought from Tesco and simply called ‘Red Wine.’ Now Mike did say ‘I’ve had worse’ and yet he refused to finish the bottle which says something in itself. It smelt like Ribenna, it was pink not red, it was weirdly sweet and yet otherwise flavourless. In short; it was gross.
The other super low scorer was Three Mills Reserve Red bought from Asda. It was a nicer looking bottle of wine but when you drank it, you got that sharp, red wine after taste without ever having actually tasted red wine. Again, not nice.
So I imagine true red wine fans will be spitting at their screens reading this and calling me a heathen. But I say, price doesn’t always mean good and if you can get something tasty that’s more reasonably priced then why not.
Outnumbered 