CityLife

Co-op wines

September 2010

The Co-op has some stunning offers this month ranging from everyday wines to wines that will impress at dinner parties.

I suggest two of them would even sit nicely in the cellar until Christmas, were you blessed with that level of patience.

Discounted Chateauneuf-du-Pape is common on the shelves these days and is often a disappointing affair with thin productions which run counter to the wine’s true character.

Luckily Co-op’s ‘Desirat’ Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2009 (down to £10 from £15) tastes like a true example. This is a dark and rich big alcohol wine (14 per cent) and has all the herby spiciness you’d expect in a good Chateauneuf, along with a lingering, smoky finish.

It’s young, so it isn’t a subtle wine, but has all the punch needed to match autumn and winter stews. A bargain at this price. Save it until the festive season if it still seems a high price.

From nearby is Chateau Belle-Des-Lieres Cotes Du Rhone 2009 (down to £4.99 from £10).

Again this is a wine that shows the power of the 2009 vintage, which my own wine contacts in the south of France say is revealing itself to be one of the best in recent years.

You can’t go wrong with this for a fiver. Bursting with fruit, predominately grenache but augmented by syrah, mourvedre and cinsualt, it’s a classic southern French concoction. Dark berry on the palate, it has a chewy, jammy centre with a silky feel and a powerful finish.

The star of this month’s show however is a half-price Sauternes: Chateau Roumieu 2006 (down to £6.99 from £13.99). I was blown away by this over my dessert the other day. Sometimes supermarket Sauternes can disappoint and lack the complexity you’d expect.

But this Sauternes has had a little time to gain maturity and it shows. A honeyed, floral and burnt orange nose gives way to lashings of luscious marmalade sweetness. Dried fruit flavours of raisins and apricots add to the swirling depth of flavour. I hope they’ve still some left when I pop in for a few more.

Away from these rarefied heights there are some other good offers. There are three Seraphine wines from the south of France: a juicy 2009 syrah rose, a 2009 chardonnay and a fruity 2009 Cabernet with leafy hints of fresh green paper (all down from £8.99 to £4.49).

Similarly there are two New Zealand wines from Southern Block: a slightly restrained Sauvignon Blanc and a beefy merlot malbec (both down to £5.49 from £10.99). All these wines should be available now but availability can be different store to store.