Moulin-à-Vent 2008 Château de la Terrière

As if to prove the point (see last post) I present this shockingly good value Beaujolais:

Majestic yet again prove they can bring home the bacon when it comes to fairly priced, perfectly acceptable Beaujolais. Not sure it merits it's RRP of £9.99 (takes it dangerously close to Thivin country - a different flavour league) but at the multibuy price of £5.99 is absurdly good value. Some black cherry on the nose followed by a very well rounded attack and a hint of pepper on the finish.

If this kind of product really does fly with the British public (and why else would Majestic devote so much effort to them) surely somebody could market Loire reds in a similar fashion? Perhaps there just isn't the supply of such wines at the right price?

2008 Coteaux du Tricastin, Cuvée Traditionnelle, Cellier des Dauphins, France

I gave this a try whilst struggling to find anything interesting at the Tesco's in St Andrwews. I think I paid about £6 for it but I see that Waitrose had it on offer at £4.50 earlier in the year.

It starts well with nose that seems to be common to the (small number) of red Rhones I've experimented with - velvety with hints of damson. On the pallette it proceeds to a brutal attack of totally uncoordinated fruit before moving onto a finish that can only be described as bordering on harsh.

Sadly this provides more ammunition to by suspicions surrounding reds form the part of the world: far too much baked fruit about them which, if I wanted (which I don't), I would eat a Jam roly-poly.

Granted it's cheap, and perhaps this also proves the point about just how hard it is getting to find palatable reds under £6, regardless of region. Still, the Armandieres managed it with a comparable blend of the same varieties.

I note this brainless review from Jane McQuitty:

[those] after a keenly priced, ripe, racy, grenachebased, unoaked rhône, dominated by a seductive, spicy, peppery dollop of syrah, will smack their lips over this

Is she high? Whatever The Times is paying her it is far too much.

St Nicolas de Bourgueil AC 2008 Les Graviers

Brief report from a very successful evening at the Hotel du Vin in Harrogate. Of particular note was the wine they served with the main: St Nicolas de Bourgueil AC 2008 Les Graviers. A very pleasant 100% cabernet franc which had loads of fruit, backbone and nose but still seemed to stay very light and supple. Went very well with the roast pork. Vine Trail have it for a tenner (ex VAT) which seems good value. However, given our domestic situation, I must strive to keep the purchases at a lower price than that for the time being.....

Seems the region is a very small one located between Anger and Tours. I wonder if the weather is clement enough at that latitude to make it a contender for 2012?