Estevez Cabernet Sauvignon Carmenere 2011 from Aldi. Chile

Estevez Cabernet Sauvignon Carmenere 2011 is a  wine is made by Chilean mega-producer Concha y Toro for Aldi spermarkets, and at £4.99 - I can only say - stunning value! The grapes for this wine came from the Valle de Maule in Chile. The wine has a deep ruby colour with a hint at purple at the rim - this is a young wine and you often find this. There is a blackness to its depth, and the glass when swirled has slow coloured dribbles called 'legs' or 'tears' by some, often but not always due to higher alcohol content.
On the nose, smokey tobacco, black fruits that include, plums, cherry and blackcurrant, there is a hint at a stalkiness, but not a main aroma.
When I tasted it, the smoke, spice and dark fruits all vie for front position, the fruit is ripe but not lush, there is a fine grained elegance, my only niggle is that the acidity seems out of balance, it zips about the palate as though it is not meant to be there.
The length is good with stalky fruit and woody spice right at the finish.
Overall I like the wine, would buy it again at this price, but feel that the acidity and stalkiness are the only things that let it down, but in its favour, it is elegant, fine tuned with stalky tannins that have a savoury element to it.
I would like to taste this wine in 18 months time and see if the acidity has settled down and integration has begun!
Score : 85

Minarete Ribera Del Duero 2010 DO. Tempranillo

Minarete Ribera Del Duero 2010 DO made in the Ribera del Duero region of northern Spain, on the spanish side of the Duoro/Duero river.
This area often has a reputation for producing expensive, good quality wines from the Tempranillo grape ( also called Tinta del Pais). This was a steal at the price of £5.49 from Aldi Spermarkets - but was it any good?
Having poured it, we peered into the glasses - great purple ruby colour, and the ripe black cherry aromas and spicy juicy plums - smelt good to us all, and so we tasted it.....
Once more black cherries, blackberry, vanilla and toast, chocolate and coffee hover in the background tantilisingly, the tannins - definite grip but ripe and coating, there was fresh acidity and the alcohol felt well tucked in ( 13.5%) and supported the good structure of this wine well. It had a lovely long finish with a sweet spicey end. My after thoughts - soft, long and full - and please can I have some more!
Well done Aldi ! Amazing value.

Freemans Bay Pinot Noir 2011 from New Zealand

Freemans Bay Pinot Noir 2011 from both Marlborough and Central Otago in New Zealand, this wine comes from Aldi Supermarkets and at the price of £6.99 it is good value - where can you buy a Pinot from NZ for less that £10? New Zealand has 3 main Pint producing areas, Marlborough ( North end of South Island), Martinborough ( south end of North Island) and Central Otago ( near the south of South Island ), for me - I prefer Martinborough Pinot to the other 2, but Central Otago has a great reputation - I think watch this space.
Now onto the wine - is it good?  It is very, very pale and infact it could nearly be termed a Rose, but on the nose I would recognise it as a Pinot Noir, expressive strawberry, plum with a little vanilla and slightly vegetal, positive I thought. On the palate, good acidity, slightly spirity on the alcohol front ( it is 14%) and not well integrated - but it is young..... maybe with a little time it will integrate better. It has a silky texture, the body feels in the right place and sweet fruits come through beautifully as well as a little licquorice but an out of kilter bitter, nearly pithy finish, so this was the only minor disappointment and maybe this is due to oak usage which again may improve with age. Even so at the price - this is a good quaffing, party wine that will not let you down! And it is an IWSC silver medal winner - tasted blind by a large panel of wine experts - would they have awarded it the medal if they had not tasted it blind, Aldi labelling may have interferred with their judgement. But a cracking wine - BUY, BUY, BUY !

Toro Loco Tempranillo 2011 from the Utiel-Requena DOP Spain from ALDI.

Aldi has done it again !
This wine, Toro Loco Tempranillo 2011 is an IWSC silver medal ( International Wine and Spirits Challange - all wines tasted blind ) winner - and beat many wines 10 times its price, and what was the price - £3.59, and an absolute bargain! Many who have never been to Aldi, and have been put off by the thought of 'pile it high, sell it cheap' and cannot shop without 'brands' need to think again, yes it is cheap, but Aldi now use shelves not boxes on the floor, and they also do have some brands...... but..... I would say alot of the own branded ( or names you have never heard of) items are stunning quality, not all and I am sure they are always working towards perfection, and you can now do most of a weekly shop here at about half the price you pay in many other supermarkets! I tend to go to Aldi for the main items and then Waitrose for the specials - the system works well and I save alot of money and occasionally you come across a stunner at Aldi - such as this Toro Loco Tempranillo 2011 from the Utiel-Requena DOP Spain. Another wine worth trying is the Sparkling wine from the Jura.
Tempranillo is a grape variety that we associate with Rioja and Ribera del Duero, it produces some lovely red fruited, juicy wines,  and wow can it age well, often needing other grapes to help it on its way! This wine is from much further south in the Utiel-Requena region and I had expected it to have a high alcohol content, but it was only 12.5% - so bonus points there too!
Pop your nose in the glass and ripe red fruits hit you which include cherry and raspberry, but also crushed cranberry and some toasty spices, all these come through on the palate, bolstered by some black juicy fruits and vanilla. The finish is long and juicy red fruits with a slight bitter citrus edge - which keeps it fresh and clean and interesting. The savoury, tasty tannins remain intact and ripe, the acidity keeps the fruit fresh and the alcohol merely supports the clever structure of this wine - thankyou Aldi!