A Lidl Troika

There has been a lot of chat, speculation and scuttlebutt recently about bailouts, bank debts etc, and how our German partners in Europe are viewing our aspiration to move our Bank debt off our books and onto the ESM's. With that in mind I decided to revisit our local branch of our favourite German discounter LIDL and see what they have on offer from France, Spain and Italy.

Lidl Chianti 2011 - €4-99
The label reminds of the famous Lidl Montepulciano which I have purchased for a variety of negligible amounts over the years and it was always decent. So I was not surprised that this Chianti was drinkable but that's literally all it was. If I wasn't poor and/or blogging it, I think it would have gone down the sink.

Lidl Vacqueyras 2010 - €9-49
As the most expensive of the three I  was expecting something good here.  In 2009 I had the 2007 and I really liked it. Reading that review I can't help but be disappointed with the 2010. While it was decent; rich and fruity, it didn't have any of the complexity of the 2007 and the finish was a bit - meh.

Cepa Lebrel Rioja Crianza 2008 - €6-99
I loved the Reserva of this and I had the Joven (drunk) one night and I think I liked that too, so I figured it was time to check out the middle sibling - the Crianza, and very pleasant it was too. It didn't have quite the depth of flavour or complexity of the Reserva but it is a very decent Rioja at this price. However as the Reserva is only 50c dearer (or it was when last I bought it), it's a no-brainer for me.

So there we are, 1.5 out of 3, it beats 6-1 I suppose.
I, for one, welcome our new Teutonic overlords...