A Lidl bit of Xmas Cheer - Updated

I can't believe I'm finally doing a wine post. Apologies to the fans of the grape, it's been a little while since I wrote about anything other than the grain. Anyway, I headed out into the cold Dublin mountain air earlier with the aim of buying some cheap booze for the Chrimbo to Lidl on the Grange Road .

I was hoping to find some of the Cepa Lebrel reserva, which I have been enjoying for the last year and a half and my luck was in and I bought a few for the very reasonable price of €8.49. I figger they'll be handy to have for last minute entertaining. The other two I got are pictured below:

Medici Riccardi Morellino di Scansano 2011  - €10.99
This is almost the most expensive wine I've ever bought in Lidl, but I have to say that the 10-12 euro wines from Lidl are generally pretty solid so here's hoping this follows on trend.

Herself isn't crazy about this but I quite like it. It's warm, rich and full with some nice cherry and plum notes. Would I buy it ahead of the €8 Lidl Rioja? Probably not, but if you are a Sangiovese fiend you'll find a lot to like here...
 
Chianti Riserva Corte Alle Mura 2010 - €6.99
Total punt here. The standard (cheap) Chianti comes at about a fiver but that's not great. I'm hoping for the modest addition of two euro that magic will occur and transform this wine into a winner.

So this is...not bad. There's a little plummy fruit, a touch of acidity; perfectly pleasant with a decent finish. If you are a Chianti freak this is probably not for you but otherwise this might be worth a try at 7 notes.

Invisible airwaves crackle with life

or something. Lots to get through so let's get this moving along fairly lively.

Firstly I made a quick pit stop at the new Off Licence in the Village (the Vineyard) and had lovely chat with the(I'm guessing French) chap inside who I presume is the boss. He recommended the wine above a Morellino Di Sansano Serpaia 2007 , priced on the not inconsiderable level of €16. This is 100% Sangiovese from Tuscany. I liked this but I didn't love it, it was perfectly fine, some nice cherry bitterness and a decent finish but for the money I expected a little more.

I was also recommended the Altitude 450 Cotes Du Ventoux for the visit of the Outlaws, "lil" sis and the flyboy on Sunday which I had intended to pick up on the day. Unfortunately I had to work all day (mutter mutter) and I had to pick up spuds and ginger and a couple of other things on the way so Tesco was the only place for me (Ever tried buying root ginger in a Spar/Londis/Centra?).

The wine above was on special offer and me being a dedicated bargain hunter (cheap) I got three. Tesco Cotes Du Rhone Villages Reserve 2007, our guests all opined in the positive and I liked it too. A little lighter and fruitier than recent Rhone wines we been drinking, this went well the leg of "lamb chicken" ( Little Bill only eats chicken- beef chicken, lamb chicken, bacon chicken, pork chicken - you get the idea)

Last but not least I also picked up a Tesco Tautavel 2005, a snip at €10-49 (I hope), it's an Appelation Cotes Du Roussillon Villages Tautavel Controlee by Gerard Bertrand, phew. Don't know much about Tautavel except its in the Languedoc and Dunnes used to sell one for €8-50 (half price, they said) which was delicious but it absolutely had to be decanted for best effect. Anyhoo - back to Kenny Powers.