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| L-R: Aldi, Waitrose, Morrisons |
The popularity of drinking rosé wine in the summer months grows from year to year. We're nowhere near the point where demand outstrips production although I would contend that the price of some fairly modest Provence rosés is a fair reflection of the laws of supply and demand. At the same time media outlets regularly remind us that consumption of red wine is declining fast. As a committed red wine drinker though I'm more interested in articles that promote the idea of turning to lighter red wines at this time of year and, dare I say it, giving them 30 mins or so in the fridge and serving them cold. The kind of reds that get mentioned in this regard are fruity, light-bodied, and have minimal tannin; for example, Gamay (e.g. Beaujolais or from the Loire Valley) and Pinot Noir, or from Italy Frappato, Freisa etc. But I want to focus here on the Zweigelt grape, the most widely planted red grape variety in Austria, which is certainly getting a bit of traction at the moment here in the UK and is an excellent and versatile light and 'chill-able' wine for warm weather drinking. It's a grape has been cultivated in Austria for getting on for a hundred years having been created in the 1920s by Dr Fritz Zweigelt who crossed two local grape varieties - Blaufränkisch and St Laurent. With the news that Morrisons have recently released a Zweigelt in their latest limited-edition Block Series I decided to do a comparative tasting of this alongside two other readily available supermarket Austrian Zweigelts - from Aldi and from Waitrose. The exercise was made particularly attractive since all three are currently discounted in price.
Aldi: Der Komponist Specially Selected Zweigelt 2024 (£7.99 reduced from £8.99)
Ruby red, medium bodied. Concentrated fruit. Juicy, quaffable and easy drinking. A typical winner from Aldi. What's not to like? 7/10
Waitrose: Lentsch Zweigelt 2022 (£10.00 reduced to £9.00 until 29/07/25)
Garnet red and much lighter than the other two wines. Instead of opening a bottle purchased some time ago I should have bought a fresh one. These light Zweigelds are best drunk young and unfortunately this bottle from 2022 vintage was noticeably tired. On this occasion 6/10 although in the past I have enjoyed this wine.
Morrisons The Best Block Series 004 Niederostereich Zweigelt (£13.00 reduced to £9.00 until 15/07/23 with 'More' loyalty card)
Ruby red. Sharp acidity. Cranberry, raspberry, red fruit flavours. A longer finish than the other two wines. This wine opened up over time. 8/10
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