Chosen by Majestic Grüner Veltliner, Kremstal, Austria 2022 (£10.99, or £8.99 as part of a mixed case of six bottles, Majestic) It’s one of the surest signs of the difficult economic times that the UK’s wine retailers are putting so much of their attention into the cheapest parts of their ranges. For the supermarkets, that’s translated into a renewed focus on providing own-label wines at around a fiver – no easy task when duty alone will account for more than half of that price come 1 August, with packaging and transport eating up much of the rest. The UK’s largest specialist wine retailer, Majestic, meanwhile is pinning its hopes on holding on to an increasingly straitened middle-class clientele with a new range of sub-£10 own-label wines. All of the 11 initial “Chosen by Majestic” wines come in below a tenner, provided you buy by the case of six bottles, with the subtly pepper-spiced, citrus zesty Austrian Grüner Veltliner among the best of the wines I’ve tried in the series so far.
Chosen By Majestic Rioja Crianza, Rioja, Spain 2020 (£9.99, or £7.99 as part of a mixed case of six bottles, Majestic) Majestic’s existing, longstanding, and often good-value Definition range has in a sense been promoted by the arrival of Chosen: this is where the company would now like you to spend your money if you’re after classic wines (Barolo, White Burgundy, Sancerre etc) and have more than £10 to spend. Over the years, one of my favourite Definition wines has been the Rioja Reserva which is made for the company by one of the best of the Spanish region’s traditional bodegas, La Rioja Alta, and which has always hit that very particular soft mellow, sweet-and-savoury older Rioja spot, with the current 2018 vintage (£13.99, or £11.99 as part of a mixed six) no exception. For the Chosen range, Majestic has gone to a different producer working with fruit grown in the same part of Rioja, and for a cheaper, younger crianza style: at the £7.99 mixed six price it’s an excellent buy.
The Society’s Greek White, Peloponnese, Greece 2022 (£8.99, thewinesociety.com) As recently as a couple of years ago, I would have described another of my favourites in the new Chosen by Majestic range – the delightfully breezy floral and softly peachy, citrus zesty Greek White 2022 from the Peloponnese (£9.99, or £8.99 as part of a mixed case) – as a bold, eclectic addition to the Majestic range. Such is the change in fortunes of Greek wine of late, however, with so many mainstream retailers now stocking at least one Greek white and red, its presence can hardly be called a surprise, but this clever combination of Greek varieties malagousia, roditis and assyrtiko from the Peloponnese made by the Kintonis Winery is no less welcome for all that. So, too, the wonderfully fragrant blend of moschofilero and roditis sold by one of Majestic’s online rivals, The Wine Society, which, like most of the bottles in the Society’s own-label range, is excellent value and very true to type.
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