If you're not fast, you're last.....

It can be a bit of a battle finding good German wine. So I was taken aback by this little temptress in Springburn's Tesco. Even better, it was reduced to clear. I grabbed the eight remaining bottles but immediately felt greedy so put two back "for someone else". 

God knows who, but then I wondered the same thing about the Taylors 1977 Vintage port they were selling for £99. It sat on the shelf for over a year. I kept my beady eye on it, eventually it went down to £79. But I gambled on another reduction and someone scarfed the lot during a 'buy 6 get 20% off' sale. Gutting.

I got home and tried a bottle of my new bargain. It was seriously delicious. A beautiful piercing bouquet of spring flowers, mango, papaya and a lovely flavour like the juice from tinned mandarins. Acidity just about balanced the intense sweetness... and all this in a 7% vol. wine. Incredible. Should've scarfed the lot!

Leitz, Rudesheimer Kirchenpfad, 

Rheingau

Riesling Auslese 2004

Tesco: down from £11.99 to £5.99

Fill Your Stivali !

Until yesterday I'd always avoided the Chiantis of Familae Piccini. They mass on too many shelves and seem to spend more time discounted than they ever do at full price. So I don't know what came over me when I grabbed this bottle from Sainsbury's. But I'm glad it did.

It's seriously tasty. A classic old style Chianti. Best drunk while wearing a cravate and calling yourself 'Marchese'.

It has an almost floral nose with hints of orange.... and something of the forest floor? On the palate there's a lot of acidity and quite a bit of tannin. The label suggests it's great with red meats, game and cheeses. Well, it went pretty well Guinea Fowl last night and pasta with tomato sauce tonight. Yes, I went back for more.... only to discover someone, probably a savvy Trattoria owner, had cleaned out the promotional shelf. Luckily they'd missed a stash in the main section so I grabbed 6. Both 2004 and 2005 were available. I went for 2004 but only because I've read it was the better vintage in Tuscany.

Familae Piccini Chianti Riserva 2004: Sainsburys down from £9.99 to £4.99. At that price it really is a bargain. But you may need to hurry..... or drink it at your local Italian, where I suspect it'll be a bit more than £4.99.