Blind taste test: $9 Aldi rosé you’ll be drinking all summer long
Herald Sun wine critic Kara Monssen puts Aldi’s cheap-as-chips wine to the ultimate blind taste test.
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Aldi wine has a cult following vino drinkers.
Many are in awe of the supermarket chain’s no-name, gluggable drops with cheap as chips price tags.
But do these wines pass the pub test when blinding tasted against bigger brands?
I put three wines to the ultimate blind taste test.
Sauvignon blanc
2020 Loire Valley sauvignon blanc: $9.99
Has textbook savvy b aromas of ripe passionfruit tangled with fresh cut grass and pink grapefruit. Bright acidity and touch of creamy nougat but the finish falls short. An ideal seafood or summer BBQ companion.
ALDI
2022 Shaw and Smith sauvignon blanc: $31
More fruit, less grass on the nose. Tastes a lot truer to style than the previous wine. Has softer acidity, but still well structured with plenty of ripe passionfruit, grapefruit and grassy undertones. A long finish.
shawandsmith.com
VERDICT: While the ALDI wine came out of the gate strong, with exaggerated flavours and aromas, it didn’t have as much poise as the Shaw and Smith number.
Rosé
2020 Loire Valley cabernet franc rosé: $8.49
Shining brightly with red apple, lemon and strawberries and cream aromas, this wine is loaded with juicy red fruits with refreshing acidity, a hint of minerality and a long finish.
ALDI
2020 Mirabeau X Provence rosé: $24.99
Smells like ripe strawberries, peaches and pink grapefruit. It follows through with more of the same pronounced flavours on first sip, but doesn’t linger as I’d hoped.
Dan Murphy’s
VERDICT: ALDI wine is more quenching with ripe, bright red fruits that go on and on.
Cabernet sauvignon
2020 The Pond cabernet sauvignon: $6.99
This dude doesn’t smell very nice. There are some herbaceous and green undertones with ever so slight black fruit, pepper and bay leaf aromas. But this is nowhere near as pretty as the second wine. Falls away far too quickly.
ALDI
2021 Centare Old Block Cabernet Sauvignon: $65
Instantly intoxicating with lovely, dusty perfume of blackberries, blackcurrant, cocoa, baking spices and bay leaf. Will open up into a generous, well-structured wine that’s plenty fresh with firm tannins and super length.
centarevineyard.com (Available Jan 23)
VERDICT: Immediately clear which wine was the winner before first sip. The quality of fruit used in the Centare blew the competition out of the water. Both wines needed a decant. Sometimes you can’t skimp on reds.
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