While all countries in Europe are extremely parochial about their own wine [and retail shelves reflect this] sometimes outside help is required. Austria is not renowned for red wines so I was more than willing to buy a bottle of this to try.
I wasn't expecting much for the price but once again Lidl amazed me. I love Pinotage, and while it's not to everyone's taste, if you love grungy, feral, earthy reds this may just be the best bargain in Europe. It has plenty of cellar potential so just grab a bottle to start with. Taste it over three days and see how it grabs you. Personally I'd rate it at well above 5/5 but I have to recognise it really isn't to everyone's taste.
VREDEBOSCH 2017 PINOTAGE
GRAPE VARIETY: Pinotage
REGION: Western Cape, South Africa
A/V: 14.5%
PRICE: 2.49 euro
FROM: Lidl, Austria
RATING: 4.5/5 from me
Retailers all around the world have wines labelled for them. They make up brand names or simply use their own name. Which means the same wine could conceivably be on the market under many different labels. In the UK they've gone one step further:No brand and no indication of who it was made for.
But there is absolutely no mistaking their country of origin.
The Pinotage is unmistakeably South African with that earthy feral character displayed by this hybrid variety. If you like your reds squeaky clean this is to be avoided. Otherwise I recommend a try. It has a bit of grunt at 14% a/v and at just £3.89 at Lidl scores 4/5 from me
The Pinot Grigio has a little more palate weight than usual and a dash of sweetness. It's not particularly exciting but I could see it being a real crowd pleaser. £4 at Tesco scores 3.5/5 from me
