Three new wines from Lidl’s Italian Wine Tour 2023 with Richard Bampfield
I’ve long been a fan of Lidl’s wines, ever since a store opened up in Cambridge a couple of years ago.
Quality is good and they overdeliver for the price; what’s not to like here?
Normally, I go as far as to spend my own money there (which tells you something about either Lidl or me — or both), but on this occasion, I was sent three wines to try from the new Italian Wine Tour, scored by Master of Wine Richard Bampfield.
Duca di Castelmonte Zibibbo (£7.99, 90 Bampfield points)
A new white grape for me — at least in name. Zibibbo turns out to be the local name for the floral, grapey Muscat of Alexandria, a heat-loving ancient vine from North Africa
Tasted blind this would be hard to place, but you’d not be too far off with a ripe Alsace Pinot Gris as an adjacent style.
stone fruits with floral, lifted exotic melon and passionfruit; rich, fresh and supple with more rounded ripe orchard fruits, pineapple, melon, lychees, white pepper and lots of exotic flavours; adept, savoury and long.
Good.
Match with rich, Alsatian-style food with generous sauces; think pate, roast pork or anything served with a cream-and-mushroom sauce
Richard says: A fruity and juicy and off-dry number with a grapey Muscat note. This flavoursome and polished wine has floral notes of jasmine with a distinctively refined finish that goes best with asparagus tart or a couscous salad.
Civitelle Orvieto Classico (£6.99, 88 Bampfield points)
Not quite my first Orvieto, this is very much in the style of an expressive aromatic Sauvignon Blanc.
aromatic cut grass, citrus and crushed rocks; fresh and linear with lemon-lime citrus, crisp green apple, white pear and good savoury underpinnings; rounded, long and saline.
Thoroughly pleasant.
Serve as an aperitif or match with seafood starters, saltimbocca or escalope alla milanese
Richard says: A medium-bodied dry white wine with a gripping and lengthy finish is easy to enjoy for longer with each sip. This lightly scented number is best enjoyed with creamy mushroom pasta or smoked mackerel.
Puglia Nero di Troia (£6.99, 87 Bampfield points)
baked blueberries, dark cherries, bramble fruits and spice; fresh juicy dark plum, black cherry and berry fruits, spice and good savoury underpinnings with some caramel and jammy syrup; gentle, perfectly rounded tannins with a touch of grip
Well-judged and thoroughly pleasant.
Match with salamis, pizza or bistecca alla fiorentina.
Richard says: An off-dry and flavoursome red wine that has a good depth of flavour on your palate with notes of cooked cherry. A fresh and tasty wine that goes very well with spaghetti carbonara and crispy sesame tofu.
