Big four supermarkets wine taste test

Jamie Oliver's sommelier Matt Skinner takes five from Fifteen to pick out the best - and worst - of the summer reds and whites

White wines

£8.98 2004 Tesco Finest, Sancerre, France

This is really good, it's got pure citrus and stone fruits, with a little bit of mineral taste. The palate is rich and long in that you can taste it for a good long time after swallowing. But above all it's a really well-balanced wine. Cool.5 stars

£6.99 2005 Sainsbury's taste the difference Sauvignon blanc, Semillon, Western Australia

This comes from an area that is renowned for this kind of blend. It smells exactly as it should - passion fruit, gooseberry and blackcurrants. It tastes clean and light. Very good indeed.
5 stars

£6.20 2004 Asda Chablis

Chablis is often described as having a sort of river-pebble taste and this is a great example, it really tastes stony and minerally and also has a hay smell to it. In the mouth it's simple and lemony. A really interesting Chablis.
4 stars

£6.99 2005 Tesco finest Gewurztraminer, Alsace

You'll either love it or hate it. Gewurstraminer can be a really full-on wine, and this is exactly that. It's like a mouthful of liquid Turkish delight - rose water, musk, lychee - and lots of it too. My only reservation is that it's almost too over-the-top.
Four stars

£7.49 2005 Sainsbury's taste the difference Pinot Grigio, Italy

Excellent -it's got all the pinot grigio stuff you'd expect from this sort of wine, but it has an extra dimension of fruit too. This would be particularly delicious with barbecued seafood, or for outdoor drinking on a hot sunny day.
Four stars

£4.99 2005 Tesco Muscadet Sevre at Maine sur lie, France

Great. There is a touch of apple and pear in the smell. It's got a real richness as it has been made 'sur lie', meaning it's spent time on the lees (a sediment formed in winemaking), but it's still fresh in the mouth. Perfect fish wine.
Four stars

£6.20 2005 Tesco Chablis, France

Lovely. Lemony with a touch of honey. Pure in the mouth. Just a good, basic Chablis.
Four stars

£7.99 2005 Tesco Hunter Valley Denman Estate Reserve Chardonnay

This would go beautifully with a chicken Sunday roast or grilled pork chops. It's really great. This one doesn't look like it's seen any oak so it's probably unwooded. There's ripe peach and melon flavours straight away and even more peach in the mouth. Very nice.
Four stars

£3.05 Sainsbury's Soave

There's a slight cheesiness to this, it's almost musty and since it has a synthetic cork it's not cork taint. It also looks pretty mass-produced. Still it's clean and lemony and quite acid in the mouth. It would be nice if it had a richer flavour, but if it only costs £3-£4 (which it should) then it's not that bad.
Three stars

£4.49 2005 Morrisons organic Spanish AirenLa Mancha

La Mancha has a reputation for bulk-producing wines, but there are a few good wines coming from there now. This has a slight bitterness that would be nicely toned down by something like clam linguine. It's got rich fruit flavours.
Three stars

£3.49 2005 Tesco Italian Pinot Grigio, Venezie

You want to drink pinot grigio young, so this is the perfect age. This smells light, pretty and delicate with some floral notes. This is a simple wine, which is why people often love Pinot Grigio - it's a style of wine you don't have to think about too much.
Three stars

£2.99 Tesco Cuvee Prestige vin de pays du Comte Tolosan, France

This is a 'blend of grapes' with no vintage -it could be anything and everything, and probably is. Good with Chinese or Thai food where you want a rich white wine like this.
Two stars

£2.99 Asda Seven Hills Chardonnay Delle Venezie, Italy

It's nondescript, although lots of Italian wines are rather neutral. But you'd hope it had some chardonnay character - it's a grape you can grow and use well anywhere. This is a chardonnay for people who hate oaky or rich chardonnay, since it isn't either.
Two stars

£2.88 Asda Muscadet

This is probably a 2005 - they've chosen not to put on the vintage. It's annoying when they do that. The nose is pretty dull, it's not giving anything away. It's not as rich as muscadet can be, but it is ripe, clean and fresh. I suspect that you could get other wines that are cheaper and better than this.
Two stars

£4.99 2005 Tesco Australian Sauvignon blanc Reserve

With a sauvignon blanc I'd expect to find gooseberry and passion fruit and I'm not getting that. It's got that cheesy, musty smell again, and again it's a screw cap, so should burst out of the glass. It doesn't do that. I'm just getting subdued tropical fruit.
One star

Red wines

£10.99 2003 Sainsbury's taste the difference Amarone della Valpolicella, Italy

I'd happily buy this. It's the kind of thing that would go well with big, big flavours like venison or game. Really, really good.
Five stars

£3.99 2005 Tesco Finest Argentinian Malbec Reserve

Superfruity. There's tons of sweet plum, blackberry and raspberry with a nice spicy character. It has a good tannic quality that dries the mouth - in a good way. Excellent.
Five stars

£11.99 2004 Sainsbury's taste the difference Chateauneuf du Pape, France

This would come into its own with wintery dishes made with lamb or beef. It's soft with a good weight in the mouth and lots of cherry, violet and spice flavours. Delicious.
Four stars

£3.99 2005 Tesco Argentinian Shiraz Mendoza Reserve

This is a simple, easy-drinking red, giving you a soft delicately spiced mouthful of wine. I should think that the majority of red wine drinkers would enjoy this.
Four stars

£7.99 2004 Tesco Beyers Truter Pinotage Stellenbosch, South Africa

This is a bit more serious than most of the other wines here. There are a lot of dark red fruits and a deep and spicy smokiness. Lovely with rustic dishes like casseroles and stews.
Four stars

£4.99 2005 Morrisons Organic Spanish Tempranillo

This has an amazing, almost fluorescent cherry colour - although, to be honest, colour isn't that important. It has firm, dry tannins that would make it a great BBQ wine: the flavour would hold up very well against marinated or chargrilled meats.
Three stars

£5.79 2002 Morrisons Corbières

I quite like this one, it's got a neatly balanced structure and more good fruity notes. It's not particularly heavy, but it's not too light either, so it's very well-balanced.
Three stars

£4.49 2005 Sainsbury's Chianti, Italy

It's got a slightly wishy-washy colour. Smells like a Sangiovese actually, with really dark cherry and a touch of dark leather. This is really firm and really dry. It's the kind of wine that would go nicely with pizza or with pasta pomodoro.
Three stars

£3.59 2005 Sainsbury's Australian Ruby Cabernet Shiraz

You can't forgive an Australian wine for not being soft with all that sun and that bloody great hole in the ozone layer. It's just not well-balanced and lacks a certain power and strength.
Two stars

£5.29 2004 Morrisons Organic Cotes du Rhone Villages

2004 was a good year for Cotes du Rhone, but this is lacking its trademark pepper and spice, and has a dark, stewed-fruit taste instead. I normally really love Cotes du Rhone and I guess that's why I'm so disappointed with this one.
Two stars

£5.99 2003 Morrisons Greek Merlot Cabernet Halkidiki

I probably wouldn't bother to buy this. It's pretty flimsy. Not great. It's got a youthful, vibrant nose but in the end it's rather lightweight and coarse.
One star

£2.49 Asda French House Red

This is bright red and smells like jam. It tastes a bit like squash or cordial. It's a terrible wine. Clean the barbecue with it if you dare.
no stars

· Matt Skinner's The Juice 2007 - 100 Wines You Should be Drinking (Mitchell Beazley, £7.99) is out in October.

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