At a recent Booths tasting, a soberly suited, late middle-aged gentleman was at the door greeting the arriving press. Not so unusual for a wine tasting, you might think, but I can assure you it is rare, especially when the gent in question is the company’s CEO. The fact that Edwin Booth used to be the supermarket chain’s head wine buyer went some way towards explaining his presence, but it’s more to do with the company’s culture: Booths is still an old-fashioned grocer at heart and “Mr Edwin”, as the staff apparently call him, clearly regards this simply as the proper thing to do.
His own head wine buyer, Victoria Anderson, is cut from same mould. Courteous, conscientious, cautious, and not out to make a quick buck. Her carefully sourced own-label range, of which there aren’t that many – 48, compared with more than 80 at Waitrose, say – is hard to fault, and is only ever added to when she finds a textbook example of a wine to which she’s happy to put the company’s name. The latest is a generously full-bodied Douro red (£11, and made by Booths’ port producer; 13.5%). My other favourites, which make me wish I had a branch near me, are the EH Booth & Co Gran Norte Rioja Crianza 2018 (£10.50, 14.5%) and the gavi in today’s pick.
Not all own-labels are sourced with such meticulous care. You sometimes get the sense that buyers, or their suppliers, have essentially just got their hands on a cheap job lot of juice; but, to be fair, though, and barring the premium ranges such as Tesco’s Finest and Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference, they’re often half the price of Booths’ offering.
The best are where supermarkets regularly work with the same producers – Lustau in Jerez, Baron de Ley in Rioja, Errazuriz in Chile, and Catena and Zuccardi in Argentina, to single out a few; Paul Mas in Languedoc is a similarly reliable source of wines from that region, among them Sainsbury’s and Tesco’s Languedoc red and white.
Aldi, Marks & Spencer and Waitrose, meanwhile, win brownie points for more innovative offerings such as M&S’s Lost & Found and Waitrose’s spookily similarly named Loved and Found ranges, both of which includes grape varieties so obscure even I haven’t heard of them before.
Also, own-labels don’t have big advertising budgets built into their price, so are almost always better value than the corresponding brands, and are more likely to be discounted, especially as multiple buys. Supermarkets tend not to give advance notice of major promotional deals, but do look out for 25%-off-six-bottles or four-for-the-price-of-three deals, and snap them up. They may not be offered nearer Christmas.
Five of the best value own-label wines
EH Booth & Co Gavi 2021 £8.85 Booths, 13%. Absolutely textbook gavi: clean, smooth and slightly almondy.
Villiera Sauvignon Blanc 2021 £6 (on offer, down from £8.50) Marks & Spencer, 13%. Almost all M&S’s wines are exclusive, and this well-made South African sauvignon is similar in style to a Kiwi savvy blanc.
Specially Selected Lebanese Red 2020 £8.99 Aldi, 13.5%. Not the cheapest bottle in this store’s range, but certainly one of the most interesting and ideal for Middle Eastern-style lamb and aubergine dishes.
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Tesco Finest Puemo Carmenère 2019 £8, 14%. Consistently reliable, lush Chilean red that works remarkably well with a rogan josh.
Waitrose Fino £7.69 (750ml), 15%. If you’re a fino fan, you won’t find a better-value example than this full-size bottle from Waitrose’s Blueprint range. Super-dry, fresh and tangy, and ideal for tapas.