Aldi romps ahead of expensive rivals for its budget champagne and red wine in a festive taste test
A Which? blind tasting put the supermarket top of the tree
IF you're looking to pick up some bargain booze to make your Christmas celebrations really go with a bang, then you're in luck.
A blind taste test has rated a £10 bottle of fizz and a £6 bottle of Malbec from budget supermarket Aldi above many of their pricier rivals.
According to the , Aldi tops the tree for value tipples this year.
Although the champagne crown was taken by the Piper Heidsieck Champagne Brut Non Vintage, priced at £30, third place went to Aldi's considerably more affordable £9.99 Veuve Monsigny Champagne Brut.
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This means it placed higher than Moet & Chandon's Brut Imperial and Veuve Clicquot's Yellow Label Ponsardin, both priced at over £30.
It also put Aldi ahead of supermarket rivals Waitrose, Morrisons and Lidl.
Best Champagnes
1. Piper-Heidsieck Brut Champagne, 80%, £30
2. Sainsbury’s Blanc de Noirs Brut Champagne, 79%, £20
3. Aldi Veuve Monsigny Brut, 78%, £9.99
4. Lanson Black Label Brut Champagne, 77%, £30
5. Moët & Chandon Brut Imperial Champagne, 76%, £32.50
6. Waitrose Blanc de Blancs Champagne, 75%, £22.99
7. Morrisons M Signature Champagne Brut, 75%, £19
8. Laurent-Perrier Brut Champagne, 75%, £38
9. Lidl Bissinger Premier Cru Champagne, 74%, £16.99
10. Co-operative Les Pionniers Champagne Brut, 74%, £16.99
11. Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Ponsardin Champagne, 72%, £35
12. Asda Louvel Fountain Brut, 71%, £11.98
13. Tesco Premier Cru Champagne, 70%, £19
14. M&S Oudinet Brut, 70%, £26,
15. Spa Champagne Marquis Belrive, 69%, £16
In the Best Value Winter Red Wine category, Aldi again impressed the panel, winning top prize for its Exquisite Collection Argentinian Malbec 2016.
The Malbec was the cheapest red to make the top five, costing just £5.99.
Reviewers were wowed by its "big red fruit flavours."
Which? magazine editor Richard Headland, said the taste tests proved, "you don't have to fork out a fortune for your Christmas tipple this year, with supermarket own-label products coming out above well-known more expensive brands.
"Discount retailers continue to provide good-quality festive produce at affordable prices."
Best Budget Reds
1. Aldi Exquisite Collection Argentinian Malbec 2016, 76%, £5.99
2. Spa M Malbec 2016 Pays d’Oc,75%, £6.00
3. Waitrose Parker Favourite Son Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 Coonawarra, 75%,£7.49,
4. Tesco Finest Mendoza Malbec 2015, 74%, £7.00
5. M&S Vinalta Malbec Argentina 2015, 73%, £8
6. Co-operative Irresistible Bio Bio Malbec 2015, 72%, £6.99
7. Lidl Baturrica Tarragona Gran Reserva 2010, 71%, £4.99
8. Asda La Moneda Reserva Malbec 2015, 69%, £5.98
9. Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Languedoc Rouge 2015, 68%, £7.00
10. Morrisons Cotes-du-Rhone Villages 2015, 64%, £6.50
We'll drink to that.
This week Aldi also released a collection of Christmas gifts and goodies that look like expensive department store products for a fraction of the price.