Cheap & Cheerful : El Nino Pinot Noir 2012

This great value Yarra Valley Pinot is showing us red cherries, stewed rhubarb, hints of beetroot and faint earl grey on the nose.

In the mouth its predictably light with characters of rhubarb and cherry again with some light spicy tonalities too. This isn't too simple at all and retains some good interest enough for wine nerds and quaffers alike. So rare to find a good Pinot under the $20 mark ,so you'd be pretty stoked with this one. 

RRP $15 website:  massoniwines.com

Cheap & Cheerful Tasting : Possingham & Summers Malbec 2013

After visiting wine fantasy land and splashing out on bottles like this...  I need to be grounded in reality once again, one in which it's OK to spend less than $40 (or even better less than $20) and still be well and truly satisfied !

A youthful McLaren Vale Malbec that has a fruit driven nose with raspberry, blueberry pastilles and some faint florals too.

A medium body on the palate with blueberry and cassis characters with small amounts of spice and liquorice. As with most of my skint/cheapie wines its an easy going wine and one to quaff, but with that said I think this one will be much more serious given time.

(RRP $14) http://www.possumswines.com.au/

Cheap & Cheerful Tasting : Rocca Ventosa Montelpuciano 2011

So its early in the week and again I've spent too much on the weekend indulgences, so I'm a little skint.. time for a budget wine. For under $15 this Italian red was excellent. The variety, Montepulciano, is one of my favourite easy drinking cheapies (and is luckily widely available here in Oz) and this is no exception.

A seductive nose of macerated cherry, some dried cranberry and coconut.

Fresh in the mouth, very smooth soft mouth coating texture helped by the light to medium  tannin structure. Black cherry and some more ripe red berry fruit too and faint liquorice.


Soft plush and easy going... A great one to quaff, a definite crowd pleaser. Perfect for going to a house party where someone will steal your wine as well as be impressed by your choice!! ;)
(RRP: $13) Imported by Domaine Wine Shippers and available at many independent bottle shops.

Montepulciano on the vine in Abruzzi. Image from Wikipedia.