wine to bring back from France? (1 Viewer)

Mar 21, 2009
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Thinking of bringing back quite a few bottles of red wine back from France when we come home next week. Does anyone have any recommendations of a particular 'brand' or name to buy. Don't want to spend too much per bottle as I can get a decent one at home but more just your average plonk! There are so many here!
 

Emmit

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I'll start with a favourite of many on here.
Roche Mazet. You can buy it at most Supermarches and it comes in variety, ie Merlot, Cab Sav and, Chardonnay (for the ladies). Oh it also comes in Pink as well.
 
Aug 4, 2013
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I usually look for one that has won an award, might be naive but I always think that if it has a bronze, silver or gold award lable it must be a bit better!

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scotjimland

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not being a drinker dunno much about wine.. but most big French supermarkets have good deals..

when I did drink, I just looked at the ABV and the price.. strong and cheap was good.. :LOL:

Joking aside.... may be of interest.. InterMarche had a good deal on Perrier water .. six 1lt bottles for about €3 (y)
 

GeriatricWanderer

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If you don't have a favourite then I would suggest you simply pick a "couple of dozen" different bottles within your comfortable price range. By the time you've drunk your way through them you'll know what to buy and what not to buy next time.
One man's favourite wine is another man's vinegar :)
 
Feb 16, 2013
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Whatever you decide on, it will be far cheaper at Carrefour at cite Europe on your way back, we go for corbieres, they have some very drinkable sorts at not much more than £1 a bottle.

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etap

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You will never fail with Saint Chinian, most reliable wines and at good prices are usually the Corbiere and Cote de Rhone and others from the Languadoc area, best to buy those that are bottled at the chateau or proprietors, we always bring enough home to last till next time. Good luck.
 
Feb 16, 2013
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You will never fail with Saint Chinian, most reliable wines and at good prices are usually the Corbiere and Cote de Rhone and others from the Languadoc area, best to buy those that are bottled at the chateau or proprietors, we always bring enough home to last till next time. Good luck.
Ditto:)
 
Apr 12, 2010
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If you don't have a favourite then I would suggest you simply pick a "couple of dozen" different bottles within your comfortable price range. By the time you've drunk your way through them you'll know what to buy and what not to buy next time.
One man's favourite wine is another man's vinegar :)
My sentiments entirely. So many good cheap wines in France but best to try first.
Phil

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DBK

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Inter Marché sell a very good boxed red. It is from a range called Expert Club and is a Corbières. Should be about €14 or less for 5 litres. I found it excellent, I'm working through a box at the moment. In terms of quality it would be around £6 or £7 a bottle here in the UK I think.
 

Allanm

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We fell out of love with French wine a while ago, then in March we travelled down to the south and visited a few vineyards and found some wines we really liked. We bought some in Bordeaux, St Emilion and The Rhone valley. I think wine is a very personal thing, what some people like, others will not. Best thing is to do a few tastings and get a feel for what you like. All the vineyards we visited told us the wine they sell to the supermarkets is not always their best
 

funflair

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I'll start with a favourite of many on here.
Roche Mazet. You can buy it at most Supermarches and it comes in variety, ie Merlot, Cab Sav and, Chardonnay (for the ladies). Oh it also comes in Pink as well.
I will second the Roche Mazet we bring back the boxes so it saves transporting glass and leaves the remaining payload for more boxes, and they stack well.

Martin
 
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I'm with the wine box people, but don't buy if it only says rouge on the box, make sure it is a named wine ie Merlot or similar. I've had a few that were a bit nasty that were only fit for cleaning the sink out.

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Feb 16, 2013
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For anyone who is going to the twin lakes do, or for anyone going to that area, there is a very big Cave cooperative in Marcillac just a few km away. Gold medal wines for them who want to taste and buy, but also take empty water bottles or 5 gallon containers to fill from the pump. Excellent wines!
 
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If you are coming back through Calais there are a good number of Wine Warehouses in and around the town that allow you to taste before you buy. Quite a few have their own websites that allows you to have a look at prices & stock before you get there and they also stock wines from all over the world rather than just France.
We use Calais Wines

http://www.calaiswine.co.uk/?gclid=CJ2bq6aorM4CFYXnGwodshsNmA

as they have plenty of special offers on 3 bottles for £6.

Like Jim said high ABV and low price! Not had a bad one yet!

Remember your weight a case of 6 bottles weighs 7.5 kg but most supermarkets sell it in boxes now which reduces the weight but cuts down on choice.
 
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J P Chenet is always a favourite of mine, it was recommended to me by a seasoned traveller whilst I was browsing through the bottles on the Supermarket shelves, and what a good choice it turned out to be(y)

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Feb 16, 2013
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J P Chenet is always a favourite of mine, it was recommended to me by a seasoned traveller whilst I was browsing through the bottles on the Supermarket shelves, and what a good choice it turned out to be(y)
This one is always on offer at Carrefour, red white and rose.
Very reasonable
 

Emmit

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Tres Important;

Wine in France is well protected by their consumer protection laws, HOWEVER!!!

Invariably, on a bottle of french wine (or box) you will see the "Marianne" a profile of a lady that looks very much like Brittania.
It symbolises that the bottle,box etc is french BUT BEWARE!!!

There is a box sold in major french supermarkets that has all the hallmarks of being french wine but it isn't. It has french writing all over it. It has the Marianne symbol on the robinette (tap) exit point BUT IT ISN'T FRENCH. Its Spanish???

From memory, it's the Alexander box sold in Le Clerc.

There's nothing wrong with it but it isn't french.
One last thing. Whilst it is 'normal' to have some wines with an ABV of 12.5, a superior wine will usually be 13% I'm thinking the difference between, for instance Cotes de Rhone and Cotes de Rhone Village. The latter is made from a more specific area and has a higher ABV.
 
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grumps147

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:wine:Sit in the car park for a few minutes and watch what the older French men are bringing out. Really cheap are the corbieres plastic 5 litre barrels, very pleasant. Roche mazet as well as bottles do boxes, excellent value and less weight per litre in packaging.

PS. Just noticed Funflairs similar thread, great minds

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grumps147

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image.jpeg
 
Feb 16, 2013
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Unless you are an absolute expert in wines you would be very hard pushed to find anything better than corbieres for the money, we have friends in Bordeaux who are wine experts and used to be buyers for English hotels who have a cellar full of supposedly excellent wines, and when we visit they get them out , and to be honest I can't tell a jot between them, they maybe fine wines but compleatly wasted on me.
 

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Unless you are an absolute expert in wines you would be very hard pushed to find anything better than corbieres for the money, we have friends in Bordeaux who are wine experts and used to be buyers for English hotels who have a cellar full of supposedly excellent wines, and when we visit they get them out , and to be honest I can't tell a jot between them, they maybe fine wines but compleatly wasted on me.

Each to his own! :)
 

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These are all good inexpensive carrefour stock


The medals are a good guide.
This was under €5 a couple of years ago and we scored it 10
 
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Thinking of bringing back quite a few bottles of red wine back from France when we come home next week. Does anyone have any recommendations of a particular 'brand' or name to buy. Don't want to spend too much per bottle as I can get a decent one at home but more just your average plonk! There are so many here!
Bring back the wine that you like..other peoples choice may not suit you,,,BUSBY.
 

EX51SSS

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Thinking of bringing back quite a few bottles of red wine back from France when we come home next week. Does anyone have any recommendations of a particular 'brand' or name to buy. Don't want to spend too much per bottle as I can get a decent one at home but more just your average plonk! There are so many here!
Lidl have a reasonable plonk. Red and white @ €0.99 and Rosé @ €1.09. Conde. Recently brought back quite a bit.
Carrefour at Cite Europe do reasonable boxes of wine. 5 litres from about €6.00 but most bigger supermarkets have reasonable priced.
Last year I bought 3 particular wines and removed the labels for a friend. One was around a Euro, one was around £3.00 and the 'gold award winning' one was €7.99. That came last. The cheapest came 2nd. However these were all red wines but it has been said earlier, one mans wine is another man's vinegar.
Try some cheapies and see.

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