I tested best supermarket wine dupes – Whispering Angel copy was delicious and only cost £13

The Sun

5 days ago

IS it worth paying more for a bottle of well-known wine?
Supermarket Aldi is currently selling its own offerings at up to 51 per cent less than popular brands. And it's not the only place you can get all the taste of posher plonks at a bargain price.
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From celebrity pinks to cellar-worthy reds, here drinks expert Helena Nicklin gives us her pick of the best big-name wine dupes.
Seek them out in stores to see if you can tell the difference when you are sipping.
Brand: Whispering Angel, £22
Dupe: Screaming Devil Rosé, £12.97, Asda
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WITH its excellent tongue-in-cheek name and at almost exactly half the price of the very famous and very pricey French pink, you know exactly where the plonk producers were aiming here.
And the best bit is that it's not all about the great pun on the label as once it's in the glass this rosé is also very good to glug.
Another Cotes de Provence like Whispering Angel, it hails from the south of France and just like the winged bottle, Asda's tribute has a similar elegant salmon-pink colour.
With subtle peach and strawberry notes and a delightful salty tang, it's great stuff and slips down easily on a summery day.
Rating: 4/5.
Brand: Bread & Butter Chardonnay, £16
Dupe: Butter Side Up Chardonnay, £8.98, Asda
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WINE drinkers love the Bread & Butter-branded bottle of Californian white because it does exactly what it says on the tin – which is to offer an unapologetically bold, toasty and buttery chardonnay. But all of that doesn't come in cheap with the Napa Valley tipple retailing at not far off £20 a bottle.
This Asda tribute aims to do the same and the clue is in the name as to where the influence for its flavours come from. It also hails from America's most famous wine region.
But it's a shame this Californian copycat slightly misses the mark when it comes to balance, as the vanilla here feels a bit fake.
My advice would be to drink it very cold or it can feel a tad sickly.
Old fashioned but still great for those who love that creamy, comfort pudding- style of white wine.
Rating: 2/5.
Brand: Villa Antinori Toscana Rosso, £20
Dupe: Toscana Rosso, £7.25, Aldi
ALDI knows a thing or two about creating decent dupes, and for this wine tribute it has gone properly classy with a more subtle version of a famous, posh Italian tipple that would set you back more than double the money.
Luckily their version retails at a far more affordable price.
It's made with a blend of international grapes including Tuscany's own sangiovese, which is the grape used to make chianti.
This tribute tipple gives spiced, sour cherry and cocoa powder vibes like the original expensive Toscano Rosso, but with a tad more fruitiness and not quite as much going on.
Still, it's a great red, ideal for sipping with spag bol and pizza – and the money you'll have saved will pay for a whole basket of goodies.
Rating: 4/5.
Brand: Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, £26.50
Dupe: Deluxe New Zealand Sauv Blanc, £8.49, Lidl
THE famous Cloudy Bay white was the first to cause ripples with its fantastic branded Marlborough Sauvignon and I would say that it changed the wine world as a result.
It became famous for a reason and certainly isn't a premium plonk you'd say no to. But it is very expensive even on a supermarket shelf and unfortunately for them, other producers are now catching up.
That's good news for sippers on a budget though.
This Lidl tribute tipple is exceptional for the price, giving you all the zesty citrus, cut grass and tropical notes you'd expect from high-end Cloudy Bay without being too much.
In a taste test, this would give Cloudy Bay a real run for its money.
Rating: 4/5.
Brand: Louis Latour Bourgogne Pinot Noir, £21
Dupe: Tradition Pinot Noir, £7.99, Lidl
FRANCE'S Burgundy region – which translates to Bourgogne in French – is the spiritual home of pinot noir, and Louis Latour is a big name in this field.
A premium heritage with proper credibility and wine buff appeal, this name produces fine plonks and that means sipping one of these famous tipples will start from a high price base.
At £21 a bottle it's seriously spendy even if it is one of their cheapest.
This Lidl Burgundy is clearly a blend of lesser grapes from around the region but in my opinion that actually gives it a more accessible – if a bit rustic – juicy profile, with ripe, cherry spice.
It looks the part, too. A top tribute for a fraction of the price.
Rating: 3/5.
Brand: Miraval Rosé, £20
Dupe: Monalie Rosé, £9.99, Lidl
YOU have to hand it to Lidl for going all out with this Stars In Their Eyes-style blatant dupe of Brad Pitt's marvellous, Miraval pink wine.
The bottle shape, label and capsule are all very familiar, bearing an uncanny resemblance to the A-lister vineyard's tipples. And to be fair it's not just a pretty packaging copycat, as the wine in the bottle is decent too.
Another Cotes de Provence, just like Miraval, but for half the price of its more famous friend. This is equally dry and elegant, though perhaps a little less charming and less fruity. It might not be made by a star, but it's decidedly drinkable and looks posh.
And for half the price, too.
Rating: 3/5.
Dupe: Coonawarra Barossa Cabernet, £6.69, Aldi
THE uncanny likeness of this label from Aldi to the posh sip makes even wine experts like me look twice.
The resemblance is certainly remarkable on the shelf.
Australian brand Penfolds really sets the benchmark for premium shiraz from Down Under and its Max's cab sauv is something special.
It's well worth treating yourself too, but at £22 a time it's hardly a budget bottle.
This brilliantly blatant copy from Aldi does a great job with a fudgy, blackcurrant and eucalyptus-scented cabernet for an incredible £6.69.
Okay, it hasn't quite got the same class and is a touch sweeter, but it's still cracking in its own right for the super-low price tag.
And you can tell it's really from Barossa too, rather than being a generic, sugary blend.
Rating: 5/5.
Brand: Kylie Signature Rosé, £10
Dupe: Rosalie Rosé, £4.99, Aldi
IF you squint, the squiggle on the label could be Kylie's autograph and Aldi's Rosalie also has a very similar-shaped bottle so you'd be forgiven for grabbing the copycat without realising.
Kylie's vino is from the Languedoc region of France, however, and is a bit juicier and more generous than the prim and proper pinks of Provence, which is probably why it sells so well.
The Rosalie is Provencal, but sadly that's not an upside as it proves why wine from here should never be this cheap-tasting, boggy and unfresh.
A great dupe when it comes to doing a double take on the shelf, but when it comes to sipping I'd suggest you try other­ budget Languedoc pinks that give more Kylie-style flavours for less.
Rating: 2/5.