Les Parcelles de Pierre, Chinon at Lidl

One of the tricks to being a wine bargain hunter is to know where to shop in order to find good bargain wines. Many people tout Trader Joe’s as the place to go for good cheap wine. I’ve actually been rather critical of some of my finds there in the past. I’ve also previously written about wines at Aldi, which has roots connected to Trader Joe’s. And now there’s a new player on the scene offering discount wines at a grocery store, Lidl.

Lidl is a European-based grocery chain that started opening stores in the US earlier this year. Right now I think they’re only in South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Delaware in the US.

In order to develop a strong wine program, they’ve had their selections all picked by Master of Wine, Adam Lapierre. Now you might thing that a Master of Wine would be a snob and pick a bunch of expensive wines, but you would be wrong. One of the goals Lidl had with their wine program was to pick good wines they could sell at bargain prices. Now that’s music to my ears.

But upon learning this, I was still suspicious. I can’t believe their claims until I try their wines. So try I did, at least this one (perhaps more to come).

The first Lidl wine I tried is a Chinon, from the Loire Valley in France. It is bottled under the label “Les Parcelles de Pierre,” which I couldn’t find any record of anywhere other than with Lidl — which makes me think it’s a private label wine created for Lidl. I’m not 100% sure of that, but Google couldn’t tell me otherwise.

Regardless, this wine did not disappoint.

Herbs, violets, berries and spices is the best way to describe the nose of this wine. It has nice complexity and character. On the palate this is a light-bodied red wine, typical of the region, offering bright raspberry, cherry and spice flavors. The mouthfeel is good, although could be a little more silky. The acidity is gives a nice vibrancy to the wine. It finishes with long-lingering cherry flavors.

Oh, and did I mention the price??? It’s under ten bucks! Now that’s a bargain wine!

Wine: Les Parcelles de Pierre, Cuvée Prestige, Chinon
Variety: Cabernet franc
Vintage: 2016
Alcohol: 13%
Rating: 86
Price: $8.99
Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.