Asda’s new budget ten bottle Nice Drop wine range just beats Tesco’s £3.99 Lateral wine range for great value flavours. But it’s a pretty close thing – winning on individuality of flavours that you’d expect in wines twice the price rather than the simple quaffable vino of many £5 and under wines.
Asda’s Nice Drop range was quietly introduced in April 2021 with little fan fare. All the wines are priced between £3.75 and £4.50 and sourced from countries around the world – unlike rival Tesco’s value £3.99 Lateral range with all wines sourced from Chile. This makes for a more interesting range of flavours
The majority of the wines within the Nice Drop range are non-vintage, that is they have no year shown on the label and are a blend of wines from various years. Some of the wines do show a year (vintage in wine jargon) on the back label, and it is the vintage reds that are the clear winners in the range. So look out for the 5-star Spanish Cabernet Sauvignon and Argentinean Malbec.
The rest of the range is worth seeking out but unfortunately I have not reviewed the Chardonnay and Merlot as they were unavailable at the time of review.
Note that although most of the wines are available in the majority of Asda’s 631 stores, the South African Pinotage can be found in only around 60% of stores. So check with your local store first before making a journey.
It will be interesting to see if any wines make it into Asda’s planned Just Essentials core budget range (set to replace Smart Price products) but we’ll have to wait a little longer to find out as Waitrose is objecting to the name as it too closely matches their Essential Waitrose products.
If you’re heading to Asda then don’t forget to take a look at their higher priced Extra Special wines, as here too you’ll find some great tasting wonders. The Extra Special Vintage Champagne Brut 2012 (now £26) has gone up since its review but is still worth 5-stars, and so is the Extra Special Chardonnay (£6.50).
Wineuncorked.co.uk reviews of Asda’s Nice Drop range
Asda Nice Drop of Cabernet Sauvignon 2020
£3.75 Asda
This Spanish Cabernet Sauvignon has light apple and blackberry pie flavours that get better with opening - so open this bottle about an hour before you intend drinking it. As this wine is a vintage i.e. it shows the year it was made, being 2020, it will change its flavour slightly from year to year, making this wine even more a 5-star wonder.
£3.99 Asda
Along with the Cabernet Sauvignon, this is the best of Asda’s budget ten bottle Nice Drop wine range. Normally you’d expect Malbec to come from Argentina but this spicy blackberry and chocolate tasting version comes from across the border in Chile. There’s also some plum and black treacle sharpness too in the flavour making this a great match to chilli con carne. Great value.
Asda Nice Drop of Sauvignon Blanc
£3.75 Asda
This great value South African Sauvignon Blanc has some individuality in its flavour that is rather unexpected for a wine that costs less than £4. And this wine delivers with its zesty lemon and lime flavours with added honey and a definite grassiness. A very good wine for the price.
£3.75 Asda
This Spanish Shiraz has jammy blackcurrant and vanilla flavours that aren’t as sweet as an Australian Shiraz but is the better for it. There’s still some individuality in the taste that is unusual for such a cheaply priced wine, and the added touch of cinnamon and grassiness makes this a nice wine.
£3.99 Asda
This Pinot Noir is a standard Chilean type with light fruity flavours of raspberry and cola with a hint of toffee and mocha coffee.
Asda Nice Drop of Pinotage 2021
£3.89 Asda
Interesting smoky aroma and taste which is not unpleasant but I’m wondering if this is what the South African winemaker intended or smoke taint from wild bush fires have affected the grapes (this also occurs in other countries affected by wild fires such as Australia and USA). Flavours of plum and sloe with a hint of toffee and allspice that have been around the barbecue. Available in only 60% of Asda stores.
Asda Nice Drop of White Zinfandel
£4.50 Asda
This rosé comes from California, the home of White Zinfandel. The flavours are simple strawberry and apple and the same as you’d find in many other White Zinfandels. So nothing special but it is as expected.
Asda Nice Drop of Pinot Grigio 2021
£3.99 Asda
This Chilean Pinot Grigio has the classic pear and apple flavours. Don’t drink this wine too cold as it will taste sharper than you might like. So leave out of the fridge for 20 minutes before drinking.
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