The Lidl Italian wine sale kicks off in stores on Monday July 23rd.  The Italian wine sale is the third in the Lidl European Wine Cellar tasting, following France and Spain.

I chose some wine (media samples) to try out from the forthcoming range.  The first is the Selone Negroamaro IGP Puglia. For anyone that doesn’t know, Puglia is in the heel of the boot, south-east of Italy. IGP stands for Indicazione Geografica Protetta which means Protected Geographic Indication, but you don’t need to know that to enjoy the wine.

First lets take a moment to enjoy how premium the bottle looks.  Black and gold always lend a hint of elegance to a label and in my humble opinion it adds oodles of elegance to this one.  I chose the wine from a typed list, but I have no doubt it would turn my head on a shelf in store.Priced at just €8.99 in my opinion it’s keenly priced for the quality of wine in its category.  It’s deep in colour and medium to full-bodied yet surprisingly light to drink.  Packed with dark fruits like cherry, plum and blackcurrant its a delight to the mouth. There are also hints of tobacco and the long finish has a warming spice.

I enjoyed it in the back garden with a large plate of spinach and ricotta Tortellini smothered in a tomato and Mascarpone sauce and a heap of garlic bread on the side. It stands up perfectly fine on its own too I’d imagine.

The Verdict

I’ll be buying this wine when it hits shelves.  I don’t think there is better indicator of enjoying something than driving to the store where its sold, picking it off the shelf and presenting it to your cashier.  This wine and more will be part of the Italian wine sale across Lidl stores from Monday July 23rd 2018.