Mercadona and Lidl wines: from €1.85 Monte Ducay to Abadía Mantrús

Monte Ducay at €1.85 and Abadía Mantrús: the supermarket wines that survive tasting

Is it worth buying wine at Mercadona or Lidl, or is it just throwing money away? The question has a concrete answer: yes, but with caveats, and it depends a lot on the vintage, the category and — something almost nobody checks — on how the bottle is stored on the shelf. A Monte Ducay crianza 2011 at €1.85 holds up well; the 2010 reserva of the same name, on the other hand, is beyond saving. That is the first lesson from a conversation that has spent months fine-tuning the list of hits and misses among Spanish own-brand wines.

Monte Ducay, Abadía Mantrús and Borsao: what works

The Monte Ducay crianza 2011 is the undisputed favourite at a rock-bottom price: €1.85 a bottle. The previous vintage, the 2010, also delivered, though it is getting scarce. The problem comes with the 2010 reserva, which gets a flat rejection. And there is a warning worth heeding: some people have found corked bottles with some frequency, a defect blamed on poor storage in store rather than on the winery.

The other great find is the Abadía Mantrús 2012, a young Ribera del Duero from Ontañón, 100% tinta fina from the region, 13.5% alcohol, sold exclusively at Mercadona. Ruby red with a violet rim, aromas of red and black fruit, a fresh and easy-drinking palate. Its value for money is described as excellent, although the price is no longer what it was: it used to sit below €3 and has gone up. It pairs with rice dishes, pasta with meat, legumes, poultry, cold meats and cheeses.

Somewhere between bargain and surprise is Borsao, praised for good quality at an even better price, along with that winery's roble (oak-aged) wine, which delivers without fuss. For the cheapest tier, the Fidencio from Castilla-La Mancha at €1.20 takes the title of cheapest and, for some, the most appealing.

Cork taint is not bad luck: it's logistics

The most plausible explanation for the recurring problem of corked bottles lies not at the winery but on the shelf. A wine that has spent months under a halogen light and standing upright loses the cork's seal. It happens in shops with low wine turnover, and suspicion extends to chains that redistribute product between different store formats. Buying from a busy supermarket is not snobbery: it is quality control.

Lidl: Monte Plogar, Cepa Lebrel and Pyrene

At Lidl the list is longer. Monte Plogar crianza (€1.79) and reserva (€2.75) come out well; the pricier gran reserva edition is not worth it. Cepa Lebrel joven (€1.60) is weak but acceptable, the crianza (€2.50) raises the bar, and the reserva does not justify the outlay. The Cepa Lebrel white, under €2, sells out as soon as it is restocked. Pyrene (€4) is reminiscent of Enate and is excellent, though too pricey for everyday drinking.

Also appearing are a Ribera del Duero with a white label and white cap for around €2.25 on offer, a Chilean from the Central Valley, 100% cabernet, at just over €3.20, and an Australian Syrah considered dispensable. The Fin del Río, from Zamora, in a 100 cl bottle at €1.85, is described as less punchy than expected.

Gold medals and rising prices

The Torre Oria reserva 2009, a tempranillo from Utiel-Requena, sports the Grand Gold Medal from the 2014 Brussels competition and costs €3. The tasting is smooth, decent, but the award raises scepticism: something is off when an international gold sells at that price. Meanwhile, the Abadía Mantrús has gone up after its sales success, and the Monte Ducay crianza 2011 is disappearing from the shelves. The ironic conclusion: when a cheap wine works too well, it either goes up in price or sells out.

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In the end, the only medal that matters is the one for a cork that doesn't taste of cardboard.