The 6 best red wines in Lidl right now

Lidl wines – or, for that matter, any ‘cheaper’ wines – sit oddly with me as someone in the wine trade. When you know that a £5.00 bottle of wine is made up of £2.67 in duty, £0.84 in VAT and anywhere from £0.80-£1.20 in the bottling, labelling and logistics, there’s only £0.69 left for the retailer and the winery. How can that ever be sustainable? How can you pay a winemaker fairly, let alone their vineyard workers, for a whole vintage’s worth of effort? It doesn’t add up.

Of course, the answer is in Lidl’s sheer buying power. A supermarket has the ability to buy entire vintages, offering wineries the opportunity to easily offload an entire year’s stock in one fair commercial swoop – saving them money in every part of their sales operations. It might be a dream come true for European winemakers dealing with dwindling wine sales and a lake of unsold wine. 

People are generally drinking less but better wines. The consumer today values experience and has become more discerning about the provenance of their food and drink. Ultimately, I think that’s a good thing. 

The question is, if you don’t have lots of money to spend on wine, is there a bargain to be found in shops like Lidl where you can take advantage of their awesome buying power?

The short answer is yes. I tasted as many of the red wines as I could buy from the local Lidl in Bath to see if there were any winners and six of their wines stood out. The biggest surprise being these wines are all absolute steals when it comes to their taste. The downside is if you’re looking for provenance or something that will blow you away on its character (and not simply its value) you probably won’t find it in Lidl. 

Nevertheless, these six wines are all well worth a try.

Which red wines are worth buying from Lidl today?

Here’s the top 6 wines Ben tasted at Lidl in the red selection:

2022 Côtes du Rhône, Lidl ★ Good Wine. “Obviously and curiously light in colour given this is a Cotes du Rhone. The aromas are equally light but surprisingly layered with red berries, black plum and a hint of pepper spice. On the palate the wine is juicy, perhaps a little thin at first, but it softens into a sweetly-fruited finish with liquorice and strawberry laces. Given its price, this is surprisingly tasty – but you’re more likely to like it as a Pinot Noir fan than a Cotes du Rhone regular.” £5.29

2022 ‘Deluxe’ Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon, Lidl ★ Good Wine. “Purplish medium-full red wine. Aromas of cassis, blackcurrant leaf, violets and grape pip. This is a full, plush, lightly sweet red wine bursting with black cherry and blackcurrant fruit. While this is a very simple wine, it’s a masterstroke in its simplicity. A very easy drinking red wine, but noticeably value with a plasticky hint.” £6.79

2022 Costières de Nîmes, Lidl ★ Good Wine. “Plush colour with a purple hue. Very fruity on the nose with some pencil shavings. The aroma is a little gummy and sweet. On the palate the wine’s more endearing with layers of dark fruit, surprising structure and depth. It has a chalky finish and it’s a touch short, but for the price it’s well worth a try.” £6.49

2023 Suelo Argentino Malbec, Lidl ★ Good Wine. “A very purple wine. Slightly too much sulfur on the nose, leading to a little eggy note, but under that there’s some dark blue fruit and woodchip. As far as Malbecs go, the hallmarks are there of black fruits, dark choc and tannins. Those tannins are a little smoky and there’s a green line through the wine, but it finishes with surprising structure and length. If you want a good, gutsy red, this isn’t a bad shout.” £7.99

2020 Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore, Lidl ★ Good Wine. “Cherry red in colour. Generous and fleshy on the nose with black cherry and blueberry juice. Full and velvety with licks of sweet vanilla and toast. Fresh red cherry acidity adds liveliness to the wine, helping to off-set the slightly overly sweet note. Long and lively on the finish, providing very good value for money.” £7.99

2023 Te Huapapa Pinot Noir, Lidl (Poulter Group) ★ Good Wine. “Cranberry-coloured and almost pickle-like on the nose with bright red fruits. Dry, light and initially tart but softens out to bruised strawberries rolled in black pepper and thyme. It’s a touch chewy and doesn’t have much structure, but the fruit and acidity is balanced in a soft, easy-going Pinot Noir. It’ll give you some of that riper style of the new world, but it won’t knock your socks off.”

Read the full reviews for Lidl wines here.

Lidl’s secret gems

From time to time, Lidl will use its buying power to bring in ‘when they’re gone, they’re gone’ style wine listings. These gems, from eastern European “bull’s blood” from revered winemakers like Tibor Gal in Eger, Hungary, to Canadian ice wine for under £10 (an incredible steal) tend to land on the shelves at such unbelievable prices that as soon as someone mentions they’re available they’re snapped up the same day. If you’re a regular shopper at Lidl, make sure you keep an eye out for these wines – they will usually be the more unusual grape varieties and perhaps a pound or more than the usual Lidl wines, but make sure you grab a bottle to try!