Black Friday gives me early lockdown vibes. Panic-buying, empty shelves, and a general sense of chaos.
Not that I’m above a deal, but it makes me wonder whether bargain hunting is a natural part of our genetic makeup as human beings. I mean, regardless of our social standing, we all morph into voracious scavengers at the faintest sniff of a promotion. Don’t we?
I suppose we wouldn’t be human if we didn’t turn a bit feral at the thought of iPads being flogged for £60, TVs slashed to half price and air fryers ‘with up to 65% off’. And as we all know, having too many air fryers isn’t a thing.
But nowadays, we’re being advised to slow down, read the labels and do the maths, with research showing that between 40 – 60% of people regret their Black Friday buys. As many as 1 in 3 people are set to return their Black Friday or Cyber Monday purchases, which all seemed like such a good idea at the time. In 2023, returns increased by 145%, with a quarter of those blaming ‘impulse purchase’ for their buyer’s remorse. This year, December 10 has taken on the name ‘Returns Tuesday’, when businesses will brace themselves for the aftermath of our dodgy decision-making.
For those of us who like a snifter, wine tends to be a keeper. You can’t exactly send back the empty bottle and demand a refund, although you’d be surprised. But don’t expect every supermarket to be doing specific wine deals for Black Friday – some just don’t operate like that. Instead, a handful will run generic money-off rollbacks that cover November and December.
Case in point, Tesco is running a blanket 25% off 6 bottles of wine promotion through to December. I was told I’d have to sign an NDA if I wanted specific details about their other upcoming drinks promotions, which are under embargo until the day before they go live. Doesn’t that slightly defeat the object of creating demand? Either way, I politely declined and carried on with my day.
Waitrose has a similar 25% off 6 bottle mechanic for wine, running from the 27th November – 3rd December, stopping all other wine promotions during that period. Lidl will be running region-specific deals, also offering 6 bottles of Cimarosa Shiraz for £25 (£4.94 saving) with the same mechanic for their New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc (£8.94 saving) in their English stores. Meanwhile, Ocado are running a 30%-off some cracking wines for Black Friday, which you need to click onto immediately.
Elsewhere, here are some of the juiciest Black Friday deals to be aware of:
Morrisons
Champagne Charles Clement Cuvée des Vignerons, France, £14 was £25 (save 44%)
I’m beyond impressed with this bottle and the price is mind-scrambling good. This Champagne is Pinot Noir dominated by 70% to 18% Chardonnay and 12% Pinot Meunier, matured on its yeast lees for 18 months. Flavour-wise, it’s rich yet fresh with Hob Nob notes over white plum, quince and macadamia nuts. I also get a morish marzipan note on the finish. Grab some ASAP.
Comte de Saint Emmanuel AOP Bordeaux, France, £7.50 was £12 (save 37.5%)
Here is a Merlot-led Bordeaux, aged in oak for only three months. Bizarrely, the oak comes through as if it was aged for significantly longer. There are also plums, pencil shavings (in a good way) sandalwood and cooked strawberry flavours to be getting on with. All that for a £7.50 price tag, now that’s one I won’t be returning.
Aldi
Comte de Saint Aignan Pouilly-Fumé, France, £9.99 was £19.99 (save 50%)
I always think Pouilly Fumé has a lot more to say for itself than Sancerre. It may not be as instantly vibrant, that’s because it’s a food wine with richer flavours, a smokier style, more texture and complexity. I like it even more at 50% off, especially when it delivers aromas of quince and apricot, followed by a mouthful of thyme and preserved Mayer lemon.
Luc et Louise Cinsault Rosé, £4.99 was £8.99 (Save 44%)
Sipping rosé in winter is NOT a faux pas. Au contraire, rosé is a versatile food wrangler, and certainly a style I’ll be having on Christmas day. In fact, it’s one of the only wines that can cope with turkey and trimmings, though we’re not quite there yet. Meanwhile, this is made from one of the main grapes found in Provence rosé, aka Cinsault. It’s all zesty satsuma, nectarine and the pith of a pink grapefruit in flavour, so dig in.
Bordeaux Chateau Pomone 2015, France, £9.99 was £17.99 (save 44%)
At under a tenner, this represents desperately good value for money. Particularly if, like me, you’re a fan of more developed styles of red Bordeaux from the Merlot-dominated Right Bank, more specifically, Saint Emilion. This is from the outstanding 2015 vintage, and has swapped its youthful, primary fruit flavours for those of violets, baked mulberries, stewed plums, roast chestnuts and French saucisson stuffed with fennel seeds.
Sainsbury’s
Louis Pommery England – £18 was £29.50 (save 39%)
Surprisingly, Sainsbury’s is a tad light on its November deals when it comes to their non-fizzy wines. The gloves are off when it comes to sparkling though, and this is one of the most dramatic value offerings of the bunch. The English wine of the famous Grand Marque Champagne House, Pommery. They snapped up land in Hampshire back in 2014 and now produce world-class English sparkling with Champenois know-how.
Ocado
Isula d’Amore Love Island Rosé, Corsica, £7.70 was £11 (save 30%)
I get it, we’re light years away from the ‘sweltering’ summer months. Because that’s the only time we’re allowed to swig rosé, right? Wrong. The innate fruit character in a rosé makes it a ‘rosé year-round’ situation. Take Love Island Rosé from Corsica, perhaps the best kept secret for rosé production in the world. Dry, fresh, zesty, apricot and pink pepper flavours to have in your fridge door for the festive period and beyond.
Co-op
Irrestistible La Courbe, Switzerland, £8.50 was £10.50 (save 19%)
This is one of the deepest discounts Co-op have mustered up for Black Friday. It’s also a super unusual red blend from Switzerland, of all places. One of the headliner grapes is Gamaret (think Gamma Ray in pronunciation, not flavour), a crossing of Gamay and Reichensteiner. Its lab name is Pully B-13, so you can see why they changed it. Blended with Pinot Noir here gives deep, delicious bergamot and violet notes with a soft palate of damsons and grains of Paradise.
Majestic
Josh Cellars Pinot Noir, £10.99 was £18.99 (save 42%)
You might have seen this brand go viral on social media via the Josh meme, compared it to driving a Hyundai. The ‘Josh’ name was suddenly everywhere, with people in America gifting bottles to family members called Josh. Great for marketing, with Joshua being one of the most popular boy’s names in the US. The wine itself is a plush, pillowy, fruity expression of Pinot Noir, now at a very reasonable price. Perhaps it’s more of a Ford Focus?
Waitrose
Little Giant Barossa Shiraz, Australia, £9.99 was £12.99 (save 23%)
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Maybe not the most gargantuan money-off deal, but then that’s on-brand for Little Giant. It’s aesthtic is based around the small-but-mighty wombat, down to the short and stocky bottle. My goodness though, the wine inside is the mighty part. There’s power, complexity, poise and freshness here, with blackcurrant, liquorice and mocha flavours in the line-up. This may well be one of the best wines you’ve tried in a long time.
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