Supermarket tipples topple branded rivals

The latest Which? taste test reveals that some supermarket own brand drinks have come out top in our tests, beating some of the popular brands.

Our drinks experts tested 12 gins and 10 crisp dry white wines from supermarket own label products and popular brands and found:

  • Morrisons’ London Dry Gin (10.49) came top of our gin taste test with a score of 80%. Our experts found the gin to be ‘well-rounded’ and ‘refreshing’.
  • Lidl’s Castelgy London Dry Gin was the joint cheapest costing £9.99 and came second in our test with a score of 78%.
  • Greenalls’ London Dry Gin (£15) was the top scoring branded gin but was ranked fourth overall in our taste test, with a score of 77%. Gordon’s Special Dry London Gin was one of the most expensive brands in our test, costing £16 but was ranked ninth with a score of 74%.
  • Asda’s Extra Special Leyda Valley Chilean Sauvignon Blanc was the top-scoring white wine with a score of 79% and also the cheapest costing £5.75. It was described by our experts as ‘very fruity with a lemony finish’ and being ‘a very appealing summer drink’.
  • Despite being the top scoring branded white wine with a 66% score, Cono Sur Bicicleta Sauvignon Blanc 2014 was ranked ninth overall in our taste test.

Which? editor, Richard Headland, said:

“Once again our taste tests have shown that supermarket own labels are giving the big brands a real run for their money. Some inexpensive bottles received a much higher score from our experts, proving you don’t always need to splash out.”

Notes to editors

  1. Gin taste test results
    Score Price for 70cl bottle
1. Morrisons London Dry Gin 80% £10.49
2. Lidl Castelgy London Dry Gin 78% £9.99
3. Waitrose London Dry Gin 78% £12
4. Greenalls London Dry Gin 77% £15
5. Beefeater Dry Gin 76% £16
6. Asda London Dry Gin 75% £11
7. Sainsbury’s London Dry Gin 74% £11.50
8. Aldi Oliver Cromwell London Dry Gin 74% £9.99
9. Gordon’s Special Dry London Gin 74% £16
10. The Cooperative London Dry Gin 73% £11.99
11. Marks & Spencer London Dry Gin 72% £15
12. Tesco London Dry Gin 71% £11.50
  1. Crisp dry white wine taste test
    Score Price per bottle
1. Asda Extra Special Leyda Valley Chilean Sauvignon Blanc 79% £5.75
2. Lidl Cimarosa Sauvignon Blanc 2014 78% £5.89
3. Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Albarino 2013 74% £8
4. Waitrose Grüner Veltliner Niederösterreich 2014 73% £7.99
5. The Co-operative TrulyIrresistible Leyda Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2014 71% £6.99
6. M&S Picpoul de Pinet 2014 69% £8.50
7. Aldi The Exquisite Collection Clare Valley Riesling 2014 67% £6.99
8. Morrisons M Signature Vermentino di Sardegna 2014 67% £5.99
9. Cono Sur Bicicleta Sauvignon Blanc 2014 66% £6.99 
10. Oxford Landing Sauvignon Blanc 2014 62%  £7.99

3. Which? taste test results can be found on www.which.co.uk/drink

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