Superplonk 1996 - Softcover

Gluck, Malcolm

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0340654171 ISBN 13: 9780340654170

Publisher: Coronet Books, 1995

Synopsis

An annual guide to the best-value wines available on the supermarket shelves. Packed with Gluck's quips and commentary and an easy to follow rating system it should appeal to all who like to drink wine at affordable prices.

About this title

Review:

Malcolm Gluck's latest report on the wine shelves of the nation's supermarket chains is the summer edition, produced as a result of demand from his readership due to the incursion of many new wines into the supermarkets during the early and middle parts of the year. It is essentially a supplement to the main winter edition. Even so, it indicates Gluck's phenomenal energy. Whatever else he may be, he is primarily a machine for turning wine into tasting notes. And what notes--characteristically energetic and eccentric, fizzing exuberantly like champagne bubbles. Under the electron microscope of his palate, familiar wine tastes are magnified into startlingly vivid forms, a number (it must be said) being impressionistic to the point of surrealism. "A great big soppy broth of a wine." "A decent, but delayed, finish of warm coal." "Like tasting a dead librarian." Well, we get the picture, sort of. But the chief value of the book lies in Gluck's ingenious (but obvious, really) system of points. He grades from 1 to 20, a 1 being a wine the producer of which "should be slung in prison", a 20 a "toweringly brilliant world-class wine of self-evident style and individuality." There are no 1s or 20s here: a few lucky 17s or 18s and the odd mean-spirited 10 or shameful 8. The ratings reflect not only quality but also value for money. As always, Superplonk is an invaluable guide for the supermarket wine shopper. --Robin Davidson

Review:

'An impressive and accessible guide to what's really worth drinking' - Observer 'this guide to the best wines in supermarkets and the high street had developed into something of a British institution... An almost indispensible companion.' - Good Book Guide 'If you are a wine enthusiast whose inclination on finding an exciting bottle is to wish to share it with the world and sing its praises from the rooftops, Malcolm Gluck is your man' - Newcastle Journal 'The Nick Hornby of the wine world' - Birmingham Post

About this edition

• Publisher: Coronet Books
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0340654171
• ISBN 13: 9780340654170
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 384