Chocolate Opal Wine Review (M&S)

Every time I visit my sister in Cardiff and we go shopping there's a couple of musts on the to-do list. Firstly I have to pop into the Lego store and buy a Star Wars keyring for Bert's extensive collection. Secondly we have to visit the Rubis stand for a free sample of their chocolate red wine. 

Chocolate red wine you cry! That's disgusting! Maybe to your more refined palate the combination may sound abominable, but my sister and I think it's utterly delicious. The trouble is, it's not exactly a cheap bottle of plonk, and seeing as we're both students the closest we get to enjoying a bottle is the snifter we receive when detouring via the Rubis stand. 

A few weeks ago I was perusing M&S' wine section when buying our 'Dine In for £10' meal deal when I spotted not one, but two chocolate infused wines on their shelves! They're selling a red Chocolate Ruby (currently £7, reduced from £9) and a pale Chocolate Opal (half price at £4.50). I debated between the bottles, deciding to pick up a bottle for Christmas Day -it wasn't in the Dine In offer- before opting for the cheaper Opal wine of course. 

'Aromatised white wine with chocolate flavouring.' 

My mum-in-law looked extremely dubious when I offered her a glass of Chocolate Opal on Sunday afternoon post Christmas pudding with double cream and Biscoff Cheesecake, but it didn't take very long to persuade her to try "just a little glass." 

A little glass quickly turned into a couple of full glasses each, which should give you an indication of how delicious this wine truly was. It's a drink for sugar addicts only  though I'm afraid, it's so very sweet and tastes borderline liqueur-esque. M&S' Chocolate Opal is much more refreshing than Rubis though thanks to the white wine background that the chocolate flavour sits proudly at the forefront of. Talking of which, there's no doubting it's a chocolate flavour, and it's extremely moreish at that. 

A gentle word of warning, the wine is fortified (15%) and swiftly made me feel rather squiffy -although admittedly that might've been caused by the champers beforehand.

I loved the Opal so much that I returned to the store this afternoon to pick up a bottle (and contemplate the Ruby version) but they've completely sold out. If you're a wine loving, sweet toothed chocoholic with a generously stocked M&S nearby I suggest you pay a trip and stock up post-haste! 

9/10

Christmas Pudding Buns (M&S)

M&S's Christmas Pudding buns are one of last year's Christmas products that I wish I had got around to trying. I even posted them up onto instagram, but still they never made it home. I hoped the buns (that look remarkably like boobies with nipple tassles -surely it's not just me with a childish mind?) would be back this year, and so I have been dutifully scouring Marks & Sparks' bakery aisle at regular intervals. Yesterday my patience won out, and although I initially baulked at the £1.80 price tag, I got a grip and grabbed my buns*.

"2 Spiced and fruited buns filled with a brandy sauce, topped with a soft vanilla icing, hand decorated with a glacé cherry and a sugar paste holly leaf."

Now I should probably let you know that I really don't like Christmas cake. It's not the spices (I've told you how much I love them) it's not the dried fruit (again, I'm a big fan) or even the richness (Mince Pies are pretty rich aren't they?). I think it's more about the claggy texture -every spoonful seems to stick to previously undiscovered crevices in my mouth, lodging itself between teeth. Also, I make a mean boozy cheesecake, and cheesecake almost always wins out in any dessert war!

So why did I buy Christmas Pudding Buns? For the same reason I bought the Christmas Pud Nakd bars last year: the flavours of Christmas without the stodge.

I'll tell you now, the buns smelt incredible. Their warm spices emanated from them, and it must be a strong scent because I'm full of cold and can barely breath at the moment. The buns felt relatively light despite their brandy sauce filling -which I hoped meant that M&S hadn't skimped on the filling.

They certainly did not; Marks & Sparks did me proud. As you can see, the buns encapsulated a large pocket of golden brandy sauce, which oozed out enticingly once sliced into.

The buns were super soft, sweet, and generous with the cinnamon. There were plenty of moist currants and cherries in every bite too -yet not enough to make the dough heavy. 

The brandy sauce should be the star of the show but I had my concerns about how well it would work against the wonderful bun dough. Fortunately it was creamy and smooth, delivering a warmth from the alcohol (without the throat burn) -I loved it! 

The icing on top was in generous enough proportions to add an additional texture and sweetness, but not enough to render the bun sickly. Well played Marks and Spencer. 

I'm so annoyed that I missed out on M&S's Christmas Pudding Buns last year, but I guess I've got the 'lost time to make up for' excuse to buy them in abundance now. I don't know about you but I've really missed Mr Kipling's brandy sauce Mince Pies since they were discontinued a couple of years ago, but these buns more than make up for the loss -they're absolutely incredible. If you're a fan of M&S' fabulous Lemon Curd Whitby Buns (also absolutely delicious) and/or traditional Christmas flavours, then please treat yourself to these wonderful creations ASAP. 

10/10

*Not those buns. The Xmas Pudding buns. Obviously. 

NEW! E.Wedel Caffe Latte Milk Chocolate (Polski Sklep)

Last week I was queuing up to pay for the peanut & chocolate croissant in the Polish deli, when a chocolate bar I hadn't spotted before caught my eye. It grabbed my attention for three reasons:

1. It was cheap (just 40p)
2. It was caffe latte flavoured (I love anything mocha)
3. It was made my E.Wedel...

...Why would the slightly obscure brand appeal to me you may ask? Well, I've seen their larger (and equally interesting sounding) bars in supermarkets, as well as reading a few favourable reviews* of their products, but have never taken the plunge and bought myself a bar. In the name of impulse, I grabbed the Pawełek and quickly bought it before I could remind myself of he numerous bars of chocolate already sat in my fridge.

Please can we just take a moment to take in the Google translation of E.Wedel's description of the bar on their website (where I also found out that it's new)!

"Pawełek flavored Caffe Latte in milk chocolate bar designed for lovers of coffee with milk and refers to the ritual of drinking this beverage in combination with sweet chocolate pleasure."

My heart sunk when I unwrapped the bar and spotted the White curse of spoilage lingering on the corners. Still, appearances can be deceptive, and I snapped the bar in half. I think I was expecting a truffle-esque centre enrobed in chocolate, but instead I discovered a gooey, fondant core (which smelt very alcoholic!).

Unfortunately in this case, the book should have been judged by its cover. The chocolate was waxy, and tasted cheap, reminiscent of Kinnerton's Christmas calendars. I'm a fan of liqueur chocolates, but I couldn't even detect the slightest hint of coffee, as it was totally overwhelmed by the throat burning alcohol. So potent was it, that I was left wondering how many bars you would need to eat before feeling woozy**.

It's such a shame really, considering the success I had with both of the last Polish chocolate bars I've tried (The Wawel Peanut Butter review here, and advocaat bar review here if you're interested) and the success other bloggers have had with E. Wedel. Maybe I'll give them another shot soon. Have you had any of their bars? If so, which is the best?

3/10

* Such as:
Kev's  Karmel-love! Caramel White Chocolate Bar review
Nibs' Crème Brûlée Bar review
and One Treat's Dark Tiramisu review

** At 2.1% of the bar's ingredients I guess it might be more than the taste led me to imagine!

NEW! Heston's Toffee Apple Mulled Cider from Waitrose

I went into Waitrose yesterday on a Stollen mission, which was unsucessful because firstly the staff member didn't know what it was (what the hell!) & secondly I'd left it too late and they'd sold out.. boo.

When I was leaving the store however, this mulled concoction from their Heston Blumenthal range caught my eye. I'm not a fan of Heston -I find his arrogance grating- however I am grateful to him for opening our eyes to the wondrous nature of salted caramel. Anyway, this bottle of Toffee Apple Mulled cider was just over £3.00 a bottle and so I decided to give it a go. 

The bottle doesn't say whether to heat it or chill it, so I opened it at room temperature and then realised it should be drunk cold like traditional cider, so I cheated and added some ice to my glass. The traditional mulling spices came through well, but the concoction was lacking the dark caramel tones that it promised. It was generally just very sweet, and not a particularly great quality cider.

The low alcohol percentage (5.5%) combined with the sweetness of this Toffee Apple Cider means that it would probably appeal to fans of alcopops, but sadly its not one for me. 

5/10 

NEW Cocoa & Orange Echo Falls Fruit Fusions

Echo Falls have recently launched three new winter flavours into their fruit fusions range: Winter Spice, Orange & Cranberry and Cocoa & Orange. 

Chocolate flavoured wine sounds unusual, but I bought a chocolate infused red wine from Tesco last year at Christmas in the bargain bin, and it was absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately however I haven't been able to find it since (and I've forgotten the name now). So with this in mind, I thought I'd give Echo Fall's Cocoa and Orange fruit fusion a go. 

Looking at the label, it doesn't actually mention any wine content- it simply states that it's an 'alcoholic mixed fruit drink', oo-er. The second alarm bell went off when I read that it should be served chilled or over ice.  Echo Falls have the following to say:

I could smell a strong orange scent when I unscrewed the bottle, with a faint nod to chocolate.. The liquid was more translucent than red wine, and tasted... Well.. Different. It's kind of similar to a very watered down mulled wine, and so I couldn't help but think it might be more enjoyable warm. Orange is by far the most prevalent taste and it is palatable, however the barely detectable cocoa felt like an afterthought, and was rather synthetic- despite Echo Fall's claims to natural flavouring. 

It wasn't unpleasant,  just different, and I think I'd buy the winter spice version if I decide to try any more of the new fruit fusion range.

6/10