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Do celebrity wines live up to the hype?

Earlier in the year we picked out five celebrity wines for you to try. But with more and more celebrity wines on the market now, we wanted to look again at whether any of these kinds of wines are actually any good. There are plenty out there to choose from, but how do you sort the ‘A’ listers from the ‘D’ listers?

As you’d expect, it’s a mixed bag. There is no straight answer to whether celebrity wines are any good. Like the celebrities themselves, some offer more style than substance, while others are well-made, good quality wines that are worth your time.

Which celebrity wines are worth trying?

In homage to Hollywood, we’ve ranked our picks from ‘Good’ and ‘Bad’ to ‘Ugly’. Here is Ideal Wine Company’s guide to the best and worst of celebrity wines.

The Good…

Inglenook Rubicon Cabernet Sauvignon, 2016

This is a relatively rare and pricey wine, but our view is that it is well worth the hype. It’s a delicious Cabernet Sauvignon from the film director Francis Ford Coppola. Anyone who has seen one of Ford Coppola’s films knows that he brings an intensity and focus to everything he does. This shines through in this top-quality oaky red. Five stars.

Château Miraval 2015 Rosé (Côtes de Provence)

If you haven’t seen our post on the best rosé wines to try, make sure you check it out. Château Miraval made that list and their 2015 vintage is particularly high quality. The vineyard is part-owned by Brad Pitt, and the expertise of the team there really shows. A celebrity wine that has its own star power.

The Bad…

Ciccone Vineyard Madonna Chardonnay, 2005

To be fair to the team at the Ciccone Vineyard, they are working in tough conditions. The vineyard is in Michigan and yet despite the cooler weather up north they still manage to produce some decent wines. Sadly, their 2005 Madonna Chardonnay isn’t one of them. Madonna’s father Tony runs the vineyard, but this citrusy white wine is not one of his daughter’s greatest hits.

Avaline White

Cameron Diaz’s Avaline White claims to be a ‘clean wine’. What that term actually means is a little vague, but to us this feels like a wine that is desperately trying to capitalise on the current enthusiasm for natural and organic wines. It fails badly – clean or not, this is a pretty ordinary, unremarkable white wine that doesn’t live up to the hype.

… and the Ugly

Dan Aykroyd Wines Discovery Series Chardonnay, 2007
We all loved Dan Aykroyd in Ghostbusters. But his adventures in the world of wine have been far less successful. Starting with the awful name, this is a dry white wine that is pleasant enough but left us feeling flat.

Lisa Vanderpump’s Vanderpump Chardonnay 2018

Packed full of intense drama and intrigue, the TV series Vanderpump Rules was a hit. Unfortunately, this Chardonnay from Lisa’s family vineyard in California isn’t. It’s smooth, easy to drink and refreshing, but manages to be a bit dull.

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