Supermarket promotions 2021

No sign of any de Pez, but I liberated Launceston's last bottle of Chablis this afternoon. :cool:

The story behind the Marksman label, made specially for M&S by Ridgeview, is quite something...

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The winter of 1940 and the spring of 1941 saw Luftwaffe raids on key cities across Britain, claiming the lives of 32,000 people. The employees of Marks & Spencer (many of whom were wives and mothers to British servicemen) collectively raised what was then the princely sum of £5,000 – enough to purchase this Spitfire Mk 5, christened 'The Marksman' and delivered to the RAF by Vickers Armstrong in May 1941:

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In June 1941 'The Marksman' entered service at RAF Biggin Hill with the 609 ‘West Riding’ Squadron, from where Sergeant Pilot ‘Tommy’ Riegler shot down three enemy aircraft over Dunkirk – awarded the DFM and DFC, he retired after the war as a squadron leader.

The plane was transferred to 411 ‘Grizzly Bear’ Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in October 1941; stationed initially at RAF Digby in Lincolnshire and later at RAF Southend, the squadron mainly flew convoy protection patrols over the English Channel.

In March 1942 'The Marksman' was attacked and shot down by enemy fighters. Pilot Officer John Sills is interred in the military section of Pihen-les-Guines cemetery near Calais – he was twenty-one years old.

This plaque still hangs in the London head office of M&S:

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I think I need to get some on principle, but has anyone tasted the 2014 vintage?
 
Michael Sheridan said:
The only slight consolation is I paid the Lidl up the road from M&S a visit and they’re clearing the winter wine tour wines for £3.99 as suspected.
I’d hoped for some comte senneval vintage but no joy. However I did score 6 Vidal Icewine and a couple of Spatburgunder for £3.99 a pop.
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No ice wine but I picked up the beerenauslese for £4. I really need to drink more sweet wine, I buy a lot more than I consume!
 
That does seems strange, did you try at the tills? a lot of these are not marked down on the shelf but still go through at the lower price at the tills. As this seems to be a 'reduced to clear' promotion they tend to run until stocks run out rather than a regular discount promotion that ends after a fixed period.
 
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Adam Holland said:
M and S goose unsuccessfully chased here. Sale either finished or never was with Brocard and de Pez fully priced.
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Steve Mills said:
that does seems strange, did you try at the tills? a lot of these are not marked down on the shelf but still go through at the lower price at the tills. As this seems to be a 'reduced to clear' promotion they tend to run until stocks run out rather than a regular discount promotion that ends after a fixed period.
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This was the case for me — none of the discounted items were marked as such on the shelf. Even now, a few days later, only a couple have shelf tags indicating the reduction. If they had any, pop back and ask a member of staff to check for you — you’ll probably be pleasantly surprised!
 
Just thought I’d flag to anyone who hasn’t had any luck at m&s, if you are prepared to keep going back you may strike lucky, as have I, my recent experience has been shelved cleaned out one day are full the next and so I have had no difficulty finding them all over the last couple of days. As has already been pointed out, don’t be put off if marked at full price on the shelves, they will scan at the discounted price.

the key point I realised is that they are still restocking from the warehouse, this isn’t just a case of individual shops clearing out their existing stock.
 
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Christopher Topham-Smith said:
I think I need to get some on principle, but has anyone tasted the 2014 vintage?
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Thanks for posting about the Marksman Spitfire. I had assumed the wine's name was just a reference to the name Marks & Spencer

The Marksman 2014 BdB won IWSC Trophy for SEW* in

2018

The judges tasting notes read

"Super creamy mousse that seduces the palate. A lovely biscuit style, yeasty and toasty on both nose and palate, showing great maturity, with a strong underlying core of citrus and apple fruit. Good lively acidity adds to the long and satisfying finish. "

IWSC 2020 search results | IWSC

*Sparkling English Wine. The Trophy was sponsored by Waitrose, who make their own SEW. I remember with pleasure the fierce smiles plastered on Waitrose faces as they presented the trophy to the jubilant M&S team.
 
For those who also got some of the Chablis: reckon it’s about good to go now or will benefit from a bit of time? I’ve read the earlier tasting notes which seem to suggest it’s hot to trot?
 
Opened the Brocard Chablis from M&S (£8 down from £20) and tried alongside the Collin-Bourisset Pouilly Fouisse from Lidl (£3.99 down from £14.99) and both of us chose the Pouilly Fuisse as favourite. It’s an absolute steal if you can find any left in the bargain bins.

I wouldn’t make a special trip though, there was hardly anything of interest in our local stores this time around. I think a lot of it sold out over Christmas.
 
Didn't get to our M&S (only one within 40 miles!) until last Sunday when ALL the wines featured here were shelf-labelled at their clearance prices, and all had indeed been cleared! I suspect David McDowall :p or a lurking Fife-based forumite
 
Ben Coffman said:
M&S Islington has some Lurton St Julien - '15 and '16. Not marked down but scans at £10. Also have plenty of Marksman but all 2017. Marked as £28 but scans at £15.
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Ben today I went into M&S in Southgate N14 (sometimes, more often in the past, pronounced Saff-gate) and bearing in mind your post about the Angel M&S (my local) these St-Julien 2016s also scanned at £10 but the sticker still said £22. They also had the Marksman BdB 2017 which was marked down on the shelf to £15. I bought a bottle of the Marksman, out of curiosity more than anything else. The first English wine I have purchased in 36 years, so traumatic was the 1985 experience. I also bought a few St-Juliens to add to my collection of Villa Caffagio Chianti Classico 2016s (also reduced to £10) from Waitrose. It is quite useful to have stocks of borderline beverages like this in the house because you never know who might drop in. They are useful for cooking and grown up offspring and an efficient way of impressing fathers-in-law if you have one, and for other annoying relatives. Last year I somehow acquired the M&S Pauillac and though it was a 2016 it was pretty grim, mostly merlot and ended up as cooking wine. I hope the St-Julien is better but its origins are pretty murky. The label just says Lucien Lurton. it could be a wine called Les Clefs de St-Julien, but I have no idea otherwise.
 
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