SPECTATOR MINI-sAROFFER
SIMON HOGGART
Our mini-bar offers from Waddesdon Manor, that magnificently ornate, opulent and over-the-top Rothschild gaff in Buckinghamshire, have always been highly successful. There could be some snobbery here: if you have a bottle that declares ‘Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite)’ along the top, you wouldn’t want to decant it. You would want your friends to admire it. Or it could be that the wines are just first-rate. This is a slightly pricier offer than before, but it is heavily discounted by Waddesdon’s Christopher Campbell. All are well worth the modest extra cost.
I loved the Austrian Grüner Veltliner ’05 from Stasse Hasel in Kamptal1, one of the best regions for this exceedingly fashionable grape, sold in painfully posh London restaurants. It makes a wonderful, fruity, spicy wine. A great treat, really good with food, and reduced from £8.75 to £7.95.
The Los Vascos Rosé ’052 is one of two wines from the Rothschild estate in Colchagua province, Chile. It is made by the team responsible for the fabulous Château Lafite in Bordeaux, and it is deliciously light and smooth, but with the full plump flavour we have come to expect from modern rosés. Perfect for food or for quaffing in a summer garden. Reduced to £6.95. You may have read about the recent blind tasting, held in London and California, at which once again the finest Napa Valley wines beat the finest from Bordeaux. I am sure the French are even now poo-pooing the results, but they would pause a moment if they could try the Delicato Old Vine Zinfandel ’043 from Monterey. It is stunningly good — packed with flavour yet light as a feather and with an almost creamy perfume. It’s a gorgeous, luxurious, velvety wine, and amazing value for £6.95. The only drawback is that supplies won’t arrive until later this month, but you should order it now — it is certainly worth the short wait.
Finally the Lafite people working in Chile have come up with a sensational Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Réserve ’024. It’s aged in casks from Lafite, and if anyone produced a Bordeaux as good as this — smokey, cedary, full of rich, dark aromas — at twice the price, few would believe it. And it’s reduced to under a tenner!
Delivery as ever is free, and there’s also a sample case (which will also have to wait for the Delicato to arrive).___p
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