Spectator Wine Club
SIMON HOGGART Here's a very exciting offer. We start with two wines which are phenomenal value. They are from the Pierre Henri estate in southern France. This is a big enterprise (they have just taken an order for 50,000 cases from Royal Thai airlines) and you might expect the wines to be bland and mass-produced: alcoholic grape juice. Not so. The Syrah 2006 (5) is plump and fruity, and the Chardonnay 2006 (1) is fresh, lively and packed with flavour. There's perfume provided by the 5 per cent Viognier that M. Henri adds when nobody is looking. These wines are sold under a different label in one of our best-known chains for £5.90 a bottle, and people still feel they've got a bargain. Now Simon Wrightson, who runs a splendidly quirky wine business in North Yorkshire, is selling them both — not for his list price of £4, but for £3.50 a bottle. £3.50! That's independent quality at supermarket prices. For a summer party, you need look no further. They are also good enough for sipping over dinner. You can also buy a mixed case. Marvellous.
As are the other wines. I love the Chateau Gravade white 2005 (2), but I'm a sucker for Minervois wines, with their spicy, herby, sun-soaked flavours. This is smooth, organic, full-bodied, excellent with food, and reduced to £6.50 from £7.75.
Viognier is a tricky grape: it needs acidity to counter those rich floral notes. This Chateau de Gourgazaud 2006 (3) manages the trick perfectly. The finest Viogniers are from the tiny appellation of Condrieu, and the other day I opened a bottle. It was fine, but not hugely better than this — which, reduced by £1.25 to £8 — costs less than one third the price.
Some years ago the famous Cloudy Bay estate in New Zealand was taken over by a multinational and fans of the classic Sauvignon have mourned what they see as a sad loss of quality. This often happens when corporations take over from people who care only about making great wine. This Long Cow from Auntsfield 2006 (4) is, says Simon, what Cloudy Bay used to be — full, fat, beautifully structured, deeply satisfying. He's taken a quid off to make it £9, and believe me, it is well worth it.
My quest for good-value claret continues, and I've found two this month. The Chateau Cor Bugeaud 2004 (6) from the Cotes de Castillon, fills the bill nicely, especially at a mere £6.50 a bottle, 75p off. I have tasted worse at nearly twice the price.
Lovers of Cotes du Rhone will particularly enjoy this Seguret Domaine de Mourchon 2005 (7), which has all the dark, velvety depth we associate with the style, plus that heady lift of perfume that makes it stand out from the pack. Almost £1 off brings it down to just £7.
Finally, the Chateau Carignan 2002 (8) is outstanding at just £8, another £1.25 discount. You know what makes a good claret — leather, cigars, wood panelling, a bit of age, conveying the general air of an old-established gentlemen's club. Usually you have to pay much more. Get it while you can.
Finally a huge treat. This terrific Sauternes, Chateau Cameron 2001 (9), is delectably sweet and luscious. Hazelnuts, chestnuts, peaches are all there. Simon can squeeze a single bottle into any one case (£15 each bottle, though you can order a whole case for £180). I promise you will want to buy more.
Delivery as ever is free. There is a sam- ple case of the six pricier wines, and if you buy three or more of any cases, you can take another 5 per cent off the total...z
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