SPECTATOR WINE CLUB Simon Hoggart
OUR old friend Simon Wrightson of Manfield Grange, North Yorkshire, has provided this offer, which includes four excellent wines and two which I think are quite superb. Oddly enough, they're both French, which shows how quickly — at least outside Bordeaux, Burgundy and other hotbeds of complacency — the country is learning to cope with foreign competition. These are wines which would win applause anywhere in the world. All are discounted, which makes them extraordinary value, and, of course, delivery is free.
The Stonecross Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon 2001'" is another fine wine from South Africa. of a type which will become rather more expensive when the rand perks up. This is from the famous Deetlefs Estate, a small family-run business which has been making wine in the Du Toit's Kloof mountains for 180 years. Sauvignon Blanc can be rather raw, but the other grape combines to make it smoother and fruitier and generally scrummy, so you can drink lots without that sensation of your mouth being turned inside out. Reduced to an excellent £4.72.
The Currabridge Unwooded Chardonnay 200 l''' from New South Wales is perfect for anyone who wants the full, honeyed taste of the grape without the sense of being hit over the head with a plank. Sometimes unoaked Chardonnay can be rather pallid, substituting flinty elegance for flavour. Not this. It is packed with fruit, has just a touch of butterscotch, but is dry enough to drink with almost anything. Leave it to breathe for ten minutes and you'll be knocked out. £4.74 a bottle.
Now a tremendous find. The Clos de Beauregard sur lie 2000" is a Muscadet. 'Oh, no, aarghhh!' you might cry, the victim of a dozen French supermarkets where a three-euro Muscadet would be about right for cleaning paint brushes. This is quite different; it is rich and deep and full and rounded and floral. Simon Wrightson says he thinks it tastes like an aged Meursault, and he's right. After all, another name for the Muscadet grape is Melon de Bourgogne, and there is a distinct taste of melon and grapefruit here, too. A splendid wine, and astounding value for £5.22.
The Tierra Arena Cabernet Sauvignon 2001" from Chile is reduced to just £4.70. It has that nice cedary whiff of a good claret, and is a very carefully made wine — the grapes are hand-picked, for example, a fact which even the most sensitive palate might not detect, but the result is a fine wine for autumnal dinner parties, rich and powerful and fruity.
The Stonecross Merlot Pinotage 2001's' comes from the same estate as the white mentioned above, and is just as good. It's a very cunning blend. The Pinotage has that dark, almost muddy taste; the Merlot gives it a light and velvety touch. This will last a few years — well past the time when it's become far more expensive. Now it costs only £4.72.
Finally, a superlative Gigondas for a very reasonable price. The Domaine du Terme 1999° wins prizes all over the place, and it's hardly surprising. It has that lovely ripe perfumed nose of a fine red Rhone (it's 80 per cent Grenache with just a splash of Syrah), a sort of heady, mouth-filling aroma which I think is delightful. I can't think of anything nicer than a bottle of this with a roast chicken, or a casserole, or a piece of good cheese, or just about anything, really. Reduced generously to £7.98.
As usual you can buy any of the wines by the dozen or try the mixed case, which contains two of each, or the French case, which contains six each of the Muscadet and the Gigondas. There is a further 5 per cent reduction if you buy five cases or more.
Previous page
