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Wine Club

Auberon Waugh

Tastes in Californian wine differ so violently that on this occasion I have departed from my usual practice. In addi- non to backing my own fancy, and choos-

g five wines from the list of ten proposed, after due discussion, by Mr John Walter of

the Wine Studio in Eccleston Street — one of the very few Californian wine experts in the business — I have decided to offer all ten as a tasting case. My five choices are marked the very few Californian wine experts in the business — I have decided to offer all ten as a tasting case. My five choices are marked

with an asterisk, and may be re-ordered at

the Spectator Wine Club's vastly reduced price within six weeks. Alternatively, Punters can ignore the tasting case — which is bound to include one or two wines they will detest — and go straight for one or more of the five chosen wines. 0n the other hand, the tasting case con- stnutes a ready-made education in Califor- nian wine, and offers some deeply in- eresting wines which (with the possible ex-

Ption of the Jekel Cabernet Sauvignon) are sensibly priced by conventional wine

standards even without the Wine Club's discount

One or another might easily be

exactly the wine someone has been looking for. The nnt,y. thing for me to do is to rattle through the list, with especial reference to my own recommendations, and let the peo- Pie decide. If you fancy one of those I have .not chosen, it might be possible to strike a bargain with Mr Walter.

Winehas maker, and his Cabernet Sauvignon "as greater concentration than you will find little this price in Bordeaux, but I found it a hard and short for my own tastes. the Jekei Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the

most extraordinary wines I have drunk, with the greatest concentration of black- currant fruit I have ever tasted — even in

the 1953 Mouton Rothschild. It is purple in Colour and almost completely opaque.

Benylin without the sweetness,' said my secretary. 'Utterly disgusting,' said my wife

and Younger daughter. Another member of

ne Panel thought it would make a really great wine in five or ten years' time, but I

tcould not detect the smallest trace of tannin 1.1 fear it will turn into blackcurrant reacle. At present it is dry as dry, totally _aeking in balance or classical elegance, but an California could have produced such dthn overwhelming concentration of fruit and those who prize the blackcurrant element in end °oo Rothschild or Pichon Lalande will nrt.;.tethiyeir preference reduced to its aPPro-

jumbo-sized American absurdity.

nn.Flrestone's Merlot* might be an ex- ent, expensive-tasting St Emilion phout the complication, perhaps, of a hi_eeae or a Cheval Blanc but with the makes straight taste of Merlot which akes it cheap at the price of £5.50.

Paul Masson's Cabernet Sauvignon* strikes me, at £3.35, as being the best bargain among the reds; it has a full and mellow tasfe, with all the blackcurrant one can reasonably want and a few blackcurrant leaves thrown in for good measure. Masson is chiefly famous in this country for his jug wine which has never impressed me much, but he is also a serious wine maker of good and very reasonably priced varietals. His Chardonnay (see below) is a revelation. With Concannon's Zinfandel we are back to blackberrying. It is a perfectly de- cent example, and possibly a better wine than the amazing Wente Bros Zinfandel, which was offered recently, for those who are unhappy with this strange Californian berry, but I prefer the Wente Bros. Geof- frey Roberts's Reserve Red* is thrown in as a thoroughly good slurping wine at £2.75 better than any of the other Californian jugs available and good value for a really soft wine of the sort one can drink all night without its turning sour. Those who have given up port and spirits for Lent might be interested. Now for the whites. Robert Mondavi's Fume blanc, from the Sauvignon grape, is everything you would expect of a full, flowery and crisp white wine from the Loire but it smells slightly of cats' piss and I reckoned it too expensive for what it was.

Mondavi's Chardonnay is included, despite its price, because it is time we learn- ed that the Californians are now making really serious wine. In fact I think they (and one or two Australians, for that matter) are producing better white Burgundy than the French. You could put a Corton- Charlemagne label on this bottle and nobody would turn a hair. Call it Meursault and they would raise their hats. It has none of the buttery, cigar-smoke taste which often characterises a colonial Chardonnay (and which I happen to adore, in any case) but tastes exactly like a very good Burgundy grand cru. White Burgundy drinkers would be mad not to give it a try, and the same is even truer of the Paul Masson Chardon- nay* which represents the best bargain of the lot. Only slightly less intense than the Mondavi-Meursault, it has the extra zip of the very best young premier cru Chablis. I thought this an amazing wine at £3.35 and, for once, everybody agreed. the Geoffrey Roberts Reserve White was generally hailed as a clean, crisp, unopinionated thirst- quencher, but there is no point in looking at it when the Paul Masson Chardonnay is only a few pence more.