SPECTATOR WINE CLUB C hristmas is coming. Enjoy it while you
can. The falling pound means that the cost of wine is certain to increase next year. The trade is fiercely competitive in a genteel kind of way, and most merchants have been trying to keep prices down until the last moment. It’s a game of chicken — leave it too long and you risk going bust. Raise prices too soon and you lose business to rivals who hold their nerve.
So you might want to lay in supplies now before the prices do go up. The good news about this offer from Corney & Barrow, the celebrated royal wine merchants, is that all the wines are discounted. And there is the famous Brett-Smith Indulgence, by which Adam Brett-Smith takes an extra £6 per case off if you buy three or more cases, or only two cases if the delivery address is in their own van area, within the M25.
One excellent way to bump up your order to qualify for the BSI is to order the house wines. At only £5.49 they really are first-rate. The white (1) is crisp and citric and bouncy, being made to C&B’s specifications in Gascony. The red (5) is plumptious, a word of unknown origin, though I assume it’s a blend of ‘plump’ and ‘scrumptious’ — a perfect description. These are great party wines.
The main offer begins with a very fresh and appealing Marquis de Lissac Sauvignon Blanc 2007 (2). Once again, this shows what superb value the French are offering outside the old classic regions. At £6.29 this is roughly £50 a case less than you’d pay for an ordinary Sancerre, and it would take a finely tuned palate to tell the difference. Again, a party wine, but ideal with food too.
Here’s a lovely Oz Chardonnay, The Gatekeeper 2006 (3), made in the ancient Barossa Valley area just outside Adelaide. This is a fine example: delicious, fruit-filled, vanilla-y and almost creamy. Very fine and only £8.10.
Now a very special wine. Sixteen years ago Anne-Claude Leflaive, the daughter of Vincent Leflaive, took over from her father one of the finest white wine estates in the world. Burgundians were sceptical that she could manage it. In fact she has produced a string of breathtaking biodynamic wines. She was determined to resurrect the wines of Mâcon, probably the most undervalued part of Burgundy, so she ships the grapes to the family village of Puligny Montrachet, and has created this superb Mâcon Verzé, a brilliantly made wine with real elegance and power — and the capacity to mature for years. It is very hard to get hold of (‘hens’ teeth’ spring to mind), so this offer of the 2006 (4) at only £14.55 should be snapped up forthwith. Pricey for a Mâcon, a snip for such a fine wine.
Now the other reds. Adam has a cunning test for wines he thinks are especially good value. He tried the 2007 Terre de Lumière Grenache-Syrah blend (6) on his sales team and asked what they thought they could sell it for. The most pessimistic said £8, the biggest fan said £15, and the average was £12. It actu ally costs £5.69. It is gorgeous, soft, velvety, full of spice and pepper, and brings memories of long, slow summer lunches in southern France. A perfect entertaining wine. You will want to buy a lot.
The Pyramid Hill Merlot 2005 (7) is another Australian triumph. All the softness and ripeness of the grape, the savour of peaches and nectarines, for a very reasonable £9.89.
Finally a majestic claret. Canon Fronsac was one of the great Bordeaux regions before falling into desuetude. Now it is fast returning to glory, and this Ch. Mazeris 2003 (8) shows just how brilliant it can be. It’s a 2003, from that baking summer, and it tastes at once of sleepy ripeness and zingy fruit, as if your revered old granddad had started trampolining. If it came from the Haut Medoc, you would pay more than twice as much as this £10.46. Perfect for Christmas dinner.
Delivery, as ever, is free, and there is a sample case of two each of the wines. Don’t forget the Indulgence.10
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