1 WINE
The Wine Society
You might think of the Wine Society — I always have — with its quaint title (Inter- national Exhibition Co-operative), its bookish name-plate, school of Reynolds Stone, proclaiming foundation in 1874, and its conservative labels as a quintessentially fogeyish institution, Indeed, I would have guessed that its membership consisted mainly of the original old variety — don- nish figures in leather-patched tweed jack- ets who turn savage in August and deci- mate Scottish fauna. My feeling was that the Society had been left behind by the new democratic era of wine with its crus classes in supermarkets and drive-in ware- houses staffed by obliging young men in jeans ready to load up your car-boot with cut-price Australian chardonnay.
My picture, I discovered on a day-trip to Gunnels Wood Road, Stevenage, was only partly accurate. That address, for a start, has an unfogeyish ring. In the white-hot technological days of 1965, the Society was one of the first businesses to move out of London. Architecturally, Stevenage HQ may be unlovely, but the Society has one of the largest temperature-controlled ware- houses I have ever seen, and was recently able to buy an extra five acres of land to house members' reserves.
One of the first things to get straight about the Wine Society is that it is not a small operation. Turnover is about £13 million, ex-VAT (equivalent to that of all Majestic's 30-odd warehouses, for inst- ance), and stock is valued at £6 million. Even standard own-label lines like the Society's claret are given bottle-age. Very few other wine businesses — perhaps none — could afford to hold so much stock. But the Wine Society is not an ordinary wine business. As a co-operative, it is owned by its members, who pay £20 for a share which guarantees life membership.
Membership is growing rapidly and is open to anybody. The only people that the general manager, Barry Sutton, a genial but tough cookie, turns away are wine traders. Contrary to supposition, the Soci- ety is not a non-profit-making organisa- tion. It made a healthy operating profit of over £1 million last year, but almost all of that was paid back to members in the form of dividends, recoverable only on death.
The question remains whether it is worth coughing up that £20. A small tasting which the studious wine buyer Sebastian
Payne put up certainly convinced me of the care and honesty with which the selections are made. There was also evidence of enterprise. I very much liked the Marsanne Vin de Pays de l'Herault 1988 from Domaine de la Gardie (£3.25). How good to see an unfamiliar RhOne grape variety delivering a full-flavoured, soft, dry yet rich white wine, the opposite of the current fashion for flowery lightness. The Society s white burgundy, Macon Villages (£4.60) was rather closed on the nose, full-bodied, buttery and quite rich on the palate. I would go for the Marsanne. The Society's claret (£3.20), their best- selling wine, was on the light side, but with a definite cedary character, and the touch of gaminess which bottle-age brings. Much fuller-bodied, in a firm cabernet style, and worth the extra quid, was the Society's Medoc (£4.25). Claret is probably the Society's greatest strength (the burgundy list is less exciting). Really rather classy was the Margaux 1986 (£5.75), from reject vats of Chateau d'Angludet, apparently, and offering authentic Margaux perfume and richness.
There is a splendid list of earlier vin- tages, looking progressively better value as they get older (a feature of all the Society's finer reds). Chateau Lalande-Borie 1982 may not be cheap at £14 but it is a magnificently opulent, dense-textured, stylish mouthful. Other strengths of the Wine Society's list are sherry (decent own-label fino, excel- lent manzanilla La Gitana and almacenista Palo Cortado) and those most neglected areas, estate-bottled Germans and sweet Loire. Try Huet's Vouvrays, Quarts de Chaume Chateau Bellerive and the incom- parable Bonnezeaux Chateau de Fesles. The verdict? The Society's prices are not the cheapest you can find. Assiduous shopping around may save you 30p to 60p a bottle. On the other hand, the Society offers free, and by all accounts reliable, delivery anywhere in the United Kingdom. If you live in the Highlands or Northern Ireland you should join up without delay. Even if you do not, I doubt you will regret that £20 investment, especially if you use the list selectively. And your grandchildren will bless you after your death.
Harry Eyres
Previous page
