club offer from Comey & Barrow is always good news.
With their vast range, from cheap and cheerful Chileans to Chateau Petrus, there's a terrific choice, and it was hard to pick just six wines out of so many goodies. Actually, I haven't even tried, so we're offering eight. And there's the fabled Brett-Smith Indulgence. Not only are all these prices reduced and delivery free, but if you buy three cases or more, sent to the same address (only two cases if you live inside the M25), the estimable Adam BrettSmith — a man so smartly dressed that you could cut cheese with his trouser creases — will knock another £6 off each case.
One way of making this saving would be to buy a quantity of their splendid house wines. The House White is always a big hit with Spectator readers. It's crisp and zingy and lemony. The House Red''' is round and fruity and a relaxed, friendly sort of wine, a wine you will be happy to welcome into your lovely home. With the discount and the Indulgence, they come in at under £4 a bottle, and are perfect for everyday glugging. Or you could decant them and pretend to your friends that they are much pricier than they are.
The main body of our offer includes two classics, plus four wines which are all remarkable value. La Combe de Grinou 2001 from Bergerac is a marvellous mouthful, rich and packed with fruity flavour, yet with a real dry backbone; excellent as an aperitif or with food. It sold extremely well last year, and I had to give readers the chance to buy some more of this scrummy wine at the discount price.
The Argentinian Pinot Gris 2002 from the Bodegas Lurton(4' is sensational. I've never tried a wine quite like it. The Lurton brothers are flying wine-makers with properties around the world. Some people disapprove of this practice, saying that it creates a bland, homogenised. global wine. That ain't the case here. Unlike some watery Pinots G (gris or grigio), it's bursting with flavours, including nectarines, lychees, mandarin oranges and other delights. This would be delicious with food, but it's also the perfect party wine; the first gulp lifts the spirits at once. A terrific bargain at around £6.
Here's the classic white. Olivier Leflaive is one of the best negociants in Burgundy. Auxev Duresses 2000''' is not one of the very top wines in the region — few could afford it if it were — but it's grown only a mile or so east of Meursault and is, I would say, a bargain for Burgundy-lovers at a very reasonable /12.39. even before the Indulgence. It has that heady, rich, honey and hazelnuts taste aficionados love.
The reds begin with the stunning Domaine de Saissac Cabernet Sauvignon 2001('' from the Pays d'Oc, yet another tribute to the amazing work being done in the French regions to meet competition from the New World. A mouth-filling burst of claret, packed with flavour and a lingering toasty taste. As Adam said, when we sampled it (throwing it back, not bothering to spit — what a waste!), if it came from Bordeaux, you would be happy to pay twice the price. Or even more.
I also love the Abadia d'Arcis Tinto Joven, 1999', a smooth, velvety Tempranillo. As Oz Clarke points out, there has been 'an explosion of quality' in Spain, much of it in wines from this grape. Rich, dark, musky — a gorgeous fat and silky wine to go with casseroles and roasts. All for less than £6 a bottle, barely more than a fiver with the Indulgence.
Finally, a classic claret, the Chateau Barrail du Blanc 1999°' from St Emilion. This is a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, and it has the aromatic, cedary, cigary, leathery taste of fine Bordeaux. A distinguished wine, a wine that knows its standing in the vinous hierarchy — from, as it happens, the Moueix stable of Chateau Petrus fame.
There are two sample cases, one less expensive than the other. But I can heartily ....4recommend every one of these wines.
;(fM 0MENIGE 1Mitl■ gni 83£.
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