SPECTATOR WINE CLUB

Imperfections with the day

Auberon Waugh

Asad discovery I made recently is that the young — by which I mean young peo- ple between 22 and 30 — have gone off the chardonnay taste. Whether this means they can't drink white burgundy any more is not clear. I don't suppose the poor things are offered it very often. But they complain they drank too much colonial chardonnay — especially Australian — at university, where it was the chief tipple, and won't look at Australian chardonnay ever again.

Perhaps they have also been influenced by the regrettable increase in Australian prices. Chile is cheaper. It is also true that some of the grosser Australian chardon- nays, especially the more expensive over- oaked examples, have an oily texture and taste of glue or cardboard, which is not helped by tropical fruit touches and too much sugar — the boiled-sweet effect. But the fact remains that there are extremely good wine-makers in Australia, and some of the mass-produced chardonnays, as well as some of the more expensive 'boutique' varieties from the Margaret River, are very good indeed and excellent value. It is a question of finding the right ones. Two Mile Creek(1) in 1994 produced a wine which has none of these blemishes. It is a civilised wine at £5.45 the bottle which is quite rich and fruity without going over the top. We can still be proud of our for- mer colonies.

Pierre Andre's 1994 St Veran(2) should not be over-cooled and improves with being kept open for 12 hours. What seemed a trifle sweet on first approach had turned to a proper and expensive dry honey on second tasting a few hours later. It is not easy to find decent white burgundy at £6.45.

The 1994 Lirac(3) from Correnson has a good strong burned-rubber smell and comes out as a proper, fine, fruity wine with a touch of tar to add masculinity. Some may remember the 1990 offered a few years ago at £5 the bottle, in which I claimed to detect a preponderance of the mourvedre grape, reminding me of a Ban- dol more than a Chateauneuf or a Gigondas. Since then, I have unfortunately forgotten what the mourvedre grape tastes like, not having drunk a Bandol for at least four years. But once again we have a dense wine, with perhaps a touch of damsons in the middle palate. It now costs £5.80, for which we must blame Mr Clarke and his idiotic low-interest policy, sucking up to a handful of heavy borrowers at the expense of the nation's savers and wine-drinkers. I Would not recommend it if I did not feel that most winos would find it interesting.

The Meuliere is once again by way of being a star of the offer. The 1993(4) is a solid, straightforward, middleweight claret which has been a great success at the Beak Street Academy (now, tragically, about to go into abeyance for a time, but not as a result of the house wines) for several months and an equal success at Combe Florey as a table wine. I am persuaded that, at £5.95 the bottle delivered, our supplier, Peter Harris, may be making a small loss, which is always a cheerful thought.

Etienne de Tauriac(5), whoever he may be, made a serious effort in the Cotes de Bourg in 1990. Supplied by Bill Bolter, one of the doyens of our trade in Bordeaux, this dark, heavy, independent wine has a smell which might be described as 'farmyard' or, less politely, as slightly medicinal. It is £1 more expensive than the Meuliere, but you can't expect total smoothness, total perfec- tion, even for £6.95. My argument is that its imperfections add to its appeal rather than detracting. From a wonderful year, this oddly mellow wine is one to treasure.

Finally, from the same year, a St Joseph(6) at the beastly price of £7.45, although I am assured this is reasonable. A huge, totally proper syrah smell ends up slighter, not to say thinner, than its predecessor from the aites de Bourg, but it is probably the more correct wine. Personally, I would go for the Tauriac. Those who settle for the mixed case at £6.34 the bottle will be able to decide for themselves.

ORDER FORM SPECTATOR WINE CLUB

c/o Longford Wines Spithurst, Barcombe, Lewes, East Sussex, BN8 5ED Tel: (01273) 401497 Fax: (01273) 401497

White

Price No. Value

Two Mile Creek Chardonnay,

1994, SE Australia 12 Bots £65.40

St Veran, 1994 12 Bots £77.40 Red

Lirac, 1994, Correnson 12 Bots £69.60

ChAteau de la Meuliere, 1993,

Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux 12 Bots £71.40

Etienne de Tauriac, 1990,

Cotes de Bourg 12 Bots £83.40

St Joseph, 1990, Lesvallieres 12 Bots f89.40

Mired case (two of each) 12 Bots (76.10

TOTAL (Cheque enclosed)

Please send wine to: NAME ADDRESS POSTCODE ACCESS/VISA NO SIGNATURE Own name & address, if different: NAME ADDRESS POSTCODE TELEPHONE NUMBER EXPIRY DATE Prices include VAT and delivery on the British mainland. Cheques should be made payable to Specta- tor Wine Club, and sent with the order please.

This offer, which is subject to availability, closes on 29 March, 1996.

ACCESS/VISA No. EXPIRY DATE SIGNATURE