FOR our first otter of the New Year, I turned
to one of our most distinguished wine merchants, Lay & Wheeler of Colchester. Choosing half a dozen wines was easy; we could have put together several offers, all first-rate. The tricky part comes with the haggling. I have to steel myself to do this. In an Arab souk, I'd say, 'Only 800 shekels for such a lovely carpet! That's excellent value. Keep the change.' But I've got the patter now — we insist on free delivery; Spectator readers may be well-to-do, but they still appreciate a bargain, and so on.
Sometimes it takes some convoluted, British, I-wonder-if-that's-your-very-bestprice muttering. Or sometimes you meet Hugo Rose, Lay & Wheeler's sales director, a man who clearly knows how to increase market share. At first he offered massive discounts — up to almost 18 per cent — for people who bought more than one case Then he thought, what the hell, everyone can have the discounts, even on a single case. This makes the choices some of the best bargains we've ever offered.
Then he went even further. If you particularly like a wine, you can buy as much more of it as you wish, at the same reduced price, with free delivery, for up to a month after the offer has closed. That must have hurt.
The whites are for people suffering from Chardonnay-fatigue, though, as it happens, the first two actually are Chardonnays. Cosecha Blanco()) from Mendoza in Argentina is gorgeous. It was created by a leading Bordeaux winemaker, Jean-Michel Arcaute, by blending in Chenin Blanc and a local grape, Torrontes, which makes it delectably crisp, spicy and grapefruity. The perfect wine to welcome spring, down by 70p a bottle to £4.25.
The Moa Ridge(2) is also Chardonnay, but, being unoaked, is much lighter and zingier than most. It's made specially for L&W in Marlborough, New Zealand by Allan Scott, who used to supply grapes to Cloudy Bay. I think it's silky and rich and delicious, and at £5.75, a £1.20 reduction, just amazing value.
Finally, another Viogniero), the wildly fashionable grape which seems to produce better wines every year. I had an Australian example the other day, which was sensational, as it should have been at nearly 16 quid. This costs only £7.50 (£1.45 off list price) and it's crisp, scented, fruity, aromatic, nutty, ever so slightly oily — like strolling in a flower garden in June. (Heavens. if I wrote about politics like this, I'd be laughed out of Westminster.) Fabulous stuff.
The Pigeoulet des Brunier(4) was invented for Vaucluse restaurateurs who were looking for a warm, rounded, full-flavoured, smooth wine to go well with food, yet with a real savour of the region. The Brunier brothers created this with four different
grapes — mature Grenache has the main role — and it's smashing. A pound off at only £5.25.
I've been watching Madiran(5) for years,
and now it's consistently producing terrific, full-flavoured wines which match clarets at far higher prices. The Domaine Moureou is elegant, powerful and even sinewy. Let it breathe a while to get the full, intense pleasure. At £5.75, it's reduced by 17 per cent.
Now a great bargain for lovers of Burgundy. The Potel Hautes Cotes de Beaune is made from 45-year-old vines which grow in a single vineyard. It's got the heady, perfumed taste of all fine Pinot Noirs. At £7.50 — a £1.45 discount — you could and would want to drink it every day.
And there's a bonus, not included in the sample case. The late Auberon Waugh adored Château Musar, the astonishing claret-style red wine made by Gaston Hochar in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon. Since it's now common in expensive clubs and restaurants, the price has shot up, but Hugo Rose has got hold of a small parcel of the tremendous, powerful 1995 vintage, which he's offering to Spectator readers at only £12.50 a bottle. I won't attempt to describe the exhilarating joy of Musar; if you know it, you'll want to snap a case up.
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