SPECTATOR WINE CLUB
Save yourself a spell in purgatory
Auberon Waugh
Nethergate, which older punters may remember as Redpath and Thackray, always strong in hefty Rh6ne wines, is back after a two-year absence and some signifi- cant downward price adjustments. In the final list we have three Rhones, two of them excellent", a substantial cm Beaujo- lais° at a very good price, a magnificent Grand Cru St Emihoe) which really should be laid down, and an Italian joker, averag- ing out at £5.60 the bottle°. I have never been able to raise much enthusiasm for white Rhones — even for ludicrously expensive white Hermitage — and I observe that my tasting notes for the Cotes du Rhone Prieure St Julien° from its proprietors in Chusclan are fairly grudging: nothing overscented, clean, clear, light, decent white wine. Other members of the panel were more generous: good full nose, lemony, refreshing clean, fruity. At least it gets you away from sauvignon and chardonnay. It has a label which nobody need be ashamed of and at £4.14 the bottle provides a decent gulp of respectable wine which few will be able to identify on price.
Next, a bit of enjoyable nonsense°. These fizzy Italian muscatelles vary quite astonishingly from the disgusting to the truly delicious. See it as a soft drink rather than as a wine, despite its 11.5 per cent vol., and it is pretty well supreme, better even than ginger beer. Whatever • anyone says, muscat is the ultimate dessert grape and, in liquid form, so long as it does not cloy or make you sick from sugar excess, it is one of the great tastes. All children will love it, so will their nannies, so will most teenagers and so, if they are honest, will any surviving maiden aunt temperance fanatics. You don't need wedding or Christmas cake. It is amazingly good with cheddar cheese. Full of flowers and full of innocence, it is cheap- er than the cheapest champagne at £5.99 and many will enjoy it more. Next the Regnie 1991 at £4.99. Regnie, between Morgon and Brouilly, was only promoted to Beaujolais cm status in 1988 and many have not heard of it, which may explain why it has not followed its neigh- bours into the £6.50 range, but this is a fine, proper, middle-weight, elegant Beaujolais which may bring tears of recognition to the eyes of serious wine-drinkers and is very well priced indeed at a penny under £5. The Lirac 1990 from Duseigneur at the same price may be judged a star of the offer, but of course it is a Lirac and these rich, heavy, fruity Rhones can never be Judged as proper or as elegant as the pre- ceding beaujolais. In fact it is its opposite. I think it is absolutely lovely: beautiful, dark colour, very, very rich and sweet smell (although not sweet in the mouth) it is a wonderful fruitcake of a wine and given away at the price. At 50p more, the Cairanne°, also 1990, promises greater complexity in age. It has a nice black-red colour and is perhaps a touch more opulent in its richness, and might be thought more elegant on that score. Both these wines were rapturously received and both are ready for drinking now, but if there were no question of laying down I think I might save 50p and go for the Lirac. Finally, a very promising St Emilion. I do not usually like drinking young merlot, but this very heavy and deep young merlot can be drunk now, if needs be, and as the French nearly always drink it. My notes are a trifle incoherent: no rats' tails but a crystallised mouse may have wagged its tail over the cuvie. I think this indicates strong approval, as my mark of 8.5 out of 10 cer- tainly does. But £7.97 is quite a serious price, and I honestly think it would be a shame to drink it for a year or two.
Many may be put off the mixed case at £67.14 by a determination not to waste good money on the Moscato d'Asti. I think they should be ashamed of themselves. Try one bottle and, if you still hate it as much as you are determined to hate it, give the other to the bottle stall at your local church fête, where it will be a tremendous success and might save you a spell in purgatory, if you believe in that sort of thing.
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