SPECTATOR WINE CLUB
IT is always a joy to go to Adnams on the Suffolk coast. The company, which has long made superb beers, is now a successful wine merchant too, and if you're lucky enough to be in Southwold you can visit its handsomely refurbished shop and enjoy its tastings, which are on every day. It's quite a social centre in this prosperous neck of the woods. I remember one local grande dame sitting in a basket chair and demanding 'some more of that excellent Burgundy, please', as a friend filled her glass to the brim. They are generous hosts.
My business was upstairs, where in the tasting-room Adnams's fine-wine buyer, Rob Chase, had produced no fewer than 39 excellent bottles from which to select this month's offer for Spectator readers. It was an almost impossible choice, made only slightly easier by my decision to select seven wines. The sample case contains 15: three of the cheapest white and two each of the rest. It also demonstrates what incredible advances are being made in Spain and southern France.
The first white is a Basa, Rueda Blanco 20011" from Spain. It's made from the Spanish grapes Verdejo and Viura, with just a dash of Sauvignon Blanc to give it extra zip: thus it is soft, mellow, fruity and with a hint of vanilla and greengages, though that may be my imagination. This is a smashing glugging wine (Adnams staff drink vast quantities; cheat them by getting in first), with 9 per cent knocked off the price to bring it down to just £4.50.
Another generous discount brings the Chkeau des Eyssards 2001 from Bergerac° down to £4.95. This is crisp, yet perfumed, with perhaps a touch of gooseberries. I was a little unimpressed at first but left it in the glass for ten minutes, and then found it utterly delicious. Always remember that white wines need a bit of air just as much as reds.
The Vega Sindoa Chardonnay 1999") from Spain is, I think, rather sensational. It has the same deep, powerful, honeyed flavour you get in fine Burgundies at three times the price. All right, it's not quite so subtle. but what do you expect at £5.95? (That's a reduction of £6.60 a case.) I recommend this very highly indeed: a luxurious wine for an unplump wallet.
The Australian Peak Riesling 20011't is also fantastic. It's specially made for Adnams by Andrew Mitchell, and he has managed to get into the bottle the whole quintessence of Riesling: flowery, heady, zingy, just a touch oily. This is a superb, clean, clear and delectable wine, and at £6,50 — another big reduction — fantastic value. A warning: it has a screw cap which some people hate. I like it because I know the wine will be in perfect condition.
We drink a lot of Canoe Tree Cabernet/Shiraz 2001°' at the House of Commons. Again this is specially made for
Adnams. It has the blackcurrant, liquorice and minty flavours of the Shiraz with the power and weight of the Cabernet Sauvignon. With a 13 per cent discount, this is a mere £4.30 a bottle. A tremendous snip. Decant it at dinners, and your friends will think you have spent far more.
There's £1 a bottle off the Bagordi Rioja 200051, making it a mere £5.95. The recent fast progress in Spain has forced Rioja to get its act together, which, as this majestic bottle proves, the winemakers have done to great effect. A rich, dark, luscious wine.
Finally the Domaine Richeaume 1999'7' from Provence is another fantastic bottle. It, too, is a Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz blend, with all the smooth, meaty power of a fine claret plus the spiciness of the Rhone. A really tine, mature wine for serious drinkers, and frankly breathtaking value at just £8.95.
I recommend all these wines very heartily indeed. Delivery as ever is free; there's a further 5 per cent discount if you order five cases or more.
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