W hen I was nobbut a lad, several wine merchants and
department stores used to sell even quite famous wines under their own label. For example, the Army & Navy stores used to bottle the celebrated Château Pavie from St Emilion, and sell it to impoverished trainee hacks at £2 a half. Imagine — this magnificent wine at 67p a glass! Now the great properties are aware of the prestige, even the awe, their labels can evoke, and you don't see that any more. These days Pavie, bottled at the property, can cost you more than £200 a bottle, which is £34 a glass.
But El Vino, the famous watering hole and off-licence in Fleet Street, still clings to this nostalgic practice, selling if not the grandest wines, then some of the nicest, behind their pleasingly old-fashioned label. Three of our seven wines this month are their own brand, and remarkable value they are too.
Last year they sold hundreds of cases of Velvin'°, a Pinot Noir from Beaune which is a Burgundy in all but name. (It's overproduction; tough French appellation laws mean that it can't be sold as Burgundy. But 1 can say what I like.) The trouble was that with free delivery, discount, commission, and having to send an executive to Beaune to secure fresh supplies, they were selling at a loss. So this year we have made an arrangement. You can buy the Velvin as long as you have ordered the sample case and/or another case in the offer. The price is slightly higher at £4.25, thanks to the strength of the euro. But it's still a marvellous bargain.
Here's another. The Aldridge Estate Chardonnay 2002' from Australia is a snip at £5.20, much richer and fruitier than it has any right to be at this price. It's lightly oaked but doesn't taste of planking, and it's altogether perfect for sprightly summei glugging, in quantity.
El Vino's own-label Sauvignon de Si Bris 2001' is a delectable oddity. This tim appellation is in Burgundy, very close to Chablis, yet instead of the Chardonnay that surrounds them, the local vignerons decided, perversely, to grow Sauvignon Blanc. The result has the familiar grassiness of, say, Sancerre, but with that chalky undertone of Chablis itself. It's unusual, but very satisfying, and reduced to £6.10.
I never hesitate to remind people about the superb value offered by South African wines. Take this Joostenberg Chenin Blanc 20020' from the Paarl region. In France, Chenin Blanc can be either thin or just dull. In South Africa they have made it into a richer, fuller tropical drop, with tastes of lychees, peaches and even mangoes. At £7.45, it's dry but full-bodied enough to go
with almost anything, even dessert. (Winewriting doyen Michael Broadbent says you should not waste your pudding wine on pudding, which kills the luscious sweetness.) Cotes du Rhone is increasingly popular here, and you can see why when you taste El Vino's branded Domaine des Romarins 2001, It's not at all heavy, but it is packed with flavour, and has that lovely, spicy, heady perfume of a good Syrah. First-rate quaffing at £5.10 a bottle.
There's a bar near the BBC where John Peel asks for 'that wine with the "j" in it'. He means Rioja, and all I can say is that this example is probably quite a lot better than the one they serve him. It's an Alta Rio, Crianz,a 1999', and as well as all the rich oaked Tempranillo flavour you expect, it's got vanilla and cinnamon too, making it a gorgeous drink at just £6.55 — roughly half what you'd pay for paint-stripper in some wine bars. If you like Rioja, I really would stock up on this one; you'll rarely find better value.
The Magee Cabernet/Shiraz 1998'° from Victoria is just a great big Ozzie red which has the weight of the Cabernet together with the spice of the Shiraz. You'll get berries and blackcurrants and even liquorice. A terrific wine to go with roasts and casseroles and barbecues. Smashing, and reduced to £6.95. Delivery, as always, is free.
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