SPECTATOR WINE CLUB
If the Queen is coming to lunch
Auberon Waugh
Ioffered the Grand Vernaux Rouge(1), a branded table wine from an offspring of the great Beaune houses several years ago, and it still seems pretty cheap at the delivered price of £2.65 a bottle. It is a blended wine, of course, and I am told that it mostly comes from the Southern Rhone, but to me it tastes more like a Maconnais, with a strong element of Beaujolais's gamay grape on top. This is not a wine for talking about, merely for drinking, poss- ibly in great quantities. It is soft and easy, with nothing nasty in its make-up, but what chiefly recommends it apart from its cheap- ness is that it has a proper French taste. No rats' tails or chemicals or bogus austerity but a decent, full-bodied wine for everyday drinking. Leasingham's 1983 Bin 68(2) is a blend of cabernet sauvignon and shiraz (syrah) grown in the Clare Valley of South Austra- lia. At £4.95 the bottle it is an altogether richer and more concentrated experience than its predecessor. It should be decanted several hours before drinking, and I found it even fruitier and richer next day. No doubt it has a long life ahead of it, but the balance is already there, and it can be drunk at any time. I should explain that the slightly burned nose and general presenta- tion are unmistakably Australian, but there is nothing remotely farouche about it. In the trade, the word 'bland' is general- ly used in a pejorative sense, to mean characterless and uninteresting; I use it positively, to mean genial and comforting. This is a very bland, rich wine and I like it more every day. There is nothing bland about the Haut Cotes de Beaune 1985 T8te de Cuvee(3) which has a very high-class, concentrated, clean pinot taste. This persuaded the Che- valiers de Tastevin to allow it the tastevine label a few weeks ago. Since their tastings are blind, and no regard is taken of price, one should be quite impressed by a taste- vine label on basic burgundy at this price of E5.40 the bottle. I found it full of fruit but quite high in acid for a 1985. It is not entirely my style of burgundy but a Burgun- dian on the panel raved about it. For those who like the clean modern style, this is plainly a tremendous bargain. I can see its quality, but would probably keep it for a couple of years myself in the hope of its turning into something dirtier. I do not suppose there will be many takers for Leasingham's 1984 Bin 56 at £5.45(4) which is a cabernet-malbec blend.
I include it really for those who are becoming connoisseurs of Australian wine. They will understand the subtleties and complications in this wine which make it more interesting (if less bland) than the Bin 68(2) at £4.95. With other Australian wines — especially the chardonnays — one can truthfully say that they would not be available from France at less than twice the price. With these reds, one can say that such quality might not be available, but the actual tastes are too Australian to compare with anything from Bordeaux or the Rh6ne. They should really be compared with each other to appreciate what I mean by Australian quality. Once again, it is a very, very concentrated wine. Those pre- pared to forget about Gallic complexity, which none of us can afford, will find this cabernet-malbec a deeply serious, deeply satisfying substitute.
Now for the whites. The Planalto Reser- va 1986(5) from the Douro could not be more unlike the terrible vinho verde which is conjured up nowadays by the idea of Portuguese white wine. Nor is it like the heavy, slightly oxidised whites which tend to come from this part of the world. It has a strong, clear, dry, non-acid flavour which, in the absence of any identifiable varietal characteristic I can only describe as vinous. This is what good dry white wine always tasted like before we started taking an interest in the subject. It is a delicious, almost forgotten taste. Finally a white burgundy(6). I have de- spaired of ever again finding a decent white burgundy at under £5, but this one, from the Caves Co-operatives of Buxy in the Challonais at just under £6, has the unmis- takable property of being French. It is a quiet, good taste example — not over- ebullient, not sharp or bland, not a colosal nor even a great example, but elegant, dignified and acceptable. It is wine to serve among people who do not expect to have to talk about what they are given, but expect it to be good. It is just the sort of wine to serve if the Queen of England is coming to lunch and being given filets de sole aux champignons. If it is the Princess Royal who is honouring you in this way, I would propose the Planalto Reserva 19860), which has the further advantage of being £2.50 a bottle cheaper.
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