SPECTATOR WINE CLUB
Every one a coconut
Auberon Waugh
With very generous price reductions from Mr David Sandys-Renton of Hedley Wright, I have managed to keep the average price — that is, the price of the mixed case — below £5 a bottle. Our last two offers, both in November and both with Christmas in mind, will be rather more expensive. But this is an excellent and varied selection which we have been at considerable trouble to put together, and poorer readers may choose to stock up for Christmas from it. The trouble with such thrifty behaviour, in my experience, is that you always drink it before Christmas ar- rives. But by extending the closing date to 14 December, there should be time to re-order.
First, a remarkable Chablis-substitute from the Loire. They are planting classic grapes all over the place nowadays, which means they must sell the wine as yin de pays. At £5 the bottle, I would judge this chardonnay `Domaine du Petit Château'(1) the equivalent of an £8.50 premier cru Chablis — and Chablis has been doing very well recently. Good chardonnay nose of over-ripe apples with a touch of farmyard; easy, sweetish drinking, it fills out wonder- fully in the glass and should not be served too cool. Perhaps it should be opened an hour or two in advance. This 1989 won a gold medal at Angers for the best Loire chardonnay, which may not mean much to us now, but as we get poorer will mean more and more. At £5 it is a snip for those in retreat from the heavy, oily, colonial chardonnays I have been pushing for so long. The Gewurztraminer 1988(2) from the vignerons reunis de Kayserberg is stagger- ingly perfumed with a colossal scent of elderflower and roses on top of a slightly subdued gewurz character. Although on the sweet end of the dry gewurz spectrum,' it is not at all cloying or heavy, as many of the Alsatian vendanges tardives can be. No sheep droppings, not much spice, just a sublime fragrance — brilliant as an aper- itif. Serve quite cold.
Last of the whites, a really ripe melony maconnais with a touch of honey which should not, in my humble opinion, be chilled at all. This Macon Vinzelles called `Les Morandes'(3) starts as a respectable medium-weight white burgundy but has become a voluptuous, blowsy heavyweight if you return to her next day. I liked her in both manifestations, preferring the later one.
First the reds, a give-away yin de table at £3.50. It is a pure, declassified bordeaux which created a remarkable impression on the panel. One member found a touch of nettles and cigars, but the consensus was that we had an excellent, clean, strong, clarety, ordinary wine with nothing spiky, crude or impure. It was very popular in last year's offer from Hedley Wright. The new blend — if it is a new blend — struck me as even more impressive. This Cuvee du Champfleury(4) scored very high marks among the wines we tasted, as an unim- peachable wine for daily drinking, in a dignified bottle. As I said last year, one would not complain if it was served as a yin de maison in a two-star Bordeaux res- taurant.
Next an adventure. There was a good,' very cheap Chilean cabernet sauvignon from Santa Helena, but I decided to go for the best — a dangerous thing to do in the New World. They say the Seleccion del Directorio(5) was created for the exclusive use of members of the Santa Helena board and their families, but then one wonders why I am able to offer it at £4.80 the bottle. It is a seriously big wine; cedary, spicy smell, excellent deep, dry, not over-fruity taste — not complex, but undeniably deep. Perhaps complexity will develop — it is only four years old — but at present it is a classically rich and uncolonial dark wine, which is deeply satisfying to drink. We can't all be pioneers, but I shall respect those who buy this wine and slightly despise those who don't.
Last of all, a good, unadventurous bourgeois claret. The C6tes de Bourg at Blaye produce these smooth, delicious, fruity wines if you search for them. De- finitely for drinking now. The Château la Tour Seguy 1986(6) is not adventurous, but very nice at £5.30. The mixed case, as I mentioned, works out at £4.99, which is quite an achievement, all things consi- dered. It is a good offer, with every one a coconut.
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