Spectator Wine CLub
SIMON HOGGART 1 'm pleased to say it has become an annual tradition: our February offer of the new vintage of Chateau Musar with Lay & Wheeler. It has been a tremendous success with Spectator readers. The wine won't be in the shops until May, but it can be shipped to your door a month earlier, and at a reduced price. This year's crop is the 2000. The red' is, perhaps, slightly more austere than usual, closer to a fine Bordeaux, but it will age gratifyingly well for a very long time. And you can drink it with great pleasure now: all that soft, velvety, peppery, spicy, earthy, even chocolaty quality is already there in spades.
The white2 has become increasingly popular too. I always think of it as a kind of liquid tarte tatin, bringing on apples, cream and butterscotch. Maybe flaky pastry is going too far, but there is certainly toast there. And, this year, a hint of pineapple. It's not sweet, but is slightly off-dry, so it would go wonderfully well with fresh fruit or dessert. Or just as an aperitif.
You can order the rest of the offer now for swift delivery, and book your supply of Musar to arrive later. Or, if you prefer, have all your wines sent at the same time. Best to telephone L&W to discuss what works best for you.
Meanwhile, their Amanda Skinner has suggested some terrific bargains. They need to make space for the new vintage of the gorgeous Greenhough Sauvignon Blanc from Nelson, New Zealand3 so Amanda has knocked a lavish £3 a bottle off the 2004. This is still wonderfully fresh and ripe — fruity, yet with real backbone. At only £6.95 you can afford to stock up with lots.
Now two very different Burgundies from the amazing 2005 vintage. You can buy any amount of bad Chablis at this price; to find a really good one at only £7.86 a bottle (a £1.39 reduction) is terrific. My complaint about poor Chablis is that they are great on the steeliness, and very good at banging on about ten-oir; they forget that wine is supposed to taste of something too. This, from the Domaine de Clamentele4, does.
Rully is still an up-and-coming Burgundy appellation, and consequently it costs somewhat less than more famous names. L&W buy up the whole production of the premier cru Les Clous, from Olivier Leflaive5, and it's smashing: silky, elegant and packed with flavour. Reduced by nearly two quid to £10.16 and worth every penny.
Now the reds. The splendidly named Eduardo Chadwick of the Arboleda winery in the Colchagua Valley in Chile has produced a magnificently complex wine from the Carmenere grape. This is the 20046. I tried it out on friends and they all raved: 'voluptuous!', 'rich and smooth', 'makes me think of long, hot summer nights outdoors' were among the comments. It is certainly packed with plump, fruity, toffee, leathery flavours, and at £8.46 it is reduced by £1.50. A considerable discovery.
My quest for good-value claret continues, and I think you will be very pleased with the Chateau Montaiguillon 20037 from Montagne-St-Emilion. Merlots do tend to be softer than straight Cabernet Sauvignon, and this is as welcoming as a favourite armchair in the comer of a club library. Amanda has knocked more than £20 off each case, so that it too is remarkable value.
Similarly she has taken a pound a bottle from Nicolas Potel's Bourgogne Rouge, Vielles Vignes 20038. This is for people who want an echt Burgundy. It's grown just outside Nuits St Georges, and the old vines give it depth to go with the light, heady perfume that comes with Pinot Noir from that neck of the woods. You would be awfully hard put to find better at the price.
Delivery is, as always, free. And there is a further discount of £10 if you order two unmixed cases or £15 per order for three or more unmixed cases.
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