I suppose that, like most people, I had vaguely assumed that
if you’re eating ethnic food, and you don’t specially want a pint of Kingfisher, you should wash it down with something white, very dry and very cheap. That may work if you’re in a basic post-pub curry house where you suspect that the slurry known as chicken tikka masala has been pumped up from an underground tank. Something that tastes of dilute battery acid might be perfect for stripping the oil, and the taste, from your throat.
But last month I was lucky enough to eat in Kai, a very expensive Chinese restaurant in Mayfair, where we were served some quite extraordinary dishes, such as oriental lamb shank. The meat was marinaded in 12 different spices, cooked for so long that it was almost liquid, then served in a martini glass topped with an unctuous garlic and chicken crème. Or the astonishing wasabi prawn tempura with mango salsa and basil seeds — well, you get the general idea. With this food we drank a delectable Tocai Friuliano from Italy — rich, sensuous and perfumed. It was exactly what we needed, and strong enough to stand up to the complex flavours. A day or so later I was in Zuma, Knightsbridge, eating Kobe beef from cattle that are massaged every day to make their meat meltingly tender — with Côte Rotie, the finest of all Rhône reds.
Sadly I can’t offer either of these wines this month. But thanks to the generosity of Adrian Patterson at Tanner’s of Shrewsbury, one of our finest traditional wine merchants, I can offer bottles that will serve almost as well for a great deal less.
Take Tanner’s own brand Pays d’Oc Sauvignon Blanc 20041. You may have read about the violence that has attended the French government’s attempts to reduce the amount of wine on the market. I hope they don’t reduce this. It is a fine example of how the French are beginning to meet the challenge from the New World, and is discounted by 10 per cent to just £4.80 a bottle. Perfect for the summer days we hope are coming.
Adrian has reduced the Scarborough Chardonnay 20012 from the Hunter Valley by the same proportion to just £6.75, which makes it excellent value. It is not overoaked, but it is rich and has those spicy vanilla flavours you find in the best Oz chardonnays, though at a terrific price. It would stand up handsomely to spicy food, but would be delicious with fish, chicken anything, really.
Rosé wines become more popular all the time, and this Ch. Villerambert-Julien 20043 from Minervois is basically a Rhône red with the skins whisked out early so that it keeps a deep lustrous pink colour. It’s mainly Syrah and Grenache, two strong, swaggering grapes, so it’s full of flavour but manages to be light and refreshing at the same time. Reduced to £5.95 and highly recommended.
Now the reds. The Ch. du Grand Moulas 20034 is reduced to £5.45, and frankly I don’t know how they do it. It is a dark, velvety, peppery, tobacco-scented Côtes du Rhône, and would work wonderfully with curries or any other strongly flavoured food. Terrific value.
There’s another big saving on the Lurton Malbec, Mendoza 20045 from Argentina. Malbec is an increasingly popular grape, though it can be a tad overwhelming. The famous flying Lurton brothers have created a wine with a lightness to go with the velvety, cedary, almost liquorice flavour. Tanner’s detect here ‘a hint of beef stock’, which makes it sound like oxtail soup, though I can see what they mean. Reduced to a most agreeable £6.20, it would go perfectly with most strongly flavoured dishes.
Finally, claret lovers will hugely enjoy the Ch. Tour de Gueyron 20026 from Graves de Vayres. It’s 80 per cent Merlot, and you’ll find plums, damsons — well, you will know what you are looking for, and here it is. Another whopping discount brings it down to £7.20.
Delivery as always is free, and there is a further £3 a case discount if you buy three cases or more. n
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