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torntom SPECTATOR WINE CLUB
CUBAN CICALAS
Nicholas Soames
THE Avery's offers for The Spectator Wine Club have always proved to be tremendous- ly popular, and have traditionally been very well supported. My illustrious predecessor managed to search out some spectacular discoveries with Avery's, which many of us have bought over the years on a regular basis. This year the panel had to work hard from a long and exhausting list to come up with what I hope is a well-balanced offer, from which Speccie readers will be able to find something to their liking.
The first of the whites is the Tierra Arena Sauvignon Blanc 2000° from Chile. At the magnificent price of £3.99 (down from the Avery's list price of £4.60), this is a crisp, flowery, clean, easy-on-the-palate Sauvi- gnon. I think it is quite astonishingly good value, and should clearly be part of your armoury if you are going to be drunk out of house and home in the next few weeks. Next, the Petit Chablis — Domaine Hamelin 19990. The panel greatly like this wine (handsomely reduced by nearly £1 a bottle from the Avery's list) at £7.25. Domaine Hamelin has a growing reputa tion and has produced here a wine with a very proper and pleasant Chablis taste, with good nose and a long finish, and it comes warmly recommended.
To follow, as always offered to Speccie readers at this time of year, the Avery's Special Cuvee Champagne°. This is Avery's biggest selling single wine, due in no small part to its popularity with Wine Club supporters over many years, It has been produced by the same small family firm at Epernay for more than 50 years and rightly commands tremendous loyalty. It is quite simply delicious and, as Bron Waugh has always said, it is the equal of many of the grandes marques. You should not be without it as Christmas approaches. This year's price is £1 a bottle less than last year and, at £14 (from £17.30 a bottle on the Avery's list), it really is admirable value.
Turning to the red wines, Avery's have `I just wish you'd admit your waistline's gone up and buy jeans in a bigger size.' done us proud with a truly sensational bargain. The Cuvee le Bosq-Rouge° is a southern French wine which doesn't pre- tend to be anything more than it is. It is a light, easy drinking, everyday wine, at only £2.95 a bottle. It is even fruitier this year than last, when thirsty Wine Club mem- bers ran Avery's quite out of stock. This is strongly recommended on value alone and is clearly a sensational pre-Christmas buy.
The next red is the 1998 vintage Avery's Fine Claret°. The panel thought that this was really excellent. There is plenty of rich, ripe Merlot fruit in the blend, giving it a mellow, rounded finish. When a firm puts its name on the bottle, they have to be very sure of the quality of the wine inside, and, as John Avery MW is this year's chairman of the Institute of Masters of Wine, he has double the reason to make sure his claret cannot be faulted. It really can't, and reduced from the list price of £6.05 to £5, it is excellent value.
Finally, the Miranda High Country Mer- lot 1998°. This is a robust, good, rich, full Aussie. It is ripe and dense in taste and flavour, and will go perfectly with Christ- mas goose. Reduced from the list price of £6.95 to £5.95, it comes well recommended.
The mixed case works out at £78.28.
Thank you, Avery's.
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