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SPECTATOR WINE CLUB
CUBAN CIGARS
Nicholas Soames
IT has always seemed to me to be the chief strength of the Spectator Wine Club that, thanks to our excellent wine merchants, punters have been able to seek out good wines at reasonable cost without having to stir themselves. Dick Burge of Nethergate has produced some fine wines for the panel to taste and I hope you will approve of the choices and the generally reasonable prices. We have ended up with French, Chilean and Australian wines, so there should be something here for everyone.
First the white wines: the 1999 Bergerac Seel) is made at Château les Miaudoux by two young wine-makers, Nathalie and Ger- ard Cuisset, who have been transforming their property at Saussignac over the last 12 years. They have clearly made a very good job of it. The panel loved this wine, indeed raved about it, and so they jolly well should at £4.37 a bottle. It is well-rounded with a crisp, fresh taste and lots of fruit. I highly recommend it for summer drinking.
Next, the 1998 Sablet Blanc(2) made by Marc and Sophie Autran who, I am told, have made a great impression in the south- ern Rhone over the last decade and whose wine is particularly admired by Robert Parker. I am always rather nervous of the white Rhones, but this is an incredibly com- plex and unusual wine at the reasonable price of £6.40 a bottle. It is a blend of Viog- nier, Clairette, Roussanne and Grenache Blanc, all of which combine to give it a most powerful and unusual taste. After drinking it, you will feel a better, stronger and more relaxed Speccie reader.
The last of the whites is the 1998 Norte Chico Chardonnay from Chile(3). I am ashamed to say that I know very little about Chilean wines, but this is quite clearly a cracker. You will be under absolutely no illusion as to what you are drinking. This is straightforward, fresh, ripe, fruity and has a delicious Chardonnay taste. It slips down a Forty light years away and you forgot the spoons.' treat and at £4.74 a bottle it will give you a jolly and uncomplicated summer. Now to the reds: first, the Regnie 1999(0. Regnie, which is bordered by Morgon to the north and Brouilly to the south, is the newest cru of Beaujolais, having been pro- moted from Villages status in 1988. The panel thought this wine first-class. It is 100 per cent Gamay Noir and is a proper full- blooded Beaujolais with bags of fruit and taste. Judging by the response to the Beau- jolais in the last Wine Club offer, there is clearly plenty of demand for the real thing. Strongly recommended at £5.83 a bottle.
The 1998 Sablet Rouge(5), made like the white by the Autrans, is a classical southern Rhone red wine of a marvellous vintage. It is essentially a blend of Grenache and Syrah, and in this wine it is possible to see why Marc Autran was named the Gault Millau vigneron of the year in 1990. It is spicy, peppery and rich and the panel had to be dragged away from it. Excellent value at £5.60 a bottle.
Finally the 1998 Shiraz Barossa Vines from Grant Burge(6). Grant Burge (who is disappointingly not a relation of our good Mr Burge) is acknowledged to be one of Australia's top wine-producers and is now the largest private owner of vineyards in the Barossa Valley. This is a big, fat Australian wine with a splendid deep-ruby colour and a rich, spicy, oaky smell. I thought it was an admirable specimen at £7.49 a bottle. In the true spirit of globalisation this offer is in tri-continental mode, so there should be something here for everyone. The mixed case works out at £5.74 a bottle. Thank you to the estimable Mr Burge.
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