SPECTATOR WINE CLUB
Portugal beats the field
Auberon Waugh
Ipropose to go on pushing Portuguese reds despite a certain lack of reaction either in favour or against — on the last attempt. The three I have found this time are all from the well known source of J.M. da Fronseca at Azeitao. They lack the exciting smell of incense which I noted in the Dao Grao Vasco Garrafeira at £2.95 in the last offer, and without that exotic touch — which more conservative wine drinkers might mistrust as vaguely woggish — must stand to be judged, in terms of price and quality, beside the classic wines of the Rh6ne and Bordeaux, not to mention more recent arrivals from Spain, Italy, Chile and where you will. Incidentally, and Mr Price-Beech will not thank me for mentioning this, they all thrashed a con- siderably more expensive Italian wine from a famous wine-producing area on quality alone, before price was taken into consid- eration.
On this occasion, I make no over-excited claims that these three Portuguese reds will provide a revelation which will change your lives — as I have claimed for the Lebanon's Musar and even, to a lesser extent, for the Chilean cabernet from Linderos — and confine myself to saying that they seem a thoroughly welcome addition to everyone's collection in terms of price and quality.
The price range between £3.27 and £3.65 is small, and although I feel the quality rises quite dramatically with price within this small range, the truth is that the three wines offer three quite different taste experiences. The Perequita 1981(1) opened to a rather poor reception from the panel. I remarked that it had a good, strong smell, somewhat dusty, and the woody, corky taste beloved . of ex-public school Labour supporters two decades ago, who used to import their own moderately good claret and bottle it them- selves. It would probably go down well with SDP voters over the age of 60 who could no longer afford the real stuff. At £3.27 the bottle, it tasted much more like old claret than anything these poor people were likely to find from Bordeaux nowa- days . . . . The others spoke of it as tailing off into a thin, dry taste with metallic undertones. But everybody agreed that it developed wonderfully in the glass and ended much better than it started, as the sort of claret which middle-aged publishers in Hampstead would swank about at a dinner party as a bargain if they had paid £7.50 the bottle, rather than the sort of wine served at Tupperware parties in Islington by young married couples anx- ious to impress. The Perequita 1978 Reserva(2) opens to a very, very good smell, sweeter, fruitier, and less oaky than the 1981 and with a deeper colour. I thought it ended a bit waterish after a good start, and that it did not improve very much in the glass, but the others disagreed with me. At only 15p more than the 1981, it certainly had the more impressive attack, but I found it hopelessly overwhelmed by the Pasmodos 1979(3) which again started with a beauti- ful, almost Burgundian smell followed by a slightly waterish finish. But this wine im- proved dramatically in the glass — no doubt it should be decanted two hours before drinking — and ended up as a seriously excellent, thick wine, fragrant with classic smells and tastes which had everyone cheering. To my taste, the Pas- modos is the best bargain of the three at £3.65, but those who are prepared only to dip their toes into the Portuguese wine idea at this stage will find plenty to encourage them in the first two.
Spectator readers have so far shown an extraordinary determination not to interest themselves in Australian whites, so I can only say that this Hardy Collection No 1 Chardonnay(4) is an exceptionally rich and gorgeous drink which, at £5.37, would put most Meursaults to shame at £9.50 or over. I had a horrid experience with a more famous Australian chardonnay, the Brown Brothers 1980, a few years ago; it suddenly died and reverted to cardboard after six months in my cellar. On the strength of that experience, I should advise people to drink this wine within two years, although it seems to have enough acid and bounce in it to run a longer course. But it is a lovely wine now, and if only there was any excuse for decanting white burgundy, we could all deceive our friends with it. A French or Californian chardonnay of this quality would cost at least twice as much, and no other countries have come anywhere near producing one of grand cru standard. After my remarks about the Portuguese red, it may seem that the Dassault '83(5), at its unmistakably French price of £9.68 a bottle, is introduced as a fall guy. It really needs at least another four years, but I am persuaded that it eventually will turn into a classic St Emilion of a depth and elegance which the English will soon have forgotten all about. I tasted it against the '75, the '79, the '80, '81 and '82 of this first-class, upwardly mobile château, and it stood tlP very well. I have not yet tried the 1985, but cannot help observing that 1983 is already considerably cheaper as well as being (almost certainly) a better year. This Das- sault '83 will be of interest to determined claret drinkers, who can judge it for the bargain it is at £9.86 when they have compared it with other 1983 prices and had a look at prices for the 1985s. I feel it will be a very good wine indeed in four years time, and might be drinking well after three years.
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