SPECTATOR WINE CLUB

A quality Christmas

Auberon Waugh

AChristmas approaches we move up- market with an all-French offer which aver- ages £7.32 a bottle on the mixed case, although this cruel figure is reduced by Corney & Barrow's compassionate manag- ing director, Adam Brett-Smith, to £6.82 for those who order two cases of anything if they live in London, or three cases of any- thing if they live outside.

But paupers should not despair. The offer also includes two of the best cheapies we have ever seen, although I suppose the 1995 La Combe de Grinou (1) only just rates as a cheapie at £5.04 the bottle, or £4.56 reduced. But the Domaine de Saissac 1995 (4) is one of the most stupendous bargains I have ever seen at its reduced price of £3.95 — just watch your friends' faces when you tell them you paid £3.95 for it — and almost given way at the unreconstructed price of £4.45. We have only 180 cases of it, and ten or 20 will go on the mixed cases, so it would be advisable to move fast — this will also ensure you get the wine before Christmas.

Catherine and Guy Cuisset's La Combe de Grinou Bergerac Sec (1) is an old friend of the Spectator Wine Club (incidentally, I might repeat that it isn't the sort of club of which you need to be a member; all you need to be able to do is sign a cheque or lift a telephone). Many will have happy memo- ries of the '94; some, like me, will have some bottles left. The '95 is fruitier and more fragrant, less of a classic Bergerac Sec. It is a better, more ambitious wine, although I still love the '94. Fresh as a daisy and absolutely ready for drinking now, it proba- bly won't improve much, but should keep its freshness for at least another six months.

I had hoped to offer Lurton's Chardon- nay des Rives de l'Argent Double (2) slight- ly cheaper, whereupon I would have raved about it. This is southern France copying Margaret River as only the French can — an incredibly rich chardonnay, double oaked (that is to say fermented and matured in oak) and bursting with fruit in high colonial style but without any of the oiliness or flabbiness which sometimes afflicts chardonnay in the southern hemi- sphere. The price of £6.25 (£5.75 on the Brett-Smith indulgence) is fair for an excel- lent wine, although it would have been nice to offer it even cheaper.

Bollenberg's 1994 Alsatian Gewiirz- traminer, Cuvee de l'Ours Noir (3) from Theo Cattin is horribly priced at £9.50 and many will decide on first taste that it is too powerful, too sweet. Persevere to the end of the glass, and you will realise that it is a bril- liantly made and delicious wine, probably best as an aperitif. It is not, of course, a sweet wine, just as rich as Croesus. Perhaps the best thing is to offer it as an alternative, aperitif to champagne on festive occasions.

I bet twice as many people choose the gewiirz ' — at half the price of the champagne, as likely as not.

I must not waste space on the Domaine de Saissac 1995 (4) because all those who bought the 1994 a few offers ago will be falling over themselves to buy it. Of the 1994, I wrote, 'This lovely, oak-aged caber- net from the pays d'Oc has a beautiful, rich smell and tastes like a seriously decent cm classe claret at the extraordinary price of £4.45 or £3.95 discounted.' There is nothing to add except the 1995 is even better fuller, richer and livelier. At the reduced price of £3.95 the bottle, I think it may be the best bargain we have ever had.

Château de la Dauphine (5) also deserves a rave, although, coming from an established wine area and shining like a beacon among the Fronsac candles, it also costs £3.75 a bot- tle more. But £8.20 is not a bad price for a seriously good mild claret which slips down easily and warms the cockles of the heart. It is more elegant than the Saissac (4), however full and sturdy the Saissac undoubtedly is. With its smoothness and elegant texture, this is a wine for long, conversational dinners going on far into the night. The Château Mazeris 1989 (6) is fuller and richer with a more expensive claret taste, but it also costs £2.30 a bottle more than the Dauphine. It is an exceptionally pure, high-class claret which will make a welcome addition to the mixed case. But one or two members of the panel preferred the La Dauphine. I am not sure how many punters will really want to spend even the reduced price of £10 the bottle (£10.50 unreduced) for a Canon Fronsac. The mixed case, as I have said, works out at £7.32 the bottle, reducing to £6.82 on the Brett-Smith Indulgence. It is a splendid selection, which would see many people through Christmas on its own.

ORDER FORM SPECTATOR WINE CLUB

c/o Corney & Barrow Limited, 12 Helmet Row, London EC1V 3QJ Tel: (0171) 251 4051 Fax: (0171) 608 1373

Price No. Value White

La Combe de Grinou 1995 Bergerac Sec 12 Bots

f60.48*

Chardonnay des Rives de l'Argent

Double1994 12 Bots

f75.00*

Cuvee de l'Ours Noir 1994 Gewurztraminer

Bollenberg (Alsace) 12 Bots

£114.00*

Red

Domaine de Saissac 1995 Cabernet

Sauvignon, vin de pays d'Oc 12 Bots

1.53.40*

Château de la Dauphine 1993

Fronsac Moueix) 12 Bots

f98.40*

Château Mazeris 1989 Canon Fronsac

(Coumuaud) 12 Bots

f126.00*

Mixed

Sample case, two of each 12 Bots

f8Z 88* TOTAL Less discount* TOTAL (cheque enclosed) *Deduct £6 per case for orders of two cases or more in the London area, three cases or more outside London.

Please send wine to: Own name & address, if different: NAME NAME ADDRESS ADDRESS POSTCODE POSTCODE TELEPHONE TELEPHONE ACCESSNISA NO EXPIRY DATE SIGNATURE Prices include VAT and delivery on the British mainland. Payment should be made either by cheque, payable to Spectator Wine Club or by Access/Visa, details of which may be telephoned or faxed. This offer, which is subject to availability, closes on 10 January 1997.