SPECTATOR WINE CLUB
Some like it old
Auberon Waugh
IF I had not insisted on including the last wine on the list — the Château Tourteran 1989 — we could have kept the average price of the mixed case well below £6. But as it is such an unusually grand wine at the price, and as I had already begged its price down from £9.30, we are left with an average of £6, which makes it rather an expensive offer. But the Tourteran is well worth it.
Having sworn that I would never again offer white burgundy because of the appalling price which only the Dutch and Belgians can afford, I find there has been a violent reaction against the colonial-style chardonnays and a yearning for the slighter, subtler taste of the good but minor burgundies. This St-Veran(1), whose price has been reduced, has a nice golden colour and good body. The taste is on the slight side, but highly respectable with nothing sharp or nasty, a thoroughly civilised and even rather grand summer aperitif at £6.80. Everybody liked it.
If the St Veran is on the slight side, the rosé from Château du Galoupet(2) is so slight as to be almost tasteless. I found it absolutely delicious. A pale, very pretty colour, it is almost a caricature of light summer's drinking, but lovely with it. In its pretty Provençal bottle, at 12.5 per cent by volume, the temptation will always be to drink too much, but the price of £5.40 may deter. This is for people of sensitivity and refinement who can't quite afford the white burgundy.
For paupers, or those who don't want to get drunk, the best I can do is a red wine from Cotes du Gascogne — not the sort of place I would normally go for my reds. Domaine de Grachies(3) has produced a wine with a decent, deep smell, young but quite serious on the palate, at only 11 per cent by volume. In a dignified bottle, it looks and tastes as if it cost more than `There are isolated areas of uncool in the North.' £3.79 the bottle delivered.
Not much to say about the Lorinon Cri- anza(4) from the Alta Rioja at the same price as the rosé. It is a smooth, unassertive, easy, decent drink which scored slightly higher marks than the Gascogne, but is less adventurous.
Next, a very high-class Cotes du Rhone Villages, the Rochegude(5). Wonderful black colour, closed but hefty smell, it sug- gested dates to one member of the panel, lavender and spice to another, thyme on hot stones to a third. The taste is not at all closed, and I suspect it has a long life ahead. Any old Rhone costs £5.67, but this is a winner.
Finally, my own favourite. It will be a shame if only the plutocrats can afford the 1989 Château de Tourteran(6). It is very mature and needs drinking but is wonderful for those who have a particular taste for mature claret standing shakily on a fine pair of legs. This is very much an English preference. The French drink their wines much too young, and even pull comic faces when they can be persuaded to bring out older wines for English guests. This wine must be taken with food, at room tempera- ture, an hour after opening. De gustibus non disputandum, but for a taste of Old Eng- land this wine could scarcely be bettered.
The sample case, as I have said, works out at £6 the bottle. Sorry I could not find another white wine this month.
Previous page
