SPECTATOR WINE CLUB

Simply spiffing and at its peak

Auberon Waugh

Ido not make any extravagant claims for the Slovakian Chardonnay(1) which opens this offer, except that it is extraordinarily cheap at £3.58 the bottle, or £3.08 on the Brett-Smith indulgence if you order a total of two or more cases in London, three or more outside. It has proved extraordinarily popular in Scotland. Perhaps they are influ- enced by its price. It does not taste of chardonnay or of any other particular grape, just vaguely vinous. Its qualities are the absence of faults: it is not thin, short, mean, sharp, dirty or stale. In fact, it is sur- prisingly full in its anonymous fruit, a glass of respectable white wine which will be ideal if you have to entertain teenagers at Christmas. If you are very poor (and the discounted price of £3.08 the bottle deliv- ered is surely unbeatable), you can find solace in the 12 per cent of alcohol by vol- ume, lie back and think of Scotland.

The La Combe de Grinou, 1994(2) is an utterly brilliant wine, particularly delicious while the sauvignon is still on top. It beats the immensely popular 1993 into a cocked hat. Possibly, the 1993 was as good as this 12 months ago — I remember loving it at the time — but it has grown fat and slug- gish in comparison to this magnificent white Bergerac, which is very cheap indeed at £4.95, £4.45 discounted. All the wines in this offer are exclusive to Comey & Barrow in this country, and you won't get them any cheaper. The list price of the Combe de Grinou is £5.66 undelivered.

Next, a spectacular red cheapie. I made no extravagant claims for the white cheap- ie, except that it drinks all right. The Domaine de la Jonction Syrah of 1994(3) from the Aude has a wonderfully peppery fruit which everybody loved. It is full of fresh tastes which many found hard to place — a bold new member of the panel suggested bacon — but it is a seriously good discovery at £4, and at £3.50 a marvel. Pepper and mint and delicately burned rubber may not sound a very appetising mix, but it is a lovely wine.

Next, a 1983 Gran Reserva from Valdepe- nas(4). It is unusual to find Spanish wine as old as 12 years in this country, and they tend to taste tired, chemical and oxidised when you do. This wine is most unusual — truly light and fresh and clean, with a thoroughly elegant taste which may well be reproduced somewhere in Bordeaux but I can't for the life of me think where, and certainly not at £6.29 the bottle (£5.79 discounted). The last two wines were splendid, solid stuff whose quality all will recognise. This one will astound your friends, who won't have the faintest idea of what they are drinking and will make wildly inappropriate guesses. Apart from the surprise element, it is a truly aristocratic wine in its apparently effortless way, with many of the qualities which Cas- tiglione attributes to the perfect courtier. Finally, two high-class clarets. The Chateau Mazeris(5) from Moueix in the high- ly regarded but rather closed year of 1988 has opened up well. It is a dignified and expensive-tasting claret of some subtlety, with promise of still greater complexity to come. This is a claret-drinker's claret Which would be wasted on anyone else. I was hop- ing to get it a penny or two cheaper than £8.80 the bottle (£8.30 discounted), but it is a high-class wine, ready for drinking, and in this field we must compete with everyone else.

Last of all, a wine which the dullest palate would recognise as outside its nor- mal experience. An unknown chateau in a rotten year at the outrageous price of £17.54 (£17.04 discounted), Pomerol's Chateau Marsan is in fact what Chateau La Fleur Petrus calls itself in a slightly off-year. As it turns out, 1991 has proved less bad than everybody thought, and this Marsan 1991(6) can only be described as spiffing. I should judge it as at its peak now, wonderfully rich and rounded Pomerol. If we don't buy it at this price, there are queues waiting to pay the list price of £19.09.

Despite this heavyweight at the end, the mixed case works out at only £7.53 the bot- tle (£7.03 discounted), but some may find it a trifle unbalanced in that those who go for the Slovakian Chardonnay will scarcely aspire to the Pomerol, and vice versa. Per- haps on this occasion, people will be better served buying individual cases. I do not know. The Jonction and Grinou are clear winners, but I hope as many go for the Spanish wine(4) which, as I say, is a revelation.

ORDER FORM SPECTATOR WINE CLUB

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

Price White 1. Chardonnay 1973, Slovakian Country Wines (Nenince) 12 Bots. £4296* 2. La Combe de Grinou 1994, Bergerac Sec 12 Bots £59.40* Red 3. Domaine de la Jonction 1994, Syrah, Pin de Pays d'Oc 12 Bots. £48.00 4. Pata Negra Gran Reserva 1983, Cos. Abastecedores, Valdepenas 12 Bots. £75.48* 5. Chateau Mazeris 1988, Canon-Fronsac (JP. Moueix) 12 Bots. £105.60* 6 Château Marsan 1991, Pomerol (La Fleur PetruslMoueix) 12 Boss. f210.48* Mixed 7. Sample case, two of each 12 Bots. f90.32* No. Value

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:

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Prices include VAT and delivery on the British mainland. Payment should be made either by cheque, with the order, 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 12 January 1996,

VISA/ACCESS SIGNATURE EXPIRY DATE