SPECTATOR WINE CLUB

Seriously high-class

Auberon Waugh

FOR the last offer of the year we tradition- ally look at the more expensive end of the market, and on this occasion I have even included a white Burgundy, a wine I nor- mally mention only to complain about the murderous prices now charged. All I can say about number 5 is that it is good but I cannot pretend it is cheap.

So, off we go. The Vin de Pays from Gerso) is a beautiful way to start the day's drinking - refreshing to the mouth, bright, sparky, pleasant and easy to knock back at £3.60. It would be of no interest or joy at room temperature, and might be seen as another prayer of thanks for the existence of refrigerators.

Reynolds's Cypress Chardonnay,', is back to the original big, rich style of Australian Chardonnay which I have always liked. It lacks the aggressiveness of some of these colonial wines - in fact, one of those pre- sent claimed to find glacees oranges - but it is too pleasant and conventional to be dismissed as another flaming Ozzie poof- tah. Its offer price of £5.95 has been reduced from a list price of £7.40.

The Moa Ridge Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand°t, is an old friend - less assertive and intense than I remember, perhaps better mannered; a good, wholesome taste at £5.99, reduced from £6.45.

The Viognier, called Les Ramilles Blanches"), from Jean-Luc Colombo, is the most unusual wine to date, as one might guess from the price £7.95 (list price £8.95). The others are just good to drink. Here we have a lovely Viognier smell, such as is sel- dom found on the most expensive Con- drieu: floral, broad-shouldered and proud, the mild, good taste of a seriously high- class wine. This is one for the wine connois- seur, although everybody will like it.

Last of the whites is an excellent 1997 Chassagne-Montracheto, at the filthy price of £18.25 (grudgingly reduced from £19.90). All I can say in its favour is that it has a wonderful white Burgundy smell, good acidity, long life-expectancy and is unmis- takably the genuine article. It was the best white Burgundy I could find, if not the cheapest, and might justify a last fling before the great millennium crash.

Our first redo, is a much weightier and more serious wine than its price of £3.60 (down from £4.20) suggests. Like so many

of the better wines of the Languedoc it is made by an Australian. Some of its unex- pected depth may be explained by the year - apparently 1998 was seriously good in that region - but at any rate it is highly recommended at this price.

The 1998 Syrah from the Montagne Noire, in the deep south where I once lived for a year, has the most excellent Syrah meatiness. Rhone enthusiasts will rejoice to find something 100 miles or so to the west of Crozes Hermitage which is bet- ter and half the price at £4.25. Again, highly recommended.

People will laugh at my next choice, the Reynolds's Orange Merloto, from New

South Wales, and a few will sneer. Talk of Ribena and eucalyptus if you like, it has a most unusual taste and I love it. The price of £8.95 (down from £10.53) is not exces- sive for such an interesting experience.

Next a genuine and beautiful Chateauneur, from a brilliant year, which is hard enough to find now. This is the real thing, a seriously good example of a won- derful wine now mostly snapped up by the Belgians and Dutch. I recommend this wine without qualification, even at the awkward price of £12.50 (reduced from £14.20).

Finally, a 1996 Burgundy from Gevrey- Chambertino°, about which the only thing to say is that it is a proper Burgundy. Stupid to rave about a taste we all took for granted 20 years ago, but here it is, and those without huge cellars may be grateful to be reminded how red Burgundy tasted. At £14.75, it has been reduced from £16.10, for which we must all thank Messrs Lay & Wheeler, but it is still a silly price to pay for an ordinary decent example of a wine which used to be so familiar to us all.

ORDER FORM SPECTATOR WINE CLUB

c/o Lay & Wheeler Limited 117 Gosbeck's Road, Colchester, Essex CO2 9JT Tel: (01206) 764446 Fax: (01206) 560002

Price No. Value White

Yin de Pays du Gers 1998 12 bats £43.20

Cypress Chardonnay, Reynolds 1998 12 bob. £71.40

Sauvignon Blanc, Moa Ridge 1998 12 !sots £71.88

Viognier Les Ramifies Blanches 1998 12 buts £95.40

Chassagne Montrachet 1997 (Colin-Deleger) 12 bats £219.00 Red

Cent Vknes, Foncalieu 1998 12 bats f43.20

Symh Montagne Noire 1998 12 bats £51.00

Orange Merlot, Reynolds 1998 12 buts £107.40

Domaine La Roquette, Chateatineuf-du-Pape 1995 12 bats fI50.00

Gevrey-Chambertin, Marchand-Grillot 1996 12 buts £177.00 Mixed 11. Bourgeois case 2 each of 1, 2, 3, 6, Z 8 12 bats £64.68

12. Celebration case: 2 each of 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10 12 buts £136.78 TOTAL (Cheque enclosed)

Please send wine to: Own name & address, if different NAME NAME ADDRESS ADDRESS POSTCODE POSTCODE TELEPHONE TELEPHONE 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 Mastercard/Visa, details of which may be tele- phoned or faxed. Orders for Christmas/New Year delivery should be placed by 18 December. This offer, which is subject to availability, closes on 31 January 2000.

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