SIMON HOGGART
There are whole department stores in Britain that have not yet put up their Christmas lights, yet here we are at the Wine Club with the first of our two Yuletide offers. This one is from our old friends at Corney & Barrow; it includes some gorgeous bottles, many of which are discounted. All are subject to the BrettSmith Indulgence, by which Adam BrettSmith knocks £6 off per case if you buy three or more cases, or just two cases within the M25, to be delivered to the same address. If you are a road worker and want your order delivered for a party on the central reservation, ring for a quote.
We are offering ten wines in different combinations. C&B's superb Sparkling Blanc de Blanes' is made by the traditional, i.e., Champagne, method. It is soft, biscuity, rounded and altogether gorgeous. At £6.81 (with the Indulgence; see non-discounted prices on the order form), it's half the price of Champagne, though I doubt if many of your friends could tell the difference.
Spectator readers are familiar now with C&B's house wines, and buy them in great quantities. The white= is fresh and lemony and zesty; the red6 mellow and packed with fruit. Both are reduced to under £5 a bottle — fantastic value.
The Sancerre Domaine de Nozay 20033 from Philippe de Benoist is a rarity — an absolutely first-rate Sancerre for under a tennen This combines the stylish flintiness of classic Loire Sauvignon Blanc with the warmth and openness — even a touch of honey — that we associate with New World wines. A lovely drop.
The Fernand Vcrgelesses 20004 from the famous negociant, Olivier Leflaive, works out at just over £11 — extraordinary for such a fine, supple and simply delicious white Burgundy. It's terrific for drinking now.
I've written before about the Bergerac wines of Patricia Atkinson, the Englishwoman whose book The Ripening Sun has been a well-deserved bestseller. Her Clos d'Yvigne Rose Bel Arni 20035 is one of the new breed of pink wines — full, fat, richly flavoured, deep and rounded with a hint of cherries. Under £7.
The Lurton brothers, flying French winemakers, made their Tierra del Fuego in Argentina from a blend of Malbec, Sangiovese and Bonarda grapes. This 20037 is velvety and smoky, packed with flavour, and astonishing value at under a fiver. The perfect party wine.
My search for good-value clarets continues, and I could hardly recommend more highly the Ch. Bel Air 1999, from Graves de Vayres8, a small appellation on the left bank of the Dordogne. This is a sort of baby claret,
but already perfectly formed. It's mainly Merlot, which gives it an appealing Pomerolstyle softness. But five years of ageing has given it real weight too.
Here's a curiosity, but one very well worth trying. Touriga Nacional is the main grape variety in port, but it's used increasingly to make scrumptious dry table wines such as this 2001 from Die Krantz, in Calitzdorp, South Africa9 This is a meaty, chest-thumping wine, absolutely packed with flavour, and perfect for turkey, goose or powerful, meaty casseroles. Well worth Dying; a remarkable wine.
Finally a special treat for the season; the Chateau Barrail du Blanew is a tremendous St Emilion grand cru from the fabled 2000 vintage. Absolutely classic claret: cedar and leather, and beautifully balanced. A serious treat, for not much more than £12.
Delivery as always is free, and there are two sample cases to try.
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