Wine Club
August Spectator Mini-Bar Offer
Simon Hoggart's latest selection for the month of August
People sometimes ask me about those ads you see in magazines and the weekend papers. ‘Get £89.95 worth of wine for just £49.95! Our introductory offer brings you twelve superb wines for barely more than half price...’ How do they do it? Easy. The great majority of the wines are ‘exclusives’ which means that the company has bought up the entire production of a winery. They can then list the stuff at whatever notional price they like, and base the so-called saving on that. It’s as if I were to write to the editor of The Spectator and say: ‘Yes, get an article worth £350 for only £200! This special offer will allow you to discover the wonderful range of delicious articles by me...’ Meaningless.
Whereas when we at The Spectator offer amazing savings it’s usually because the merchant has genuinely over-ordered a particular wine which he or she thought terrific, but which failed to sell off the page. Or they need space for the next vintage. So it’s a particular pleasure to find wines of the right standard at breathtaking, never-to-be-repeated prices.
Such as these South American beauties from the estimable Playford Ros people in Yorkshire. They’re all delicious, and they’re all heavily discounted. They’re spot on for summer quaffing in quantity. The first three come from the Leyda Valley, a near-perfect wine-growing area in Chile, nine miles from the Pacific. Sea breezes cool the atmosphere. The Classic Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2007 (1) has been reduced by 33 per cent to just £5.29, an amazing price. It’s crisp, herby, limey and juicy.
It’s a great summer drink, but now that Rosé is so popular, why not also stock up on the Pinot Noir Rosé 2006 (2) from the same valley? It’s like a delicious red Burgundy, cold, refreshing and packed with flavour. Will go with almost any summer food — salads, seafood, barbecue goodies. Reduced by 20 per cent to £7.62.
And their Merlot 2006 (3) is, for a mere £5.29 — another 33 per cent reduction — sensational. It’s heady, perfumed, packed with brambles and spices, lush and velvety.
Finally, at a terrific discount, the Kaiken Ultra Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 (4) from Mendoza, Argentina, is rich, dark, complex and altogether gorgeous. ‘Ultra’ means one step up from ‘reserve’ and when you taste it you’ll see why. The price of £8.49 is a 38 per cent saving, a reduction of more than £60 a case — and a very genuine bargain. Delivery as usual is free and there is a sample case containing three of each wine. For all orders over five cases there is a further £5 discount.
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September Spectator Mini-Bar Offer
Simon Hoggart's latest selection for the month of September
July Spectator Mini-Bar Offer
Simon Hoggart's latest selection for the month of July
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Wine Club archive
August Spectator Wine Club
Simon Hoggart's latest selection for the month of August
July Spectator Wine Club
Simon Hoggart's latest selection for the month of July
June Wine Club
A visit to the London International Wine Fair is, paradoxically, a sobering experience.
May Wine Club
I’ve been reading an intriguing article by Miles Thomas in the Psychologist magazine. It’s called ‘On Vines and Minds’, and it discusses many of the ways in which our brains determine the experience of drinking wine.
April Wine Club
The budget has hit wine merchants and drinkers quite hard.
February Wine Club
Time for our annual offer of Château Musar from the excellent folk at Wheeler Cellars, sister company to Lay & Wheeler.
January Wine Club
I love Stone, Vine & Sun of Winchester. They keep winning awards for best independent wine merchant; they have a knack for finding delicious wines at excellent prices from places you haven’t heard about yet but very soon will.
December Wine Club
This is our positively final offer for Christmas, and it’s terrific. Thanks to Lay & Wheeler we have half a dozen French classics, all of which would be very welcome on the Yuletide dinner table, or at a memorable party. What’s more, every one is generously discounted. They are not cheap wines, but they are tremendous value.
