Wine Club
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.
The Pouilly-Fuissé Chevrières 2005 from the Domaine de Lalande (2) is a gorgeous Burgundy, full and fat in flavour, slightly honeyed yet bone-dry, perfectly balanced and with a steely backbone. (Making it sound a bit like Daniel Craig. Apologies.) Again, this would be excellent value at the listed £17, but we’re offering it for £14.75. Acquire it.
Also reduced by more than 12 per cent is our 2006 Sancerre from Hubert Brochard (3). He has called this Aujourd’hui Comme Autrefois, which I suppose could translate, in the words of Karen Carpenter, as Yesterday Once More. So it is a splendidly old-fashioned Sancerre, a point rubbed home by the ancient black-and-white photo of vineyard workers on the label. This is a very stylish and fragrant wine, but I should warn you that it is not at all similar to New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs, being subtle and understated. But left to breathe for a while, and served cold rather than iced, it is very delicious indeed.
Now the reds. The Lay & Wheeler St Estèphe 2000 (4) is marvellous. It is made by the team working at Phélan Ségur, a hugely improved cru bourgeois exceptionnel, and from the same grapes. It is ripe, earthy, cedary, almost fleshy, and with seven years of age, a satisfying maturity. It is a very superior claret indeed, and it’s been reduced by a handsome 15 per cent to just £14.50.
There’s an even bigger discount on the luscious Chorey-Lès-Beaune 2004 (5), made by Natalie Tollot-Beaut. This comes down from £16 to £13.50. The commune is in walking distance of Beaune itself, and it produces delectable wines that for some reason have always been underrated. It’s a puzzle about wine; buyers latch on to some names, and ignore others of a similar quality — think of scrumptious St Aubin among white Burgundies. It’s good news for us, because it means we can buy the stuff for, say, two thirds of what it would cost if it had a better-known label. And with growers in New Zealand and Oregon often able to charge ludicrous prices for their Pinot Noirs, this is an even more impressive bargain.
Finally a smooth, spicy, velvety yet peppery Côtes du Rhône Villages from the village of Sablet. This is Ch. du Trignon 2004 (6) and it’s just right for festive winter drinking. A lovely wine at any price; reduced from £10 to £8.25 it is just superb.
Delivery as always is free, and there are two sample cases, one containing all the wines, the other for party consumption.
To order contact, Lay and Wheeler
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I cannot imagine anyone who looks less like Father Christmas than Adam Brett-Smith, the managing director of Corney & Barrow. Adam is slender instead of fat, his face clean-shaven rather than covered in a fluffy white beard, and he would no more wear a red fur-lined suit and a silly hat than you or I would go to work dressed as Ronald McDonald.
