This case, from The Wine Company in Colchester, makes a scrumptious mini-bar offer. Mark Cronshaw and Hugo Rose MW have knocked large sums off the list prices. I thought it would be good to run a clutch of classics. For those of you who like the grand old favourites, it’s a terrific selection, and a chance to fill up your cellars with first-rate wines. The mixed case is discounted by a generous £26.

The first white is the 2009 Paua (pron. ‘Paa-wa’) Sauvignon Blanc (1) (13% alcohol) from Marlborough. I’ve been enjoying the way that the Sauvignon growers of the Loire have been making riper, fruitier wines to win back sales from the other side of the world, while the Kiwis have been attempting to match the steely dryness of, say, a Sancerre. This offers the best of both worlds, having that austere backbone but with a luscious fresh floral and citric juiciness. A lovely wine, reduced by over £2 a bottle to a frankly extraordinary £7.92.

The Chablis, from the Dme Séguinot-Bordet 2009 (2) (12.5%) is also good value at the somewhat higher price of £12.08. I am, as regular readers know, choosy about Chablis. This, though, is nicely balanced: plenty of flavour, but behind it the much-loved flintiness. Reduced by £1.40 a bottle.

Now the reds, both exceptional. I have not recommended many Riojas of late, since they can be flabby and dull, and the region has been overtaken by superior wines in the Ribiero del Duero. So this 1999 ‘Selección’ from the Bodegas Benito Urbina (3) (13%) was a tremendous surprise. It takes a pretty good wine to go on improving for 12 years, and this is more than pretty good; it has a depth of flavour, a hint of sour cherries, plums, and cedar that makes it outstandingly delicious. And reduced by £22.40 a case.

And the final choice is a wonderful red Bordeaux from Moulis-en-Médoc. It’s a 1997 Ch. Duplessis Fabre (4) (13%), made from an even mixture of Cabernet and Merlot. It’s 14 years old, and gorgeous. Everything you look for in a mature claret is here: deep, dark, leathery, smoky, fat and full — the kind of wine you want to sip very slowly in a comfortable armchair. And reduced by a tremendous £3.50 a bottle. Delivery, as ever, is free.