Simon Hoggart

Simon Hoggart presents the Spectator Wine Club's offer of the month for April 2009...  

Our merchants are doing stalwart work keeping their prices down, and though it can’t last forever, they are still producing great bargains which will allow us to dull the pain of the recession. Mark Cronshaw of Wheeler Cellars is offering us the chance to pre-order the latest vintage of the celebrated Château Musar, which will arrive on these shores the last week in May. He has also offered some generous discounts for our regular offer, which I think is beautifully judged for spring and summer drinking.

Take the Mandrarossa Fiano 2007 (1) from Sicily. This is made by one of the island’s leading co-operatives, which might not always be a recommendation but most definitely is here. I suspect that soon Fiano might be the most fashionable grape variety, now that everyone is searching for a change from Chardonnay, Viognier etc. It is a perfect outdoor wine, tasting of flowers, tropical fruit, peaches, lemons and apricot, with a hint of a steely backbone. A glorious bottle for the price, and an even bigger bargain now that Mark has knocked £12 off each case.

Mind you, lots of people still love Chardonnay, and this Arboleda 2006 (2) from the Casablanca Valley in Chile is a great example of what the Chileans are now achieving. It’s packed with fruit, it’s not over-oaked, it’s slightly creamy, and it has some of the backbone we associate with Burgundies, most of which cost much more. A perfect party wine — even more so now there is a £21 case discount.

The Moa Ridge Sauvignon Blanc 2007 (3) from Marlborough has been a huge hit with Spectator readers, and it is easy to see why. It is a classic New Zealand Sauvignon, being fruity yet grassy with a touch of gooseberry and even hay. It is just fine — £12 a case off.

Now a rosé. Pink wines have become enormously popular over the past few years, for the excellent reason that these days they taste of something. Red grapes are pressed and the skins left in the vats for a short time — a matter of hours in some cases — to give the wine that nice deep blush and also extract the full, round red flavour. The Fleur d’Eglantine rosé 2006 (4), made at the Domaine Mourges du Gres in the Costières de Nîmes appellation, is packed with those southern French grapes that create so many luscious Languedoc and Rhone wines. Perfect with charcuterie, salad, or a crispy-skinned roast chicken. A £12 per case discount.

Now two reds, both French. Mark has knocked another £30 off each case of the Merlot from Vigne des Deux Soleils 2006 (5) which is plump and juicy and velvety — soft without being remotely soggy, as Merlot can occasionally be. It’s grown on cobblestones, and at night they radiate the sun’s heat back up to the vine — hence the name. Wheelers sell a lot of this, and when you try it you’ll see why.

Finally a Côtes-du-Rhône Villages, Laudun, from Chateau Courac, 2005 (6). This has matured nicely in the bottle and has that depth, plus perfume, that marks the best wines from this neck of the woods. Not quite as good as a first rank Châteauneuf-du-Pape, but at this price — with an £24 per case discount too — not at all dissimilar, and astonishing value.

Then there is the Musar. Readers know how luscious this annual treat is, with its deep, dark flavours of spice, herbs and cedars of Lebanon. As great as ever. Order separately and yours will come, we hope and believe, within a couple of months.

Delivery, as always, is free, and there is a sample case containing two of the wines from the main offer.