Simon Hoggart

October

‘I wish it could be Christmas every day,’ sang Roy Wood’s Wizzard, a message which is doctrinally suspect, and which implies a hellish Groundhog Day, or else a Buñuel film in which the same people get up every morning, open presents, eat turkey and watch the same bad old movie.

However, at the rate Christmas is advancing into the year, the 365-day Yuletide could arrive sooner than we think. Some shops in London had their festive window displays up in the middle of this month. By my estimate, since the end of the war Christmas has moved forward an average of 1.06 days every year. When my children are pensioners it will have reached the end of August.

So, not to be left out, The Spectator is making its first Christmas offer of 2011. It comes FromVineyardsDirect, the increasingly popular merchants who have a small list of carefully picked wines, chosen for their excellent value. All of these are, I think, remarkable wines, and in some cases astonishing bargains. They would be perfect for drinking with Christmas dinner, and the less expensive ones would make for very happy glugging during the surrounding days.

Given that people often prefer red wines as winter draws in, we have five of those and only two whites. But what whites! The Stanley Estates Sauvignon Blanc 2011 (1) from Marlborough is one of the great New Zealand wines. It is made by Jules Taylor on a tiny estate, and has won awards all over the world. It is luscious, the familiar grassy, flinty undertones topped with real fruit. Incredibly satisfying. The £12.45 price might seem a lot, but believe me, it isn’t.

For a pound more, at £13.45, you can buy Pierre Olivier’s 2005 Mercurey (2). Any mature Burgundy at this price would be pretty astonishing, but this is one of the best I’ve had — with honey and vanilla and peaches, it’s as good as some Meursaults. It is at its peak now, and will be just as gorgeous for another two years.

The reds now, including two clarets and a delectable Côtes du Rhône. A super-Tuscan for less than a tenner? Impossible, I hear you gasp. But this 2008 (3) Casa Catelli, made by Pietro Catelli, is exactly that. It’s from Bol-gheri, the greatest wine area of Tuscany, and it rubs shoulders with the fabulous Orneillaia. It’s aged for 14 months in French oak, it’s delectable now, but it will go on improving for several years. A mere £9.75. FVD’s bestselling red is their Ronan 2009 (4), a Pomerol in all but name. It’s made at the more famous Ch. Clinet, and has all the qualities of a great Merlot. You’ll find it on the wine list in many of the poshest eateries in Paris, and so can recreate some of that style and elegance in your very own home. At £9.95, FVD’s Esme Johnstone calls it ‘this year’s Eureka wine’.

The Côtes du Rhône Villages from Cairanne is a 2010 from Les Grands Bois (5) and at £11.75 it is pretty sensational. It’s made by Marc Besnardeau, it wins star ratings from the top wine writers (and me) and I can’t do better than quote FVD’s description: ‘tarry, vibrant, pepper, spices, blackcurrant, and crunchy’. I am not sure I know what a crunchy wine is, though I promise you won’t find bits of wood in it. C du R wines are very much to the British taste these days, and I think you will love this.

Finally a wine that sold an enormous quantity last time we offered it. It is a generic 2006 AC Pauillac (6) from that most distinguished Bordeaux commune, and the label hides the fact that it is overproduction of the classic second growth Pichon-Baron, which I see listed at £90 or more. Vignerons are allowed to sell only so much as the named wine, but they do need to flog the rest. Same grapes, same land, same makers, but a fraction of the price at £19.95. Delicious now, but will improve for years.

My last selection is one of the very best Malbecs I’ve ever tried. It’s a 2007 from the Valle Las Acequias (7) in Mendoza, Argentina, the home of fine Malbecs. It is soft, velvety, perfumed, and utterly delicious — it seems to improve with every sip. It’s not in the sample case because FVD won’t get their supplies for a fortnight. But if you’re prepared to wait, I promise it will be well worthwhile. Just £9.95.
Delivery, as ever, is free.