Wine Club
Spectator mini-bar offer
Spectator mini-bar offer
This is our last mini-bar before we start to get ready for Christmas.
First is a lovely white Burgundy, the Mâcon-Vergisson 2006 (1), which is made by Nadine and Maurice Guerrin. The couple run a small operation, but they turn out a very modern wine: crisp, refreshing, with the faintest hint of honey. You might even imagine this was an Australian Chardonnay, though at £6.95 (normal price £7.40) it costs rather less than a wine of similar quality from Down Under. Strange that the French, who once traded on their famous names to keep prices high, now have to slug it out in the market with the New World. I liked this very much.
And the Pinot Grigio Duetorri 2006 (2) made in Trentino, northern Italy. There is some awful Pinot Grigio about — if you find yourself in an Italian restaurant where the pepper mills are as tall as redwoods, order almost anything else — but this is lovely. Full and fat, yet bone dry, it will go perfectly with fish, chicken, or as an aperitif. Just £7.40 (normal price £7.80).
The Novas Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend 2004 (3) is from Chile, and is typical of the first-rate wines being made there. It is rounded and plump and altogether delicious. It would make a great party wine (or perhaps not; people might enjoy it so much that they drank you out of stocks) or it would go perfectly with autumnal stews and casseroles. A lovely, velvety wine, and Tanners are reducing the price to £6.95 (normally £7.40).
Pic St Loup is one of my favourite wines from the Coteaux de Languedoc. I never stop boring on about the wonderful stuff being made in southern France, and I hope I never need to. This 2004 (4) is from old vines nurtured at Château de Lancyre — one of the leading names in the area — and it’s herby, flinty, full of luscious berries, and altogether wonderful for a mere £7.40 (reduced from £7.90).
Delivery as ever is free, and there is a sample case containing three each of the wines, discounted by 10 per cent.
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Wine Club archive
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July Spectator Wine Club
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June Wine Club
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May Wine Club
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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.
