So this is it folks, the last offer of the year. James Franklin of Corney & Barrow and I worked tirelessly to bring you the tastiest, most Yule-appropriate wines we could at the best possible prices. Indeed, so fine and so well-priced are they that I barely bothered the spittoon while tasting them and will certainly be nabbing a case or so myself as I cower from Christmas in my bunker.
The 2021 Maison Azan Picpoul de Pinet (1) is as decent a P de P as you’ll find. From vineyards on the banks of the Bassin de Thau in the Languedoc, it’s made by Olivier Azan, the first in the region to farm/vinify organically. Lively, fresh, fruity and creamy with a slightly savoury finish, it’s the perfect party wine. £10.76 down from £11.95.
The 2021 Maturana Wines Ascension Chardonnay (2) from the Maule Valley in Chile is a real find and you’d pay another couple of quid if it was from somewhere more fashionable. Fermented with wild yeast and aged partly in barrel, tank and amphorae, it’s deliciously multi-layered with hints of mango, citrus, honey, cream and nuts. £14.85 down from £16.50.
The 2021 Leonardo Bussoletti Colle Ozio Grechetto (3) from Umbria is typical Italian fare: a deliciously appealing wine made from a grape variety you simply don’t see anywhere else. Invitingly fresh and floral on the nose, it’s full of peach, pear, apple and melon with a long satisfying finish. £14.85 down from £16.50.
Corney & Barrow’s tastiest and most Yule-appropriate wines, at the best possible prices
Also from Italy we’ve the 2021 Menegotti Bardolino (4), a blend of Corvina and Rondinella from the Veneto. Light, soft and juicy with ripe cherry and damson fruit, it’s full of easy-going charm and not unlike fine Beaujolais. I’d serve it lightly chilled. £11.25 down from £12.50.
The 2019 Ch. Bel-Air (5) is ridiculously good value and well worth snapping up, not only for this Christmas but also for next. From an estate in the Entre-Deux-Mers owned by descendants of Gustave Eiffel, it’s a blend of Merlot, Cab Franc, Cab Sauv and Malbec that spent eight months in oak. It’s soft, it’s juicy and it’s spicy, full of concentrated wild bramble fruit, cherries and blackcurrants dusted with a scattering of herbs. £12.92 down from £14.35.
The 2017 B-Qã de Marsyas Rouge (6) from Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley is brand new to Corney’s list and what a corker! A Cab Sauv-based blend with splashes of Mourvèdre, Petit Verdot, Merlot and Syrah, it’s complex, intense and concentrated with red and black fruit, spice, mocha, chocolate and liquorice. It’s big but beautifully balanced and ideal with festive rib of beef. £15.53 down from £17.25.
It wouldn’t be Christmas if we didn’t offer a little treat, in this instance a brace of wines from the mighty Leflaive family: the 2020 Domaines Leflaive Mâcon-Verzé ‘Les Chênes’ and the 2019 Anne Claude Leflaive Clau de Nell ‘Violette’. The former is a single vineyard Chardonnay of quite stunning concentration, depth and uncoiled power; the latter is a biodynamic blend of Cabs Franc and Sauvignon from Anjou in the Loire Valley. Both are in remarkable form and – available in the Leflaive Luxury Box (7) (three bottles of each) – make a great present for yourself or a lucky loved one. £182.00 down from £202.50.
Finally, I had to include the Tissot-Maire Crémant de Jura, Blanc de Noirs Brut NV (8) as it’s a complete and utter bargain. Made from 100 per cent Pinot Noir, it’s a glorious traditional-method sparkler that knocks spots off bargain-basement supermarket champagnes you might be tempted by. Ignore them and grab this. You’ll thank me, I promise. £14.36 down from £15.95.
The mixed case has two bottles each of wines 1-6 and the Leflaive Luxury Box has three bottles each of the two wines detailed above. Wine 8 is available in unmixed dozens. Delivery, as ever, is free.
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