So how’s your sober October going? No, nor mine. I ticked two consecutive days off the calendar, which is more than I’ve managed since, gosh, January. Baby steps, I know, but it’s bloody difficult. Mrs Ray is not helping. One minute she’s chiding me for being a lush with no self-control; the next she’s hovering around with a corkscrew muttering about what a dry old ship it is and asking what a girl must do to get a drink round here. It’s fair to say that tempers have been a trifle frayed.
We perked up immensely, though, when we came to taste the wines for this offer courtesy of Field & Fawcett of Grimston Bar, York, both agreeing that we should start with a clean slate and spit on the inside. Hurrah!
Field & Fawcett put up an admirable selection that took me and Mrs R all evening to reduce to a final six
F & F – run by Peter and Cathryn Fawcett – are new to these pages and, on this evidence, are worthy winners of the Drinks Retailing Awards 2023 Independent Drinks Retailer of the Year, putting up an admirable selection that took me and Mrs R all evening to reduce, rather unsteadily, to a final six.
I’ve never been a fan of Portugal’s Vinho Verde but the 2022 Anselmo Mendes Muros Antigos Escolha (1) is a light, elegant delight. A low’n’slow-fermented, unoaked blend of Alvarinho, Loureiro and Avesso, it’s pure, crisp, nimble and zesty. Bone-dry with the faintest of prickles, it’s gluggably refreshing and makes me realise I should stop being such a stick-in-the-mud snob and embrace such wines. £12.04 down from £12.95.
The 2022 Domaine du Haut Perron ‘Guy Allion’ Sauvignon (2) from the fourth generation vigneron Cédric Allion at Domaine du Haut Perron in Thésée-la-Romaine in the Loire Valley, a few miles east of Tours and close to the mighty Château de Chenonceau, is surprisingly complex. Fresh, lively and citrusy with touches of green apple, it’s deliciously full in the mouth with a long, vibrant finish. £12.55 down from £13.50.
The 2022 Besas Gruner Veltliner (3) from the terraced banks of the Danube in Lower Austria is bang on. Stainless steel-fermented and unoaked, it has weight and depth thanks to time on the lees and is full of citrus notes, pepper and spice. GV is one of the most food-friendly of all grapes and I’m sure this would have worked brilliantly with my Olivia Potts chicken pie if we hadn’t already drained the bottle. £13.48 down from £14.50.
The 2020 Terra de Falanis ‘Llenca Plana’ (4) from Montsant in Catalonia, north-eastern Spain, is a big, bold blend of 70 per cent Carignan and 30 per cent Grenache, aged for six months in American oak. I loved its rich, dark, chewy fruit and long, powerful finish, and we found it to be even better next day. The high alcohol is well integrated and any headache you might get will be from the gaudy label rather than the wine. £14.41 down from £15.50.
Winemaker-negociants Baptiste Olivier and Gerald Lafont specialise in the southern Rhône and their 2020 Olivier & Lafont Côtes du Rhône (5) is an impeccably produced and sourced Grenache/Mourvèdre/Syrah blend. CdR of this quality at this price is unbeatable. It could pass for a far pricier Châteauneuf-du-Pape. £15.06 down from £16.20.
Finally, the only New World wine in the mix, the 2018 Metala Vineyards Shiraz (6) from the Adams family’s 140-year-old vineyard in Langhorne Creek, South Australia. Mrs Ray is half Aussie and has an inherent weakness for the reds of her father’s homeland – and in this instance who’s to blame her? It’s a cracker, packed full of rich, dark, fleshy, sweet, ripe fruit aged for 18 months in French oak. No surprise to learn that it was commended at last year’s International Wine Challenge, for it’s a fair dinkum beaut, cobber. £15.58 down from £16.75.
The mixed case has two bottles of each wine and delivery, as ever, is free.
Order online or download an order form.
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