OK, so this is it folks, the final offer of the year and quite a toothsome one it is. Tom Harrow, the genial wine hound behind Honest Grapes, has a knack of unearthing overlooked gems on his travels, and after a quick flit to Bordeaux, he’s done it again. Not for nothing is Honest Grapes the Drinks Business’s 2020 Fine Wine Retailer of the Year and Decanter magazine’s 2020 Outstanding Wine Retailer of the Year. As I keep saying, your continued happiness is all that we crave and I only want you dealing with the very best.
Anyway, T.H. came back from Bordeaux full of beans, having been tipped the wink by one of his spies about the Siozard twins, David and Laurent, sixth-generation artisan winemakers with 60 hectares of vines over two estates — Ch. du Claouset in Entre-Deux-Mers and Ch. Lapinesse in Barsac — and devoted to producing organic, sustainable wines of high quality and modest price.
These are traditional wines, perfect for Christmas but with enough of a twist to offer — as Tom says — a familiar taste of something new. I hope you enjoy them (and their very reasonable prices) as much as I do.
These are traditional wines, perfect for Christmas but with enough of a twist to offer something new
The 2020 Ch. du Claouset Bordeaux Blanc Sec (1) is a tasty blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris and Sémillon with
just a splash, too, of Muscadelle. There are hints of cut grass, herbs and citrus on the nose with just a whisper of something tropical, while the wine is crisp, fresh and bone-dry on the palate. It makes a well-priced, undemanding aperitif, a great partner to simple fish dishes or seafood and a unexpectedly successful match for goats cheese. £11.00 down from £12.00.
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