Jonathan Ray Jonathan Ray

Wine Club 15 June

We were quite the merry band. Forty or so Spectator readers — many of them veterans of our fabled Spectator Winemaker Lunches and graduates of our equally celebrated Spectator Wine School — joined me for a bespoke wine tasting at Majestic’s St. John’s Wood store last week. One impressively hardy soul polished his drinking boots especially well and joined us for the Seresin Estate Winemaker Lunch the following day too. Excellent work!

We tasted almost 50 wines, all Spanish, and our six favourites are herewith offered to fellow readers at generously discounted prices. All wines were tasted blind. That’s to say the bottles were completely covered to obscure any hint of provenance and each wine was marked entirely on merit, not on how jolly the label was nor how fine the vintage was deemed to be. There were 16 whites, one rosé and 28 reds, along with some very tasty Spanish-themed canapés. Joanne Gunn and Jack Merrylees from Majestic totted up scores under strict Electoral Commission rules and these are the six that came top.

Albariño is extremely trendy and the 2018 Martín Códax Albariño (1) is the staple of many a restaurant and bar. Produced in Rías Baixas in Spain’s far north-west, it’s one of the best-known examples and extremely drinkable. Fermented in stainless steel, it’s fresh and lively with hints of pears, pear drops and a touch of citrus. £9.89 down from the Majestic ‘Mix Six’ price of £10.99 and single bottle price of £13.49.

The 2018 Winemaker Series Godello (2) hails from the same winery and went down a treat. Produced by Katia Álvarez (one of Spain’s top ten women winemakers, according to the Drinks Business), it’s made from 100 per cent Godello. It might be a touch short on the finish but it more than makes up for this by being delightfully peachy, creamy and refreshing in the mouth.

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