Cooee, we’re back! What? Oh, I’m talking about our second annual Spectator Wine Club assault on Bordeaux. I thought you knew.
We had one heck of a trip, thanks so much for asking, and lost nobody in the field. With drinking boots brightly polished we easily saw off seven wineries and several dozen bottles in five days.
And who knew that Spectator readers could come up with such hilarious – not to say smutty – limericks? Yes, I’m looking at you Sir Richard. And you, Nick, and you, Paul. If I had any hair left on my pate, it would have curled.
We tasted remarkable wines and were looked after beautifully. The trouble is, after a few days drinking everything from Crémant de Bordeaux to white, red and sweet, it’s easy to forget that there are other wines out there beyond the Bordeaux bubble.
It was a delight, then, to split a magnum of JL Chave Côtes du Rhône with dear Mrs Ray on my first night home, if only to remind myself what vinous joy might be found further afield in France. And, as you know, the masters of ferreting out wines in France’s further reaches are Yapp Brothers, to whom hats off for this excellent selection.
The 2024 Ardèche Viognier Grès du Trias (1) is as fine a Viognier as you can get for the price. All too often, entry level examples are cloying and flabby. This is anything but, being delicately peachy and apricotty with a fine, dry finish. Last year was a great vintage for white Rhône, being a cool one, and this is charming, the house Viognier at the late Paul Bocuse’s celebrated three-star restaurant L’Auberge du Pont de Collonges. £14.50 down from £15.50.
A 100 per cent Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire, the 2024 Gérard Cordier Reuilly (2) is the latest vintage of a wine that Yapp Bros have shipped since 1971. Not a lot happens in Reuilly other than its celebrated seafood festival, at which event Robin Yapp once notoriously downed a bottle of this very wine in one go while on stage alongside the local police chief and mayor. The latter was booed off for failing to complete the challenge. Crisp, clean and refreshing, it’s a great alternative to pricier Sancerre. £16.25 down from £17.25.
Yapp Brothers are masters of ferreting out wines in France’s further reaches
The 2021 Domaine Girard Malepère Merlot-Cabernet Franc (3) is a joyfully juicy Bordeaux-meets-Languedoc blend of Merlot and Cab Franc. At the western end of the Languedoc, Malepère is cooler than the heart of the region thanks to Atlantic breezes and 400m altitude, and the wine is delightfully fresh and easy-going. £14.50 down from £15.50.
I drink an awful lot of the 2021 Domaine Filliatreau Ch. Fouquet Saumur Rouge (4) in the nonpareil Academy Club where it’s been on offer by the glass since forever. Pure Cab Franc (organic/biodynamic) from Turquant, just outside Champigny, it’s lusciously laden with redcurrants and has a refreshing peppery acidity. Chill it a touch. £17.25 down from £18.25.
The 2023 JL Chave Sélection ‘Mon Coeur’ Côtes du Rhône (5 and 6), as knocked back by me and Mrs R the other night, is so lovely and such a great price. Corner shop CDR can be infamously dull but, when made by as celebrated a producer as JL Chave (in business since 1481), it can be a real head-turner. A blend of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre, it fair sings with ripe, dark, juicy fruit and is even more impressive en magnum. £17.25 down from £18.25. Magnums: £36 down from £38.
The 2021 Domaine Torraccia Rouge (7) is from an organic Corsican estate owned by Marc Imbert, whose late father Christian tried to kill me not once but twice – it’s a long story. The wine is a fascinating, co-fermented blend of Nielluccio, Sciacarello, Syrah and Grenache that you won’t see anywhere else. Smoky, earthy, robust with ripe dark fruit and liquorice, it’s the perfect autumn drink. £20 down from £21.
Finally, the Domaine de l’Idylle Crémant de Savoie Extra Brut NV (8), a fruity, toasty Jacquère/Roussette sparkler from the edge of the Alps, is guaranteed to make you smile as the nights draw in. £21 down from £22.
The mixed case has two bottles each of wines 1-5 and 7. Delivery, as ever, is free.
Order online today or download an order form.
To find out more about our Winemaker Lunches, Masterclasses and Wine Tours, visit spectator.co.uk/tastings.
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