8 Dec 2004

Classic reds for holiday entertaining

As far as wine is concerned, I am perhaps excessively fastidious. I think I probably end up recommending fewer than one wine in every 30 or more that I taste. So the following selection really does represent enthusiasm on my part rather than mild approval – although there are many more recommendations to be found elsewhere on this site.

Wines are shown in ascending price order within categories. This week I have concentrated on the classic reds for entertaining, bordeaux and burgundy together with some delicious non-burgundy Pinot Noirs which go particularly well with turkey and the sweet things so often served with it, but there are many other fine alternatives and I would urge even the most conservative drinker to drink outside their chosen box.

I have included my favourite wines from the big UK retailers since they are so often visited by a significant proportion of visitors to this site, but note below that many independents can offer at least as good a deal as the supermarkets with all their buying power. A key to the retailers mentioned several times appears below and at the end. See www.winesearcher.com for other international stockists elsewhere.

Over the coming four weeks I will be recommending, successively, dry whites, fizz, sweet wines, strong wines and then, on January 8, particularly good wines of all hues retailing in Britain at under £6.

ABV – A & B Vintners*, Brenchley, Tonbridge 01892 724977

Bib – Bibendum Wine*, London NW1 020 7449 4120

Lib – Liberty Wines*, London SW8 020 7720 5350

M&S – Marks & Spencer

Maj – Majestic*, prices generally given per bottle if two bottles are bought

Mont – Montrachet*, London SE1 020 7928 1990

Sai – Sainsbury’s

SVS – Stone, Vine & Sun*, Twyford, Winchester 01962 712351

Swig – Swig*, London W4 020 8995 7060

Vine Trail – Vine Trail*, Bristol 0117 921 1770

WR – Waitrose (IC stands for Inner Cellar, available only in Canary Wharf and Kingston)

* – minimum order 12 assorted bottles

Ch – Château

Dom – Domaine

VdP – Vin de Pays

BORDEAUX

Ch La Tour St Bonnet 2000 Médoc £8.99 Maj

This cru bourgeois from a humdinger of a vintage is ready to drink and smells so mineral it almost suggests swimming pools. Price for single bottles is £9.99 (though Sainsbury’s Classic Western Australian at £6.99 – see below – is much better value).

La Grange Neuve du Figeac 1997 St Emilion £10.99 Maj

Majestic were offering this last year too, at the same price. They must have bought it by the lorryload. It is still an opulent, traditional, pre-Rolland era, fully mature wine but I would not lay it in for December 2005….

La Réserve de Léoville Barton 1999 St Julien £14.99 Maj

The second wine of impeccable St Julien Ch Léoville Barton in a vintage that is already drinking well but will be a safe bet for at least another two Christmases. Classic Médoc with a great label.

Sarget de Gruaud Larose 1999 St Julien £14.99 Morrisons/Safeway major stores

The mellow, fully mature version of the above. Good price.

Ch Clement Pichon 2001 Haut-Médoc £14.99 Sai

A real rosbif wine, demanding food, but a very serious, full-bodied, concentrated claret that has almost explosive fruit. Solid with a little tannin still in evidence. This should drink well over the next four or five years.

Chevalier de Lascombes 2001 Margaux £15.99 WR

Fresh, fine, easy-to-drink claret that is much less exaggerated in style than the grand vin Ch Lascombes itself under its new regime.

Lafleur de Quinault 1999 St Emilion Grand Cru £195 a case Mont

Another second wine of an ultra-modern estate under the direction of Alain Raynaud, Quinault L’Enclos in this case. And again, fewer winemaking frills and less frantic concentration seems to result in a much more approachable, appetising wine. Round and supple, from young vines apparently. The price per bottle works out at £16.25.

Les Tourelles de Longueville 2001 Pauillac £17.49, Bristol Wine Co, Source Food of Richmond, Bib

This second wine is from a much more classical estate, the flagship of AXA’s wine empire about which I wrote recently. This is drinking beautifully at the moment with some real delicacy as well as smooth approachability.

Ch Cantemerle 1999 Haut-Médoc £18.99 Maj

Full, round, gentle with an edge of coffee. Pure pleasure and very long-flavoured, for drinking over the next three years.

Ch Magdelaine 1989 St Emilion £40-50

If you’re looking for a treat, a fully mature, classically styled, really fragrant, rich, right bank bordeaux, look no further. According to winesearcher.com it should not be too difficult to track down. Drink this now.

Ch Léoville Barton 1988 St Julien £47 Fine & Rare Wines* of London W10, £564 a case Mont

A classic, mature jewel of the Médoc. The top 1988s are at least starting to give pleasure. This one is dry and irreproachable – and half the price of the 2000.

Ch La Fleur Pétrus 1998 Pomerol from £60

This was a great vintage for Pomerol and St Emilion and this is a particularly succulent, glossy example bursting with health that should provide great drinking over the next 15 years at least. Cheaper by the case. See winesearcher.com for stockists.

BURGUNDY

Regnié 2003 Hospices de Beaujeu £6.49 Maj

This is classic Beaujolais from an exceptional Beaujolais vintage from one of the finest villages. The Domaine de la Grange-Chartron made it and then got the nod from the Hospices. Good refreshing cut of Gamay grapes but also structure and a beginning, middle and end to this wine. No hurry to drink this.

Morgon 2003 Dom du Crêt Gonin £6.95 SVS

Good value. Very sweet – almost jammy – but extremely easy to like and to drink. For a Morgon it is relatively light and fruity. The same hard-working merchant has a more serious Fleurie 2003 for ageing over the next two years at £8.50.

Côte de Brouilly 2003 £8.99 M&S major stores

Another extremely successful 2003 Beaujolais. Very lively, punchy fruit from Dom de la Croix Dessaigne.

Marsannay 2002 Dom Fougeray de Beauclair £11.95 SVS

Great value – a slim, sinuous red burgundy rather than a fat one. Very sweet and perfumed. Wonderfully pure, delineated flavours. Refreshing acidity.

Santenay 2001 Dom de la Pousse d’Or £14.99 Maj

This once-famous domaine is obviously improving fast. You could drink this now with great pleasure although the tannins suggest you could hold it for a year too. The price is far from silly and I actually preferred this wine to the Volnay Premier Cru 2000 at £19.99.

Gevrey Chambertin 2002 Lucien Boillot £16.99 Maj

Excellent colour. Proper rich, round, sturdy burgundy made by the husband of Ghislaine Barthod of Chambolle Musigny fame. Berry Bros & Rudd have older vintages of this for about £3 more.

Morey St Denis, Clos Solon, Vieilles Vignes 1999 Domaine Fourrier £17.11 ABV

Fresh, delicate, lively, sappy, long wine – lunchtime red burgundy?

Tesco Finest Nuits St Georges 2001 £18.99

Perfectly respectable, lively wine from a merchant’s vat but no special bargain.

OTHER PINOT NOIRS

Alamos Pinot Noir 2003 Mendoza £5.99 Maj

Far from the finest Pinot you will taste but with its sweet, beetroot fruit it is obviously Pinot, not obviously Argentina, and very good for the price. Reminiscent of early vintages of Cono Sur Pinot from Chile.

Feral Fox Pinot Noir 2003 Adelaide Hills £9.99 Oddbins

Who would have thought that D’Arenberg, the company responsible for some many massive McLaren Vale reds would have managed to capture something as delicate as Pinot perfume in a bottle? Presumably the cool climate of the Adelaide Hills has a hand in it. The alcohol level is 14.5 per cent though, so this is certainly an Australian variation on the red burgundy theme.

Spy Valley Pinot Noir 2002 Marlborough £9.99 Bib

Excellent value if just a teensy weensy bit over the top (not a characteristic common in Pinots from such a cool region as this). Juicy, thick, with quite a bit of tannin and some gentle core of fruit in the middle. Compares favourably in price with many offerings from Central Otago.

Felton Road Pinot Noir 2003 Central Otago £19.50 Swig

One of the best known New Zealand Pinots in the UK and a very toothsome package it is too. It may lack the intensity and ageing ability of the famous Block 3 and 5 bottlings but it is beautifully transparent and refreshing, packed with cherry fruit. Needs food but would be a crowd-pleaser with a turkey.

Keyhole Ranch Pinot Noir, Seghesio 2001 Russian River £22.95 Lib

Most good California Pinot costs a fortune but this fruity yet structured example from Pinot heartland is relatively good value.

Ata Rangi Pinot Noir 2001 Martinborough £27 Harrods, Tanners of Shrewsbury, Oz Wines, Valvona & Crolla of Edinburgh

Ata Rangi is another name in the NZ Pinot Hall of Fame and this is really very fine with its layers of flavour and attractive coffee bean perfume. Very persistent.

OTHER FRENCH

Ch de Surville 2001 Costieres de Nîmes £6.99 M&S major stores

One of the most toothsome items in the entire M&S range which is delicious already but has sufficient tannin for the next two years. It is mainly Syrah with about 20 per cent Grenache and is lovely and round and sleek. Very satisfying.

Dom du Joncier 2001 Lirac £8.25 SVS

After a long period asleep, Lirac is now a hotbed of ambition – especially in the 2003 vintage – but this 2001 is most impressive with its thick, almost treacly nose, hints of bonfires, cinnamon and sandalwood. It garnered a gold medal at France’s independent vignerons fair.

Dom Chaume Arnaud 2001 Vinsobres £8.99 Booths

Excellent Châteauneuf-du-Pape substitute from a fine domaine just north of the zone. Tiptop vintage in these parts.

Faugères Cuvée Cistus 2001 Ch La Liquière £10.95 SVS

Big and beefy and dense and still quite youthful. Very come-hither. A mainly Syrah wine that is relatively voluptuous already.

St Joseph Rouge 1999 Bernard Gripa £14.95 Vine Trail

Very savoury, mature, interesting Syrah from its home, made in a great north Rhône vintage.

L’Exception 2001 Vaquer VdP Catalan £18.50 The Winery London W9 and at Liberty

An extraordinary wine from an extraordinary Roussillon old-timer. Exceptionally rich, intriguing perfume and yet not at all heavy or sweet on the palate. L’exception indeed.

OTHER EUROPEAN

Conde de Siruela 2003 Ribera del Duero £5.49 Sai

Ribera del Duero Lite at this price but some hint of the drama of this fashionable, high altitude Spanish wine region that imbues the Tempranillo of Rioja with real concentration and bracing tannins and acidity.

Dinastia Vivanco Crianza 2001 Rioja £7.99 Bristol Wine Co, Off the Vine, Bib

Rather strange flask bottle all but distracted me from the quality of fruit in here. This wine from Briones is extremely rich and concentrated for the money.

Tomas Blanco Crespo 2002 Rioja £7.99 M&S major stores

Roving Spanish winemaker Telmo Rodriguez has a magically gentle touch and here manages to make a lovely soft, fruity yet refreshing red rioja – using almost exclusively older barrels. Confusing, that word Blanco.

Altos de Luzon 2002 Jumilla £8.99 Maj

This package is very modern and eye-catching and is clearly saying ‘Don’t think I have anything in common with any strong, soupy Jumilla you might ever have come across before’. The fruit is very concentrated and slightly masked by some pretty hefty oak but there is plenty of impact in this wine tailor-made for the UK market.

Campo Ceni 2002 IGT Toscana £9.99 Sai

Just look at the prices of Italian wine! This offering from Ricasoli seems a veritable bargain which is crazy. It’s a barrique-aged Sangiovese – a polished, dense wine with real bite, presumably a sort of declassified Chianti Classico. But what is Chianti Classico doing so routinely in the teens and even twenties of pounds?

CARM Reserva 2001 Douro £11.95 Inner Cellar only WR

Fresh and fascinating, this table wine from port country – a new wine style about which I shall be writing in detail shortly. Roboredo Madeira’s Touriga Nacional and Franca vines are 40 years old and way up the Douro Valley towards the Spanish border.

Planeta Syrah 2001 IGT Sicilia £25 IC WR

The Planeta family put Sicily on the modern wine map with its Merlot and Chardonnay but this Syrah is extremely well made – gentle texture and serious flavours. Not an outrageous price for this quality.

Palari, Rosso del Soprano 2001 IGT Sicilia £19.50 Swig, Whitebridge Wines, Cellar Door

Architect Salvatore Geraci was persuaded to turn winemaker by Luigi Veronelli and the results, from these basalt terraces near Messina, are stunning. This rather burgundian wine is the gentler version of his Faro 2001 DOC (£34 from Swig) from Nerello Mascalese which has sweetness and spice in such abundance that it reminded me of a Starbucks Frappaccino – but is much, much fruitier and nicer of course.

NON EUROPEAN

Ranch Series Syrah 2002 Monterey £6.49 Bib

This is exceptionally good value, put together expressly for Bibendum Wine. Presumably it is not more widely stocked because it is priced above £5.99 but it should be. There is a surplus of rich, almost leathery Syrah character but a nice streak of cool refreshment from its origins near Soledad. Much more than California sweet and simple. It even claims to be estate grown and bottled: Lawson Ranch out of Lockwood.

Sainsbury’s Classic Selection Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot 2003 Western Australia £6.99 Sai

I can only assume that this wine is as inexpensive as it is in penance for its quite staggeringly awful label. Never mind, the wine is quite powerful enough to withstand decanting. This has real integrity – lots of bright fruit but no excess of sweetness or tannin. Sappy and vital.

Boekenhoutskloof Porcupine Ridge Syrah 2003 Coastal Region £6.99 Handford Holland Park, Swig, Waitrose, The Wine Society.

This second label from South African Syrah specialist Marc Kent is even better than the 2002. It is not desgned for a long life but over-delivers in spades for current drinking at this price. A real meeting of New World friendliness and Old World structure. Boekenhoutskloof Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 £20 IC only WR is also very well made – proper, grown-up claret.

Robert Mondavi Private Selection Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 California £8.49 Maj

Now don’t you worry your pretty little head about what has happened to this famous company (swallowed in a single gulp by what is now the world’s largest wine company Constellation) just enjoy one of the few bargains available from Mondavi in recent years. This parcel seems to have come via Germany and carries the Woodbridge not Oakville address but it is a good, solid California Cabernet with some expensive oak in the background and some real interest.

Cullen Ellen Bussell Red 2003 Margaret River £9.99 WR

Vanya Cullen is going great guns in Western Australia launching all manner of exicting new wines, including this screwcapped delight for early drinking from mineral-scented, ultra-fruity, unoaked Cabernet and Merlot. Her oaked Cab/Merlot is regarded as a model of the style in Australia.

Canale Estate Merlot 2003 Rio Negro £9.99 M&S major stores

Patagonia sounds so romantic, and this Argentine wine shows the deep mineral vibrancy of this southernmost wine region. ‘Proper wine’ say my tasting notes – which is high praise. No hurry to drink this one although it is already charming, and costs only £7.99 this weekend.

Live Oak Zinfandel 2002 Lodi £9.99 M&S from 15 dec

So much Zinfandel tastes of hot, soupy berry jam but this does not. It is correct and well mannered and comes from vines in the often under-estimated Lodi region that are 95 years old.

Cape Mentelle, Trinders Cabernet/Merlot 2001 Margaret River £10.99 Maj

From Cloudy Bay’s Western Australian brother comes this mellow, well-balanced, most agreeable Bordeaux blend from one of the world’s most welcoming homes to the Bordeaux grapes. And with its surf and parrot-haunted ancient forests it is very much more beautiful than the Médoc.

D’Arenberg The Derelict Vineyard Grenache 2002 Mclaren Vale £11.99 Bib, House of Menzies, Noel Young, Valvona & Crolla, www.thefinewinecompany.co.uk

D’Arenberg are so clever. Rather like Flagstone in South Africa they just keep churning out interesting wines with memorable names at decent prices. Very low-yielding old Grenache vines yielded this powerful brew with fruit and tannin still oozing out of the glass. No hurry to drink this.

Howard Park Scotsdale Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 Great Southern £11.99 Bin Two, Bib

Deftly-made Western Australian answer to succulent red bordeaux.

Lone Range Syrah 2002 Hawkes Bay £14.99 M&S major stores

This offering from New Zealand’s most-indulged new winery Craggy Range (recipient of an Australian fortune) must be the single most exciting wine offering on the UK high street. It is certainly worth every penny and is basically son of Le Sol, Craggy Range’s staggeringly good Syrah. WR sold out of it, labelled Craggy Range.

Ruste-en-Vrede Estate 2000 Stellenbosch £22 Swig

To lose one winemaker is unfortunate… Recent shenanigans and family strife at this address do not bode well for the future but have no impact on the delicious integrity of this magnificent Cabernet/Syrah blend. The opposite of flashy but deuced impressive. Also available in magnums, ideal for large parties, at £47.50.

Two Hands, Lily’s Garden Shiraz 2002 McLaren Vale £24.99 www.sainsburyswine.co.uk

Very luscious, mature and gorgeous. Tastes just like a cross between North Rhône and McLaren Vale with great richness and smoky layers. You have to work at finding the tannins, which are certainly there. Sainsbury’s also have two other Two Hands bottlings which are admirable but much more youthful. This one is ready to drink already.