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COUNTRYESTATE
WINE
Wines fine enough forhisfriendsbut not soswanky theywouldbe wasted on theyouth
MY oldest chum, Andrew Ross, is having
somethingofa partythismonth.Andwhen
I saymyoldestchum,I meanmylongest-
standingchumratherthanthemostancient,
althoughthepoorsodismorethana little
clapped out, the party being held to cel-
ebratehis 60thbirthday. Andwhen I say
somethingofa party,Rosstellsmethatit’s
goingtobethebiggestandbestthathasever
been.Theshindigisalsobeingheldtocel-
ebratethe21stbirthdayofhisyoungest son,
Paddy,andthereinlaytherub.
AsRoss explained,hewasin searchof
decentvino.He’squitethewinelover,Ross,
and–I’msurehewon’tmindmesaying–
nottooshoddilyheeled,either.Theproblem
wasn’tbudget,however.No,whatvexedhim
was that he was after wines fine enough for
JonathanRayis happytohelpa friendfindtheperfectbottles
to uncork for a double celebration – but he’s got to mind the gap
The best party poppers
There are plenty of other fine, inde-
pendentmerchants,too,ofcourse,andit’s
nottosaythattherearen’tsomeexcellent
partywinesinthesupermarketsandonthe
highstreetaswell.Indeed,havea ganderat
mySixoftheBest.TheCo-op’sown-label
champers, for example, is a copper-bot-
tomedbelter(madebyPiper-Heidsieck,no
less)and– havingrecentlyhada tasteofits
rangeat Co-opHQinManchester–I can
attesttosomeothercrackersaswell.Its 2015
ChâteauSénéjac(whichI’vementionedhere
before)is a corkerofa claretatjust£15and
thehalfbottlesofdelectablysweetJurançon
dessertwinesareanabsolutestealatonly
£7.Oh,andtheCo-op’s 2014 vonKesselstatt
Riesling makes a nigh onperfect summer
aperitif for just £11 a pop. And if you know ofhisplutocraticfriendstowallowinbutnot
so swanky theywould be wasted on the
youth.Hmmm,so,wheretostart?
At the bloody top, that’s where. I sug-
gestedthatRossmakea beelineforMessrs
Corney & Barrow, the independent mer-
chantthat’ssuppliedourmonarchsandthe
greatandthegoodforthepast 230 years.
And forbalance, I suggested that he also
enlisttheservicesofPrivateCellar,founded
a mere two decades ago but voted best
independentmerchantintheUKonlya few
yearsintoitscomparativelyshortexistence.
HavingsuggestedthatRosshavea bitofa
taste-offbetweenthetwoofthem,hekindly
askedmealongtoensure fair play and to
hoover up the dregs.
a bettervalueandmorepotablePinotNoir
thanits 2018 InterludePinot from Oz for £7,
thenprayleadmetoit.
But,no,inthisinstanceC&BandPCwere
spotonforwhatRosshadinmind.Hewas
after wines made by small, independent,
artisanalproducersinsuchmodestquanti-
tiesthat they’respecialandunlikelytobe
availableanywhereelse.Anddon’tyou go
thinking that such wines are necessarily
expensive,becausethey’renot.
Adam Brett-Smith, MD of C&B, and
LauraTaylor,directorofPrivateCellar,both
brought some extremely toothsome wines
along– fizz,whiteand red–startingat a
meagre£11a bottle.It wasthedevil’sownjob
choosing between them and I think it’s fair tosaythatthespittoonwasreturnedtothecup-
boardafterwardsaspristineasit cameout.
Thefizzwasa face-offbetweentheHenri
Chauvet Blanc de Noirs Brut Champagne
(£28.60),a CrémantdeBourgogne(£18.95)
anda BlancdeBlancsfromSavoie(£13.50).
Allthreewereexcellentbutthechampagne
edgedit.A richandtoasty,oak-agedpinot
noir/meunier blend from a small grower
in thepremiercruvillageofRilly-la-Mon-
tagne, it’s a stunning fizz that shows just
howgoodgrowers’champagnecanbeand
howwellpricedwhencomparedtotheso-
calledgrandesmarques.Theplutocratswill
love it and, at such a reasonableprice, it
won’tbewastedon the young. Round one to
PrivateCellar.
The whites were burgundy-dominated,
andPC’s 2018 MâconUchizyfromDomaine
Talmardtookfirstspot.Fresh,lemonyand
weighty, it’sa beauty,especiallyat £14.50.
Rossalsotooka shinetoC&B’s 2017 own-
labelwhiteburgundy,a MâconVillagesfrom
Maison Auvigne, which he reckoned was
a stealat£14.25andwouldsuitthosewho
wantedtodrinkwhitebeforeorafterdinner.
The reds were harder to call but the
eventualwinnerwasa worthyone:the 2016
ChâteauMayne-Graves,a 100%merlotfrom
Bordeaux’s Right Bank that’s just so soft,
mellow and, well, drinkable. It’s beauti-
fullycraftedand,ata measly£11.75a bottle,
showsjustwhatgreatvaluethereisinBor-
deauxatthecheaperend,justastheprices
attheotherendgoevermorebonkers.
Itwasa fascinatingandrewardingtast-
ing. Ross plansto serveespressomartinis
afterdinnerandI’mdelightedtoreportthat
we’realreadydeepintoour researches nail-
ing the perfect recipe.2017 FINCAELCUENTO
BLANCO
(£7if youmix6, Majestic)
Soft,smooth,aromatic,
creamySpanish
whitethat’sperfectfor
summerbashes.
COTEAUXVAROISEN
PROVENCEROSÉNV
(£9,M&S)Easy-going,
bone-dryProvencalrosé
thatwouldgetanysummer
partygoing,especiallyin
the £18 magnums.2016 CHATEAUMAYNE-
GRAVES(£11.75,Corney&
Barrow)Thegloriouslysoft,
mellowandapproachable
100%merlotclaretAndrew
Rossgrabbedforhisparty.
2018 MAISONDEUX-
FLEURS,MÂCON-FUISSÉ
‘LESBRUYÈRES’(£14,
fromvineyardsdirect)
Crackingwhiteburgundythat
wouldpleaseeventhemost
sophisticatedof palates
without breaking the bank.2015 CHATEAU
BEAUCHÊNEPREMIER
TERROIR(£14.50,
PrivateCellar)A truly
stunningCôtesduRhône
thatRosslappedup,
stockpilingsomeforhome
consumption.
LESPIONNIERS
CHAMPAGNEBRUTNV
(£19,Co-op)Theonly
supermarketown-label
champagneworthbothering
about – an absolute cracker.