We’re with Brunswick Fine Wine & Spirits again this week and what a jolly tasting my old chum Jamie ‘Jimmy’ Graham and co-owner Carlos de Haan laid on for me in their shop at 15 New Road, Brighton, the other day. I’m embarrassed to call what I do work.
The boys know my weakness and started off with the 2023 La Nerthe ‘Les Cassagnes’ Côtes du Rhône Blanc (1) from a 500-year-old, family-owned estate just a few miles north of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. I adore the white wines of the Rhône and this is exactly the sort of wine that tickles my tummy. A peachy, apricotty, lemony, creamy blend of Viognier, Grenache Blanc, Roussanne and Marsanne, it’s so tasty and just that little bit different. £19.65 down from £22.95.
I love the 2023 Alain Gautheron Vieilles Vignes Chablis (2), and I have hoovered through many a bottle of M. Gautheron’s wines at my new favourite Brighton restaurant – Crazy Goose – which is canny enough to buy much of its wine from Brunswick. I had a bottle there only last week alongside some Scottish scallops roasted in the shell and couldn’t stop smiling. It’s textbook fare – crisp, pure and focused, with a long, faintly honeyed finish. £25 down from £26.95.
With zero dosage, it’s all about the fruit and is fresh, creamy, toasty with the finest of bubbles
The 2022 Sylvain Dussort Bourgogne Blanc ‘Blanc Ormes’ (3) is another French Chardonnay but quite different. Sylvain Dussort comes from a long line of vignerons and refers to this, his most popular wine, as the little brother of his mighty Meursault. Produced from hand-picked old vine fruit, aged for up to 18 months in oak, it’s elegance incarnate, delicate enough to serve as a very classy aperitif. £29.72 down from £33.
I’m just back from our wine-soaked Spectator Wine Club tour of Rioja where I was delighted to spy a visitors’ book at one of our hosts dating from 1991 in which I could just decipher JG’s spidery, left-handed scrawl (oh don’t write in, I’m left-handed too) declaring: ‘I look forward to drinking – and selling – more Rioja when I return home!’
Well, Jimmy’s been true to his word. He knocks buckets of the stuff back and retains a cool eye for a bargain, having snapped up this beauty, the 2021 Vallobera Crianza Rioja (4). Made in the modern style and aged in French rather than vanilla-rich American oak, it’s soft, juicy and enticing and almost Beaujolais-like in its freshness. Just pull the cork and enjoy. £16.25 down from £17.95.
The 2022 Terreno Chianti Classico ‘Le Tre Vigne’ (5) is another easy-going treat, produced near Greve in Chianti by a second-generation Swedish family who fell in love with Tuscany and never left. A blend of Sangiovese drawn from three different vineyards (hence the name), it’s pale red with cherry fruit, a touch of tannin and a long savoury finish. Some 92 points in Falstaff. Get the pasta on! £23.65 down from £24.95.
The 2020 Chapelle de Seize, Pauillac (6) is a gratifyingly posh claret produced by one of the two great Second Growth estates of Pauillac, albeit not from their own vineyards. A blend of two-thirds Cab Sauv, one-third Merlot and the tiniest drops of Cab Franc and Petit Verdot, it’s full of lively raspberry and cherry fruit, spice, herbs and that typical Pauillac touch of cigar box. £26.58 down from £28.95.
And, finally, just to shut Jimmy up because he doesn’t half bang on about it, the Domaine Nathalie et Gilles Fevre Crémant de Bourgogne ‘Or Fevre’ (7), a traditional method Chardonnay sparkler from Chablis. In fairness to JG, it’s an absolute cracker. With zero dosage, it’s all about the fruit and is fresh, creamy, toasty with the finest of bubbles. Jimmy reckons it’s a health drink and it certainly put a spring in my step. £23.83 down from £26.50.
The mixed box has two bottles each of wines 1-6 and all seven wines are available in unmixed sixes with free delivery for 12 bottles or more to one address.
Oh, and if you ever find yourself in Skid-Row-on-Sea and fancy tasting any of these wines, just pop into Brunswick’s shop by the Theatre Royal, wave a copy of the Spectator, tell them I sent you and you will be well looked after.
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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