Wine Club

Spring is definitely here, in all its capricious glory, and, in cahoots with FromVineyardsDirect, we’ve selected six wines — all from France — with which to enjoy its many moods. I’ve lost count of the times I’ve recommended the 2014 Cave de Lugny Crémant de Bourgogne (1), both here and elsewhere. It’s one of the best sparkling wines for the price that you will find anywhere. I featured it recently at a tasting of sparkling wine and Grandes Marques champagnes and it was voted the star of the show. Produced using the champagne method by the Cave de Lugny co-operative in Burgundy, it’s a classic blend of handpicked Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, cool-fermented in steel.

Irecently did a straw poll of a dozen or so friends in the drinks trade. If, for whatever strange reason, you were condemned to drink the wines of just one country for the rest of your life, I asked, which country would it be? Confident that the answer would be France, I started writing up some Gallic-slanted copy as I waited for the answers to trickle in, leaving gaps here and there for the dazzling chablis- and champagne--eulogising quotes I expected to receive. Darn me, though, if I hadn’t completely and utterly miscalled it. What a bloody idiot! Every idle, booze-loving one of them, apart from an avowed Francophile and a bribable floating voter, said Italy.

It’s April and as I write, it’s still bloody cold and the fire’s lit. The other day I could have sworn that spring was on its way but it seems it’s been unaccountably delayed. It’s probably down to leaves on the line or some such guff about the wrong type of sunlight or the points having frozen. Sigh. It’ll be here soon. Until then, I can dream — and my dream of the moment is of plenty of sunshine and plenty of chilled rosé. Thank goodness then for Sacha Lichine whose sole aim (and that of his partners, Patrick Léon, former head winemaker at Château Mouton Rothschild, and Patrick’s son, Bertrand) is to make the finest rosés in the world at his Château d’Esclans estate in Provence.

We’ve not had an offer from my alma mater Berry Bros & Rudd for yonks, almost a year in fact, and I’m delighted to see them back in these pages with a really very tasty selection of wines. And just for a change, they are offering a six-bottle case this time rather than the more usual 12-bottle case. Unfortunately, since the wines are in such short supply, they are only available in the mixed box, and cannot be bought individually. Needless to say, if you fancy a full mixed dozen then simply sign up for two cases. The wines are darn good and keenly discounted, so I strongly recommend that you do. Indeed, in selling the box at £75 all in, Berrys have very generously snipped £7.30 off the selection’s list price and are also waiving their customary £7.

Esme Johnstone, the genial boss of FromVineyardsDirect, is the past master at rootling out tasty little parcels of this and that and at unearthing vinous treats from past vintages. I’m delighted to say he’s done it again this week with six very stylish French wines including two fully mature, extremely well-priced clarets and one steal of a Bergerac. There’s much to enjoy here, so fill your boots! The 2016 Château Virgile Blanc (1) comes from Costières de Nîmes in the Gard, where they’ve been making wine for over 2,000 years. The estate of Château Virgile itself dates from the 18th century and is home to brothers Serge and Thierry Baret, producers of wines that offer what Robert Parker calls ‘mind-boggling value’.

Chateau Musar, that extraordinary Lebanese winery with vineyards deep in the Bekaa Valley, boasts an almost fanatical following. Indeed, two of Musar’s most devoted admirers were my esteemed predecessors — Messrs Waugh and Hoggart — thanks to whom our Wine Club partner, Mr Wheeler, has been wafting Musar under the beaks of Spectator readers very successfully for 20 years. I’m delighted to report this offer is as enticing as ever and marks the first time that the latest vintage of Musar’s grand vin, the 2011, has been offered to anyone, anywhere. The 2008 Chateau Musar White (1) is a remarkable wine produced from un-grafted old vines grown in vineyards planted almost 5,000 years ago.

Dear right-wing people, please stop the red scares. Please give the Cold War lingo a rest. Please remember it is not the 1950s anymore and that there’s about as much chance of Kevin Spacey taking the title role in a biopic of Jesus Christ as there is of Commies coming to power in Britain. Please stop referring to Jeremy Corbyn as if he were some Trotskyite firebrand, when in truth his drab politics is closer to Milibandism than Marxism (the Ed variety, that is, not the Ralph variety). You’re embarrassing yourselves with this pinko panic. Even worse, you are unwittingly flattering the Corbynista crew by indulging their teenage fantasies about being red and edgy. Stop. This Corbyn-and-the-Czech story has got to be the lamest red scare of recent times.

Dry January must have heightened my senses. Or maybe I’m simply craving alcohol. Either way, I’m pretty chuffed with this week’s selection, courtesy of FromVineyardsDirect: six classic French wines. It took an age to whittle the wines down to six, largely because I felt compelled to drain every bottle. I’d hate you to think I was shirking my researches. The 2016 Château Bauduc Sauvignon/Sémillon (1) will be familiar to diners at the restaurants of Rick Stein and Gordon Ramsay, where it’s the house white. Produced by Gavin and Angela Quinney at their 200-acre estate in the Entre Deux Mers, it’s a blend of 70 per cent Sauvignon Blanc and 30 per cent Sémillon.

Good grief, I’m glad that’s over. Dry January, that is. The worst thing was that for most of it I slept terribly and invariably woke with what can only be described as a hangover: throbbing head, aching eyes and dreadful feelings of remorse for having drunk too much the night before (not to mention for having behaved appallingly and for owing a large number of folk some pretty hearty apologies). It would slowly dawn on me, though, that I had drunk nothing but Badoit and that I hadn’t, after all, been at the Presidents Club bash and that I needn’t reproach myself. I’m now happy as a lark having jumped off the wagon straight into the warm embrace of Messrs Corney & Barrow.

Well, I don’t know about you but I found the recent festivities somewhat challenging. I didn’t draw a sober breath between 8 November and New Year’s Day which, as my wife Marina kindly pointed out, was neither big nor clever. She’s no slouch herself when the corks are popping so for her to call me a lush is a bit rich, but I took her point and hopped meekly on the water wagon on 1 January. As the days of sobriety turned to weeks I began to feel rather smug, especially since so many mates fell by the wayside. One chum lasted all of two days; another barely a week until a bottle of fine Beaujolais undid her; and a third told me that far from drying out he felt obliged to drink for two since his wife had done the giving up for him.

I can’t lie to you, I hate this time of year. I further admit to being a fully paid-up member of the Bah Humbug Brotherhood and a long-time sufferer of Christmas Affected Doom, Depression and Despondency (known to anyone who will listen, such as sympathetic barmen and random strangers in the Dog and Vomit as CADDAD), a ghastly condition that flares up around mid-October and lasts until January. And it only gets worse as one gets older. Sadly, there’s no known cure, although symptoms can be alleviated a little by taking November and December off in the Caribbean or the Maldives, alone, with Netflix, a box of books, some decent grub and a well-stocked minibar.

Christmas is the time for fine claret, whether the grub you plan to gorge on is a juicy rib of beef, a succulent saddle of lamb or the dread festive turkey. And, if you’re canny, there’s no need to break the bank. We’ve put together three keenly priced clarets with our partners Mr Wheeler. Each has unimpeachable credentials, from truly great estates. Drink long and drink deep. The 2014 Vieux Château Saint André (1) from Montagne Saint-Emilion is a complete and utter claret-lover’s delight. Produced from fruit grown on his own six-hectare estate by Jean-Claude Berrouet (who, being the former winemaker at Ch. Pétrus, certainly knows his onions), the wine is almost indecently flirtatious and approachable.

I adore the wines of New Zealand and reckon I could survive on nothing but, if I were ordered to drink the wines of just one country for the rest of my days. Well, I’d need the odd bacon sandwich or plate of oysters in between, but I think you know what I mean. One of the first Kiwi wineries I ever visited was Kumeu River, up near Auckland. Michael Brajkovich, a Master of Wine, makes stunning wines there and his Maté’s Vineyard Chardonnay is one of the finest and most sought-after in the country. To enjoy a bit of Kumeu stardust at a very keen price look no further than the 2015 Kumeu Village Pinot Gris (1). It’s deliciously fresh, floral and creamy and proves beyond doubt that, in the right hands, Pinot Gris is a delectable grape. £10.