Jonathan Ray

Something new this week, with our first-ever offer from Naked Wines, the online retailer that’s been much in the (wine) news thanks to the proposed rebranding of Majestic. Majestic — which, along with venerable, old-school merchant Lay & Wheeler, is part of the Rowan Gormley–led Naked Wines stable — will close some of its stores

Everyone loves the wines of Villa Maria. Its so-called Private Bin range is hugely reliable and, heaven knows, I’ve drunk enough of it in my time. But there’s much more to VM than its entry level vino. Head further up the scale and you will find some corkers in the Cellar Selection, Platinum Selection, Reserve

I’m acutely aware that we rarely offer champagne in these pages, other than the occasional treat from our beloved Pol Roger (the Speccie house pour), largely because I’ve never found one that’s good enough or well-priced enough. Well, crikey, thanks to Esme Johnstone of fromvineyardsdirect I’ve finally now found one. The Arlaux Champagne Premier Cru,

My old chum Jason Yapp is never less than chipper. Indeed, his ebullience is boundless. In springtime, this innate effervescence fair bubbles over and his enthusiasm for his wines and his distaste for spittoons are dangerously infectious. It took an age to whittle this selection down to six and I trust you enjoy my choices

Chateau Musar is beloved of Spectator readers, thanks largely to my sainted predecessors — Messrs Waugh and Hoggart — both of whom adored its wines. As a result, the Speccie has forged a bond with this Lebanese winery and, owing to the diplomatic exertions of our partners at Mr Wheeler, we are in the enviable

We should all be firmly back in the saddle by now, with dry January but a ghastly memory. And if there are still any stragglers still toying with glasses of mineral water, I trust this selection courtesy of FromVineyardsDirect will tempt you off your high horse. Four classic French regions are represented (Burgundy, Provence, the

He will hate me saying this, but Anthony Barton — now in his late eighties — is the grand old man of Bordeaux. Co-owner with his daughter, Lilian Barton-Sartorius, of the fabled Châteaux Léoville & Langoa Barton, Anthony represents the eighth generation of his family in Bordeaux, the links having first been forged in the

Well, I’m glad that’s over. Christmas and New Year’s Eve that is. What a ghastly palaver. It went on for months and even though it’s finally done and dusted, we’re still picking pine needles out from under the blasted sofa and ploughing our way through seemingly endless bowls of defrosted stilton soup. And what on

Being a veritable martyr to Christmas Affected Doom, Depression and Despondency, I admit to feeling far from chipper. My wife says I should grow up and stop being so bloody grumpy and my boys bait me constantly by whistling ‘I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus’ and wishing me a cool Yule. Sigh. I’ve since locked

I take something of a head-in-the-sand approach to Christmas. Despite the bloody supermarkets and high-street stores trumpeting the forthcoming festivities pretty much from the August bank holiday onwards, I feel that if I ignore it, it might just go away. It never does, of course, but it’s worth a try. We’re not even into Advent

Esme Johnstone, that crafty old fox at the helm of From Vineyards Direct, has been at it again. He slipped into Bordeaux in early October just as the harvest was finishing (the whisper being that 2018 is a cracking vintage, BTW) and found himself pretty much the only Brit in town. Producers and suppliers all

Esme Johnstone of FromVineyardsDirect.com is nothing if not well connected. Nobody has their ear closer to the Bordeaux ground than he does and so it is that FVD hear about and snaffle up all manner of vinous goodies that either escape the notice or the clutches of their rivals. Their celebrated ‘declassified’ or ‘defrocked’ clarets

Everyone loves the wines of Maison M. Chapoutier, one of the great names of the Rhône Valley. The company was founded in Tain-l’Hermitage in 1808 and has passed from father to son ever since, with Michel Chapoutier the current boss. The company makes excellent wine in almost every appellation in the Rhône and — Michel,

As we all know, getting the first drink of the day right can be a tricky business, not least because what you fancy at noon will be very different from what you want at 7 p.m. On either occasion, you need to tread carefully, with nothing too dry, too sweet or too alcoholic. Too dry

Everyone loves the wines of Louis Latour and I’m delighted to offer such a tasty selection of them here, particularly — thanks to the good offices of Mr Wheeler — at such appetising prices. Louis Latour was founded in 1797 and remains family-owned, with the 11th generation represented by 54-year-old general manager, Louis-Fabrice Latour, who,

We were going to run an entirely French offer this week courtesy of FromVineyardsDirect, but I couldn’t resist the 2017 Esterházy Estoras Grüner Veltliner (1) from Austria. I used to drink buckets of GV with my late godmother, the novelist and sometime contributor to this magazine, Sarah Gainham. I’ve never lost my taste for it.