Jonathan Ray

I love Picpoul de Pinet; I mean we all do, right? It’s the quintessence of easy, affable drinking and I’ve not met a Picpoul more easy or affable than the 2016 Racine Picpoul de Pinet (1), produced by Bruno Lafon and François Chamboissier, the Burgundian/Bordelais pair behind Diva Sud, a collection of great-value wines from

Mas de Daumas Gassac is one of the great estates of the Languedoc. Indeed, it is often referred to as the Languedoc’s Grand Cru or First Growth, and I am just one of many to have fallen under its spell. The estate’s Moulin de Gassac range is famously accessible and shares the same pedigree and

Our partners Yapp Bros have just scooped the coveted Wine List of the Year gong at the recent Inter-national Wine Challenge, along with Languedoc Merchant of the Year and Loire Merchant of the Year. In their commendation, the judges said: ‘The Yapp Bros list is concise, beautifully illustrated with great writing and offers much more

So, that’s it then. Summer, I mean. It pushed off without ever having really arrived. There were some bizarrely scorching days in between the chill and the showers, it’s true, but I’ve barely worn my shorts, haven’t swum in the sea, only managed one day at the cricket and the lawn outside is as green

Wine merchants Mr Wheeler are in the midst of a vast sale as they amend their list and move on to more recent vintages. I’m delighted to say that we are the lucky beneficiaries, for there are heart-warming discounts on some seriously tasty vino. There are well over 100 wines in the sale and the

Having just finished researching a book on champagne and sparkling wine (out in October since you ask), I’ve been awash with fizz. There must have been 150 bottles cluttering my office at one point — I couldn’t even reach the telly to watch the cricket. I began to get the sweats whenever I heard a

Mark Harvey, Chapel Down’s managing director of wines, was in great form last week at our Spectator Winemaker’s Lunch, held as usual in our boardroom. And I must add that Mark’s wines were in equally tiptop shape. With vineyards across Kent and a winery near Tenterden, Chapel Down is well-known as the largest producer of

Well, that’s Wimbledon done and dusted for another year. All hail King Roger! It’s been a great tournament with much to enjoy. And it has certainly been a darn sight more enjoyable than the second Test match against South Africa. What a debacle that was. Sigh. Still, both events have given me the chance —

Esme Johnstone at FromVineyardsDirect.com is the past master at digging out little parcels of top quality, fully mature vino from fine French estates and I’m delighted to report that his touch has not deserted him. Along with a brace of tip top whites and a rosé, we’ve a trio of really tasty (and tastily priced)

As readers well know, we love Pol Roger champagne at The Spectator. We like to think of it as pretty much the house pour. It’s used at all our events and also simply to calm our nerves at the end — or, occasionally, the start or middle — of a testing working day. We can’t

Calling all Beaujolais lovers! Yes, that’s you! I mean, we all love Beaujolais, right? Not the scuzzy, naff Bojolly Noovoo that was the grim but standard fare of 1970s wine bars, but the wonderful, fresh, ripe, juicy, new wave Beaujolais from one of the region’s ten crus, full of rich, succulent, damson-like fruit and silky

Heaven help us, it’s barbecue season. You know, that ghastly time of year when testosterone-fuelled hunter-gatherers push the little lady aside and fire up the rusting, bird poo-covered grate in the garden and ask the neighbours over. Never mind that these poor saps never darken the kitchen the other 11-and-a-half months of the year (and

All six wines this week come from the Languedoc, courtesy of Jason Yapp, that canny wine hound who understands the twists and turns of France’s largest vineyard area better than anyone I know. And so happy is he with our selection that he’s lopped a quid off every bottle. The Domaine Collin Crémant de Limoux

I write this from my sick bed. Laid low with a vile lurgy, I feel far from well. And, sad to report, Mrs Ray is far from understanding. She says I should learn to be more stoical. I say she should learn to be more, well, sympathetic. It’s not my fault that I feel my

It’s spring and that means it’s time for rosé. Sales of the pink stuff continue to rocket and we’re all out and proud rosé drinkers these days, darling. That’s not to say there aren’t some dire bottles on the shelves. Like that vile Blush Zinfandel from California (shudder) or the weirdly coloured one from the

A wonderful offer from Berry Bros & Rudd, this. Wine-loving readers will know that once or twice a month we hold Spectator winemakers’ lunches at 22 Old Queen Street. A well-known winemaker will bring some wines and chat about them to a maximum of 14 readers over lunch in the boardroom. These entertaining affairs must surely

We start this week with the ever reliable 2015 Corney & Barrow House White (1), largely because if we didn’t I would get angry letters asking why not. I really do wonder why my mother doesn’t just pick up the phone instead. She’s got my number. A blend of 70 per cent Colombard and 30

Spectator readers, being wise wine-lovers, are particularly fond of Château Musar, that extraordinary wine born of the Bekaa Valley in the Lebanon. Whenever we offer it in these pages, we promptly sell out. This is surely our best Musar offer yet, thanks to the canniness of our Wine Club partners Mr.Wheeler. As readers will know,

I’m going to fess up right from the off and say that, yes, you’re right, we’ve offered two of these wines several times before. But they simply shone in our tasting and refused to be ignored. You loved them last time, dear reader, and these vintages are even better. The other four are crackers, too.