Jonathan Ray

We had such a fine Spectator Winemaker Lunch with Michiel Eradus of boutique New Zealand winery, Eradus Wines, the other day and the wines were so darned good and so well-priced that I insisted that Corney & Barrow allow us offer them to readers through The Spectator. Founded in the Awatere river valley in Marlborough in 2002 by Dutch émigrés, Har and Sophie Eradus, Eradus Wines is now run by the couple’s son, Michiel, who has won countless awards and plaudits for his pure and expressive yet modestly-priced wines. Michiel gave an excellent master-class on New Zealand wines in general and Eradus Wines in particular and all of us round the table were so impressed that most of us (including your humble correspondent) bought some on the spot.

Although many wine merchants are tightening their post-Brexit belts and rationalising their cellars, Yapp Bros have thrown their net ever wider. They might be the 2016 International Wine Challenge Loire Specialist of the Year and ditto for the Rhône, but Yapps have recently been fishing outside their traditional waters, making first-time forays deeper into France and into Germany and Spain. Wise old truffle-hound that he is, Jason Yapp’s touch clearly hasn’t deserted him and we at The Spectator are the beneficiaries. All the wines below are completely new both to Yapp Bros and The Spectator and each and every one is a delight. And to tempt us even further, Jason has generously lopped a quid off every bottle.

We’ve something a bit different this week: six wines not only from the same region (Burgundy) but also the same producer (Maison Louis Latour). The Wine Company’s Mark Cronshaw presented such a fine selection of Latour’s wines that they were impossible to resist, especially after we’d cornered him to demand some pretty punchy discounts. Maison Louis Latour is one of the great names of Burgundy, family-owned since 1797 and currently in the hands of 11th---generation Louis-Fabrice Latour. The company boasts a vast range of wines and it wasn’t easy whittling them down to the following three Chardonnays and three Pinot Noirs. I’m confident, though, that we have a fine selection.

After three and a quarter centuries in the business, Berry Bros. & Rudd is certainly trad, but it’s also reassuringly innovative. So it is that we have here a classic claret but also a Chardonnay from a part of France that doesn’t grow it, a blended single varietal from Chile (don’t worry, all is explained below) and a wine from Greece which is all but extinct. Best of all, Berrys’ buying director, Mark Pardoe MW, has knocked up to 26 per cent off the list price. Hooray! The 2013 Domaine de Lansac ‘Les Quatres Reines’ (1) is a deliciously uncomplicated, unblended, unoaked Chardonnay from the tiny region of Les Alpilles in the Languedoc. Night-time picking and low fermentation temperatures allow the fresh fruitiness to shine.

Summer’s taking its leave and we have a fine Gallic half-dozen from Corney & Barrow with which to enjoy the last of the sun. And to cheer us up, we have a double discount on offer, the initial price-lopping enhanced by the fabled Brett-Smith Indulgence, in which a further £6 is knocked off a case if you buy two dozen bottles or more. We start with the 2015 Corney & Barrow Blanc (1), the most recent vintage of the merchant’s bestselling white wine, beloved of Spectator readers. Produced by Producteurs Plaimont in Gascony, in close cahoots with Corney & Barrow’s buyers, it’s a lemon-fresh, zesty and exuberant blend of Colombard and Ugni Blanc given a touch of extra weight thanks to a short period on the lees.

A tasty selection this week courtesy of FromVineyardsDirect.com, the masters at snuffling out tucked-away treasures for bargain prices. FVD’s founders, Esme Johnstone and David Campbell, have impeccable contacts and seem to know everyone who matters in the regions that matter. As a result, they nab tiny parcels of this and that from both well-established and up-and-coming producers and we, dear reader, are the-beneficiaries. First, the 2015 Esterházy Estoras Grüner Veltliner (1) from Burgenland in Austria. I once spent a lot of time in Austria and have always loved its signature grape. When in the right hands, as here, GV somehow manages to combine the lusciousness of Pinot Gris, the bouquet of Riesling and the acidity of Sauvignon Blanc.

Jonathan Ray looks back on a fine Spectator Winemaker Lunch with Vega Sicilia. An excellent lunch in the Spectator boardroom today as Antonio Menéndez, managing director (sales and marketing) of mighty Vega Sicilia hosted the latest in our series of Spectator Winemaker Lunches. Vega Sicilia in Spain’s Ribera del Duero has an extraordinary reputation and is regarded as Spain’s one and only ‘first growth’. It’s most celebrated wine is its ‘Unico’ which can sell for hundreds of pounds a bottle although the Vega Sicilia group also owns four other wineries and produces 13 different wines. Today we were treated to a perfect snapshot of the range with five wines.

We had a full house in the boardroom last Friday with James Simpson MW, managing director of Pol Roger (UK), in the chair for the latest in our series of Spectator Winemaker’s Lunches. Oh, and by the way and quite coincidentally, our current Wine Club offer with Private Cellar is a Pol Roger offer, so do head there if you haven’t already done so. We kicked things off with the Pol Roger Brut Réserve NV, formerly known as the ‘White Foil’ because of its, er, distinctive white foil. Blended from one third Chardonnay, one third Pinot Noir and one third Pinot Meunier, it really is a fabulous champagne – creamy, toasty and honeysuckle-fresh – and is much loved at the Spectator where no party is complete without it.

We at The Spectator drink a lot of Pol Roger Champagne. It’s more or less the house pour. Not every day you understand, just on high days and holidays such as the Spectator summer party, from which more than a few of us are still recovering. And I must say that when standing like a vertical sardine in the crush of said party, stuck fast between a resolute Remainer and a wild-eyed Brexiteer, both about to kick off, there is nothing more heartening than the sight of the familiar white-foil bottle. A tap on the waiter’s shoulder, a pirouette-like turn, a swift gulp and I was away, free to muscle in on the gossip behind me about what happened at that Boris barbecue.