Jonathan Ray

If you don’t like fine, well-priced Provencal rosé – crisp, clean, lively, refreshing and perfect for spring – then look away now. If, however, you’re an out ’n’ proud pink-drink lover like me then what are you waiting for? Get stuck in! Rosé has never been more popular, and with reason: the best are very tasty indeed. I’m not talking about so-called ‘lady petrol’, the grim, off-dry to sweet, neon-coloured, bubblegum-like California Blush Zinfandel, designed for chugging back over ice from a goldfish bowl in the beer garden of the Dog and Vomit on a Sunday afternoon. No, I’m talking about beautifully crafted, pale, pale pink wines made with the same care and attention that goes into the making of the finest reds and whites.

Mrs Ray can’t stop humming. She loves this time of year. It might be sheeting down and there might be a massive leak in our roof which none of five different builders has managed to fix, but all she notices are the daffs in full bloom, the fluffy pink cherry blossom and her treasured magnolia bursting into life. I suspect that Mrs R’s high spirits might have been somewhat enhanced by the dozen or so bottles of Rioja from Honest Grapes that we’ve just tasted, especially as we didn’t trouble the spittoon quite as much as we should have. But, heck, the wines were just so moreish, perfect with the marinated anchovies and roast leg of South Downs lamb we had for supper. They were almost impossible to narrow down to six.

Whoop, whoop, it’s another Spectator scoop! Mighty Ch. Musar of Lebanon has just released its latest – 2017 – vintage, and wily Johnny Wheeler has ensured that readers are the first in the UK to get their hands on it. This wine is not available anywhere else until Easter and, with Musar repositioning the brand (aka putting the price up a fiver a bottle), you won’t find it cheaper. If Musar’s your thing – and it’s certainly mine – do get stuck in. Yes, the 2017 Ch. Musar White (1) is an acquired taste but it’s one that I have most definitely acquired and trust you have/will too. It’s hard to know with what to compare it, weaving as it does between dry white Bordeaux, white Rioja, white Rhône and even Manzanilla sherry in style.

I don’t know how Laura Taylor does it. Private Cellar’s marketing director has managed – after a similar coup with the previous vintage – to snare an elusive and handsome parcel of 2022 Hamilton Russell Vineyards Chardonnay and Pinot Noir especially for readers of The Spectator. You cannot buy these anywhere else yet. These are wines of the highest order and greatly sought-after and we are blessed to be so honoured. Indeed, as Anthony Hamilton Russell himself said to Laura: ‘Your allocation is more than many countries get!’ It helps, of course, that Laura knows the estate – in South Africa’s Hemel-en-Aarde Valley – well, and that she visited it only a month or so ago.

I adore the wines of the Rhône. What wine lover doesn’t? There’s variety and there’s value, especially when compared with Bordeaux and Burgundy, and it’s possible to drink your fill without visiting the same well twice or fretting too much about the cost. Last time we had a small Rhône add-on to the main offer; this week we’re going the whole hog, with just a tiny nod to Alsace as a postscript because I adore their wines too. With all the Dry Jan nonsense behind us, Mrs Ray and I fell upon the selection of Rhônes that Esme Johnstone – the canny fox at the helm of FromVineyardsDirect – sent me to try on your behalf. I even managed to break a couple of glasses in my haste.

So that’s it, a month on the wagon almost done and dusted. Hurrah! You might recall that owing to a spat over some liqueur chocolates, Mrs Ray declared that I was in clear breach of the Dry January code and promptly zapped me with a one-week penalty, now almost spent. Allies of mine – Dave and Tony down the pub – voiced serious concerns about how the investigation was carried out and question just how independent Mrs R’s independent ethics adviser is, given that she’s her sister (who gave me the chocs in the first place). I plan to appeal. Meanwhile, I’m free to taste wine so long as I don’t swallow (as if!) and positively basked in the bottles that Robin Davis and the gang at Swig sent me.

Mrs Ray can be so sneaky. I thought that Dry January was all about spousal solidarity and mutual encouragement; she thought it was all about catching me out. It kicked off when she busted me sucking dry the liqueur chocolates I’d squirrelled away at Christmas and had come to rely upon. I said they didn’t count; she said I was an idiot. ‘Do grow up!’ she wailed. As a result, Dry January is now deemed to have started on 6 January. Still, sobriety has its rewards, and I can plan this year’s drinking with a clear head. I’ve rotated the stock in the cobwebbed cupboard under the stairs that serves as our cellar and will be certain to plug the resultant gaps with this bin-end bonanza from Mr Wheeler.

So this is it folks, the last offer of the year. James Franklin of Corney & Barrow and I worked tirelessly to bring you the tastiest, most Yule-appropriate wines we could at the best possible prices. Indeed, so fine and so well-priced are they that I barely bothered the spittoon while tasting them and will certainly be nabbing a case or so myself as I cower from Christmas in my bunker. The 2021 Maison Azan Picpoul de Pinet (1) is as decent a P de P as you’ll find. From vineyards on the banks of the Bassin de Thau in the Languedoc, it’s made by Olivier Azan, the first in the region to farm/vinify organically. Lively, fresh, fruity and creamy with a slightly savoury finish, it’s the perfect party wine. £10.76 down from £11.95.

I woke this morning to find blossom on our cherry tree. For a few blissful seconds I thought it was spring and that I’d slept through Christmas. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and I felt faint with joy. But reality – and Christmas Affected Doom, Depression and Despondency – soon kicked in: we’re still on the road to Noël. At least that means fine wine is still to be had. This peach-laden offer from Yapp Bros is our last but one this year. Do get stuck in. Quincy, in the Loire Valley, is the second oldest AOC in France and the 2021 Domaine des Bruniers Quincy (1) is the only wine that producer Jerôme de la Chaise makes. Pure Sauvignon Blanc, it has heady elderflower and nettles on the nose and a long, refreshingly dry gooseberry finish.

So that’s another term done at the Spectator Wine School. And what a term! We had such a fine teacher – take a bow Mrs Taylor, Head of Vinous Studies, on loan from Private Cellar – and such bright pupils that everyone passed. Not only did our conscientious students pull their weight in class, eschewing the spittoons (I’m sending the damn things back, they were a foolish purchase), many continued their oenological discussions in The Two Chairmen after school. Their diligence and dedication quite brought a tear to my eye. Our most popular class was that of Alternatives to the Classics, which featured such tasty wines that Laura Taylor and I decided to offer some here to the wider readership. The 2020 Domaine Dyckerhoff Reuilly Tradition (1) was a massive hit.

I can ignore it no longer. Christmas is on its way and I’m plunged into gloom. I’m just going to drink buckets and hope it all goes away. I’ll certainly be tucking into some of these bottles from FromVineyardsDirect, all chosen with this time of year in mind. The 2021 Fremondo Falanghina del Sannio (1) was a big hit when we offered the previous vintage in the summer and this is just as fine. Made by La Guardiense co-operative deep in the Sannio Hills of Campania, Italy, it’s fresh, floral and fruity. There’s a lemony touch to it too and a long, crisp finish. It makes a great aperitif. £9 down from £9.95.  The 2021 Glenelly Estate Reserve Chardonnay (2) is a class act.

Robert Boutflower of Tanners is a good, kind, generous man. All he and we want is your happiness and so, mindful of the wretched economic situation the twits in charge have landed us in and the ghastly spectre of dread Christmas on the horizon (my words, not his), he put up a deliciously varied selection for me to taste, offered 15 per cent off all the RRPs and suggests you mix your own case rather than take a pre-packed assortment. What a gent. The 2021 Kumeu Village Chardonnay (1) is a cast-iron favourite of mine from Mike Brajkovich, one of New Zealand’s most highly regarded producers. About as perfect an entry-level Chardonnay as you will find anywhere, it’s marked by an enviable lightness of touch with hints of peach, lemon, cream and the subtlest whisper of oak.

I shocked an old friend the other day when I confessed how much I drank per week. He shocked me by confessing how often he had sex. We sat in speechless astonishment before clearing our throats in a very English way and moving on to the weather. I’m not in the least bit proud of my consumption. Alarmed is more the word. But it’s an occupational hazard. My chum has no such excuse. The trouble is that I’m so easily seduced. So it was with this glittering selection from Armit Wines. Out of a dozen or so bottles tasted, these five proved irresistible, united by an innate elegance, and I didn’t just taste, I gulped.

Order today. So, here we are again in the Last Chance Saloon. After a couple of tricky, uncertain years, prices have rocketed, chaos reigns and we find ourselves scrabbling for scraps we can ill afford. The future looks decidedly bleak. Sorry, what? Liz Truss and the trashed economy? No, silly, I’m talking about Burgundy, where capricious weather, tiny vintages and soaring demand have combined to price wines of any quality out of the reach of most of us. The 2021 vintage will be released in January and merchants are out there now tasting it. The initial whisper is that it’s pretty decent although nobody wants to big it up too much because there’s so little of it.

Order today. Our fabled Spectator Winemaker Lunches are heavily oversubscribed and little wonder. We have the finest producers and merchants clamouring to visit and we’ve never yet managed to knock back less than a bottle a head. Our readers take their studies seriously. One of the most popular of recent lunches was hosted by Sebastian Rezek, founder of RAKQ, an importer/distributor focused on giving the premium wines of South Africa the recognition in the UK they deserve. The bottles were indeed so fine that they just had to be offered to the wider Speccie readership (along with a very tasty introductory discount of 15 per cent).

Order today. Hang on, stop pushing at the back! Our annual ‘defrocked’ claret offer from FromVineyardsDirect might well be one of our most popular, but please quit jostling and get back in line. There’s plenty for everyone, I promise. As you know, these wines come from some of the finest châteaux in all Bordeaux – the very finest – made from younger vines and/or excess fruit with the same care and attention that goes into the grands vins. OK, so they may not boast quite the same complexity as the grands vins, but they are dusted with the same Bordelais stardust and give canny wine lovers the chance to nab a bargain or so of impeccable pedigree.

Order today. Well we had a cracking day out, thanks, and while I admit to a cranial fogginess, I’m feeling pretty chipper overall and can declare our third annual Spectator Clays, Claret and Cognac Cruise (SCC&CC) a thundering success. Forty readers joined us as we pootled along the Thames in the 100-year-old Thames Sailing Barge Will. We shot clays from the boat with pump action shotguns and blunderbusses, were entertained by business editor (and poet) Martin Vander Weyer, and relished that special camaraderie that exists between Speccie readers. We ate well, drank even better and happily screwed up London’s rush-hour traffic as Tower Bridge opened specially for us. In short, we had a hoot.