Jonathan Ray

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.

Order today. We live in sad, uncertain times and without for a minute suggesting that we should take solace in alcohol, I’ve, erm, taken solace in alcohol. I simply couldn’t help it thanks to the tastiest of bottles from Honest Grapes. I drained each and every one as I narrowed them down to a super September septet, crowned by a fabulous English fizz, ideal for marking the passing of our Queen and the succession of our King. Vivat rex! The 2020 Nadine Ferrand Mâcon Blanc (1) is an exemplary white Burgundy produced by Nadine Ferrand and her daughter Marine at their 11-hectare Pouilly Fuissé domaine.

Order today. So, with Mrs Ray packed off to the airport for her sun-soaked sojourn in Italy, training for The Spectator’s Clays, Claret and Cognac Cruise begins in earnest. The clays could still do with work but I’m close to nailing the liquid element of the jaunt. I’ve been helped immensely by Armit Wines and the delectable dozen bottles they sent me. Thanks to regular timed sampling, I’m close to match fitness and I’m delighted with this selection (four Italian, one French) I’ve made on your behalf. The 2021 Bacioilcielo Fiano (1) might be completely unpronounceable – the sort of wine you point to on a wine list rather than ask for – but it’s so drinkable.

Order today. There are some typically quirky gems from Swig on offer this week and it’s great to have Robin Davis and the gang back in these pages. Their offer in January was a rip-roarer and, as before, there is plenty here to satisfy even the most demanding of thirsts. The 2020 Bourgogne Chardonnay Les Truffières, Domaine de Mauperthuis (1) is a Chablis in all but name and price, produced in Auxerre on south-facing Kimmeridgian soils that could easily pass for those of Montée de Tonnerre. Matured for 12 months in stainless steel, it’s crisp, clean and pure, taking its time to unfold gently in the glass and reveal its lightly honeyed floral notes. £14.50 down from £17.50.

Order today. Klaxon alert! Would all claret lovers please form an orderly queue? Esme Johnstone and the FromVineyardsDirect gang are clearing their cobwebbed cellars to make room for newer vintages and are offering us a brilliant baker’s dozen of Bordeaux bin-ends at a special, Spectator-only knockdown price. Hurrah! The wines from 2014 and 2015 (cracking vintages) are in that glorious mid-maturity stage, great to knock back now yet still worthy of salting away. There are limited stocks, though, and once they’re gone, they’re gone. The 2014 Ch. Méaume ‘Réserve du Château’ (1) is from a much-loved Bordeaux Supérieur estate between St Emilion and Pomerol.

Order today. Poor Mrs Ray finally cracked. Ever the stoic, she paid no heed to the life-challenging heatwaves and associated power cuts. She disregarded the Covid that raged through her loved ones and took hours-long delays in and out of Gatwick with her usual eudaimonic tranquillity of mind. The baggage chaos at Heathrow, the melting runway at Luton, the rail/barrister/postal strikes and prospect of our next PM being elected by less than a quarter of 1 per cent of the country; well, they barely registered. No, what finally did for my dear wife was seeing her favourite Mâcon-Lugny rise in price from £14 to almost £20. Her evening tipple priced out of reach was the final straw. She was quite undone.

Order today and use the discount code SPECJULY at the checkout. So, I finally got the plague. No, not monkeypox, the other one – Covid. I blame that Tuscan wedding. Not the hot’n’sweaty event itself, nor the jam-packed flights there and back; no, I blame the three subsequent days on the wagon, strictly enforced by Mrs Ray to prove that we’re not complete and utter lushes and can, on occasion, do without. Well, as any fule kno, Muscadet keeps the doctor away and water won’t. Thus it is that I’m still testing positive after 14 days. Sigh. But I’m back on the vino now and feel much better for it, thank you, the associated vitamins and antioxidants putting a distinct spring in my step.

Order today. We’re just back from a quick flit to Italy and a wild and wonderful wedding. It was all huge fun, although as I look back with throbbing, bloodshot eyes, I see, of course, that we could have done things differently, not to say better, such as by pacing ourselves more sensibly and staying off the grappa. It was arriving late that threw us (thanks easyJet) and the resultant determination to hit the ground running and prove our worth. The inevitable upshot is a distinct liverishness today. At least I’m not as frail as Mrs Ray, who sat pale, monosyllabic and remorseful next to me on the flight home.