Jonathan Ray
Wine Club: a glittering selection from Armit Wines
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.
The 2020 Borthwick Vineyards Paper Road CPR (1) from Wairarapa, New Zealand, has nothing to do with cardiopulmonary resuscitation and everything to do with Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Riesling, of which it’s an extremely tasty blend. I love wines like this! It’s just so welcoming, with teasing hints of peaches, pears and lively citrus on the nose and a silky, mouth-fillingly creamy, fruity finish. A complete bargain at RRP, it’s an absolute giveaway with 26 per cent off. £12.08 down from £16.43.
The 2018 Astrolabe Chardonnay (2) is another cracker from NZ, in this instance from Marlborough, due west of Wairarapa across the Cook Strait, through which sailed French botanist/cartographer Jules Dumont d’Urville in his ship Astrolabe in 1827.
Made from free-run juice of 100 per cent Chardonnay, drawn from three vineyard sites, the wine was fermented and aged in French oak. The result is strikingly fine and testament to the great skill of the wine-maker, Simon Waghorn. It’s so graceful and light on its feet, with notes of peach, apple, biscuit, nuts and grapefruit, and a zephyr-soft touch of cream on the finish. It’s seriously sophisticated Chardonnay. £15.42 down from £20.56.
Next to Spain, with two belters from La Rioja Alta, the fabled producer established in 1890, a time when French winemakers were busy scrabbling for wine here, Bordeaux having been devastated by phylloxera. First, the 2018 Viña Alberdi Rioja Reserva (3), named after one of the five founding families. Made from hand-picked Tempranillo from four distinct vineyards, it’s aged for two years in oak (first new, then old) and one in bottle. It’s appealingly ready to drink with luscious, sweet, ripe redcurrant, raspberry and cherry fruit, and swirls of vanilla and spice. It’s silkily stylish and really quite the dandy. £17.08 down from £19.99.
The 2016 Áster Ribera del Duero Crianza (4), from La Rioja Alta’s Ribera del Duero estate, is named after the wildflower that grows in the wild semi-arid scrub south-west of Rioja. As with the wine above, it’s made entirely from Tempranillo (known here as Tinta del Páis), grown at around 800m above sea level. Rich, full and rewarding, there’s more black fruit here than red, with hints of liquorice, pepper and herbs. It’s quite punchy at 14.5 per cent vol, but so seamlessly well-knit is it, and so classy, that it’s all in complete balance. £18.75 down from £22.36.
Finally, as a cheeky add-on we have the Digby Fine English NV Brut (5), a traditional-method sparkler named after Sir Kenelm Digby, the 17th-century courtier, philosopher, privateer, alchemist and – hats off! – inventor of the modern wine bottle (without which fizz wouldn’t exist). A blend of Pinot Noir (mainly), Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier from vineyards across southern England, it has weight and complexity, thanks to a hefty dollop of reserve wine and at least two years on the lees. With Dermot Sugrue as consultant winemaker, Digby makes truly eye-catching wines and this is a perfect introduction. £26.33 down from £33.
Wines 1-4 are offered in unmixed dozens or as part of the mixed case (three bottles of each). Wine 5 is available in six-bottle boxes when ordered in addition to another case, and delivery, as ever, is free.