Jonathan Ray
Wine Club: five of the finest from Armit Wines
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. From the De Conciliis family in Cilento, Campania – that glorious region of Naples and the Amalfi coast – it’s as fine a Fiano as I’ve had: fresh, full and fruity and clean as a whistle. Luigi De C and his sister Paola take a hands-off approach to winemaking; they work organically, are energy self-sufficient and use as little sulphur as they can. And, well, they make gorgeous, great-value wines. £11.67 down from £14.78.
We offered a previous vintage of the 2020 Cantine Lunae Vermentino Etichetta Grigia (2) very successfully a couple of years ago and this is also bang on song. From the Colli di Luni (‘Mountains of the Moon’) in Liguria in Italy’s north-west, it is – as I mentioned before – sibling of the estate’s Etichetta Nera, Gambero Rosso’s 2020 White Wine of the Year. It’s light-ish but concentrated and, with fresh citrus, green apple and peach, offers much to enjoy. £14.17 down from £17.98.
The 2017 Cantele Salice Salentino Riserva (3) from Puglia, in Italy’s heel, is 100 per cent Negroamaro. Family-owned Cantele has long pioneered the region and the grape, and this is a fine example of both. Full of sweet dark cherries and plums, there’s a hint of spice too, a whisper of vanilla (it spends six months in oak), decent tannins and great acidity. £11.66 down from £13.84.
The 2018 Musella Valpolicella Ripasso Superiore (4), produced on the Monte del Drago (‘Dragon Mountain’) near Verona, is a typical blend of Corvina and Corvinone with tiny touches of Rondinella and Barbera, all farmed/vinified organically/biodynamically. Two-thirds of the grapes are pressed and fermented as normal while the remaining third are dried and then added to the first batch and re-fermented. The result is delectably concentrated and rich, with super smooth tannins, rich, dark cherry fruit and the longest of finishes. It’s a cracker! £16.25 down from £20.76.
Finally, we leave Italy in favour of the Languedoc for a fabulous bin end, the 2017 Ch. Maris ‘Les Amandiers’ (5), offered at a knockdown price so Armit can take in the latest vintage. It’s stupid, I know, but I can’t look at the bottle without thinking of Maris Crane in the TV sitcom Frasier, with which I became obsessed during lockdown, watching all 264 episodes chronologically.
Maris, who never actually appears, is much talked about and, quite clearly, an oceangoing PITA. Stick-thin, with a penchant for plastic surgery, she is described by Frasier, her sometime brother-in-law, as being ‘like the sun, except without the warmth’. One longs for her to appear.
Anyhoo, Maris’s namesake estate in Minervois La Livinière enjoys endless sun with the warmth and, as a result, this Syrah (mainly) and Grenache blend is a punchy 15 per cent vol. A big, brooding beauty (bio-dynamic too), it’s packed with dark berry fruit, olives, liquorice and spice. It’s wonderful now but can only get better and, produced in minuscule quantities, it’s well worth salting away. £47.50 down from £60.
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 and delivery, as ever, is free.