Jonathan Ray
Wine club: six smutty wines that perfectly hit the spot
My father loved nothing more than a smutty limerick. Indeed, he delighted in penning lewd lines whenever he was encouraged to do so.
This being a family magazine, I won’t sully your breakfast with his verse on Verdicchio – tame though it is – but can happily send under plain brown-paper wrapper or via email if such things appeal.
It’s just that said lickerish limerick was brought to mind on tasting the first wine of this very genial selection – three Italian, three French – from our old mates at Honest Grapes.
It’s a jolly verse and the 2020 Casalfarneto Diego Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico (1) is a similarly jolly wine, from one of my very favourite regions in Italy – Le Marche. Fresh, zesty and keen with plenty of citrus and Sauvignon Blanc/-Bacchus-like aromas and acidity, it’s the perfect picnic wine or first undemanding glass of the evening. £11.79 down from £13.10.
We’ve offered the 2018 Albert Bichot Viré-Clessé (2) before with great success and I reckon it’s currently tasting even better. Family-owned Maison Albert Bichot have been making wine in and around Beaune for almost 200 years and clearly know what they’re about. Soft, smooth and honeyed with concentrated fresh lemon, butter and whispers of caramel and vanilla, it’s lusciously long-lasting in the mouth and deeply satisfying. £15.75 down from £17.50.
I’ve lost count of the number of dreary, overpriced Gavi di Gavis I’ve had in dreary, overpriced Italian restaurants over the years, and so it was a complete delight to encounter this 2020 Villa Sparina Gavi di Gavi (3). Made from 100 per cent Cortese in southern Piedmont, it’s a cracking example of how tempting a wine proper Gavi di Gavi should be. Lemon, apple and peach notes combine with a bone-dry, slightly savoury finish to make something very appealing indeed. £18.90 down from £21.
The 2019 La Giaretta Valpolicella Volpare (4) from the Veneto is the red equivalent, proving that in the right hands (in this instance those of couple Francesco and Francesca Vaono) Valpol can rise above its wine-bar infamy and hit the spot just so. A blend of Rondinella, Molinara, Corvinone and Corvino, it’s juicy and jammy with hints of roses on the nose and buckets of redcurrants and cherries in the mouth. It’s a charmer all right and one I’d consider chilling. £14.40 down from £16.
The 2020 Hexa Rouge (6) from Vignobles Siozard in Bordeaux is a brow-furrowingly intriguing blend (in equal measures) of Pressac, Carmenère, Petit Verdot, Petite Vidure, Grosse Vidure and Merlot vinified in amphorae. A deep, inky purple, it’s rich, it’s concentrated, it’s jammy and it’s robust and tannic. Alongside some braised oxtail, though, those tannins just melted away and the bottle was downed in a trice. £19.80 down from £22.
Finally, for a bit of fun, we’re including an Atelier des Jumeaux Blend Your Own Bordeaux Kit (available with Case 1), containing one 75cl bottle each of vintage Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, a measuring flask, tasting sheets and instructions. I had a hoot designing (and necking) my own perfect Bordeaux blend with Mrs Ray and would love you to get stuck in too. It’s both easier and harder than you might think.
There are two mixed cases: Case 1 which has one bottle of each wine (5 per cent off RRP) plus the Blend Your Own Bordeaux Kit and Case 2 which has two bottles of each wine (10 per cent off RRP). Delivery, as ever, is free.