Published in ecentral – November 2005

Here are some of

THE ADVANTAGES

of buying a mixed case from Majestic Wine Warehouse on Shoreditch High Street:

You don’t have to know a great deal about wine to make a start. They sell pre-selected mixed cases at many price levels and these can be a lot of fun. Keep a note (on the invoice?) of the ones you like best so you can start putting together your own cases.

They sell wine at (nearly) all price levels – their “Value Case” will arrive at your door for an outlay of less than 40 quid. For mid-range wines, they’re often cheaper than the supermarkets and multiples.

There’s no snobbery involved and Stephanie Appleby and her staff are knowledgeable and enthusiastic.

They’ve sort of taken over where Oddbins – now owned by Castel, the largest wine company in Europe – left off a few years ago in terms of weeding out most of the dull, agro-industrial stuff. After all, their reputation rests on the quality of their wines and as a result, they seek out more interesting stuff, often from smaller, individual producers who care about what they’re making.

You don’t have to schlep the stuff around.
Having a case on hand gives you the luxurious pleasure of choice – “Sweetie, do you think this Chilean Merlot or the Lalande de Pomerol would go better with the bangers?” I hear you saying already. (Which is a lot better than having to say: “Well, we’ve only got this Aussie Shiraz but I’m sure it’ll be fine with oysters.”)

And here are

THE DISADVANTAGES

of buying a mixed case from Majestic Wine Warehouse on Shoreditch High Street:

You have to shell out for 12 bottles at a time – but you were going to spend that money on wine anyway, weren’t you? So I’m not having any of that old bollocks.

THE WINES

A classy case for Christmas indulgence is made by their “Best of Bordeaux” box at £93.88, which saves around £11 on the by-the-bottle prices (shown in brackets – two bottles of each wine per case) and contains a couple of refreshing reminders that Bordeaux isn’t just about claret. White Bordeaux is the offspring of a marriage of grapes made in heaven – that of Sauvignon Blanc (for freshness, aroma and zip) and Semillon (for roundness and length). Chateau Haut-Mazieres 2003 (£6.49) has all these assets and more and the overall effect is perhaps not entirely unlike that of a toffee-apple. Now, I’ve been a stranger to toffee-apples these thirty-five or more years but I’d still enjoy one if anybody ever thought to offer.
Scotsmen excelling at making rosé wines in Bordeaux? In kilts? OK, I made the last bit up but if Château de Sours 2004 (£7.99) is the result then I’m all for it. The late Auberon Waugh described Esme Johnstone’s effort as “probably the best rosé in the world” and its jammy nose, fleshy summer fruit flavours and all-round sonsie-ness make it hard to disagree.
One of the most reliable clarets at the less scary end of the price spectrum is Château Meaume 2001 Bordeaux Superieur (£6.99). They make a lot of it – it’s always worth keeping an eye out for on restaurant menus – but the plummy, Merlot fruit is well married with light oak and the whole effect is entirely satisfying.

Château Pitray comes from the Côtes de Castillon, a much under-rated (and – wisper it – under-priced) apellation and the 2001 vintage (£8.49) is grown-up claret with slightly baked, fruit-cakey flavours and serious length and depth. Übertaster Robert Parker’s a fan, and who am I – the world’s least influential wine critic – to argue?

A little lighter in style, but just as serious in intent, is Château Caronne-Ste.Gemme 2001 (£10.99) which is all about cedar, and lush red berries and a bit of coffee to follow. It’s classed as a “crû bourgeois” which means it would be ideal to impress a classy, bourgeois crew – or something like that, anyway.

Château Saint-Paul de Dominique 2001 (£11.99) is a St.Emilion Grand Cru in a powerful, New World style with 14% alcohol and a solid core of almost opaque, slightly stewed, black cherry fruit girdled by expensive, toasty oak. Is it good? Unquestionably. Is it St. Emilion? I’m not sure, but our man Parker is a fan and to a large extent it’s actually a case of “Parkerisation” – that is, making a wine in a style specifically intended to achieve a big score in his 100-point marking system. Is this man really that influential? You bet. Get an “exceptional” score of 90-plus points and sales – and subsequently prices – can go supernova. I reckon he’d give it 86-88, so they’re knocking on the door.

The proof of the pudding is that nobody who ever started buying wine by the case ever stopped without a good reason (which, basically, means penury, liver disease or death – and really only the last of these is good enough).