Keeping Warm

Murky East-Anglian skies and extremely chilly days call for robust warming reds. We like them with a bit of age. After rummaging in the cellar I found a glorious bottle of 1997 Flaccianello and a cheering 1990 Crozes Hermitage Thalabert.

Giovanni Manetti’s Flaccianello (we list the 2008 at present) is one of Tuscany’s finest wines and was a real treat. It tastes good after five years but better still after 10 and it can clearly last 20.

The 1990 Thalabert (the 2005 and 2006 are available from us currently) has now long lost its baby fat and initial fruit but has a wonderful mellow roasted quality. No point in hoarding longer.

It also served as a reminder to put in my order for 2010 Rhônes (offer closes at 9pm this evening). The inexpensive Villages mixed case is a no-brainer and Marcel tells me that it was an exceptional year for Côte-Rôtie. With some of the most hard-to-work slopes in France, and planted with vines since Roman times, Côte-Rôtie does not succeed fully every year, but when it does, you have something very fine.

Sebastian Payne MW
Chief buyer