The Majestic Wine Blog

Here comes the sun

Friday 25 July 2008 – 9:15

Fingers, toes etc. crossed, but it looks like being a nice weekend and for the first time in ages I’m planning a quiet weekend at home. My wine rack is pretty empty so I’m planning to stock up tonight with a few summertime favourites.

Top of the list is G de Guiraud, the dry white wine from top Sauternes producer Château Guiraud. Perhaps it’s because I fell in love with the dry white 2007s, but white Bordeaux has had several good vintages in a row and is a big fave of mine at the moment. Despite white Bordeaux’s desparately unfashionable image, I urge you to try this wine - it’s got gorgeous, soft, peachy fruit, lovely fresh grapefruit acidity and subtle, expensive-tasting oak.

It’s the end of the month though and I’ll be looking for something a little easier on the wallet, and since I plan to raid the fishmongers I might go for a Muscadet. The Muscadet region has had a shocking time drecently - a mildew-affected 2007 vintage was followed by a horrible frost in April decimating this year’s likely crop. We’re not sure yet exactly what this means for pricing and availability but it can’t be good news. I’ll be enjoying Domaine de Tourmaline’s delicious sur lie whilst I can.

(I realise re-reading this post that I have just put the Weaver curse on the weather for the next few days - apologies to everyone in the north London area.)

Lighten up, it’s Beaujolais season!

Thursday 10 July 2008 – 12:38

Think of French reds, and naturally, the first word that usually springs to mind is of course Bordeaux. Moments later, your thoughts will probably turn to Burgundy. At this point, you may begin musing to yourself about how these two classic regions so aptly summarise every red-wine-related dichotomy. Full-bodied versus delicate. The solid, noble Cabernet/Merlot pairing versus the highly-strung Pinot Noir. Beef stew or a nice bit of cheese? Diana Dors or Keira Knightley? Arnie or Jude Law?

Now that your thoughts are caught up in Bordeaux and Burgundy, you could be forgiven for overlooking the other ‘B’. (Sorry, Rhone fans; your day will come). Still racking your brains? Let me help you - Beaujolais. Yes, Beaujolais: the oft-forgotten, much maligned little brother of Burgundy, and in my opinion, the more natural opposite number to the likes of Bordeaux.

Let’s be honest. Wines with grippy tannins, heroic mid-palate fruit and wiry acidity are great when enjoyed with a hearty roast in a fire-lit room at Christmas. After ten years’ maturation in the cupboard under the stairs. But when your cockles are in need of cooling rather than warming, and you’re looking for the perfect red to accompany those summer salads, Beaujolais steps up to the mark like no other. Unlike the bombast of beefy Bordeaux, or stern Burgundy with his starched collar and often acerbic tongue, Beaujolais is an all together more easy going, spontaneous and fun-loving sort of chap. Supple raspberry fruit and mild-mannered tannin add up to an instantly approachable wine with great summer appeal.

However, I don’t mean to give the impression that Beaujolais is in any way shallow or unsophisticated. Far from it. There’s a surprising amount of variety and versatility to be found. Lightly chilled, a quality Beaujolais-Villages like our 2006 Domaine Des Nugues is the perfect partner to cold cuts, mild cheeses or even barbecued prawns. At the other end of the spectrum, the spicier Morgon 2007 Chateau de Pizay will complement anything from a warm duck salad to a rare roasted shoulder of lamb.

So, now that I’ve helped whet your appetite for Beaujolais, perhaps you’ll join me in crossing your fingers for some balmier weather to complete the picture!

By Gary Bates | Posted in Majestic News | Comments (0)

Back to the ‘day job’

Monday 23 June 2008 – 13:27

Now all our en primeur wines have been released I thought I should get back to recommending a few of my current favourites, drinking now and providing both quality and value in the less rarefied air away from Bordeaux. So, if you’re mixing a case do try the following. I’ve deliberately chosen ‘interesting’ wines which struggle to be spotted among the rafts of Cabernets and Sauvignon Blancs which pay our salaries.

I doubt (probably hope, in fact) that not every one of these wines will be loved by every taster - and that’s simply because they all have bags of character which by definition will divide the audience. The common factor in each though is that I love them all.

Quinta de Azevedo Vinho Verde 2007. Vinho Verde is almost terminally untrendy because of its naff 1970s associations. Carefully chosen however it can offer real pleasure and a point of difference from most white wines around now. Firstly it’s low in alcohol (only 11.5% in this case) with a spritz and crisp acidity which keep it fresh and briliantly complement the sort of light summer food the long summer (!) will demand.

Albariño Martin Codax 2006 Rias Baixas. Before I started flying a desk and spent much of the year in the field sourcing wines, I brought this wine into Majestic for the first time. It’s testament to the quality of the product that it remains a favourite. With some of the same qualities of the wine above (particularly a tingling acidity which doesn’t please on a wet winter evening but is just the job drunk cold on a hot summers day) it shows a real pebbly mineral character coupled to greengage fruit that’s just delicious.

Finally, a more expensive treat for all Pinotphiles, Saintsbury Pinot Noir 2005 Carneros. When tasting here at head office we often say of new world Pinot that, if they were Burgundy, they would fetch many times the price we currently sell them for, and this is a prime example. Fantastic quality, strawberry-scented fruit, just a touch of new oak, and real class. Not cheap but a genuine bargain at the current offer price.

Do you like the sound of any of these wines? If so look for some more recent suggestions here)

By Jeremy Palmer | Posted in Product News, Wine News | Tags: Add new tag | Comments (1)

First Growths, Yquem, Las Cases, Pavie

Friday 20 June 2008 – 14:15

Our final release of the campaign reads like a ‘who’s who’ of Bordeaux’s leading names, including first growths Latour, Lafite, Mouton and Haut-Brion plus the highly demanded Yquem.

Aside from these superstars we have a pair of highly successful St-Juliens from Ducru-Beaucaillou and Léoville-Las-Cases, the latter being the highest scored wine of the vintage by the Majestic team, and a very good Pavie. Finally we also have the ‘other’ wines from the Haut-Brion: second wine Clarence (formerly known as Bahans), sister property La Mission, and the exquisite whites of Laville-Haut-Brion.

Before ordering we advise customers to read our vintage report, and be familiar with the timetable for Bordeaux 2007. All prices are for in-bond delivery and exclude duty, VAT and handling.

Le Clarence de Haut-Brion 2007 Pessac-Léognan, 2nd wine of Haut-Brion 12×75cl, £420.00

Château Ducru-Beaucaillou 2007 St-Julien, 2ème Cru Classé 12×75cl, £520.00

Château Pavie 2007 St-Emilion, 1er Grand Cru Classé 6×75cl, £615.00

Château Léoville-Las-Cases 2007 St-Julien, 2ème Cru Classé 12×75cl, £920.00

Château La Mission Haut-Brion 2007 Pessac-Léognan 6×75cl, £1000.00

Château Mouton-Rothschild 2007 Pauillac, 1er Cru Classé 6×75cl, £1225.00

Château Haut-Brion 2007 Pessac-Léognan, 1er Cru Classé 6×75cl, £1225.00

Château Lafite-Rothschild 2007 Pauillac, 1er Cru Classé 6×75cl, £1300.00

Château Latour 2007 Pauillac, 1er Cru Classé 6×75cl, £1300.00

Château Laville Haut-Brion Blanc 2007 Pessac-Léognan 6×75cl, £1900.00

Château d’Yquem 2007 Sauternes, 1er Cru Supérieur Classé 6×75cl, £1925.00

Château d’Yquem 2007 Sauternes, 1er Cru Supérieur Classé 12×375ml Half-bottles, £1925.00

Full Bordeaux 2007 list

By Richard Weaver | Posted in Majestic News | Comments (1)

Margaux, Palmer, Poyferré, Cos, Domaine de Chevalier…

Wednesday 11 June 2008 – 18:09

Margaux’s top two properties feature today. From the eponymous Margaux we have the sought-after grand vin at 21% less than our initial offer last year. Also released are the well-priced Pavillon Rouge and, for the first time, we have a small allocation of their hugely demanded white wine, Pavillon Blanc. Alter Ego de Palmer is one of the best value second wines around, and we rated the grand vin of Palmer very highly indeed.

The Mouton-Rothschild stable performed excellently in 2007, and we also have two great value Pauillacs from them to offer, d’Armailhac and Clerc-Milon. We also have good efforts from popular properties Léoville-Poyferré and Cos d’Estournel.

Finally, in a stellar vintage for dry white Graves we are delighted to have secured an allocation of the sought-after Domaine de Chevalier. It really is a fantastic wine, and we’re conveniently offering it in six-packs at £275 - tuck in.

Before ordering we advise customers to read our vintage report, and be familiar with the timetable for Bordeaux 2007. All prices are for in-bond delivery and exclude duty, VAT and handling.

Château d’Armailhac 2007 Pauillac, 5ème Cru Classé 12×75cl, £210.00

Château Clerc-Milon 2007 Pauillac, 5ème Cru Classé 12×75cl, £250.00

Alter Ego de Palmer 2007 Margaux, 2nd wine of Palmer 12×75cl, £255.00

Domaine de Chevalier 2007 Pessac-Léognan 6×75cl, £275.00

Château Pavie-Macquin 2007 St-Emilion, Grand Cru Classé 12×75cl, £320.00

Château Léoville-Poyferré 2007 St-Julien, 2ème Cru Classé 12×75cl, £350.00

Pavillon Rouge de Château Margaux 2007 12×75cl, £380.00

Pavillon Blanc de Château Margaux 2007 6×75cl, £480.00

Château Cos d’Estournel 2007 St-Estèphe, 2ème Cru Classé 12×75cl, £650.00

Château Palmer 2007 Margaux, 3ème Cru Classé 12×75cl, £1175.00

Château Margaux 2007 Margaux, 1er Cru Classé 6×75cl, £1225.00

Full Bordeaux 2007 list

By Richard Weaver | Posted in Bordeaux 2007, En Primeur | Comments (0)

Rethinking Soave

Tuesday 10 June 2008 – 8:55

Soave is a wine with an image problem. In the bad old days for Italian wines, mass-produced Soave lurked on the bottom shelf of supermarket Italian wine fixtures at very low prices, and correspondingly low quality levels. For such wines, neutrality was an asset.

But just as regions such as Chianti and Valpolicella have enjoyed a resurgence in interest in (and the quality of) their wines, so has Soave. Increasingly, the best wines are highly sought-after, and justifiably so.

The Soave region is located to the east of Verona, on the gentle slopes of the Lessini Hills (also home to Valpolicella). As with other famous Italian DOCs is centered on a ‘Classico’ zone that is Soave’s heartland and where the majority of the finest wines come from. Soave is the spiritual home of the Garganega variety, and although it is commonly blended with Trebbiano it is Garganega that provides Soave with its most distinctive wines.

The best wines have a texture that is soft and creamy but with a pleasant freshness, with aromas of flowers, minerals and apples. Some producers use a limited amount of oak ageing, as well as extended lees contact, to enhance the complexity of their wines, which may come from late-picked grapes to increase richness.

We do receive a small allocation from Pieropan, probably Soave’s most respected producer, which disappears very quickly (and rightly so - it’s fantastic), but the wine you should be seeking out at your local store at the moment is the Soave Classico from Inama. Made from 100% Garganega, there’s a lovely balance of freshness and complexity. I enjoy it as a treat with summery salads; it would go down a storm at an al fresco dinner party. There’s 20% off when you buy any 2 bottles of Italian wine this summer, bringing this down from £12.49 to £9.99 - it’s more than a match for, say, an equivalent priced white Burgundy.

By Richard Weaver | Posted in Product News, Special Offers | Comments (1)

Léoville-Barton, Lynch Bages, Pontet Canet, Forts de Latour and more…

Wednesday 4 June 2008 – 11:15

Finally things are moving and we have a flood of new releases for you. We’ve passed on a lot of wines this year, so we can focus on the truly desirable wines that we’re confident in offering en primeur.

All our favourite mid-priced châteaux are here: the hugely popular Léoville-Barton; an extremely impressive Pontet Canet; a back-on-form Lynch Bages. We also have sought-after Pomerols Certan de May and Vieux-Château-Certan, plus Forts de Latour.

Before ordering we advise customers to read our vintage report, and be familiar with the timetable for Bordeaux 2007. All prices are for in-bond delivery and exclude duty, VAT and handling.

Château Belgrave 2007 Haut-Médoc, 5ème Cru Classé 12×75cl, £135.00

Château Branaire-Ducru 2007 St-Julien, 4ème Cru Classé 12×75cl, £270.00

Château Langoa-Barton 2007 St-Julien, 3ème Cru Classé 12×75cl, £280.00

Château Calon-Ségur 2007 St-Estèphe, 3ème Cru Classé 12×75cl, £320.00

Château Léoville-Barton 2007 St-Julien, 2ème Cru Classé 12×75cl, £380.00

Château Lynch-Bages 2007 Pauillac, 5ème Cru Classé 12×75cl, £395.00

Château Pontet-Canet 2007 Pauillac, 5ème Cru Classé 12×75cl, £445.00

Château Montrose 2007 St-Estèphe, 2ème Cru Classé 12×75cl, £460.00

Château Certan de May 2007 Pomerol 12×75cl, £550.00

Les Forts de Latour 2007 Pauillac, 2nd wine of Latour, 12×75cl, £570.00

Vieux-Château-Certan 2007 Pomerol 6×75cl, £325.00

Full Bordeaux list

By Richard Weaver | Posted in Bordeaux 2007, En Primeur | Comments (0)

Chardonnay in decline? Have your say

Friday 30 May 2008 – 9:50

Decanter.com has an interesting story about the declining sales of Chardonnay in the UK accompanied by an interesting quote from Oz Clarke:

Chardonnay has made some of the world’s greatest wines. Everyone appreciated it – until Bridget Jones. Before Bridget Jones, Chardonnay was really sexy. After, people said, ‘God, not in my bar’.

I’ve taken a quick glance at Majestic’s figures which show Chardonnay sales broadly level - although interestingly we now sell significantly more Sauvignon Blanc than Chardonnay. Personally, I’m actually drinking more Chardonnay than I used to; I have always enjoyed white Burgundy, especially Chablis, but I’m also the more more elegant wines coming from New World nowadays. Chardonnays from producers like Yering Station in Victoria, Vasse Felix in Western Australia and Vergelegen in South Africa regularly appear on my dinner table.

Just for fun, what do you think?

By Richard Weaver | Posted in Wine News | Comments (10)

Waiting for Bordeaux … and some new offers

Wednesday 21 May 2008 – 15:18

Very few of our chosen wines have been released en primeur yet, so the 2007 campaign remains a bit of a phoney war so far. However, those chateaux that have released are generally (in our humble opinion) pricing much too high. The simple fact is that the 2007s need to be cheaper than the preceding vintages and, in most cases, they are not.

Rest assured reader that we will be buying only those wines that we think represent genuine value so, if and when you do see wines on offer here, do consider them for your cellar - they will be the best wines of the vintage.

In the meantime, we are spicing up our summer activity with new sets of offers. First are our Bank Holiday Specials, which feature some of our most popular wines at very competitive prices, including the phenominally successful Oyster Bay Sauvignon. As we were the first UK stockist of the this wine, we can’t help but feel a bit proprietorial about it.

Second, we’re entering the key period of the year for Champagne, as the summer wedding season kicks off. Majestic’s raison d’être is to have the best deals around on the best range possible, so we’ve cut and cut our prices again to achieve this. Given the strength of demand in Champagne, and the resultant price rises from our suppliers, we’re really pleased with these offers. In retail it’s unwise ever to promise anything on pricing, but I can’t imagine these wines being available cheaper elsewhere.

By Jeremy Palmer | Posted in Bordeaux 2007 | Comments (1)

New Releases - Friday 9 May

Friday 9 May 2008 – 10:15

And they’re off! The first wines of the campaign are now available to order online. Highlights include some superb Sauternes, notably the stellar Rieussec and Suduiraut, plus a pair of highly demanded Pomerols from J.P. Moueix, Hosanna and Fleur-Pétrus.

Before ordering we advise customers to read our vintage report, and be familiar with the timetable for Bordeaux 2007. All prices are for in-bond delivery and exclude duty, VAT and handling.

Château Beychevelle 2007 St-Julien, 4ème Cru Classé 12×75cl, £260.00

Château La Fleur Pétrus 2007 Pomerol 12×75cl, £570.00

Château Hosanna 2007 Pomerol 6×75cl, £325.00

Château Doisy-Verdrines 2007 Barsac, 2ème Cru Classé 12×75cl, £210.00

Château Doisy-Verdrines 2007 Barsac, 2ème Cru Classé 24×375ml half-bottles, £210.00

Château La Tour Blanche 2007 Sauternes, 1er Cru Classé 12×75cl, £340.00

Château La Tour Blanche 2007 Sauternes, 1er Cru Classé 24×375ml half-bottles, £340.00

Château Suduiraut 2007 Sauternes, 1er Cru Classé 12×75cl, £445.00

Château Suduiraut 2007 Sauternes, 1er Cru Classé 24×375ml half-bottles, £445.00

Château Rieussec 2007 Sauternes, 1er Cru Classé 12×75cl, £500.00

Château Rieussec 2007 Sauternes, 1er Cru Classé 24×375ml half-bottles, £500.00

By Richard Weaver | Posted in Bordeaux 2007, En Primeur | Comments (0)