As I said last week, price is not the same as value. Just because supermarkets have a monopoly on sub-£7 wines doesn’t mean they are cheapest for everything. Rather, they rely on us believing that everything we buy from them is keenly priced, when in reality it may well not be, especially if it’s not on promotion and involves a famous name. Supermarkets are generally not so good at providing less well-known alternatives that offer better value.
I was reminded of this the other day at a tasting put on by the very smart wine merchant Haynes, Hanson & Clark (with that name, they could easily be a firm of solicitors, couldn’t they?), which has branches in Chelsea and Stow-on-the-Wold in the Cotswolds. Unaffordable? Surprisingly not. For example, they have a fantastic selection of clarets, starting with the smartly bottled Château Frontenac Bordeaux Supérieur 2019 (14.5%) at £10.95 a bottle (or £58.20, or £9.70 a bottle, for a case of six). And it would be so much better to buy their Faure-Beausejour 2019, a fleshy, ripe, merlot-dominated fronsac at £12.35 (or £65.70 by the half-case), than most of the indifferent Saint-Émilions you find on supermarket shelves. (Incidentally, supermarkets do score when they go off-piste in this way, too: Tesco, for instance, has an absolutely cracking, bordeaux-like bergerac right now called Eglise Saint Jacques (13%) for just £6.50. (Bergerac is just next door to its more famous neighbour.)
Household names such as chablis, sancerre and châteauneuf-du-pape are no longer the bargains they once were, but if you want to experience what they have to offer, it’s a much better bet to buy them from an indie than from a supermarket (or from a restaurant wine list, incidentally, where they’re definitely best avoided). Better still to buy one of the lesser-known appellations such as the deliciously summery quincy, also from the Loire, in today’s pick. My late husband introduced me to it when I first met him, so I’ve always had a particularly soft spot for the stuff.
Rosé, admittedly, is going to be cheaper in supermarkets, but not that much, given that they are also pushing bottles that cost £15-20. The delicately creamy Domaine Tour Campanets Esprit Rosé (12.5%), again from Haynes, Hanson & Clark, is just lovely and, at £13.50 (or £12 by the half-case), not unreasonably priced for Provence. For an unusual and delectably peachy white from Provence, meanwhile, try the MiP (Made in Provence) Classic White from Lea & Sandeman (£16.95, or £14.95 by the case, 12.5%), which is just gorgeous. (As I’ve said many times before, it can often make sense to split the cost with friends or wine-loving neighbours.)
Five great summer buys from two top wine merchants
Parcelles Pinot Noir Domaine Réthoré Davy 2022 £12.10 (or £10.75 by an unsplit case of 12) Haynes, Hanson & Clark, 13%. Deliciously perfumed and much better than most cheap burgundy.
Quincy Villalin Domaine Jacques Rouzé £17.25 (or £15.35 by an unsplit case of 12) Haynes, Hanson & Clark, 13%. Delicate, pretty, lesser-known Loire sauvignon blanc – a keener-priced alternative to sancerre.
Pazo da Maga 2022 Karma do Sil £16.95 (or £15.50 as part of a mixed case) Lea & Sandeman, 13%. Irresistibly bright, summery godello from Ribeira Sacra in northern Spain.
A Dos Manos Garnacha A Pie de Tierra £15.95 (or £14.50 as part of a mixed case) Lea & Sandeman, 14.5%. Lighter than the ABV might suggest, and brimming with summer berry fruit. Scrumptious.
Kerner Kellerei Kurtatsch 2022 £19.10 (or £16.95 by a case of 6) Haynes, Hanson & Clark. Thrillingly pure, racy, northern Italian white that would be fabulous with fresh crab or other simply cooked seafood.
For more by Fiona Beckett, go to fionabeckett.substack.com
