We have three remarkably fine bottles from the Wine Company this week, each a classic example of its type. First, the Michel Guilleminot Blanc de Noirs Brut Champagne NV, a fabulous fizz from the Vallée de l’Aube. Fresh, vibrant and fruity, with a delicate mousse and a touch of biscuit and brioche, this mouth-filling, 100 per cent Pinot Noir gives many a Grande Marque a run for its money. It certainly beats any supermarket own-label champagne hands down. £21 if you buy six bottles, down from £26.99.
The 2012 Sumaridge Chardonnay is from South Africa’s Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley near the whale-watchers’ paradise of Hermanus. I know this ‘Heaven and Earth’ valley well and it’s home to some spectacular wines – Hamilton Russell, Bouchard Finlayson, Newton Johnson, Ataraxia to name a few – and Sumaridge is right up there with the very best. A gold medal winner at the International Wine Challenge, it’s full of ripe, rounded fruit, a touch of vanilla and plenty of zesty citrus and creamy quince. £16.50 if you buy six bottles, down from £22.
Finally, the 2011 Wheeler & Fromm ‘Clayvin Vineyard’ Pinot Noir from one of this capricious grape’s sweet spots: the Brancott Valley, Marlborough, New Zealand. They get great purity of fruit here and great complexity too, thanks in part to 15 months in French oak. With bitter and sour cherry flavours, damsons and plums and a beguiling whisper of smoke, this glorious Kiwi Pinot is in the peak of condition. Little wonder that Decanter named it in its top 50 wines. £24 if you buy six bottles, down from £29.50.
There is a taster case of all three and of course delivery is free.
Delivery, as ever, is free to mainland Britain, and there's a sample case containing all three.
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