Wine Club 10 December

Tricky time of year this, with the festivities hoving into view. Never easy for anyone, least of all those of us who suffer from Christmas Affected Doom, Depression and Despondency (CADDAD), a ghastly affliction about which I’ve written at length elsewhere so won’t bore you with now.

Suffice to say that it is a dreadful burden, often hereditary (invariably passing down the male line with females rarely affected), often undiagnosed and rarely properly treated.

Symptoms include a rise in blood pressure caused by the sight of supermarket Christmas puddings and mince pies in early September, a throbbing in the ears upon being invited to have a ‘Cool Yule’, a lurch in the stomach on being force-fed cold cardboard, toothpaste, tile grouting and gravy (known to some as turkey with all the trimmings) and itchiness caused by stray pine needles getting stuck in one’s slippers (a gift from one’s mother-in-law) or socks (from one’s wife — yet again).

I’ve found the only way to cope is to self- medicate at regular intervals with fine wine from a reputable source. And what better source than Messrs Corney & Barrow?

C&B boast two royal warrants as well as some remarkable exclusive agencies including such tip-top names as Champagne Salon, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Pétrus. But Corney’s reputation rests as much on their own first-rate house wines as it does on any of the above which, basically, any fool could source and sell. Getting house wines right is a far trickier and I reckon Corney & Barrow have pretty much nailed it. They source from the finest producers possible and their buying team is deeply involved in the blending and ageing processes. The bottles are impeccably packaged (the current range is presented with strikingly elegant labels) and the pricing is reasonable in the extreme.