Tanners have been around since 1842 and certainly know their onions. Both Decanter and the International Wine Challenge named them ‘Large Independent Wine Retailer of the Year’ in 2016. I mean to say, how lucky are we to have them as one of The Spectator’s partners?
Their sales director, Robert Boutflower, put together a list of typically quirky wines, any one of which I would have been happy to recommend. The final six more than pass muster. Added to which, RB was magnanimity itself and tossed in some tasty discounts, with the mixed case just £108.
The 2015 La Petite Vigne Viognier (1) comes from near Carcassonne and the Foncalieu co-operative, which boasts some 1,000 growers, drawn from all corners of the Languedoc, Gascony and the Rhône. Quality of fruit is everything and where sometimes Viognier can be over-the-top, blowsy and — I hate to be rude — flabby, this is spot on, with delicate peach and apricot notes, a perfectly judged acidity and a crisp clean finish. It’s ridiculously cheap, too, at £6.95 down from £7.95.
The 2016 Château de Tiregand (2) is a deliciously aromatic blend of Sauvignon Blanc (80 per cent) and Sémillon (20 per cent) from Bergerac, east of Bordeaux in the Dordogne. Château de Tiregand was said to have been founded in the 13th century by Edward Tyrgan, bastard son of England’s King Edward III, and today it’s owned by the Saint-Exupéry family, cousins of Antoine, the celebrated aviator and author of Le Petit Prince. The wine is fresh and enticing with typical grassy Sauvignon notes with added creamy weight thanks to the Sémillon. £8.00 down from £8.80.
If New, rather than Old, World Sauvignon is your thing, the 2016 Cucao Sauvignon Blanc Reserva (3) should suit you perfectly.
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