Wine Club: Say farewell to Dry January with Corney & Barrow

Dry January is never easy. Not with Mrs Ray taunting me with her mid-morning Prosecco and early evening double G&T and not with the constant delivery of wines to be reviewed, tasted and – agonisingly – fully expectorated. This offer from mighty Corney & Barrow was a particular challenge. Not because I didn’t like the wines, but because I loved them. I wanted to neck the whole lot. Roll on 1 February!

The 2023 Homage à Colette (1) from the Languedoc is engagingly quirky. A blend of fresh, vibrant, unoaked Grenache Blanc and smooth, supple, oaked Marsanne, it’s peachy, citrusy, apricotty and slips down a treat. The bright jolly label honours the octogenarian Colette, a much-loved figure in the village of Rieux-Minervois. The wine does her proud. £9.41 down from £10.45.

The 2023 Andaina Godello (2) from the Adegas Galegas winery in Galicia, north-west Spain, gives little away on the nose. Indeed, I had to check that Mrs R hadn’t nicked my glass and substituted water. In the mouth, though, this 100 per cent Godello – a variety first planted here by the Romans – is deliciously herbal and fresh, with hints of citrus and ripe pears. £12.56 down from £13.95.

The 2023 Fratelli Antonio & Raimondo Gavi di Gavi (3) from Piedmont, northern Italy, is also reticent, only slowly unfurling fresh lime, roses and – I’m sure I didn’t imagine it – Turkish delight. Made from 100 per cent Cortese by the family-owned Sartirano winery, it’s steel-fermented for freshness, undergoes malolactic fermentation for texture and six months on the lees for weight. The result is a perfectly poised, enticing aperitif. £13.05 down from £14.50.

The 2022 Baudouin Millet Chablis (4) is rich and smooth rather than steely and austere and, gosh, it’s good. M. Millet picks his sustainably farmed fruit late and favours malolactic fermentation and long lees-ageing in search of his signature opulence.