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Some might say that, at the age of 39 and with a thickening waist
and thicker arteries, I need not abandon all hope of playing inside-right for Chelsea. But
I feel it's passed me by. And as for swinging it with the wife that she, me, the twins and
Michelle Pfeiffer could all co-habit in perfect Platonic harmony? Perhaps I should stick
to daydreams? So how about a friendly, local offie with an excellent range of well-chosen
wines at eminently reasonable prices? Somewhere that, when you get carried away, they'll
knock 10% off a mixed case and pop it round to yours in a day or so at no extra charge?
Oh, and just for good measure, they'll always have a beguiling bunch of bin-ends -
including some serious wines at silly prices? Perhaps I'm getting (or should be) carried
away, again.
But no, I wake, and find this little dream comes true on Church Street at Clissold Wines
where Jim Murphy has been plying his trade this last fifteen years. In that time, the
gregarious Murphy has happily adapted to the many seismic changes in the wine market. When
he started the earth was still flat, but currently the New World accounts for about
one-third of his wine sales. Such is the loyalty of his clientele that the arrival of
Oddbins up the street, which one imagines would strike terror into the heart of an
independent merchant, made little or no impression on his turnover.
Jim reckons his best-selling red is Andes Peaks Merlot 1999 from Chile at £4.49. It's
certainly a crowd-pleasing sort of a wine - lots of big, soft black fruits but with
perhaps a bit of black coffee round the edges to sober it up. His best-selling white is
unfortunately Lindemanns Cawarra Semillon-Chardonnay 1999 (£3.99). I was unable, on
religious grounds, to taste this wine as the product of these two grapes in the mouth
simultaneously constitutes a blasphemy. For heaven's sake, imbibers of N16 - for a
piddling 75p more you can have their Bin 65 Chardonnay which is one of the great wine
bargains of the world. No less a luminary than Robert Parker rated their 1998 at 86 out of
100.
A relatively recent arrival at Clissold is the very forgivingly-priced Bellefontaine range
of Vins de Pays from the ambitious Paul Boutinot. I tried two - the Syrah and the
Terret-Sauvignon, both Vin de Pays d'Oc 1999. The elegant Syrah tastes of blackberry and
apple pie. The white has good body and colour and some nice gooseberryness mixed with
something more tropical. Both punch well above their weight at £3.99 and would be
excellent party wines - I suspect the rest of his wide range of varietals would be worth
looking into. Boutinot also has three 1998 Beaujolais, the most expensive being the
Brouilly at £6.89. There's plenty of serious competition at this price level and,
although true to type in terms of being something of a lightweight (Brouilly is probably
the lightest of the Beaujolais crus), this is quite a bright, jammy number but with a
tannic backbone to give it some structure.
Jim has a good selection of Riojas, of which I tasted (probably) the best two, both of
which would be reliable dinner-party offerings. The oldest bodega in the region, Marqués
de Riscál, seem to have lost the plot somewhat in recent years. Even so, their Reserva
1995, at £8.99, has a smooth and silky surface beneath which the oak and the fruit slug
it out for supremacy. Bodegas Muga's Reserva 1995 (£7.99) is relatively light for such a
traditional producer, and might benefit from a little more time in bottle. Nonetheless,
its 14-month slumber in oak has left it with delicious vanillins to complement the spicy
fruit of the Garnacha and Tempranillo. Of the two, I'd take the Muga.
For those of you concerned about your alcohol intake, Trio Station Three Steps Chardonnay
1998 from Victoria, Australia (£6.69) may be of interest, since consumption of four
bottles would appear to result in completion of the full twelve steps and absolution from
further worry. Jim's a big fan of oaked Chardonnay, but the oak here is quite subdued and
leaves plenty of room for the zesty, marmaladey fruit to assert itself.
But what about those bin-ends and small parcels? I won't say too much about the Albariño
Rias Baixas 1999 (from Martín Códax, probably the best producer in Galicia) because it's
probably all gone. This is a shame because I, for one, would happily pay two or three
times the asking price of £3.99 to enjoy its long and supple, pineappley elegance.
The only problem with Luigi Bosca's 1993 Mendoza Malbec Luján de Cuyo (£4.99), from
Argentina, is that it's not quite as good as the 1996, for which I recently paid £8.20
from a leading merchant. This apart, it's a rambunctious and spicy number that lap-dances
on your tongue long after other wines have gone home to bed.
Oh, and finally, Jean-Louis Chave's 1996 white Hermitage at £9.95? ... in your dreams,
mate, it's long gone. But don't fret, there'll be plenty of other things to conjure with
when you visit Clissold Wines.
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