A glass or two, or three, of Sherry

Being rather fond of Sherry, one of the most under-rated and good-value wines, we don't need much of an excuse to raid the shelves of our local wine suppliers. Over the last few evenings we have sampled three delightful examples thinking about the recent and very sad passing of John Radford, a lover of all things Spanish and a great sherry enthusiast. We hope he would approve.

The first was a long-standing favourite Fino from Gonzales Byas, Tio Pepe. Pale-coloured, lovely fresh nose, wonderfully crisp and refreshing and long on the palate. A joy of an aperitif and just right to pep up the appetite.

The second, a Dry Oloroso, one of the Waitrose range of Lustau sherries, was a lovely dark bronze that shone in the glass. A bit of peach and apricot on the nose, then rich dried fig and prune on the palate ending with burnt caramel flavours but without the sweetness.  A lovely long dry finish.

The third, another from the Waitrose Lustau range, a Dry Amontillado. Slightly paler than the Oloroso but lovely rich nose and palate. Nutty with a touch of caramel, this had terrific length and a wonderfully austere dry finish. 

The Tio Pepe at £9.99 from Sainsbury's and the Waitrose Sherries at £8.99 each are stunning value. Difficult to find any other wine of such quality for under £10.

All three were superb but we both voted the Dry Amontillado as our overall favourite.  Glad we have some left for this evening!

Loire wines@Waitrose

The Naked Grape, 2009 Sauvignon Blanc, Vin de Pays de Charentais

I went along to the Waitrose press tasting today. There was a substantial number of wines to taste – some 225. Rather than try to taste a huge number I preferred to concentrate on the Loire and then taste a few from elsewhere.

First up was the Naked Grape 2009 Sauvignon Blanc. I know that the Charente isn't normally considered part of the Loire but it does have a connection that I knew nothing about until today. This 2009 Sauvignon (£6.99) is attractively grassy, crisp and well made. The Loire connection is Henri Bourgeois of Chavignol, who advise the growers of the co-operative and then select the vats that will be sold under the Naked Grape label.

2009 Fief Guérin, Muscadet Côtes de Grandlieu

Waitrose showed two 2009 Muscadets: one from Sèvre et Maine, made by Grands Chais de France (Champteloup label - £5.99) and the other the Fiefs Guérin (£6.49) from the Choblet family in Bouaye. I thought the Fiefs Guérin was well worth the additional 50p as it has crisper, more vibrant fruit with an attractive salinity in the finish.

(More wines to add but it is time to get settled in to see the result of the UK's 2010 General Election.)

Loire selection – Oddbins v Waitrose

The bogof (buy one, get one free) culture: buy 3, get 3 free on Eurotunnel

There has been an interesting discussion today on the wine forum of Tom Cannavan’s Wine-Pages on supermarkets and the current state of Oddbins, once the UK’s brightest national wine merchant chain. This prompted me to compare the range of Loire wines offered on-line by Oddbins and by Waitrose, a relatively small UK supermarket chain but certainly the one offering the most interesting range.

The comparison shows that Waitrose wins by a mile. Furthermore the number of wines on the Oddbins site listed as unavailable suggests a company with perhaps a serious supply problem.

Nick Room (2nd from left) is Waitrose's Loire wine buyer. At Charles & Philippa Sydney's annual salon party February 2009

Oddbins 2 choices
Chenin Blanc: an Anjou Blanc from Bougrier and a Vouvray from Philippe de Sivray – perhaps a Bougrier brand name. Bougrier is a négociant based in Saint-Georges-sur-Cher with several wine-making facilities in different parts of the Loire.

Waitrose: Chenin Blanc: 13 choices inc several from Huet inc 1995 Le Mont sec and 2002 demi-sec le Mont and a Savennières + some more basic Chenins

Oddbins Muscadet: 2 listed none currently available

Waitrose: Muscadet: One listed from Domaine des Herbauges. Reflecting currently shortage of Muscadet but also continued supply due to Waitrose's long-term relationship with this producer.

Oddbins: Sauvignon Blanc - 9 listed - 5 currently unavailable
Those available: own label Sancerre and PF, Christian Salmon (decent grower in Bué) Sancerre and a cave-coop wine for an eye-watering £18.99 a bottle.

Waitrose: Sauvignon Blanc: 15 listed inc Chatelain and Masson Blondelet (PF), Vacheron and Fouassier (Sancerre), Pellé (Menetou-Salon) and Ampelidae from Haut-Poitou - the sort of wine Oddbins might well have once listed.

Oddbins Cabernet Franc: none listed

Waitrose: Cabernet Franc: 7 listed inc Joguet, Frédéric Mabileau (Saint-Nick and Bourgueil), Ch la Varière (Anjou Villages Brissac)

Oddbins: Pinot Noir – 3 listed Tinel-Blondelet 2006 available but other two – rosé (Cave de Sancerre) and red (Hubert Brocard) not available.

Waitrose: Pinot Noir: One listed – 2005 Belle Dame, Sancerre Rouge from Vacheron.

Nothing wrong with Oddbins' Loire suppliers, although never the most exciting but the selection actually available is pretty threadbare. Waitrose's selection, in comparison, includes some of the best producers.

Looking further at the Oddbins site, the number of wines that are 'currently unavailable' is rather alarming, unless the company has just had a very successful weekend or has a technical glitch.

Of the 72 Champagnes listed – 27 are available.
Of 20 Australian Cabernet Sauvignons listed – 3 are available.
Of 32 Australian Shiraz listed – just 2 are available.

In addition Oddbins own label red is unavailable until 3rd March 2009 and there is no red Burgundy and no Chablis available.

Oddbins has failed to file its annual return on time – overdue since 25th January 2009.

Oddbins
Waitrose

Added: 12.30 pm 16th February
I have just spoken to Westbury Communications, who have the PR account for Oddbins,and I understand that the core range of 500 wines should be up on line with a further 400 parcels and bin-ends to be added later.

It is possible that there is a glitch and Westbury have promised to come back to me asap.

Added: 3.20 pm 16th February
I'm very pleased that Oddbins has responded to this post here.