Jonathan Ray
Wine Club: a delectable selection from our friends at Yapp Bros
Dry January is but a memory and, nearing the end of a demi-sec February fortnight — just a precaution to check that everything is working as it should be — I’m pretty much match fit once again and raring to go. I certainly loved choosing these delectable Yapp Bros wines on your behalf and, with the help of Mrs Ray, made sure that none of the bottles went to waste.
As befits a Loire specialist, Yapp Bros have had a top quality Muscadet on their list for 50 years and their current staple is the 2020 Jean-François Baron Muscadet Sur Lie (1), complete with its jolly Quentin Blake label. Produced by the fourth-generation winemaker Jean-François Baron from old estate vines, the wine spends several months on the lees, leaving it fresh, lively, bone dry and more than a little thirst-quenching. £11.25 down from £12.25.
The 2020 Domaine Gardrat Sauvignon (2) from a 130-year-old family-owned estate in the Charente — Cognac country — is simple but deeply enjoyable fare. Made from 100 per cent Sauvignon Blanc (organic), it’s invitingly aromatic, light, sprightly and full of fresh citrus zing. Easygoing enough to make a fine aperitif, it also matches most fish dishes and is bang on with une assiette de fruits de mer. £11.50 down from £12.50.
The Yapp boys love their Chenin Blanc, but the 2020 Migliarina Chenin Blanc (3) is something of a departure for them in that it’s from Stellenbosch, South Africa, rather than Vouvray, Loire Valley. Saffa Chenin (usually known as Steen) used to be as dreary as a wet weekend in Bognor, but today it’s anything but and I’m not surprised in the least that Cheninophiles such as the Yapps have headed to the Cape in their quest for the best. Made by former sommelier Carsten Migliarina from low-yielding old vines, it’s barrel-fermented and, although dry, is full of rich, toasty, creamy baked apples and peaches complete with whispers of honeyed vanilla. It’s a wonderful wine, of which only 270 cases were made. £17.95 down from £18.95.
Yapp Bros are the current International Wine Challenge Rhône Specialist Merchant of the Year and it won’t surprise you to hear that their 2018 Domaine Saint Gayan Côtes du Rhône ‘Trescartes’ (4) is as fine an example of CDR as you will find. From the fabled Meffre family — vignerons here since 1709 — and their vineyards in the CDR villages of Sablet and Plan de Dieu, it’s made from hand-harvested Grenache, with splashes of Syrah, Carignan and Mourvèdre. Ripe, juicy, jammy, concentrated and slightly peppery, it’s serious stuff indeed, far removed from the dross one so often sees under the Côtes du Rhône label. £12.25 down from £13.25.
The 2018 Encinas Bierzo (5) is a delectable curiosity, produced in Bierzo, north-west Spain, by Raúl Pérez in cahoots with Rhône royalty in the form of Antoine Graillot (son of Alain). Made from 100 per cent Mencía — a grape we’re starting to see much more often — it’s vinified in cement and aged in oak for ten months, finishing both earthy and fruity with weight, depth and an appetisingly savoury finish. £20.00 down from £22.00.
Finally, the 2018 Frédéric Magnien, Côte de Nuits Villages ‘Croix Violette’ (6), a beauty from the village of Brochon, near Gevrey Chambertin. 100 per cent Pinot Noir (of course), it’s meticulously made by Frédéric Magnien (son of Michel of Domaine Michel Magnien fame), following the phases of the moon. Hand-harvested old vine fruit is fermented with wild yeast in steel and then aged in old oak. Redolent of cherries, raspberries, blackberries and plums, the wine is in great shape now but — given the current shortage of fine burgundy — could be tucked away for a year or so. £27.00 down from £29.00.
There are two mixed cases: one with one bottle of each and one with two bottles of each. Delivery, as ever, is free.
