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Christmas Cases from H & H Bancroft
Christmas Cases at a Glance
Silver Collection: £58
Normal case price £68 - saving £10.
Gold Collection: £99
Normal case price £117 - saving £18.
Premier Collection: £148
Normal case price £168 - saving £20.
Platinum Collection: £294
Normal case price £334 - saving £40.
Today is the first day of December, and I think it is time to begin looking around for wines to lubricate the festive season. There aren't many real bargain deals around at the moment, so thank heavens for London wine merchant H & H Bancroft. The Bancroft team have put together a number of Christmas cases, which are well priced with some attractive discounting. These should help the festive season go with a swing without breaking the piggy bank.
There are four festive cases to choose from, ranging from £58 up to £294, with savings from £10 to £40, so there should be something to suit all pockets. Each case includes six wines, two bottles of each wine. The contents of each case are as follows:
H&H Bancroft Christmas 'Silver Collection'
Price: £58 (Normal price £68 per case - saving £10). Contains two bottles
of each:
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Bouchon
Sauvignon Blanc 2004H&H Bancroft Christmas 'Gold Collection'
Price: £99 (Normal price £117 per case - saving £18). Contains two bottles
of each:
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H&H Bancroft Christmas 'Premier Collection'
£148 (Normal price £168 per case - saving £20).
Contains two bottles of each:
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H&H Bancroft Christmas Case 'Platinum Collection'
£294 (Normal case price £334 - saving £40).
Contains two bottles of each:
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With Christmas fast approaching it's essential that there's sufficient festive spirit to go around. With this in mind, I recently sampled the wines from Bancroft's premium special offer, the Platinum Collection. (1/12/05)
Christmas
Cases from H & H Bancroft
The following were tasted in November 2005. All wines are available from H & H Bancroft in a pre-mixed case deal.
Bollinger Special Cuvée NV: A pale
golden hue, with a fairly fine bead. Sweet biscuit notes on the nose, reflecting
the Pinot-dominated (60% PN and 15% PM) encépagement, with evident complexity
from the reserve wines. This is always the case with the Special Cuvée, as
although the reserve wines account for less than 10% of the blend they include
wines up to fifteen years of age. Full, biscuit and apple character with oak
tones through the midpalate. Fresh, with a firm mousse. A fairly complex,
mouth-filling non-vintage cuvée, this bottling showing particularly well. Very good indeed. 17/20
Billaud-Simon
Chablis Grand Cru Vaudesir 2001: A pale, lemon-gold hue. Good minerality on
the nose, which has a firm, smoky-mineral character. A little rich buttercream
sits gently in the background, and some white stone fruit too. It has a fat and
structured palate, with a full, fairly grippy presence, and correct acidity.
This wine has a fine presence on the palate, and leads to a long finish. Still a
little tight, and would benefit from a little time in decanter if drinking at
Christmas I think. Very
good indeed. 16.5+/20
Patrick
Javillier Meursault 'Les Tillets' Cuvée Speciale 2003: A pale green-lemon
gold. Great richness on the nose, which displays oak derived notes of honey,
roast nuts and even a homeopathic twist of butterscotch. Fresh stone fruit too;
this is very appealing. A fresh style maintained on the palate, although
there is low acidity, a feature of the 2003 vintage. But it also has a cool, stone fruit
character, with some evident grip through the midpalate to the finish, providing
some welcome freshness and structure. Short
finish. This shows the heat of the vintage, but gives pleasure. Drink now.
15.5/20
Domaine du Caillou Chateauneuf du Pape 2002: This is the Caillou
belonging to the Vacheron-Pouizin family, which has seen great improvements
since the 1998 vintage. This unfiltered wine has an attractive vibrant red hue,
fading out to a youthful pink rim. A fresh nose, clean with some Grenache dark
cherry fruit, with a peppery edge. It has a good midweight texture on entry, and
holds its own through the midpalate, with a little tangible extract and good
texture. Smoothly integrated and nicely structured, with a clean lick of tannins
providing some grip. Bright fresh fruit, and a short but grippy finish. From
such a washout vintage this is impressive and surprising. Drink over the next
three to five years. Very impressive for a washout vintage; this is a lovely,
fresh wine just perfect for drinking now. 17/20
Michel & Laurent Juillot Corton-Perrières Grand Cru 1999: Much of
the Corton vineyard is inappropriately classified as Grand Cru, and there are
many less than worthy wines available; but the Juillot family, who live in
Mercurey, are one of the reliable names. This has a good colour, fading gently
out towards the rim. Rather earthy, redcurrant fruit on the nose. Full, meaty
style, but displaying good balance despite the firm structure; there's a seam of
tannin which runs through the palate, giving a welcome presence in the mouth.
Slightly mineral-chalky acidity, but with plenty of weighty fruit just moving
from a primary to secondary character I think. Really grippy finish, so this
would do well in the cellar, but also very good to drink now. 16.5+/20
Tenimenti Angelini Val di Suga Brunello di Montalcino 2000: Angelini
operate a 55 ha Brunello estate and are rightly famed for their wines sourced
from the Spuntali and del Lago vineyards; this cuvée is a blend of both. It now
shows quite a mature colour, and has an immediately pleasing, expressive nose of
spiced, slightly leathery fruits, with nuances of iodine and black olives. Full,
and well structured on the palate, with a pillar of ripe, masculine tannins
providing grip, and a full, ripe, almost seductive mouthfeel. There's plenty of
black olive character, with some peppery acidity for freshness. It even has a
little length. This is a really appealing wine, drinking very well now, and
still with potential for development over the next few years in the cellar. 17+/20
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