23-07-2025
Wine Club: six summer delights from Mr Wheeler
With a seemingly endless round of lunches, dinners and tastings, it has been a punishing few days of far too much vino. Even dear Mrs Ray expressed her concern, although I thought that a bit rich given the state of her after Book Club.
We decided, though, to take it easy, and I even foreswore my long-planned trip to Lord's for England vs India where far too many temptations and too many wicked, practised leaders-astray lay in wait. Oh yes, you know who are.
I missed one of the greatest ever matches, of course, and kicked myself for being such a sap. Happily, just as I was sinking into a deep, dark gloom, a dozen or so bottles of fine Beaujolais arrived from Mr Wheeler, ready to be tasted for this offer.
I looked at Mrs R and she looked at me and we agreed in an instant that abstinence was no fun at all and she ran off to get the corkscrew. I rustled up my humble version of Liv Potts's wonderful chicken pie, lined up the bottles and we dived straight in.
All the wines are from mighty Maison Jean Loron, founded in 1711 and boasting vineyards in eight of the ten Beaujolais crus. With production overseen by Frédéric Maignet, MJL is one of the leading producers of the region, making – we both agreed – wines as tasty and as exciting as anyone.
The 2021 Village Originel Chardonnay de Chardonnay Villa Cardenaco (1) is not, of course, from Beaujolais but – yes, you read it right – is a Chardonnay from the village of, well, Chardonnay in the Mâconnais. How satisfying is that? They've grown vines here in the commune once known to the Romans as Villa Cardenaco for almost 2,000 years, and it remains the grape's spiritual home. With plenty of white stone fruit and a lively, lemony freshness it's classic fare and made a perfect pipe-opener. £17.25 down from £18.45.
By contrast, the 2023 L'Or des Pierres Beaujolais Blanc (2), from the so-called Pierres Dorées area of southern Beaujolais – thus named thanks to the golden hue of the local limestone – is more rounded and opulent. With delectably rich peachy, citrusy fruit there's also a hint of vanilla thanks to a touch of French oak and some fine lees ageing. This, we discovered, made a fine second serve. £17.25 down from £18.45.
As for the reds, the 2022 Domaine des Billards, Saint-Amour (3), from the south-eastern edge of the Saint-Amour vineyard, is the latest vintage of a wine I've long enjoyed. 'Ooh, violet creams!' exclaimed Mrs Ray after having a quick sniff and gulp. I saw what she meant but I got more bramble fruit, cherries and even a touch of chocolate. Either way, it's dense, concentrated and full, with the softest of finishes and is deeply enjoyable. Our evening was shaping up nicely. £17.50 down from £18.95.
If the previous wine spoke of violets, the 2021 Ch. Bellevue, Morgon Les Charmes (4) was all about raspberries – fresh, juicy, moreish, come-hither raspberries. Produced by rising star winemaker Elodie Rousselot from grapes sorted first in vineyard and then in winery, destemmed and vatted sans sulphur dioxide, the resulting wine spent almost a year in both concrete and steel and is all about freshness, vibrancy of fruit and sheer drinkability. £17.50 down from £18.95.
The 2023 Ch. de la Pierre Brouilly Bonnège (5), from a microplot of 50-year-old vines within Maison Jean Loron's 12 hectare Ch. de la Pierre domaine, is quite punchy at 14 per cent vol. It's deliciously tasty, though, with intense, concentrated, full throttle dark fruit lifted by a perfectly judged underlying freshness. £20 down from £21.45.
A previous vintage of the 2022 Champ de Cour, Moulin-à-Vent (6) won gold at the 2023 Decanter World Wine Awards and this, too, must surely have caught the judges' eyes, so toothsome is it. From old vines grown in the mineral-rich granite soil at the very foot of the fabled windmill itself, it's luscious, rich and concentrated, full of ripe cherry fruit and a hint of brooding liquorice. Mrs Ray's and my favourite. £21 down from £22.45.
The mixed case contains two bottles of each wine and delivery, as ever, is free.
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