Steven Spurrier’s wines of the month – September

From the cellar

Charles Hours, Uroulat, Jurançon 2007

On a sunny Sunday in late May, 65 guests milled around in a cobbled mews in Paris’ 11th arrondissement enjoying AR Lenoble’s Brut Intense 2014 Champagne served from methusalah. This was a prelude to Rhône Ranger Tim Johnston of Juveniles restaurant’s 70th birthday lunch, which drew to a close five hours later. Johnston had chosen six of his favourite producers to offer eight wines, all grands formats, under the theme ‘Big Boys Only’.

Once seated, David Morey’s Puligny- Montrachet 2017 and Auxey-Duresses 2016 were swiftly served, to be followed by double-magnums of Château Villars 2004, a superb Fronsac. Later we moved to the southern Rhône for Marcel Richaud’s Cairanne 2014 and special bottling L’Ebrescade 2012. Then, with the magnificent birthday cake that was preceded into the restaurant by a Scottish piper, came the star for me: Charles Hours, Uroulat Jurançon 2007.In late 1970s I had stocked this marvellous sweet Jurançon in my Paris shop and continued when rugby man Charles Hours bought the 3.5ha vineyard in 1983, increased today to 16.5ha. Made from low-yielding Petit Manseng, this brought a round of applause. To refresh us over the coffee, we moved to Provence for Château de Roquefort’s Corail Rosé 2018 – served in magnums, of course.

For the cellar

Once & Future, Teldeschi Vineyard, Frank’s Block Zinfandel 2017

Joel Peterson created Ravenswood, the Napa Valley winery almost as famous for the striking label which, on close inspection, reveals three ravens ‘in the round’, as for the superbly crafted Zinfandels which were his speciality. Constellation purchased the company to add to its California portfolio, and Peterson was a director for many years before deciding to return to his roots. In the early 1980s he had met Frank and Caterina Teldeschi, whose family had owned vineyards in Napa’s Dry Creek Valley since the early 1900s. An after-lunch handshake deal secured him a few tons of grapes from this single vineyard that was co-planted in 1906 with a little Carignan and Alicante Bouschet.

Thirty-six years later he produces just 250 cases of probably the best expression of Zinfandel, alongside the very different Ridge Vineyards wines, I have ever tasted. Black-red in colour, the 2017 (95pts) has superb natural concentration of ripe black cherries refreshed by Carignan’s acidity, the edges already smoothed by 12 months in one-third new French oak, a truly inspiring vineyard wine. With 14.8% alcohol, this has the weight and structure to improve over two decades, needing perhaps another year or two before opening your first bottle.

The Spurrier Selection

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