Steven Spurrier’s fine wine world

Decanter’s long-standing consultant editor hand-picks fine wines for drinking now and recommends others to lay down, all priced from £25 upwards.

From the cellar

Shortest Day Lunch

Almost 20 years ago, the much-missed practical joker and fortified wine expert, Tim Stanley-Clarke, created the Shortest Day Lunch, attended by his contemporaries in the wine trade and held on the nearest possible day to 21 December at London’s Garrick Club. On that day last year, we celebrated his memory in style.

For aperitifs, my Bride Valley, Blanc de Blancs 2014 was followed by a superb Pol Roger 2006 and marvellously mature Gosset, Grand Rosé NV, both in magnums.

With scallops came an uplifting Dr H Thanisch, Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Kabinett 2014, a very fine Les Caves de la Colombe, Meursault 2015 and still-fresh magnum of Domaine Les Vieux Murs, Pouilly-Fuissé 1996.

Roast pheasant paired with two lovely Burgundies – Hubert Lignier’s Morey-St-Denis 2010 and a magnum of JF Mugneret’s Clos de la Maréchale, Nuits-St- Georges 2004 – as well as a notable magnum of Jonathan Maltus’ Les Astéries 2005. Cheese saw us admire both the 2008 and 1998 Léoville Barton.

We ended on Gould Campbell 1977, just nudging the Taylor’s Port of the same great year, from Symington Family Estates, Stanley-Clarke’s long-term employers.

For the cellar

Tenuta San Leonardo

Nestling inside 270ha of forest in Italy’s Trentino hills, the 30ha San Leonardo wine estate is planted mainly to Merlot and Carmenere, with Cabernet Sauvignon and small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Last December Marchese Carlo Guerriere Gonzaga and his son Anselmo presented a range of vintages of the IGT Vignetti delle Dolomiti from 1986 to 2013, which showed why this is one of Italy’s finest wines made from Bordeaux grapes. The impression was of long, natural ripeness, complexity and lasting freshness.

Looking at wines that you could continue to cellar, the 1995’s brambly autumn flavours have a decade to go (£73, Armit, Christopher Keiller); 1996 contrasting in sophistication; 1997 and 1999 ending the decade with great class (POA, BI Wines, Hedonism).

This continued with the 2000, 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2010 (all between 92 and 95 points for me; POA, Christopher Keiller), each slightly different but still true to the estate.

Finally, between the rich and oaky 2011 (£50-£60, Handford Wines, Hedonism, Millésima) and the already classic 2013 (£40 in bond, Honest Grapes, Jeroboams), the latter won for me at 96 points – a very fine wine with a decade or more ahead of it.

Steven Spurrier recommends: