A Virtuoso vintage at a bargain price
2006 Pegasus Bay, Virtuoso Chardonnay, Waipara, North Canterbury, New Zealand (£20.00, case price, Wimbledon Wine Cellar, 020-8540 9979,
www.wimbledonwinecellar.com
).
There are only 13 cases of this wine in the UK and the geniuses at Wimbledon Wine have earmarked them for you, my eagle-eyed MoneyWeek wine lovers. The price that Wimbledon Wine Cellar has quoted us is miles under what you'd have to pay for it anywhere in the world, in fact it is a tad cheaper than the cellar door price at Peg Bay itself!
So why all the fuss? I tasted a bottle of '06 Virtuoso the other day and I was pole-axed with carnal, vinous desire.
Made in exactly the same way as great white Burgundy (both Lynnette and Matt – son and daughter-in-law of owner Ivan Donaldson – have worked in Burgundy extensively), this is one of the most riveting whites of the year and for 20 quid you will go absolutely nuts when you taste the lush, cool, layered fruit and the staggering minerality underpinning all of the action.
Drinking well now, this vintage will easily last for a further five years, so you can put it up against any of your Burgundies and ask you friends for a vote. Do not bet against this Virtuoso.
• Matthew Jukes is a winner of the International Wine & Spirit Competition's Communicator of the Year.