There’s a lot to be said for wine shops having a Spring-clean of their shelves and clearing through some older lines at this time of year to make way for the new and exciting stuff that’s already on the water. Make sure you ask your wine merchant for advice regarding any hidden gems that they’re drinking at home. You can often pick up a bargain, or at least try something that wouldn’t normally be on your radar.
I was delighted to see that M&S are currently doing a similar exercise with a third off an extensive range of clearance wines until 1st April. Everything is on a strictly limited basis, with many lines only being available in selected shops. And when they’re gone, they’re gone. There were more than a few bottles that tweaked my interest, but the one I took home last weekend was the Domaine du Pimont Saint-Aubin 1er Cru 2015 (M&S, was £25, now £11 to clear). £11. Previously £25. Some white Burgundies mature really quickly in the bottle, losing the primary fruit before their time. I wondered if this would be the case with the Saint-Aubin, especially considering the size of the discount. Oh my goodness, it was lovely. There’s still an appley freshness to the wine backed up by a lovely rich, buttery note. We had the bottle on Sunday with Laura’s homemade burgers (we would normally have picked a red, but I was desperate to taste the Saint-Aubin), and it certainly stood up to the big flavours in the dish. It would also have worked with roast chicken, James Martin’s lobster mac‘n’cheese or a good, creamy fish stew.
Saint-Aubin sits alongside Puligny and Chassagne-Montrachet in the Cote de Beaune in Burgundy and the whites are amongst the best buys of the region. Bear in mind, they are normally much more expensive than £11. You’d expect to pay £25-£30 for a good one, as opposed to £45+ for a decent Puligny. Bargain.
I would suggest contacting your local M&S branch in advance to see if they have any bottles left, or simply turn up and if they have sold out, have a rummage and find something else of interest. You won’t have to search for long. Cheers!
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