Looking back at the Spring newsletter, reference was made to the fine weather kick-starting the sales of summer wines. The weather has continued in a somewhat contradictory fashion with our recent brief Indian Summer which completely depleted our stocks of Rosé wine. We now learn that winter is on its way and so now our attention can turn to warming winter reds.

Last year we introduced a couple of wines from Domaine Bergon in the Languedoc. A recent tasting of their full range was, without exception, a winning formula for our workhorse range. Recently arrived into the shop we have their Sauvignon and Merlot @ £6.95, their Cabernet Franc/Mourvedre blend (our favourite), Vermentino and Alicante @ £7.70, Petit Verdot @ £7.95 and Old Vine Carignan @ £8.95. Why not try a mixed case, complete with tasting notes, at the reduced rate of £87? From the same region, we have also shipped the hugely popular Côtes du Roussillon Villages from Chateau Pena. The most exciting is their Pierres Noires 2007 @ £11.95 which has much depth and complexity. We also have their lighter Chateau Pena @ £9.95.

From the rest of France, new wines include the 2004 vintage of Chateau Rousseau de Sipian @ £12.95. Some magnums of their 2001, presented in wooden cases, remain @ £29.95 for the swift of foot. Why not treat yourself to some superb 2009 Burgundy? Deliance’s Bourgogne Rouge, J-C Bersans’ fabulous Chablis Les Ouches and Bourgogne Blanc are all £12.95.

For a special Christmas treat, try the mature Volnay 1er Cru from J-M Boillot @ £31.50, a Grand Cru St Emilion 2002 Chateau Quinault @ £37.95, or a drop dead gorgeous 2000 Chateauneuf du Pape from Bosquets des Papes @ £38.40. Limited stocks remain on these last three so please order quickly. We are very proud of our Rhône selection and the 2008 Sablet from Boutinot @ £10.50 remains a firm favourite. More recently the 2009 La Ferme du Mont (91/100 Robert Parker) @ £10.95 has really started to show its hand.

Spain continues to impress with ever increasing quality in all major regions. The new Tierra White Rioja @ £12.50 offers lots of fresh fruit coupled with toasty new oak. The new vintage of Ayles 100% Garnacha @ £8.95 is one of the purest expressions of this grape that we can recall. Urbina Rioja, from its plain Garnacha @ £11.75 through to superb Gran Reserva @ £19.35, is still the best quality/value ratio around. We also love the oddly named Cal Pla Priorat 2006 @ £13.25. The Torre de Barreda Tempranillo 2008 @ £9.65 from Castilla epitomises what Spain does best. Next door in Portugal do venture to try the robust Douro red from the Quinta de Rosa Estate @ £12.50 along with the Allentejo Callabriga 2007 @ £13.95

Our Italian range remains fairly unaltered but we have brought back Max di Lenardo’s excellent Pinot Grigio @ £11.20 having flirted with less expensive examples that ultimately fail to deliver. Riva Leone’s Barolo @ £17 is rather good for roughly half the price of Poderi Colla’s fine example @ £32.

In the New World, Argentina’s quality continues apace and with the increasing appearance of Cabernet Franc (Raffles’ favourite grape variety) we now list two superb examples from Mendoza. The first, Gran Cabernet Franc @ £21.35 from Pulenta Estate was the star of our recent dinner held at Hobbs House. The second, 2010 Monteagrelo is youthful but attractively priced @ £16.45. In Chile we keep adding to the Adobe Organic selection from Emiliana in the £7-9 price range.

For the first time in a while we have added some new wine to our Australian range. Murphy’s unoaked Chardonnay @ £8.50 from the Trentham Estate in New South Wales; Rolf Binders’ excellent Hales Barossa Shiraz @ £11.95 and the quirky 100% Grenache Tarot from Alpha Box and Spice @ £11.25 are all delicious. The race appears to be on for the most oddly named and attention seeking Aussie wine!

South Africa also continues its upward quality trend. Any of you who have tried the Percheron wines @ £6.95 will have been impressed. Their Chenin/Viognier blend is consistently excellent. We simply could not ignore the stunning Circle of Life wines from Waterkloof, The white is Chenin based and along with a handful of other Cape wizards they somehow manage to ape a fine Burgundy, which as you all know, is made from Chardonnay. Already Organic, they are striving to be Biodynamic too. At £17.30 they might appear pricey but they are absolutely worth it!

Last but not least we want to mention matters sweet. Christmas is a time when many of us enjoy pudding wine and Port in particular. So far as the latter is concerned, and at the well-priced end, do try Quinta de Rosa’s new unfiltered LBV port in handy half litres @ £13.95. Maury, made like port but from Grenache grapes, found friends last year and we heartily recommend Domaine des Schistes 2008 @ £21.50. Other sweeties include a Spanish Moscatel from Sarria in Navarra @ £12.55 per 50cl, a Monbazillac Grange Neuve also in halves @ £12.50, Chateau Fayau Cadillac 2007 in halves @ £8.50 and bottles @ £15.75 – a bit of a snip! There is Sauternes from Partarrieu 2007 @ 11.95 for halves and £21.95 for bottles. In France, 2007 was a wonderful vintage for sweet wine. From Austria’s Sepp Moser we also have a Trockenbeerenauslese @ £22.00 per half. Finally, we are the main local stockist for King’s Ginger Liqueur. A powerful (41%), not too sweet and most versatile liqueur that is most enjoyed by the field sports brigade but is recommended for anyone who loves ginger. We have brought the price down by 10% this year to £19.95 per 50cl or £18.95 by the case.

Changes are afoot here at Raffles. Nick Dangar, whom many of you will know as our holiday and relief stand-in (but worked with Marcus full time 25 years ago), is now here two days a week, usually on Monday and Wednesday. He is now pretty much up to speed with our range having been busy tasting all summer!

We also welcome Sarah Hopps, ex of Lay and Wheeler in Suffolk. Sarah has the WSET Diploma exam, so feel free to ask the trickiest question you can, and comes on board as Marcus’ assistant with special brief to re-organise our website, promote e-commerce in general and assist in buying decisions. The ease with which she tackles all things modern is breath-taking, and who knows we might even embrace Facebook and Twitter! Sarah will also be in charge of group Wine Tastings upon request.

We all look forward to welcoming you at Raffles over the coming Christmas season.

Marcus Smith
Nicholas Dangar
Sarah Hopps