Setting the scene, Jasper referred to the way in which prices for the ‘humble’ wines of the Mâconnais have increased in recent years, with supermarket Mâcon-Villages prices now in the £13-15 range. There are 27 villages that can append their name to that of Mâcon, with the best-known being Lugny, now that Viré has become part of Viré-Clesse. Most of the wines of the Mâcon are made for early consumption and are vinified in stainless steel.

Currently Sommelier and Bar Manager at St John’s College, Oxford, Yannick Joseph has had a long and stellar career in both catering and the world of wine. An award-winning chef, expert in champagnes, born in the Auvergne and also expert on the wines of the Loire and Rhône as well as the Auvergne, Yannick brought a unique, refreshingly different and very personal approach to this tasting.

On 21st March, we were privileged to host Richard Kelley MW at St Cross for his 8th tasting for the Club. For this very special event, he returned to the Loire, specifically to the wines of Domaine Huet. For Richard the wines of Huet were truly life-changing. Why?

Well, in 1981, at the Bristol Wine Fair, a young man from a teetotal family had a taste of Huet 1969. From that was born in Richard a lifelong passion for the wines of Chenin Blanc, the ‘world’s greatest grape’. The Loire - an ‘underdog region’ in France - was ‘on our doorstep’ and over the last forty years Richard has not only got to know the region intimately but also the vignerons who have devoted their lives to Chenin Blanc.

On 26 January 2023, Jonathan Pedley MW came to waken members of the Club from their Christmas hibernation. For him, as he said, it was a great pleasure to be back to face-to-face tastings after the remote tastings of the Covid period.

Jonathan is now (re)-trimmed, his daughter having insisted that the Old Testament Prophet hair and beard had to go, but the cutting of the locks had no Samson effect. This was Jonathan at his best – fascinating wines, glorious insults, deep knowledge, effortless ability to communicate. As Hilary Reid Evans said in her closing vote of thanks, with Jonathan you can never forget (and never should forget) the sheer fun of wine.

Describing herself as ‘a journalist with no letters after her name’, (a situation the Wine Club has now remedied) Liz Sagues has in fact written extensively on wine for the Independent, the Sunday Express, Country Life and the acclaimed Hampstead & Highgate Express. She has twice been winner of the Louis Roederer Regional Wine Writer of the Year award (2005 and 2011) and is the author of two books about wine – Sussex by the Glass and A Celebration of English Wine as well as a book about Chichester Harbour (England’s Coastal Gem). She is also a member of the Circle of Wine Writers and a former Committee Member of that organisation.

Liz, however, particularly enjoys the wines of the Loire Valley and believes Muscadet and Loire Moelleux are the most underrated wines today and that Chenin Blanc is a grape to cherish.

Introducing Nicole Rolet and the biodynamic wines of Chêne Bleu, Hilary Reid Evans commented that when they purchased the derelict property in 1993, neither Nicole nor her husband Xavier had any prior experience of wine making or the wine trade. During the intervening period, the reputation of the wines of Chêne Bleu has grown year on year and have been described as the ‘world’s first super Rhônes’ by the Wall Street Journal and have gathered the highest Parker scores for their reds as well as Jancis Robinson’s highest ever scores for their rosés.  Not so much a rising star as a ‘shining star in the wine making firmament’.

‘Mountain Wines’ was the title and mountain wines we got. Eight fascinating wines from the Alto Adige, Val d’Aosta, Switzerland, the Savoy and Jura. Collectively and individually they were a perfect expression of the Club’s mission: wines you couldn’t or wouldn’t taste on your own account. Our thanks are due not just to our presenter but to the Alto Adige Consorzio which provided many of the wines for free.And we had a perfect guide to these wines. Nancy Gilchrist MW knows the area and knows the wines and presented a compelling case for the importance of the mountain vineyards of the world as climate change takes effect.