Building the Modern Wine Cellar

In old wine books you occasionally happen upon a chapter grandiloquently titled: ‘How to build your cellar’.

The older they are, the more starkly you realise just how much wine has changed. For one thing, the wines are near universally French in origin, with only a pipe or two of Port and Sherry and a few bottles of German ‘Hock’ or ‘Mosel’ thrown in to spice things up a bit.

It’s also a snapshot of a world long lost, where ‘picking up’ first growth Bordeaux or grand cru Burgundy which was already five years old was entirely possible.

One of the great wine figures of the last century, Alexis Lichine, recommended in 1952 that a ‘simple’ cellar of a dozen, dozen bottles from ‘good vintages’ costing no more than £85 to £110 (old money*) ought to contain:

• Three cases of red Burgundy: one case of young Beaujolais, one case of 3-7 year-old Pommard or Nuits-St-Georges and one case of 3-7 year-old Richebourg, Musigny, Chambertin Clos de Bèze or Bonnes Mares.

• Two cases of white Burgundy: one of 2-5 year-old Chablis or Pouilly-Fuissé and one of 2-5 year-old Meursault Perrières or Blagny or Chassagne or Puligny-Montrachet.

• Three cases of red Bordeaux: a case of 3-5 year-old ‘regional’ Bordeaux from Margaux, St Julien, Pomerol or St Emilion, then a case of 3-15 year-old 3rd, 4th or 5th growth claret and finally a case of 3-20 year-old first growth or Ausone or Petrus.

• One or two cases of white Bordeaux: 2-5 year-old dry Graves from ‘a good shipper’ (this is still an age when not everything is estate-bottled yet) or ‘preferably’ Haut-Brion, Domaine de Chevalier, Carbonnieux or Laville-Haut-Brion and a Sauternes or Barsac such as Yquem or Climens.

• Two or three cases of ‘miscellaneous’ wines: such as Provence or Tavel rosé (interesting) and Alsatian white wines, and 2-4 year-old Vouvray.

• And in addition, 12 bottles of Champagne (or two dozen if you prefer), vintage Port and Sherry and some ‘hock’.

Stroll into any merchant in St James’s today, hand over that shopping list and see what happens.

It’s hard to say exactly how much that would all cost now because prices are so wildly divergent from vintage to vintage and producer to producer but taking as sensible a line as I can, I reckon that trying to buy all of that today – to the letter – could cost you in the region of £40,000 at least.

A full 12-bottle case of Petrus at 20 years old costs a good £40,000 alone, while Grand Cru Burgundy like Clos de Bèze or Bonnes Mares cost several thousand pounds apiece and are now near impossible to find in lots of 12 anyway.

Another problem for the modern would-be wine aficionado is not just cost but space.

For many people (young people most especially) space is at a premium, so even buying six of something isn’t always feasible. If all you have is a cupboard or small wine rack then you may be limited to buying as few as one or two bottles of any given thing.

General lack of space and the high cost of certain wines aside, however, there is still a case (ha) for buying a small, rolling collection of wines to suit all occasions and which suit more modern times.

First and foremost there is, of course, no ‘correct’ cellar composition. Any wine you buy should be for enjoyment, preferably for all you live with and invite round for drinks but at the very least for yourself.

There’s simply no point buying wine you don’t enjoy merely because people tell you you ought to.

Here’s a little selection for you to consider, it’s certainly what I’m buying. Depending on money and space I’d recommend a bottle of each, to a pair, or you could even scale it up to six more if you’re so inclined – and have the space.

• Cru Beaujolais – buy, buy, buy! Any of the 10 crus at the heart of Beaujolais are worth buying, my own preference is for Fleurie, Morgon, Chénas, Chiroubles and Brouilly/Côtes de Brouilly but shop around and see which you prefer.

• South African Pinot – there’s lots of excellent Pinot being produced around the New World at the moment but in terms of quality and value South Africa is really offering up something exciting. Look for examples from Hemel en Aarde and Elgin.

• Xinomavro – Greece’s answer to Nebbiolo. Capable of making some quite juicy and young-drinking wines in the right hands but also massively structured, tannic wines that you need to stick away for a few years – even a few decades – before they fully uncoil and seduce you with their silky caress.

• Chardonnay – forget the haters, this is still the all-time great white. Although Chablis and southern Burgundy are offering up affordable and delicious examples, the New World is an absolute playground from California to New Zealand. Kiwi examples in particular are well worth your time and money as are those from Argentina which are seriously underrated.

• Godello – if there’s one white wine coming out of Spain that’s going to hit the big time my hat tip would be towards this grape from the north-western part of the country in Galicia. Very food friendly, taut, mineral and succulent wines that are easy to drink young while the best examples age too.

• Assyrtiko – Another Greek and a highly original one at that. Assyrtiko produces wines that can be absolutely electric; frankly there are few varieties like it. Santorini produces some of the most famous examples but Crete has some stunners and Jim Barry in Australia also makes one that will rock your socks off.

• A bottle of good fino Sherry, small grower Champagne or Methode Cap Classique from South Africa, 10 or 20 year old tawny Port and Madeira of your choice are other essential treats.

Round out your dozen with any of the following:

France – push the boat out with Trousseau, Poulsard and Savagnin from Jura, while there remains plenty of affordable Loire Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc, and white Bordeaux.

Austria – peppery Austrian Grüner Veltliner, and juicy Blaufränkisch and Zweigelt.

Italy – Barbera and Alba/Langhe Nebbiolo from Piedmont, Chianti Classico and southern Italian white wines.

Portugal – Portuguese reds from the Douro, Dão and Alentejo.

Hungary – dry Furmint.

Spain – Bobal, Mencia, and Albariño.

Chile – old vine País and Carignan.

South Africa – old vine Grenache, Cinsault, new wave Pinotage, Chenin and white blends

The US – Californian old vine Zinfandel and Grenache, Oregon Chardonnay.

New Zealand – Pinot Noir

Australia – Chardonnay, Italian varieties

All of which should be enough to keep you going for a while.

VPQ

*About £3,000 in today’s currency according to the National Archives’ Currency Converter. Still a decent lump of money at the time, equivalent to around two months’ wages for a skilled tradesman.