Now is a good time to buy outstanding wine

Michael Broadbent MW died on St Patrick’s Day at the age of 92. As head of wine for the Londonbased auction house, Christie’s, he developed what must have been the most experienced palate in the world. His Great Vintage Book, a compendium of his tasting, notes great wines in vintages stretching back, incredibly, to the 17th century.

Years ago, I interviewed him in his office at Christie’s for a profile in the Sunday Tribune. Tall, thin, patrician (he had been to school at Oundle before training as an architect) he struck me as mildly austere, but with a twinkle in his eye. He told me that one of his favourite meals to share with his wife, Daphne, was fish and chips, eaten out of their paper wrapping, with chilled Tio Pepe fino sherry.

With the world the way it is just now, I suspect that off-trade sales of wine will not drop; if anything, they may go up. But spare a thought for Kelly’s of Rosslare, a heavenly hotel in my view, and one with a sensational wine list enhanced by very keen pricing.

As is their annual practice, Kelly’s had just imported some 30,000 bottles of wine in preparation for what had promised to be a busy season, when the current crisis hit. As a result, they are having an online wine sale and I have to say Bill Kelly’s almost charitable pricing extends to this offer. See kellys. ie/wine-sales.

Some of the wines on offer are not usually available for mere mortals to buy; they are on strict allocation, especially those from small, outstanding producers in Burgundy (where Kelly’s list is the best in the country by a mile); and, of course, Bill’s brother-in-law, Paul Avril, owns and runs Clos des Papes in Chateauneuf-du-Pape, home of one of the most sought-after wines on the planet.

From a different part of the wine spectrum comes the news that the new seasonal selection has arrived at Aldi, so here’s the pick of the crop for you...

I suspect that off trade sales of wine will not drop