Will Lyons Uncorked

THE World of wine

The Loire's elite and bargains from Beaujolais

THE Wine Society (01438 737700, www.thewinesociety.com) is coming to Scotland next week to showcase the best of their Loire selection. I'm a big fan. Under the watchful stewardship of Sebastian Payne MW, the society's six-strong buying team has fashioned one of the most interesting and esoteric wine lists in the country. A quick flick through its quarterly offering throws up gems from unfamiliar wine-producing countries such as Morocco and Greece, as well as offerings from France's lesser-known regions such as the Madiran.

Being a club – the society is still run by and on behalf of its 100,000 members – there is little pressure to drive margins, build profit or spend hours implementing a growth strategy (although I should point out that the club does turn a healthy profit on a turnover of around £55m).

The only strategy the buyers have to implement is the purchase of "unadulterated good wine", the success of which stands or falls according to customer satisfaction. I visited the team last December when chief wine buyer Payne told me he tries to look for wines that have "character, a lightness of touch and purity of fruit".

Three wines that fitted this description were the 2005 Exhibition Riesling, 12%, £9.95; the 2005 Exhibition Gewürztraminer, 13%, £10.95; and the 2005 Exhibition Châteauneuf-du-Pape, 14.5%, £13.95.
The Loire tasting will be held at the Playfair Library in Edinburgh's Old College on Wednesday, July 9.

Raise a glass to Beaujolais

Meanwhile, I notice Majestic is offering 20% off Beaujolais until the end of July. This is a great opportunity to familiarise yourself with a region that inexplicably has fallen on hard times. Once the standard-bearer for light, juicy, quaffable red wine that was the staple of bars, cafés and bistros throughout France, it has lamentably fallen on its sword as we habitually look to the New World for our easy drinking 'pop'. But anyone in the know will tell you it is still producing glorious, if unfashionable, wine.

Dotted along the 15-mile strip of granite hills at the northern tip of the region lie the 10 village crus of Beaujolais, home to the Gamay grape. On a hot summer's day, there is nothing quite like holding up to the sky a glass of its slightly chilled, purple-coloured wine. Bursting with flavour and personality, juicy and light in acidity, it leaves the palate crying out for more. Each village has a style of its own, which proves that the French should be listened to when they say that it is the terroir, not the grape variety, that gives a wine its flavour. Fleurie has an unctuous, perfumed, silky style, while Julienas offers more fleshy, masculine, spicy wines. Moulin-à-Vent is perhaps the most distinguished of the villages, with its wine showing enormous power and ageing potential. Closest to this is probably Chenas, which produces full, generous wines. Among those to look out for are St-Amour 'Aux Anges' 2006 Pierre Dupond £8.99, down to £7.19; Beaujolais-Villages 2007 Georges Duboeuf, reduced from £6.24 to £4.99; and Morgon 2006 Château de Pizay, reduced from £7.99 to £6.39. All offers apply when you buy two wines.