''We shall not cease from exploration/And the end of all our exploring/Will be to arrive where we started/And know the place for the first time."
T S Eliot's famous description of our spiritual journey applies also to our journey into wine. Beginning from claret, we venture out in search of strange fruit, exotic landscapes, curious lifestyles and countries with nothing to recommend them save their wines. And after punishing body and soul with Australian Shiraz, Argentinian Tempranillo, Romanian Cabernet and Greek Retsina, we crawl home like the prodigal son and beg forgiveness for our folly. Claret extends a warm and indulgent embrace, renewing the ancient bond between English thirst and Gascon refreshment, soothing our penitent thoughts with its quiet and clear aroma. This is the wine that made us and for which we were made, and it always astonishes me to discover that I drink anything else.
Claret is also a bargain, as Corney & Barrow has set out to prove in this month's offer from the 1999 vintage. It is seldom necessary to spend more than £15 to obtain a Bordeaux that is the next-best thing to the very best. The Chateau Barrail du Blanc - a Saint-Emilion Grand Cru - amply illustrates what I mean. This combination of 80 per cent Merlot and 20 per cent Cabernet Franc, from a tiny vineyard no bigger than the field occupied by Sam the Horse, has the full, harmonious fruit of the finest Saint-Emilion, and a delicate nose without warts or hairy cavities. Pour this wine after dinner, and you will observe a warm evening light in the glass, with nymphs and satyrs swimming in a pool of purple.
Contrasting in style, but every bit as good, is the Chateau Picque Caillou from Graves. This property, built in 1780, lies on sandy gravel close to Chateau Haut-Brion, and produces a wine with the pebbly cleanliness suggested by its name. The clear garnet colour and perfect balance of fruit and tannin testify to the great care lavished by the Calvet family in the vinification of their grapes. For although 1999 was a difficult vintage, requiring many extra man-hours in the selection of the fruit, this wine has all the structure and refinement of a great vintage, and will go on maturing for many years.
The two cheaper bottles come from underestimated regions - Fronsac and the Cotes de Castillon - and are wines for everyday drinking. The dark, fruity Chateau la Vieille Croix has robust tannins that will help it to keep, the Chateau la Fleur Beausejour being rather more skittish and ready for play. We tried them with a meal of frazzled lamb and couscous, and both fought heroically, with the Fronsac having just that little bit of extra staying power required to see off the spice.
