Nine ways to build an affordable wine cellar

Over the past few months, I’ve enjoyed outlining ways of assembling a wine collection without breaking the bank. But my articles on the topic all had a geographical theme and not everyone starts their cellar deciding to concentrate on a region. There are many other ways into becoming a collector, and in this article I’ve suggested some of the more obvious. This is the final wine recommendations article of the series, with a piece on storage to follow in September.

Here’s what to look out for if you’re interested in . . . 

Wines to drink fairly soon
When assembling my specific recommendations I was assuming nascent collectors would want to keep their wines for at least four years and often more, but if you are either decidedly senior or congenitally impatient you may wish to assemble bottles to enjoy even sooner than that. If so, my advice would be to avoid famous bordeaux — in fact, avoid any wine designed to age over the long term, which probably means avoiding the other big Bs, Barolo and Brunello.

Opt instead for their earlier-maturing siblings such as Langhe Nebbiolo and Rosso di Montalcino respectively. They are specifically made to provide near-term pleasure, as are the so-called second wines of Bordeaux, blends put together by the smartest châteaux that are mellower than their flagship grand vin. Favourites include Alter Ego from Ch Palmer and La Dame de Montrose from Ch Montrose.

Or you could go for the third wine of first growth Ch Latour, Le Pauillac de Ch Latour, but the 2020 vintage of Ch Meyney itself would be much cheaper, and drinkable from about 2027.

Wines under £15
I have been asked by my editor to suggest wines in this tiny category. The least expensive red bordeaux might just squeeze in. In the UK, Haynes Hanson & Clark have a good selection, of which I’d most enthusiastically recommend Ch Galot La Chapelle 2020 Castillon (£13.25, 14.5%) which should give pleasure over the next five years. From the same retailer, Ch Roc de Cazade 2021 Bordeaux (£11.65, 13.5%) is leaner but may appeal to long-standing claret lovers on a budget.

The Wine Society’s pricing is generally user friendly and its Ch Pey La Tour Réserve 2019 Bordeaux Supérieur (£11.95, 14.5%) is a thoroughly modern red that could be cellared for up to five years.

Muscadet is another underpriced category of wine, and in this case one that can be surprisingly rewarding when aged in bottle. (The Muscadet grape is a close relative of the Burgundy grape varieties Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.) Majestic’s Domaine de Tourmaline 2023 Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine (£11.29 or £9.99 for six, 13%) is a steal, though some stores may still have the 2022 which I have not tasted.

Wines for a forthcoming wedding
Although the Champenois like to give the impression that their wines should be drunk as soon as they are released, many non-vintage champagnes, generally the cheapest in any producer’s range, improve considerably with a few years in a good cellar (not in a fridge). And prices are so much lower at the cellar door than in the UK. So I’d recommend that anyone living in England or Wales who has a big party in mind drives over to the Champagne region to lay in stocks at least a year ahead, possibly more.

Adults are allowed to import nine litres a person into the UK duty free, so don’t go alone. Duty per bottle of sparkling wine was reduced to £2.67 last August, so you would almost certainly save money even if you pay duty on some of your load. English sparkling wine with its higher acidity mellows even more markedly with time in bottle.

Lower-alcohol wines
Head for Mosel Riesling and Loire whites, both of which have excellent ageing potential but can be extremely complex and expressive, not to mention varied. Hunter Valley Sémillon is a dry white Australian classic that’s usually only 11% ABV and demands ageing. Reds and whites from the historic Colares region on the Portuguese coast tend to be low alcohol too.

White wines
In addition to the wine types above, add any Riesling. Sweet or, increasingly, bone dry, Rieslings can evolve for decades and are some of the wine world’s best buys. If it has to be Chardonnay, then the Mâconnais south of the hallowed and expensive Cote d’Or is of increasing interest. Names to look for are St-Véran, Viré-Clessé and anything with Mâcon or Pouilly in its name (apart from Pouilly-Fumé, which is a Loire Sauvignon Blanc). The Loire’s other white wine grape, Chenin Blanc, also makes beautifully ageworthy wines, but the key to choosing white wines worth ageing is to ensure they have notable acidity.

Pink wines
Seriously expensive rosés are currently proliferating, but the only half-affordable one I’d recommend cellaring is Domaine Tempier’s from Bandol. See also Greece below.

Red wines
See earlier instalments of this series. In very general terms, Bordeaux benefits most from ageing in bottle.

Sweet wines
If you like sweet wines you are, most unfortunately, in a minority. But the associated advantage of this is that they are currently undervalued and if, like Sauternes, they came by their sweetness via the concentrating botrytis fungus known as noble rot, they will last almost forever. I will be most disappointed if I don’t live to see a revival of this difficult-to-make category.

Wines from up-and-coming regions
A more common interest, as suggested by the questions I’m most often asked, is in up-and-coming sources of wine. I have been citing Portugal and Greece for some years, and used to suggest Portuguese reds and Greek whites, but now each country makes fine wine of both colours. Greek rosé can also be delicious and one or two, such as Thymiopoulos’s lightly oaked Rosé de Xinomavro with just 12.5% alcohol (£13.50 The Wine Society), can even age well. And there’s now a wine revolution in Cyprus.

Since my recent trip there I’d have to add Turkey as a wine-growing country to watch. And Domaine Bargylus continues to produce incredibly good wine from the hinterland of Syria’s main port Lattakia. I was blown away by the 2017 white (£26.50 James Nicholson in Northern Ireland, 14%, also £30 Highbury Vintners) recently. Uruguay and, at altitude, Mexico and Bolivia are now producing some wines of real interest, although they can be difficult to track down.

And then there is the vastness of eastern Europe, whose potential is now being realised. I will be reporting in more detail on this at the end of the month. But two countries I didn’t manage to cover at a recent tasting in London of wines from this part of the world are the Czech Republic and Slovakia, each of which have been in a ferment of vinous innovation.

There is so much to enjoy!

Tasting notes, scores and suggested drink dates on Purple Pages of JancisRobinson.com. International stockists on Wine-searcher.com

Follow @FTMag to find out about our latest stories first and subscribe to our podcast Life and Art wherever you listen