Wine Box: Birthday booze

What do you dream of for your birthday - designer clothes, a car, transatlantic flights, vintage champagne? What do you get? Socks or tights, M&S undies, a tie. Life just ain't fair but, remember, it's not the gift that counts, it's the thought.

What twaddle. I detest the idea of giving lousy pressies just because you feel obliged to find something. For me, a case or half case of carefully selected wine is about as good as a gift gets. It doesn't have to break the bank. It could include a couple of ready-to-drink whites, a gutsy, ripe red, a decent claret or Burgundy (white or red) and a Sauternes, all to keep, and, if money allows, a vintage champagne. Here are a few wines I would not hesitate to include in a mixed case to send to a good friend.

Barrington Estate 'Pencil Pine' Chambourcin, 1999, Hunter Valley (Asda, £5.97). A dense, inky-purple, intensely fruited, mouth-warming red from the oldest vineyard and winery (1904) in the Yarraman district in Australia's upper Hunter Valley. The name Pencil Pine comes from the native black cypress trees that watch over the vineyard. Heaps of ripe plum and black cherry aromas make this good-value Ozzie stonker a soulmate for red meat and game.

Catena Chardonnay, 1997, Mendoza (Unwins, £9.49). I seldom go overboard about a wine but this Argentinian white is special and has characteristics of wines costing twice as much. It is full-bodied, intense and drips with lovely tropical-fruit flavours. For the money, the best white I've tasted in months.

Montana Reserve Marlborough Barrique Matured Pinot Noir, 1999 (Waitrose, £9.99). It's been a long road for New Zealand reds, but they're getting there. The over-extracted and woody pinot noirs of recent years are being superseded by juicy, well-integrated, elegant reds like this one. Perfect with a rib of beef cooked rare.

Leapfrogmilch, Frog's Leap Chenin Blanc/Riesling, 1998, Napa (Lay & Wheeler, £12.40). What started as a Californian winemaker's daft pun has acquired a following. This is a crisp, soft-fruited and sensuous white which matches chicken and pasta well. A delightful temptress, very laid-back and mellow - very West Coast. A fine addition to any mixed case.