If you're a person of a certain age, you'll remember a time long before Tom Cruise's recreation of "Mission: Impossible".
Jim Phelps' reel-to-reel tape recorder message would self destruct in a cloud of smoke five seconds after the mission details played and the dramatic theme tune would blare out from the TV, advertising the start of another story based, quite probably, in either a despotic South American regime, or somewhere behind the iron curtain in eastern Europe. Political correctness was unknown, smoking and drinking onscreen was commonplace, nobody ever seemed to get hurt in the gunfire and the "bad guys" always lost to our team of US heroes.
Fast forward half a century and the style has changed wildly, with endless gadgets, technology and improbable stunts being all important ingredients in the mix. In my opinion, the bike and car chases are much better in the Ethan Hunt update than anything in the 60s show!
So, what's this got to do with wine, I hear you ask?
Well, it's just as impossible to choose a special Father's Day bottle of red as it is to find the maniac with the miniaturised, dirty nuclear bomb hidden inside a bank's locked, safe-deposit box with only an hour left on the clock counting down to the imminent, cataclysmic explosion. How can it be done in time?
Seriously, the wine you decide to pick for the occasion could make or break a family relationship and that's something you don't want to experience if there's any way of staying on the "good side" of the equation. If you get it wrong, it's as bad as buying petrol station flowers for Mother's Day.
Sunday, 16th June... Put the date in your diary, if you haven't already done so, as you don't want to be the one person on planet earth who forgets the date!
Of course, if you want a sure-fire winning gift, why not rely on a Frazier's specially selected wine case?
French reds, for the traditionalist, or a world Malbec case, for the modernist.
Firstly, your mission, should you decide to accept it: Father's Day French 3 Bottle Gift Selection (3 x 75cl) containing a bottle each of...
Château Puy Blanquet, St Emilion Grand Cru, Bordeaux, France, 2015
From an outstanding vintage in the famous Bordeaux appellation of Saint Emilion, this blend of mostly Merlot (with a splash of Cabernet Franc) opens with notes of crushed red plums, black raspberries and lavender with touches of bay leaves and fertile soil. Medium-bodied, soft, lively and with plenty of juicy red fruits, it finishes with a refreshing lift.
Châteauneuf-Du-Pape Les Galets de la Berthaude, Domaine Roger Perrin, Southern Rhone, France, 2022
With five generations of winemaking under the family's belt, this beautiful Chateauneuf typifies the richness of Grenache & Syrah from the sunny Rhone valley. A complex nose of summer fruits, blackcurrant and blackberry, Provençal spices (garrigue), pepper, a hint of vanilla and a touch of gaminess with flavours to match. Generous and mouth-filling on the palate with a lovely fresh finish. Amazingly well-balanced.
Château De Fleurie "La Madone" Loron, Fleurie, Beaujolais, France, 2020
Top quality Gamay fruit sourced from a tiny Beaujolais vineyard is used to produce Loron's Fleurie "La Madone" cuvée. Intense purple in colour, this wine has a floral bouquet of peonies and red berries. The mouth reveals a raspberry fruit flavour with silky tannins. Try it lightly chilled.
Normally priced at £73.85 the selection is on offer now for £66.85 (Saving £7)
And for my second impossible suggestion: Father's Day Malbec 3 Bottle Gift Selection (3 x 75cl) featuring a bottle each of...
Rustenberg Malbec, Stellenbosch, South Africa, 2021
New to South Africa, Argentina's signature red grape variety has found a home in the magnificent Stellenbosch winelands and Rustenberg's Malbec exhibits a very attractive purple hue, smoky aromas of dark plums and black cherries, with rich fruit flavours of plum and blackberry along with notes of violets, pepper and tobacco. Youthful and primary.
Los Haroldos Reserve Malbec, La Consulta, San Carlos, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina, 2021
Ancient vines planted in the unique, rarefied, high altitude Uco Valley vineyards produce grapes for this creamy textured "Reserve" wine which will delight any fan of Malbec. There's plenty of deep, black fruit flavour (bramble & black cherry), along with raisins and toast. Well structured, with firm tannins and refreshing acidity, all you need is some prime steak on the barbeque to make your father's day.
Chateau Lagrézette, "Chevalier du Chateau Lagrézette" Cahors, South West France, 2019
This is where it all began! Malbec's ancestral home is Cahors, located in the rural, south-west corner of France and Chateau Lagrezette makes one of the finest examples of this wine in the country. Concentrated, well structured with smooth tannins, a long aromatic persistence with vanilla notes on the nose mingling with dark berry fruits (blackcurrant/blackberry) and further notes of cherries, figs and liquorice. This is a hearty, rounded, balanced, harmonious wine with a long, elegant finish. A true "wow" wine which is guaranteed to set off the fireworks.
Normally priced at £58.85 the case is on offer now for just £52.85 (Saving £6)
With all these delicious reds to savour on the 16th June you'll have to watch out for one thing.
It's called the "Third Glass Syndrome" and is particularly noticeable when fathers have started on their third glass of red wine and the conversation becomes dominated by politics. My father suffered badly from it and, with an election looming, you might want to insist on a two glass limit.
Cheers and mission accomplished!
[ Just a thought... how about "Mission: Impossible - The Third Glass Syndrome" as the title for the next TC film? ]