Back from the dead? The Oddbins high- street chain seems to have come full circle, and may be on the point of experiencing a wondrous resurrection. Simon Baile, son of one of the original 1973 Oddbins’ founders, Nick Baile, has emerged as the managing director of the newly independent chain. Just as it appeared that the firm had been buried for good in the malodorous catacombs of the Castel empire (also owners of the degraded Nicolas chain here and in France), Baile junior has bailed them out.

Riding into a recession, his purchase of the current 158 Oddbins branches (to be slimmed down to 131) may not be perfect timing, and the bouncily confident Baile looked less assured when I queried whether the new Oddbins could survive the vicious trading down of the two months since his purchase was agreed. Sensibly, though, he has hung on to Claire Graham and Julie Buckley, the two previous Oddbins wine buyers who actually knew a bit, and bought in Stuart Cole, a buyer based in France, and Patrice Tournier, an ex-Oddbins employee who also lives in France.

Whether Baile’s experience working with gifted Gallic wine outfits such as Caves de Pyrène will be enough, it is impossible yet to tell. His only real proving ground has been Ex-Cellar, a small Surrey wine shop that specialises in off-the-beaten-track French wines. Baile hopes to buck the recession by concentrating on provenance and quality, preferably buying only from eclectic small family growers. He also wants to resurrect the great service and advice Oddbins used to supply in the good old days.

Baile recognises that there is no place in the new Oddbins for wine-merchant haughtiness: “We hope to be welcoming to every Oddbins customer, whether they have come in to buy a bottle of cider or a grand cru classé claret. This is no time for arrogance.”

Customers will have to bypass the firm’s old stock in trade, some 700 previous lines that deserve to die, and hope for better things to come. Tuck into the impressive 2005 Viré-Clessé Oak Aged White Burgundy from Domaine des Gandines, with its arresting, lively, classic, nutty, glacé fruit (£14.99); Domaine Jean Maréchal’s stunning 2006 Bourgogne Pinot Noir, with seductive rose scents and a squishy damson-packed palate (£10.99); or Alejandro Fernández’s fancy 2005 Condado de Haza from the Ribera del Duero (£14.99), all smouldering dark, rich, plummy pizzazz. None is the one-size-fits-all quality you’d expect from a high-street wine emporium. Hard-up drinkers are catered for, too, with the gorgeous and brilliant value 2007 Terra Andina Syrah from Chile (£5.49) complete with rich, spicy, oaky, peppered red fruits, and its 2008 Terra Andina Sauvignon sister (£5.49), with a bold, vibrant, verdant, pea-pod scent, and almost as tasty.

jane.macquitty@thetimes.co.uk

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