"Mr. Clerihew, Wine Merchant" (1933)

I came across Mr. Clerihew, Wine Merchant (1933), by H. Warner Allen, while looking for older books on wine. H. Warner Allen wrote a few well-known (for their time) books on the history of wine. But his detective novel really popped out to me. I haven’t finished it yet, but it’s a real ride.

The protagonist has heightened powers of observation and perception, due to his years of experience drinking the finest wines. Most of the plot points and clues revolve around wine - a bottle of 1889 Sandeman found poisoned in front of a victim (“but he was never a port drinker!”), a bottle of corked champagne reveals that a murder was faked, and (most dastardly) an old vintage of Rothschild mislabeled as grocery store wine.

I’ve been reading off a pretty low-quality ebook version - having trouble tracking down any physical copies of this one - but I had to recommend it to this board. Perhaps the most over-the-top wine writing I’ve ever read.