THE WINE MERCHANT. An independent magazine for independent retailers
Issue 102, May 2021
Dog of the Month: Trixie Stainton Wines, Cumbria
Indies face long delays as wine shipments creak under strain A combination of factors, including Covid and Brexit, mean that merchants are facing huge supply chain disruption
T
he pandemic, global logistics issues and Brexit are all
conspiring to disrupt UK wine
supplies, with shipments from the US a particular pinch-point.
Several suppliers have identified
cross-Atlantic freight as a major cause for concern, though delays to volume transit from the EU and niggly issues with duty
demands on sample bottles are also being experienced.
reports that he placed an order from
numerous regions for varied reasons.
there was a Brexit-related element.
are stuck,” he says. “The whole global flow
California in November that was expected to hit the UK in mid-May and suggested “The world’s largest shipping line is
avoiding the UK because of all the delays at the deep-sea UK ports,” he says.
Matt Douglas of North South Wines says
the company has experienced delays from
“There is a shortage of empty containers
in all parts of the world as many containers has been disrupted and there are fewer
ships circulating the empties, mainly due to port and ship manpower issues related to
Continues page 8
Delays to US shipments are being blamed
on a combination of factors, including a
global shortage of refrigerated containers, the toll taken by Covid on staff levels in
the freight industry stateside and the Suez Canal blockage.
Peter Mitchell MW of Jeroboams reports
“current delays of around 12 weeks for shipments – meaning a total shipping
time of around 22 weeks – with the wine waiting in storage in Oakland”.
He adds: “This delay has come down
from four months for orders placed in November last year.
“We have been told it is because of a lack
of physical containers to put the wine in, coupled with general congestion in the
ports owing to a lack of capacity, lack of
healthy workers and increased spending on consumer goods in the US.”
Daniel Lambert of Daniel Lambert Wines
The Riddling Rack in Newton-le-Willows is one of hundreds of indies delighted to be welcoming back customers to enjoy wine on the premises. Read more about the company’s renovations on page 2, and see what ther independents are saying about their own return to table service in The Burning Question on page 21.
NEWS
Inside this month
Wine bar to create new retail space Extension plans at The Riddling Rack in Newton le Willows, Merseyside, will
4 comings & GOINGs
create a clearer distinction between the
A little bit of Paris comes to
bar and retail areas.
Blackpool and good news for
Co-owner Alex Myhill explains: “Before
lockdown, the shop was maybe a bit
Edinburgh and Ipswich
tucked away behind the bar but now it
10 supplier bulletin Essential updates from key suppliers to the indie trade
really needs its own space. We’re having
a dedicated entrance so customers don’t
have to walk through the bar full of people eating and drinking to reach the retail
15 TRIED & TESTED Successfully bottling the South Downs, and Lurton loveliness
area.”
Off-trade has always been part of the
offering at The Riddling Rack since it
opened in 2018, but Myhill admits that
24 Just williams Why wines usually, but not always, need a sense of place
it took a lockdown for that part of the
business to really take off. “I think perhaps
the more wine savvy people knew about us before lockdown,” she says, “but we definitely reached out further into the
community over the last 12 months. People were looking to support local businesses. “We are in an area with quite a mixed
demographic. We have everything from
bottles at about £12 through to cases of Sassicaia for £2,000.
“We’ve been selling a lot of those recently
– we have dipped into a seam of wine collectors.”
The business imports its own Prosecco
and hopes to extend that to include
Champagne in the near future. The team
also work with Kilo Wines, ABS, Alliance and Matthew Clark.
28 real drinkS
Once works are
completed there will be capacity for 110 covers
over both floors and the
Why the London indie is no
outside space, plus the
longer called Real Ale
separate wine shop area.
44 languedoc-roussillon
Meanwhile Myhill
says: “Our planning
Has France’s answer to the new
application has
world lived up to all the hype?
been approved and
10 Cutting out cardboard?
we’re poised with a
sledgehammer ready to
More delays and price rises as
get the walls down and
supply chain problems worsen
get it built, ideally before people are allowed back in the building.”
THE WINE MERCHANT MAGAZINE winemerchantmag.com 01323 871836 Twitter: @WineMerchantMag Editor and Publisher: Graham Holter graham@winemerchantmag.com Assistant Editor: Claire Harries claire@winemerchantmag.com Advertising: Sarah Hunnisett sarah@winemerchantmag.com Accounts: Naomi Young winemerchantinvoices@gmail.com The Wine Merchant is circulated to the owners of the UK’s 956 specialist independent wine shops. Printed in Sussex by East Print. © Graham Holter Ltd 2021 Registered in England: No 6441762 VAT 943 8771 82
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 2
Lea & Sandeman links to new indie WineKraft opened in Canonmills, Edinburgh at the end of last month and, if all goes according to plan, it will herald the start of an ambitious expansion of the group of businesses owned by Graeme Sutherland and his brother Rory. They opened their Good Brothers wine
bar in Stockbridge in 2016, followed three years later by Little Rascal Wine Shop &
Bar in Corstorphine. As the latest addition, WineKraft will serve as a distribution hub
for the rest of the group, which is expected to grow further.
“My whole philosophy is that the wine
retail trade has to evolve,” explains Graeme Sutherland, “and so I’m very much for a
blended model, which is a bit of on-trade with a lot of off-trade.”
A change of use for the building is
underway to allow drinking in at some
Extension plans at The Riddling Rack
point, but meanwhile there is plenty to
in Newton le Willows will create a clearer
work with. “We want to get open and
distinction between the bar and retail
selling,” he says. “We’re building a tasting
areas.
room plus we’ll be operating Good
Co-owner Alex Myhill explains: “Before
Brothers Wine Co from there. We have
lockdown, the shop was maybe a bit
tucked away behind the bar site but now it Fire station really needs its own space. We’re having suits Everton
teamed up with Lea & Sandeman so we
are their agent in Scotland for their entire product range.”
Sutherland gave up his job with
Enotria&Coe just before Covid hit last year. “A really good time to give up a secure,
Graeme Sutherland already runs two wine bars in Edinburgh
well paid job!” he notes. “But I wasn’t able
there is a really young, vibrant mix. That is
some very interesting and fun plans.”
fantastic delis. I like to think that we will
to focus my attention on the business I’d
started with Rory, so now I can and I have The pair started doing online deliveries
of fruit, veg, cheese and charcuterie
from the bar during lockdown and that
success led Sutherland to include a deli and grocery element in WineKraft. “I
grew up in Canonmills,” he says, “and it
was quite stuffy and old-school but now
“The last 12 months have been organised
mirrored in the other businesses around
chaos,” Sutherland admits, “but we’re
complement the area with our bespoke
with the right people in the right places. We
us. There are lots of bars, restaurants and wine range. We’ve been investing in en primeur this year – northern Rhône, Brunello and Burgundy currently.” He is also sourcing wines from
Enotria&Coe, Liberty, Tiger Vines and Newcomer, to name a few.
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 4
bringing everything in line and adding a lot more structure. We are investing in growth are ready and willing to invest in people to drive the business forward.
“We have big plans for the next four years
to expand this right across the central belt, to Glasgow, Perthshire and we’re looking further afield as well.”
Bacchus Luscombe heads west in relocation After almost four decades of trading in Bosham, near Chichester in West Sussex, Luscombes Wine Merchants in has relocated to Kingsbridge in Devon. Owner Simon Luscombe and his wife Jill
have also used the move as an opportunity to rebrand as Quay Wines, a name the
business was already using for its online retail operation.
“Chichester lost its appeal,” admits
Luscombe, “so we started to look around for other sites and we fell in love with
Kingsbridge. The new shop is twice the
size of the previous one and has allowed
us to expand our ranges and create a more spacious environment for customers.”
Luscombe says they are really excited
about being able to open the basement of
the shop as a tasting cellar, complete with Enomatics, as soon as restrictions have eased.
He adds: “We have been very welcomed
to Kingsbridge, customers seem more
loyal to independent traders in Devon and are generally looking to broaden their knowledge and tasting experience.”
• Old Brompton Wine & Cheese opened last month in South Kensington. The new wine bar and deli is the latest project from Xavier Rousset MS and Steve Pineau. Around 250 wines are on offer alongside over 80 cheeses and charcuterie, available for both on-site and take away meals. • Shill’s of Cockermouth is up for sale with an asking price of £800,000. The Cumbrian business is spread over two floors, with a wine and cheese shop situated at street level and a restaurant upstairs. A fourbedroom apartment is included in the sale. The business has a reported turnover of £750,000 before VAT.
A bongo called Bruce?
If the popularity of our own Dog of The Month section is anything to go by, we know that wine merchants in general are big animal lovers. Bruce Evans at Grape & Grain in Crediton, Devon, has taken that to an entirely different level by adopting animals to support Paignton Zoo. So far his menagerie includes exotic species both large and small, from tigers to tree frogs. Evans explains that during all the lockdowns his thoughts immediately turned to the adverse affect that zoo closures would have on the animals. “It costs them absolute shed loads to keep themselves going,” he says, “and the thing about Paignton is that they do massive amounts of conservation work around the world. They are tied in with various projects and if they are not getting any income then it’s those projects, in the rainforests and savanna etc, which are much more important than us having a giraffe to look at. Those things go up the Suwannee and that shouldn’t happen.” During the first lockdown Evans donated 1% of his turnover to Dartmoor zoo and he says at least 15 of his customers, when they heard what he was up to, called the zoo and made their own donations. His attention then turned to the adoption programme at Paignton. “I had a draw for anyone who bought six bottles to win an adoption,” he says. “I didn’t want them all to have Grape & Grain written on them so there are customers’ names scattered around too.” Over the third lockdown alone Evans has donated over £700 to the cause and it reached a point where he had run out of animals. “You couldn’t officially adopt a bongo,” he exclaims, “so I rang them up and Wendy in the adoptions department told me I am their best customer. She had to go and photograph the bongo herself to send it to me. If they run a breeding programme and there’s a new little bongo called Bruce, that would be fantastic.”
Picture perfect
Would you let Rob Hoult of Hoults in Huddersfield loose with some Sharpies and a supply of watercolours? No, us neither. Even Rob admits he’s “a long way from creative. But, he knows some good art when he sees it and when a painting of the taproom at Magic Rock Brewery caught his eye, he got in touch with the artist and commissioned some artwork of his own. “There’s a style to it that’s nice and bright and breezy and it celebrates Huddersfield,” he says. “Helen [Robinson] is a very talented artist and I sent out an email to everyone yesterday encouraging them to support her.” Rob is going to hang his new acquisition in the shop for all his customers to admire, and he thinks he will also utilise the image for marketing. “All she needs is a photo,” he says, “and for £95 I got this original commission. £95 – you can’t even go out for dinner for that! It’s genuinely lovely and every wine merchant should have one.”
A bongo – apparently a real animal, despite the improbable name and even more improbable stripes
© Eric Isselée / stockadobe.com
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 5
A little bit of Paris in Blackpool This month will see the launch of hybrid The Nook and owner Jake Whittington, thinks it qualifies as “the smallest wine bar in Blackpool.” Whittington, who already owns two
bars in the town says: “I’m trying to do
something that hasn’t really been done in the local area. Predominantly the day-
to-day trade will be on the bar side with
the charcuterie boards and having a few
specially picked bottles open. I’ll have the shelves wherever I can fit them, with off-
trade sales as well. It’s such a small space, just 20 square metres.
“We are really trying to pack everything
in but keep it like something you might find on a stroll down a Parisian back street.” There is the added bonus of some
outside space above the shop, and
Whittington is seeking permission to
transform the area into a “secret garden,”
which will be able to accommodate up to 25
people and he says will be ideal for tastings. The Nook will start off with around 50
lines and Whittington is confident that
he has space to grow that as he discovers what his customers are engaging with.
exclusively,” adds Jourdain.
interesting place. I’m originally from
Brighton and people always try to compare the two but it really is not the same,” he says.
“There’s such a brilliant culture of art
and music here but there are no venues
to reflect that. So when we are looking at
wines and what we’re stocking, we have to
find that bridge between quality things that people can’t find in the shops. But I don’t
want to intimidate people with a price tag
Lease had reached an end
Wine Utopia pulls out of Winchester
or have to over-explain a certain bottle – I
Wine Utopia closed its St Thomas Street
and that is because they have such a great
warehouse in Kingsworthy are open for
support is fantastic and in these times
lease at Winchester was coming to an end
want to keep it accessible.
branch in Winchester in February,
presence in the local area. I work with
business as usual.
having a big reliable supplier who is able to
and the online part of our business has
“We’re working with Matthew Clark
them already with my other bars. Their get to you is everything.”
Wine Boutique opens in Ipswich established a third site by collaborating with chef Julien Jourdain at his Bistro on the Quay in Ipswich. The retail outlet has opened on the first
floor of the dockside restaurant allowing customers to either purchase a bottle to take away, or select something to enjoy
with their meal in the bistro for an extra £7 corkage.
“We are open just Thursdays to Sundays
at the moment,” explains Jourdain, “but
from May 17, we will be open seven days a Whittington already has two Blackpool bars
brand and buying all the wines from him
“Blackpool is such a strange and
John Greenwold’s Wine Boutique has
The frontage in progress
“I’m in partnership with John. I’m using his
week.”
He will be stocking around 40 lines, all of
which he will buy direct from Greenwold.
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 6
but the Stockbridge shop and the
Manager Yolly Cresswell explains: “The
become such a big thing. We’re going to
expand our warehouse site and by turning it into a proper big shop and make it less warehousey.”
Coravin winners Congratulations to the five Wine
Merchant reader survey respondents
whose names were drawn at random
and who each win a Coravin, courtesy of our partner Hatch Mansfield.
Peter Fawcett, Field & Fawcett, York Anthony Borges, The Wine Centre, Great Horkesley, Essex Zoran Ristanovic, City Wine Collection, London Daniel Grigg, Museum Wines, Dorset Riaz Syed, Stonewines, London
Sat 19 - Sun 27 June 2021
GET INVOLVED!
CELEBRATE THE TASTE OF ENGLAND
As retailers, your involvement in English Wine Week can help promote your store and the English wines you stock. From in-store tastings to featured wines and promotions, there are plenty of ways you can celebrate! Visit winegb.co.uk/trade for more information, ideas and to list your event.
WineGB
Wine_GB
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winegb.co.uk
#ENGLISHWINEWEEK
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 7
NEWS
From page 1
Covid, the Suez, changing patterns and the demand of China.”
He says the American west coast has lags
of two to 10 weeks, Cape Town has “long
port delays”, while Chile has shorter delays but is “not bad”. New Zealand is “difficult” because of disruption at Auckland’s port.
Douglas adds that there are also delays
for some shipments from the EU, as many importers experienced on a widespread basis at the start of the year.
“This varies hugely and relates to the
availability of trucks, trailers, people and warehouse personnel,” he says.
“The Brexit paperwork requirements are
now known and are being addressed as well as can be expected.
“It is a hassle, a cost, and adds no value
or other positive aspect to the process, so we would really like it to be reduced or
deleted, but it is being managed and we thank our suppliers for doing their bit.” ABS Wine Agencies says it has had
problems with the US, with the company’s Elliot Awin reporting “very long delays to
secure a vessel and a high chance of being bumped at the last minute”.
He adds: “We have recently started a new
partnership with Terlato Family Wines
and have some jolly exciting new business lined up, which is being hampered by the uncertainty of supply.”
Linda McGowan, head of supply at
Alliance Wine, says: “For non-EU ocean
freight, time frames are getting squeezed as they will not allow people to place
bookings till four weeks out from sailing. “Demand is so high that ocean freight
rates have increased by about 12%. This
is partly due to lack of ships on the water with reduced sailing schedules.
“Transit times have increased by about
two weeks in some areas with internal land haulage being at a premium too.
The Ever Given
Ocean freight rates up As well as facing extra costs on land and sea, importers are warned of “very long dela
“There are pinch points at every stage. To
try to mitigate matters we have put in place securing bookings on every vessel and rolled the bookings if need be.”
She adds that transit times from France
are as long as five weeks, with continuing
congestion at UK ports, hampered by a lack of understanding of UK clearance rules.
“Goods are arriving without the correct
paperwork at both the EU and UK sides,” adds McGowan.
Another significant importer said it was
trying to manage customer expectations in the light of delay to stocks from the
Americas, Australia, and New Zealand.
“Boats just aren’t available, and many are
stuck in ports on account of crew testing
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 8
positive for Covid,” a source said.
Freddie Cobb of Vagabond Wines
says there had been a “huge scrambling for wine” from hybrids and on-trade
operators after the announcement of
the government’s roadmap which had exaggerated supply issues.
“Both haulier companies and
warehousing companies were
overstretched in processing the volume of wine being ordered and the new paperwork,” he says.
Amathus says it has experienced stock
delays of three to four weeks from many destinations – and surprise customs
demands and courier charges for sample bottles from the EU.
© harlequin9 / stockadobe.com
Merchants adjust to the new abnormal Adam Clarke, The Secret Cellar, Tunbridge Wells A couple of times since January we have requested samples from our French suppliers. Wines arrive in good time – often within two or three days – then six weeks later a bill arrives for import/duty costs from FedEx or TNT. One example was four bottles of entrylevel Macon. The RRP for wines would be £15. The invoice for duty was £55. I just forward invoices to the supplier for payment, but I’m sure not all suppliers will be willing to pay the invoices.
Henry Butler, The Butlers Wine Cellar, Brighton We had a surprise VAT/duty bill on something we sent to Belgium as a gift. A £20 bottle suddenly became about £70 with shipping etc. Since then it has been OK – no surprises. But deliveries coming to us, from suppliers, have been delayed massively. Delayed shipping, delays with processing in bond. This is going to be a shock to restaurants when they reopen, expecting consistency, which at the moment is not realistic.
Simon Evans, The Naked Grape, Hampshire We have had awful issues with getting samples in – no big issues with actual pallet volumes as yet, though. One of our long-standing suppliers in Provence sent us a mixed
n, which caused the Suez backlog, unloading at Felixstowe
by 12% ys” and the risk of a last-minute “bump”
12 bottles of rosé to taste in mid-January. It’s now April 30 and they haven’t arrived yet. I’ve had six or so emails from different people at UPS. After I explained on every email these are free samples for me to taste, they asked me to confirm the exact timescale in which I would taste the wines and then mutilate and destroy the bottles. The supplier has been brilliant and so apologetic, and we understand. It’s the courier/ handler that hasn’t grasped some of the intricacies of our business type. And I’m sure there is paperwork to fill in that just isn’t fit for purpose at present.
Sara Bangert, The General Wine Company, Surrey The latter issue was highlighted by Colin
It’s a general malaise that we have at the moment, getting anything from anywhere.
Thorne of Vagabond who tweeted that the
Certainly it’s a struggle with wine, getting it from Europe due to, as far as we can gather,
Jeremy Lithgow MW of Amathus says:
it; we still have to have the samples. It’s not particularly fun at the moment with all those
business had been charged duty of £71.93
the UK bureaucracy.
“£71 seems excessive; we’re more often
sorts of things cropping up. I don’t know why it has to be so complicated. I’ve never been
for four bottles.
seeing around £25, but this is often greater than the value of the goods. These can sometimes be challenged, with mixed success.
“Couriers will sometimes levy admin
charges, plus completely random VAT
charges even on goods that come in under the VAT threshold.
“There seems to be a tendency for
couriers to ignore paperwork altogether
It’s fair to say that all new charges have taken us by surprise. There’s no way around
in the position before where suppliers have had to ring us because they are scratching their heads and saying, ‘what do they mean by this?’. Instead of things taking maybe one or two weeks to come from Europe they are taking six, maybe even eight weeks. So I’m a bit glad it’s been a staggered return for trade. With retail, if you haven’t got something you can persuade a customer to try something else. But for trade they have a wine on their list and that’s what they want – they are unforgiving from that point of view. It’s not so much getting it picked up, it’s getting it to the UK because drivers don’t want to do it because of delays. If they are paid per job, they would rather stay on the continent and do several jobs because the UK takes longer. It would be a real shame if people can’t be bothered to deal with the UK anymore.
and charge regardless.”
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 9
NEWS
Box prices set for more increases © steheap / stockadobe.com
Surge in demand for cardboard creates longer lead times and added costs for suppliers and retailers alike
W
ine merchants are being
warned of higher prices and longer waits for corrugated
cardboard boxes, with demand continuing to outstrip supply.
Manufacturers have seen their own lead
times on supplies increase from seven to 10 days to around eight weeks. They are encouraging box suppliers to work with clients to try to forecast orders well in advance to minimise delays.
One producer has told box suppliers that
“there is little sign that this will improve –
in fact, there are potentially tougher times ahead”.
WBC is one of many suppliers trying to
steer a course through the chaos.
Boss Andrew Wilson says supply-chain
shortages have been exacerbated by the
boom in online sales that began during the first lockdown.
“The lead times increased as paper and
board mills reached capacity,” he says.
“Unfortunately, paper mills and board
in pallet quantities rather than smaller
months to have any impact.”
bullet caused by the effects of the global
plants cannot be expanded overnight
and any increase in capacity would take
He adds: “As ever, with increased demand
comes increasing prices; good old market forces in action. Cardboard prices are
generally pretty stable, but every few years they go through a pattern of multiple price increases in a short space of time followed by periods of calm.
“We have only seen this happen three
or four times in 30 years but it is certainly happening again. We saw an increase of
around 8% in late February and another
8% is being pushed through in early April. “There is talk of at least another 8% to
come, which we hope is just a rumour.” Wilson says that although WBC is
attempting to “absorb these increases
wherever possible or pass on reduced increases to our customers to try and soften the blow”, he warns that “it is
impossible for it not to have a significant impact on prices”.
He adds: “For our customers, savings
Wilson: “Capacity can’t expand overnight”
of up to 20% can be made through bulk
buying and ordering less frequently but
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 10
regular deliveries. This is one way retailers can box clever and dodge the inevitable pandemic.”
Many retailers are more reliant on boxes
than ever and have faced frustration in
their recent attempts to place orders for delivery within the usual timeframe.
“We’ve been OK and our supplier has
been working quite well with us,” says Oli Gauntlett of Eynsham Cellars in Oxfordshire.
“They warned us before Christmas about
the longer lead times so we managed to keep on top of it. We don’t get branded boxes; we use branded tape instead.
“We buy in large volumes. They’ve had
three price increases this year, so it just
gets more and more expensive. I think two of them were 5% and one was 7.5% so
it’s quite significant. They keep saying the material costs have gone up.
“We only use new boxes for couriers.
With everything delivered locally, we
use old boxes. It doesn’t look as pretty
but I think people appreciate that we are recycling.”
An hour with Susana Balbo Argentina’s legendary winemaker and Queen of Torrontés takes Wine Merchant readers on a tour of her Signature range, exclusive to indies
S
usana Balbo is looking forward to the time when she can
travel to see customers and consumers in the UK in person. “The UK was my first market,” says the Argentinian wine
legend, “and I’m always very grateful for the support and interest in our wines.”
While we wait for that day to come, Wine Merchant readers
were treated to the next best thing – a virtual tasting of a selection of wines with Balbo herself, with assistance from Laurie Webster of UK importer Las Bodegas.
Balbo is perhaps best known as a pioneer of high quality
Torrontés. The company makes both dessert and dry white wines from the grape but the flagship is its Signature Barrel-Fermented Torrontés (RRP £19).
“Torrontés is naturally quite bitter with high skin
contact, so we press very quickly and clean the juice to avoid the oxidation that comes from the crushing,” she says. “We don’t use the juice that sticks to the skins, so we get less than half of it but
the quality is very high. Then we ferment at a low temperature in new French oak with low toastiness.
“I brought the vines from Cafayate where I was working at the
Cabernet Franc brings some length to the wine”.
Balbo says she considers making a first class Cabernet
Sauvignon to be the real test of whether a winemaker can cut it on the world stage. “If you can make a good Cabernet, you can make all the other reds as well,” she says.
Balbo’s Signature Cabernet Sauvignon (RRP £28) is
made with grapes from Gualtallary, a high altitude region
with a variety of soil types crammed into an area just 17km long. Balbo favours plots with an eastern aspect to catch
the early morning sun and avoid the harsh heat of later in
the day that can cause skin burn on the grapes and lead to bitterness in the wine.
“Good ripening in Cabernet is important to achieve black pepper
flavours,” she adds. “The wine has a mineral character in the acidity, and tannins, giving complexity, length and layers of flavours.
“Up against top Bordeaux wines in blind tasting the competition is
pretty equal, but the price is a fraction of the higher end in France.” Balbo’s Signature White Blend (RRP £19) is billed as “a white blend with an Argentine twist”, that combines Semillon,
Sauvignon Blanc and Torrontés, a trio suggested by wine
beginning of my career and planted them at my vineyard in Paraje
writer Tim Atkin MW.
Altamira. It’s a very different than in Cafayate where it has more
“We try to produce a wine that has freshness and
floral character. In Altamira it has more citrus, green apple, lychee and some greenness coming from the cold climate and stony soil. “Torrontés is a widely planted variety in Argentina but to
achieve this style of wine you to have a winery that is set up with very good equipment.”
Malbec is, of course, Argentina’s go-to red varietal and
Balbo describes her Signature Malbec (RRP £28), also from Paraje Altamira, as the “flagship of the winery”.
“Malbec is a naturally low yielding variety,” she adds. “If
you push the yield you lose some of the character, so we try to keep it down even in the most generous years, and we
even do cluster removals if necessary.
“I’ve been making this wine from the same plot since 1999.
Almost every year this place delivers wine with a violet character
and we also have a very subtle touch of mintiness which gives the
complexity,” she says. “It has a beautiful minerality acidity.”
because the soil where we grow the grapes is very
calcareous [chalky], which gives minerality and natural
Webster of Las Bodegas adds: “When I first tasted it, Susana
asked me to guess what the grapes were and I thought it was Semillion, Sauvignon and Riesling because it had an almost Germanic note on the nose. It did change my perception of Argentinian wine.”
B
albo’s Signature Rosé (RRP £22) is an attempt to do “an Argentinian rosé with international style”, and was created by Balbo’s winemaker son José.
The 2019 in the tasting is a 60-40 Malbec-Pinot Noir
wine complexity.
blend, from grape deliveries dedicated to making this wine.
Altamira is a cold region, so we need longer sun-time to achieve
Balbo.
“This is the 2018 which was a mild harvest, with sun in autumn
and a very long season, which was fantastic for us because the concentration we are looking for.”
The Malbec is blended with 8% Cabernet Franc because, says
Balbo, “Malbec has plenty of character in in the mid-palate, so the
“We get a touch of greenness and freshness from picking just a little earlier than we would for a red wine,” says
Balbo is rightly recognised as an innovator in Argentina for 40
years and there’s still more to come, with experiments in orange Torrontés, co-fermentation of red and white grapes and lighter
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 12
Sponsored by Susana Balbo Wines Contact Las Bodegas: lasbodegas.co.uk 01435 874772
wines at 9% abv – the lowest level permitted in Argentina – all on the horizon.
“The sky is the limit,” she says. “I don’t want to be stuck on one
style all the time, especially for the UK market, because they are
the most sophisticated wine consumers. I like to deliver new stuff to challenge them.”
Retailer feedback Anthony Borges, The Wine Centre, Great Horkesley I especially liked the Torrontés for its intensity, flavour and texture. There’s a lovely purity; a mix of tropical and herbal, and good length. The rosé was very pleasant. For me, redcurrant, strawberries; dry. And best of the reds, Malbec: deep, bright, black cherry, chocolate. Oaky, structured, concentrated, precise and long. Truly lovely.
Emily Silva, Oxford Wine Co Susana’s wines were excellent across the board, but the two standouts for me were those which gave me the biggest surprises: the Torrontés and the Malbec. The Torrontés because I was astonished by how well the use of oak was managed – Susana has created a delicious yet serious wine from a grape variety that is often slightly dismissed. Argentinian Malbec is not usually at the top of my list for personal consumption, but Susana’s expression was concentrated yet fresh, with a gorgeous aromatic lift from the Cabernet Franc. Fabulous wines.
Jeff Folkins, Dalling & Co, Kings Langley As always, I was thoroughly impressed by Susana Balbo’s wines. The consistency of quality is notable and the tasting proved the point once again. In particular, her rosé and barrel-fermented Torrontés remain complex and rich.
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 13
Rising Stars
Angus Weir Great Grog, Edinburgh
J
ust over two years ago when we asked Richard Meadows at Great Grog if he wanted to nominate someone for this column, his response was that the team were “all too long in the tooth”. Now the business finds itself with two new recruits: Fraser, who although a worthy contender is Richard’s son, and Angus, who is not. “They definitely bring a new energy,” says Richard. “It’s been a massive turn-up for the shop. It’s made a difference – eye candy! This year we are almost 50% up and it’s not seeming to slow down, so something is going right.” Both Fraser and Angus are serious about the industry. Fraser has moved on to his WSET Level 3 and is studying French and doing a beer course. Angus is a Plumpton business graduate and also has an agriculture degree. Richard says: “Angus is working in the shop and warehouse. He does everything – there’s nothing he doesn’t do. I think it’s useful to have a bit of an agricultural background when you’re working with an agricultural product, so when you speak to someone in a winery you have a deeper understanding. “He’s keen, he picks the phone up and when you’re new it is quite tricky because you never know who is going to be asking what. Even if you don’t know the answer, you have to have the confidence to pick the phone up. But people are generally quite tolerant of new and young people – they have both done exceptionally well.” “I had wanted to go into farming,” says Angus “but it turns out I was more interested in the sales and marketing side of the wine industry. During my two years at Plumpton I worked at some Sussex vineyards doing tours and tastings. I really like talking about wine and selling to people. The original plan after graduation was to take a year or so abroad to work in California, New Zealand and finish in South Africa but that didn’t happen thanks to the pandemic.” His first thought was to look at grad schemes with companies such as Laithwaite’s and Hallgarten, but Angus quickly realised those opportunities were few and far between during lockdown. Angus says: “My dad is really good friends with Richard but I’d never considered him as a future job prospect – partly because he’s in Scotland – but he emailed and said he had a position for me and I grabbed it. It’s been a perfect opportunity for me to understand the business side of the wine industry and I’m looking forward to when the
trade reopens and becoming more of a salesman. “I’ve only been here for half a year and not fully experienced what our business is all about, so I’d like to get that under my belt. I want to stay here for at least another two years before I consider my future. “It is an industry that allows you to travel quite easily and see exciting places, so I’m not too disheartened about not going abroad just yet. “Edinburgh is not quite New Zealand or South Africa but it’s the next best thing for me. I’m probably one of the few lucky ones to come straight out of uni and get a job in an industry that I love. I fully appreciate what I’ve been able to do over the past few months.”
Angus wins a bottle of Drouhin Vaudon Chablis Premier Cru ‘Mont de Milieu’ If you’d like to nominate a Rising Star, email claire@winemerchantmag.com
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 14
TRIED & TESTED
Joseph Mellot Sancerre Le Rabault Rosé 2019
Pfaffl Wien 2 Zweigelt Pinot Noir 2020
“This wine got a nice salmon colour,” notes the gloriously
Red fruit abounds in this lively Viennese blend, which
in the Loire for five centuries. So it’s not altogether
can be taken rather more seriously than is strictly
translated back label, and that’s certainly a fact. It’s also a fact that the Mellot family have been making wines surprising that this is a surefooted pink Pinot, with
cherry and raspberry as well as mineral undertones. RRP: £17
ABV: 13%
Hatch Mansfield (01344 871800)
has a pleasing tartness to balance out the red-cherry and strawberry sweetness. Sometimes Pinot Noir
necessary, but here its role is the same as any other variety: to advance the cause of human happiness. RRP: £15.99
ABV: 13%
Daniel Lambert Wines (01656 661010)
hatchmansfield.com
daniellambert.wine
Anwilka 2017
Rathfinny Classic Cuveé 2017
The debut vintage of Anwilka in 2005 was described
The East Sussex estate’s house blend comprises 65%
up standards at the Stellenbosch estate, now wholly
provide some satisfying weight but the style is crisp
by Robert Parker as the best red wine he’d ever tasted
from South Africa, so there’s been an incentive to keep owned by Klein Constantia. Primarily a Cabernet/ Syrah blend, it’s an iconic wine with whirlpools of
complexity, but in a way that isn’t vulgar or showy. RRP: £31
ABV: 14%
Mentzendorff (020 7840 3600)
Pinot Noir, 18% Chardonnay and 17% Pinot Meunier, aged for 36 months in the bottle. The red varieties and elegant. If you could bottle the South Downs
weather, with sun on your face and a cool breeze at your back, it would probably taste like this. RRP: £29
ABV: 12%
Liberty Wines (020 7720 5350)
mentzendorff.co.uk
libertywines.co.uk
Leeuwin Estate Art Series Riesling 2018
Mathilde Chapoutier Sélection Duché d’Uzès Rosé 2019
Fruity and eye-wateringly racy at the same time, this is a
A Grenache and Cinsault blend made with fruit
citrus end of the spectrum, but Asian herbs also make
of everyone’s thoughts. Soft red fruit and citrus
Margaret River Riesling to revive, or perhaps resuscitate, the imbiber. There’s a lot going on, much of it at the a guest appearance and there’s an agreeable stony character to keep everything nicely grounded. RRP: £21
ABV: 12.5%
Flint Wines (020 7582 2500)
from near the Pont du Gard, harvested at night and
fermented with aromatic preservation at the forefront
flavours add a delicate but distinct character to a wine that deserves so much better than the British spring. RRP: £13
ABV: 12.5%
Hatch Mansfield (01344 871800)
flintwines.com
hatchmansfield.com
Dom Mucyn Crozes Hermitage Les Entrecoeurs 2018
Château de Barbe Blanche 2016
The Mucyn family embarked on a career change 20
in 2000 and the 2016 vintage is described as one of
years ago and now have a string of vineyards in the
Rhône valley, which they farm organically. The Syrah grapes continue to be well looked after even during
winemaking. The wine is inky but not overextracted, with liquorice notes and a moreish savoury edge. RRP: £25
ABV: 13%
Castelnau Wine Agencies (07508 825 488) castelnau.co.uk
The property in Lussac was acquired by André Lurton the finest under his tenure. Merlot accounts for 80%
of the blend, with 20% Cabernet Franc maybe adding a crunchy green streak to a wine that has a rich,
chocolatey softness and stewed-berry richness. Just coming into its drinking window and a snip at £20. RRP: £19.99
ABV: 13.5%
Daniel Lambert Wines (01656 661010) daniellambert.wine
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 15
ight ideas r b
22: Fabulous Food Trucks Sam Owens Thirsty Cambridge, Cambridge
In a nutshell … Get in on the street food scene and
collaborate with local food trucks in order to provide customers with exciting treats to match your wines. Tell us more.
“We’re booze people and great booze goes with great food. We have been doing this
pretty much since we opened back in 2015. The whole food truck thing was gathering a bit of steam back then and we are lucky that there are quite a few really good
quality ones in and around Cambridge. We play to each other’s strengths.”
Food vendors pay a small commission for electricity and marketing
How does it work?
“The van parks up outside and hooks
up to our electricity. We charge a small
over lockdown?
power and we also do some marketing
around it, in the shop and on social media.
outside seven days a week, but we have cut that back to three nights and of course we
continue to trade through these crazy
commission because they are using our
“Prior to Covid we had the food truck
Their customers can come in and sit inside
haven’t been able to have customers eat on
clear favourite?
some food and taking it away to eat at
burger people and they are the first ones
our premises. You can have the best burger you are ever going to eat or bao buns
with pork or really top-notch pizza. Every night you have a different cuisine on offer
outside the shop. The customers get variety
“Well, burgers probably have the widest
home, so it’s been able to continue.
we started to work with. The Wandering
out and buying a nice bottle of wine and
“We’ve been working with these traders
for over six years now, we know them
How easy was it to adapt this model
pre-orders etc. We’re all working together
winner – a great complementary fit.”
It all looks delicious. Has there been a
our premises. But people are still coming
and we don’t have to run a kitchen and
deal with all that shenanigans. It’s been a
times.”
well and we’ve been able to operate this safely over the last 12 months by taking to operate responsibly but to be able to
appeal. Steak & Honour are the big posh
Yak, with their vegetarian food, is always a
mega hit. The food has to reflect the quality of the wine we are selling. It’s prepared to the same standards as we would be
sending out of our own kitchen and it’s food with a story, just like our wines.”
Sam wins a WBC gift box containing some premium drinks and a box of chocolates. Tell us about a bright idea that’s worked for you and you too could win a prize. Email claire@winemerchantmag.com
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 16
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 17
life is a
cabernet Michael Eddy is the first non-family member to head up winemaking at Louis M Martini. His mission, like that of his forebears, is to produce multi-layered Cabernet Sauvignon with freshness as well as rich California fruit. He also makes a mean Zinfandel, as our group of Zoom tasters recently discovered
E
ach of the four winemakers in the
history of California’s Louis M Martini has played a distinctive part in the
evolution of its wines.
The eponymous founder was a true
pioneer, in 1933 building one of the first
wineries to open in the state after the end of Prohibition, having originally travelled
alone to the US at the age of 13 to join his
father in his San Francisco fishing business. Louis M Martini’s son, Louis P, was
a technical innovator, the first to use
vineyard fans to prevent frost and to use cooling jackets for cold fermentation.
His son, Mike Martini, was the artisan,
working with small barriques for ageing
and extending maceration times to build structure in his wines.
“I’m never trying to recreate the wines
that any of the other winemakers have
says Eddy, to “bridge the gap” between
winemaker Michael Eddy, the first from
juicy youthful fruit of Cabernet – and the
made, but that history inspires me and
informs how I move forward,” says current outside the family to hold the position. Eddy is leaving his own stamp on
Martini’s evolution through the fine-tuning of fruit selection, maceration times and
ageing to create a range of Cabernets with
an array of styles to match different palates, price points and drinking occasions.
This was demonstrated at a tasting of
four of the 11 wines it produces during a webinar for Wine Merchant readers
recently, alongside a pair of vintages of
Gnarly Vine Zinfandels from the producer’s famous Monte Rosso vineyard.
Louis M Martini’s Sonoma County
Cabernet (2017, RRP £20) is designed,
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 18
dining and everyday drinking.
“I want to capture the really primary,
depth, structure and richness of the wine
– but without being exceedingly tannic or edgy,” he adds.
“The way to do that is shorter
maceration. This wine sees roughly a
week on the skins, extracting aggressively
upfront to get the colour, the body and the
fruit, but then taking it off the skins before it develops any astringency or coarseness in the mouth.”
That softness means relatively short
ageing too, of around a year, and only
in stainless steel which “preserves the youthful fresh fruit character”.
The Cabernet from the more northerly
Alexander Valley (2015, RRP £35.99) has
of the wine,” Eddy adds.
experience with this wine is the fruit
backbone, richness and density in the wine,
brick red earth give its grapes complexity,
freshness that leaves you absolutely
a longer maceration of 10 to 15 days.
Eddy says: “That builds more tannic
and a little bit more harshness round the
edges, so to balance that it’s aged in oak for around 18 months to get a softening effect. “We get more layers in the wine: we can
see the oak, some of the earth, some of fruit shift towards dryness and, definitely in Alexander, some herbal tones.”
T
he producer’s Napa Valley Cabernet (2017, RRP £38) has an almost
identical winemaking regime to
the Alexander Valley wine, so here the
difference comes down to the personality of the growing region. The Napa blend features fruit from a number of higher altitude vineyards.
Monte Rosso’s cool location in the
Mayacamas mountains and its unusual,
with relatively high acidity and tannins –
and the Cabernet has an iron-like mineral note that provides, says Eddy, “a firm backbone built for ageing”.
Monte Rosso’s Gnarly Vine Zinfandel
(2015 and 2016, RRP £58 and £60) is made with fruit from 127-year-old vines.
“Zinfandel develops very high levels of
sugar naturally and, in one cluster, you can
have both pink berries that haven’t gone to veraison and fully-raisined berries, so that hand-sorting in the micro-winery is really critical.
“For me, the most fundamental thrilling
sweetness on the front of the palate that cleans out with a beautiful acidity and
craving another sip. There’s always a note
of spice in Monte Rosso Zinfandel as well.” Overall, Eddy describes the Louis M
Martini house style as “California classic”.
He adds: “A lot of cult Napa Valley wines
today are very high alcohol, very decadent, and really pushed towards the very ripe
end of the spectrum, whereas our wines maintain a little bit more of that acidity, tannin and backbone. They nod to our heritage.
“Our style has evolved. My forebears as
winemaker would see it as different – but I think they would recognise it.”
“Typically, what distinguishes the Napa
Valley wine is that classic blackberry, cassis fruit profile and it tends to be a little bit more refined,” says Eddy.
A Monte Rosso Cabernet (2015, RRP
£90) also featured in the tasting, alongside the two Zinfandels. The property’s
steeper terrain means it has more natural variations in soil than some of Martini’s
other vineyards, so its wines are made in
the company’s Cellar No 254 micro-winery which allows the separate vinification of rows within blocks that have different ripening times.
“We also have hand-sorting on the
receiving line and transfer all the fruit
via gravity which allows us to maintain
great berry integrity and give tremendous control over extraction and the mouthfeel
RETAILER FEEDBACK “It was a very enjoyable tasting. There were three wines that particularly stood out: the Alexander Cabernet 2015, the Monte Rosso Cabernet 2015 and the Monte Rosso Zinfandel 2016. These are truly impressive wines, so much so I placed an order for them.”
“I really enjoyed the tasting. For me the Monte Rosso Zinfandel really stood out with its intense kirsch notes and complexity. I also really enjoyed the Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon with its subtle herb notes, which I thought was good value for the price.”
Chris Bain Harris & Co, Castle Douglas
Charlotte Shek Shekleton Wines, Stamford, Lincolnshire
Feature sponsored by louis m martini winery uk importers: enotria & COe and The vineyard cellars for more information email Marie.Weiss@ejgallo.com or visit www.louismartini.com
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 19
BITS & BOBS
Favourite Things
Asda has switched to marketing wine by grape variety, rather than country and region, which it says will help consumers navigate the aisle more easily and experiment with new varieties. The retailer, which claims to be the first
UK supermarket to group its wine this way,
Matthew Iles
Quercus Wines, Westerham Favourite wine on my list
As of today it is the new 2020 vintage of Minervois Blanc from Château Cabezac (Delibo) – pure Mediterranean sunshine and really delicious.
Magpie
Asda displays wine by grape, not region
is rolling out the change across its estate. It draws on research conducted by the
supermarket that demonstrates that 74% of UK wine shoppers see grape variety as the biggest factor in their purchase
decision and follows a pilot in several of its stores.
Following the trial, the retailer saw
a boost in customer ratings, with a rise
That move followed the decision by FC
Bordeaux’s US owner, global investment
firm King Street, to withdraw funding for the club, which has been hard-hit by the Covid pandemic.
Pinault is France’s third-richest man,
but cannot mount a takeover bid for FC
Bordeaux himself because he already owns rival Ligue 1 club Stade Rennais (Rennes). Decanter, April 27
Experts analyse the taste of space
of almost 20% for how inspiring and
engaging shopping for wine had been.
Ridgeview in East Sussex
The Drinks Business, April 21
Favourite wine and food match
Napa Chardonnay and roast chicken with tarragon mayonnaise.
Favourite wine trip
The industry behind English sparkling
My third buying trip to Burgundy when I worked in trade sales; tasting Chambertin with Loïc Dugat-Py in his monastic cellars as the November sun set was profound.
wine is warning that new costs and red tape are crimping future export plans. “It’s been really difficult to get freight
companies to even offer to transport a
pallet to the EU,” said Brandon Barnham,
sales manager at Ridgeview in East Sussex. “I am trying to get a pallet to Holland at
Favourite wine trade person
Michael Palij MW of Winetraders, whose zeal for quality and authenticity is occasionally terrifying but always inspiring.
Favourite wine shop
Aside from the many great UK indies, Les Caves Augé in Paris is somewhere I could spend a weekend.
Brexit hinders UK wine exports
the moment, but three or four companies Club plays in Ligue 1
Could châteaux bail out FC Bordeaux? François Pinault has made a plea for château owners to rally round after FC Girondins de Bordeaux was put under the protection of the Commercial Court.
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 20
who used to deliver for us in the past have refused to even quote. Those that will
quote are offering prices of £500 to £700 a pallet compared to £140 before Brexit.”
WineGB has estimated that new customs
paperwork and labelling requirements for
imports into the EU add up £5 to the cost of a bottle of English sparkling wine at retail in Europe and £8 to £10 on a restaurant wine list.
Financial Times, April 26
Wine drinking hits an 18-year low
?
THE BURNING QUESTION
How have on-premise sales been going since lockdown eased?
�
The US easily tops the list of countries
It’s been amazing. One regular customer got his friends together and celebrated being back in the garden with a jeroboam of Gosset Grand Réserve. He spent about £400 in the end. Although we have capacity to seat 100, we’ve limited it to 12 picnic tables, because we want to keep a nice chilled atmosphere and not make it feel crowded. We’ve had so many requests for nibbles, so we have introduced graze boxes, which have gone down a storm.
that drink the most wine, but global wine consumption dropped by 3% in 2020, according to the International Organisation of Vine & Wine in its new annual report. World wine consumption weighed in at
an estimated 234 million hectolitres.
It’s the smallest amount of wine drunk in
any year since 2002, said OIV, although it
urged caution and emphasised the number was only an estimate.
UK consumption was up 2.2% to 13.3
million hectolitres, ahead of China, where consumption fell 17.4%, and behind Germany, up 0.2%.
Decanter, April 25
Jane Cuthbertson Barrica Wines, Preston
�
At Pop Brixton we have our teeny little wine bar outside with five tables and we don’t take bookings. At our other site, the Laundry Restaurant, we have a terrace and there is a booking system but we are in fear of dealing with no-shows. The general vibe and response has been overwhelmingly positive; we’ve been full almost every night. We don’t have heaters, but we have rugs and hot water bottles. People are just happy to be out and socialising again.
”
Indie rocker opens indie cider shop
Melanie Brown H Champagne winner H Specialist Cellars, London
�
It’s been lovely. We’re seeing a lot of new faces and a lot old faces. After the first lockdown we did take bookings for track and trace purposes and it was a bit of a nightmare because some people come here for just half an hour for a drink before going elsewhere, and some want to spend four hours here so it was difficult to know how long to book out the tables for. I was a bit nervous about not taking bookings, I wondered if anyone would turn up, but we’ve been constantly full.
The drummer of acclaimed Scottish indie-rock band Frightened Rabbit, Grant Hutchison, and wife Jaye Hutchison have unveiled “Scotland’s first dedicated cider shop”. Called Aeble, it is set in the picturesque
”
town of Anstruther in the East Neuk of Fife,
Sara Saunby Salut, Manchester
and the store is “dedicated to exploring
the UK’s rapidly growing love of innovative craft ciders”.
“I wanted to create a space where people
can enjoy good cider in its own right,
where it isn’t just considered an alternative to beer or presented in a multitude of sickly sweet flavours,” said Grant.
“Aeble is a space where people can learn
about cider’s potential, its production process, and its multifaceted flavour
profiles. My goal has always been to help
put fine cider on the same playing field as fine wine or craft beer.”
”
�
We’ve plonked a few tables outside and hoped for the best. It’s weird because we’ve not done it for so long, it’s like learning to do it again. We might not bother with drinking-in inside when we’re allowed to, just because we’ve run out of space as we have become more of a shop. People have got used to that now, so it’s about building the other part of the business back up. We’ve extended our hours on a Friday and Saturday, but it’s all weather dependent. Duncan Sime Kwas, Huddersfield
”
Champagne Gosset The oldest wine house in Champagne: Äy 1584
The Herald, April 29
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 21
THE GRANITE SESSION A masterclass organised by Condor Wines and Bouchon helped a group of indies make sense of how geology influences a range of wines from Chile’s ancient Maule Valley
T
quality and do it well when wineries like
from active volcanoes forced its way into
Eder Gonzalez revealed to Bouchon
he story of granite and its impact
on the character of wines made in
Chile’s Maule Valley starts millions
of years ago. The subterranean magma existing rocks 5km below the earth’s
surface and cooled to form what geologists call intrusive rocks.
Over a long period of time, through a
process of erosion, layers of these rose to
the surface, and it’s this that creates some of the granitic soils that provide great
grape growing conditions in the region today.
Participants in a tasting of wines from
the region’s family-owned producer
Bouchon, hosted by The Wine Merchant
and UK agent Condor Wines, got an insight into how it has mapped its vineyards to change the way it makes wine to more
truly reflect the different soil compositions of individual plots.
Condor boss Lee Evans says: “Here is
a winery which has done an incredibly
in-depth and professional study of their soils with a geologist and changed their
winemaking process to ensure they better represent the uniqueness of their terroir, particularly the granite soils.
“We want to change the perception of
Chile as not only good value, they can do
Bouchon step up to really understand the natural resources at their disposal.”
Soil analysis carried out by geologist
that sometimes only a few metres apart
there were plots of quartz-heavy granite soil (technically called in situ granite),
adjacent to others where the balance of the composition gives them more clay character, to varying degrees. It’s the
differing water retaining properties of
these soils that affects bunch and grapes
and then walk another two metres and see
style.
We knew that the difference had to be
sizes, ripening cycles and optimum picking times – and, ultimately, differences in wine
Before 2015, Bouchon made blends from
grapes grown on all the soil types on each of its estates, but since then it has taken a
and with smaller berries and bunches. underneath, in the roots.”
That difference is evident in the
estate’s Block Series Carménère
selective approach, producing wines that
(RRP £16.99) and Granito
approach has also helped it to know when
vintage.
are expressions of the individual soil types on which the vines stand. This scientific to pick at different times from different
plots to achieve the best levels of ripeness across each harvest.
In essence, the soil study helped
it to understand what was going on underground to explain what it could see on the surface.
In its red wine-producing Mingre
estate, for example, winemaker
Christian Sepulveda says: “We knew that you could see a vine with good vigour with big bunches of grapes,
Eder Gonzalez
a vine that was a little bit more stressed
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 22
Cabernet Sauvignon-Carménère (RRP £32.49), both from the 2016 The Block Series wine is made
with 70% grapes from in situ granite plots, and 30% from vines on soil with a clay component.
“The 30% just softens it a little bit,” says
Sepulveda, who adds that the fruit from the clay component soil is “much more intense, the tannins are velvety and there is more intensity in the mouth”.
The in situ granite soil produces wines
that are more linear with harder tannins and more textural grip.
N
> Merchant feedback Jonathan Charles
The dorset wine company, dorchester
We really enjoyed the tasting and found it a real eye opener. I thought that all the wines showed really well, especially the Granito red blend which showed terrific depth and well-knit fruit. We thought that the Block Series wines and Granito red were the most sellable. I think the Granito Semillon is the kind of wine which once people have tried, they would be more than willing to buy again. We also really liked the Block Series Carmenere, and found that its varietal character and balance set it apart from others that we’ve tried in that price range.
Christian Sepulveda: “We knew that the difference between vines had to be in the roots”
“The soil shows much more in the
mouthfeel and structure of the wine,”
says Sepulveda. “The aroma and intensity will change because of many factors,
but the soil is connected with the tannin sensation.”
The Granito is a 62:38 Cabernet-favoured
blend, made only from grapes from in
situ granite plots. “The idea was to show
a place,” says Sepulveda. “It’s beyond the variety; it’s more about the soil.”
The difference in soil types was also
seen in two whites from Bouchon’s cooler
Batuco Estate: 2019 Block Series Semillon (RRP £16.99) and 2018 Granito Semillon (RRP £32.49).
“We like Semillon on this estate
because of the temperature and
the soil types,” says Sepulveda. “We can get a fresh, vibrant, crunchy
Semillon in two styles. The Granito is much more austere, with a more mineral quality and lineal; the Block Series has a little
more volume and is more fruity.”
Owner Julio Bouchon adds: “We believe
in ageing Semillon. We are now saving
Charles Wharton
EW WINES, CORNWALL
We were all really very impressed with all of the wines – they were really very good indeed … and this is coming from someone who doesn’t really do Chilean wines! I will be adding all four wines to the list.
Istvan Balassa surveys a landscape of 1,000 terroirs
about half of our Granito production to release later. We think it is a wine that could age for 10 years or more.
“There are not too many people making
[single varietal] Semillon in Chile. It’s not commercial and Chile really focuses on marketing and sales.
They think with the head and not with the heart. We need more people with the heart.”
Bruce Evans
grape & Grain, crediton, devon
It was the best geography lesson I have ever had, and I even liked my teacher at school. The passion for the subject really shone through. I thought the Block Series wines were both excellent, particularly the Semillon, and good value. They will definitely be appearing on my shelf.
The fruits of Bouchon’s soil
study shows that it likes to
combine that heart with some brain power.
“We are trying to improve,” he says.
“The thing is to work with great people in geology, viticulture and winemaking, and
take the best from everyone, but the final
decision is always ours. It’s a never-ending process of learning.”
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 23
Feature published in association with Condor Wines, which imports Bouchon wines in the UK. www.condorwines.co.uk info@condorwines.co.uk
JUST WILLIAMS
The sense of place makes sense, usually Football fans get upset if their clubs forget the towns and cities they are rooted in. Wine has a similar association with geography, but is regional character really present at every price? David Williams considers the point
T
he connections between wine and football have never been all that
strong. In the UK, at least, cricket
has always been the oenophile’s sport:
from the claret-loving commentator (and Guardian wine columnist) John Arlott, to big wine-drinking-turned-winemaking
players such as Ian Botham and the late Bob Willis.
Besides, something about the game of
cricket itself – the slow, ruminative pace;
the decisive impact of weather and ground conditions (the “terroir of the pitch”); the nerdy complexity for complexity’s sake –
just feels closer to the spirit of wine than it does to the exhilarating speed and noise of football.
The 48-hour fever dream that was the
European Super League did, however,
remind me of one of the characteristics that football and wine do share: the
continuing power of a sense of place. It’s
a connection that has proved surprisingly resilient in both cases, no matter how
inconvenient, or how much some powerful interests might wish to sever it.
In the case of the ESL, there seems
tradition whose most famous example is
was certainly collateral damage that the
We should be cautious in reading too
little doubt that breaking that link, if not the principal or immediate intention,
billionaires and financiers who cooked up the idea were prepared to accept.
What they were looking for was a
franchise model in which the club’s location was incidental rather than
essential, in a league tailored to the
international fan, most of them watching
online, rather than the local season ticket holders who, perhaps naively, tend to
assume they represent the soul of the sport.
First to go would be the teams’
connections with their national leagues and football associations. Later, as with
other examples of the franchise model such as the NFL and NBA in US sport and the
the transcontinental move that changed
the New York Dodgers into the LA Dodgers. much into – or being too romantic about – the fans’ revolt that led to the ESL’s
collapse. In each team’s case, these are fans
that have been only too happy to accept the arrival of foreign multi-billionaires of more or less dubious morality so long as the trophies keep coming.
All the same, it’s clear that the root of
most fans’ objections was a desire at least to slow down the process of decoupling local communities from their football
clubs, an assertion – or a wish – that the spirit of place did still matter more than shareholder value and profit.
Does it matter where wine comes
Indian Premier League in cricket, the team,
from?
so much as the lip-service pretence of a fan
would most certainly head for France, and
which by now has become a brand, can be
If you were looking for a very rough vinous
consultation, to another city on the other
specifically to the Languedoc. The southern
moved at a moment’s notice, and without
side of the continent, part of an inglorious
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 24
equivalent of the ESL fans’ protests you region has long been the epicentre of
the country’s battle with the forces of
In general, these battles have been
globalisation, from the successful attempt,
rather successful. For all that the advent
setting up a varietal wine operation in the
their wine-buying, there are very few
led by Mas de Daumas Gassac’s Aimé
Guibert, to prevent Robert Mondavi from early 2000s, to more recent skirmishes
at the Spanish border over the import of cheap bulk wine.
But the war against globalising
homegenisation has been going on all over
of varietal marketing may have given
consumers another hook to look for in
retailers, bars or restaurants of any scale that have abandoned successfully the
industry-standard of merchandising by region and country.
and promotion of local varieties against
N
winery (the levelling effects of formulaic
closest equivalent to the ESL team bosses
Europe for at least 30 years now, a war
with fronts in the vineyard (the protection the incursion of the international likes
of Cabernet, Chardonnay et al) and the
winemaking practices, whether that be of
the Parker/Rolland or the generic natural
that don’t emerge from time to time. These calls come for the
most part from international brand owners and supermarket buyers – the wine trade’s – for whom wine’s fixation on the regional is an annoyingly sentimental attachment. Many would prefer to build origin-free
© Delphotostock / stockadobe.com
persuasion).
ot that regular calls to do just
brands, to give them greater flexibility in
sourcing the cheapest wines they can find. Just occasionally, however, you come
across a less cynical, more thoughtful
argument in favour of internationalising at least part of wine production. In a
recent blog on his wineanorak.com – Using place to sell wine, and why sometimes we shouldn’t do it – the wine writer Jamie
Goode put the case for accepting a less dogmatically regionalist approach to commercial wine production.
According to Goode, the regionalist
model “only works when the flavour of the wine is influenced by the place”. In far too many wines sold on their region’s name,
however, that is simply not the case. “Here,
the brand promise (the place as a collective brand) often fails,” Goode argues. “It is a
hollow promise: the wines can be perfectly good, but they simply don’t taste of place. “Nor should they have to,” Goode
continues. “At the bottom end of the
market, I want honestly made, tasty wines, but it is perhaps too much to insist they all should have regional character. Perhaps
here, grape variety is a better buying cue. The world needs good cheap wine, and
maybe we need the bottom end to become more of a branded space.”
It’s a compelling argument, but it’s one
I’d be cautious about endorsing. Once
you’ve denied the primacy of place, at any
level, you risk turning wine into even more of a commodity. Basic Côtes du Rhône or Chianti may not always taste strongly of
place in the same way as the great wines
of Chave or Fontodi. But they still provide
consumers with a glimpse of the magic that every other food and drink category covets. Breaking that link for the sake of a few
extra sales in the multiples seems, to me,
like short-term thinking on a par with that
For many wines, the place of origin is a collective brand
of the plotters of the ESL.
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 25
Brian Sheth (left) with Steve Smith MW
Meyer sisters remain grounded This welcoming Alsace estate already had a long track record before switching to biodynamics at the turn of the century. But Céline and Isabelle Meyer’s faithfulness to their father’s convictions has gained Josmeyer an even more loyal following. A group of UK merchants met Céline via Zoom and tasted a selection of the Josmeyer range – imported by Pol Roger Portfolio – for themselves
J
osmeyer’s history dates back to 1854 but the year we’re focusing on is 2000, when Jean Meyer made the switch to biodynamic viticulture. Today, the Alsace producer is run by Jean’s daughters, Céline and Isabelle, who have continued their father’s mission to produce wines that reflect, as well as respect, their terroir. “We aim to use what nature gives to us,” explains Céline Meyer, before unveiling six of her wines for the benefit of a group of UK merchants. Josmeyer is located in Wintzenheim, “a small village on the west side of Colmar, so really in the centre of Alsace,” Céline explains. The vineyards are situated in some of the region’s warmest and driest areas: indeed Drachenloch, from where Josmeyer sources much of its famous Riesling, is sometimes called “Petit Senegal” by locals. Josmeyer also has vineyards in two grand cru areas. One is Hengst, a 360m-high slope where the
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 26
deep sediment creates rich, full-bodied wines with outstanding aromatics. The other is Brand, facing south east of Turckheim, where wines produced from Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer and Pinot Noir are lively and complex. “The quality of the grapes is essential,” says Céline. “It is important to produce ripe and well-balanced grapes, a deep wine with a good structure and a unique personality. “All grapes are hand-picked. If we need to make a selection, we do it directly in the plot. “We start with a moderate press that increases little by little. Then it goes by gravitation into a reception cask, and after a quick racking the must is transferred into a thermally-regulated stainless-steel cask where the wine begins natural fermentation. “All of the fermentation is natural; it’s the natural yeast you find on the berries and is naturally present in the cellar. We don’t chaptalise, and we don’t acidify.”
Wines featured in the tasting
Chix Chandaria The Wine Parlour, Brixton
“Out of the six wines, we are very likely to stock two,” says Chix. “Riesling Grand Cru Hengst 2015: wow, this is my kind of wine. Fullish body, full of pamplemousse – pink grapefruit is one of my favourite fruits – spice and just enough tropical fruit giving it a great balance. “As for the Gewürztraminer, I love the fact that this one is dry with the beautiful aromatic notes of rose and lychee and spice that you would expect. I make a great chicken biryani and I think I will need to serve the two together at my next dinner party or midweek with my husband. “I loved the labels and the fact that they are artist-influenced. They will look great in my Brixton wine shops and bars.”
Josmeyer Sylvaner Peau Rouge 2019 Sylvaner is a variety that the Meyers love working with and which produces wines with a warm, fleshy character. There’s a nice acidity here too, providing a tightness on the finish after the initial red-apple exuberance. Only made in tiny quantities, Peau Rouge is a favourite among Alsace aficionados.
Josmeyer Riesling Dragon 2016 Taking its name from an ominous-looking cave in the vineyards, this bone-dry Riesling can vary a great deal depending on the vintage and can take its time to reveal its charms. The 2016 “fermented nicely”, according to Céline, with citrus and mineral notes, some creamy and nutty elements, and a lemony finish.
Josmeyer Riesling Hengst 2015 Céline declares Riesling to be “the best grape in the world”, adding that “you work with what it gives you”. The Hengst grand cru vineyard offers riches in abundance, which Josmeyer crafts into an intense, spicy and zesty Riesling, with notes of tangerine.
Jesal Thakker The Riding Wine Company, Ealing
Josmeyer Pinot Gris Fromenteau 2016
“The wines were fabulous. I’m definitely interested in stocking them. “The ones which stood out for me were the Gewürztraminer Les Folastries 2016 because of how aromatic it was, and yet so light and easy to drink. The thought in my head was that I was drinking a rosé. “Also the Pinot Noir 2019, because of the lightness combined with the almost smoky, gravel notes of the wine.”
A honeyed and fleshy iteration of Pinot Gris, with ripe apple and apricot flavours, with some nutty elements. Pure and precise, but finishing slightly off-dry, it’s a wine that personifies Alsace’s unique relationship with this variety.
Josmeyer Gewürztraminer Les Folastries 2016 The aromatics and finish of this remarkable wine transport you straight to a north African souk, with exotic spices and musky characters making it a versatile partner for all kinds of cuisines. Full of cardamom and coriander notes but with a grapefruit-like freshness.
Feature sponsored by Pol Roger Portfolio For more information, visit www.polroger.co.uk
Josmeyer Pinot Noir 2019 “We don’t want to make a serious Pinot Noir,” insists Céline. “This is not made like a Burgundy. It’s a simple wine; a wine for drinking now.” The tender tannins and delicate aromatics are enhanced by foot pressing, a task that falls to the Meyer sisters. Is it fun? “Yes, it’s fun,” says Céline. “All the men in the winery laugh at us.”
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 27
Alan Snudden, pictured on a buying mission in France
Not just here for the beer The company formerly known as Real Ale has rebranded as Real Drinks. The move doesn’t mark a change in direction for the business, which operates three shops in London. Rather, it reflects a breadth of offer that has been evident for more than a decade, as boss Zeph King explains THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 28
MERCHANT PROFILE
‘From May we saw a massive increase in footfall. The balance of beer versus wine started going more towards wine’ Established in Twickenham by Nick
Dolan in 2005, the business achieves
its £9.5m turnover through a mixture of wholesale and retail trade and,
increasingly, online sales. Now run by
a board of four directors, still including
Dolan but also MD Zeph King, who joined
in 2010, Real Drinks is feeling upbeat about its prospects as life in the drinks trade
– and the UK generally – slips back into something resembling normality.
How have the stores adapted over the past year of Covid restrictions? I think we fared pretty well. Obviously it
was very difficult last year making all the
changes. We’ve actually only been closed,
all three stores, for one month throughout
decision was taken to rebrand as Real
Drinks and the company’s three branches,
to be quite nimble in the way that we
work. So when this came along, although
it threw in challenges both personally and April we put all our focus online. Did you furlough any staff?
in Twickenham, Maida Vale and Notting
We have an amazing team, and we used
well received. There had never been a
and did the best they could. We took things
Hill, were given a facelift.
It seems that the move was universally
Campaign Against Real Ale, but equally
it was becoming blindingly obvious that the business had outgrown its original moniker.
probably had assumed we were just about beer, started coming in and buying wine from us.
We’ve had record revenue growth of 54%
year on year and we’ve had a very good first quarter this year, 56% up on last year.
You can’t forget your neighbours. Where
our stores are based – Notting Hill, Maida
Vale and Twickenham – we are surrounded by other businesses and lots of them have
been closed and lots of them have gone out of business, and that is really sad to see. Why did you decide to rebrand?
just going to be about beer. We felt we
professionally, we could adapt, and last
That’s why, a month or so ago, the
towards wine just as more people, who
things during that time and we’ve learned
We have been running the business since
with expertise in all kinds of drinks.
world to catch up with the fact that
it’s actually a multi-dimensional specialist
of beer versus wine started going more
All drinks are really important to us and
T
call itself Real Ale and expect the
coming through our doors. The balance
the whole period.
2005 and we’ve done a lot of different
here’s only so long a business can
massive increase in footfall and customers
the furlough scheme for some staff, but
retained a core team who just got on with it step by step using government guidance,
risk assessments and staff feedback to see what they were comfortable with.
From May last year we just saw a
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 29
wine has been the trailblazer from when we realised, in late 2009, that it wasn’t
could continue to trade off the name Real Ale and I think we have done that really successfully.
As we’ve hired more experienced staff,
they’ve said we can definitely do what
we’re doing with beer and flip it and do the same with wine, spirits and other drinks.
We quickly realised that was an untapped market and through hiring the right
people, like Tim [Peyton], who bring their
own unique experience and personality to
the business, it’s really helped us to expand into wine.
Continues page 30
MERCHANT PROFILE
From page 29
When we were setting up our second
store, in Maida Vale, and later our third
in Notting Hill, we very much set out our stall from the start that we were about
all drinks. So while the name is Real Ale,
all the communication, the way we spoke to customers, and the level of expertise
you would expect from a company selling quality wines … you’re getting all of that,
it’s just the name happens to be Real Ale. But that can only really go on for so long.
We recognised that the term Real Ale is
a fairly old term, and it was kind of holding
The new-look Twickenham branch
us back and we realised it needed to change.
The rest of the business is completely the
same. The name change has had a really
good response from staff and customers.
We’ve kept the colours, the branding is
the same, and we kept the Real, which is so important to us. While there are just a few
people who made that final decision about
the rebrand it was ultimately collaborative and based on data. We pride ourselves on
‘We have given managers quite a lot of autonomy. They buy for their store to reflect their customers’ Is each manager responsible for the
being quite data-led and this was another
buying and choosing what is right for
How do you source your beers?
us: that we have given each of the store
area where the data was really important.
their branch?
Back in the day, up to 2010, we were
managers quite a lot of autonomy. They
having to order quite big quantities which was quite difficult for us at the time. It
meant the choice for customers was less because we had much more stock and fewer lines from fewer breweries.
Now things have really changed and
breweries will send out six or 12 cases.
Now that we have three stores we can do pallet orders and use Twickenham as a
hub. We don’t have to go to them, they come to us and it’s a pretty good supply chain.
All our stores are really different in their
customer base, in the balance percentage
between wine and beer. The beer range in Maida Vale is so different to Twickenham, for example.
Yes, exactly and that is really key for buy for their store to reflect their customers.
Tim is our retail manager and works
with all three, but he lets them pick and
choose what they want with their budget. It’s up to them to fill the store and there
is a lot of communication between them all, so they all know what the others are ordering.
We have an unofficial core range, which
is slightly flexed depending on the store.
It’s difficult because Covid has had such a big impact on what is going on. I feel for
breweries massively. Because breweries
have to survive, because they have to get
volume where they can and because it has
to be in the off-trade at the moment, some of them have gone out and worked with Tesco and some of the bigger multiples. There are still so many exciting
breweries coming through. Personally
I think the 440ml can is just the perfect
volume and size, not just for drinking but visually. The designs are becoming more and more interesting for the consumer.
If one of your favourite listings gets a deal with a multiple, do you have to
All of that goes through centrally so we
let them go or are you quite pragmatic
How would you characterise the UK
are specific beers that we stock that end up
make sure we are getting the right prices.
about that?
brewing scene?
in the supermarkets there’s no point in us
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 30
We can never compete on price and if there
REAL DRINKS
continuing them. But we don’t then say to
hit the mainstream. At the same time, we
we needed to do that. We wanted to show
that they’ll only put through independents.
process with M&S.
investing in the quality and choice of wine
that brewery “that’s it, forget it”, because they do loads of cool and exciting things It doesn’t make them bad people if they supply multiples. They are making the right business choice for themselves.
Tell us about the relationship with M&S.
are working to briefs every six months
with breweries and take them through the
We’re very careful about what we do and
don’t stock in our stores versus what goes into M&S.
Do you sell draught beer in any of the
We are an agent to M&S. We are a partner
shops?
supermarket and we started by producing
and off-sales and at Notting Hill the same.
and have worked with them since 2007.
Twickenham started as just a bottle shop/
a range of four different regional beers for
It’s much more of a bar set-up and we have
They are a predominantly own-label them in 500ml.
We’ve really grown that side of the
business with them. We hire a couple of
technologists who help us. It’s easy to call it wholesale and there is an assumption about what wholesale is.
This is more about curating own-label
drinks, so we will look at market trends. We use our retail estate to build our
knowledge about what is happening in
the drinks industry and what is coming up that is small and niche that will eventually
off-licence. Maida Vale was set up to be keg capacity for 35 people in Notting Hill when it’s fully open.
Back in 2008 we were selling cask and
the challenge is always there with the
life of the beer. It did work but you get
an awful lot of wastage. People want an
experience and so being able to offer them a nice environment where they can come in and buy good beer in pints, halves and thirds is really important to us.
When we set up Notting Hill we also
bought an Enomatic and Tim was adamant
how serious we were about wine, and I think the Enomatic was a sign of really for customers.
How does wine dovetail into the range? Tim has the majority of experience in
wine, and he has curated a range which is a reflection of his personality. He has
hired a couple of people over the past two years who have helped him to do that. We have increased the training for our store
managers so they are balanced in beer and wine.
Through the increased footfall of
customers who only buy wine from us we have realised how much we still have to gain from wine sales.
At Maida Vale it is 50/50 beer and wine,
Twickenham is 65% in favour of beer and Notting Hill is the other way, with 65%
wine and 35% beer. It’s great that we have done that even with the Real Ale name.
Continues page 32
Beer on tap is all part of the experience for many customers
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 31
MERCHANT PROFILE
stores, is run a pretty lucrative online
From page 31
business that is not going to go away now. Are you now looking at a wider
How would you describe the wines you are looking for in the business?
geographical area for web sales?
It definitely has to reflect everything we
There is a massive opportunity for us to do
something we felt was a real niche. I don’t
retail hub. We take about the same revenue
national, but I think peoples’ habits have
are doing in beer, so that’s small producers
changed. Deliveroo has become its own
and we focus on natural wine which is
in Deliveroo as we do for two-thirds of one
think it needs to cost the earth either.
store. It’s a bit of a hit to the margin but it’s
Tim will always say we don’t have to
good for us, it’s great for customers and it
follow the tick-boxes of regions you feel
offers us something we can’t provide, so it’s
you should have – it’s more about a really
the right thing to do.
good offering that our customers trust and our staff feel comfortable in selling.
I’m not the wine expert but I’m always
really encouraged when I hear customers
tell me that our wine range is shit hot. That
The rebrand keeps the firm’s original colours
means a lot to me. We have really focused
two of our stores and that has pretty much
we work with for wine but mostly we work
upgrade that.
heavily on wine education for staff.
We’ve probably got about 10 suppliers
with Les Caves de Pyrene. We don’t direct import any wine.
Particularly with Twickenham it can be
difficult for people to consider us for wine because we’ve been there for so long. But
through having the knowledge and making sure that we are picking the right stuff,
you can move them from craft beer to try natural wines.
We do quite a few orange wines and a lot
of my friends and family who drink a lot of
continued. We use Shopify as our platform and it is quite simple so we might look to We went a bit big in the early days. We
had a warehouse, we did the Camra beer club, we had over 900 members and lots of staff working for us in an operation
that ultimately didn’t make us that much
money. So we thought if you get too big, it’s too difficult to manage, whereas actually
what we can do through the three stores, and by utilising existing staff in those
How do you think your retail offer will evolve in the year ahead? We did a lot to change the model from off-sales to on-sales. From a customer
experience it’s definitely what people want, but operationally it is quite difficult and expensive.
What this last year has taught us that if
you have the footfall, [retail] sales are far quicker to make and much higher.
I think Notting Hill has to get back
running as on-sales because of the size of it. The other two I think we will continue with off-sales and be happy with that. I
think we will wait a little bit to see how things go.
wine had never heard of it. We shouldn’t
forget that there is a big part of the market who don’t know a lot about this stuff but
they would consider themselves to know
quite a lot about wine. They love what we do with beer so they are willing to make that leap.
How much have online sales increased? It’s incredible how much it’s grown. In
January and February last year it was still quite a dormant, fairly localised offering. Last April we were able to bring in the
same revenue online as we did through
Pallet orders of beers are now possible thanks to the company’s scale
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 32
On your Marqués
Marqués de Cáceres is synonymous with elegant Riojas, but the portfolio also includes wines from other parts of Spain, as our recent tasting with importer Lighthouse Brands revealed
T
hough often talked about as a very recent innovation, modern Rioja has been around a while now. “A lot of people claim now that they are making modern wines but we were making modern wines 50 years ago,” says Antonio Alvarez, export manager for Marqués de Cáceres. The company was founded by Enrique Forner in 1970, bringing to the Spanish region influence from Bordeaux, where he’d worked with winemaking legends such as Émile Peynaud and Michel Rolland. Forner’s approach back in Rioja involved prolonged skin contact, the use of French oak and longer bottleageing to make reds with deeper colour, richer fruit and more elegance. The Riojan reds comprised Marqués de Cáceres Crianza, Reserva and a limited-edition 50 Aniversario wine made with grapes from high altitude vineyards in Cenicero and San Vicente. “The two words that really define the brand in general are reliable and elegant,” says Alvarez. “When people buy
Marqués de Cáceres they know what to expect.” While the Rioja reds provided a reminder of the producer’s consistency and reliability, the Marqués de Cáceres Rosado was more of a surprise package. It’s a 96% Tempranillo and 4% Garnacha Tinta blend that has eight to 10 hours’ skin contact to achieve a pale pink colour that falls somewhere between the more insipid shades currently in vogue and the deeper, almost red hues of old-fashioned Spanish rosés. “We wanted to do something with our own personality,” says Alvarez. “It’s a wine that’s very fresh, very fruity – it reminds me a lot of strawberry bubble gum I used to have as a child. There can be a perception that it’s going to be sweet but it’s below 3g of sugar. I think a lot of people are surprised when they try it.” The tasting was also a chance to explore some of the producer’s non-Rioja wines, including La Capilla Crianza 2016 and La Capilla Vendimia Seleccionada 2017, from its Finca La Capilla property in the Burgos region of Ribera del Duero. “Basically, the body, the structure and the way the wines are produced is very similar,” Alvarez says. “We’re
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 33
looking for elegance. It’s the same mentality we use in Rioja, but they were already making this wine before we acquired the winery. “The Vendimia Seleccionada is small batch – no more than 20,000 litres. It keeps finding more layers of flavour: you have peppery notes, blackberry, cherry, chocolate, tobacco. It’s a wine with a lot of nuances.” Marqués de Cáceres Verdejo is made in Rueda in central Spain where, says Alvarez, “it’s quite cold in winter and very hot in summer,” leading to night harvesting. “We’re trying get a wine that is fresh, fruity and easyto-drink, with some complexity and minerality. “Some wineries in Rueda like to produce something that’s sweet at the end and others are trying to do something with a green kick. This is a wine with very low sugar content; we are closer to the final green kick.”
Chris Connolly, Connolly’s, Birmingham “The rosé has a lovely pebbly minerality to it. It’s a really nice balance. The Crianza is a super commercial style. It’s ultra-reliable and ticks a lot of boxes.” John Kernaghan, Liquorice, Essex “I really enjoyed the Verdejo and the packaging is spot on. The Mediterranean blue cap makes it stand out. I eyeball a wine as much as I taste it, because people do shop with their eyes. The Ribera del Duero Crianza is superb. I often struggle with the tannin structure with Ribera; they tend to be quite deep and you generally have to decant. With this, I just pulled the cork and within 20 minutes it was already bang on.” Pip Gale, Gales of Llangollen “To some people Rioja is just Rioja, but it is a very diverse region that makes an amazing range of wines. Marqués de Cáceres is a wonderful, safe consistent thing and I really don’t mean that in a bad way – it’s fantastic. The rosé really surprised me. It’s fantastically structured and wonderful.” Maxwell Graham Wood, Satchells, Burnham Market “The Reserva opened out quite quickly in the glass and the underlying balance improved minute-by-minute in the glass. The one I was really impressed with was the rosado. It’s very refreshing to get a proper rosado from a winemaker that’s not frightened of putting a dab of colour in it. I thought that was really exciting.”
Feature sponsored by Lighthouse Brands www.lighthousebrands.co.uk
João Pires (left) and Matt Gant
A campaign for Campania
W
hen Tony and Kay Fink
decided to “semi-retire”
and make wine in Italy, they
headed not for the blockbuster regions of Piedmont or Tuscany but the more
under-the-radar south western region of Campania.
The couple were returning to a place
they’d lived in for 15 years in the 1970s and 1980s, and where their children were born.
“It was a little bit of a secret but we knew
that Campania had the best food and the best wine in Italy,” says Tony. “The wines of Campania are world class; the only
seen a growth of interest in the region and in the quality of the wines that are coming
out of it,” says Cerullo. “A lot of that is down to winemakers who’ve travelled abroad
and brought that knowledge back about how to make wines in a hot climate.
“There was a point when the wines
from there were almost ‘cooked’, but these days they are much more fruit-forward
and accessible, as a result of very careful
winemaking and changes in the vineyards.” The Donna Elvira range exhibits the
It’s a region that Tony Fink believes offers the best food and wine in Italy. That’s why he established the Donna Elvira estate in the heart of Campania – and presented the range to a group of indies recently
Greek influence in the region from grape
varieties taken there many centuries ago. It includes whites from two of
Campania’s DOCG appellations: Greco di Tufo and Fiano di Avellino.
Donna Elvira’s Aegidius Greco di Tufo
problem is no one has been able to market or promote them in the way they deserve.”
proved to be one of the favourites in the
specialist Campania Wines and the wine
a minerality and savoury character that
The Wine Merchant teamed up with the
tasting. “Greco di Tufo from Campania is
instantly recognisable,” says Cerullo, “with
Fink family’s Donna Elvira estate, Italian
you don’t get from Greco wherever else it’s
educator and Campania fan Nina Cerullo to
grown.
take a step towards putting that right in a
“It has a slightly salty texture, a steely
Zoom tasting of the producer’s wines.
middle that goes right through it, and then
With the exception of Fiano, which did
not enter, the wines all won gold medals in this year’s London Wine Competition.
“In the last decade or so we’ve really
The Fink family loving life in Campania
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 34
richness and intense flavour on the palate. “Along with finesse, there’s a freshness
and cleanness that makes it the perfect
Sponsored by Donna Elvira All wines are available from stock in the UK. For details, contact Luigi di Caprio (Luigi.DiCaprio@campaniawines.co.uk) or Sara Fink (sara@donnaelvira.com)
food wine. With sea bass baked in the oven, wrapped in paper with tomatoes and garlic and olive oil, it’s just heaven.”
Tony Fink adds: “Greco is the local
serious wine, especially with a fish lunch.
They’ll spend the extra to go for the Greco.” Fiano di Avellino also displays different
characteristics from Fiano grown
elsewhere, Cerullo adds. “That comes down to big temperature variations between
night and day. There’s acidity alongside
intensity of fruit and richness – almost a sweetness to it because it’s such a long ripening process.”
Donna Elvira’s Fink Fiano di Avellino is a
place,” she adds. “It’s one of those grapes
where people have appreciated that it’s a
seriously easy wine to drink, with a lovely mouthfeel. I always have some in my fridge.”
Di Caprio adds: “Falanghina is the
number one easy sell for me all the time.
It’s an everyday drinking wine; you don’t need a special occasion to open it.
“Greco and Fiano are a bit more serious
and we are seeing sales increase with those two grape varieties. There’s so
much potential in upselling because they have more finesse and give consumers
maceration times, and picking the grapes
slightly on the riper side. This was picked really quite late, in late October.
“What’s important is the ripeness of the
tannin itself, picking the grape when it hits phenolic ripeness rather than just when the sugar levels are high enough.
“That’s helped the Aglianico grape to
produce a wine that doesn’t need to be laid down for 20 or 30 years, but still
with enough tannin in there to give it that longevity.”
confidence to make traditional Italian
> Merchant feedback
that is famous in the Avellino region.”
T
Andrew Kinnersley
offers more of an everyday drinking wine
with broader appeal.
white with ageing potential. Luigi di Caprio of Campania Wines says: “I’ve had a Fiano di Avellino at 10-12 years old. The colour
starts to go golden but you get intensity and length with a slight hazelnut/almond finish
Both these wines hit the £18 price point,
but the producer’s Fringilla Falanghina at around £15.
Cerullo recalls, 10 or so years ago,
persuading an on-trade account to list
another example of the varietal, as a more
characterful alternative to Pinot Grigio, but sales failing to come up to scratch.
“Now, you’re seeing it all over the
recipes, knowing they can get wines that complement them perfectly.”
he only red in the Donna
Elvira tasting was Settemazze
The Grape and the Good, Wells, somerset
“Now, what we do in the vineyard and the
I particularly enjoyed the Falanghina and Aglianico. I can see both working well and they would be a very good introduction to the region. The Falanghina would be a perfect match to a long lunch in the garden once the weather warms up, and I can see the Aglianico (lovely balance of fruit and power with good structure) pairing with a barbecue. Both are well made and I would happily recommend them. Campania has to be on the list of areas to visit once we’re allowed again!
release during fermentation, shorter
Antonia Macfarlane
Aglianico, which was a great
example of how technical advances in the
region’s production have produced wines
“It has been regarded in the past a grape
variety that needs time, because when it’s young it can be very tannic,” says Cerullo.
winery can open it up: a little bit of whole-
bunch fermentation to decrease the tannin
The Scottish Gantry, Stirling
In a year with no travel, these wines carried you straight to Campania. The attention to detail, from the label depicting the Greek history of the area, to the clever design with colours indicating the different grapes and bottles, makes these wines a must-try. My favourite bottle of the day was the Greco di Tufo DOCG. If the quality indicator isn’t enough, the beautiful delicately sweet nose with quince, orange blossom and subtle savoury note might be enough to entice you. The steely texture on the palate, with almond and blossom notes, high acidity and clean fresh finish will pair beautifully with any Italian feast, allowing you to also transport to Italy, just for a moment.
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 35
INTERVIEW
. T H E D R AY M A N .
What can’t a can do?
T
he most transformative trend in “proper” beer of the last
that’s the way the market is going,” he says. “If we’re going to
few years has been from glass to cans as the packaging
invest, we need to prove there is a market for our beers in cans
format de jour. It’s become almost received wisdom that
first.
cans are better: keeping beer fresher, preventing harmful light
“The technology is moving on and getting better and cans have
strike, and cutting the costs and energy consumption associated
their place. But you won’t hear a professional brewer say that
with transport. They also provide a nice, shiny, wrapround,
can quality is better. Light strike in an amber bottle is absolutely
canvas for designers to make their mark on.
minimal.
Mobile canning units made it easier for small brewers to do
“The investment [in canning lines] is very high and you need
and, perhaps, most of all, driven by the US craft beer scene, cans
to run them well. They need to be very well-controlled, which
just became trendy.
I’m sorry to say isn’t always the case.
It seemed, then, like a Rubicon of sorts had been crossed a few
“We did quite a lot of investigations into canning lines and
weeks ago when the Sussex brewer Hepworth & Co announced
talked to manufacturers, especially in the States, and the
that it was putting two of its 14 beers – Charger IPA and Crazy
maximum shelf life was four months – and they have cool-chain
Horse pale ale – into cans, the first time any of its beer had
distribution, which we don’t have in the UK.”
adopted the format.
Even if cans do take off for Hepworth, he won’t be giving up on
Founder Andy Hepworth has been the go-to contract brewer
bottle-conditioning any time soon.
and packager for operators who want to make bottled – and,
“Bottle-conditioned beer is great but it’s quite demanding. It
more especially, live bottle-conditioned – ale since starting out
needs to be very clean. Most people can do it most of the time,
20 years ago. Before that he was head brewer at King & Barnes in
but you really need to do it well all of the time. We invest a lot
Horsham, where he was custodian of Bass’s iconic Worthington
in the quality of the equipment we have and the people we have.
White Shield bottle-conditioned IPA.
“We’ve just launched an organic bottle-conditioned beer [The
Over half of Hepworth’s business is providing bottling
Right Stuff]. I like the effect it has, on ales in particular, because
expertise for other people’s beers, so his move into cans seems
the natural carbonation lifts the aroma and it gives the beer a
like a big deal.
lovely mouthfeel and a great head.”
It’s a move which has required seeking out third-party expertise, to learn the ins and outs before deciding whether to invest in his own canning capability, should sales take off.
B
ut Hepworth is far from a convert who’s ready to join the ranks of the canned beer evangelists just yet, insisting that bottles still provide shelf-life and freshness.
‘The technology is moving on and cans have their place. But you won’t hear a pro say that quality is better’ THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 37
© Sebestyen Balint / stockadobe.com
“We felt it was worth putting our toe in the water because
modern day
m oreno
Since 1968 it’s been synonymous with Spanish wine in the UK. Now with a dynamic young team at the helm, Moreno is in tune with a fast-changing independent trade, offering a range that focuses on Spain but also ventures farther afield
M
oreno is a new business built on the foundations of an old one. Still resolutely European in its thinking and outlook, and still madly in love with Spain, but with a young team at the helm with a kinship to modern-day independent wine retailing. Now part of the Invino group that also encompasses Boutinot, the new iteration of Moreno isn’t attempting to shake off its past. The ambition is simply to be as fleet-footed and useful to today’s wine merchants as the Moreno family were to their clients in their own time. “Because Moreno has been around for such a long time, most independents will have heard the name,” says Mike Taylor who heads up sales in the north. “The business has changed a lot in recent years and is really focused on the independents now. Outside of London, they are our entire business. “A lot of what we are doing is rediscovering what made Moreno great 50 years ago. Finding the next big Spanish wines. Those bits of magic … we are trying to discover the next wave of that.” Sales manager Hamish Irvine Robertson adds: “This is Moreno 2.0. We are a young, energetic team, yet with lots of experience. We’re super keen to grow the business, but also have a lot of fun whilst we do.” He adds: “Nick Groszek [operations manager] and I have been on a road trip to Rioja to make sure we are sourcing the new up-and-coming wave of wines. We are sourcing from Ribeira Sacra and Terra
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 38
Alta. We are aiming to be the number one Spanish importer. “Then, on a more commercial front, being part of the Invino group means we have access to some amazing sources of wine from well-known areas and grapes. Recently we’ve even worked alongside customers to develop some of these wines into our portfolio. “We’re taking it from two angles: as a Spanish specialist, and as a great value supplier for your retail and wholesale needs.”
A
glance at Moreno’s portfolio confirms that Spain is central to the company’s ambitions. The obvious bases are covered, but there are producers to explore from Getaria, Malaga, Almansa and Utiel-Requena, to highlight just a few less-heralded regions. “Some relationships go back 20 years or more,” says Groszek. “Moreno’s heart is in Spain and always will be. Going round visiting in Rioja or Barcelona, you mention Moreno and it’s still well known. Having those roots helps ground the business. “What Moreno as a family did for Spanish wine in the UK is our inspiration and the legacy that we want to continue and evolve.” What makes Spain so exciting? “It’s is not quite as constrained by the same rules and traditions that there are in some other oldworld countries,” says Groszek. “Certainly the younger generation are a bit more free and expressive with what they want to show and that’s really what
we want to be tapping into.” For Groszek personally, the most dynamic area in Spain right now is Rioja. “For a region that is so steeped in tradition, there are people who are doing some fantastic things out there with singleplot vineyards, skin-contact white wines, and some sweet wines that you wouldn’t believe existed,” he says. “It’s a coupling of that tradition alongside some of the more modern innovations and the drive for difference that’s really pushing Rioja towards some interesting new boundaries. You don’t necessarily need to take into consideration all of the new DOC rules that are coming in. The wines that are being produced on the ground are the things that are really interesting.”
A
lthough Moreno stands firmly on its own two feet as a business, there are advantages to being part of a larger group. One of the biggest pluses is the ability to tap into the various own-production capabilities of the business. Taylor says: “We work very closely with winemakers and growers in various key countries. I guess it’s strongest in France, Italy and South Africa but it also applies to Chile, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. “We can take our own allocations and develop our own labels. We can control the distribution nicely, never going direct to the on-trade outside of London and – considering the exclusivity customers can benefit from – offer quite phenomenal prices, really. The labels are appealing, having been designed in the last four or five years with the modern market in mind.” Irvine Robertson adds: “The Invino group is partly owned by an Italian cooperative called Araldica so we have access to Proseccos and entry-level Italian wines through them. “It’s fantastic as it gives us consistency at the price points our customers require. Invino also has a home in Cairanne in the southern Rhône where we have the Darriaud label, and also in South Africa. “Outside of our ‘homes’ we have an amazing bunch of people who act as a sort of in-house flying winemaker team. They work closely with long-term partners in
places like Australia or Chile and ensure that the quality and style of our ownproduction wines are exactly what our customers demand.” He adds: “Out of our portfolio we could pick 12 wines that we think every retailer should have, based on a brilliant price point, value, superb label and a good story. There are some wines we absolutely adore and when they get picked up by a retailer, they become their best sellers.”
T
he Moreno range stands at almost 250 wines, a number that is expected to increase by about 50 or so in the coming year. “We know our producers really well,” says Irvine Robertson. “We’ve stayed in touch throughout lockdown through weekly virtual coffee mornings. They are always offering support and Nick’s relationship with them especially means that we can call upon them if a customer needs some support such as marketing information or video clips.” Minimum orders were adjusted in 2020. “We’ve massively simplified our minimum orders, just having two price bands now, which we playfully call ‘wheelbarrow’ and ‘truck’, and are always flexible to our customers’ needs as their demand changes, especially over the crazy last 12 months, where for indies it has been next to impossible to forecast.” A portfolio tasting this year is possibly a bridge too far, but the Moreno team is determined to pull out all the stops to continue its progress in the indie trade. The business has been running its first virtual tastings, and reports that full-bottle samples have garnered a far more positive response than single-serve samples. “Over 2020 we were very fortunate to be one of the importers that grew,” says Irvine Robertson. “We really want to get across how appreciative we are to the indies who got behind us and supported us. We’re really grateful for that.” Feature sponsored by Moreno. For more information visit morenowines.co.uk or call 020 7289 9952.
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 39
T
(which is delicious!) and who also enjoyed
here’s not a war between
four days of white asparagus lunches with
sommeliers and good, honest,
me, one with an endless supply of melted
threadbare wine merchants, but,
butter. Ah, vat of melted butter, happy
jeezo: they make it hard for me not to hate them.
Today there was that cherubic, parading,
days. It’s pure vitamin D, you know. And
primping, puffed-up wee bastard from
7. MEMORY LANE
from Jura he’d picked up. “Yes,” he said.
Phoebe Weller of Valhalla’s Goat
bit my tongue, for I have been practicing
during what used to be known in
along the road in. “Nice wines,” I said,
looking at the two bottles of Chardonnay “Usually your wines lack complexity. I
mean they do the job but, you know.” I meditation: we are all the same stuff
in Glasgow reminisces about various items she has consumed the trade as ‘wine trips’
the liberation of discomfort and unpleasantness.
POSSIBLE TO DO THAT? Do you know what
for this if it was from Burgundy?” Breathe
a Zoom tasting and I was all silent and
He continued: “I mean the quality of
this is astronomical. What you would pay
breathe breathe, in through the left nostril, out through the right nostril. It’s not from Burgundy though, is it? And, rewind: *all* the wines here lack complexity? All of the © eqroy / stockadobe.com
600+ bottles on the shelves lack complexity? Are you shitting me? HOW WOULD IT BE
S
o I thought (I thought: chances
are no one’s ever going to fly me
somewhere warmer than Glasgow,
show me vines, let me dance around
them, taste the soil, steal some rocks and then bus me to fancy restaurants serving large amounts of wine ever again, which is OK really because I had more than my
except some are caught in our endless
babbling egohype rather than accepting
saturated fat.
lacks complexity? YOUR FACE.
But then, slightly later today I was on
anonymous and there in the gallery was a lovely somm, Melania from the Fat Duck,
who calculated my ascendant star sign on an easy drowsy walk through the green
broccoli cheer of Nahe, who agreed with me that you can taste humility in a wine
fair share of Amazing Wine Trips and on more than one occasion I have behaved
disgracefully and if I was lairy or leery or unpleasant I apologise, these behaviours
come from inadequacies in myself. I would however take any offers going, and Archie got to go to New Zealand) this month
I would share with you some Amazing
Lunches from some Amazing Wine Trips. • Tiny spindly rack of lamb, endless piles
of them, cooked on old-vine BBQ in Rioja Alavesa.
• Those alientrotters/goosebarnacles in
Porto with lots of little cups of Vinho Verde. • All those gougeres of all the flavours of the cheese rainbow in Chablis.
• The fancy quavers on a Zibbibo booze
cruise on the salt pans north of Marsala. Also, same trip, where we nipped off for
octopus and Negroni and I huffed off and got stuck up a tree.
• That beef bourguignon and (potato)
dauphinoise next to the hellfire in Chagny. • The warm sunshine strawberries and
other biodynamic delights in the ruined tower of Cosmic Vibration in Alsace. Gougeres: little cheesey pillows of loveliness. Visiting UK merchants consume 3 tonnes every year
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 40
• All the cheese, and there have been many, many cheeses, especially that trolley of excessive, aching delight in Reims.
PVC bottle cooler bag Simply add ice to these clear PVC bags to create an instant wine cooler. The bags are sturdy, reusable and can be folded flat for easy storage. Great for gifting, picnics and all outside events. wbc.co.uk, £22.80 for a pack of 10
Metal condiment caddies WBC has a range of metal table-top caddies designed to keep cutlery and condiments handy. wbc.co.uk, from £3.50
Hand held smoking gun This PolyScience smoking gun is suitable for cold-smoking all manner of food and drinks. Particularly good for adding a bit of extra theatre to cocktails or smoky deliciousness to cheese boards by infusing with classic aromas such as hickory or applewood. Alternatively there is plenty of opportunity to
This lemony twist on the early 20th century White Lady cocktail hopefully provides some summery inspiration to do something different with the nation’s favourite spirit for World Gin Day on June 12. Limoncello is the additional ingredient to the classic combination, and the egg white is an option that creates a more decadent texture. The dry shake stage helps to emulsify the albumen, so there’s no need for this if you choose to leave it out – just shake everything with ice and strain.
experiment, or for staff to torment each other during breaks. nisbets.co.uk, £129.58 5cl London dry gin 2.5cl triple sec 2.5cl limoncello 2.5cl freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 egg white
Dry shake – that is, without ice – all the ingredients in a shaker. Add ice and shake again. Strain into a coupe glass or gin and tonic bowl. Garnish with a twist of lemon peel.
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 41
Getting his hands dirty in Roussillon Immortelle started off as an experiment in a rustic winery near the Spanish border. Now Liam Steevenson MW’s creation has become one of the area’s most acclaimed wines
L
iam Steevenson MW has become an
grows in the vineyard. When you pick it, it
think about our connection with them, how
adopted son of Roussillon thanks to
doesn’t lose its colour or structure.
we look after them. We try to take some of
a wine he calls Immortelle, made in
“We had no idea whether it would be
the risk with them.
the tiny village of Estagel, 20 miles north of
drinkable or if we’d be able to do it again,
Perpignan near the Spanish border.
but it turned out pretty good. We made a
vineyards down there and that hopefully will
thousand bottles of it and it sold out really
get us more embedded.”
His initiation involved boozy breakfasts with local vignerons and juice-stained arms as he discovered the delights of hand pigéage, a
“This year we are looking to buy some
fast. “Sometimes the Roussillon can be really
Petite Immortelle
process that has the dual benefit of achieving
quite rustic. That leathery quality and
Côtes de Roussillon Villages, 2018
a softer, elegant extraction and connecting the
farmyard note that comes out of Roussillon
A blend of old-vine Carignan, Syrah,
winemaker, physically as well as intellectually,
happens, I think, because the tannins can be
Mourvedre and Grenache, the wine illustrates
with the wine he’s making.
quite raw. But that hand pigéage got over that
the essence of the region and has a French
really quickly. So the first vintage, the ’14, was
rusticity that ties the wine to its source and
really good from the beginning.
make it instantly appealing.
Today, Immortelle is one of the best-selling wines in the Vineyard Productions range. It started off with modest ambitions and retains its paysanne appeal even today. “I’d just left Waitrose and we had started a business distributing other peoples’ wines,”
“We’ve doubled the volume each year, really. The Immortelle senior wine has topped
Immortelle
out at 7,500 bottles but we make about
Côtes de Roussillon Villages, 2019
60,000 bottles of the Petite Immortelle now.”
Carignan and Grenache from 100-year-old
Steevenson says. “I really wanted to have a go
vines, blended post ferment in open-top
at winemaking with no real idea how to do it,
barrels with old-vine Syrah and Mourvèdre
liked old vines, and old Carignan and old
T
Grenache as varietals. There was quite a big
everything they need to bring the range to life.
movement there for doing hand ferments in
“We make it in a very rustic winery – it’s
apart from having read a few books. “I’d spent quite a lot of time in Priorat: I did my MW dissertation there and I really
he Immortelle project was made
combining to create an incredibly elegant
possible by the faith shown by the
Roussillon that has quickly gained a
Bousquet family, whose fruit and
reputation as being one of the finest wines of
facilities have given Steevenson and his team
the region. Immortelle Rivesaltes Grenat
open-top barrels and I thought that was a
like an old cooperative building with big
Roussillon, 2017
relatively low-cost way of making wine.
cement tanks,” Steevenson says.
The open-barrel fermentation is arrested
“So I approached a producer in the
“Life is not rich in the Roussillon. On
early on by the addition of grape spirit,
Roussillon who was seventh generation,
the whole it is pretty basic and that has
leaving unfermented grape sugars. The result
working the land with lots of 100-plus-year-
been interesting. When we first started this
is a heady mix of ripe red wine, tannic grip,
old vines. I asked if I could make some wines
project, it was a hobby and we weren’t really
sweetness and a spirity finish.
in their cellar.
interfering in their lives too much – we were
“I asked my oenologist friend Pierrick Harang, who is now part of our company, to help me. We made two barrels of wine and we called it Immortelle after a flower that
just buying enough grapes from them to make a couple of barrels. “Now over 50% of the Bousquet harvest goes to make our wine and it has made us
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 42
Feature sponsored by Vineyard Productions For more information call 0117 915 4555 or visit vineyard-productions.com
FOCUS ON SOUTHERN FRANCE
Has the Languedoc lived up to The south of France has been a source of excitement in the wine industry for several decades, thanks to its climate, relative lack of officialdom, and winemakers who are not afraid to experiment. David Williams considers the state of play
F
or the past 30 years at least, the
received wisdom about France’s
biggest wine region can be summed up
in the oft-used phrase, “France’s answer to the new world”.
The idea is that, thanks largely to the
relative freedoms afforded by the IGP Pays d’Oc appellation – but also to the scale of many of the producers, and the reliably
warm, sunny Mediterranean climate – the Languedoc-Roussillon was the best place in France, and possibly Europe, to do the sort of things that the new world has
historically done better: brands, varietal wines, vintage-to-vintage consistency.
Priced into this characterisation was a
certain experimentalism when it comes
to grape varieties. This was the one place in France where producers were willing and – equally important – able to try on
all manner of grape varieties for size, just as their peers in Australia, California and Chile do.
That’s led to a remarkable range of
possibilities for the nearly 20,000 growers now working under the aegis of the IGP Pays d’Oc label, with some 58 grape
the traditional Mediterranean French
varieties – Syrah, Carignan, Grenache, and
Mourvèdre – are, thanks to their role in the region’s appellation wines as much as any
IGP bottlings, still responsible for the lion’s share of the Languedoc-Roussillon’s finest,
most exciting and terroir-driven red wines. As vines have matured and producers
have become more adept with working
with them, however, so it’s becoming clear that some of the newer, less traditional
varieties have their own role to play in the modern Languedoc-Roussillon melting pot.
Earlier this spring, the IGP Pays d’Oc
sent The Wine Merchant several cases of wines aimed at highlighting the quality and range of varietal wines produced
from “new” varieties from the length and
producer: this, after all, is the key red
they provided a useful snapshot of the
planted by the Guibert family, in 1972,
breadth of this 200km stretch of vineyard along the Mediterranean coast. Together region’s current varietal strengths – and
the varieties that are likely to thrive here in the future.
varieties now permitted.
The Bordelais
and wine quality, than others. Certainly,
Languedoc-Roussillon as a quality wine
Clearly, some have proved more
successful, in terms of take-up, sales
Stellenbosch and Fran
Cabernet Sauvignon has played a pivotal role in changing perceptions of the
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 44
variety at the mould-breaking Hérault
estate Mas de Daumas Gassac, which was with a collection of uncloned vines from a Bordeaux nursery. Cabernet is still the
backbone (75%) of the estate’s grand vin, a deservedly respected red that has lived
up to the title first conferred on it by Gault Millau in 1982: the Château Lafite of the Languedoc.
Although the relative cool of the Upper
Gassac Valley remains the grand cru site
nschhoek
The medieval village of Olargues, in the Herault
for Cabernet in the Languedoc, the variety
Wines to try:
alongside the other Bordelais varieties,
• Domaine Sainte Marie des Crozes
is now present throughout the region,
• Clos des Augustins Merlot de Tino, IGP
Merlot and – increasingly popular as a
Outsider Alias, IGP Pays d’Oc 2019
notably in the south east, and often planted varietal wine – Cabernet Franc.
The stylistic range of all three is
enormous, but the best Midi-Bordeaux
varietal wines are those that bring a little
of the wildness, spice and garrigue herb of wines made from the region’s traditional varieties, combined with typical varietal characters.
Pays d’Oc 2019
(Cabernet Franc)
• Domaine Villa Noria Grand Prestige, IGP Pays d’Oc 2019 (Cabernet Sauvignon) The Burgundians At a time when the climate crisis has the Burgundians worrying about the long-
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 45
term future of Chardonnay and Pinot
Noir even at their northerly latitude, it seems counter-intuitive at best for the winegrowers of the Languedoc to be
pursuing these quintessentially coolclimate varieties in their sun-baked vineyards.
In this writer’s experience, the incidence
of successful Midi-Burgundians is
lower than varieties with a pedigree in
warmer climes. But when the LanguedocRoussillon does it get it right with Pinot and Chardonnay they are among the
© Fred / stockadobe.com
the hype?
David Williams is your guide on a whistlestop tour of South Africa’s most dynamic viticultural areas. Continues on pages 65 and 67
FOCUS ON SOUTHERN FRANCE
The other southerners
best-value versions of the grape around.
Some 60 years since it was first created as
Naturally, the best examples of both
varieties hail from the region’s cooler
enclaves: altitude provides the tempering effect in Limoux, for example, the home of a high proportion of the Languedoc-
Roussillon’s most luminously balanced Chardonnays.
The hunt for a truly world-class Pinot
in the region, meanwhile, remains elusive,
but there’s plenty of promise in the hills of
the Aude, with the necessary cooling effect provided by altitudes above 300m where
The hunt for a truly world-class Pinot in the region remains elusive, but there’s plenty of promise in the hills of the Aude
a disease-resistant crossing of Grenache with Cabernet Sauvignon, Marselan is starting to emerge as a local grower
favourite. And if it’s yet to realise wines to match the best of those produced by
its parents, it is now responsible for some
delightfully superior quaffers that combine spicy fruit with pleasingly nippy tannins.
On the white side, meanwhile, Viognier,
the Rhône variety that was all but confined to Condrieu just a few decades ago, has
become an enormously important variety
the influence of both the Mediterranean
across the Languedoc-Roussillon in the
and the Atlantic can be felt.
past 20 years.
Producers are making successful
Wines to try:
versions that run the gamut from the
• Domaine Girard Pinot Noir, IGP Pays d’Oc
richly heady and apricot-fleshy to the
2019
aromatically floral and citrussy.
• Anne de Joyeuse Camas Chardonnay, IGP Pays d’Oc 2019
Wines to try:
• Domaine Villepeyroux Forest Marselan, IGP Pays d’Oc 2019
The Spaniard
• Viranel Viognier, IGP Pays d’Oc 2019.
Since the peachy-salty dry white wines
of Galicia began to catch on beyond north
west Spain in the early 2000s, the race has been on to see which New World region
would be first to make Albariño its own. So far, there have been wines of varying
success from Australia, New Zealand and California. Although plantings are still
small, the variety is also showing immense promise in the Languedoc-Roussillon.
Like the local Vermentino (aka Rolle),
Albariño is able to retain its acidity in
warmer climates, with wines made by
leading producers such as Laurent Miquel and Foncalieu matching the breezy
freshness with the variety’s trademark
© Lozz / stockadobe.com
stone-fruit fleshiness. Wine to try:
• Vignobles Foncalieu Sillages Albariño, IGP Pays d’Oc 2019
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 46
restoring A Gem in provence
A southern right whale in Walker Bay
Under Roger Zannier’s ownership, Château Saint-Maur Cru Classé has become an international superstar, with ambitions that go beyond rosé
W
export manager Myriam Hodge.
Collobrières. Here, mica schists dominate,
region. Alongside his son-in-law, Marc
using environmentally-friendly methods, with treatments kept to a minimum.
river that flows into the Gulf of Saint
hen in 2011 Roger Zannier saw the gem that is Château Saint-Maur,
he seized the opportunity to turn
this Provencal estate into the envy of the
Monrose, he took the model that they had
built at Quinta do Pessegueiro in the Douro and replicated it near Saint Tropez.
“We were not known in the wine world,”
Monrose says, “so we didn’t have the luxury of making mistakes.” Within nine months, they had completed the construction of a
“Blessed with an exceptional terroir, in a
superb location, our vineyards are cultivated “Our Cru Classé range is sourced only
from the Château Saint-Maur estate
vineyards. We also offer a range of wines under the Saint-Maur brand which is a
blend of grapes from our our neighbour’s
new state-of-the-art winery.
impact was obvious from the 2016 vintage
last few years and will bring the estate’s
vineyard holding up to 100ha in 2021 with 80ha designated as AOP and 20ha as IGP.
O
ver the past six years, Château
Saint-Maur has established itself as a
premium international brand and part
of the exclusive club of wineries designated Cru Classés in Provence.
Rosé dominates production but the
company has ambitions beyond this with plans to increase white and red wine
ouput. “We think plot by plot,” explains
“Our Clos de Capelune is an exceptional
12ha plot, acquired in 2012, situated high up in the hills, with the highest vines of
the Côte de Provence appellation (449m altitude). It’s the source of our highest quality rosé, Clos de Capelune: Syrah,
C
hâteau Saint-Maur has been working
and reinforced in 2017 with the arrival of
quality, has been taking place over the
them are dedicated to IGP wines.
here.”
on a programme to elevate quality. His
vineyards, aimed at improving overall vine
Tropez, the soils are a sandy loam: 14ha of
produce grapes of remarkable finesse
in as technical director, beginning work
A massive programme of replanting the
Grimaud, by the River Giscle, the small
Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon and Rolle
In 2015, Patrick Galliano was brought
young winemaker Amelie Rimbaud.
whereas lower down, to the south of
with Astrum Wine Cellars in the UK
Château Saint-Maur has Cru Classé status
plot, who share the same philosophy as we do.
“Sheltered from the winds but enjoying
a mild maritime influence that tempers
the high summer temperatures, the estate covers 100 hectares. Protected from the
Mistral from the north and by the Massif
des Maures to the west, the entire vineyard is exposed east-to-west and is well ventilated.
“The mainly calcareous clay soil covers
the slopes of the hills, rising gradually up
to the edge of the forest, in the direction of
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 47
since last year. So far, three rosés
have been imported: Saint-Maur Cotes de Provence, Cuvée Saint M and Cuvée
l’Excellence. These last two are both Cru Classé wines.
“Astrum have made an excellent start in
challenging circumstances and we are keen to support their growth in the UK market,” says Hodge.
“We believe we can offer a point of
difference to some of the larger brands more often seen in the UK and aim to
surprise and delight our new audience of consumers.”
Feature sponsored by Château St Maur Cru Classé; www.chateausaintmaur.com
BOOK REVIEW
Wines of the Rhône
planting later ripening ones that retain
Matt Walls Infinite Ideas, £30
has been planted. Producers are looking
T
here’s a tendency to think of the Rhône valley as one of France’s established and immutable
regions, moulded and protected by
centuries of tradition. It’s not usually
acidity and produce lower levels of
alcohol is one possibility,” says Walls,
acknowledging a theory held by some
locals that, for decades, too much Grenache southwards to Spain for alternative
varieties. There is even talk of Tempranillo
for Rhône aficionados as well as those who are starting to get to grips with the region for the first time.
One domaine might be starting to
profiles. “The story of the Rhône is still
experiment with darker rosés – and many
being written,” he insists, pointing out,
a merchant would say amen to that. Others
by way of example, that not so long ago,
are witnessing a shift to more organic
Condrieu only amounted to a measly eight
viticulture as one generation hands over
hectares.
to the next. Another is experimenting The book profiles 200-plus domaines
getting smaller, sweeter and less acidic. In
scoping out cooler sites, and asking new
were 60 years ago. These are issues that
overtly stylistic. Walls points out that,
“Thankfully, southern Rhône vineyards
have plenty of varieties to play with, so
work with a few months of Googling and
each of them offers an intriguing snapshot,
as pedigree in the 200-plus domaines he
less charitably put, an aloof complacency.
writer could have put together a lesser
he encounters, and his distilled analyses of
spirit than that, seeking out quirks as well
region with conservative inclinations – or,
himself in the Rhône valley in the course
genuine curiosity about the winemakers
with a more generous and open-minded
demand some sort of reaction, even in a
most engaging wine writers, embedded
producers, but you sense that Walls has a
But Matt Walls approaches his task
are now around 15 days earlier than they
indie The Sampler, with a
some emailed questions to a smattering of
own efforts.
the same region, and in Tavel, picking times
of trailblazing London
of researching this book. A more cynical
pruning methods like gobelet as they try
South Africa to inspire and measure their
grapes in Châteauneuf-du-Pape have been
W
alls, a one-time employee
to restore some balance. They are also
Vignerons are experimenting with
winemakers in California, Australia or
evolving. Since the late 1980s, Grenache
more upmarket wines.
deserved reputation as one of the country’s
– rather, a benchmark or template for
forcing the issue in the way the Rhône is
used to “increasingly impressive effect” in
making a cameo appearance.
regarded as a melting pot of new ideas
In many respects, climate change is
preserve of basic, everyday reds, is now
questions about irrigation.
Some of the other changes are more
since destemming machines are fairly
new to the Rhône, there is a long-standing
tradition of whole-bunch fermentation that is seeing something of a revival. Carbonic
maceration, a technique that was once the
Producers are looking to Spain for alternative varieties. There is even talk of Tempranillo making a cameo appearance THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 48
with the ancient local varieties Persan
and Durif. Walls dispenses these nuggets with the enthusiasm of a friend keen to share interesting news about a mutual acquaintance, rather than the lofty
detachment of a writer simply keen to
prove they know their stuff – or that they are well connected.
Indeed it’s a credit to Walls that,
although he is the first to acknowledge that Wines of the Rhône is not a book he ever
intended to be read from cover to cover, it’s entirely possible that some pleasure could be derived from doing exactly that. His
efforts have made the region appear not
only accessible, but progressive – and, in some respects, rather exciting.
Graham Holter
SUPPLIER BULLETIN
LOUIS LATOUR AGENCIES 12-14 Denman Street London W1D 7HJ
0207 409 7276 enquiries@louislatour.co.uk www.louislatour.co.uk
Try one of these lesser known Pinot Noirs from Louis Latour and Simonnet-Febvre Simonnet-Febvre Des Lyres de Pinot Noir From Simonnet’s recent project in the Coteaux de l’Auxois, between Chablis and Dijon. The wine’s name is derived from the Lyres training system (right) used here. Fresh, vibrant and very enjoyable. Retails at around £17.
Simonnet-Febvre Irancy Irancy is situated in a natural amphitheatre which protects the vines from northerly winds. The wine is a blend of 95% Pinot Noir and 5% Cesar, France’s oldest grape variety now uniquely found in Irancy. Retails at around £22.
Louis Latour Les Pierres Dorees Pinot Noir From a sub-region in the south of Beaujolais where Latour has planted Pinot Noir at between 280 and 400 metres. The vineyards benefit from a moderate climate and wines have freshness due to altitude. Retails at around £20.
Louis Latour Bellevue, Domaine de Valmoissine, Pinot Noir This is a special selection from Latour’s Valmoissine vineyard. The vineyards sit at more than 500 metres above sea level which help to ensure that the wine is both balanced and intense. Retails at around £20.
hatch mansfield
Join us Virtually ...
New Bank House 1 Brockenhurst Road Ascot Berkshire SL5 9DL
We have 12 complimentary tickets for the Digital Edition London Wine Fair 2021, 17th-19th May.
01344 871800
During the fair you will be able to browse wines from across our portfolio, request samples and book a meeting with members of our sales and marketing teams at a date and time convenient to you. We will also be online to answer any questions you may have.
info@hatch.co.uk www.hatchmansfield.com @hatchmansfield
Please email info@hatch.co.uk if you are interested in paying us a virtual visit.
Why not book on to one of our masterclasses? Chenin Blanc- South Africa’s Superstar with the Kleine Zalze winemaking team Alastair Rimmer & RJ Botha Monday 17th May at 11.00am
Organic/Biodynamic Tasting with Michel Chapoutier Tuesday 18th May at 3.00pm
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 49
SUPPLIER BULLETIN
C&C wines 109 Blundell Street London N7 9BN 020 3261 0927 help@carsoncarnevalewines.com www.carsoncarnevalewines.com
@CandC_Wines @carsoncarnevalewines
Just landed: SCAIA Rosato IGP Veneto 2020 RRP: £14.99
SCAIA is one of the brands of Valpolicella pioneers Tenuta
Sant’Antonio winery, created with the export market in mind. Based north-east of Verona, their vineyards are on a ridge of hills, close to the Alps. In Veneto dialect, the word “scaia” means a chip of stone,
chalk, limestone: the brand name is a tribute to the soil, where a line of unique young wines is produced. Their focus is on enhancing the
primary characteristics of the grapes via stainless steel fermentation and ageing, to produce consistently fresh wines with aromatic complexity.
The SCAIA Rosato IGP Veneto offers a taste of summer and
outstanding quality for its price point. Made from 100% Rondinella grapes, which are often reserved for Amarone or Recioto styles and blends, it lets the variety shine in its own right. Pale pink in colour,
it offers floral aromas of roses, alongside raspberries and other red fruits. The palate is well-balanced, fresh and satisfying.
Please contact us if you are interested in sampling the new 2020, which has just landed.
Famille Helfrich Wines
Over 3,000ha of our own properties in France
1, rue Division Leclerc, 67290 Petersbach, France cdavies@lgcf.fr 07789 008540 @FamilleHelfrich
They’re all smiles to your face …
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 50
liberty wines 020 7720 5350 order@libertywines.co.uk www.libertywines.co.uk
@liberty_wines
Two rising stars of German Riesling
by David Gleave MW
Germany offers arguably some of the best value to be found in the world
of wine today. We highlight two of the country’s dynamic new-wave winemakers, who have been pushing the boundaries of vinicultural tradition and are successfully reviving enthusiasm for top quality German Riesling.
In the heart of the Mosel Valley, Axel Pauly focuses on preserving the
distinctive expression of his site through to the glass. The Pauly vines cling to
vertigo-inducing steep slopes on Lieser’s grey and blue slate soils, which are cooler than the red slate of more famous neighbour Bernkastel and produce wines with a strikingly pristine character. Axel’s use of crop thinning, leaf
plucking and careful selection at harvest ensures a ripeness of flavour in his fruit that is enhanced by skin contact, wild yeasts and lees ageing in the winery. His are classic Rieslings of stunning quality and great purity.
At the forefront of the “Rheinhessen revival”, Jochen Dreissigacker
describes his conversion to certified organic viticulture in 2010 as “the artisan path to purity” and his following of biodynamic principles since 2019 as “a long-term investment
in nature and wines”. Each of his 21 hectares in Bechtheim and Westhofen receives 1,000 hours of manual work per year to maintain low yields and optimal conditions for the vines to thrive. The jewels in Jochen’s crown are his single-vineyard Rieslings from the
prestigious Geyersberg and Morstein sites, which display impressive concentration and potential for ageing.
richmond wine agencies The Links, Popham Close Hanworth Middlesex TW13 6JE
Home of these great agencies …
Château d’Esclans Rock Angel 2020 now available. Contact us for details.
020 8744 5550 info@richmondwineagencies.com
@richmondwineag1
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 51
SUPPLIER BULLETIN
walker & Wodehouse 109a Regents Park Road London NW1 8UR 0207 449 1665 orders@walkerwodehousewines.com www.walkerwodehousewines.com
@WalkerWodehouse
Summer sipping: Château des Betrands We are thrilled to welcome exclusive Château des Bertrands to our portfolio! Nestled in the Var hinterland, in Le Cannet-desMaures, Château des Bertrands lies at the heart of a Natura
2000 protected area in the Maures Plain, home of incredible biodiversity.
A historic Cotes de Provence flagship vineyard, its unique
geology, alongside the patient dedication of its teams, yield character-filled wines. The exceptional location of their 80-hectare vineyard is characterised by the distinctive
geology of the surrounding hills, formed 500 million years ago, and maquis vegetation.
The vines are cultivated with the utmost care, without the
use of chemicals, and the vineyard is in the process of organic conversion. Mediterranean varieties, in particular Cinsault
and Grenache, are grown on sandstone soil and give the wines remarkable structure and mineral taste, combining finesse and delicacy.
For more information, please contact your Account Manager
buckingham schenk Unit 5, The E Centre Easthampstead Road Bracknell RG12 1NF 01753 521336 info@buckingham-schenk.co.uk www.buckingham-schenk.co.uk
@BuckSchenk @buckinghamschenk
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 52
mentzendorff The Woolyard 52 Bermondsey Street London SE1 3UD 020 7840 3600
L A G I TA NA E N R A M A M A N Z A N I L L A 2 0 2 1 : P U R E , NAT U R A L & S T R A I G H T F R O M T H E C A S K Manzanilla En Rama is sherry at its very best – lightly filtered, unfined, pure free run juice directly from the barrel! Made from 100% Palomino grapes grown on white albariza soils at Hidalgo’s highest quality vineyards of Balbaina and Miraflores, this Manzanilla is released in limited quantities (only 35 barrels of the solera are used) and can be considered the best value sherry in the world.
info@mentzendorff.co.uk A few words from the critics: En Rama 2020
www.mentzendorff.co.uk
“Clean, racy and sleek. Definitely superior.” 16.5/20, Jancis Robinson “Savoury, smoky, nutty, creamy, succulent, intense.” Sarah Jane Evans MW “the fresh-as-daisies , natural yeasts, honest and elemental style of manzanilla. This is a bone-dry, palate-invigorating, sharply tangy sherry...” Matthew Jukes For more information, please contact your Mentzendorff Acount Manager
lighthouse brands 95 Ditchling Road Brighton BN1 4ST www.lighthousebrands.co.uk info@lighthousebrands.co.uk
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 53
SUPPLIER BULLETIN
AWIN BARRATT SIEGEL WINE AGENCIES 28 Recreation Ground Road Stamford Lincolnshire PE9 1EW 01780 755810 orders@abs.wine www.abs.wine
VISIT ABS AT THE DIGITAL LONDON WINE FAIR The ABS team, and many of our growers around the world will be online during the Digital LWF ready to meet and chat with you virtually. Visit us at www.londonwinefair.com or contact your Account Manager to setup a meeting.
@ABSWines
NOT YOU AGAIN!
customers we could do without
© Ljupco Smokovski / stockadobe.com
23. Mick Babbacombe … but I’ll tell you what, yeah … people talk about drugs … right? People talk about narcotics and acid and hash and all the rest of it … yeah? But what do you think, right, is the biggest and worst drug of them all? Give you a clue … it’s all around us, it’s everywhere, and guess what? It’s. Completely. Legal. I’ll tell you. It’s alcohol. Yeah? See? All these lovely wines, yeah, with their pretty labels … this guy here, look at him, taking a few bottles home for the weekend … no, you’re all right mate, I’m not having a go … god bless you mate, I’m just talking facts … and the simple fact is you are a drug addict … yeah? And you, with your beautiful shop full of these beautiful bottles … pushing all these drugs on people … when the filth raided my gaff I ended up with a six-month suspended sentence and I guarantee the gear I was shifting was nowhere near as dangerous as this, and it don’t make your lips go blue either … well, it sort of does, but that was a contaminated batch and a fella up in Hounslow went blind for a month … anyway, still much better for you than alcohol … did you know you can actually make vodka out of an old carpet? What you do, right …
Supplier of wine boxes and literature • 12 Bottle mailing boxes with dividers from £1.69p each • 6 Bottle mailing boxes with dividers from £0.98p each • 12 Bottle carrier boxes with dividers from £0.99p each Prices are subject to VAT • Delivery not included
01323 728338 • sales@eastprint.co.uk • www.eastprint.co.uk
ANAGRAM TIME Can you unscramble the names of these north western wine merchants? If so, you win a bed of nails (14 missing).
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 54
1. Inverse Sewer 2. Hot Conker Froth 3. Tulsa 4. Willowy Hen Phase 5. Neuron Twist
Mark Matisovits
Fells Fells House, Station Road Kings Langley WD4 8LH 01442 870 900 For details about our portfolio of award winning wines from some of the world’s leading family-owned wine producers contact: info@fells.co.uk
www.fells.co.uk
@FellsWine je_fells
The Signature CABER NET SAUVIGNON S H IRAZ - 201 6
The Signature is a sentimental favourite. A classic Australian blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz, the first vintage release of The Signature was in 1962. Each vintage of The Signature is named in honour of an individual who has made a significant contribution to the culture and traditions of Yalumba. It is with great pleasure we present our 2016 vintage to Chief Winemaker Louisa Rose.
JAMES SUCKLING
DECANTER
THE REAL REVIEW
WINE ENTHUSIAST
top selection 23 Cellini Street London SW8 2LF www.topselection.co.uk info@topselection.co.uk Contact: Alastair Moss Telephone: 020 3958 0744 @topselectionwines @tswine
THE WINE MERCHANT may 2021 55
JAMES HALLIDAY
YALUMBA #16
Hillebrand ad supplied separately