The Wine Merchant issue 63

THE WINE MERCHANT. An independent magazine for independent retailers

Issue 63, October 2017

Halloween makes our usual behaviour seem less remarkable

THIS MONTH 2 BACCHUS Why can’t some councils get their heads around wine dispensers?

4 comings & GOINGS

Expansion for Vini Italiani, Loki and The Wine Parlour

10 tried & TESTED

Bury St Edmunds store manager Tom Crittenden

More Adnams stores to offer make-your-own gin Adnams plans to give more of its customers the chance to make their own gin instore as it embarks on a retail expansion programme.

The service is already available at its branch

in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, which is fitted with seven mini stills. Customers pay £95 to distil

their own spirit and add a choice of botanicals

in a process that takes two and a half hours and results in a bespoke bottle of gin.

Retail chief Neil Griffin says people are given

gin and tonics to enjoy while they wait. He adds: “We’re quite keen on this customisation and

personalisation trend that’s coming through.

“We give people a selection of botanicals

and talk them through what each one of them

potentially does. They put four or five of them

into the pot still and distil it down, and you get

the liquid at the end. We label it up with the name of your choice.

“It’s going really well. Customers are enjoying

the experience and it’s climbing the Trip Advisor rankings in East Anglia.”

The concept is likely to be rolled out to

future Adnams Cellar & Kitchen branches that are currently being scouted, though not in the pop-up that has just opened in the centre of

Cambridge and will trade until the New Year.

Adnams spokesman Josh Wicks says

Cambridge is a city that the company is

“obviously keen to get into”. He adds: “The pop-

up gives us flexibility and a bit of a foothold, and then we’ll look for something more permanent.

“It’s a busy and competitive place, but you

don’t want to shy away from those places – you want to be in there.”

The Dirty Dozen tasting turns up a few choice finds

16 leamington wine co

The final chapter of a 20-year career as an independent

24 david williams

Feats of clay in a resurgent Georgian wine industry

36 reader trip to the rhone Meeting the human dynamo that is Laure Colombo

40 focus on argentina

A dozen wines that give a real flavour of the country

46 make a date

It’s the last lap of this year’s tasting calendar

47 supplier Bulletin

Essential updates from agents and suppliers

BACCHUS

b Can’t we dispense with the council?

In 2015 when Lindsay Porter and partner Hobby Alam opened Portland Wine Warehouse in an old post office in the village of Billinge in Merseyside, they faced some objections from local residents.

But neighbours were soon mollified

when they realised the new venture wasn’t a grotty booze ‘n’ fags emporium but a

sophisticated establishment selling a range of top-end wine and spirits. All was well

until a refurbishment last Christmas which

created a new tasting area with a bank of

lovely – customers absolutely love it. We

thought it would be amazing to have this

than 6% and it just is allowing customers

Wine Emotion machines.

“We met Dan at Wine Emotion and

facility for our customers – we always had wine open at the weekends anyway,” says Porter.

“We got planning permission to extend

the shop and closed while we were doing the renovations. We put an application in

for an on-licence and again we faced a lot

of objections, because people thought we were turning into a wine bar. The council then said we had to either apply for a

change of use, in which case they wouldn’t support us because they don’t want a

drinking establishment here, or we’d have to apply for a certificate of lawful use to

explain what we’re doing to allow them to

make a decision as to whether that fits into an A1 retail establishment.”

Facing a Catch-22 situation where she

couldn’t provide the evidence for the

certificate until she had the permission – projected figures and scenarios were not

deemed acceptable – Porter had no choice other than to re-open the shop in order to apply for the certificate.

“We opened again in March and it’s been

have been able to show that in terms of our turnover the dispensers account for less to sample the products,” she says.

Despite the subsequent “overwhelming”

support from the public, Porter says the

council is still prevaricating. On applying

for the certificate of lawful use there were just two objections: one anonymous, and the other from Billinge Parish Council,

whose objection was based on its opinion that the interior of the shop looks like a wine bar. Porter is taking that as a

compliment and a testament to the hard

work the team put into making the shop an “experience” for their customers.

Even though Porter has explained

repeatedly that she is running a shop

and not a wine bar, she has not yet had a visit from the powers that be to see the premises for themselves.

“Nobody from the council has been down

to have a look and see how it works, and that speaks volumes,” she says.

Women broaden horizons of clients

West London’s Last Drop Wines is, by owner Andrea Viera’s own admission, strictly Old World. So how to expand her range geographically without “offending” any of her “more mature” male customers?

“We made the decision that we were

going to put together a celebration of

wines by female winemakers,” says Viera.

“They are all hand-selected; I haven’t

just taken the approach of ‘oh, a woman made it, so we’ll just dump it in there’.

We’ve actually tasted and tasted and tasted and put together a really great selection.

Sales from Wine Emotion dispensers account for 6% of turnover

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 2

Around the world I have to say that women don’t make particularly inexpensive wines, but the quality is certainly there.”

Flying Füchs

Samantha O’Keefe of Lismore Estate Vineyards, South Africa

The wines will be featured on a

dedicated website under the Wines by Women brand which will launch next

month. There will be additional content revealing the stories behind the various journeys the winemakers have made to reach their potential.

“A lot of women ended up in wine having

gone around the houses a couple of times

– they’ve been up against different hurdles depending on which country they are in,” Viera says.

The online offering will be refreshed

often as the wines will be “drip-fed on to

the site” according to variables like season or availability.

The selection will include wines from,

among others, Samantha O’Keefe of

Lismore Estate; Laure Colombo; Virginia

Willcock of Vasse Felix; Sarah Gott of Joel Gott; Elena Walch; Susana Balbo; Saskia

Prüm of SA Prüm; Alice Beaufort; and Lynn Marchive of Domaine des Malandes.

Jeroboams looks for new branches Jeroboams has completed a £300,000 refurbishment programme that has unified its branding across all six stores.

The most significant work took place at

the flagship stores in Walton Street and Pont Street in London.

Walton Street has a revamped cellar

and the addition of a kitchen will pave the way for in-store events. The Pont Street

store, once “a very big shop with a very low footfall”, has been converted to a smaller shop with a fine wine room at the back.

Chief executive Hugh Sturges says: “It’s

taking the business forward in terms of

how it looks, but it’s showing the customer that it’s not just a wine shop – we have a

full range of services and everything you’d expect from a wine merchant.”

He adds: “It’s all about relationships.

I treat the shops as the front end of the

business to introduce new customers to

the group, and once they are in the door

we can offer them the regular shop service, if that’s what they wish, but they can also

find out about finer wines, starting a cellar or storing wine with us.

“We have improved our website – it’s not

transactional but for us it’s more important to invest in what we do best, which is faceto-face conversation. Our focal point is the bricks and mortar because we want to sell to people by talking to people.”

Sturges adds that now the “estate is

looking good” the only thing he has left to

do is expand – and to that end he is looking for two new sites.

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 3

“Our Man with the Facts” • Although Côte d’Or translates as

“golden slope”, it is not certain that

this is what was originally meant by

the name. Another theory is that “Or”

is simply an abbreviation of “Orient”, a reference to the eastern alignment of the famous Burgundy sub-region.

• Ireland is recognised by the EU as

a wine-producing country. There are

vineyards near Dublin and in Kinsale.

• A French medieval poet called Henri d’Andely wrote a poem called Bataille

des Vins, in which King Philip Augustus of France tastes 70 wines and decides

that the best of the lot comes not from his own country but from Cyprus.

• Pinot Meunier takes its name from the French word for miller. This is because the leaves of its vines are

usually covered in a down on their underside that resembles flour.

• Irish coffee was invented by County Limerick barman Joe Sheridan,

who served black coffee mixed with demerara sugar, Irish whiskey and cream to tired and cold flying boat passengers on the River Shannon.

More of London gets a taste of Italy Vini Italiani has used crowd-funding to fuel an expansion programme that will soon double its estate size to four shops in London.

The business started out in South

Kensington in 2011, opening a second

branch in Covent Garden in December

2015 aided by a £250,000 cash injection, raised through the equity crowd-funding website Seedrs.

A third store will open in Greenwich this

month, after which work will immediately start on a fourth site in South Balham.

Founder and managing director

Bruno Cernecca says: “We launched an investment campaign back in May and

Vini Italiani is mainly retail-focused but also has space for customers to sit and eat

raised the money through private investors

the results of the latest two in Greenwich

campaign, but the timings for that still

concept we were looking for has finally

– new and existing – and we are in the

process of starting a new crowd-funding haven’t been defined.”

He says the decision to open a wine bar

inside the South Kensington store was

a game changer, leading the way for the

company to expand further and allow its “lifestyle concept to blossom”.

He says: “We want to express the variety

and quality of our wines, and how they can be offered and enjoyed, and so we

try to cover the whole spectrum of the

experience, from retail, to café, to wine bar.

“Our South Kensington and Covent

Garden sites are mainly retail, but we do

have the opportunity for our guests to sit

down and enjoy their wines with cold cuts, cheeses, a few warm dishes of traditional

recipes … you know, the usual story for us

and South Balham”.

working next to Dave for almost all the

found the right location and space.

bones about wanting to expand Salon and

He adds: “We will have to see if the

Obviously we were looking for a venue

in the right location and Greenwich, with its mix of residents and tourists, is a

fusion between Covent Garden and South Kensington.

“We are thinking about expanding in the

City, because our concept is quite good for the business crowd, but we haven’t got a location just yet, so fingers crossed.”

• Picture special – pages 22 and 23.

Salon takes former Market Row unit Dave Simpson’s Market Row Wines is

Italians,” he says.

no longer trading, but the unit hasn’t

lounge for private events and parties.

behind the hipster restaurant Salon took

The Greenwich site will include a

remained empty for long.

Cernecca says the plan is “to have five

possession and will re-brand the shop in

dedicated fine wine cellar and an upstairs units by the end of 2018, and then assess

Director Mark Gurney says: “We’ve been

Towards the end of September, the team

Brixton Market as The Salon Wine Store.

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 4

five years he was there and we had a really

close relationship. We had always made no when he said he was packing it all in, we jumped at the chance.

“We already use similar suppliers to

Dave and will be kind of carrying on his

legacy, but with a Salon twist.” The offering will be similar to Simpson’s original

concept – mostly organic, biodynamic and low-intervention wines as well as “lots of local beers”.

Salon’s restaurant is upstairs while the

bar area is on the ground floor. “If we could bash down the wall, we would, but the market won’t allow us,” says Gurney.

“The bar and the shop will work

symbiotically – most days you can buy a

bottle of wine in the shop and bring it next door. We’ll have a shop price and a retail price or a corkage fee.”

• Laithwaites has opened its 14th retail branch. The store in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, is the most northerly in its estate.

Friarwood engages with village people

he will also be bringing bottles from his

personal collection in-store for customers to try. There is enough space for seating

around 12 people inside plus a few more

Friarwood is capitalising on a boom in

outside at the front of the shop.

its retail business with the opening of a

Beedell once worked for Majestic and ND

second shop.

John, and was sommelier and restaurant manager at The Park House in Cardiff.

The Parsons Green merchant, bought

Using existing business relationships

by Ben Carfagnini from the family of

with Hallgarten, Boutinot, Liberty,

founder Peter Bowen in 2014, has

Bibendum and Enotria, who have all “been

acquired a vacant unit in the High Street of

as good as gold,” Beedell has started with a

Wimbledon Village.

range of over 100 wines and plans to add a

“Our wholesale business is the biggest

selection of craft beers.

side of Friarwood but we’ve seen really

Southon is new to the wine trade but is

strong growth in retail over the last three

about to embark on his WSET level 2, and

years – something like 30% year on year, roughly,” says Carfagnini. “We thought it

Carfagnini reports 30% growth in retail sales

Beedell is keeping him on his toes by “pop-

He attributes the growth to a strong

Southon didn’t expect the right premises to

Beedell’s German Pointer, Chester, after

made sense, while we’re growing, to see if we can do it again.”

wine range, knowledgeable staff and good

customer service. “It seems to be working,” he says.

He adds: “We’ve been looking for

sites for a long time – since I bought the company – to grow our retail business.

Wimbledon seemed like the right idea. It’s the village feel of what we have here at Parsons Green.”

The shop will be managed by new recruit

Ornella Rosucci, who has a background in the Italian wine trade.

Carfagnini is open-minded about

further expansion, both inside and outside

London. “We’ll get this one going, but if this works and does what we want and expect it to do, yes, we’ll always grow.”

come up so quickly. “We’ve achieved a lot in a short space of time,” he says.

“It was previously an antique shop and

we went from a big empty white space and did it all in a week.”

Cardiff native Beedell says Abergavenny

Another key member of the team is

whom the shop is named.

Wine Parlour opens in Streatham

was always top of his hit list. “The main

London wine merchant Chix Chandaria

other merchants here,” he says.

eaterie in Streatham High Road.

not until they install a small kitchenette.

well,” she explains. “In the evening it will

Michelin restaurants are here, it’s a very

has acquired her third branch with

foodie part of Wales and there were no

a deal to take on the Boyce da Roca

accompany the by-the-glass offering but

will keep for now because it’s doing really

Jones is booked to run a pop-up restaurant.

be off-sales as well and then as time goes

The duo plan to provide small plates to

In November Michelin-starred chef Roger Armed with his Coravin, Beedell says

Abergavenny gets its first wine merchant

“It’s a really cool daytime café, which we

turn into one of our Wine Parlours. It will on it will become more wine, less café.”

Chandaria already operates under the

Wine Parlour banner in Brixton and as Vintage 1824 in Herne Hill.

“I want to be able to use it to do more

wine dinners and things like that. We’d

never really thought about buying another

It took Lloyd Beedell just six weeks to

business but this came in at a very good

put his long-term plan into action and

deal, to be honest, and we know how

launch Chesters in Abergavenny last month.

Beedell and business partner Ben

quizzing him daily”.

Can your dog do this?

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 6

difficult it is to get good premises. So it felt like one of those opportunities that would be silly to pass up.”

Adeline Mangevine Loki prepares for stores two and three Loki expects to open its second branch on November 1 and says that a third will follow in the New Year.

The Birmingham independent is about

to unveil its store in Edgbaston Village, a

new development that combines housing, leisure and retail elements.

Owner Phil Innes says: “We will continue

with five Enomatics featuring 40 wines and a range of around 400 wines, with a large craft beer and spirits range as well.

“We will have a deli counter as well as a

lounge area, and also a more bar-focused

area. There is a small wine garden out the back which will be used in the summer.”

The company has also been working on

Hasty despatches from the frontline of wine retailing

I

t’s at times like these, we have

to think outside the wine box,” I

say to Alex, attempting to sound

businesslike. We’re having yet another strategy meeting. We have quite a few

these days. The chill wind that is blowing through our import-based industry

means we must keep thinking up new

ways to keep people spending with us.

“I think we need to rethink our shop

to make it more experiential,” says Alex,

with a flourish. He means serving wines by the glass. He’s right. Resistance is futile.

So we outline plans for a tasting

counter offering flights, rather than plunging straight into a cheese-and

charcuterie show, which means we don’t

need to hire anyone else for the moment.

We could découpage the counter with

pages from all those rapidly out-of-date price lists that are piling up.

We instantly come up with a whole list

want to treat myself”; “A thank-you gift

for someone not very close (under £10)/

Shop next door. “This will also increase our capacity in our lounge to cater for events of up to 70 people or 40 people seated,” says Innes. “We are also making some aesthetic improvements.”

Innes has put in a planning application

for a third shop, in the city’s Moseley district.

decal that says ‘only good wine sold

here’?” he adds. Ah, the optimism. Who reads anything put in a window?

We move on to other ideas. “How

about a poseur table, for customers to use as they look scroll through

thousands of smartphone photos, trying

We only sell ‘good’ wines, but maybe we need to advertise our mind-reading service too

occupy bored children who come in with

of categories: “I’ve had a hard day”; “I

in size by incorporating the former Whisky

“Perhaps we can do a massive window

style method and organise it by occasion.

Why is a customer buying wine?

Great Western Arcade, which has doubled

overlap and it is getting complicated.

to locate that amazing wine they had and

We could ditch the trusty by-country-by-

the expansion of its original branch in the

we realise that quite a few categories

Then I suggest we have could have a

rethink about how we display our wines.

Artist’s impression of the Edgbaston branch

chart for the wall,” suggests Alex, as

someone close (above £10)”; “Dinner

with someone who knows about wine

and I don’t want to embarrass myself”; “Dinner with friends but I don’t know what they’re cooking”; “I only drink

French”; “We’re having chicken”; “We’re having steak”; and finally “Good wine”.

It’s surprising how many people ask this, as if a) we mainly stock bad wine and b) we’re mind-readers and know exactly what qualifies as a customer’s idea of good.

“We might need to do a cross-reference

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 7

wondered if we could stock it?” I suggest.

We chew over some ideas of how to

their parents. Ideas include a critter

corner, where only wines with animal labels would be stocked (could get us

into trouble) and small-format bottles (which could get us into even bigger

trouble). Conversely, we could have an

adults-only corner for those wines with

naughty labels. I’m looking at you, French natural winemakers.

“And we need a book of remembrance,”

adds Alex. “It’ll help customers mourn

the loss of a wine that we no longer stock – especially those small parcels and bin-

ends we snapped up and made quite clear that when they were gone, they really

were absolutely gone. Hopefully, this will stop them asking when these wines will be back in.” I doubt it.

Let’s meet the magnificent seven

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

WBC’s cool new wine gift bags are the ideal way to encourage customers to trade up as the all-important festive sales season approaches

W

“Investment in stock and retail space

e’ve all been tempted by

required are both minimal and it is a

the little extras on the way

valuable service to your customers who

to the till, and so have a

can leave the shop with a ready-made

whopping 60% of UK shoppers.

and wrapped gift.”

It’s a tried and tested marketing

Launching this autumn are seven

technique, according to smallbusiness.

new bottle bags designed in-house by

co.uk: “British consumers spend a

WBC’s creative team – a must-buy for

whopping £21.7 billion on impulse

anyone selling drinks between now and

purchases each year,” it reports.

Christmas.

Gift bags for bottles have to be one

of the easiest and most cost-effective

The collection is designed by WBC’s

impulse gifts for drinks retailers to offer.

creative director Mark Ho, the creative

With trade prices starting from as little as

force at the forefront of developing

£0.84p a unit, bottle bags are a great way

concepts for a range of top-name drinks

to easily increase average order values,

while upselling product and maximising

sales, especially during the festive season.

WBC director Andrew Wilson says:

“Incremental or impulse sales are

increasingly important to all retailers

now and, if well displayed, bottle bags

are one of the easiest ways of generating additional profit.

producers from E & J Gallo Winery to Chase Distillery and even designing clothing for Kylie Minogue.

This new seasonal collection

incorporates trends from around the

country to appeal to a wider audience with colour schemes, themes, and

patterns retailers can be assured remain exclusive to independents.

All bags come supplied with a matching

gift tag and barcode. With trade prices starting from £0.84 per bag, you can

sell them for anything between £1.99

to £3.99 – it couldn’t be easier to make strong margins.

New bottle bags are available to purchase online now at wbc.co.uk Email: sales@wbc.co.uk Telephone: 020 7737 4040

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 8

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 9

tried & Tested Perdeberg Dry Land Collection Barrel Fermented Chenin 2015

Le P’tit Paysan Le P’tit Pape 2015

Made from 40-year-old dry-farmed bush vines, this is

“We did not set out to make these wines,” says

leesy texture and ripe fruit flavours – it’s a good bottle

them to light.” This Rhône-inspired blend from

a joyous expression of South Africa’s signature white variety. Herbs and honeysuckle on the nose, a nice

to plonk in front of anyone who decries Chenin Blanc as boring. Such people are a dying breed.

RRP: £13

winemaker Ian Brand. “We discovered great vineyards at the edge of sensible farming and decided to bring California is as well-balanced and friendly as its

creator seems to be, with soft fruits and earthiness.

RRP: £29.75

ABV: 14%

ABV: 14%

The Wine Treasury (020 7793 9999)

Boutinot (0161 908 1300) boutinot.com

winetreasury.com

Rogue Vine Grand Itata Tinto 2015

Lemberg Lady 2014

The DIY label probably makes it an instant indie hit

with Semillon, Hárslevelü and Sauvignon Blanc

regardless of the juice, but let’s not get cynical: this is a ripe, robust and juicy Cinsault from Bío Bío, with rich

medicinal notes and a cool mineral finish. A triumph for organic farming, native yeasts and concrete tanks.

RRP: £19.50

ABV: 13%

Roughly half of this Western Cape blend is Viognier,

contributing the rest. It’s made in a natural, hands-off oxidative style and aged in old barrels. There’s a real

generosity of spirit here; a soft, rich, homely warmth, leavened by a zesty minerality and sprinkle of spice.

RRP: £12.95

ABV: 14%

Seckford Agencies (01206 231188)

Indigo Wine (020 7733 8391) indigowine.com

seckfordagencies.co.uk

Terra Tangra Tamianka 2016

Torre de Oña Martelo Reserva 2012

Tamianka, as all schoolchildren know, is a synonym

for Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains. At the Dirty Dozen,

The vineyards that winemaker Julio Sáenz selected for

lovely it is too. Nothing complex or convoluted, just a

raring to go, with rich blackcurrant and forest fruits

this soft, leathery Rioja are all more than 60 years old.

Top Selection was proudly pouring this example from

There’s still a certain tightness but it’s a wine that’s

its new agency in Bulgaria’s Thracian Valley and very

coming to the fore, backed by the judicious seasoning

fresh, clean, everyday white with a silky texture. The

of American and French oak. Beautiful stuff.

winery’s Black Label Mavrud was showing well too.

RRP: £7.50

RRP: £35

ABV: 13%

ABV: 14%

Armit Wines (020 7908 0600)

Top Selection (0845 410 3255) topselection.co.uk

armitwines.co.uk

Tara Pinot Noir 2014

Daniel Ramos Kπ Amphora 2015

When Vino Ventisquero first planted vines in the

Daniel Ramos was originally making bulk wine from

convinced morning fog and coastal winds would do

This wine comes from old-vine Garnacha, fermented in

his base in Spain’s herb-encrusted Gredos Hills before

parched, saline salt flats of the Atacama desert, they

being persuaded to take a more premium direction.

died. It’s a brutal landscape but Felipe Tosso was

their job, and so persevered. His faith was justified: this is a painstaking and elegant Pinot, with none of the jam or alcohol burn that infects so many rivals.

RRP: £36.80

ABV: 12.5%

The Wine Treasury (020 7793 9999) winetreasury.com

1,000-litre clay vessels. It’s a lively and spirited affair,

with a lightness and delicate granularity, and a hint of Iberian mountain flora.

RRP: From £18

ABV: 14.5%

Raymond Reynolds (01663 742230) winesfromportugal.com

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 10

bits & BOBs FAVOURITE

THINGS Liam Plowman Wild + Lees London

Favourite wine on my list Domaine Bouché Etre á l’Ouest: an

unoaked, unfiltered Chardonnay from

Limoux. It has a crown-cap closure and a craftily illustrated, hipster-friendly label, so you could be forgiven for suspecting

style over substance. It isn’t! It is utterly

delicious and you’d be hard pushed to find a purer expression of the fruit. Fantastic.

Favourite wine and food match Easy ... Gewurztraminer and curry!

An experiment has shown that people

three months once the original seal has

perceive wines bottled with cork to be

been broken.

superior to those under screwcap, even when the liquid is the same.

Volunteers at Oxford University were

asked to taste and rate a wine after being

played the sound of either a cork popping or a screwcap being twisted.

Participants rated the same wine as 15%

better quality when served under a cork in comparison to screwcap.

“The sound and sight of a cork being

popped sets our expectations before the

It’s such a friendly industry that it’s hard

to have favourites. That said, a young chap called George Randall from Boutinot has

at £29.95.

Decanter, September 5

Vineyard robot proves its worth successful trials in the Douro Valley as part of a €2m project involving In the tests the VineScout robot

monitored vines in the Quinta do Ataíde

vineyard. It will now proceed to “the next stage of development”, Symington Family Estates said.

The trial involves €1.7m of EU

Favourite wine trip

Favourite wine trade person

the company said. A pack of six caps retails

Symington Family Estates.

experience,” Prof Charles Spence said.

like nothing else.

40-degree heat.

and will now go on general sale in the UK,

The Drinks Business, September 27

expectations then anchor our tasting

sweetness that complements curry spices

and some amazing winemakers, toiling in

available initially to Coravin Club members

A vineyard robot has undergone

of fruit and spice and a slight residual

recently. Lovely people, great food and wine

Coravin screwcaps have been made

wine has even touched our lips, and these

Gewurztraminer has such a generosity

I had a fantastic trip to the Southern Rhône

Magpie

Corks still seen as superior closures

investment and aims to improve the 140 volunteers took part in the experiment

Coravin taps into screwcap market

viticulture of European wine regions,

addressing the issue of labour shortages.

Imbibe, September 12

• Liberty Wines boss David Gleave MW has warned that Brexit represents “death by a thousand cuts” for parts of the UK on-trade,

A new device from Coravin claims to

“with businesses leaving a bit at a time”.

keep screwcap wines fresh for up to

Imbibe, September 14

been brilliant to me. When I told him that

winemerchantmag.com

I had quit my job to open a wine shop,

he came round to my house loaded with samples and good advice.

Favourite wine shop Market Row Wines in Brixton. It was

something of an inspiration for Wild +

Lees. Lo-fi, friendly, casual and inclusive of everyone, in terms of price and attitude.

01323 871836 winemerchantteam@gmail.com

Twitter: @WineMerchantMag

The Wine Merchant is mailed freely to the owners of the UK’s 834 specialist independent wine shops. Every one of them, as the previous sole exception to the rule has now closed down. The magazine is edited by Graham Holter. Printed in Sussex by East Print. © Graham Holter Ltd 2017 Registered in England: No 6441762

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 12

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book review

A golden era for the golden slope?

Raymond Blake’s absorbing new book suggests we may be living through what will one day be regarded as the glory years of the Côte d’Or. But the problems he flags up, such as climate change and stratospheric pricing, should be a cause for concern for all Burgundy lovers

Côte d’Or: The wines and winemakers in the heart of Burgundy

not necessarily represent the pinnacle of that domaine’s output, but do provide a

flavour of what they’re about. Blake now

has a home in the Côte d’Or, and you sense he prefers a neighbourly drink with his

subjects to a late-night digest of the “notre histoire” section of their websites. He’s at

Raymond Blake Infinite Ideas, £30

I

pains to point out that decent Burgundy is not the sole preserve of millionaires,

whatever the shrill headlines in the trade press may imply.

Not that everything on the slope is

f you fancy buying a hectare of vineyard in Montrachet or Musigny, expect to

golden. Spring hail is causing mayhem

pay something approaching €50m.

in swaths of the Côte de Beaune with

That’s roughly €5,000 for a square metre of dirt and a solitary vine, yielding half a

alarming regularity. Spiralling prices are

bottle of wine if you’re lucky. As Raymond

Blake has profiled around 100 producers

earth’s surface” with its exposed Jurassic

scent, perfumed with notes of sweet

Blake observes: that does not make sense.

How can the Côte d’Or, this “tear in the

limestone, justify such a grotesque

valuation? Why do auction houses sell back vintages of Romanée-Conti, Roumier and Leflaive at prices that would make even some oligarchs wince?

The answer, of course, is that the Côte

d’Or produces wines like nowhere else

on earth. “No gustatory experience can

match the thrill of a great Côte d’Or red drunk at its peak,” Blake asserts. “The

colour, crimsoned by age; the heavenly

decay; a sauvage edge, the palate lively and tingling, managing to be so many things at once, oscillating between fruit and spice

and meat and game, a merry-go-round of

flavour, spiralling on the palate, refusing to

be pinned down by anything so prosaic as a tasting note.”

Blake presents around 100 pen-portraits

of some favourite Côte d’Or producers,

capturing the essence and personality of each and recommending wines that may

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 14

a genuine concern, even if there tends to be exaggeration about how much of the

region’s output is actually caught up in the madness. Counterfeiting is undoubtedly a

huge worry, and nobody can be sure quite how widespread the problem is, or will

reveal itself to be in the coming decades.

Then there are issues with the wines

themselves. Premature oxidation in Côte

d’Or whites has been on the trade’s radar

since 1996, and so far no one has come up with a wholly satisfactory explanation for it, though inevitably corks are implicated.

The problem has deterred many Burgundy consumers from bothering to lay down

their wines, and prompted many producers

to opt for a purer, fruitier Chardonnay intended for younger drinking.

“As a wine style, aged white Burgundy

may have had its day,” Blake warns.

“Future historians may write that the

early years of the 21st century witnessed

the disappearance of this wonderful wine style.”

Blake is also fearful of a creeping

homogenisation of winemaking among

red wine producers. He seems to yearn for a slightly less meticulous approach

to grape selection and a rejection of any

overarching winemaking template in the sterile pursuit of “correctness”.

“Quirks and foibles add character, too

much at times, but the polished perfection

of mass production, admirable rather than lovable, is absent here,” he says. “And that is the way it must remain.”

Blake stops short of strident predictions

about Burgundy’s future, arguing that

like anywhere else, it’s essentially at the mercy of world events and not simply

changing tastes and practices in the wine

microcosm. But he highlights the intriguing phenomenon of the micro-négoce.

These are the Côte d’Or’s equivalent of

microbrewers: outsiders who buy in grapes and typically turn out fresh, immediately-

drinkable wines that build a cult following via websites and social media.

Will such producers change the face of

such a tradition-saturated region? For now, “in the jigsaw puzzle of the Côte they are little more than a single piece, a shining bright piece that should be cherished”.

Burgundy can be a tricky place to get to grips with, for newcomers and old hands

Are you ready for the Christmas sales?

alike, and Blake steers clear of over-

simplifying a region for which complexity is part of the charm. Absolute beginners

may feel that his introductory chapters are a couple of jumps ahead of their personal starting point, and indeed compound any

sense that mastering the Côte d’Or is a feat

unlikely to be achieved in a career, let alone with the reading of one book.

But Blake’s affection for his adopted

region, and his respect for its people and the wines they make, shines through.

He offers a friendly and knowledgeable

commentary that does a commendable job of making sense of how the Côte d’Or rose

to pre-eminence – and adds some thoughtprovoking observations about where it may be heading.

Graham Holter

open imagination

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www.vintner.co.uk

merchant profile: the leamington wine company

Anita Mannion, September 2017

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 16

The final flourish Anita Mannion’s career as an independent wine merchant began with shops in north Wales. She opened her acclaimed Warwickshire store eight years ago, and plans to stay at the helm there for a few final years before upping sticks again and trying something completely different …

A

nita Mannion has been an independent wine merchant for a long time, though not necessarily in the same place or trading under the same banner.

Recessions and booms have come and gone, trends have waxed

and waned, personal circumstances have changed, as personal

circumstances are prone to do. Yet here she is, still smiling away in a smartly-presented shop on one of the main drags in Royal

Leamington Spa, attending to a succession of Monday afternoon customers who invariably want to chat – in some cases about alarmingly personal issues – and take her up on her free giftwrapping service.

Mannion doesn’t think she’ll be a wine merchant for many more

years, but she seems determined to enjoy the time she chooses to remain in a trade that has been her living for more than two

decades. The business turns over around £600,000 and sustains a small but enthusiastic team.

Although a Cheshire native, north Wales provided the setting for

Mannion’s entry into the wine trade. The first shop was in Pwllheli,

they wanted”.

Women aren’t exactly over-represented in the independent

trade now, but the situation was even worse a couple of decades

ago. “You were lucky if there was another woman at a tasting. Now they’re full of them, which is great,” she says.

She laughs at the memory of the unwanted advances of a

drunken wine critic at one event in the dim and distant past,

but it sounds like a pretty grubby experience. Did she ever feel

intimidated? “A little bit, yeah, but I could handle myself. I didn’t feel intimidated in my own shop. That was fine.”

After 10 years at Pwllheli she relocated to the north Wales coast,

running Conwy Fine Wines for more than six years. The premises is now home to Vinomondo.

When circumstances changed again, she spent a year weighing

up her next move. After initially considering Warwick, she opened up in the centre of Leamington just under eight years ago.

How did you settle on the location in the end?

in the premises now occupied by Gwin Llŷn Wines, which during

You’ve got to have the right footfall in this industry because I don’t

wanted to change our lifestyle,” Mannion recalls. “I was doing

in the UK – they provide meat to the queen. The greengrocer’s

her tenure also had a satellite branch in Abersoch.

“My husband at the time had a really bad car accident and we

interior design and it was eating up my weekends and I was not able to spend enough time with the kids.

“My ex-husband worked at a brewery and was really into his

beers. We thought, what kind of business can we open? We looked

at post offices, fish and chip shops ... and then we thought what the town could really do with was a really good wine shop.”

Mannion put herself through a wine course and “learned from

there. I did a lot of reading, and learned from people about what

wholesale. I looked for shops that would feed my shop, basically.

The butcher’s opposite, Aubrey Allen, is one of the best butcher’s [also opposite] is a really proper greengrocer’s.

Has Leamington changed much since you arrived?

There’s a lot of new coffee shops! It’s unbelievable how many have

opened in the past six months. There’s a few independent ones but the rest are chains.

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 2016 17

Continues page 18

merchant profile: the leamington wine company © gb27photo / stockadobe.com

From page 17

You still can park outside. It’s a nice town. Obviously I’ve had a

few shops in different small towns; this is a big town to me.

People are very loyal here once you give them that chance.

There’s a lot of money around but they don’t always like to splash the money. There’s few that will come in and spend big.

Are you still working with some of your original suppliers?

Yeah, and then there are new ones too. We still use Liberty because they do some great wines. We’ve gone for Vintage Roots because we now do more organic; no added sulphites; gluten-free beers.

There’s about 12 new companies that I use now. Some just for

French wines, some for Argentinian wines, like Hispa; Eurowines for Italians ...

And you like to chop and change the portfolio?

Yes, because I don’t want to see the same things on the shelf all the time. There’s new things coming in. And food changes too: we’re going into a new season now so it’s heartier and spicier food, so you look at more Rieslings and so forth.

Mannion liked the location for the shop as it was opposite a quality butcher’s and greengrocer’s

We start from £6.99 but we taste and taste and taste until we get

the right £6.99 wines. We do some expensive stuff as well.

Do you import any of your own wines?

No. I’ve been on a couple of buyers’ trips. [We don’t import

because of] the money involved, and I’ve only got a cellar. It’s not for me. It’s all about cash flow at the end of the day.

Are you part of any buying groups?

No, I did get an option to do that. I know that they’re good but I like to work as a team here.

Nikki Jarret [part of the Leamington team] is a wine educator.

She’s quite old-school and I’m the complete opposite to that. I do

like my classics but I’m a bit more adventurous. I just say to Nikki,

is there anything that you fancy that you want to come in? I always have the last say. I know buying groups work for some people, but I don’t think it would work for me.

Has the Brexit vote had an effect on the business?

Yes. In the first week everyone was so miserable, really sad. Here

we voted to remain. I think we just need to get on with it now. We know that wines have all gone up, everything’s gone up and it’s still going up, and I think people are getting the idea now.

I think if people want a nice bottle of wine, it’s only an extra

50p on a bottle ... but in some cases, it has been a pound on things.

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 18

‘I know buying groups are good and they work for some people, but I don’t think it would work for me’

Aubrey Allen and then they drop their bags

and say they’re having this or they’re having that and they’re having eight people round,

and you match the wines up with the food and the budget.

You’ve gone for the classic wine shop format here – no tables and chairs ...

It depends where you are and whether you need to do that. I don’t need to do that. It’s like wholesale: I have done wholesale over

the years, that was in Pwllheli, but it was a nightmare to control.

It was hard work making sure you got your money back. You were always chasing. I decided I would rather concentrate on this kind Have suppliers been transparent enough about that? Some

of business and if it’s working, keep doing what you’re doing.

You’ve got an Enomatic machine – do you let people drink

merchants feel that some increases have been sneaked in.

wine by the glass in the shop?

Some increases have been sneaked in, yeah. The smaller ones that

It’s purely for samples. We could put a long table in the centre but

what you buy: will somebody pay that bit more?

and like with the gins, people tend to buy a few more as well.

we work with have been brilliant, really.

We’re expecting more increases. You’ve just got to be careful

Do you work seven days a week?

I don’t think the people who come in with families would take

kindly to people sitting down with drinks. It’s a good way to upsell, Is the maintenance costly?

The shop’s open seven days a week but I don’t work seven days a week. No. The business would run me. I run the business! It feels sometimes like seven days a week because you’re always at the back end of the business.

I’ve just had them in and it’s cost me £680-odd, but I’ve not had

that for two years so it’s not too bad. The gas lasts quite a while.

I always do Mondays; I have Tuesdays to catch up with

paperwork and so forth; Wednesday is my day off usually and I

have Sundays off. So it’s not bad. It’s a lifestyle business here and it pulls in some nice money. We’re open 9.30am to 6.30pm and Sundays 11am to 4.30pm.

Is gin still going gangbusters for you?

At weekends it’s like every other sale is a gin. We’ve got a

store room full of it downstairs. People come here because we have tasters and people don’t just have one, they buy two and sometimes three bottles. Rhubarb gin is popular.

The non-alcoholic Seedlip gins have really taken off too. No

added sugars, no added nothing. Gin doesn’t really agree with me.

Mannion’s trademark labels are “a 20-year curse”

Just about all of your wines seem to have hand-written labels with tasting notes.

You’re in a perfect position to answer the eternal question: do

I’ve done it in all my shops so it’s a 20-year-old curse! People like

these machines pay for themselves over time?

it because it’s just a simple thing that’s on there. Some people just

Yes and no. I would say it’s brought people in. You can educate

Most people come in for advice because they get their food from

Continues page 20

like to browse and not have you there with them and decide on what they want to pick.

people as well. When people say, “I don’t like Chardonnay” you can

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 19

merchant profile: the leamington wine company From page 19

let them try a Chablis and then it’s: “oh gosh!” Because people still have this thing about Chardonnay.

For me it’s part of the business. It’s like gift-wrap; it’s our bread

and butter really. People come in through the weekend and on

Mondays and Tuesdays and it’s just gift wrap, gift wrap, gift wrap.

Anything over £10 gets a nice luggage tag on it and you can write on the back of it. It’s better than advertising.

‘The gin is free at our two-hour tasting. Some people can get at least 20 down them but there’s no trouble’

Is gift wrapping a free service?

Yes, it’s a free service and at Christmas time we have two gift wrappers because it’s bonkers. Really bonkers.

What other marketing do you do?

We’re big on social media: Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. I

mainly do it and Aoife [Brennan, sales assistant] does it. We try to do two a day. It depends what we’ve got. We like to tell a story as

well. Instagram’s the big thing at the moment. The thing is, if you pay someone to do it, they do too many. You don’t want to be like

every hour on the hour. Otherwise people think: she’s got nothing

we have 200 people for that. We do that down the road at Victoria House. It’s the only place in Leamington that’s got a garden, and the building is lovely and old.

We’ve got 10 gin companies in and we have Fever Tree there.

We have a free sample of virtually all the gins that we put on. It

was £35 a ticket but it’s free until we say, “that’s it”. It’s a two-hour tasting. Some people can get at least 20 down them.

Have you ever had problems with people over-imbibing?

else to do!

Never. No trouble whatsoever with any of my tastings. But I’m

We do a lot of tastings. We do a gin festival as well once a year and

We clear the shop and make three bars. That’s with Fever Tree,

What kind of tastings and events do you run?

quite strict. I don’t shy!

We do one tasting a month in the store so that’s for 50 people.

and we have a distiller, and that’s £30. We just serve and educate.

We’re quite active with all our tastings. We’ve got the Back to

Basics wine course; the food festival; a biodynamic and organic tasting with Vintage Roots; we’ve got a port tasting.

Nikki is a WSET educator but we’re not doing courses with a

WSET rubber stamp on it. It’s good old learning and they get some nibbles with that too.

Do you make money out of the ticket prices for the tastings?

Not massively. It pays the staff and there’s a little bit left over. But

it’s all about PR really, not about money on the night. Some people walk up and buy; some people won’t. They have food included in

the price as well. We charge £30 for our Christmas tasting. We get 200 in though with all our wine suppliers. We have spirits in one room and wine in another room.

Do you get to go on many trips?

I do, yes. I’ve just turned do a Portuguese trip actually because Beer is sourced through two main wholesalers

I’m trying to move house so it’s just at the wrong time. I think

they’re starting again now – companies tightened up on trips and there are a few now that are finding they’ve got a little bit more

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 20

Mannion and Aoife Brennan both take care of social media duties

money for them. They’re treating independents a bit differently

now; they’re realising that they need to work with independents more. A few years ago it was all supermarkets, supermarkets,

supermarkets. You’ve got more samples coming back in again and the trips are back again.

I’ve had a California trip, which I sent one of my team members

away on; I had an apprentice and I sent him to South Africa because we won the trip. I went to Chile.

I wouldn’t say I’d retire but I’d want to go to Wales to be near my family and there are a few business opportunities there with my sister, in something completely different, probably.

I don’t really want to go back into retail. I like retail but it would

be time to hang my boots up. I don’t want to be grouchy! I’m 55 now and I think 57, 58 will be the right age.

I can’t imagine you being grouchy. You seem to have stamped your personality all over this shop and made it what you want

You’ve done loads of trips. Are you bored to death yet by

it to be.

stainless steel and bottling lines?

I think if you get a good manager behind you, you can still work it.

No no no. I like to see that side of it. Like at Montes: when you

went to the vineyards it was stunning and the tasting room was

beautiful and then they have the music on playing to the barrels

But I wouldn’t want to be in the shop more than three days a week.

A lot of small businesses are given the advice: don’t be the

which is quite a novelty. If you go to some small places, there’s

face of the business too much.

What regions are you currently looking at for new listings?

we’ve got Dale [Packer] as well – he used to work for Sheldons –

nothing around – just desert in Chile – it’s amazing.

That’s why I don’t do day in, day out. I’m not the front of the

We’ve got a few more Californians coming in; we need to aim for

and then young’un [Aoife] and then me. Dale’s got lots of stories to

more from Croatia; we’re going to try some more Greek wines.

Would you ever open another shop?

No. I’m getting to that age now. I think it’s a young person’s game

now. In a few years’ time I think I’ll be ready to hang my boots up.

business really. We all work as a team. There’s Nikki and then tell. He’s great at tastings. I like to have a bit of fun.

It’s got to be fun, hasn’t it?

It has, yeah. It’s got to be enjoyable when people come in. No snottiness – well, I can’t be, can I? I’m northern!

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 21

picture special: vini italiani

The third way Vini Italiani’s branches in Covent Garden and Old Brompton set a pretty high standard for interior decor. Now all eyes are on Greenwich to see what the team comes up with for store number three ‌

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 22

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 23

© lobodaphoto / stockadobe.com

just williams

Abandoned qvevri – clay vessels used in winemaking – outside a Georgian monastery

Georgia on my mind It’s a country steeped in eight millennia of winemaking heritage, but the wines coming out of this crossroads between Europe and Asia have resounding appeal in the 21st-century wine market

A

ll European wine producers like to make a thing of history and tradition. At some level, you suspect, this obsession has its roots in a complacently condescending view

Europeans have of the New World. The idea that, compared to the French, Italians, Germans and even the English, the Australians and Californians are just neophyte amateurs who should stop bothering us and come back when they’ve got some proper

experience – not too much, just a millennium or two – under their belts.

All of which must be regarded as so much petty juvenile

squabbling when viewed from Georgia, where Europe segues into Asia below the Caucasus mountains, and where recent

archaeological discoveries point to an unbroken winemaking

tradition of a mere 8,000 years. As nobody quite said to me (but

pretty much everyone implied) during a recent trip to the country: “Old World? We’ll give you Old World!”

That Georgian winemakers are, in a crowded field, world leaders

in historical pre-occupation isn’t only about the longevity of their traditions, however. Yes there is the pride, and a particular kind of humility, that comes with being the modern custodians of

the original cradle of wine, that dizzying feeling of looking back down the centuries over countless generations to the very first vignerons.

Indeed, that feeling is palpable even to western European

visitors like me, not least at the Alaverdi monastery, in Georgia’s

main winemaking region, Kakheti. Here, a selection of centuries-

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 24

old qvevri – the Georgian clay winemaking vessel – lie strewn beside the remains of an 8th-century cellar, and occasional frowning, white-bearded, black-clad representatives of the

residents – an order of Georgian Eastern Orthodox monks – pass

among the tourist visitors to the graceful 11th-century cathedral.

The monks would be entitled to divert their minds from the

celestial plane induced by their hypnotic, intoxicating chanting to contemplate the remarkable revival of wine production here. The current cellar, built by one King Kvirike at the same time as the

cathedral, had its first documented vintage in 1011, and, after a hiatus that lasted much of the 20th century, returned (to muchdeserved subsequent acclaim) in 2006.

And it’s those missing decades, a period that one of Georgia’s

leading winemakers, Lado Uzunashvili, calls “77 years of evil”,

that have arguably done more to shape the modern industry’s

historical consciousness than anything that happened in Neolithic

David Williams is wine critic for The Observer

Drinking the new generation of qvevri wines is and unusually powerful experience

times.

to make viable commercial wine with the dial turned back from

style, with bluntly numbered production labels as everything

happened next that has, in the past couple of years, made Georgia

As Uzunashvili says, the Soviet era cast a dull spell over Georgia’s

vineyards. The evocative wine names were replaced, in Orwellianwas geared towards industrial quantities of indifferent quality.

Wineries were vast production facilities, disconnected from

vineyards geared entirely to high volume and where Georgia’s remarkable varietal diversity (Uzunashvili says Georgia has

around 1,400 grape varieties, of which 537 have been identified

in recent years), dwindled, in the 1970s, to a handful of the most

productive Vitis vinifera or, in an act of perverse vandalism, newly introduced hybrids.

Meanwhile, many smaller-scale traditional wineries were left

to rot or sequestered for other more prosaic purposes (Alaverdi

became a tractor garage, the ancient qvevri filled with oil and fuel).

The period after Georgia gained independence in the 1990s, was no less traumatic, albeit in a rather different way. After the grey certainties of the Soviet system, the transition to the new

Wild East of casino capitalism brought widespread unemployment and poverty – and a wine business not really cut out for exports to

a fast-changing Russia just emerging from a crackdown on alcohol, let alone finding a place in more sophisticated Western markets.

But it’s at this point that Georgia’s wine story begins to change,

and change in a way that feels very different to other post-Soviet

wine industries such as Bulgaria and Romania. The first step came when a range of local and international investors bought up the

large bankrupt or neglected Soviet facilities and, with the help of

flying winemakers and returning Georgians (such as Uzunashvili, who worked in Australia among other places before helping to revive the aristocratic 19th-century Château Mukhrani) began

quantity towards quality.

So far, so New, EU-loan-soaked Eastern Europe. But it’s what

one of the most fashionable wine producing countries in the

world, its wines joining the ranks of must-lists in the kind of wine bars and restaurants – from Barcelona’s Bar Brutal to New York’s Terroir and Copenhagen’s Noma – where the emphasis is all on natural approaches and a craving for authenticity.

The sudden change in Georgia’s reputation was based entirely

on a revival of techniques – specifically those used to make qvevri wines – that have been used throughout the country’s almost

unfathomably long winemaking history. As one of the leaders of

the qvevri revolution, the American painter, chef, philosopher and

self-taught winemaker John Wurderman of Pheasant’s Tears, puts it, it’s a quest for “authenticity, for a way past the homogenisation – the sterilisation – of wine in Georgia”.

It’s all part of a general reckoning in Georgia with the past, a

desire to revive, rediscover and recatalogue the hidden corners of

a culture that had been driven into the margins in the Soviet years.

The lost polyphonic folk songs and poetry; the breads, yoghurts and cheeses; the herbs, spices and grape varieties.

All of which makes the experience of drinking the new

generation of qvevri wines an unusually powerful one. Herbal,

quince-flavoured, subtly tannic orange wine such as Wurderman’s Pheasant’s Tears Chinuri or the spicy, refreshingly grippy cherryscented Separavi such as those made by master qvevri craftsman Giorgi Dakishvili, are deeply satisfying, sensual and original. But

they’re more than that. In a part of the world where wine is woven through the culture, it’s not all that fanciful to think of them more as a kind of living history.

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 25

The French connection for ind

Famille Helfrich offers an unrivalled portfolio from its properties all across France, which it for its growing band of independent customers. UK on-trade and indies sales director Chr why working with this dynamic family business makes perfect sense for indies

B We’re a family business

C Producer not agent!

Joseph Helfrich started Les Grands

This is the most common misconception

He established good relationships

try and rectify that.

Chais de France in 1979 with 5,000

francs, and is still at the helm today.

with many growers early on and was

probably the first in France to offer 25-

year contracts. It’s still about the people

with Joseph, which is why many of those families are still our partners today.

He was innovative in other ways:

being the first in France to put a varietal on the label, experimenting with

bottle shapes and moving away from traditional-style French labels.

I’ve never known a family that works

so hard together to reach a common

goal, and we are now seeing the next generation with Frederic and Anne-

Laure continuing their father’s vision.

people have when discussing our

business and here is our opportunity to First and foremost we are a

winemaking business owning 40

properties (2,641ha of vines) across France, with over 30% of our total

workforce out in the vineyards each

other family-owned growers enables us to source great wine for our successful brands such as Les Vignerons and

Parlez Vous. Finally, our reputation and logistic platform means that we act

as a negociant for many other smaller

domaines and premium châteaux – for

example Château Laroque in St Emilion.

E Alsace to Aude

morning. When working with Famille

We produce wine in Bordeaux,

D Three in one

vinification site in each of those regions.

Helfrich you are working directly with the vineyard.

Our 40 properties are one aspect of

the picture, but we have two other key

elements that give us the diversity and

flexibility required to supply the market.

Firstly, our long-term relationships with

Languedoc, Rhône, Burgundy, Loire,

Alsace and even Jura with at least one As a specialist it’s important for us

to maintain the connection with the

terroir and of course the people in those regions. It’s all about the terroir for Joseph, not the facade.

As an example, when we acquired

Château de Cleray in the Loire, Joseph was the only suitor that asked then

owner Pierre-Jean Sauvion to see the vineyard first.

It’s a testament to the relationship

that 10 years later Pierre-Jean is still

there, making the wine at his château as

part of our group; part of a wider family.

F Segmentation is key

When we first started working with

the independent sector, segmentation was highlighted to me as the number one issue. The common theme was that brand owners would use the

sector to build their brand value to

then chase the volume ticket and list

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 26

dependents Sponsored feature

consolidates on a single pallet ris Davies highlights the reasons

Don’t just take our word for it …

it at a supermarket. That’s really not

‘Turnaround time and accuracy impressive’

and ultimately results in delists!

independent-focused UK team have a real understanding of what indies need to

what we’re about as it doesn’t build

relationships, it only causes bad feeling

“Famille Helfrich are almost unrecognisable from the company of old. The

relationships; we are lucky enough to

no shortage of these wines in their extensive portfolio.

and independent portfolio consists of

accuracy is impressive – a lot of UK agents could learn a thing or two. Whether it

Business has always been about

work in a sector where people still buy

succeed. We’re all about quality wines which over-deliver on price, and there is “As an independent wholesaler, channel management is vital, along with

from people. Our exclusive on-trade

flexible ordering. Given the stock is held in France, the turnaround time and

our channel under the name “Famille

team who know our business, and are focused on mutual growth and profit.”

over 700 wines, ring-fenced to protect Helfrich”.

G One stop We consolidate our range of wines at

the head office in Alsace and these can be ordered on mixed pallets with the minimum order being 240 bottles.

If you wanted to experiment with a

new appellation or wine it’s as simple as adding a case to your order. From house wines to Grand Cru Gewurtztraminer,

from ex-cellar to duty-paid, you can mix and match to suit your requirements.

be volume movers or fine Bordeaux, the range is immense. All this run by a small

John Chapman, The Oxford Wine Company

‘The wines invariably over-deliver on price’ “The Famille Helfrich portfolio offers exceptional value and quality, the wines are always well packaged and with the UK consumer in mind. They invariably overdeliver on price. The ability to group wines from all over France (and now Chile) and top up with some aged Bordeaux makes working with Famille Helfrich an easy option.”

Sam Howard, HarperWells, Norwich

‘An interesting and exciting portfolio’ “We have worked with Famille Helfrich for a number of years and have always found the portfolio interesting and exciting – from fantastic value easy-drinking wines to varied and quirky parcels from some of France’s lesser-known regions.

The staff are all passionate and focused, and able to look at the market and react to provide things you just might never have considered.”

Stuart Shenton, House of Townend

Make contact today: Email Chris Davies: cdavies@lgcf.fr 07789 008540 @FamilleHelfrich

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 27

@family_helfrich_gcf_wines

creative corner

The art of wine retailing Most wine merchants see beauty in the products they sell, but some also recocognise the aesthetic appeal of the buildings from which they operate. So much so that a few have even commissioned artists to capture the full glory of their premises for posterity …

Butlers Wine Cellar, Brighton The image features Henry Butler himself and his partner and manager, Cassie Gould.

“It was designed and drawn by artist Lisa Savory, who is local to our Queens Park Road shop,” says Gould.

“She contacted us last year and asked if we’d be interested in having her draw the shop, which we thought would be fun. We also thought it would be great to use a local artist.

“We only asked if Henry could be in the picture – the rest was up to her and the end result is all her design.

“There are two actual people in the picture, Henry and myself, and the clay model of Henry’s head in the window is by a local sculptor caller Brian Ellery. He makes bronze busts and asked if he could do Henry’s head. Of course we said yes and it scares all the kids walking past. We have another one he turned up with for Easter with a bonnet and bird’s nest on his head!

“There is also a mosaic of a bottle with flowers in, which another local artist did for us for nothing and is really nice. We’re lucky to be surrounded by so many creative types.”

Blakeney Delicatessen, Norfolk Appliqué artwork gives this representation of the seaside deli an on-trend warm and folksy feel.

Owner Nick Howard feels he is very lucky to have commissioned the “multi-talented” Rachel Tappin early on in her career.

“She used to work with my wife at the local school, then she left to be a full-time artist,” he says. “We probably got mates’ rates, and I know a lot of people contact her after seeing her work in our shop.”

Howard and his wife keep the original at home and have hung a digital photo mounted on canvas, supplied by Tappin, in a prominent position in the store. “People think it’s the real thing,” he says.” They touch it and can’t believe it’s not textured.”

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 28

Vino Vero, Leigh on Sea, Essex Co-owner Charlotte Brown has a family who were only too happy to contribute their professional artistic talents to the business.

Her cousin Stu McLellan is responsible for the company’s logo, which has been part of the business since day one, and her mother, Elizabeth Myfanwy Clough, produced an illustration of the shop a couple of years ago.

The original hangs in Brown’s dining room but she says: “We've used this picture a bit, especially in our social media – it’s our profile picture on Facebook.”

The Wine Parlour and Vintage 1824, London The striking line drawing of the Wine Parlour, by designer and illustrator Tom Norman, started life as the retailer’s house wine label.

Owlet Food & Wine, York

Owner Chix Chandaria says: “Now we have our second venue, Vintage 1824, and are potentially to go for our third, we’ve

Clarrie O’Callaghan is proud to admit that her wine shop, which runs alongside her restaurant, The Rattle Owl, is “probably the smallest wine shop in the world”.

Using work by architectural illustrator Ronnie Cruwys, for Christmas cards among other things, is a clever marketing tool as

changed the label but we use it for our Twitter handle and on our website.

“It works brilliantly – he pretty much nailed it straight away. The person in the doorway I think is supposed to be me. It gives a sense of place as soon as someone sees that.”

the charm of the Grade II listed building is an integral part of the Rattle Owl’s brand.

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 29

cotes du rhone masterclass

Everything you wanted to know about the Rhône … but were afraid to ask Wine writer and Rhône expert Matt Walls led a recent masterclass for Wine Merchant readers taking part in this year’s Côtes du Rhône retail promotion. Here are some of his words of wisdom …

T

he thing I love about the Rhône

is really that you get two regions

for the price of one. They’re both

defined by the river and share some grape

varieties but in most other respects they’re really quite different.

The Southern Rhône makes 95% of

the wine. It’s quite a broad, flat expanse of

land with some gentle plateaux. The classic soil that you see is rounded pebbles or

can be quite subtle. You sometimes get a

strawberry sensation or it moves towards plum or damson and you may also get some Provencal herbs.

Syrah provides colour, acidity and

tannins. It can be quite a dominant grape.

Mourvèdre likes hot, sunny weather

and water and I think we’re going to see more of it as the climate gets hotter. It

contributes blueberry, violet and earthy aromas.

Cinsault is really underrated. It’s a

fantastic grape variety with a lot of lift and freshness.

Forty-eight per cent of the wine from the region is Côtes du Rhône. There

are 171 villages producing 1.5m hl of wine.

It’s one of the oldest wine-producing

regions in the world. Stylistically, because Côtes du Rhône Villages Signargues

puddingstones. They’re quite emblematic of the Southern Rhône.

Twenty-one grape varieties are allowed,

and the wines of the Southern Rhône are almost always blends.

Grenache is the most important and

the most widely planted grape in the

Rhône. Although they’re considered to be big, strong wines, Grenache is sometimes called the Pinot of the South because it

it’s so big, it’s hard to generalise – it

depends on the soil, terroir and house

style. But what you tend to get with Côtes du Rhône is something that’s really easy to understand, and easy to drink, with generous fruit; very good value as

well. They tend to be a good choice for people who are beginning to

show an interest in wine, because they’re really consistent.

It’s also quite a good gateway for

people who are interested in New World

wines but are looking for something with a bit more history and detail.

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 30

For Côtes du Rhône Villages, yields are

lower, there’s a bit more concentration and finesse generally.

There are now 20 communes classified

as Côtes du Rhône + Named Village. It’s

kind of like a training camp between Côtes du Rhône Villages and the Crus. If a village

has several producers that are consistently making good wine, and there appears to

be a stylistic consistency emerging, this is

the point they can apply to be put into this level. They can often be very good.

There is amazing value to be had in the

Rhône. There’s real variety of style, and

whatever you’re going to eat you will be

able to find some wine to go with it, and

the people and the wines tend to be authentic and

unpretentious.

Puymeras, part of the Côtes du Rhône Villages appellation

Register now for this year’s Côtes du Rhône promotion Taking part in this year’s Côtes du Rhône promotion is simple: visit www. rhoneindies.com to register and to get details of the extensive POS kit available to independents.

The pack includes aprons, corkscrews, a map of the region, postcards, a poster and

bunting – and a downloadable leaflet with advice on how to run a successful promotion.

Indies at the masterclass discussed a number of tactics that have reaped rewards in

previous promotions. Offering increased listings for Rhône wines, perhaps with enticing discounts, is one tried and tested approach. Another is a Rhône takeover of a dispensing machine, allowing customers to experience a range of styles they might not have tasted before. The idea of a prize draw for customers buying Rhône wines was also discussed.

As Matt Walls points out, November is a perfect time to host Rhône-themed tastings and

dinners as many winemakers from the region find themselves in the UK for trade events during that month.

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 31

TOP PRIZES TO BE WON Two great prizes will be awarded

by Inter Rhône to the retailers with the most creative, innovative and successful promotions.

1st prize Trip to the Rhône valley 2nd prize A Coravin Feature sponsored by Inter Rhône. For more information about Côtes du Rhône wines visit the website at www.rhone-wines.com

12

exercises for wine merchants

Cancel that gym membership!

The day-to-day physical exercise of a wine merchant is hardly Olympian, but there are some workouts to be had on the fly. As a little-known retailer once observed: every little helps

LUGGING CASES OF WINE

PLACING WINE BOTTLES ON THE SHELF

CLEANING THE FRONT WINDOW

If this activity is sustained for an hour (with no

Grab two 75cl bottles and position them on

If approached with some choreographic flair, this

breaks) your body will burn around 400 calories

a shelf above head height, and repeat. To

is an effective workout, which will engage your

depending on speed and intensity. To lift safely,

maximise the benefit of this activity, engage

abdominals and obliques. Make sure you turn

always bend at the knees, keep the

your calf muscles by standing on tip-toe with

your back leg along with your body to maximise

back straight and chin parallel to the

each upward movement. This will also benefit

each sideways stretch, regardless of the wolf-

floor. You’ll be working all kinds of

your deltoids, which are what

whistles this may generate

exciting muscle groups, including

gym types call their shoulder

from the butcher opposite.

the gluteus maximus (pert buttocks

muscles. Wear a vest if you

Let’s see the porky bastard

ahoy!), the quads and hamstrings.

think it will help. It won’t.

try this.

CHASING MR GIBBONS 50 YARDS DOWN THE ROAD WHEN HE FORGETS HIS WALLET

HAULING BOXES UP FROM THE CELLAR

SCHLEPPING ROUND LONDON TASTINGS

Not a massive calorie-burner but this is a pulse-

If you power-walk through the madding crowds

Fitness experts agree that an intense sprint for

raising exercise that will help to speed up the

and use the fast lane on the Tube escalators, this

as little as 30 seconds is a useful weight-loss

metabolism. Before any heavy lifting, do some

can be a calorie-burner and you can easily cover

technique. Maximise this short burst of activity by

preparatory shoulder-rolls and knee-raises to

three or four miles as you meander across the

indulging in a few celebratory star-jumps

warm up your joints, like this beardy bloke was

capital in search of the

upon your jubilant return. The run will

careful to do. To really work

perfect Nebbiolo. But

engage your hip-flexors and the star-

your shoulders, try holding

drink lots of water to

jumps, as a compound exercise, will get all

the box slightly away from

counteract any alcohol

your muscle groups working at once.

your body. Painful? Good!

(accidentally) consumed.

POTTERING IN THE SHOP

SWEEPING OR HOOVERING THE SHOP

DOING THE WHOLESALE ROUNDS

The body uses 300 muscles just to make it stand

Music to the ears of fat fighters everywhere – one

True, being stuck behind the wheel of the van

upright. Practising the perfect squat (booty out,

hour’s vacuuming can burn 300 calories. You’ll

isn’t physically taxing but the loading and

and getting as low to the floor as possible) will

also be engaging your calves, core, triceps, chest

unloading provides a whole-body workout

work your quads and hamstrings and gives the

and biceps. Increase your heart-

involving most muscle groups. Make time to do

added bonus of being able to disappear behind

rate first with a bit of jogging

some stretches before and after you visit your

the counter with Ninja-like speed

on the spot and you’ll burn

on-trade customers. The benefits

should you wish to avoid that

even more. Experiment with the

will depend on how intensely you

bloke wanting to know if you’ve

attachments (responsibly) to add

work, so set yourself time goals

tracked down his holiday wine yet.

some bonus upper-body action.

and speed it up each time.

INSTALLING OR DISMANTLING SHELVING

SETTING UP FOR A TASTING

FESTOONING YOUR SHOP WITH POS

Whether or not this makes you break out in a

While manoeuvring tables into position, our

Climbing a ladder will work your core and hip-

sweat is totally dependent on the weight of the

fitness consultant recommends engaging your

flexors. Step back and admire your handiwork

shelves and how complicated the kit is, but

pelvis and making a thrusting motion – great for

while deftly performing 21s: standing straight, feet

anything from Ikea is likely to

glutes but not so great if

together and slowly raising up on tip-toe, seven

burn up extra energy in sheer

there are people around with

times. Repeat with heels together and toes facing

frustration. A nice little workout

camera phones. Carrying a

out, and finally with toes facing inward. Now

for muscles in your shoulders,

foaming spittoon requires

award yourself three points and shout “hooray!”

chest and back; using a hammer

full engagement of your core

twice.

will work your biceps and triceps.

muscles to avoid spillage.

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 32

Expertise, exclusives, and excellent su Gordon & MacPhail pioneered malt whisky as we know it today, and is the ideal partner for independents who want to capitalise on growing consumer interest in the whisky category as a whole. For more information visit www.gordonandmacphail.com or call 01343 554801

W

e all know which sector of the spirits category

has been seeing the most

explosive growth in recent times. But

before the gin boom, malt whisky was leading the charge in the premium

spirits sector, and it’s still seeing annual growth of around 5% in the off-trade.

Not only have malts enjoyed

flavour profiles. We’d make sure you

Gordon & MacPhail started out in

and your colleagues understand the

1895 as a grocer, Italian warehouseman

your customers. Consumers put their

building long-lasting relationships with

products you’re purchasing, enabling you to confidently communicate to

trust in you so you want to recommend things that have a reason for being

and purveyor of fine wines and spirits from around the world. It has been

Scotch distillers to fill their hand-picked casks with new-make spirit ever since.

consistent long-term growth – Gordon & MacPhail argues we are currently

experiencing the “golden age” of malt whisky – but the category is taking

advantage of the adventurous nature of consumers who have been attracted to the spirits fixture by gin.

Gordon & MacPhail has established

partnerships with specialist

independents across the UK and has

helped countless merchants become

profitable and proficient in the whisky category as a whole.

“The first thing we do is try our level

best to understand your business,”

says UK sales manager Stuart Ellis.

“Our team of experts will look at what you are trying to achieve, understand

your current portfolio of products and identify opportunities for you.”

Typically, independents will be

encouraged to have a core range which will not be in national retailers.

“They could be blends or single

malts from well established brands

that your customers will recognise,”

says Ellis. “When it comes to the malt

category, cover off the regions and the

Stephen Rankin, part of a family that has run Gordon & MacPhail since 1915

there, particularly those products with provenance.

“We’d encourage you to start small

and grow your portfolio so you have something to talk about each month

as consumers come back to your store.

Quality is key, as today’s trend is for consumers to drink less but better.”

He adds: “Because we can offer

everything from a stunning cask-

strength or an award-winning eight

or nine-year-old whisky to the oldest,

most luxurious whisky in the world, we do have something to suit everyone’s palate and pocket.”

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 34

“Our philosophy gives us complete

differentiation from every other

independent bottler,” explains director Stephen Rankin.

“To this day we still hand-select casks

and match each one to the style of newmake spirit from each distillery. Every

cask has a destiny for us and we’ll bottle it at the appropriate time.”

Gordon & MacPhail can offer rare and

exclusive bottlings of a wide number of malts in a range of styles. Its own

distillery, Benromach, even offers malts

finished in Château Cissac and Sassacaia casks.

upport for merchants Sponsored feature

Perhaps the company is best known

“Today we continue to bottle

for its Connoisseurs Choice range, which

distillery-labelled malts like Linkwood,

distilleries to people who likely had

still have stocks from many distilleries

celebrates its 50th anniversary next year.

“This range introduced over 50

never heard of these places,” says

Rankin. “Many well-established brands

of today were first seen on the market as Connoisseurs Choice bottlings.

Mortlach, Glentauchers, Miltonduff,

Glenburgie, Scapa, Imperial … and we that have unfortunately closed.”

Gordon & MacPhail is happy to

support in-store tastings as well as

festivals and more formal events that its

customers are involved in.

Snobbery around whisky has given

way to a spirit of experimentation.

“There are so many things that go well with whisky,” says Ellis. “Including

cheese and chocolate. There is a real versatility to whisky as a drink, and

there is no right or wrong way to drink it – it’s down to the individual.”

Be bold at Christmas with your whisky offer Christmas is a crucial time for whisky, especially in England and Wales,

your range up to £500 for the Christmas period. Be selective and go

where 65% of all off-trade whisky is bought and sold during the final

for some that are recommended by experts. It’s important to have a

two months of the year.

bit of confidence at Christmas and make sure that you do have things

Gordon & MacPhail’s UK sales manager Stuart Ellis encourages independents to think about the gifting opportunity, whether that comes

that can become almost like a halo product in your store.”

Ellis cites the recent example of The Vintage House in London, whose £10,000 Gordon & MacPhail Glen Grant Collection dating

in the form of single bottles or added-value gift packs.

“At Christmas, we always see consumers increase their spend so it’s really important for independents to have key price points covered off,” he says. “Make sure you’re really well represented around £50, £80

from the 1950s became something of a tourist attraction and sold out within 10 days.

“Products like this give a focal point to your store and not only boost your image but your margins too,” he says. “At G&M we offer

and £100.

“At higher price points, sales staff need the knowledge and

mixed-case delivery services for any number of products, even single

confidence that we can help provide through an extensive catalogue

bottles. You’ll get top advice from our sales executives so that you

of tasting notes, tutored tastings and training, amongst other services.

can create the ideal portfolio for your establishment that will appeal

This is vital to guide customers towards a whisky that will suit the tastes

most to your customers. If you want a £100 whisky, buy one of them

of the recipient.

and if it sells, buy another one.

“Many consumers will quite happily spend £100 because whisky is an outstanding gift,” Ellis says. “Don’t be frightened to have whiskies in

“Don’t feel you have to take a case of three or a case of six. We’re not like that – we want to support you.”

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 35

reader visit to the RHONE

A family resemblance Laure Colombo is a multi-tasking ball of winemaking energy. Her project in Saint Péray, in the Northern Rhône, is producing wines that may take inspiration from her illustrious father but are distinctly her own. We took a group of eight independent merchants to catch up with progress

J

ean-Luc Colombo is described as “the winemaking wizard of

the Rhône Valley. His 30-year-old daughter Laure is not merely living in the shadow of her illustrious parent, but carving out

her own reputation as winemaker, with her own distinct style.

The Cru vineyards of the Northern Rhône are among the

steepest in France, as our first stop at Côte Rôtie confirmed.

Gingerly following Colombo’s export manager, Anna Soret, and peering down at the vines growing vertiginously at the side of

the road, we half expected to see ibex skipping about. The Syrah

grapes on these south-east facing slopes get long hours of sunlight, which is why the area is referred to as “the roasted slope”. The

peppery dark fruits of the Côte Rôtie La Divine 2013 that we’d

earlier enjoyed over lunch was perhaps the perfect expression of this terroir. As a result of inheritance laws, the plots are tiny and

interspersed, and a neighbouring producer appears and gives us

a quick demonstration of how he has to walk down and across the slopes to harvest.

Another member of the Jean-Luc Colombo team, Delphine Gelly,

collects us all in what she describes as the “Monster bone-shaker”, aka a Land Rover Defender. The Colombo family owns the only

two Defenders in the area and this was apparently why we were regularly regaled by car horns: the locals are just saying “hello”,

hectare per year.”

Jean-Luc and Laure Colombo own 18ha in Saint-Péray now,

acquired over the past 11 years. The regulation for the planting in the area is tightly controlled and they only expand the vineyard in sustainable way.

Laure herself has a Masters in Management and Oenology and

joined the family domaine in 2010 and settled in Saint Péray just three years ago. She likes to make her wines with “not too much

alcohol, which is OK in the north but in the south it is more tricky to get the balance right. I have been vinifying for three years in Saint-Péray and every year it is changing.”

Global warming is at work. “My parents have been working

in Cornas for 30 years and in the early years they used to add

sugar! There is no need for that now. In the Northern Rhône most appellations are moving to higher altitudes. The AOC will have to evolve. There is no problem to produce Viognier at 600m.”

We start our tasting with Les Pins Couchés, 2016, a Syrah, Cinsault and Mourvèdre blend. “It’s similar to a traditional

Provence rosé, but we keep more colour and more flavour,”

or at least that was what Delphine maintains as she expertly negotiates our path up towards Domaine Lorient.

The homestead of Laure Colombo sits among the remote Saint-

Péray vineyards. Laure later tells us that the road leading to her house was originally a train track so wasn’t even designed with

cars in mind, and certainly not cars travelling in both directions.

Walking with Laure around her vineyards, we realise how just

how much love and care goes into the land as they painstakingly replant. “All the landscape was shaped with stone walls and

terraces and so we have planted according to the shapes these

made,” she explains. “We try not to plant too much, just under one

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 36

The view from vineyards at Cornas

in association with

Laure explains. Arancha Lopez from Brighton’s 10 Green Bottles approves: “Sometimes rosés can deliver on the nose but the

flavour doesn’t live up to your expectation. I think this rosé has both and it’s a great price.”

We move on to the red and white Colombo et Fille Côtes du

Rhône 2016. Laure describes the white (a Clairette/Roussanne

blend) as being “more grassy than just fruits,” and it does have a

freshness to it that becomes a recognisable theme in all her wines.

“I like freshness in white wine. The granitic soil contains iron

oxide and that acidity brings the freshness to the wine,” she says.

The fruity red (a blend of Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah) is

described by everyone as “easy-drinking”. Laure says: “My dad is very strict about the way he makes wine and I wanted to make a

more simple, easygoing wine. It’s not a wine to blow your head – it’s just to drink.”

Laure’s wines have a delicate and feminine style, and don’t

necessarily require food, but we are nonetheless delighted at

the appearance of local goats’ cheese served with home-grown

tomatoes. As we survey the sheep and geese from her terrace, we

learn that not so long ago Laure also kept pigs. However, they were now in the extremely delicious saucisson (made by Laure), which was proving a perfect match for the Cornas.

The Saint-Péray La Belle de Mai has concentrated flavours of

peach and quince with a pleasant zest. This sells well for Julia

Jenkins at Flagship Wines and she’s delighted to be able to drink it in the surroundings of Laure’s terrace.

Laure apologises for not cooking for us all personally as she

takes us out for dinner to the restaurant of a family friend. She

has a three-month-old baby, and various livestock to look after in

addition to her vineyard and winemaking duties, so frankly we just delighted that she’s able to join us for the evening.

SHOES ARE ABANDONED the following morning on the slopes of Les Ruchets, the first vineyard bought in Cornas by the family

and planted in 1986. We try the Cornas Les Ruchets which Julia describes as “very complex, intense yet elegant with ageing

potential”. The Cornas Pied la Vigne with its hints of violet and liquorice is “fabulous” according to Jane Taylor from Dronfield

Wine World, who is now thinking of getting this in for Christmas.

Our bones are well and truly shaken on this terrain as Anna

takes her turn at ferrying us about in the Defender. The sight of

Laure Colombo: her wines typically have a fresh, delicate style

a petite, chic French woman coolly steering a huge vehicle full

of eager wine merchants through the sweltering vineyards is a

memorable one, as is the one of Anna slowing down enough for us

to reach out and pick some luscious figs from one of the many fruit trees in the surrounding hedgerows.

We cannot leave without a visit to Hermitage Hill, the birthplace

of Syrah, before a final lunch and our flights home. We stop outside the famous Chapel of St Christopher and drink in the magnificent views over Tain and beyond.

Over lunch in Tain l’Hermitage we have Côte du Roussillon Les

Palomettes, “a really nice winter red that will fit very nicely in

our range,” says Heather. The St Joseph Les Lauves really strikes a

chord with Gill Mann of Devon merchant Jaded Palates: “a stunning wine with so much depth and character,” she says. “Retailing at £26, that’s a really good price for us.”

We leave the Rhône full of admiration for Laure and her team,

who have the harvest ahead of them. Far from living under the

shadow of her trail-blazing patriarch, Laure is steadily, modestly and competently creating her own winemaking legacy. The Colombo name is in very safe hands.

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 37

Retailer views on pages 38 and 39

reader visit to the RHONE Heather Smith, The Solent Cellar, Lymington

Sam Howard, HarperWells, Norwich

I’ve never been to the Rhône and hadn’t realised how small the

I thought Laure’s own wines were excellent, the Côtes du Rhône

northern appellations were. The Colombo wines really are boutique;

really good value, exceptionally well made and a really good retail

small vineyards, all hand-harvested, and that surprised me.

proposition at £11.95.

I particularly loved the Colombo et Fille range; the restrained style

The Colombo & Fille Saint-Péray really stood out for me. I thought it was true to type: she said she uses more Roussanne so it had

with less oak. I found them more approachable.

We stock the Picpoul in the shop and wholesale it too. The

a nice richness to it but it remained light and the fruit was in the

Collines de Laure is a new wine for us this summer and that’s gone

foreground as opposed to being masked by oak

really well. We did it by the glass for all our events. We also took

or anything else. So it was just a very modern interpretation, and would sit on our shelves quite

the Saint-Péray Colombo et Fille at the end of the

comfortably.

summer, and I really loved tasting that one on the trip. At about £22 it was an easy sell. We’ll

I think Laure’s wines are very much of the

be ordering more of that and we are hoping

moment. I know Colombo in the past has been renowned for quite modern winemaking and I

to feature it in our Christmas brochure

thought it was an interesting evolution, given

because I think it will be a great match

how modern the reputation is for his own

with turkey. We’ll definitely be getting

wines. I thought Laure’s were again moving

some samples in to taste with the

forward and were light years ahead of some of

team. To taste them in the place where

her competition in the area.

the grapes are grown and to see the soil and the herby hedgerows puts the wine into context.

Julia Jenkins, Flagship Wines, St Albans Arancha Lopez, 10 Green Bottles, Brighton It was great to see Laure in her environment and it’s nice to be able I love the organic practices. Seeing the combination of the forest

to put a story behind the wines and talk to people about them – that

with the vineyard and how they interact together made you fall more

was fantastic. I will be looking at the ones we tasted and get some

in love with the wine. These are the kind of wines I want in the shop.

prices to see what’s happening for Christmas.

If they follow organic principles they tend to give a better sense of the place and the wine tastes how it’s supposed to taste.

Cornas tends to be something you’d keep for a long time and maybe it’s not that approachable for my customers because people come in to buy something to drink on that night, but the Cornas Colombo et Fille was something everyone can enjoy – not too big

We do quite a few of their wines – we already list the Cornas Terres Brûlées, Les Fées Brunes Crozes, Les Forots Côtes du Rhône, Condrieu and Saint-Péray and will continue to do so with one or two additions.

It’s good to see a particular producer – where their

and bold that maybe you need to

vineyards are, how they work

keep for a while: it is the sort of

them to produce the best

thing that will help people get more

quality fruit and how they use

familiar with the appellation.

that fruit and how they can

I know that 95% of my customers

maximise the opportunities

buy wine to drink that night – they

they have in their own

want something that doesn’t require

circumstances. And to drink

a big steak. They want something

the wines in the vineyard,

easy-drinking and I think the new

surrounded by the vines where

approach that Laure is bringing is

the grapes have come from …

more consumer-friendly.

that’s a lovely thing to do.

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 38

in association with

Dee Wellings, Last Drop Wines, London

Andrew Lundy, Vino, Edinburgh

The wines were exceptionally good and I actually favoured Laure’s wines very much. She’s a great young winemaker and her wines really excited me. She has such a passion and that’s why it works.

All of them were very easy drinking. We’ll

Since Hatch took on Colombo wines, we’ve been on board from day one – the wines just speak for themselves.

I’m a big fan of Laure’s wines: she has a really exciting way of winemaking, with a lot of expression. The Côte du Roussillon Les

certainly be looking at stocking some of them.

Palomettes is such a cracking wine. It’s a shame that we didn’t taste

The St Joseph Les Lauves really stood out for

the Picpoul – the pair of those wines offer such fantastic value. I

me. We do have a lot of clients who would

think they are both incredibly approachable but you can tell there’s

spend out on Cornas, especially with

real quality to them – they are really well rounded, pretty versatile

the Christmas season approaching.

and you can taste how well made they are.

The terrain surprised me. I knew it was

If we put the Cornas Les Ruchet on a tasting with customers, it

steep but actually seeing it and walking it

runs out every time. On the trip I thought the Côte Rôtie la Divine

made me realise the amount of work

2014 was epic – it really sang with lunch.

that’s involved in that particular

For me the sustainability of

area, particularly harvesting, it must

vineyards is important and I think

be incredibly hard work. The manual

Laure in particular showed

labour that’s involved is tremendous. I

us that just walking around

was very impressed.

her plots. It’s a little bit more wild and natural and organic and moving in a biodynamic direction. They choose

Gill Mann, Jaded Palates, Devon

to work with such small

We are at the moment extending our Rhône range so this trip was perfect timing for us and we’ll seriously be considering incorporating some of these wines. The rosé was incredibly good value, we’re

production, and credit to the growers and the association that they are not being over-planted: that’s where the quality side comes from.

slowing down with that now but it’s something I’ll be thinking about next year.

I thought the quality of the wines was superb with so many

Jane Taylor, Dronfield Wine World, Derbyshire

different styles and variations. There wasn’t a wine I had that I didn’t think was lovely. The biggest thing for me is the connection with

They have a genuine love for the wine and love for the terroir. What

the growers, to find out about their philosophy – it connects you to

I particularly found interesting is the way they are recovering the

the wine. For us we have always concentrated on small producers

old vineyards – in the Saint-Péray appellation where they are slowly

– and Colombo are relatively small – and I love the fact that they

reclaiming back the old original terraces. I’m definitely going to

care about the vines, they look after their environment. That is really

be ordering some of the wines. Saint-Péray Colombo et Fille was

important for us and our customers. These wines

absolutely fabulous, the Marsanne and Roussanne blend. It definitely

tick the box in that respect.

helps that I’ve been there and visited the winemaker,

You can see why there are such concentrated and interesting wines coming out of the region

that story will help to sell it.

I’ll definitely be stocking the Colombo et Fille Côtes

– it’s a very dry, hot landscape, and Jean-Luc

du Rhône we tried at Laure’s house. It was

doesn’t employ irrigation. You felt the vines were

so elegant and light and tasted much more

far more left to their own devices. I loved the fact

expensive than they retail at. The Côte du

that there were trees between various plots and

Roussillon Les Palomettes that we had with

pieces of land that they hadn’t farmed. I thought

lunch was particularly good and I’ll be revisiting

that was fantastic.

that with the intention of listing it.

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 39

country focus

argentina in 12 wines

There’s a lot more going on in Argentina than me-too Malbec. David Williams picks out 12 wines that between them paint a picture of a fast-maturing wine scene

Zorzal Eggo Franco Cabernet Franc, Tupungato (Hallgarten) You won’t always see it on the label, but Michelini is perhaps the hot name in Argentinian wine right now, shared as it is by three winemaking brothers – Matías, Gerardo and

Juan Pablo – who sometimes work together, and sometimes on their own individual

projects, but always achieve interesting results. Argentinian specialists Las Bodegas

have been keeping tabs on the fraternity for some time, and bring in an eclectic bunch of different labels that are all worth seeking out. But the brothers’ shared natural-

minded (if not quite “natural”) philosophy is also summed up succinctly in the set of concrete egg-fermented wines Matías and Juan Pablo make under the Eggo label at the Zorzal winery in Tupungato (which is imported by Hallgarten Druitt & Novum Wines). The range includes a Bonarda, a Pinot Noir, a Sauvignon Blanc and, of

course, a Malbec, but it’s the Cabernet Franc that really stands out for me, with its herbal-inflected red and black currant crunchiness, full of trademark Michelini drinkability.

Familia Zuccardi Emma Bonarda, Altamira, Uco Valley (Alliance WINE) Reliable but hardly exciting … if I’m honest, I wasn’t expecting all that much from either producer or grape variety when I tasted Zuccardi Emma Bonarda in Mendoza late last

year. But then that only goes to show how I needed to update my view of both. While still presiding over a vast collection of well-made commercial bottles, winemaker Sebastián Zuccardi has been busy building on his father José Alberto’s work at the family firm,

taking it into the 21st century with some genuinely exciting smaller-production bottles.

He’s also spearheaded a mini-movement of Argentine producers keen to make something

more than just a juicy easy-drinker from an underrated variety – Bonarda – that was until recently the most planted in the country. From cool vineyards high up in Altamira in

Mendoza’s Uco Valley, it is expressive, silky, deep-filled with the purest cherry in a way that recalls Mencía and cru Beaujolais.

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 40

focus on argentina Riccitelli Semillon, Río Negro, Patagonia (Hallgarten) Matías Riccitelli comes from Argentine winemaking royalty: his father Jorge Riccitelli had been chief winemaker for big-gun Mendoza bodega Norton for 25

years until his retirement in June. The family connection is referenced in

one of Riccitelli-fils’ brands, The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From the Tree, but

Matías has chosen a somewhat different path to Jorge, earning a reputation for risk-taking and experimentation in the ever-burgeoning portfolio he’s developed under his own name. Having started out in 2009, Riccitelli’s

sensitive winemaking signature can be found throughout a range of Malbecs that goes from the joyous entry-level Hey Malbec to a variety of single-vineyard bottlings from

various vineyard sites in Mendoza. But his natural curiosity has also seen him explore

other varieties and regions, with this elegant, subtle, herbal, floral Semillon the product of very old vines found down in Patagonia.

Susana Balbo Signature White Blend, Uco Valley (Las Bodegas) Susana Balbo is the undisputed queen of Argentine wine, with a career now spanning the better part of four decades. The first Argentine woman to earn a degree in oenology, she made her way to the top of an industry not always known for its enlightened attitude to

gender equality via a string of high-profile winemaking and consulting positions and a spell as head of Wines of Argentina. Today she is making arguably the best wines of her career under her own label in Lújan de Cuyo in Mendoza,

where, as well as making some of the country’s most refined Malbecs, in recent

years she’s developed a blend that makes the most of Argentina’s sometimes-neglected

potential for white wine. A combination of Torrontés, Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc, aged

in a mixture of concrete egg and first and second-fill oak, it has something of white Graves in its tangy pure grapefruit and crackle of minerals, but with the floral perfume from the

Bodegas Caro ‘Caro’, Mendoza

Torrontés making it very much its own distinctive thing.

The luxury joint venture between celebrated international fine wine producers and big local players was a marked feature of the development of the wine industries on both

sides of the Andes from the late 1990s on. Almaviva (Baron Philippe de Rothschild and Concha y Toro), Cheval des Andes (Château Cheval Blanc and Terrazas de los Andes) and Seña (Mondavi and Errazuríz) were all set up to prove that Argentina

and Chile were capable of making first-growth quality, the association with top Bordeaux or Napa bringing a little marketing stardust and a few extra digits to the price tag. The idea can seem a little passé when so much of

the excitement in both countries is in younger winemakers experimenting with different terroirs, grape varieties and fermentation techniques. But,

as the vines and winemaking operations mature, it has to be said that some of the wines produced by JVs are highly impressive, with Caro, the powerful but refined flagship

Malbec-Cabernet blend of Bodegas Caro, a collaboration between the Rothschilds of Lafite and the Catena family founded in 1999, very much among them.

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 42

HISPAMERCHANTS The UK’s leading specialists in ARGENTINA & more since 2002

sales@hispamerchants.com

www.hispamerchants.com THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 43

focus on argentina Chacra Barda Pinot Noir, Río Negro, Patagonia (Lea & Sandeman) Like Bodegas Caro, there’s a starry European name behind Patagonian Pinot specialist Chacra. But this is no luxury JV: Piero Incisa della Rocchetta, the grandson of Sassicaia

founder Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, was drawn to the cooler green wilds of Patagonia by

the old ungrafted Pinot Noir vines dating back as far as 1932. Working biodynamically, the project now makes five distinctive Pinot Noirs, each of which have helped bring a justified reputation as the best expressions of the variety in the continent. The single-vineyard

Treinte y Dos and Cincuenta y Cinco have so far attracted the most plaudits, their names

referring to the year their respected vineyards were planted (1932 and 1955). But, as well as making a natural Pinot with no added yeast or sulphur and a further single-vineyard wine from another recovered old vineyard (Lunita), Chacra also makes one of the bestvalue Pinots anywhere in Barda, from younger vineyards planted in the 1990s.

Bodegas y Cavas Weinert Carrascal, Lújan de Cuyo, Mendoza Coverage of all New World wine countries in the UK has a tendency to dwell on the recent past, the period from the 1980s on when exports from Australia, New Zealand, Chile et al began to transform British wine-drinking habits. But if the wine scene in every New World country has changed beyond recognition in the past 30 years, it’s not as if they grew from nothing. Argentina has a long pedigree of wine-production, and Bodegas y

Cavas Weinert is a living link to that past. Like Lopéz de Heredia in Rioja or Biondi-Santi

in Brunello, this is an unashamedly traditionalist bodega, its Lújan de Cuyo headquarters

a shrine to the large oak foudre and a winemaking recipe that demands gentle extraction, long ageing and a love-it-or-hate-it relationship with Brettanomyces. In the bargain

Carrascal blend of Cabernet, Malbec and Merlot, this results in a savoury, softly engaging mellowness that is reminiscent of trad Rioja or old-style claret.

Catena Zapata Adrianna Vineyard River Stones, Gualtallary, Uco Valley (Bibendum) No article on notable Argentine wines can go without mentioning Nicolás Catena Zapata.

Since taking over the family firm in the mid-1960s, the great patriarch of modern

Argentine wine has been at the forefront of most of the innovations that brought the

country to prominence on the world wine stage in the past half century: the move away from oxidative winemaking to Californian-inspired cleanliness and rigour; the focus

on Malbec; the shift to higher altitudes. Today Catena still dominates Argentine wine

in a similar way to Concha y Toro across the Andes, thanks to a genuine commitment to quality, whether the task is an own-label Malbec for Tesco or the top-of-the-range Cabernet-Malbec blend of Nicolás Catena Zapata. With daughter Laura Catena now

managing director, the firm continues to impress, nowhere more so than in its range of wines from various terroirs in its stunning Adrianna vineyard high up in Gualtallary in Tupungato Alto in the Uco Valley of Mendoza, of which the floral, mineral River Stones Malbec is a personal favourite.

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 44

Kaiken Terroir Series Cabernet Sauvignon/ Malbec/Petit Verdot, Mendoza (Liberty wines) The wine industries on either side of the Andes have taken different directions since both began to take exports seriously in the 1980s and 1990s. To oversimplify somewhat, Chilean producers have in

recent years been more varietally and geographically adventurous,

while the Argentines are of course best known for exploring a single variety (Malbec) and region (Mendoza) in great detail. But there has been a fertile cross-pollination of ideas between South America’s most important wine countries, thanks not least to the serious

investment from Chilean firms in Argentine vineyards. Among the notable names are the Claro Group (of Viña Santa Rita) with Doña

Paula, Concha y Toro’s Trivento and the authors of Montes’ Kaiken

operation. Proving, in this case, that a variety more associated with the Maipo than Mendoza, Cabernet Sauvignon, can be every bit as

good in the Agrelo sub-region, the Montes team uses it as a base for

a typically bold but balanced southern hemisphere Bordeaux blend.

Viticultores de Gualtallary Volare de Flor NV (Indigo wines) Edgardo del Pópolo and David Bonomi are another experienced pair with long track

records working for big producers who have joined forces to make something new and different for their solo project, Perse Wines. The Malbecs they make are very much

expressions of the cool Gualtallary sub-zone of Tupungato with its stony and alluvial soils, and they’re characterised by a herbal wildness that recalls the more fragrant end of Northern Rhône Syrah. But their experiments don’t end there. Having been fascinated by the vins jaunes of the Jura, they decided to try ageing a Chardonnay

under flor, leaving it for 10 years in barrel. The result, though tiny in production, is

utterly beguiling and, for the meantime, unique in Argentina: salty, spicy, with a cut of orange citrus and notes umami savouriness – a vino amarillo.

François Lurton Piedra Negra Reserve Malbec, Mendoza (Lurton UK) There were two persistent criticisms of the big-name flying winemakers who were such a feature of the expanding

global wine scene of the 1990s and 2000s.

First, that they never put down roots:

they were like rock stars, travelling so

much and with so many clients, they were never really sure if they should be saying “hello Bolgheri!” or “hello Bulgaria!” And second, that this peripatetic life led to a standardising effect with wines that

could come from anywhere. Something about Argentina seems to have had an

opposite effect, however. Alberto Antonini

Zaha Toko Vineyard Malbec, Altamira, Uco Valley

(Altos Las Hormigas), Paul Hobbs (Viña

Not the least of Catena’s roles in the Argentine wine revolution is to act as a finishing

all built established projects of their own

school for some of the country’s finest wine talents. Alejandro Sejanovic and Jeff

Mausbach, the duo behind 55Malbec, for example, are both graduates of the Catena

academy, Sejanovic learning his trade as winemaker and viticulturist, and Mausbach in sales and marketing. For their solo project they’ve gone on to make some of the most delightful small-production Malbecs around, from two sites in the Altamira district of La Consulta in the Uco Valley: Tomal, which features vines dating back to 1940,

and Toko, which was planted in the early 2000s. They like to include a little Cabernet

Franc and Petit Verdot in their blends, co-fermenting for extra complexity, tannin and

lift. The Zaha Toko exemplifies their style: plump, succulent but so very pretty, it’s the

antithesis of the heavyweight, oak-laden Malbec that dominated Argentina during the 2000s and early 2010s.

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 45

Cobos) and the biggest name of them all, Michel Rolland (Clos de los Siete), have of real longevity in Mendoza. But the

longest-lasting has been that of Bordeaux winemaking aristocrat François Lurton,

who started making wine in the country with his brother a quarter of a century

ago, and bought his first 200ha of land in Alta Uco Valley in 1996. The fruits of his commitment are deliciously evident in

two fine Malbecs from his Piedra Negra

label: the refined Gran Malbec and the ripe, succulent Malbec Reserve.

make a date

Alsace Wines Tasting

16-18 Ramillies Street London W1F 7LW

Nebbiolo Day

This year’s London event will showcase Crémant d’Alsace, Riesling

More than 80 producers and

and Gewurztraminer and feature a

winemakers will be in London,

masterclass hosted by Sarah Abbott and

presenting their wines from all

Simon Woods.

19 Italian Nebbiolo-producing denominations.

Crémant d’Alsace is the most popular

In the absence of a generic body to

sparkling wine in France, after Champagne.

The CIVA’s export marketing manager

promote Italian wines, this is the first

interest in sparkling wines in the UK over

producers together under one roof.

collaboration between Walter Speller and

Foulques Aulagnon believes it’s perfectly

Hunt & Coady to gather the many Nebbiolo

positioned to capitalise on the surge in the past few years.

The UK is currently Alsace’s eighth

market in terms of volume and value

exports. Aulagnon reports that Crémant

d’Alsace has seen an 85% volume increase in the UK over five years, with sales value more than doubling in that time.

He says that Gewurztraminer,

Riesling and Pinot Blanc are leading the Alsace charge in the UK market, with

The Alsatians are here on October 23

tasting of around 100 winners selected by the judging panel.

To register, contact Bettina Hepburn:

email Bettina.hepburn@thisisphipps.com.

Tuesday, November 7

Gewurztraminer alone accounting for just

Hoxton Arches

masterclass, contact Alison Mann: email

Joseph Drouhin 2016 Cask Sample Tasting

over half of imports in 2016.

To register or to book a place on the

alison@ew-pr.co.uk.

Monday, October 23 Chandos House

London E2 8HD

2 Queen Anne Street London W1G 9LQ

Wines of Germany ‘Get it On’ Tasting The winners of Wines of Germany’s yearly competition for as-yet unrepresented wines in the UK market take centre stage at this free-pour

The day will showcase the variety’s many

expressions that originate from northern Italy’s diverse terroirs.

For a full list of participating producers

or for more information, contact Tina

Coady: email tina@huntandcoady.com.

Monday, November 13 Lindley Hall London SW1P 2PE

H2Vin Rhône 2016 En Primeur Tasting Showcasing the company’s selection of Rhône 2016 En Primeurs, this tasting

A selection of cask samples from the

will also offer the opportunity to meet

family’s 2016 vintage will be available

some of the producers.

to try.

The event starts at 10.30am with a walk-

around tasting for the Villages and Premier Crus, followed by a tutored tasting of the

Grand Crus hosted by Véronique Drouhin.

RSVP to Freya Miller: email Freya.

miller@polroger.co.uk.

The final selection of wines on show

was being made as we went to press so

for more information or to book a place,

contact Antoine Salley: email info@h2vin. co.uk.

Wednesday, November 15 Dukes Hotel

Thursday, November 9

35 St James’s Place

The Photographers’ Gallery

London SW1A 1NY

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 46

supplier bulletin

LOUIS LATOUR AGENCIES

Champagne Gosset releases New Blanc de Noirs Cuvée Gosset Champagne, the oldest wine house in the region, has released a special limited-edition wine

12-14 Denman Street London W1D 7HJ

in time for the coming festive season.

0207 409 7276

Premier Cru vineyards, as with all the main range

enquiries@louislatour.co.uk www.louislatour.co.uk

of Gosset Champagne, Grand Blanc de Noirs has no Aged for nine years on its lees, the dosage is only

100% Pinot Noir from the finest Grand and

ML, maintaining the house’s signature freshness.

5g/l, resulting in a wine of exceptional freshness and elegance.

Golden yellow with a fine mousse and complex

aromas of white stone fruits, baked apple and

patisserie on the nose. The supple, balanced palate reveals notes of honey, beeswax and candied citron, followed by a fresh, lively finish with an almost iodine tang.

Gosset cellarmaster Odilon de Varine says: “This limited-edition cuvée is a tribute to

the finesse and elegance of Pinot Noir used in our other Gosset wines. We wanted to

share this unique experience with our fellow Champagne connoisseurs and followers.”

For full details and pricing, please contact your sales person or email Rebecca.Fraser@louislatour.co.uk

roberson wine

Kings of California

21-27 Seagrave Road London SW6 1RP 0207 3817097 off-trade@robersonwine.com

www.robersonwine.com @robersonwine

Roberson Wine is delighted to be crowned USA Specialist at both the IWC and Decanter Awards for the fifth year running.

We have crafted a superb selection of America’s hottest winemakers and this year

the judges paid particular attention to some of our new agencies. Kicking of with Vinca

Minor, producing very high quality, small-batch wines from Mendocino. Closely followed by the wines of Seth Kunin, a prolific figure in the Californian wine circle making some of the best Syrah we’ve tasted in Santa Barbara. Finally, we’ve had a great time showing the Hunt and Harvest wines from Napa Valley, which have been a massive hit for their well-priced Cabernet Sauvignon and Loire-esque Sauvignon Blanc.

For pricing and more information, please contact off-trade@robersonwine.com.

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 47

supplier bulletin

new generation mckinley 14 Kennington Road London SE1 7BL

The festive season is almost upon us and New Generation McKinley is again your one-stop supplier for all your Christmas wishes this year.

Why not try the award winning Champagne Janisson? With offers across the

range (including the Wine Merchant Top 100 Awarded Grand Cru NV) you can select a different cuvée for each member of the family.

Our magnum offer includes wines from Alpha

Domus, Brancaia, Cousiño Macul, Guerrieri

T: 020 7928 7300 london@newgenwines.com www.newgenwines.com

Rizzardi, Kalleske, Rive della Chiesa and

Château Tournefeuille. But if magnums are

not your style, we have a fantastic floor stack

offer with volume discounts available on wines

from Domaine Gayda, Guerrieri Rizzardi and William Robertson.

For the cocktail lovers among you, we have our

famous spirits offer which this year includes ABK6 Cognac, Ekiss Organic Vodka, Bristol Spirits

Rum, Christian Drouin Calvados Gift Packs and the stunning Van Brunt Moonshine.

Or, if gin is your thing, we’ve got the classic ‘Le Gin’ from Calvados Christian Drouin and the newly launched ‘Cask Aged Edition Le Gin’ – definitely worth a try.

For further details of all our Christmas offers please email london@newgenwines.com.

southern wine roads info@southernwineroads.com

On the road to bring you the best examples of the ambassador grape varieties of the Greek vineyard – without compromise!

Tasted and distinguished in the UK Sommelier Wine Awards in 2017.

www.southernwineroads.com 33 indigenous Greek grape varieties in stock – hand picked!

GOLD: Chrisohoou, Xinomavro 2013, Naoussa, trade price £9.38 “Bold and dark with crunchy fruit, lovely spice and black mineral character with a taut tannin structure balanced by bright acidity” – Laura Rhys MS “Really complex with an intriguing nose, savoury leather and bold hedgerow fruit, power, concentration and length but still freshness and complexity” – Mike Best, WSET

COMMENDED: Aivalis, Nemea 2014, Agiorgitiko, Nemea, trade price £10.63 “Dry, structured and long. Very youthful. A serious Neméa when many are just soft and fruity” – Julia Harding MW COMMENDED: Markou, Kleftes Natural Savatiano 2015, Attica, trade price £7.69 “Aromatic with floral, citrus aromas and fresh crushed apples.

A refreshing wine, quite pure yet full of flavour” – Christelle Guibert, Decanter

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 48

supplier bulletin

ehrmanns WINES

New Feuerheerd’s Ports – just in time for Christmas Ehrmanns is delighted to introduce Feuerheerd’s, a brand new

Unit 23 The Ivories Northampton Street London N1 2HY

range of Ports.

020 3227 0700 info@ehrmanns.co.uk

became famous for its vintage Ports, which in England became known as ‘Anchor Ports’,

@ehrmannswines ehrmannswines

In 1815 German trader Dietrich Matthias Feuerheerd founded

the company, by the same name, in Oporto. Here, in the bustling Portuguese city, he

selected and aged the finest blends before shipping them to Northern Europe. The brand due to the distinctive Feuerheerd’s logo.

In 2010 the brand was acquired by Barão de Vilar, giving birth to a new

partnership between the Van Zellers and the Barros family, who were determined to revive the long tradition of quality Feuerheerd Ports.

Today, the wines are crafted by head winemaker Álvaro van Zeller, who

focuses on creating first-rate aged-Ports.

The following Ports are available now exclusively to independents: • Feuerheerd’s LBV 2013, RRP £16.99

• Feuerheerd’s 10 Years Old Tawny, RRP £19.99 • Feuerheerd’s Colheita 1999, RRP £34.99

Please contact your account manager or info@ehrmanns.co.uk for more information.

negociants uk

Negociants UK is pleased to introduce a new icon wine from Margaret River’s founding wine estate, the multi-award winning Vasse Felix.

Davenport House Bowers Way, Harpenden Herts AL5 4HX

The 2013 Tom Cullity Cabernet Sauvignon

Malbec has been released to coincide with the

01582 797510

50th anniversary of Vasse Felix and Margaret

neguk@negociants.com orders@negociants.com

Its UK release follows significant critical acclaim for the wine in Australia

Twitter: @NegociantsUK Facebook: NegociantsUK

River, and named after its founder (pictured).

earlier this year including 98 points and inclusion in Australia’s ‘Best of Best

by Varietal’ in James Halliday’s 2017 Wine Companion.

The Tom Cullity is a single-vineyard evolution of the estate’s icon, the Heytesbury. Its creation follows a

decade of viticultural and winemaking development at Vasse Felix.”

For more information please contact Negociants UK orders@negociants.com

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 49

supplier bulletin

berkmann wine cellarS 10-12 Brewery Road London N7 9NH info@berkmann.co.uk www.berkmann.co.uk London, South, Midlands, South West 020 7670 0972 North & Scotland 01423 357567

buckingham schenk 68 Alpha Street South Slough SL1 1QX 01753 521336 sales@buckingham-schenk.co.uk www.buckingham-schenk.co.uk

@BuckSchenk

Phebus from Bodegas Fabre Made by multi award-winning winery Bodegas Fabre, Phebus is a range of Argentine wines aimed specifically at the on-trade and independent sector in the UK. A family-owned company set up and run by husband and wife

Hervé and Diane Joyaux Fabre, the winery was established in the early 1990s when Malbec was viewed as little more than a blending partner.

Hervé’s Bordeaux background dictates an elegance and subtlety

to his winemaking and since 1992 he has dedicated all his savoirfaire and passion to his wines, being one of the first winemakers to elaborate a single-varietal Malbec in Argentina.

The Phebus range of wines combines Argentina’s purity of

fruit and clear varietal expression with elegance and complexity.

Underpinning all of this is Diane and Hervé’s unshakeable belief that their wines should express the local terroirs as elegantly as possible.

We are pleased to announce that Phebus Patagonia Reservado

Malbec 2015 is now available in the UK – this wine was awarded the Patagonia Malbec Trophy at this year’s IWC.

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 50

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richmond wine agencies

Three new Rioja Alta producers join forces with RWA!

The Links, Popham Close Hanworth Middlesex TW13 6JE

has 700 hectares of vineyards spread over more than 1,000

020 8744 5550 info@richmondwineagencies.com

@richmondwineag1

Bodegas Taron is the northernmost winery in Rioja Alta and small plots. The oldest vines are over 100 years old which go into making their premium wine, Cepas Centenarias.

Finca Nueva was bought in 2014 by Miquel Angel de Gregorio,

owner and winemaker of the renowned Finca Allende. They use sustainable viticulture practices in the vineyard and do not fine their wines, making them suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

Hacienda el Ternero dates back to 1077 AD, when it belonged to the Santa Maria de Herrerea Monastery. They have 60

hectares of vineyards in one of the highest areas of Rioja and

sit at an altitude of 650m. ‘Ternero’ is Spanish for ‘calf’ which inspired their label design.

Our Festive Offers are now available and all three producers are included. Please contact us for your copy.

mentzendorff The Woolyard 52 Bermondsey Street London SE1 3UD 020 7840 3600 info@mentzendorff.co.uk www.mentzendorff.co.uk

New vintages for old favourites The latest vintage of Petit Frere from Anwilka Vineyards has arrived. The 2014 is crafted from 65% Syrah, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Petit Verdot from Stellenbosch’s prime Helderberg region.

Located just 7 kilometres from the ocean, this microclimate, together with the old ferricrete soils, produces rich and focused wines.

The Bodegas Roda Reserva 2012, recently awarded 95 points by James Suckling, is

comprised of 89% Tempranillo, 9% Graciano

and 2% Garnacha from bush vines over 30 years old. Climatically 2012 was an excellent vintage, resulting in intense and very expressive fruit

with notes of fine spices, mineral character and perfectly integrated wood.

For details and pricing on either of these wines, or any others in the portfolio, please contact your account manager.

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 51

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liberty wines

Five years with Charles

by David Gleave MW

020 7720 5350

Champagne Charles Heidsieck joined our portfolio five years

order@libertywines.co.uk www.libertywines.co.uk

enjoyed as one of the most highly regarded of all the Grandes

@liberty_wines

ago. It had just been bought by the Descours family, and was

determined to climb back to the position it had previously Marques.

Since then, Charles Heidsieck has been one of the most

garlanded of all houses. This is largely due to the quality

of the Brut Réserve. We view it as a prestige cuvée at a

premium non-vintage price due to its 2008 base wine supplemented by 40% of reserve wine with an average age

of 10 years. Even as it moves on to a 2010 base wine later this year, it remains exceptional as a NV which has been laid down for seven years before release, and includes reserve

wines dating back to 1988. You can check the back label for both the ‘Mis en Cave’ and disgorgement dates.

As Jancis Robinson said of it recently: “Not that many

houses have a seven-year-old NV on the market! Real

bullseye for the Charles style. Tastes readier than the 2008 base – a real standout.”

department 33 Frazer: 07557 053343 frazer@department33.co.uk Chris: 07515 555807 chris@department33.co.uk www.department33.co.uk @department_33 @department33.co.uk @department33wines

Department 33 et la France WINES OF BORDEAUX -

Introducing our Autumn Winter 2017 List So after well in excess 500 wines tasted, more Easyjet flights than is probably healthy and definitely one trade show too many, we’ve found:

• Vintages, old and new

• Formats, large and small

• Quality Claret to the £15 shelf price

• An ever-widening range of styles and appellations

• And a whole heap of wooden boxes.

Do get in touch if a copy would be helpful.

Department 33. We do import over

100 contemporary French wines from

independent producers for the independent sector.

We don’t have large minimum orders or awful terms.

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walker & Wodehouse 109a Regents Park Road London NW1 8UR 0207 449 1665 lmcgovern@walkerwodehousewines. com www.walkerwodehousewines.com

Christmas Gifts from Walker & Wodehouse Eden Mill’s 12 Gins of Christmas is a limited-edition gift, containing unique and seasonal gins alongside old favourites from the core range.

Paul Miller, co-founder of Eden Mill, says:

“Our distillers love this time of year, when

they have the freedom to create some really

special gins which then become available solely within this set.”

Each pack includes 12 x 50ml gins in Eden Mill’s distinctive swing-stopper bottles,

two bespoke gin glasses, and a booklet explaining the thoughts behind each one and how to best serve them.

This year’s seasonal and limited gins include After Dinner gin, Mulled gin and not

for the faint-hearted, Juniper Trio gin.

The perfect gift to give and receive!

The 12 Gins of Christmas will be available from Walker & Wodehouse from the middle of October and is priced at £185 ex VAT for a case of four gift sets.

AWIN BARRATT SIEGEL WINE AGENCIES 28 Recreation Ground Road Stamford Lincolnshire PE9 1EW 01780 755810 orders@abswineagencies.co.uk www.abswineagencies.co.uk

@ABSWines

Christmas offers from Awin Barratt Siegel Château Fontesteau: Purchase four cases of Château Fontesteau 2014 and receive one free magnum of Château Fontesteau 2010.

Stanton & Killeen: With every order of 24 bottles of any S&K Topaque, pay for 23 and receive a box of six stencilled tasting glasses free. Conditions apply.

Campbells of Rutherglen: Purchase 12 bottles of qualifying wines and receive two bottles of Rutherglen Muscat free.

Allram: Purchase any six cases from the Allram range, get one free case of Grüner Veltliner Strass.

Tamar Ridge, Devil’s Corner and Pirie: Purchase seven cases of any Tasmanian Estates wine and receive an eighth case (least expensive) free.

Quinta do Portal: Buy a selection of any six cases of qualifying wines and get an additional case free (of the least expensive product).

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 53

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Famille Helfrich Wines

Famille Helfrich is the independent specialist arm of Les Grands Chais de France ... yes, still a family – with real people!

Joseph founded the company in 1979 with 5,000 fr and we have grown to become

1, rue Division Leclerc, 67290 Petersbach, France

the leading producer and exporter of French wines and spirits.

cdavies@lgcf.fr 07789 008540

the best terroir France has to

@FamilleHelfrich @family_helfrich_gcf_wines

Don't let the size put you off, it has helped us create an independent portfolio of

over 400 wines and we now own over 45 domaines and châteaux across some of offer.

Having the infrastructure

allows us to consolidate all of our wines at one central

location in Alsace, where you

can either come and collect or we can deliver a single mixed pallet to you.

REMEMBER, we are a

producer, a family producer, not an agency as some people think.

Working with Famille Helfrich Wines gives you the ability as an independent to buy

direct from a producer from appellations all over France, with one delivery.

A perfect solution to help you grow and experiment with France and all it has to

offer ...

EMPORIA BRANDS The Church 172 London Road Guildford GU1 1XR 01483 458700 info@emporiabrands.com www.emporiabrands.com

Emporia Brands is a spirits importer that

Distil No. 9 is the craft premium vodka

ingredients and process.

vodka belt, famous for its fertile black

seeks out, around the world, distillers who

respect artisan traditions of quality in both St Lucia Distillers has been awarded eight trophies in seven years, including Rum

Producer of the Year in 2015. Their flagship Chairman’s Reserve is a highly regarded blend of pot and column still rums.

Casco Viejo is produced by the Camarena

brothers, whose privileged access to agave from the premium highland region creates

100% agave tequilas of exceptional quality.

from Staritsky & Levitsky. It is created from 100% wheat from the Ukrainian

earth, copper distilled using a 100-year-

old process, with crystal clear water from Carpathian mountains.

Gabriel Boudier is a family-owned

company in Dijon, the traditional home of liqueurs. Their 100% fruit liqueurs are regular trophy winners in the UK competitions, and have been named

Supreme Champion Spirit two years in a row.

Rum: Chairman’s Reserve; St Lucia Distillers; Ron Prohibido. Tequila: Casco Viejo; La Cava

de Don Agustin; Maracame. Vodka: Distil No. 9; Staritsky & Levitsky; Polugar. Gin: Mayfield;

Jindea; Saffron; Hoxton; Koval. Brandy: Carlos I Solera Gran Reserva Brandy de Jerez; Armagnac

Lauvia; Armagnac Marquis; Cognac Jules Gautret; Nardini Grappa. Calvados: Père Magloire. Irish

Whiskey: The Irishman. US Whiskey: Koval. Liqueurs: Gabriel Boudier; Salvatore Liquore di Limone. Aperitifs: Pastis Henri Bardouin; Absinthe Grande Absente. Sherry: Osborne VORS.

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2017 54

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hallgarten

with ovators

Inn

Dallow Road Luton LU1 1UR 01582 722 538

altitude

Decanter, 92pts – Estate Malbec 2015 “Mellow and soft, with a core of intense bright fruit and touches of minerality.”

Viña Echeverria, Curico Valley

sales@hdnwines.co.uk www.hdnwines.co.uk

Dona Paula, Mendoza

James Suckling, 93pts – Pinot Noir Gran Reserva 2016 “Berry and tea leaf character here with hints of incense.

Medium body, firm and lightly chewy tannins and a fresh finish.”

Matías Riccitelli, Luján de Cuyo & Patagonia

@hdnwines

James Suckling, 95pts – Vineyard Selection Malbec 2014 “Lots of stone and dark-walnut aromas here. Blackberries. Full body; this is very much a Malbec in character.”

Oveja Negra, Maule Valley SWA, Gold – Winemaker’s Selection Chardonnay Viognier 2015 “Delicate grassy notes on the nose with an herbaceous, citrus fruit character on the palate.”

Tim Atkin, 95pts – Old Vines Semillon from Patagonia 2016 “Low yields and a partial barrel fermentation have produced a tangy, mealy beeswaxy stunner.”

hatch mansfield New Bank House 1 Brockenhurst Road Ascot Berkshire SL5 9DL 01344 871800 info@hatch.co.uk www.hatchmansfield.com @hatchmansfield

replace 2016 was a tense year for growers in Burgundy, where conditions swung relentlessly between rainfall, cool weather, violent hailstorms, heat spikes and drought. Despite these challenging conditions, what grapes remained resulted in wines with lot of intensity, elegance and silky

structure. Do not miss on an opportunity to taste a selection of wines from Louis Jadot and get your hands on this scarce vintage. To register your interest, please email info@hatch.co.uk.

Our portfolio: Champagne Taittinger · Louis Jadot, Burgundy · Joseph Mellot, Loire · Jean-Luc Colombo and Colombo & Fille, Rhône · C.V.N.E, Rioja · Viña Errazuriz and Caliterra, Chile · Domaine Carneros, USA · Robert Oatley, Australia · Villa Maria Estate, Vidal, Te Awa Collection and Esk Valley, New Zealand · Kleine Zalze, South Africa.

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