The Wine Merchant issue 107 by The Wine Merchant magazine

THE WINE MERCHANT. An independent magazine for independent retailers

Dog of the Month: Mia Hercules Wines, Sandwich

Issue 107, October 2021

Indies look for alternatives as Kiwi Sauvignon runs low A short harvest, compounded by shipping delays, means consumers might have to switch to other white options

he shortage of New Zealand

Sauvignon Blanc is likely to get

worse before it gets better, with

one retailer describing the situation in the run-up to Christmas as “frightening”.

With some leading brands sold out,

on strict allocation or unlikely to last

much beyond Christmas – and with some

orders being delayed for weeks or months by shipping problems – retailers are

contemplating alternative ways to satisfy customers’ appetite for one of the UK’s most popular wine styles.

“New Zealand, and particularly

Marlborough, Sauvignon Blanc is normally the most popular thing to order in the

UK, but we just don’t have the stock, our suppliers don’t have allocations,” says

Sarah Boucher of Specialist Cellars, the

Brixton-based wine bar, shop and online

specialist in New Zealand wines, told The Wine Merchant.

“We’ve taken quite a big hit. We haven’t

got very much to sell. It’s quite frightening, particularly as we head into the busiest time of the year.”

“The big problem with Sauvignon Blanc

Duncan McLean of Kirkness & Gorie on Orkney combines his career as a wine merchant with his work as a professional musician, writer and publisher. Read about his life outside the wine trade on page 14.

is that there isn’t any,” adds Matthew

Hennings, managing director of Hennings Wine Merchants in Sussex. “We’re just

Continues page 4

NEWS

Inside this month 6 COMINGS AND GOINGS Vineyards thinks bigger, and a new indie for Aberdeen

Red and amber wines, but none that you could really call green

18 FAREWELL BOW LANE Planet of the Grapes bids a reluctant goodbye to its City of London branch

32 idris joins the indies The star of Luther takes a stake in a new Kings Cross wine shop

36 just williams The Dirty Dozen are a bellwether of the indie wine scene

designed to send customers straight

The business is based in Napa and the

site is already operational in the US. It is

due to launch in the UK before Christmas. Joe Fattorini, who is heading up the trade

side of things in the UK, says there’s no fee to be on the platform, and as all sales go

through on the merchant’s own website, no loss in margin either.

Fattorini compares the business model

to that of a search engine. “It’s exactly the same as Google in every possible way,” he says.

“The business model is the same and

structurally it is the same. It doesn’t cost

anything to list your business or products

on Google and if you have the most relevant results in a search, you still sit at the top

42 HERCULES wines Sarah Dodd is right at home in her new Sandwich shop

and people buy from your website.” Asked how Pix will make money,

Fattorini explains that there will come a

point where sponsored listings will play a

54 fortified wines How recent developments have

67 supplier bulletin

ix is a new online wine platform to independents.

12 tried & TESTED

invigorated the category

Fattorini is the UK face of online platform courting independents

part, as well as the involvement of generic

wine bodies who may want to promote an event or two.

“We anticipate that around 93% of

people who list on it will never buy keywords at all because they won’t

necessarily need to,” he says. “As an indie

you can end up being catapulted to the

top of the listings because you often have interesting products.

“Indies can have really good, rich

information on their sites, they put lots

and attention and effort in. The machine

knows that – it’s very clever, and it ranks

people on how much interesting content is behind all of this.”

attorini explains that some of

Pix’s research has identified that consumers are not motivated by

price, rather they “hate what they call

‘doom-scrolling’ through prices. They want to get [their wine] today, or from someone they trust, or from someone they’ve heard of.”

Fattorini suggests that retailers should

find the process of joining the platform straightforward as the “dedicated

integrations” such as Shopify enable Pix to “ingest from people’s websites”.

“Our job,” explains Fattorini “should

be to find the sweet spot between what makes customers say, ‘this is actually

really helpful and useful for me’ and a

merchant to say ‘actually we’ve had this

steady stream of new customers who came through.’”

THE WINE MERCHANT MAGAZINE winemerchantmag.com 01323 871836 Twitter: @WineMerchantMag Editor and Publisher: Graham Holter graham@winemerchantmag.com Assistant Editor: Claire Harries claire@winemerchantmag.com Advertising: Sarah Hunnisett sarah@winemerchantmag.com Accounts: Naomi Young winemerchantinvoices@gmail.com The Wine Merchant is circulated to the owners of the UK’s 975 specialist independent wine shops. Printed in Sussex by East Print. © Graham Holter Ltd 2021 Registered in England: No 6441762 VAT 943 8771 82

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 2

NEWS ANALYSIS

Looking for the silver lining in a Sauvignon cloud Now could be the perfect time to persuade consumers to venture beyond the safety and familiarity of one of the UK’s favourite white wine styles

From page one

trying to get through to Christmas with

our trade accounts. We’ve withdrawn the sub-£10 stuff from retail and we’re just

trying to kick the can with our on-trade customers until the New Year.”

The shortfall had been on the cards since

the unusually small harvest in New Zealand this spring, a result of cooler than usual spring weather (including some severe

late spring frosts), and long-term labour

shortages, which were exacerbated by New Zealand’s strict Covid travel restrictions preventing the arrival of temporary workers during harvest.

According to New Zealand Winegrowers,

the crop was down by 19% on 2020,

with a total of 370,000 tonnes of grapes

harvested, and with “regions throughout the middle of the country – including

Wairarapa, Marlborough, Nelson and North Canterbury – down over 20%”.

In June, when the official data was

released, Philip Gregan, CEO of New

Zealand Winegrowers, said that, while

the quality was “exceptional”, the shortfall

amounted to 7 million 9-litre cases of New Zealand wine, at a time when stocks were

already low after “unprecedented demand” in key export regions.

“The overall smaller harvest means many

of our wineries will face tough decisions

over who they can supply in their key

panic buy! We bought a load [of a brand]

and demand tension because of this.

space, but it ain’t gonna last forever.”

markets,” Gregan warned.

“There is going to be some supply

Wines from vintage 2021 promise to be

something special, but in some instances,

the question may just be whether there is enough to go around.”

The short harvest has been compounded

by problems in international shipping

that are not specific to New Zealand, with long delays caused by a combination of

Covid restrictions, a long-term issue with

the availability of shipping containers and post-Brexit paperwork.

“We had one shipment of Kumeu [River]

that we normally buy for the on-trade in

late May, early June. We’re lucky, we’ve got Gleave was able to make a similar

decision, although he puts it somewhat

differently. “This shortage was a problem

for us six months ago, but I think because

we have consultant winemakers who work for us and are based in Marlborough we

were getting reports on this quite early on, and we were aware how short the vintage was going to be. We managed to buy up

more 2020 so we could run a bit longer

that was meant to arrive at the beginning

of August and it’s only just arrived [in late September],” says Boucher at Specialist

Cellars. “It was supposed to go on one ship, but then it had to go another and then they had to check every single bottle.”

“The whole logistical thing is more

and more difficult, but [its causes] are

quite varied and not just limited to New Zealand,” adds David Gleave, managing director of Liberty Wines.

For those retailers with enough cash flow

and capacity, the dire warnings coming

out of New Zealand in the spring and early summer prompted what Hennings calls “a

panic buy. We were panic buying Sauvignon Blanc way before fuel became the thing to

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 4

David Gleave of Liberty Wines

with our 2020s.

“I’m pretty sure we’ve covered our

requirements,” Gleave adds. “Some will be a little short, something like Greywacke. But we always sell out our allocation of

that anyway, so it’s really a matter of selling it out in early August rather than late August.”

For businesses of more modest scale

such as Specialist Cellars, however, taking on large amounts of stock is much more

problematic. “The suppliers that don’t do

allocations, they just send an updated stock list, and I have to bulk buy, which isn’t ideal

for a small business, with dead stock sitting there,” says Boucher.

Both Gleave and Hennings believe

the problem is largely confined to the

sub-£10 and bulk end of the market –

where the lack of supply has inevitably

forced up prices, making £7 to £10 RRPs

unsustainable in the short to medium term. Gleave thinks this may lead to some

positive long-term outcomes for New

Zealand, if it manages the situation well.

“Prices have gone up: grape prices are up;

bulk prices have gone through the roof. So we’ll see what effect that has.

“New Zealand producers, who have been

coasting a bit in my opinion, will need to

work harder to justify those higher prices.”

Hennings, for his part, is wondering what

will happen to consumers when they are deprived – as he believes is inevitable at the beginning of 2021 – of their generic Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc fix.

“The supermarkets are selling Yealands

2021 at £7 a bottle … when they run

out they’ll just go on to something else,” Hennings says.

“It might wean people off it. And then

you’re thinking, what’s going to replace

The New Zealand wine harvest was down by 19% this year

it? Do you look away to another aromatic

style? Are you looking at Riesling, or a nice light fresh Chenin?”

Or it could be the “really nice cool-

climate” Chilean Sauvignon Blanc that

Hennings says he’s sourced and which

could plug the gap in the New Year when it’s surmounted its own shipping delay. “We’re pushing alternatives,” says

Boucher, who has struggled with

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 5

allocations of top Pinot as well as

Sauvignon (her allocation from one leading producer was a matter of six bottles rather than several cases). “Chardonnay is a

harder push, but we are finding that some people will have other things – they’re trying things they haven’t had before. There’s always a silver lining.”

• The Burning Question – page 29.

Vineyards moves to bigger premises

Café purchase was too good to miss

Vineyards has moved to a much larger

Matthew Iles is planning to open

premises just a short walk away from

Bouchon, a bar next door to Quercus

the original shop in Sherborne, Dorset.

Wines, his shop in Westerham, at the end of October.

Owners Hannah and Sadie Wilkins are

“People are always asking if they can

thrilled that they will be able to have a

dedicated tasting room, extra storage space

have a glass of wine outside on a sunny day

shiny new space,” says Sadie. “We will be

glass,” explains Iles.

and I’ve never been able to because I’m

and an extended wine range.

not licensed at the shop to do wines by the

“It’s a great time to be moving into a

When the lease came up on the licensed

introducing at least 250 more wines on the

café right next door, he says it was too

shelves so the portfolio is increasing.

“We are really proud to say that quite

a few of the local restaurants, pubs and

hotels have our wines so we are building

up our wholesale again and we’ve recently taken on some lovely accounts including

Mat Follas, a MasterChef winner who has opened a restaurant in Sherborne.” The pair have taken on a large

commercial unit in Old Yarn Mills and

they had a lot to do before opening the first weekend of October. Previously

an auto shop, it was a no-frills space.

“We’re embracing the industrial feel of it,

otherwise we’d be totally overwhelmed by the space,” explains Sadie.

“We’re having a steel mezzanine being

made to our spec, and that will be the

wine lounge upstairs. It means we can do in-house tastings really comfortably in a

dedicated space away from the shop floor. “We all know that people are more

adventurous by the glass than by the bottle and we had a taste of how nice it was

having a drink in menu prior to Covid. Now we are opening in

a better space for that.”

To show

customers just how

easy they

will be to

A mezzanine wine lounge will be installed

find, Sadie posted a social media video of

herself walking their dog Hugo from their old shop to the new location.

“Even though it’s not on the high street,”

she says of the new shop, “this little area

is a destination, a nice little buzzy quarter of town and our neighbours have really

good an opportunity to turn down. “It’s a

beautiful frontage and it has the same view of the green and it’s twice the size of my

shop. I’ll be able to pick up where I left off with tastings. People seem willing to do

that sort of thing again and now I’ll have a dedicated space for them.”

Iles says he will keep the same look

and feel as the shop with darkish colours,

paved the way. There’s an eclectic mix of businesses here. There’s a vintage

furniture and antiques place, a micro-

brewery and a Gamespod. It used to be

more of an industrial estate but now it’s

somewhere that people come to socialise.” Vineyards is long established in

Sherborne and well known for being

cheerleaders of not just the community

but its fellow independent traders. Hannah and Sadie have treated the relocation as an extension of that.

“In a town of this size you get that

sublime window into how good community can be,” says Sadie. “We’ve just had to have some emergency tradespeople who we

just happen to count as friends of ours. In Sherborne you’re a stone’s throw away

from a talented friend and even the love

that’s going into building this new place is a community project.”

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 6

wooden floors and marble tables –

“nothing that hasn’t been done before,” he says. “It’s quite classic and simple.”

During shop hours, customers will be

able to buy a bottle and take it next door to drink in the bar for a corkage fee. Or they can choose from the by-the-glass list.

“The wine list will focus on slightly more

quirky European wines from France, Italy and Spain in particular,” Iles says. “There

will be other things as well that I don’t do

in the shop because it’s much easier to do

small parcels, even odd bottles, by Coravin

Bacchus in the bar that I wouldn’t necessarily sell in the shop.”

Small plates will also be on the menu,

and Iles says he intends to keep it all

as locally sourced as possible. “Quite

a few people do their own charcuterie

around here now and there are loads of

local cheeses in Kent and Sussex. One of my customers produces fantastic goats’ cheeses and I would love to sell those.”

Macknade has been growing steadily

since it took over the Faversham branch

of Hercules in 2019 and opened at Elwick Place in 2020.

Online merchant opens York shop September saw the opening of 2 Many Wines in York, a joint venture between

Local focus for Macknade spin-off

Cyriaque Lajoinie and Benjy Berluti.

Macknade Wine & Spirits has opened

enough that a bricks-and-mortar shop

a restaurant and retail area within Hoopers department store in Tunbridge Wells. The 4,000sq ft space includes an

“informal” restaurant area with a

breakfast, brunch and lunch menu and

the retail section showcases the best of Macknade’s locally sourced beers and wines.

“Essentially it is a very tight range,”

explains Macknade’s Finn Dunlop, “and

rather than try and condense the world,

we are proposing a specialised selection of Kent – and a bit of Sussex.”

2 Many Wines started life as an online

wine club, which Lajoinie says gave the

business “a bit of a following,” certainly became inevitable.

The range of around 200 wines has been

sourced through UK suppliers including Bibendum, New Generation, Marta Vine and Enotria&Coe. “We are not direct

importing yet,” says Lajoinie. “I know a lot

of producers but we don’t have the licence for it and we just don’t have the cash to bring pallets over.”

The pair have also invested in the most

recent model from Enomatic. “It’s the only

one in the UK,” Lajoinie says. “It holds eight bottles, it is slimmer than previous models and it looks great.”

Where am I again?

Andrew Gray was pretty sure that Grays & Feather was a good name for a wine business. It sounded like an oldestablished wine merchant sort of title, and it tripped off the tongue nicely. A brand was born, or so he believed. Although business has been booming at the Covent Garden indie, it seems that hardly anyone could actually remember what the place was called. When forced to consider the matter, words like “Grace” and “Feathers” might occasionally emerge, but hardly ever in anything approaching the right configuration. Poor old Andrew has now given up and renamed his wine bar Plume. Or maybe Flume. Definitely something like that.

Dog days for indies

Here at The Wine Merchant we understand that our reputation is built on two main ingredients: the smell of the paper we’re printed on, and the Dog of the Month on the front page. Future generations will doubtless think of us as a canine magazine that sometimes includes wine-related content. We’re delighted to see several indies taking our, er, lead. The Flying Cork in Bedford has its own Dog of the Month prize, awarded by “a secret panel of judges” (congratulations Maisie, Percy and Kiki); Sheldon’s Wines in Warwickshire parades its Dogs of the Week on its Twitter feed; and Marchtown in Glasgow runs mini-profiles of its Dogs of the Month on its webpage. Rescue dog Scruffy is the latest incumbent. “Having lost a few teeth along the way, Scruff has a snaggle-tooth face which lights up the room with his cute derpy-ness, and enjoys rubbing his face on you after he eats as a cute but gross sign of affection.”

Unhampered by its name

Macknade is offering “a very tight range” at its concession in Tunbridge Wells

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 7

Talking of Marchtown, a round of applause for sneaking in a local term for a headbutt in an otherwise innocent line-up of hamper names. Choose from Crisp & Clean, Big & Bold, Natural, Delicious Decadence, The Pamper Hamper ... or The Glasgow Kiss.

Vagabond unveils From Cape Town Birmingham plans back to Aberdeen Vagabond has chosen Birmingham for

SugarBird wine shop and bar opened in

its first venture outside of London.

Aberdeen in late August. Owners Ruth

The new branch on Colmore Row, which

will open this month, is the tenth site for

and Alex Grahame have returned to the city after spending five years running

the business.

their restaurant in South Africa.

latest development as grew up in the city.

south Aberdeen before moving to Cape

and De Grendel in Durbanville donated 300

drinkers and we’d bought wine for our

them, the way they have supported us.”

Vagabond’s managing director, Matt

Native Aberdonian Ruth explains the

Fleming, is especially pleased with this

couple previously owned a restaurant in

in Birmingham,” he says. “We’ve had

wines of South Africa. We were wine

“We’re seriously excited to be opening

our eyes on national and international

expansion since before the pandemic and Birmingham has always been marked as our first non-London opening.

“My own love for the city aside, it has one

of the best food and drink scenes in the UK and we think Vagabond will fit in perfectly with its wine-loving residents.”

Joining the management team will be

Victoria Platt who, after working at Loki in

Birmingham (whose Great Western Arcade branch is nearby) for nine years will be a familiar face for the local customers.

Town where they “discovered the amazing restaurant before, but since immersing ourselves in that environment, visiting

many, many farms and getting to know

a lot of the winemakers, our knowledge really grew,” she says.

About 65% of the range is South African.

“Our restaurant probably has the largest

Cap Classique listing in the western Cape,” says Ruth, “so we are doing a really big focus on those in the shop too.

“There was an initiative in South Africa

to help save restaurants during lockdown

Ruth and Alex Grahame

cases to us. Now we stock their full range

in the shop and we will continue to support During the summer, while Ruth was

project-managing the refit, Alex worked as

the head chef at Balmoral Castle, launching its new restaurant. As a result of that

connection SugarBird has an exclusive on

the Balmoral products including a whisky and a gin. “It’s an extra add-on, as they

make great gifts,” says Ruth. “But we’re going to focus on the wine.”

Once the business is established, they

will be direct importing and already have a list of around 15 South African producers that they want to work with. But for now, the focus is on building the e-commerce site and developing their wine club. “We’re in an area with a real

neighbourhood feel,” says Ruth. “It’s

great to be back and it’s been really well

received. Without fail everyone is saying that this is what they wanted.”

• Hooligan wine bar and bottle shop has opened in Glasgow. The sister venue of Eighty Eight restaurant in the city, it will focus on natural wines. • St Leonards in East Sussex is now home to Collected Fictions. Owned by Kate Vincent and Eliot Jones, the shop specialises in organic and natural wines as well as craft beers, a selection of which are available to An artist’s impression of Vagabond’s first branch outside London

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 8

take away in growler refills.

Bush (pictured bottom right) was “looking for colours and ideas that were different”

Kenrick finally has his name above the door after Fulham opening Kenrick Bush opened his new Fulham shop, Kenrick’s, in August. Following his collaborations at BoB

Wines in Bromley and Urban Cellar in

Crystal Palace, Bush is happy to be the star of his own show, with his name above the door.

“It has always been my ambition to have

my own wine shop,” says Bush. “With BoB I was one of a group of people and with

Urban Cellar it was 50-50. I am a creative

person and have this energy and I want to go ahead full on and do what I believe is right for a wine shop.”

The new shop, fitted out by a friend

who is a set designer, is large enough to incorporate a dedicated tasting room.

“You have to be different to be noticed,”

says Bush, a Frenchman originally from

Paris, “and I was looking for colours and ideas that were different. Wine is about

conviviality and I wanted to bring life and theatre to the shop.”

Bush is currently working with a range

of wine suppliers including Alliance and Boutinot.

“I am looking for wines with a bit of a

story, wines that will please the natural wine drinkers as well as the more

traditional wine drinkers,” he says.

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 9

NOT YOU AGAIN!

customers we could do without

28. Harry Wahgorne … no, I can see what you’ve tried to do here, and it looks great … really great … this is just an idea, OK, but maybe if you’d put the fridge on this wall instead of that wall that might have freed up this space here for your tasting table, which is kind of lost at the back there … don’t listen to me, though, what do I know … then the counter could have pivoted at 90 degrees so you’ve got an easier route to the stock room … just a suggestion … then your Enigmatic machine would go here rather than there so when people are standing around using it they’re not blocking your Champagnes … yeah? … or even better, put your bottled beers in that corner and move your reds on to the main wall, which would mean your white wines could shift two metres this way out of the sun … then lose them Decanter awards certificates … maybe paint some funny slogans: “Breakfast without gin is like a day without sunshine” kinda thing … How much did you pay for the new ceiling? See, personally I would strip that out and make a feature of the wires and ductwork … actually there’s a bigger unit over the road that would be a better bet altogether … but don’t listen to me, you’ve done a great job …

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Congratulations to the five Wine

Merchant reader survey respondents

whose names were drawn at random

AM ANAand TIaMCoravin, GRwho E courtesy of each win

ourelements partner Hatch Mansfield. Can you unscramble these of a wine bottle? If so, you win a kind of magic. Peter Fawcett, Field & Fawcett, York

1.Anthony Cello Crank Borges, The Wine Centre, 2. Cue Slap Great Horkesley, Essex 3. Rude Slosh 4.Zoran TitchyRistanovic, Conkers City Wine Collection, 5. Lee’s Tum London Daniel Grigg, Museum Wines, Dorset Riaz Syed, Stonewines, London

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 10

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THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 24

26: Take part in a local festival

ight ideas br

Nick Chapman To Be Consumed, Leytonstone

In a nutshell: Put your shop firmly on the local map by participating in a festival. Tell us more …

“Leytonstone has quite a good, solid local scene. There’s a lot of local support for the Leytonstone Arts Trail and things

like that. Leytonstone Festival has been

around for a few years. Basically you put

yourself forward as a venue and then acts can contact you if they want to perform

at your venue, or you can seek people out independently.”

What did you choose to do? “We’d already partially organised a party

on that Saturday anyway, then we realised it was the first day of the festival so we thought it would be a good way to get

Happy to be playing tunes – and on the way to record-breaking takings for a single day

involved and get some added exposure, as

couple of months had been, it kind of lulled

some kit too, and I plugged into it so it was

Cats and these guys called Apart Together,

reopening, people back from holidays, the

How did it feel to open your doors after

you get listed in their programme.

“It was a collaboration with the Curry

who have been doing gigs through

us into a false sense of what the day would bring. It was the perfect storm of things

all fairly straightforward.”

Leytonstone Festival, and a really good

Covid restrictions and collaborate with

Did you make any special provisions?

before everything got locked down so it’s

local network.”

other people?

so we decided to do it live and together.”

“No. All the chairs and tables were ours.

something I’m quite fond of doing anyway.

“It was amazing! It was our best takings

made room to form a dance floor inside.

lockdown and broadcasting them online. The Curry Cats were occasionally doing

pop-ups out at the front of our bar anyway How successful was it on the day?

ever in a single day. We didn’t charge an entrance fee or take commission on the

food, so that was all alcohol sales. We were in fact unprepared for how busy it was

going to be. We should have had more staff on but, considering how abysmal the last

We took our indoor tables and chairs to join our outside seating stuff and that

We are the only arch in use in our run.

Most of the other arches usually have cars parked outside most of the time, but we

spread out and had the front of our shop and a bit of extra space. The DJs brought

their own kit along and set up, and I’ve got

“We used to throw parties once a month It was really good to work with other

people and it was nice to have the food

and music more or less taken care of, as I was running around on the day trying to

manage things. I DJed early on and then got back to work. I almost didn’t do it because you feel like you should be doing other

things. But it was nice to play some tunes for the first time in a very long time.”

Nick wins a WBC gift box containing some premium drinks and a box of chocolates. Tell us about a bright idea that’s worked for you and you too could win a prize. Email claire@winemerchantmag.com

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 25

new kids on the brunello block Banfi arrived in Montalcino as recently as 1978 but wasted no time in establishing itself as one of the region’s largest and most innovative producers. Our group of tasters put four of its wines, imported by Louis Latour Agencies, to the test

anfi is a remarkable business for several reasons. Scale is the most obvious: the estate claims to be the largest contiguous vineyard in Europe, with land in Tuscany and Piedmont. It was founded by the Mariani family in 1978. “We were the new kids on the block in Montalcino,” says Jgor Marini, the company’s regional director (pictured opposite), who hosted a Zoom tasting of four wines from the range for an audience of independent wine merchants. “Montalcino doesn’t have such a long history in the wine business even though wines have been produced there since Roman times. We became, all of a sudden, the biggest producer of Brunello di Montalcino.” But Banfi’s reputation is not based

simply on its size. From the beginning, it has been studying, experimenting and innovating. Marini says: “We were the first to identify the clones of Sangiovese and were planting and micro-vinifying them for more than 10 years in our estate. There were more than 650 in the beginning; we reduced that to about 18 to produce our basic Brunello. Now we are focusing on three clones for Brunello di Montalcino for 70% of our requirements.” Banfi also developed a new trellising system, whose name translates as “little tree”, which has proved ideal for Sangiovese (and the vineyard workers who nurture it). It has two hectares of experimental vineyards, which will help it meet the challenges of climate change.

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 26

Marini adds: “We divide up our estate so it’s a constellation of single vineyards. Potentially we can do more than 20 Brunellos every year and every little parcel is picked, fermented and aged separately.” Wines are fermented in tanks made of oak and stainless steel – a hybrid that Banfi claims as a world first. “The wood softens the tannins and deepens the colour, and of course stainless steel helps to keep the correct temperature,” explains Marini. “It reduces oxidation and makes the process much cleaner in terms of preserving the purity of the grapes. Feature sponsored by Louis Latour Agencies and Banfi. Visit louislatour.co.uk or call 020 7409 7276 for more information about Banfi wines.

La Pettegola Vermentino 2020 Vermentino is produced in a handful of Italian regions but according to Marini, “the Tuscan Vermentino is the most aromatic style with primary aromas – it’s very fruity and flowery and explosive in the mouth. It’s definitely a coastal wine”. He adds: “It’s surprising to find such a fresh and refreshing style of wine coming from a very warm climate. It’s easy-going and Mediterranean, but you can smell this creaminess and oiliness which is definitely coming from the weather, not the lees.” Louise Oliver from Seven Cellars in Brighton says: “I’ve always been a fan of Vermentino so I loved trying the softer Tuscan coastal style of La Pettegola. “I’m more used to the punchy Sardinian one so this a refreshing change. It would definitely be one to suggest to customers wanting to pull away from Sauvignon Blanc.”

La Lus Albarossa 2017 None of our tasters had heard of the obscure Albarossa variety, which is a 1938 crossing of Barbera and Nebbiolo. It didn’t catch on and almost disappeared until about 20 years ago when Banfi (among a handful of others) decided to give it another chance. The result is La Lus, whose name translates in local dialect as “the light”. “It’s a wine that needs to be tasted to be understood,” says Marini. “It’s a deep colour, it’s very inky; it’s so good looking so the first impression is not far away from deep coloured Barbera. “The nose is spicy and appealing and with a greater complexity, I would say, than regular

Barbera. It’s a full-bodied wine with a very fresh and spicy balance. It’s velvety with soft tannins, a round texture, but at the same time a nice refreshing acidity that makes the wine easy-going. It’s very successful every time we open the bottle.” For Kent Barker of Wilding in Salisbury and Eight Stony Street in Frome, “the Albarossa was super interesting and a wine we could have some fun with and sell well”. Louise Oliver at Seven Cellars adds: “La Lus would sell really well at Seven Cellars with many more people open to spending over £20 regularly. I would happily recommend it for Sunday lunch.”

Brunello di Montalcino 2015 Banfi’s flagship wine is produced with grapes from 20 or more separate plots, a good insurance policy in wet, cold years like 2014. Happily, 2015 was a five-star vintage but even so this is a wine that needs time to mellow and hit its stride. “By law Brunello must be aged for five years in the cellar,” says Marini. “Two of the years must be in wood. The final result is always a very difficult balance between acidity, tannins, alcohol and colour. “Sangiovese is very different for Brunello than it is for Chianti. In Montalcino we are much richer in tannins and that’s why we have five years of ageing. I don’t think there are many appellations in the world where you are required to keep the wine for five years in the cellar. The tannins need to be softened and rounded.” After six years, the 2021 is already drinking beautifully. “It smells complex; it’s liquorice, it’s leather, it’s tobacco, with some green notes. In the mouth it’s very high in tannins but at the same time this freshness is making it a very easy wine. It can be your best friend with food because this harsh texture will be your palate cleaner.” Maxwell Graham-Wood from Satchells

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 27

of Burnham Market is a fan. “The Brunello was magnificent,” he says. “In my 43 years in the trade I have recently tasted several over-extracted wines which are not typical of the style. This was elegant yet powerful, from excellent terroir.” Louise Oliver adds: “I liked the Brunello very much and it would be a lovely one to recommend for the Christmas table.”

Rosa Regale Brachetto d’Acqui 2020 It may be a party wine but it’s a mistake to damn it with such faint praise. As Marini explains, “this wine is the easiest to drink but the most complicated to produce”. It’s a question of keeping several things in balance: aroma, alcohol, bubbles and sweetness. Brachetto is a variety that has incorrectly been placed, by some experts, in the Muscat family. In terms of colour, it’s nearer Nebbiolo. As Marini acknowledges, Brachetto has been mistreated in the past, resulting in some “horrible” supermarket fizz. There are no such concerns here. “We have a very short fermentation, about one day, and then we close the vat to ferment in Charmat style – very simple. Once the wine reaches 7% alcohol we stop fermentation and reduce the temperature to zero degrees and we get wines with 5.5% atmosphere or less, like Champagne.” With 110g/l of residual sugar, this is undoubtedly a sweet wine, but its zippy acidity keeps it interesting – perhaps with food, but in Marini’s opinion, more enjoyably as a treat in its own right. There are delicate notes of rose petals and wild strawberries. “The Brachetto is one I really enjoyed drinking myself,” says Oliver at Seven Cellars. “It may be that British consumers are becoming more persuadable to premium sweeter wines … it would definitely be a hand-sell at the moment.” For Maxwell Graham-Smith, the wine was “a winner … sweet but not too sweet. Much better than an over-sweet Moscato”.

BITS & BOBS

Favourite Things

Pernod snaps up Whisky Exchange Pernod Ricard has acquired The Whisky Exchange, a leading online and physical spirits retailer and a reference for global whisky and fine spirits lovers.

Favourite wine on my list

Kit’s Coty Chardonnay, Chapel Down. We serve this by the glass and it’s been a great way to introduce people to English still wines and show them that oaked Chardonnay is a thing of beauty.

A volcanic eruption in the Canary

Rajbir Singh in 1999, The Whisky

affecting harvest and production on the

drinks retailers, with a catalogue of circa

high, now covers 154ha of land.

to operate with its current team and

ash.

Exchange, based in the UK, has become

The Wee Vinoteca, Hitchin

Volcano damages island vineyards

Islands has resulted in burned vines,

Since its creation by Sukhinder and

Duncan Gammie

Magpie

one of the biggest, most successful online 10,000 products.

The Whisky Exchange will continue

structure, with Sukhinder and Rajbir Singh running the business as joint managing directors.

Business Wire, September 21

island of La Palma. The lava flow, which is as much as 12m Sixty of La Palma’s 871ha of vineyards

have been damaged by the lava flow and The volcano’s eruption comes after a

heatwave in mid-August that destroyed

between 80% and 90% of Malvasia grapes. Decanter, September 23

Favourite wine and food match

This summer I’ve been using my barbecue a lot. My best pairing was a steak sandwich with our Ribera del Duero Sembro by Vinos del Jaros.

Favourite wine trip

My wife and I had a fantastic time in Napa, visiting classic wineries from the Judgement of Paris tasting. On our final day there we got engaged at Clos du Val, right in the vineyard.

Favourite wine trade person

Mark Innes at Hallgarten. While the last 18 months have been incredibly difficult with Covid and Brexit, Mark has been the most proactive of all our suppliers. He has been fantastic at working with our business’s needs and in the event a wine goes out of stock, he is always able to organise fantastic alternatives.

Favourite wine shop

Smith & Gertrude in Edinburgh. Such a welcoming space with great wines. I only wish it was closer so I could visit more regularly.

Company will continue to be run by the founding Singhs

Handbags not as reliable as wine Fine wines have toppled Hermès handbags and Scotch as the best performing luxury investment during the pandemic, says new data. Analysis by Knight Frank reveals that

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 28

wines from Bordeaux outperformed luxury watches by the likes of Rolex and Cartier, Hermès Birkin handbags and fancy cars during the 12 months to June 2021.

The average price of investment-grade

wines rose by 13% over that period, while the average price of a Birkin bag dropped by 3%.

Decanter, September 27

Laithwaites enjoys a bit of drama

THE BURNING QUESTION

How are you coping with the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc shortage?

�

We have about four different New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs including an organic one. It’s been so far, so good with our supply but we have been warned that there’s going to be an issue. Recently we’ve been finding that a lot of our diehard New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc fans have been turning towards Albariño. They wanted to try something a little bit different. Another thing that’s proved really popular is the Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blend we discovered with the Wines of Bordeaux tasting.

Laithwaites has created a series of 20-second ads as it becomes the first official wine partner of ITV Drama. The collaboration will see 12 new

contextual TV ads exploring the “drama in every drop” of Laithwaite’s wines.

”

Each 20 second spot will be broadcast

around ITV’s new dramas this autumn

including The Larkins, Hollington Drive, The Long Call, Midsomer Murders and Grantchester.

The Drinks Business, September 28

Doing more than bottling sunshine Treasury Wine Estates, which produces

Charlotte Shek H Champagne winner H Shekleton Wines, Stamford, Lincolnshire

�

It takes a little bit of hand-selling but we’ve swapped in a Bacchus from Oxfordshire. It’s got a lot of similar characteristics and everyone we’ve turned on to it has loved it. We’ve used the situation as an opportunity to get people to try something they wouldn’t normally come across. Our New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc has never been anywhere near our entry-level wines in terms of price, so it’s not too much of a price jump to the Bacchus.

”

Sarah Helliwell Eight Stony Street, Frome

the premium brands Penfolds, Wolf Blass, Pepperjack, and Wynns, has pledged to source its electricity needs

�

I’ve been selling one from the south of France. It’s quite a different style but a very nice Sauvignon. I’m not very keen on Chilean Sauvignon myself so although we sell some, we don’t push it, really. I’ve got a very good one from South Africa. It’s from a winery called Raka and that seems to be the go-to one at the moment. The RRP is £13.25 so it’s perhaps a bit on the high side, but it’s got bags of flavour. The French one is only £9.65 so that appeals to lots of people.

from 100% solar by 2024. Barossa Valley wineries have already

achieved 100% renewable energy by

installing a 3MW solar system. A 1.4MW system powers the Barossa Valley operations of the Yalumba Family.

”

CleanTechnica, September 27

Laphroaig legend goes independent Laphroaig is one of the more popular Scotch single malt whisky brands, and much of that has to do with the distillery management of John Campbell. This legendary distillery manager has

been with the brand for 27 years, with nearly 16 of those in his current role.

Now he is set to move on, with plans to

“take up a new challenge at an independent distillery company” in mid-November.

Simon March Evington’s Wine Merchants, Leicester

�

We haven’t been affected by the shortage at the moment. Our suppliers have been asking if we want our full allocation. One of them has a lot on the water, which is coming in shortly. It’s a hard one because if people want New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, that’s what they want. Some customers have very specific palates. People are beginning to understand that there have been delays and shortages – this petrol situation will certainly help bring it home, so they are more likely to accept alternatives. Jon Moore Mumbles Fine Wine, Swansea

”

Champagne Gosset The oldest wine house in Champagne: Äy 1584

The Whiskey Wash, September 27

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 29

Take six wines The Cordillera range from Miguel Torres Chile showcases not only the differences between the country’s regions – both established and emerging – but winemaker Eduardo Jordán’s deftness with the fruit he works with

ix still wines made from six different grape varieties: that’s the simple

equation that makes up the Cordillera

range from Miguel Torres Chile.

A sparkling wine actually rounds the

range up to seven, but it was the half-dozen still wines that were put through their

paces by indies in a virtual tasting hosted by chief winemaker Eduardo Jordán.

“Chile is hugely diverse in terms of

climate and soils,” says Jordán. “Cordillera is an important range because it allows

us to study the different terroirs we have

in Chile. We want to explore the diversity

we have; each wine is from a special site, a special area or special vineyard in a small part of a single valley.”

Cordillera Chardonnay, Limarí Valley 2019 (RRP £14.99) “Limarí is around 400km north of Santiago. It’s a dry area, almost desert, and this wine

“We don’t like to use too much oak with

the Chardonnay; it’s more about the wine.”

was made from two sites in the same valley. Talinay is 12km from the sea and is very

cold with calcareous soil – shells with clay on top; El Espinal is more alluvial soil and

warmer because it is further from the sea.

“The calcareous rocks give the structure

of the wine and the clay layer on the

surface gives a creamy style. From the

alluvial soil vineyard we obtain a lot of

saltiness. Both play very well when we

blend – expect saltiness, structure, citrus,

minerality. It’s very fresh, with sometimes a touch of papaya.

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 30

Wines from the Cordillera line-up

Cordillera Sauvignon Blanc, Orsono Valley 2019

than 30 years old, and located in a part of

(RRP £14.99)

Maule known as Maule Secano. The blend has to have a minimum of 85% Carignan,

“Orsono is a new wine region; the first

and the rest must be other varieties from

vineyards were planted around 2010 and

the same area that are also over 30 years

it’s basically volcanic soils.

old. It’s put Chile on the map with this

“We have only two hectares. The

variety.

vineyard is planted in terraces, each with

“Our vineyards were planted in 1950.

two rows. The grapes from the outside row

It’s important not to pick too late because

are more tropical and the inside ones are

that can give too much alcohol and over-

more green. Each year the job for us to find

ripe red fruit character. We aim for a more

the balance between the two in the wine.

elegant style.”

“Production is low, at around 1.5kg per

vine; if you have more you don’t get the

Feature sponsored by Fells and Torres.

ripeness.

“The core of the wine is its acidity and

Eduardo Jordán

it could be cellared for a long time. The vineyards are still young, so each year

we’re gaining more body to balance the acidity.”

vineyards come from a foggy part of the

2018 (RRP £15.99)

can be a month after the less foggy areas.

Cordillera Carménère, Peumo, Cachapoal Valley “Carménère likes the warmth. Peumo is

south of Santiago, 60km from the sea, and the temperatures are high. It’s close to a

river with alluvial soils which Carménère likes.

“The harvest is very important because

region, which is the cooler part with more influence from the sea. The ripeness here “The alcohol is relatively high because

we need more mature ripeness, because the natural acidity is quite high.”

Cordillera Cabernet Sauvignon, Maipo Valley 2018 (RRP £15.99)

Carménère is a variety that shows you

“The main vineyards here are planted close

grapes aren’t producing any more green

with colluvial soil [loose deposits from rain

when it is ready to pick, when the grapes change colour from green to red, and the

character. It’s very important to pick at that point because you can lose the acidity of the grapes if you don’t.

“That allows you not to use too much

oak, so you can really feel the variety. The

spicy character is the DNA of the wine and you need that, with good red fruit.”

Cordillera Syrah, Casablanca Valley 2019 (RRP £15.99) “We have a very good climate and soils

for Syrah in Chile, whether it’s warm or

cool areas. The yield is a maximum of 2kg per vine. If you have more you don’t get

the maturity. They are planted on slopes

looking for the sun to obtain the ripeness. It’s granite soil, which Syrah likes.

“Casablanca is a cool region and our

to the river in alluvial soil but this vineyard is further from the river, in a cooler area erosion and landslides].

“The vineyards are in the foothills of the

Andes, an area that was below sea level millions of years ago, so there’s a lot of

calcium deposited in the vineyards. This changes the body in the mouth and the minerality.

“2018 was considered one of the best

vintages for Chile because it was a very

cool year. It gained the ripeness very slowly and we can better show the influence of the place.”

Vigno, Maule Valley 2017 (RRP £15.99) “Vigno is an association of producers,

created in 2011, with the focus to produce the best Carignan and create a DO.

“The vines have to be bush vines no less

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 31

Visit fells.co.uk or call 01442 870900 for more information about Torres wines.

Merchant feedback Patrick Rohde, Aitken Wines, Dundee My personal favourites were the Chardonnay from Limarí Valley which I was lucky enough to visit many years ago with Wines of Chile and I love this more restrained style. Also, the Cabernet Sauvignon delivered for me: a nice, rounded and flavoursome red.

Aimee Davies, Aimee’s Wine House, Bristol The Sauvignon Blanc really stood out. I know everyone is quick to compare Sauvignon Blancs from around the world to the likes of New Zealand but this one really exhibits its own personality – really zesty! Very pronounced lime citrus notes, giving a great twang on the palate. Bags of character for an RRP of £14.99.

Riaz Syed, Stonewines, north London The quality of wines was really high. It was especially pleasing to see the different characters of each red grape, from the green notes in the Carménère, eucalyptus showing in the Syrah, black chocolate and silky smooth tannins in the Cabernet; all outstanding value. With the difficulties facing this year’s New Zealand harvest, there really is a time and place for Chilean Sauvignon Blanc, and that time ought to be now!

idris joins the independent trade The star of Luther and The Wire has teamed up with David Farber of Connaught Cellars to open a new wine shop and bar in Kings Cross. The pair are already partners in the Porte Noire Champagne label

always had the idea of maybe having his

month, is a continuation of the Porte Noire

product and not a flashy or marketing

ine merchant David Farber has

partnered up with actor Idris Elba

to open Porte Noire in Kings Cross.

The shop and bar, which will open this

brand; their collaboration has already

produced two Champagnes and a rosé. Farber, who established Connaught

Cellars near Marble Arch in 2016, admits

that a celebrity wine can be both a blessing and a curse, but he is adamant that this is no vanity project.

“It is not just a name endorsement where

you associate your name and receive

whatever percentage commission on the

sales, because otherwise Idris would have

associated himself with a famous label, not with me,” he laughs.

The venture seems to have come about

quite organically, with the pair meeting

through a mutual friend some years ago.

“Idris loves Champagne,” explains Farber, “and I think at the back of his mind he

own. I took him to visit a vineyard and

winery I thought would work and his first

criterion was to make sure we had a quality gimmick.

“He wanted to be totally involved

and develop his own brand. He has a

good palate. In terms of selecting the

Champagne, he has very good taste – just not the cheapest!”

So far the feedback, even from fellow

merchants, has been good. “I went

to a lunch on Saturday with six wine

Fifty per cent of the space is devoted to retail

merchants,” Farber says.

“I bought a magnum of the Champagne

and one of them said, ‘oh, as much as I

want to hate it because it is a celebrity

Champagne, it is actually really good’. The reviews it has had from the critics have

been positive so that gave us confidence that we were doing something right.”

ocated at the base of Gasholders

residential development, Porte Noire

will include a dining room, a bar and an

outside terrace as well as a shop. “Fifty per

cent of the floor space is dedicated to retail, including the walk-in fine wine room,” says Farber.

“At Connaught we are mainly French

and Italian focused, but the range at Porte

Porte Noire is part of the Gasholders development

Noire will be larger and more international.

classic, fine wines. We are also going to

from both locations.

the prices will be very reasonable,”

There will of course be some crossover

and the wines we direct import will be sold “At Kings Cross we are going to have

a good selection of organic, natural and

biodynamic wines alongside a lot of very

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 32

have wines on tap, on KeyKeg, at the bar. “The place looks very high-end but

Farber adds. “We want to become a wine destination for the people who live and

work there. Just as we did with Connaught

Idris Elba on wine Do you remember how you first got interested in wine? My first time being interested in wine was after tasting Francis Coppola’s red. This was a long time back and it was a gift from a film producer. He told me that Coppola’s name looked great on a bottle – and they thought Elba would look great too one day.

Cellars, whether it is on the retail or the

bar side, the idea is to create a small wine community. Most of our customers have

become our friends and it is about bringing this friendliness and approachability to the wines. We don’t want to have any

You probably get presented with lots of investment opportunities. What persuaded you to go into business with David and how involved do you expect to be? The opportunity was to be a small part of a history and amplify the work that Sanger [school of Champagne] had been doing. I was so intrigued by the history of the school and the students continue its journey. David became an instant partner. Well, almost! He is very knowledgeable, and walks me though the intricate nature of winemaking, without making me feel like a novice. We make a good team (I hope!) What’s the best wine you’ve enjoyed in the past six months or so? A wine called Chocolate Block. Firstly I love the name; it’s already intriguing. It’s a heavy bodied fruity Syrah from 2019. I had it at dinner after a vegan curry and it went down properly.

pretensions in terms of price or service.”

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 33

WINE MERCHANT TASTING EVENT

The many faces of Rías Baixas Sarah Jane Evans MW’s masterclass reminded a group of merchants why this Spanish region is a world-beater with its Albariño – but is also more multi-faceted and nuanced than they may have thought

ew regions are as associated with a

single grape variety as Rías Baixas is

with Albariño. And few places on the

global wine map have experienced such stellar success in such a short period of

time. This is a white wine style that has won admirers just about everywhere. Yet this is not a one-dimensional

Denominación de Origen. It’s true that

Albariño accounts for 95% of plantings,

but other grapes do make an appearance. More crucially, Rías Baixas is divided into five subregions, each with its particular quirks and characteristics. As we were

artisanal growers and producers.

Vineyards are typically tiny, she says,

with mechanisation very much the

exception rather than the rule. The iconic granite-posted trellis system remains

popular, though some producers now

favour more conventional pruning regimes. (Part of the reason for the trellis system’s popularity is that families could also

cultivate vegetables on the land beneath the canopy.)

“Rías Baixas has the same number

about to discover at a London masterclass

This is Green Spain, a land of wild

Wines from the London line-up

for respite from the merciless sun, and the

of growers as Burgundy even though

178 wineries here and 3,800 in Burgundy.”

in 1988, Evans reminds us, and although investment has been

trickling into the region from various

sources, this is still essentially a land of

selection of seven wines, paired with tapas dishes, giving a flavour of each.

Salnés

“Salnés is the biggest region,” Evans says.

“Cambados, in the middle, is a great tourist town. There are some small producers around there doing some absolutely

wonderful stuff. Salnés has the most

22.5˚C, this is one of the cooler regions,

bear more resemblance to those of London

he Rías Baixas DO was created

introduced to all five subregions, with a

With an average June temperature of

coastlines and cool, rainy summers that

well.

many faces of Rías Baixas”. Guests were

about 60% of the vineyard area.”

even some of its admirers realise.

conditions suit the Albariño grape just as

in Victoria, central London, was “the

has a very distinctive style. It accounts for

has more breadth and more variety than

Barcelona. Many Spaniards holiday here

DO Rías Baixas at the Ibérica restaurant

wineries and vineyards and it’s wet. It

led by Sarah Jane Evans MW, Rías Baixas

than to the baking heat of Madrid or

The theme of the tasting, hosted by

Burgundy has 30,000 hectares and Rías

Baixas has 4,000,” Evans says. “There are

If the number sounds low, bear in mind

there were just 30 when the DO was

created. Since that time, volumes have

multiplied almost eightfold, to 23.5m litres in 2020.

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 34

where saline characters (a feature of

virtually all Rías Baixas wines) are most pronounced.

We sample Adegas Gran Vinum Esencia

Diviña 2020 (RRP £13.99, Milton Sandford Wine).

“This is a young, straightforward

example of Salnés that has had nothing

done to it,” says Evans. “It’s aromatic; you do get that peachiness, and really lovely acidity. It’s a pure example.”

We also try Agro de Bazan Gran Bazan

Etiqueta Ambar (RRP £16, Boutinot).

Ormarine vines near L’Étang de Thau

“This is a good example of a single-estate

wine. It’s located 1km from the sea and it spends eight months on the lees. This is like ducking your head under the water

and being washed by a wave; that saltiness. It’s a wine you have with oysters … the

seafood in the area is terrific and this is so appetising. It makes your mouth water.”

O Rosal

“This is very close to the Portuguese

border, and it runs along the Miño,” says

Evans. “And while the message from most

of Rías Baixas is granite, a lot of these soils are schist. It’s warmer down there and the wines are peachier and riper.”

The first wine we try is Lagar de

Cervera Pazo de Seoane 2020 (RRP £16, Armit Wines). It turns out to be a bit of an

outlier, with Albariño making up just 60% of the mix. The remainder is 12% Caíño

Blanco (“definitely the variety that gives

the acidity”), 21% Loureiro (“which is quite aromatic”) and 7% Treixadura (“which has a lovely texture”).

“It has a huge amount of flavour,” Evans

concludes.

The second wine is Quinta Couselo

Selección 2015 (RRP £22, H2Vin). “This spends 40 months on lees.

There’s a niche category of these. When you’re having an aged Albariño it can

turn into a completely different wine. It still has acidity and freshness. They’ve

also extracted a kind of oiliness which is interesting and would go with fish.”

The wine has a 5% Loureiro component

and a similar proportion of Caíño Blanco. “It’s a really interesting and gastronomic wine,” says Evans.

Condado do Tea

“A little bit further inland and further

upriver is Condado do Tea. Here you begin to see the mountain influence. It is the

largest of the subzones though production

Viticulture in Rías Baixas is a small-scale enterprise, with pergolas still commonplace

is only in fact 20%. It’s the most southerly,

most inland and the warmest – the average temperature in June is 24.5˚C.”

Bodegas As Laxas Sensum Laxus Brut

1999 (RRP £20, Just Galician Wine) is the

only sparkling wine in the tasting, made in the traditional method.

“People in Galicia said there’s no way you

can have sparkling Albariño; it’s a bit like having sparkling Sauvignon Blanc,” says

Evans. “But actually I think it does work.”

Tasters appreciate the 8g/l dosage, which rounds out the natural acidity.

Corisca Finca Muiño 2019 (RRP £20,

Vinceremos) is an organic wine made from 45-year-old vines – ancient by Rías Baixas

Soutomaior Nestled in the hills at the head of the Rías de Vigo, Soutomaior is the smallest of the

sub-regions. Soils are light and sandy over granite bedrock.

Its representative at the tasting is

Noelia Bebelia Preguiceiro 2018 (RRP £23, Ellis of Richmond) and it’s the only red in the line-up, made with equal

quantities of Caiño, Sousón and Brancellao. Another organic wine, “it smells delicious and there’s a leafy quality that is very

appetising,” says Evans. The wine comes into its own lightly chilled.

standards. The wine has spent 12 months on its lees

Here the fruit is more subdued, with a

soft earthiness coming to the fore.

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 35

wwww.doriasbaixas.com

JUST WILLIAMS

Striking twelve: the happy return of a vital tasting The Dirty Dozen may look rather different to its original iteration of 10 years ago. But for David Williams, the collective still captures the essence of all that’s exciting about the UK’s wine scene

t 10 years old, The Dirty Dozen tasting is at a curious point in

its evolution. A number of the

original founders are no longer on the

bill, among them important names that

embodied the trailblazing spirit of the first Dirty Dozen event in 2011, such as Vine Trail, Roberson, Flint Wines, The Wine Barn, Aubert & Mascoli and Indigo.

This might lead to speculation along

the lines of the famous head-spinning

philosophical conundrum of Theseus’s Ship: can a vessel that has had all of its

constituent parts replaced over the years really be said to be the same ship it was

when it was first made? In the same spirit, the UK wine trade might ask: Just how

many of the original members of The Dirty Dozen can the event stand to lose before it becomes something else altogether? For now the question is still just

about moot, and not only because of the continued presence of such founding

members as Astrum, H2Vin, fortyfive10°,

Susana Esteban, a star of Alentejo

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 36

Clark Foyster and Raymond Reynolds.

was completely bowled over

in Lisboa and Susana Esteban in Alentejo

done. The likes of Ucopia, a spanking

made (in a mix of amphora,

shake-up, however, is that the spread of

The recruitment of the newer players

by the gossamer-soft, pure

has for the most part been sensitively

high-altitude Valencian white

new Latin American specialist set

neutral oak and stainless

up by ex-Las Bodegas man Laurie

steel) from the fascinating

Webster, the classical Burgundy and

local variety Merseguera,

Germany specialist Howard Ripley

and the consistently excellent, ever-

adventurous Yapp and Carte Blanche, for example, are each simultaneously

different enough and similar enough to their predecessors for punters to not

notice the joins. Safe to say there is still an ethos here, a recognisable kinship among the different suppliers and their wines.

nd that means the event still has the capacity to excite

its audience of independent

merchants, sommeliers and press. It’s

still a must-visit tasting. All the more so,

perhaps, after an 18 months during which it was possible to speculate that such events might never happen again.

Indeed, once I’d got over the emotionally

confusing strangeness of being in an

enclosed space crowded with unmasked tasters spitting into cardboard cups, I

found dozens of memorable, and not at all

dirty, wines at the triumphant return event at Glaziers Hall by Southwark Cathedral in late September.

Among the highlights were several

wines from Spain, a country that, despite the absence of Indigo, has become a

Baldovar 923 Cañada Paris 2018 and by two equally

haunting, but very different

interpretations of Sierra de Gredos

Garnacha offered by Ca di Mat (Valautin Garnacha and Los Peros Tinto).

But at the opposite end of the scale, I

loved, as I always do, the refined silky-

savoury magnificence of ultra-traditionalist Rioja producer López de Heredia’s Viña Tondonia 2008 and was fascinated by

its Swig stablemate, Bodegas Valsardo

Reserva Superiore 2002: a parcel of mature Tempranillo from a vineyard next to Peter Sisseck’s Pingus, made in a supremely

elegant (12.5% abv) way that would have

put it completely at odds with the big fruit, big oak wines being made in the region at the time.

full range of the country’s modern artisan

Pato and Dirk Niepoort, but also in the

a reflection of Spain’s relatively recent avant-garde small producers.

The Dozen’s Spanish offering took in the

winemaking. From Carte Blanche’s stock of natural and nearly-natural, terroir wines I

One consequence of the line-up

specialisms was arguably wider at this edition of the Dozen than ever. From

Corsica (H2Vin’s excellent Clos Canarelli and Yapp’s elegant Domaine Torraccia) to Georgia (Clark Foyster’s peerless

Orgo), and from Greece (the sometimes

quirky, sometimes eccentric, but always

compelling roster put together by Maltby & Greek) to new-wave South Africa

Once I’d got over the emotionally confusing strangeness of being in an enclosed space crowded with unmasked tasters, I found dozens of memorable, and not at all dirty, wines at the triumphant return event at Glazier’s Hall

emergence as a fertile breeding ground for

real collective specialism of the Dozen,

(both courtesy of Raymond Reynolds).

he western half of Iberia also

had plenty to offer in the shape of the usual fabulous offerings

from such celebrated vanguard Central

Portuguese producers as Luis and Filipa

lesser-known, but intriguingly balanced, succulent southern wines from Ramilo

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 37

(superb new releases from Keermont

and BlankBottle courtesy of Swig), The Dirty Dozen remains one of the most cosmopolitan tastings around.

It’s a busy global-bazaar where you can

see how Dirk Niepoort’s Mosel project

stacks up alongside the classic masters of the region, Howard Ripley’s JJ Prüm and

Fritz Haag; where a singing Baden take on Blaufränkisch (Yapp’s Klumpp Cuvée No

1 2018) can be tasted alongside Prieler’s take on the grape from Burgenland; and where Malbec’s graceful

side comes out in wines from Mendoza (Susana Balbo);

Patagonia (Bodegas Noemia) and Cahors (Mas del Perle). All of which enthusiastic

reporting is really just to say the current iteration of The

Dirty Dozen was fun. I’m very

glad it’s back. And long may it continue.

Vasse Felix vineyards

A road trip acros Australia with Fe Pewsey Vale Eden Valley Riesling 2020 (RRP £16.99) “We always think about Australia as being about the present, but Pewsey Vale was established in 1847.

“The vineyard is quite high altitude for Australia, at

440-490 metres, which gives a good difference between day and night temperature, and produces good acidity. “Pewsey Vale is about one vineyard, one variety, one

vision, and it’s very rare to find that single vision in a producer. It makes four Rieslings, three of which are sold in the UK.

“This is really dry but has a fruit sweetness element,

like a candied lime or orange peel that shines through.

“At 12.5% it’s at the low end from an alcohol point of

view, but Riesling delivers a lot of flavour and a lot of Louisa Rose of Pewsey Vale

acidity at low alcohol levels.

The Yalumba winery

something to eat with it.”

“Australian Riesling is quite often overlooked, but I’d say don’t

judge it by the first sip and – this is incredibly important – have Tyrrell’s Hunter Valley Semillon 2019 (RRP £18.99)

“If anyone is looking for lower alcohol wine, it doesn’t get much lower than this, and to get this amount of flavour at 10% is remarkable.

“They pick quite early, with low sugar content, which is the way

in Hunter, to preserve that already quite low acidity level. Hunter Valley Semillon is always about the textural element.

“I personally like to open this a bit in advance. You want to give

Semillon a bit of time – and a slightly bigger glass.

“Semillon becomes very interesting with bottle age. It keeps its

freshness and gains vigour.” Dalrymple winemaker Pete Caldwell

Dalrymple Cave Block Chardonnay, Tasmania 2017 (RRP £27.99) “Tasmania has been on the radar of producers from

mainland Australia for a number of years and several have bought vineyards as it’s become more popular. What you see coming out of there is actually quite stunning quality.

“It makes excellent Pinot Noir, excellent

Chardonnay and excellent sparkling wine. It’s a bit like Burgundy meets Champagne.

“I think this wants as big a glass as you can find

because of its richness, concentration and body.

ss ells

Six wines from the Fells portfolio were chosen by the UK importer’s new wine consultant, master sommelier Stefan Neumann, to demonstrate the breadth and depth of the company’s offering from Australia. “For these wines you go on a journey of about 5,000 miles,” Neumann told a tasting for readers. “The six wines couldn’t be more different.” Feature published in association with Fells

There’s a bit of the buttery, nut and slightly creamy component in

you put in a dish, that little bit of salt and pepper to

get the oak influence, as a supportive element, to lift the aromas

to four-year-old barrels. That sounds like quite an

there. It shows structure and body.

“They use barriques but also bigger barrels like puncheons to

and flavours and give a long finish.”

Torbreck Old Vines GSM, Barossa 2017 (RRP £17.99) “Anyone who’s ever looked after Grenache in a vineyard will tell you it’s going to be very hard to get it ripe at 14% abv. It’s often

described as having a doughnut effect, where it covers the sides of the tongue but rarely fills the hole in the middle.

“Syrah adds a lovely spice element and the Mourvèdre adds a

make it perfect.

“It’s 44% aged in new barriques and 56% in one

odd percentage but it just lifts up the fruit and aroma profiles rather than allowing the oak to dominate it. “It’s been made every vintage since 1972 so

there’s a long-term commitment. It’s an incredibly

approachable wine and varietal driven, with a lot of dark fruit component – blueberries, blackberries –

and a bit of spice element in the best possible way.” Yalumba Samuel’s Collection Barossa

textural and savoury aspect. The complementary nature of Syrah

Shiraz 2018 (RRP £17.99)

one of those examples where you can open a bottle to pour and it’s

Australia, for example.

and Mourvèdre makes it a really harmonious, well thought-

through blend. It’s dangerously good and very easy to drink. It’s instantly there and it carries its freshness really nicely.

“People don’t normally buy wines to cellar them; they buy them

to drink the same week, or even the same day.”

Vasse Felix Premier Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River 2018 (RRP £32.99) “Vasse Felix is a company that is committed to a wide variety of grape varieties and is very open about what it does.

“This is actually 90% Cabernet, and there is 8% Petit Verdot

and 2% Malbec. It’s a really smart blend. The Petit Verdot gives

wonderful colour and tannin structure and Malbec gives a lovely, round, soft edge to it. It provides a little bit of the seasoning that

>> RETAILER REACTIONS

“Yalumba take sustainability very seriously; it’s not just a word

they say. It is one of the biggest solar panel energy collectors in

“They’ve got their own cooperage which gives an

idea of their dedication to consistent quality. It makes a huge difference to the end product if you are in charge of every level of the process.

“The Shiraz is not too overwhelming or too

concentrated – it’s about drinkability.

“With 2018 and the Yalumba range you don’t need

to worry about whether to drink or to keep: you can do both.

“Shiraz is easily understood by a lot of people. It

works across the board very well. It’s a classic, wellexecuted, thought through and well-made example.” given time. Like a good Bordeaux, this opened up in the hours to follow and showed a richness balanced with a degree of elegance.

“Tyrell’s Semillon is always a slight surprise to taste. I prefer this more refreshing style to what most would refer to as ‘proper’ Semillon with

“Yalumba was delicious with an overriding elegance to what many folk

perceive to be a normally full-bodied grape.”

slightly more ageing and a richer, oily backbone.

John Kernaghan, Liquorice, Brentwood, Essex

“Pewsey Vale Riesling is always consistent and a great introduction to the

variety. My personal leaning is always to more old world styles with a bit

“It's difficult to choose a standout performer as all the wines were fantastic.

more residual sugar.

At a push I'd have to the say the Torbreck GSM at the price point was superb

region. Torbreck is a real ‘twist and go’ wine. Well made, good depth and a

was superb. It really showed that Tasmania is knocking out some awesome

“Dalrymple Chardonnay is super enjoyable and good value for this niche

nice balance of the various grapes.

“Vasse Felix: Western Australian reds are so underrated and much I think

– one we'll probably be listing in the shop. Also the Dalrymple Chardonnay stuff that can easily rival Burgundy and other top Chardonnays from California, South Africa etc.”

is down to initial serving impressions. They need to be decanted, aired ...

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 39

Chris Helliwell, The Wine Cellar, Isle of Man

Winemaker Pierre Klerk (left) with cellarmaster Pieter Ferreira

THE WINE MERCHANT september 2021 40

A mirror image of each other Yin & Yang wines join Graham Beck’s Artisan Collection

hen Graham Beck’s experienced winemaking

Chardonnay. “It’s all about accepting life’s contrasts and

team were assembling the 2016 wines for

celebrating these differences,” says Pieter. “Blending

that year’s Cap Classique, there was a debate

Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in Cap Classique is not that

about whether Chardonnay should dominate the blend, or

different to understanding these fundamental lessons.” With its charming salmon pink hue and vibrant red

Pinot Noir.

Cellarmaster Pieter Ferreira and winemaker Pierre Klerk

berry and blackcurrant aromas, Yin (60% Pinot Noir/40%

considered the matter for some time. The decision was

Chardonnay) exudes notes of warm, savoury allspice

made to make two expressions: one a 60-40 blend of Pinot

and features great length on the palate. Yang (60%

and Chardonnay, the other a mirror image version of that

Chardonnay/40% Pinot Noir) delights with tinges of sun-

wine.

kissed apricot and rich, ripe citrus aromas, while the palate

The wines, dubbed Yin & Yang, are the latest addition to Graham Beck’s Artisan Collection: a premium tier within the portfolio where creative craftsmanship and terroir-

boasts a vibrant entry, together with delectable nuances of juicy yellow fruit and lemon zest. Yin & Yang will only be available to purchase in a pair,

driven winemaking is promoted. The maiden release was

packaged in an attractive gift box. Produced in extremely

an Extended Lees Ageing cuvée.

niche quantities, this duo will be released in November

Pieter recalls the events of May 2016 as the final classification tasting of base wines got underway. “This

2021 and will be available at selected retailers and wine shops.

followed many selection tastings, in the build-up to establishing the purest ultimate expression of the vintage – the one finally singled out for our prestigious Cap

Feature produced in association with Graham Beck Wines,

Classique,” he explains.

imported in the UK by Walker & Wodehouse. More details can

Eventually Pierre created an impressive final blend of

be found at grahambeck.com.

60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, with a delicate blush colour. Both men were pleased with what they had created, but Pieter suggested to also look at a mirror image of the blend by using the same components, this time with Chardonnay in the lead role. They sampled the two blends in black glasses: the ultimate test for any taster, encouraging a focus on the wine’s intrinsic qualities, without undue influence by its appearance. The wines proved equally impressive, and so Yin & Yang were born.

he concept of yin and yang is all about the interchange and interplay of opposing forces, which seemed apt in the case of Pinot Noir and

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 41

MERCHANT PROFILE

Is this the woman in

Sarah Dodd and Mia, Sandwich, September 2021

Everybody in the tiny Kent town seems t o

dip in the sea, locals want to discuss their

arah Dodd is pleased to have a roof over her head, because it wasn’t always the case at her previous

premises.

“You’d be sitting there and the wind

would get up – it would lift the roof panels and unfortunately not always put them

back in the right place,” she remembers.

“You’d have a gap in the ceiling and have

to call the landlord to get him to put them back again.

“You can imagine if it was pouring with

rain and it comes through the ceiling and

hits cardboard boxes overnight. Now I can

lie in bed on a stormy night and not have to worry that the roof is still on.”

In January, Sarah relocated from a

warehouse in the quaintly named Moat

Sole, in the middle of Sandwich, to a shop

just around the corner on a busy shopping

street. The move marked the latest chapter

in the history of a business that has seen its share of twists and turns over the years. It started in 2006, when a vet called

Andrew Lomax opened the warehouse in Sandwich. One of his suppliers was the

now-defunct HwCg (an amalgam of Hedley Wright and Castle Growers). It was while working for HwCg that Sarah met her

future husband Kevin; the couple married in 2007.

Growing restless in his HwCg role, Kevin

saw potential in the fledgling Hercules

business and eventually bought it outright, with Sarah joining the company two years

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 42

HERCULES WINES

most popular Sandwich?

o know who Sarah Dodd is. Even when she takes time out for a quick

r wine orders with her. Graham Holter pays a visit

wines. Sometimes he would buy a wine

that was absolutely stunning and it would

probably be a lot easier to sell it these days, because the world has got smaller and

people are a lot more aware of different

grape varieties etcetera. He was perhaps a little bit before his time.

I think I’ve kept going along the lines

that, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

If Kevin walked in now, would there be anything in the range that would make later. Things went well enough for a second

when Kev went I had to take over the

him say, “why did you buy that?” or is it

before embarking on a career in the wine

occasions where I just throw my hands in

why I hadn’t got a couple of wines.

branch, in Faversham, to emerge.

Kevin, who spent 11 years in the army

trade, was an accomplished musician and a keen golfer; a funny and gentle man

whose sudden death in 2018 robbed the wine trade of one of its most likeable

buying. I don’t always get it right. I can

struggle with the ordering and there are

I think he’d be pretty happy. He might ask

are very good.

done a huge amount with them recently. It

the air. Our suppliers are wonderful, they Have you evolved the range or is it

personalities.

essentially the same kinds of wines that

the Faversham shop. “It was very expensive

knew his left bank from his right bank and

Despite this, Sarah was determined to

Kevin used to buy?

soldier on, though it made sense to offload

Kev was a fantastic taster, he really was. He

week,” she says.

say, Barossa or another region. He cut his

to service, and it was staffed seven days a

“The rates were horrendous. It was fine

when everyone was in place, everything

worked beautifully, but if someone phoned

in sick I had a problem because I can’t be in

all stuff he’d recognise or appreciate?

We used to do one from ABS but I haven’t

was a fantastic wine called The Pepper Pot [from David Finlayson in Stellenbosch], he was always quite fond of that. But I think on the whole he’d be pretty happy.

with Australia he could pinpoint if it was,

teeth on German wines when he was in the army, so he was pretty good on Germanic

Continues page 44

two places at once.”

The new shop occupies a space that has

been inhabited by other wine retailers in the past, as well as a brewery. The main

sales area is open plan, with boxes of fastmoving lines stacked on the floor. To the rear, a former storage area serves as the

home of European wines; a smaller room,

just off the central space, does the same job for new world wines.

Is it fair to say that, as a double act, you were more concerned with the actual business and Kevin was more involved in the wine side of things? Yes. I’d always done the accounts and the admin, which I really enjoy. Obviously

New world wines have their own dedicated room

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 43

MERCHANT PROFILE

From page 43

Which suppliers do you work with the most? I do quite a lot with Boutinot on house

wines for the trade accounts. They are a

wonderful company to work with. Most of our suppliers are pretty darn good.

North South I like. I think we first dealt

In April I put my toe back in the water,

demographics?

five weeks from ordering before the wine

probably bigger than you think.

thinking that everything would be ticketyboo and hunky dory and I think it was reached bond from Burgundy. It was

infuriating – I can walk to the end of the road and see France.

Like so many indies, you did well with deliveries during lockdown. Did you

with them with the ripasso wines, from

pick up new customers, and have you

South we started dealing that way rather

evening, when the whole nation was sat

Girelli, who both Kev and I worked with

hung on to them?

than shipping direct.

there watching Boris speak, all I could hear

at HwCg. So when Girelli moved to North

Yes, we were inundated. I think that

When did you join Vindependents?

was my email pinging with orders from the

I think Kev got in very early. It works really well for us. I like their wines and they’ve got a very good team there.

I didn’t get to the tasting [in September]

purely because we’re down on staff

numbers at the moment. Also they’ve

stopped our high speed train that would go straight through. They go to so much effort to put these tastings on, but I just couldn’t make the time.

Do you ship anything direct?

website. It really took me by surprise and completely floored me.

There were quite a lot of names I didn’t

Sandwich is [it’s just under 5,000] but it’s One thing I’ve really noticed in the

past year is the number of people that have relocated from London. It’s great because there’s a lovely influx of a

younger generation. Sandwich was very much a retirement place and it’s almost

rejuvenated the town, it’s been lovely to

see. We’ve got a few writers around here.

Pre-Covid it was a bit tired, I think. There

were a lot people who had holiday homes here, particularly on the bay, but there

are some very, very good schools around here. There are some great grammar schools in Dover, there’s a very good

independent school in Ramsgate. There

‘Even if I’m walking the dog, villagers will say hello and start asking about the wine they’re going to buy from me ’ know and the next day the telephone didn’t

are some independent traders, which is

if the government was saying “stay home,

independent shops, and they’ve come here

stop. I did choose not to open the door. I

thought that was morally a little bit wrong, stay safe”, and I was saying, “come out

and shop”. I think that was the same with

everybody. We all operated behind closed doors.

We picked up a lot of customers, and

lost a few – as soon as the supermarkets opened, they went back to buying from there.

always lovely. The London guys are used to shopping in their little circle, in their and carried on doing that.

We’ve got a fantastic butcher around the

corner. We haven’t got a fishmonger but

there is one who comes in on market day.

The market is brilliant, with good stalls, so it’s very busy.

Is there a villagey kind of feel?

Out of the people I supply in the village

My brother lives in Cambridge and he was

got so angry with them, and so she’s stayed

say hello to you. Well, it is, because I know

now, I know one of them was with the

Sunday Times Wine Club. She said that she with me.

How would you summarise Sandwich Kevin Dodd: an astute taster

I wouldn’t know what the population of

in terms of its population and

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 44

down a couple of weeks back and he said

it feels like the sort of place where people most people anyway and people if they

don’t know my name, they say hello, it’s the wine lady. I think it’s a lovely town.

I was down at Sandwich Bay with the

HERCULES WINES

dog on Saturday and had a little swim. I bumped into a customer who said, “oh,

glad I’ve seen you, is there any chance I

could have a case of wine?” So wherever I am, even if I’m walking the dog in the

morning, villagers will say hello, and start

asking about the wine they’re going to buy from me.

Not surprisingly, your wholesale trade declined during lockdown. Is it on the way up again? Yes, it’s doing really well. At the moment I have three accounts in Sandwich and

one in Deal. I can service them easily but anything outside of that I am going to

struggle because of staffing at the moment. I used to get – same as everybody, I

should think – CVs through all the time, Sarah Dodd has hung on to some of the new customers acquired during lockdown

about two or three a week, but there’s been nothing. I wonder if when the furlough scheme ends that will get people out

looking again.

How many people are there in the team now? There’s me, Mia [the labrador] and John

who does two days a week and Iain who

does two days a week. Dan, bless his cotton socks, has been with us on and off since

2013-14 and his other job is signwriting.

He decided in June to make a go of that full time, so I’ve said to him the door is always open and if it goes a bit quiet he can give me a shout and come back again. He’s a

great bloke, he did the social media and newsletters.

Mia is an absolute asset because as

soon as people walk in, they say, “isn’t

she gorgeous?” She’s a real icebreaker.

She’s so good with children and she loves everybody.

Sandwich is a medieval town with a population of just under 5,000

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 45

Continues page 46

MERCHANT PROFILE

anything. When you have a blank canvas,

From page 45

it’s amazing how much you can fit in.

Coming from a warehouse into a shop,

Do you find that social media and

we had to get a happy medium, and

newsletters are still important to you?

hopefully that is what we have achieved.

You seem so embedded in the town,

You want people to come in and not think,

maybe they’re not necessary.

“hmm, they’re ripping the pants out of me”. You want to give a good honest price.

I think people do come to us, but I don’t

Kev always said he didn’t want to do that

think it’s a bad thing to keep plugging

“buy six and get another six free” thing –

and sending the odd email out to remind

that smacks of charging too much in the

people that we’re still here. I think word of

first place. Occasionally you can have a

mouth helps. If you give customers a good

little promotion, but just put the wines out

service they will always come back – and I

at an honest price.

think we give really good service.

Being out here in the wilds of east Kent,

How many days are you in here? I’m always popping in and out because I

do you still feel that you are connected

customers. I’m covering holiday at the

back to the tastings I will feel reconnected.

do all the deliveries, which actually I really

to the wine trade in a broader sense?

moment. John and his family are farmers

I still see people [at tastings] that I knew

enjoy doing because you get to see all the

No. It’s funny, isn’t it? Maybe when I get

and they’ve just finished hop picking.

from the trade when I first started. People don’t tend to leave the wine trade.

Are you doing tastings at the moment?

Maybe we are out on a bit of a limb here.

I haven’t started those back up yet. I was talking to one of our suppliers the other

Are you happy with where the business

and they’d had to cancel the tasting they

intended to retire at 50, then it became 55

is now? What will you do next?

day and he said that outside of his day job

I’m happy with the way it is. I’d always

he was a member of a local wine society

hadplannedbecause people didn’t fancy it. We do quite often have a bottle open on

a Saturday.

There’s a nice no-frills, warehousey feel to the main retail area. Originally this was Unwins, then it was a

Threshers, then Strand Wines had it for a

little bit, and then it was a clothes shop. In the old Threshers days, it was really dark,

with all that dark wood that Threshers did. Strand stripped everything out.

The warehouse was big, but we can get

everything in here and just spread out

over three rooms. I didn’t have to de-list

‘People do come to us, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing to keep plugging and sending out the odd email to remind people that we’re still here’

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 46

and now I’m staring 60 – I’ve been in the wine trade too long.

The one thing I would love to do is to

go and live on a Scottish island for six months. Not to be the only person on

it, but to experience that island living. I

think that would be an interesting thing to experience.

Many years ago I travelled in the

Outback, and that was almost like living on an island because it was so remote.

If I sold the business, that would be it

because I feel I’ve done my bit for queen

and country and the taxman. I would miss

my customers. You get to know them. It’s a good business to be in; you do meet some lovely people.

. T H E D R AY M A N .

Auf wiedersehen, pet food John Hickling’s brewing career nearly ended up as a dog’s dinner. Thankfully, he changed course and created Vocation Brewery

he pet nutrition world could have been very different

of black cans with beer names picked out from a small palette of

after John Hickling sold his stake in Nottingham’s

colours, to one where each brew has a different base colour field,

Blue Monkey Brewing to the uncle with whom he’d co-

from a broader and brighter suite of hues. A different illustrated

founded it. He’d lost his mojo for brewing and kicked around

V motif tells something of the story of the beer name – casino

various new business ideas, including dog food.

imagery for Naughty & Nice Chocolate Stout, for example, or

“I felt I’d taken beer as far as I could,” he says. “I took a year off. But I realised I really missed brewing and I’d made a big error. It was my vocation in life, not just a job.”

Cupid and a snarling tiger for Love & Hate New England IPA. “The idea with the new look is that the illustration expresses the personality of the beer. The brewery is about endless

In 2015, he relocated to Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, where

creatively, so the look gives each brand its own feel. The

he’d previously worked in IT for a bank, and created Vocation

illustrations can be anything, so we’re never going to run out

Brewery, now one of the foremost players in modern British

of options.

brewing. Pet food’s loss has been beer’s gain.

“Traditional beers might have wheatsheaves and shields,

Pack design is a driving force in the craft beer scene and,

which is fine because it tells you what to expect, but we can’t

six years on, Vocation is rebranding its range, which is a good

do that. It wouldn’t make sense on an American-style big hop

moment to get Hickling’s take on that whole craft beer look

pale ale.”

thing – where it comes from and how it works – but he’s keen to

get one point clear first.

ike many in the business, Hickling is reluctant to exploit

“The beer is the most important thing to us,” he says. “People are sometimes suspicious that craft beer is more about the branding, but for us the beer is absolutely number one. We want to make it look great to do justice to the beer.”

the word “craft”, with all its definitional baggage, but there’s no denying that Vocation’s beers have what might

be called “the craft beer look”, difficult though that is to pin down. What does John himself think it is?

The Vocation revamp has moved from a relatively uniform look

“There’s a lot of variation – some commission artwork, others go typography heavy. The contents of the can are what matters the most, but you have to persuade people to try a beer for the first time. “If you’re a traditional brewery you tend to hark back to the past and say we’ve been doing this for a very long time. But if you’re starting a brewery now it would be totally dishonest to fall back on that. “Sometimes with modern beer the branding can prevent you from being creative with the beer, but I don’t want to restrict our brewers and have the branding hold them back. “The design shouldn’t stand in the way of creativity. We want our brewers to keep coming up with new stuff.”

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 47

recommended by excellent

hat do you want? No, really,

Temp Kirsty. Appearance:

what is it that you want? I am reading. I am reading in one

opaque, frighteningly

grey (no the colour isn’t

of those insatiable book love affairs that

great, but you’re not

come around every couple of years and

leave little space for anything else. I have a type: last time it was Dos Passos’ USA

Trilogy, this time it’s Paul Auster’s 4321.

My type seems to be Big-American-Booksthat-No-one-else-has-Read. Woe betide

you if you pretend that you have: the first

time I was barred from the Mòran Mór was because some dork was claiming to have read DeLillo’s Underworld.

I am drained. I am confused. I have no

12. BOOKS Phoebe Weller of Valhalla’s Goat in Glasgow is currently obtaining most of the nutrition she needs from American literature. But supplements are still required.

time for any Amazing Lunches. I can’t. Stop. Reading.

with delicious undertones of processed

cheese slice; moreish. Buy it, eat it, don’t think about how it’s made, right gang ;)? Best served with Chiroubles.

chips *shudder* – which aspired to be these crispy treats. Plantain are full of

electrical impulses and external electrical

carbs which make them, technically, one of

stuff became increasingly fuzzy. I tried to

the food groups that I avoid for an Amazing

write about it at the time and couldn’t, it

Lunch, but the Hippy Shop next door

was too much and not enough and as we

it was just this thing that happened, man,

customers who dig the interconnectedness

the exhilarating questionable self/notself

because the marks on the paper can’t

about it to the

fine-grained. Pronounced peppery kick

in the South Pacific and Tema’s Breadfruit

the air, and the line between skull–based

boundary. I filed it under “talk

Palate: dry, med+ acidity, ripe, smooth,

column will remember my months

slowly coming together and skipping in

rain and the charged enveloping mist and

pronounced sharp cheesiness.

you been all my life? Fans of this

and Loch Lomond and these two storms

with the Loch all punch-sequinned with

mess and pongo!). Nose:

this thing that happened with a canoe

us, anyway. I came to the conclusion that

with it, crikey, what a

econdly, Plantain Chips, where have

A couple of months back there was

all know words are the thing that separate

painting your house

of things” but resolved that there’s no

point in making the marks on the paper actually communicate what the fuck actually happened out there.

But Auster’s written it: end of 2.2, end

of story. There is no point any more,

everybody put down your pens.

I mean, I say I’ve no time for Amazing

Lunches but that’s simply untrue –

especially when there’s no point anymore

– and there are new Amazing Lunch items that I need to tell you about.

Firstly, St Agoo – St Agur goo, as

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 48

stocks them and they are “low in sugar

and high in potassium!” and aren’t Piper’s Crisps – which are red-list, obvs. The

variety to look for in your local hippy shop

are Purely Plantain Wild Garlic but they are not wild garlic, they are wildly garlic, good grief! Some say that they are too salty but

potassium actually counteracts the effects

of sodium so it’s a bit like when we used to have a joint and a cafetiere of coffee, one negating the other, with the only lasting effect being the erasure of my 20s.

So no, there is no point in anything and

that’s OK, but there is the goo and the crisp-a-like and wine – which is more

than enough for this fleshbag of electrical impulses.

family-owned and run Lambrusco producer, Cantina Bassoli was established in 1922, although as winemaker Riccardo explains, “my family has always worked in the fashion business and wine was just our hobby. It was a very small winery and all the grapes were for the co-operative.” After studying geology at university, Riccardo returned to the family vineyard and is now on a mission to challenge preconceptions of Lambrusco in export markets such as the UK, taking the winery to new heights as he explores new ways of expressing his terroir and his fruit. “We’ve always produced Lambrusco and Ancestrale [pet nat],” he says. “When I started to work here I decided to do some Charmat. I grew up inside the winery, so I didn’t need technical study with an oenologist.” Riccardo’s passion for his craft is evident and is the perfect example of how viticulture is constantly evolving, as both a science and an art. “Every year I change something, whether it is yeasts or tannins,” he says. “Every year I want to try to innovate. But if my grandfather could taste my wines now, he would probably spit in my face! The thinking in the past was totally different. They never imagined exporting the wine, so the wine was made with no commercial thought. The residual sugar levels have dropped over the years: the Ancestrale is zero grams, the metodo classico has a maximum of 8g, and the organic [Ciacaron] is around 4g of sugar.” The Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro DOP ‘Ciacaron’ shows off Riccardo’s creativity, with a quirky crown cap, and no disgorgement, and it’s the first of Cantina Bassoli’s wines to be certified organic. “From this year everything will be organic and my big news is I have made my first metodo classico [traditional method] wine. It is 100% Pinot Noir.” Innovation doesn’t mean rejecting old favourites such as Bassoli’s Ancestrale wines however, particularly given the rising popularity of pet nat wines in the UK and around the world. Riccardo has always had faith in the quality and reputation of his wines. “I don’t

‘My grandfather would spit in my face!’ Changing UK perceptions of Lambrusco was never going to be easy. But for Riccardo Bassoli, innovation and creativity are in his blood

want to spend money to get awards,” he says. “I believe in my wines and they speak for themselves. I believe in what I do every day. I am unique in that I work with French yeast in my region with Lambrusco. I am unique that I have made pet nat white Lambrusco; it doesn’t exist elsewhere.” Both Ancestrale and modern styles of Lambrusco have a place in the UK market, but Riccardo insists the wine must be tasted if its damaged reputation is to be repaired. “Nobody in Italy drinks sweet Lambrusco. Here we drink it dry, maybe with a maximum 15g sugar. That is balanced by acidity, especially with Sorbara – it is like a Pinot Noir. Lambrusco is very good with many kinds of cuisine and is easy to understand. If you are at the table with three friends, you can drink two bottles of Chianti, but with Lambrusco you drink four bottles; not because it is Coca-Cola, but because it is convivial. “In my vineyard I have more than 10 varieties of Lambrusco grapes. The three main ones are Lambrusco di Castelvetro, Sorbara and Salamino di Santa Croce. My tradition, my region, is this one. I really love my region and I really love Lambrusco.”

Sponsored feature Cantina Bassoli wines are imported into the UK by Marcato Direct 07900 115372 marcatodirect.co.uk

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 49

Range highlights Ciacaron This six-month Charmat method is an excellent expression of the terroir and is organic for the first time this year. It is round, balanced and easy to drink, with aromas of white berries, pomegranate and black fruits that continue on the palate. It has a dry, clean finish and should be drunk within two and a half years. Manfreina For me this is the best Lambrusco and is only produced in this area. There are not many producers of Sorbara because it is strictly connected with the rich terroir. It must be vinified as a rosé and has notes of violet, cherry and raspberry. I want to keep a very pink colour without doing a fast maturation. For me it is my best seller, it is my flagship product. Ancestrale I am the only person to produce white Ancestrale (pet nat) Lambrusco. I only produce 3,000 bottles per year. White Lambrusco flooded the UK, but nobody produced a pet nat method wine because it is very difficult. It’s an immediate, clear fermentation and I put it in bottle with yeast from France. It is the best wine, with notes of peach and green apples, excellent with fish and white meat.

Patricio Celedón

Master

The Viu Manent team have worked as har country’s incredible winelands. We invited

the region. We obtain a very high natural

acidity, with a quite light level of sugar or alcohol. The balance is very good.

“You can feel the proximity to the ocean;

there is some salinity on the nose and

some sea salt in the mouth. It’s a very fresh Sauvignon with some good depth and texture.”

Ben Fullalove, of Fullaloves in Longridge,

Lancashire, was won over. “A lot of

my customers are moving away from

Marlborough Sauvignon because of the big punchy nature,” he says, “and this more

subtle, textured, savoury style, with a little bit of minerality, could be pitched like a

Sancerre but at a price closer to the New Zealand that they’re more used to.” Viu Manent’s Chardonnay Gran

Reserva (Colchagua, 2019, RRP £13-£15) was originally made in Casablanca but production moved to Colchagua when

the company found a suitable spot in the

times, so we are now picking the berries

agent Louis Latour Agencies.

is a fresh, vibrant alternative to many Kiwi

he art of fine tuning in winemaking was evident in a flight of wines

featured in a recent tasting by the

Chilean producer Viu Manent and its UK

“We did a study of the terroir and it took

us five years to understand the connection of the roots with the soil and all the

different conditions that give us different styles of wine,” says chief winemaker

Patricio Celedón, who led the Zoom event.

“We found we had different sections even

in the same block that ripened at different

and managing the vineyards differently.” The company’s Sauvignon Blanc

Secreto (Casablanca, 2020, RRP £13-£15) examples of the variety.

“It comes from one of the closest

vineyards to the ocean in Casablanca,” says Celedón. “The main location for vineyards is 25km from the ocean and this is just

11 km away, just into the coastal range.

It’s two degrees cooler, so the ripening of

this vineyard is 10 days later than most of

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 50

north west of the region a with very high

potential for quality. Grapes are grown in Litueche, 11km from the Pacific coast.

Celedón says: “2019 was a quite warm

vintage: you can feel the ripeness on the

nose and, in the mouth, it is creamy with a natural acidity. It has a little bit of sea

salt flavour in it, similar to the Sauvignon Blanc.”

Fullalove thought it was would have

broad appeal. “When I’m asked for a

Chardonnay I often have to ask what their preferred style is, as no two Chardonnays

are the same anymore. This is a good fresh style with a creamy undertone that would

rs of their terroir

rd as anyone in Chile to get to grips with the intricacies and complexities of the d a group of independent wine merchants to taste the results for themselves

tick a few boxes.”

ViBo Viñedo Centenario (Colchagua,

2018, RRP £18-£20) is a red blend from old vines on a property planted in 1870.

“It’s a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and

Malbec, 60-40, coming from the oldest

vines,” says Celedón. “We first released this wine around eight years ago and, for me, it talks about that history of the old varieties established for over 100 years.

“There is a synergy between Cabernet

and Malbec when you taste them

separately and when you blend them. It’s a

very complex wine with very soft tannins, a good texture and great depth.”

It also has good ageing potential. “We

have some Cabernets from 1992, 1996,

1998, and Malbecs from 1996 and 2000, which are still alive.

“The climate conditions have changed a

little bit, so we are putting all our efforts

into managing the vineyards, to pick earlier and to manage the wine with less new oak, to obtain the same results as we used to. We look for ripeness but we do the fine

tuning to allow us to get natural acidity.” The tasting also showcased a trio

of single-vineyard wines, including

Carménère Loma Blanca (Colchagua, 2019, RRP £21-£25).

Celedón says: “With all the single-

vineyard wines we make the wine in the same way each year, so the only change

in the wine is the climate conditions each

year. It’s about the way we capture the year in the bottle.

“The Carménère is our third year, but

the first two were limited to Chile, so this

The third in the single-vineyard trio

is the first vintage we are opening up to

was Cabernet Sauvignon La Capilla

interesting; Carménère is normally planted

which is like a sandy beach,” says Celedón,

international markets.

“It’s grown on volcanic soil, which is very

in deep and mixed soils and tends to be

over-ripe, in my opinion. If we pick earlier we obtain a Carménère which is thinner

but fresher at same time. The volcanic rock is very important to preserve acidity and achieve a better balance.”

Malbec San Carlos (Colchagua, 2018,

RRP £21-£25) is another old-vine wine. “The vines have been planted there for

100 years and are adapted to the soil and

the climate conditions,” says Celedón. “It is fresh, pure and has a sense of origin.”

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 51

(Colchagua, 2019, RRP £21-£25).

“The main characteristic is the soil,

“with a layer of 15-20 cm of volcanic ash that gives a white colour to the surface. That impacts on the vines by reflecting

the sun on to the berries, meaning we can obtain very red fruit and the window to

pick is very short. Compared to a Cabernet from alluvial soil, it’s very refined. The tannins are softer, not big and round.”

Feature sponsored by Louis Latour Agencies and Viu Manent. Visit louislatour. co.uk or call 020 7409 7276 for more information about Viu Manent wines.

Ricardo Macedo

ouro winemaker Ricardo Macedo

was prepared to go a little bit further than most to achieve the results he

was after in making still wines at the port producer Kopke.

As the company rebuilt its Quinta de São

Luiz winery in the Cima Corgo region to

specialise in non-port wines, Macedo took inspiration from some diamond-shaped

fermentation vessels he’d seen on a trip to Argentina.

The shape of the tanks allowed the

stalks and pips to be removed more easily through gravity, dialling down any green tannin character to produce a fresher, zippier style of wine.

The only problem was that no one back

home produced them, so Macedo set about designing his own and collaborated with

the Argentine winemaker to perfect them. “As far as I’m aware these tanks aren’t

used anywhere else in Europe,” says

Macedo. “When you take time to identify problems and develop something new,

you’re always going to keep getting a little better.”

The range made at the table-wine facility

is also evolving commercially, with the

wines that previously carried the Kopke name now rebranded as São Luiz, with

textured white labelling that mirrors the whitewashed stone walls that give the

property its visual identity. The bottles

carry the tagline Douro Sublinhado, which translates as Douro Underlined.

What we’ll call, for ease of reference,

the “entry level” wines are the São Luiz

Colheita white and reds (both RRP £12.50£13), with white and red Reserva wines

the perfect blend Kopke may be best known for its ports, but its still wines, now rebranded under the São Luiz label, are equally impressive examples of Douro winemaking craft. Combining a mesmerising palette of Portuguese varieties, the wines have a vivacity and freshness that shone through at our recent Zoom tasting

marking a next tier at around £22, and a

kerosene/petrol character that you might

with the best fruit possible.

and sense of place of the wines we’re

Arinto that could be a wine with huge

a much slower rhythm, taking time with

Winemaker’s Collection at £25.

“We’ve decided to enhance the terroir

making, which is why we’ve rebranded the table wines,” says export manager João Belo.

“We have our own vineyards where we

will pick the fruit for our classic Colheita wines, but we also need to have a great

working relationship with a whole bunch of good farmers that sell us their grapes.”

ith the rebranding, Viosinho has been brought into the Colheita white blend that also contains

three other Portuguese grape varieties.

“Viosinho adds complexity,” says Macedo. “It’s a very balanced grape variety that adds creaminess to the fruit profile.

“We’re trying to obtain a classic Douro

white: fresh, good acidity and easydrinking.”

The Reserva White has a Viosinho base

made from older vines, with around 20% Folgazão in the blend.

“The Folgazão adds delicacy and

freshness,” says Macedo.

Taking inspiration from Burgundy, some

of the wine is fermented in barriques.

“That Burgundian approach with barriques really works in the Douro in adding

freshness and zestiness to the wine,” he adds.

There’s also some Arinto in the blend. “If

I could choose one grape variety to work

with on whites at this time in the Douro it

would be Arinto,” says Macedo. “It has that

get in Riesling.

“We have a little experiment with 100%

ageing potential. We replanted a vineyard with Arinto which led us to think it has

great potential, so we planted even more.” The Winemaker’s Collection white

is a blend of Folgazão and Rabigato. Belo

says: “It has three years in used oak which is a long time. After such a long time you

might expect it to lose a bit of its liveliness, but we really feel that’s a wine that has subtlety, freshness, acidity and good balance.”

The Colheita Red is a four-way blend of

Touriga Nacional, Tinta Franca, Tinta Roriz and Tinto Cão. “They’re four grapes you’ll find in any tawny or ruby port,” says Macedo, “but, when worked in the correct way, they can produce

some stunning and

complex still wines.” The Reserva red

is a blend of Touriga

Nacional and Tinta Roriz, traditionally vintage port varieties.

Belo adds: “We have massive

refrigeration storage units where the

grapes will stay overnight in what you

might call an air-conditioned spa.” This gives the winemakers better control of

when vinification starts, allowing them to dictate their own schedule and organise

the workload so that wines are produced

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 53

Macedo says: “Because we developed

this winery just for still wines, we have

each box to remove dehydrated grapes to really get the purity of fruit.

“It’s precision winemaking. That’s

perhaps a bit over exaggerated but it’s what we’re trying to achieve here.”

Vinhas Velhas 2017 (RRP £50) is a red

blend of old-vine Touriga Nacional and

Sousão from a relatively shady site. As a result, production is limited with some

Touriga Nacional plants producing only one or two bunches each year. “Sousão

doesn’t like too much heat or very dry soil so the micro-climate is perfect for

it,” says Macedo. “It’s a long

fermentation – malolactic, in barriques. After

racking the wines stay in the same

barriques for 16

months minimum.

There’s a menthol,

eucalyptus, orange

blossom character

and the Sousão adds

some freshness.

“With the range as a whole

we are trying to make a completely

terroir-driven range to understand and show what São Luiz is all about.”

Feature sponsored by UK importer Hayward Bros and Sogevinus. Visit haywardbros.co.uk or call 020 7237 0576 for more information about São Luiz wines.

Four reasons to get fortified It’s easy to think of sherry and port as timeless, traditional categories where very little changes. But there are plenty of recent developments which have helped give both a new lease of life. By David Williams

ost people I know in the wine trade speak of fortified wine in almost wistful terms.

Whether it’s their first sip of a great vintage port,

the rediscovery of sherry as an intensely savoury dry wine, or an

encounter with a decades- (or centuries-) old Madeira, more often than not it’s a fortified wine that has provided the formative, rites of passage moment that turns someone from being curious about wine to being deeply, passionately involved.

You get a sense of just how well loved fortified wine is by wine

professionals at the annual Big Fortified Tasting, an event that

many people seem to go to simply for the pleasure of tasting and recapturing the joy of wine enthusiasm.

Of course, the flipside of this gentleman-amateur kind of

enjoyment is that not enough people take fortified wine seriously as a commercial proposition. The BFT can be an away day for

some because they’re never going to buy or sell all that much of what’s on display.

Or so I’d thought. Talking to retailers over the past year or

two I’ve noticed a stark change in attitude: many merchants, unprompted, report an increased interest in fortified wines,

notably dry sherry and various types of premium port – and they

follow that up with an analysis of the audience for fortified wines that is a long way from the stereotype.

their most eye-catching releases.

Both the Fladgate Partnership (Taylor’s, Croft, Fonseca) and the

Symingtons (Cockburn’s, Dow’s, Graham’s, Warre’s) have tended to use the term “single harvest” for what are often very special

and limited releases – reflecting the fact that, in many cases, the

wines come from vintages when the houses in question were still thinking in terms of blended tawnies, both with and without age statements.

The rise in interest in single-vintage wines among the British

houses reflects the growth in demand and interest among British drinkers for the wider tawny category. That, in turn, is the

result of clever marketing by the British houses and significant

improvements in quality, with much better conditions for ageing in both Vila Nova de Gaia and upriver in the Douro.

Of course, the British houses will never have this part of the

market to themselves. One of the most significant figures in

shaping the new British appetite for premium tawny port is the

Sogevinus group, whose brands, notably Kopke and Calem, have some of the best stocks of old, high-quality, age-dated tawny ports around, and whose releases have become a fixture of independents’ ranges throughout the UK.

It’s notably younger, for one thing, but also coming at the drink

from a wine angle: these are people interested in terroir, grape

varieties, traditions and authenticity, not just drinking fortified wines because that’s what social occasions demand.

What follows, here, are a few tentative suggestions for my,

admittedly anecdote-informed sense that fortified wine is finding a whole new audience.

The Colheita – or Single-Harvest – boom When I first visited the Douro back in 1999, the concept of

vintage-dated tawny port was still very much the preserve of the

Portuguese houses. Even the name given to the category, colheita, was Portuguese, which made it stand out from pretty much every

other piece of port category nomenclature which, from vintage to LBV to tawny itself, was set by the British shippers.

One of the more interesting developments in the region’s

fortified wine culture in the years since, and one that has

accelerated rapidly in the past decade, is the way the big British names have at last embraced the concept of a wood-aged port

from a single-vintage, and begun to use the category for some of

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 55

A brave man in a white shirt

Vintage and terroir sherry Vintage is also playing a small part in sherry’s ongoing premiumisation.

The revival of single-vintage sherries – aka Jerez de Añada –

began in the 1990s when Gonzalez Byass and Williams & Humbert released some tiny-production oloroso and amontillado from

casks that had been kept apart from the solera system in their bodegas.

Other bodegas – among them Lustau and Hidalgo – followed suit

with the same styles in the 2000s. But the idea has been given new life recently by the arrival of single-vintage fino and manzanilla wines that are explicitly pitched at white-wine drinkers.

Again, it’s been Williams & Humbert leading the way, with

the company releasing a fino en rama from the 2006 vintage

in the mid-2010s, and then following that up with a series of

later releases, including an organic 2015, launched in 2018. The bodega’s winemaker, Paola Medina, has been widely lauded for

her experiments in flor-ageing outside the solera system, with her single-vintage fino sherries bottled once the flor has died away naturally.

taken the concept even further. The bodega was the first to bottle a single-vintage manzanilla; but with the fruit all sourced from a plot adjacent to the winery, it’s also single-vineyard.

That’s no surprise, since Pepe and Paco Blanco, the brothers

behind Callejuela, are also very much involved in the new

movement to make wines that better reflect the region’s terroir. The brothers now work some 28ha of vines in Jerez and

Sanlúcar, which they use to make flor-aged light wines as well as traditional fortified sherry. In this they are joined by influential

winemakers such as local star Ramiro Ibañez of Cota 45 and the man behind Ribera del Duero’s Pingus, Peter Sisseck, who has a

sherry project, Bodega San Francisco, focused on making fino from two of the region’s most famous sites: Balbaina and Marcharnado.

Meanwhile, in Sanlúcar de Barremeda, Bodega Callejuela has

Paola Medina

Jerez de la Frontera

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 56

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 57

Vintage port’s run of greatness If quality age-dated (and single-harvest) port may now be fully

accepted by British port lovers as a style that can be every bit as luxuriously complex as ruby styles, vintage port has also been enjoying something of a golden age in the past decade.

Indeed, the end of the 2010s brought with them a once-in-a-

century occurrence: universal back-to-back declarations for the

2016 and 2017 vintages – with a number of houses (Taylor’s and compulsive-declarers Noval among them) making it a hat-trick with the 2018s.

Improvements in the quality of fortification spirit over the past

20 years (it is now much softer, more grape-like in fragrance)

mean the wines no longer require years of ageing for the alcoholic heat and sting to integrate into the finished wine. That makes

them much more likely to be drunk in the American way, as soon as they’re bottled and bought.

Still, for more tradition-minded British port lovers who would

see the consumption of vintage ports of any less than 20 years of age as a kind of vinous infanticide, the very different qualities of the 2016 and 2017 vintages are now making their way onto the

The latest release in the Taylor’s Historical Collection is The Mallet. The blend for this limited edition comes from

ready-to-drink LBV market in time for Christmas.

specially selected ports from Taylor’s extensive aged tawny

Mixing it up

Mallet is a reference to the bottle shape, an homage to the

stocks, aged in seasoned oak port pipes. The name The

There is a persistent notion that fortified wine is a somewhat fusty

hand-blown styles familiar to port lovers in the 18th century.

trade, peopled by fundamentally conservative types who are some years behind the times when it comes to marketing and NPD.

But that image – shaped by popular depictions of port being

passed by red-faced men and sherry being tippled in vicarages –

tends to fall away when you look at some of the recent activity by brands in both trades in recent years.

One of the more significant developments has been the

intervention of port and sherry brands into the growing and

lucrative (and younger-drinker-capturing) pre-mixed category.

This year has seen the launch of not one but two variations on

the port tonic mix from the Fladgate Partnership. The company

brought out a Taylor’s Chip Dry White Port & Tonic in a can in May,

and followed it up with a rosé variation on the same theme in Croft Pink & Tonic in June.

Not to be outdone, Sogrape’s Offley launched a white and a rosé

port & tonic mix under the Clink brand.

In a sense, these port producers are actually playing catch-up

with their counterparts in Jerez. Croft has had its Croft Twist

brand, a mix of fino sherry, elderflower, lemon, mint and sparkling water, on the market since 2017. And, in a sign of sherry’s

burgeoning popularity with a younger demographic, the British aperitif brand Pedrino added a Sherry & Tonic Spritz to a range

of three “Mediterranean themed” pre-mixes that also includes a Vermouth & Tonic Spritz and a Campari or Aperol-like Ruby & Tonic Spritz.

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 58

The Ramos Pinto winery cellar in Vila Nova de Gaia

THE WINE MERCHANT october 2021 59

More depth to the Médoc Our recent tasting and lunch for a group of London-based independents demonstrated that, even below £30, the region is making ripe, ready-to-drink wines that still showcase the versatility and variety of this narrow 80km peninsular

he Médoc’s reputation as the home of some of the world’s most acclaimed red wines – with price tags to match – is something of a double-edged sword.

There is a tendency, sometimes even within the trade, to assume

that Médoc wines are beyond the budgets of mere mortals. Our

recent tasting and lunch, organised in partnership with the CIVB and Conseil des Vins du Médoc, was designed to prove that this

subregion of Bordeaux is perfectly capable of producing superb wines that retail for £30 or less.

Our line-up included 20 wines from all eight appellations –

Médoc, Haut-Médoc, Margaux, Listrac-Médoc, Moulis en Médoc, Saint-Julien, Pauillac and Saint-Estèphe – all available from UK importers.

With vintage variation so central to the character of Médoc

wines, we ensured that a range of years were represented. There was a wine from the challenging 2012 vintage, a smattering

from the elegant Indian summer vintage of 2014, several from “modern classic” vintage of 2015, some from the acclaimed

“traditional” vintage of 2016, and a couple from 2017 when frost

and rain tested the winemaker’s art to the limit. There was also a representative from 2018, when the warm summer created

conditions for what many predict will turn out to be legendary wines.

Our host was Laura Clay, a wine educator specialising in

Bordeaux. “Médoc represents about 15% of what Bordeaux

produces, and some of that is going to be at the high end,” she said. “But actually it also produces many really great value wines, that can be enjoyed younger.”

The Médoc, she reminded us, is a narrow strip of land on the left

bank of the Gironde, about 80km long, with a surprising diversity of soils – alluvial, gravel, clay, limestone and sand.

“Obviously the influence of the Gironde estuary and the Atlantic

Ocean will have an impact on the vineyards too, and consequently you do get really diverse wines,” she added.

The challenges facing winemakers in the region have altered as

the impact of climate change is felt.

“In the past you were worried about getting the Cabernet

Sauvignon to ripen,” said Clay. “Now that’s less of a problem, but

what has been a problem are frosts early on.

“For example, in 2017 the quality was relatively good, but the

yields were low. You’re producing less wine, but the wines can be absolutely delicious and easy drinking.”

Clay argues that with modern Médoc, “the quality has never

been so good” and this is partly down to how winemakers are responding to changing conditions.

It is a theme that runs through the 20 wines tasted at the lunch,

with many of them showing this modern, fruit-led style that both impressed and surprised the retailers.

Chix Chandaria of The Wine Parlour in Brixton said: “I think that

it’s exciting that Bordeaux can be more affordable, and I would be

interested in buying more and consider selling it, as it is something we would be able to sell to our customers as wines that are ready to drink. I also think that they’re really important for restaurants. “We sell a 2015 Bordeaux and it’s drinking really well with

integrated tannins at only £15 or £16.”

There has also been a transition towards sustainable agriculture.

In Bordeaux 75% of the areas in which vines grow are certified or engaged in green practices of various kinds.

Climate change is also having an effect on the area. “Merlot is

increasing in importance,” Clay reports. “Not everywhere – you’ll find some properties where Cabernet Sauvignon is up to 75% of

the blend – but maybe smaller properties are finding that Merlot

is a little bit more reliable to ripen and making the wines easier to enjoy sooner.

“What I’m finding with Médoc wines now is a balance that

wasn’t always so easy to find in younger wines. Also, the wines will still last. Because we’re able to ripen the grapes more easily these days, you’ve got this lovely softness on the tannins rather than dryness.”

The point was echoed by Fiona Juby, CIVB marketing consultant.

“We have moved on so much,” she said. “There are so many

modern, softer styles coming out and people do like to drink them. The quality level is so high.”

Bigging up the Bourgeois The 1855 Bordeaux classification, ordered by Napoleon III, enshrined famous Médoc names such as Châteaux Lafite, Latour, Margaux and (later) Mouton

New customers – at the flick of a switch

Rothschild in Bordeaux’s premier league.

“The opportunity was interesting as usually I wouldn’t taste such youthful

Occupying the next rung down the ladder are Crus Bourgeois wines. This

Bordeaux unless in the en primeur environment. A switch had to be thrown in the

classification, originally created in 1932, was intended to bestow some

brain to evaluate the wine for current drinking rather than future drinking.

prestige on lesser-known producers making high quality wines.

“My customer base is largely in the market for mature Bordeaux but I left with the view that those customers who were keen on new world wines such as Malbec may be persuaded by the 2018s. “Some immediate success was had over the weekend when I brought up some 2018 from the cellar. The identified customers tried and purchased – so we shall continue to explore developing a market for younger Bordeaux.” Andrea Viera, Last Drop Wines, west London

It has recently been revamped and overhauled, and split into three tiers: Cru Bourgeois, Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel and Cru Bourgeois Supérieur. Laura Clay argues that the move is in the interests of consumers, as it helps explain why some Cru Bourgeois command rather higher prices than others. Clay also encouraged merchants to explore Cru Artisan wines. “There are only 36 of them currently, and hardly any are in the UK. But they’re really worth looking out for. It’s a classification for very small producers who have to do everything themselves and work as a family, and they sell from the

The Wine Merchant issue 107

Articles inside

just williams

HERCULES wines

fortified wines

COMINGS AND GOINGS

idris joins the indies