Weddings

We are able to supply wines and champagne for wedding receptions, tailored to match both the food and your budget. We also operate a wedding list service. In close consultation with you we will put together a selection of wines that can be broken down into individual gifts that should suit everybody’s budget. It is a great way to build an instant and varied cellar and much more interesting than receiving a new toaster! We are also appointed suppliers of Riedel glassware, which can, of course, be included in the list.

Tastings

Whilst we hope that you will be happy to trust our judgement once you get to know us, we firmly believe that it is important that you get to taste as many wines as possible. With that in mind we intend to hold several themed tastings throughout the year which will give you a chance to sample new wines and new vintages as they arrive. If nothing else, they will give you an opportunity to tell us which of our wines you don’t like.

Advice

Having tasted all the wines that we have bought we are able to give you first hand advice about which wines you should buy. Obviously it will take us a while to get your know your individual tastes, but in the meantime we can provide you with all the relevant information about each wine to help you decide for yourself.

Most of our tasting will be done at the respective domaines with the growers present and we will often taste a wine several times during its early life to get a real feel for its potential. This is important because the changes of a wine in barrel can be dramatic and the nature of those changes highly informative. In many respects wine is easier to assess in barrel than shortly after bottling, when it shuts down, and provides a sneak preview of its future character.

Because we are so passionate about our subject and love sharing the excitement of great bottles with like-minded people, we will endeavour to pass on our knowledge in an honest and transparent manner. In this way we hope you will come to trust our judgement and be able benefit from our professional experience.

Storage

For most people, lack of storage space is the biggest stumbling block towards buying wine. With only a small wine rack in the kitchen in which to keep wine, the temptation to buy hand to mouth on the way home from work is all too great. However, we can offer top quality storage through London City Bond at very affordable rates. This means you can keep all your cases in perfect conditions and have them delivered to your door as and when you need them. It should also ensure you don’t drink those special bottles late at night because you’ve nothing else in! Please see our terms and conditions for storage charges.

Laying down a cellar

The more interested one becomes in wine the more attractive the idea of building up a cellar becomes and the advantages and pleasures of laying down wine are many fold. Perhaps the most enticing is the prospect of pulling out a wonderfully mature Burgundy to drink at dinner that you bought fifteen years previously when the wine was first released. Not only will uncorking it remind you instantly of what you were up to fifteen years earlier but the joy of drinking a wine at its peak, as it was intended by the winemaker, yet knowing you only paid a fraction of its current value is hugely satisfying.

Also, a cellar is a continually evolving thing, needing topping up regularly with young and exciting new wines whist the older, more mature bottles are gradually depleted. And this mere process of developing a cellar can be addictively enjoyable.

Obviously getting the right balance is key. If you are just starting a collection there is no point in filling it with wines that won’t be ready for at least ten years leaving you with nothing to drink in the meantime. Likewise, on reaching seventy years of age it might be considered a tad optimistic to be buying wine thirty years off its peak!

Generally, with a realistic budget, it would take about ten years to put together a balanced cellar. We can advise you in this process, whether you are just starting out or simply want to add depth to an already existing collection. We can arrange to come and see you either at work or at home or alternatively you would be very welcome to pop into the office and we can chat things through over a glass of something decent.

Buying En Primeur

The literal translation of ‘en primeur’ is fairly vague. It’s perhaps best described as ‘in advance of’, meaning that one is able to buy certain wines earlier than one would usually be able to. What it has come to mean in practice is an early release of a vintage at an advantageous price. Exactly how advantageous tends to depend on the quality of the vintage. Especially with regard to Bordeaux, the better the vintage the more advantage there is to be gained in the long run, although in recent years the Châteaux have taken much of the potential price gain for themselves by releasing at quite inflated prices. However, high release prices for the already legendary 2000 vintage hasn’t stopped many wines increasing dramatically in price over the last five years and a repeat performance seems to be happening with the stunning 2005s. With Burgundy, wines are made in such small quantities if they are not purchased as soon as they come on to the market, they may never been seen again, particularly in the top vintages, and if they are they will have price tags to match their rarity.

Aside from the financial benefits there is also provenance to consider. Wines bought en primeur tend to arrive directly from the château or grower in to the bonded warehouse of the relevant merchant before passing directly on to the customer. There is little or no opportunity for the wines to be ruined in transit. This contrasts with some mature wines found at auction or on brokers’ lists that can pass through a dozen different hands, including some abroad, before finding their way on to your dining table. If you are going to spend a lot of money on a case of wine it is surely important to know where it has come from, where it has been and how it has been stored. It won’t matter how good your storage is if the wine has already been adversely affected by the time it arrives with you. And lengthy ageing of wine will only exacerbate any faults caused by poor transit or storage conditions. When we sell you wine we will endeavour to keep you informed of its provenance.

En Primeur sales for each wine region tend to happen at the same time each year. Generally Burgundy will kick proceedings off in January, followed by the Rhône in March and then by Bordeaux from late April until late June. If you’re going to be on holiday during these months please let us know in advance; we wouldn’t want you to miss out!