Category — France

Provence wines tend to be associated with light summery rose wines, which really does do not justice to a whole range of seriously good reds from the region. The wines of Les Baux de Provence AC can be big beasts with a streak of elegance based predominantly on Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault with a trace of Mourvedre and Cabernet Sauvignon - see Mas Sainte Berthe for one of the best producers. Bandol is another excpetion to the rule - producing robust reds mainly from the Mourvedre grape, But head over to Leon Stolarski Fine Wines and you’ll find the wines of Domaine de Trevallon which lies just to the west of Les Baux de Provence. Here they were one of the first vineyards to challenge the established regime which declared that you could not use Bordeaux grape varietals such as Cabernets and Merlots and still be entitled to full Appellation Controllee status. But in the quest to make a great wine Eloi Durrbach spurned the local wine authorities and created what is now unofficially known as the First Growth of Provence!

…with the addition of a range of wines from the legendary Eloi Durrbach at Domaine de Trévallon in Provence - arguably the greatest wine estate in southern France. We have Trévallon reds (a blend of Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon) from no less than 5 different vintages - 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2005, together with the extremely rare 2006 white (a blend of Roussanne, Marsanne and Chardonnay). Only 4,000 bottles of the white are made annually.

These are not cheap wines, but certainly worth a try to see what can be achieved by a top winemaker using a unique blend of grapes and terroir! And full marks to Leon Stolarski for taking the decision to stock them - just what small independent merchants can do best!

Leon Stolarski Fine Wines Tel/fax; 00 44 (0)115 952 9387

Badminton Wines sources wines from small-scale producers from around the world, whose main focus is on producing wines of quality and character at a fair price. They list over 100 wines and deliver free-of-charge to the Bristol area. Cases can be mixed. Wine tastings can be arranged at your home or in their own Tasting Room.” www.badmintonwines.co.uk

Being confident of their selection of wines they offer a variety of ways of trying before you buy e.g. tasting evenings at home with your friends or tasting sessions in their own Tasting Room. Badminton wines will be at the Bristol Wine & Food Fair 11–13 July 2008 and at the Taste of Bath event 3–6 July 2008.

Their list has a wide coverage with some excellent Italian selections including a Prunetto Barbaresco from Piedmont, a top Californian Old Vine Zinfandel from Seghesio

Badminton Wines,The Street, Acton Turville Badminton GL9 1HH

Tel:01454 219091

Now I had always thought of the people at Joseph Barnes Wines in Saffron Walden as pretty serious, but enthusiastic types when it comes to wine innovation. But, as it is not April 1st, I am assuming that an article in their latest newsletter is factual! As I am one who tends to feel quite offended if anyone dares to dilute a glass of wine even with a jig of water, this idea sounds ghastly - but who knows maybe I’m just too traditional to even consider descrating wine in this way!

Disbelievingly, we decided to find out for ourselves and as a result here is the JBW guide to Wine Slushes:
The most appealing slushes contain a dry, yet fruity white or red wine - Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc or Merlot will do. Add a combination of fresh fruit juice and frozen fruit puree of your choice and blend until smooth. Freeze until the desired consistency is achieved. (The alcohol in the wine will prevent the mixture from freezing solid). Serve in colorful acrylic tumblers or Margarita glasses.
But do they taste any good? Well, we hate to say it, but wine slushes are indeed refreshing and wouldn’t be out of place at a BBQ or summer party. However, don’t expect us to revisit the subject any time soon.

Maybe thinking of it as a cocktail may make it easier to swallow.

There are more seriously good bits in the Joseph Barnes Wines newsletter (June 2008) such as an offer on one of my favourite reds - Pic St Loup AC in the Languedoc - plus Italian Prosecco (now there’s a proper summer wine drink), ideas for Fathers Day and a recipe.

Joseph Barnes Wines

A range of wines designed for and marketed to women? This is the claim of French company Sublim-elle who assert:

Because scientific research suggests that women have naturally a more refined sense of smell and taste than do men…
Because many wine experts recognize a major difference in the way women and men appreciate wines…
Because there is no reason for women to resign to purchase wines marketed for male preferences…
Because woman is Sublime and play a fundamental role in society’s evolution to a more balanced, peaceful and humanist…
Because of all these reasons, a range of French wines, dedicated to woman, was conceived.
This range is a selection of silky and harmonious wines combining delicacy and a lot of nuances of aromas and flavours; wines that tend to reflect the image of the women and their contribution towards a more peaceful, balanced, elaborated and tolerant society.

I’m not sure if this is a truth, or it is clever marketing, or just a tad patronising. In 15 years of selling wines direct to the public, I am not convinced that there is a clear distinction between the tastes or preferences of men and women. People’s tastes range so widely in any case, and the variation tends to be more associated with customer’s experience of wine. I (and my wife) certainly started out enjoying cheap sweet Barsac and light fruity German wines, and even now when I greatly enjoy complex heavy reds. there are ocassions when a simple clean Chenin Blanc is what I prefer. I know women who much prefer big beefy reds to their partner’s choice of floral soft whites.

The range of wines on offer (from Chateau Select) include Rhoine, Loire, Burgundy, Alsace and Vins de Pays d’Oc

Chateau Select is an online wine club (free membership) set up by Bill Warry who specialises in France and Australia wines

My love of wine, the regions in which it is made and the often extraordinary but wonderful characters who make it, led to my starting the business more as a hobby than a career. People often say to me that they are not wine connoisseurs and don’t know about wines. I tell them that it is their enjoyment of wines that is important…..

What experience has brought me is, I believe, an appreciation of what makes for quality and value in a wine. Year after year I’d been saying to myself, “I really must try importing some wine from France, then one year I took the plunge. After tasting nearly twenty different wines one afternoon in the village of St Chinian (near Beziers), I tentatively brought home a pallet load of wines on the premise that if I could not persuade potential clients to trust my judgement then “at least I could enjoy drinking the wine with my friends !”

Chateau Select Wine Club, Stafford House. 42 Mill Green Road. Mitcham. Surrey CR4 4HY
Tel:020 8995 7567 Fax:020 8994 9144 e-mail: info@chateauselect.com

These wines will be on taste at the Taste of London event in Regents Park 19-22 June 2008

Chateau Select will be at the

Jospeh Barnes Wines‘ latest wine tasting is to be held on Friday 13th June with Liz Bowen, English winemaker at the renowned Domaine Sainte Croix in the Corbieres (Languedoc, Southern France), who will be conducting a tasting of the full range of the estate’s wines.
The event will be held at The King’s Arms Pub on Friday 13th June 2008 from 8.00pm - 11.00pm. The price is £16.00 per person to include light snacks at the end of the evening.
Numbers are limited to 30 persons so early booking is recommended.
There will also be the opportunity to purchase Liz’s wines at a 10% discount.
So don’t let the date put you off! For further details Email info@josephbarneswines.com or call the shop on 01799 528019.

Joseph Barnes Wines, 13 Market Row, Saffron Walden, Essex CB10 1HB

Another event to celebrate English Wine Week takes place on Saturday 31 May 2008 at Duncan Murray Wines in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, with free in-store tasting of English wines (noon-2pm) - from Three Choirs (Gloucestershire)and local vineyard Welland Valley, with proprietor David Bates.

We’re a rapidly expanding independent wine merchants in Market Harborough, Leicestershire. Our mission? Well, we want to offer our customers a superb range of wines, beers and spirits that they’ll be hard-pressed to find elsewhere.

We’re especially enthusiastic about Southern French wines: Duncan Murray dedicated (?!) 2 years to tasting the best this region has to offer and getting to know the winemakers. The result is an extensive (often exclusive) selection of fantastically-flavoursome yet affordable wines from an area that still has oodles of potential.

The selection of wines looks very interesting with a number of little-known wines, but all with good information and tasting notes.

Duncan Murray Wines
10 Adam & Eve Street, Market Harborough, Leicestershire LE16 7LT - Tel: 01858 464935

Somehow you don’t expect to stumble across a purveyor of fine Champagne based in North-East England - Champagne seems almost too ephemeral for the down-to-earth Geordies, more suitable for sipping by the Thames at Henley than by the Tyne at Jarrow!

So how wrong can you be - let’s not forget that Newcastle has always had a vibrant night life, that the redevelopment of the riverside and the arrival of the Baltic Wharf art gallery and the Milennium Bridge have been great successes - I know I’d rather live in the North East than in London!

Lovely Bubbly (great name for a Champagne specialist):-

We are passionate about Champagne, and so are our partners. We deal with family run vineyards producing quality hand crafted champagnes.

Each one has it’s own characteristics and personality, unlike main stream large brand champagnes which are well known for a reason. Their quality is assured by factory-style or large scale production, which results in loss of character.

What we wanted was a Champagne that reflected the TLC given to it by it’s maker. We found more than one, and you can find them all in the Lovely Bubbly online shop.

What we have provided is a fantastic range of quality Premier and Grand Cru champagnes at realistic prices, coupled with unparalleled events management experience to provide you, the customer, a complete Champagne experience.

They certainly have a good range of fizz, including this spectacular art-deco style bottle Cuvée Juline from Georges Vesselle “Vintage of Vintages”, blended from the finest cuvees that the House of Georges Vesselle has. The wines used are all between 5 and 10 years old, a superb celebratory drink or aperitif.” (£46.85 a bottle). They also have less extravagant offerings from £22.99

So don’t go looking for any of the big name brands - these are carefully sourced from small independent growers, but there is plenty of information and advice on the site to help you choose. The “Champagne Expert” for example recommends that “Champagne is best served at between 6 and 10 degrees Celsius. This allows all the flavours and aromas to properly develop.”
Several of the producers warrant a listing in my French wine Bible - Guide Hachette des Vins de France 2008, which only includes wines which have been selected at blind tastings by wine experts.

Whilst some of their business will inevitably be for corporate hospitality, the site remains welcoming to private customers.

Lovely Bubbly - Henry Studdy House, 139 Bedeburn Road, Jarrow,Tyne & Wear, NE32 5AZ
Phone: 0845 2572754 Fax: 0709 2006711

The Channel4 sponsored Taste festival comes to Leeds Milllenium Square from 5-8 June 2008, offering visitors a great opportunity to taste fine foods and wines available in the region.

Imagine a picnic in a park. Now multiply it by thousands of people. Invite all the best restaurants in the area to contribute the food, and discerning vintners to bring the bottles. Make sure some of the guests are famous chefs happy to help out with cooking hints, and organise live music to eat and drink by. This is a Taste Festival.

Amongst the wine exhibits will be Bordeaux Wines, Wines of Chile, Faustino Rioja, Wines of South Africa and Playford Ros representing Villa Sandi - Italian Proscecco producers.

Leeds Brewery and Goslings Rum will also contribute to what promises to be a great cocktail of wine and food.

For more info and tickets see www.channel4.com

Andrew on www.spittoon.biz has the arduous duty of tasting and writing up individual wines, often as part of a wine and food pairing, Amongst the recent offerings:-

Chateau Laures Blanc - Entre Deux Mers AC, Bordeaux, France from Bordeaux Undiscovered
Howard Park Scotsdale Cabernet Sauvignon, Western Australia from Bibendum
Château Les Tonnelles, 2004, Fronsac AC, France from Bordeaux Undiscovered
Nederburg Chardonnay Viognier - South Africa from Waitrose
Rudesheimer Berg Rottland Riesling Spatlese, 2002, Rheingau, Germany from Waitrose

The wine merchant Caves de Pyrene, based in Guildford, Surrey is a bit of a trade secret. Predominantly supplying some of the top trade outlets, they now have an online website and a wine shop to tempt individual customers. We came across them when we realised that they also imported Didier Barre’s award winning Madiran AC Domaine Berthoumieu, Cuvee Charles de Batz - a gloriously rich, tannic but smooth red from South West France based on the Tannat grape.

As Tim Atkin in the Observer observes:-

Les Caves may specialise in supplying pubs and restaurants, but it sells to the public (by mail order and from its shop) too. In fact, if you conducted a straw poll of wine critics, I reckon most of us would put Les Caves in our top three retailers. They specialise in quirky French and Italian wines, most of them sourced from individual growers. Their aim is simple: to list wines that are ‘true to where they come from, which are made by hand with minimal interventions in the vineyard and winery, and which show maximum respect for nature and the environment’.

Their list is extensive and includes rarely seen wines from Marcillac and Aveyron (France), Corsica, Luxembourg, Morocco, Lebanon and Georgia!

The online store is not really user-friendly, but it is worth downloading their list - it makes interesting reading with excellent background notes on the regions.

They are holding a big bin-end sale on 13 and 14 June 2008 at Pew Corner - including a lunch and music on the Saturday - and 10% of the sale proceeds will go to charity. If you are anywhere near Guildford I would recommend a visit.

Caves de Pyrene
Pew Corner, Old Portsmouth Road, Artington, GU3 1LP
T: 01483 538820 F:01483 455068 E: sales@lescaves.co.uk

A novel approach to selecting and presenting wines comes from a new outfit called “Six Wines Eight”. based in London and online.

Six Wines Eight is about finding the right wine first time. The system we have developed is easy to use and even easier to remember.
There are six wines in eight styles. These are our featured wines. We have defined each style in three words and given it a colour. Within each style there are six wines graded by price. We do all the hard work (like taste hundreds of wines!)and then present the best in an easy to understand, easy to navigate system. All you need to do is choose your style and price. Easy!
In an effort to lighten the mood of wine buying we’ve tried to be a little less serious in our descriptions but we do have the usual stuff there as well.
Each quarter new wines will replace the current batch. The wines will match their predecessors in style and feel, though they may be from an entirely different grape from very different countries. That way you get to try wines that you might otherwise have ignored.

I like the classification of wine styles with 3 word descriptors e.g reds are light,simple,fresh;or juicy, round, easy; or spicy, peppery, warming; or intense, complex,elegant. That looks like the sort of vocabulary which both novices and old hands can use - and is a great way to help customers articulate what they are looking for.

Hence they offer 48 featured wines every quarter - although previous selections may be available from their warehouse. It certainly offers a way to help customers select the style of wine which they are seeking - and could be quite fun. The presentation is good, and the wines look to be well-selected from all corners of the globe.

Six Wines Eight
100-102 Tower Bridge road, London SE1 4TP

Tel: 020 7231 4477

Regular tastings and a blog complete a well-thought out approach to wine merchanting!

The Daily Mail (5 May 2008) reports on the findings of Dr Roger Corder (The Red Wine Diet) on the health benefits of RED wine:-

Far more important are polyphenols, the chemical compounds in grape skin and seeds. These are natural antioxidants which protect the membranes of each cell.
Another important element of red wine are procyanidins, which help to reduce blood pressure, lower cholesterol and protect against hardening of the arteries.
The most procyanidin-rich wines tend to be those in which the grapes - including skins and seeds - have remained in contact with the wine during fermentation and afterwards.
Such information is seldom seen on wine bottles - you’d find it by scouring producers’ websites (look for contact time of at least ten days for good amounts of procyanidins).
Two wine-growing regions which boast high concentrations of procyanidins are the Nuoro province in Sardinia (which produces the Cannonau grape), and Madiran in the Pyrenees.

Madiran AOC wines from South West France have certainly become more widely known as a result of this research - the Tannat grape producing big, and potentially tannic wines - and some of the best cuvées ensure that those big tannins are smooth and balanced with plenty of fruit character! - e.g the wines of Domaine Berthoumieu and Chateau d’Aydie.

Cannonau-based wines from the Italian island of Sardinia remain less well-known - Cooden Cellars stocks a Triente 2006 from Pala :”A very intense perfume leads into a fresh palate with rich flavours of mature red fruits and hints of herbs. Good match for spicy foods and oily fish.” (£9.99)

We tend to think that purchasing wine direct from Europe is fraught with problems or just downright impossible for the individual UK consumer. A few years ago it was rumoured that the rules for cross-border purchases into the UK would be relaxed, but a certain Mr G Brown soon put a stop to that idea. I was keen to be able to buy direct from some of my favourite French and Italian vineyards, although delivery costs may have proved a bit steep. A small company called Pic Wines, based in the Pic St Loup region of southern France organised some grouped shipments from local wineries delivered direct to your UK doorstep, but they appear to have stopped trading which is a great shame. However, there is a Spanish Wine specialist called Todo Vino based in Spain which ships direct to the UK and stocks over 100 different wines:-

TodoVino is one of Spain’s leading fine wine specialists. We publish the annual TodoVino Guide to Spanish Fine Wines (currently in its sixth edition, with the 2008 one on the way), and we sell wines direct to the consumer on www.todovino.com and www.todovino.co.uk. Only wines that have made it into our Guide are sold on our websites. We also publish a monthly magazine about Spanish wines, and TV content on a Spanish food and wine channel. Our TodoVino Wine Club has thousands of members in Spain, enjoying a monthly selection of excellent wines. We also host the largest annual private tasting in Spain in Madrid every year (the TodoVino Spanish Wine Experience). In addition to these activities, we are responsible for the wine selection and service for Business First passengers on all long-haul Iberia flights.

A quick browse through their site (in English) shows an impressive selection, and whilst it is difficult to directly compare prices, the average cost per bottle looks to be well over £10 (including VAT and duty) plus delivery. However, if you are looking for something special or a specific wine it could be the site to find it. Of course, the strength of the pound against the euro does mean that all European wines are now looking that bit more expensive, not helped by that Mr G Brown’s successor increasing duty on wine in the budget!!

If you are interested in Spainsh Wines see our list of the Top 5 Spanish wine retailers.

In Birmingham you’ll find a real specialist wine merchant - Jura Wine - specialising in the organic wines of Jura in Eastern France - and specifically one winemaker - Domaine Tissot.

Seldom seen and little known in the UK these wines can be quite distinctive and in addition to familiar grape varietals such as Chardonnay they also use very distinctive local grapes such as Savignin ( a cousin of Alsace Gewurztraminer), and Poulsard, a distant relative of Pinot Noir.

Jurawine collects the wines in person from our supplier, Domaine Tissot and arranges courier delivery to you throughout the UK.
Jura is part of the region known as Franche Comte and lies in eastern central France between Burgundy & Switzerland. This beautiful area has fine gastronomic traditions, including unusual wine festivals

Specialities of the region include “Vin de Paille” (straw wine), where the grapes are laid out on straw mats to shrivel and concentrate the juices producing delicious, long-lasting sweet wines; and Vin Jaune (yellow wine) which is made from Savignin grapes in a manner similar to Sherry!

You can try some of these wines at the Real Food Festival in London (24-27 April 08), or at the Windsor Food & Wine Festival at the Royal Windsor Horse Show (8-11 May 08) or at the London Wine Show (23-26 October 08)

Jura Wine - , 1 Augusta Rd, Acocks Green, BIRMINGHAM, B27 6LA
E-Mail: jurae@jurawine.com Tel: 0121 243 4042 Mbl: 07850 845518 Fax: 07092 888372

It cannot be often that you would find a New Zealand Cloudy Bay and a red wine from Wales on the same list ! But at ND John you can discover the Sugarloaf Vineyards Deri Coch, and even on their website they state “They must be mad with our weather - but somehow they pull it off, and in some style!” - Deri Coch is a blend of Triomphe D’Alsace, Regent and Rondo varieties and has brambly autumn fruit flavours with a delicious sour cherry finish” (£8.50)

ND John Wine Merchants Ltd are an established wine merchants in the South Wales area supplying fine restaurants, hotels, gastro-pubs and clubs.

In 2003, we moved to new premises and opened a large ‘wine warehouse’ bringing our extensive range of wines direct to the public.

The success of this business led to us expanding our retail operation onto the internet to enable people throughout the UK to experience our portfolio of wines from the bargain new world offerings to the more prestigious old world favourites.

In between they offer a decent selection of wines from France, Italy, Spain, USA, Australia. New Zealand and Lebanon amongst others.

ND John, 90 Walter Road, Swansea SA1 4QF
Phone: 01792 644 688 Fax: 01792 646 600 Email: mail@ndjohn.co.uk