Category — Rhône

The Yorkshire Dales is one of the most beautiful regions of the UK (I used to live there) - such a large rural area is not over-populated with too many good specialist wine merchants. The Angel Inn at Hetton is a favourite Bar, Brasserie and Restaurant with rooms in the Dales near Skipton, and its offshoot The Wine Cave is an online Burgundy specialist.

“At the Wine Cave we have a simple philosophy that is to make Burgundy accessible to as many people as possible. By virtue of buying good quality wines from small, lesser known producers, we are able to pass on to our customers a level of quality and value for money that is otherwise unheard of in the UK. This is highlighted by our offering no less than six Grand Cru Burgundies for under £36.00!”

The Wine Cave
c/o The Angel Inn, Hetton, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 6LT

Tel: 01756 730415 | Fax: 01756 730363 | email: info@winecave.co.uk

What marks out The Winery is the individual wines listed. Each is personally sourced and imported with almost all being exclusive to the company. The wine list is packed with ‘unknowns’ - Mittnacht-Klack from Alsace, Tarlant Champagne, Wild Hog from California and Cheveau from Burgundy.

Strengths are in France - each region well represented by wines worthy of exploration, plus Spain, California and Italy. There is a superb list of dessert wines, mostly from Germany. New Zealand and South America are absent and Australia is poorly represented by just one producer though.

Unlike many London independents the wines are more than affordable with most coming in at under £20 a bottle. Delivery, if you can’t make it to either of the stores, costs £10 per case of 12, or free with 3 or more cases. Sadly no online ordering.

(pull)The Winery At Liberty 2nd Floor Liberty
Regent Street
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From the moment the site pops up in your browser you can feel the class and quality of WineDirect. The site is the on-line arm of Hailsham Cellars, an UK Wine Merchant based in Hailsham, East Sussex.

We’re passionate about wine and believe that knowing more about where the wines come from, the grape varieties and wine styles, can enhance your wine drinking experience and embolden you to experiment with the wide selection of wine styles and grape varieties on our list. That’s why we’ve added a lot of information about wine on the site in the Wine & Food and Wine Companion sections and why we are selling great wine books in our Books section.

The wine range is wide reaching - they list 35 wines from often overlooked Argentina, 100 wines from ever-popular Australia and 69 from New Zealand. But it is not just the New World at WineDirect - Spain with a list of 54 wines, Italy (187) and the regions of France (258) hold many interesting wines.

Prices are generally in the £7-£14 range although more expensive wines are of course listed. Minimum purchase is 6 bottles.

Pre-mixed cases, with prices ranging from £65 and upwards, and various regular wine club offerings complete the picture.

One thing I noticed is the embracing of customer feed-back they ask that their customers send in wine reviews and recipes for great dishes to accompany wine for publication on the site. Very Web 2.0!

A great name for a wine merchant - Philglas and Swiggot. Founded in 1991 the company is unashamedly upmarket with three stores in Richmond-upon-Thames, Marylebone and Battersea. They have been crowned London Wine Merchant of the Year in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006.

When we first started, we believed that there was the need for a good, down to earth, friendly and helpful specialist wine shop offering a range of interesting wines from mostly smaller producers. A sort of antidote to the increasing anonymity and sameness of the big chain stores.

They list a a superb range of wines “cherry-picked from well-known estates and up-and-coming producers”. Australia is their main strength with 160 wines listed. Burgundy, smaller producers only, and Italy, from the approachable to the Super-Tuscans, not far behind in terms of breadth, excitement and interest though.

The Philglas & Swiggot Subscriber Club offers a 12-bottle mixed case with tasting notes (bi-monthly or every 3 months) with prices ranging from £120 up to £250 a case. I have heard some good things about these selections that often include some of the rarer wines from the list.

A good website, although a search facility would be useful, but sadly no online ordering. You can arrange delivery but it would seem they prefer you to pop into one or other of the shops.

A selection of tasting notes on wines stocked by Philglas & Swiggot can be viewed on Spittoon.

In genteel Buckinghamshire, at Bourne End to be precise, there is a “local” off licence which has a pretty ghastly website (see above), but get beyond the colour scheme (or through the shop door) and you’ll discover a truly superb wine list at Bertrand & Nicholas with all sorts of French gems - fine Bordeaux and Burgundy for sure - but also an eclectic selection from South West France, Alsace, Jura and Savoie. Loire, Languedoc…… My selection would include Menetou-Salon AC from Henri Pellé (Loire); Cahors AC Clos Triguedina, Madiran AC Domaine Berthoumieu, Irouleguy AC, Domaine Abotia(South West); Bandol from Chateau du Pibarnon (Provence).
You can order by phone, mail or email - download their list from the website.

BERTRAND & NICHOLAS
14 FURLONG ROAD, BOURNE END, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE SL8 5DG - see map
TEL :01628525202

An award winning merchant with a mighty fine range, well arrange in a spacious store. Although a few under £10 wines can be found, prices are generally above this level; so not a store for those use to supermarket ‘bargains’.

With awards such as Regional Wine Merchant of the Year and, in 2004, Independent Wine Merchant of the Year you should expect a top level of service and an interesting range to boot. The team don’t disappoint. Consumer wine tastings are a regular feature (both free and fee based) and a weekly email covering the latest additions and offers keeps everyone informed of events and specials.

An email today was requesting orders for bottles of fully mature port sourced from an Oxford college for example. Now this might sound elitist but the hushed tones and rarefied atmosphere, that I fine so off-putting and found in many of the top independent merchants, just doesn’t exist here. Sadly the website is a little lacking - there is no online ordering, no fully searchable list just a PDF download. At least this seems to be kept up-to-date with correct prices (others take note!).

The range is world encompassing but strengths include the Rhône, Burgundy, Australia and South Africa with good coverage of New Zealand and America. A smattering of interesting beers and various spirits complete the package. Wine recommendations can be viewed on Spittoon.

The Flying Corkscrew
Leighton Buzzard Road
Water End
Hertfordshire
HP1 3BD
telephone: 01442 412311
fax: 01442 412313

Down in rural Sussex n the centre of Hurstpierpoint High Street, 10 miles north of Brighton, just off the A23 you’ll discover South Downs Cellars - and behind the modest facade you’ll be greeted with an excellent choice of wines. My own predelictions lean towards the wines of South West France so its always a good start to see some really classy and classic producers such as Chateau de Cedre in Cahors (one of the very best); Madiran and Pacherenc du Vic Bilh from Bouscassé. There are equally good wines from the other French regions.
At the other extreme in style and location, their selection of Californian wines is superb, including Bonny Doon and the extraordinarily intense wines of Ridge - the 2001 Geyserville (a stunning Zinfandel blend) being one of my favourite wines of all time.
Their selection from the Old and New Worlds indicates a judicious selection of some of the best producers sprinkled with interesting lesser-known offerings.

They have a shop, online ordering and a wine club. Their Christmas tasting is on Sat 25 November 2006 - not to be missed I’d say.

For more info see www.southdownscellars.co.uk

Stone Vine and Sun receive two hearty recommendations in today’s Wine Style column in the Times. Johanna Simon is on an ‘anything but Chardonnay’ binge quoting several wine buyers who report the continuing decline of Chardonnay sales and the rise of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio falling into the nations shopping baskets. Her recommendations for non-Chardonnay’s from Stone, Vine and Sun are

Domaine de L’Aumonier, 2005, Touraine Sauvignon
Stone, Vine and Sun £5.95 “Pure refreshment - textbook Sauvignon”

Belles Pierres Les Clauzes de Jo, 2004, Coteaux du Languedoc
Stone, Vine and Sun £8.75 “Full-bodied Mediterranean white; no oak, just pure, apple-scented fruit, wild herbs and a fresh finish”

Stone, Vine and Sun are a fabulous little outfit, with numerous retailing awards under their belt, since their launch in 2002. The company was founded by Simon Taylor and Andrew Shaw, although the latter has just announced he is leaving the company to become a wine buyer for Waitrose. Based in Twyford, near Winchester, delivery is free locally and just £3.50 per case to most UK destinations with orders over £250 delivered free. You can collect wine from their warehouse too.

The regions of France are well represented in the wine list with a particular passion for Burgundy and the Languedoc. The company initially concentrated solely on France but has recently expanded to include a good range from Chile with a smattering of wines from Germany, Argentina, Italy and elsewhere.

I always look forward to the latest list from Yapp Brothers - the epitome of everything a good wine merchant should be - independent, knowledgable, approachable and courageous enough to offer interesting and unfamiliar wines.
The former dentist’s main specialisation is in the Loire and Rhône (North and South) Valleys, but that does not exclude excursions into Languedoc, South West, Savoie and even Australia. So on his list you will discover excellent Bandol (mourvedre-dominated red from Provence) Lirac from the superb Domaine Maby in the southern Rhône, excellent Jurancon Sec from Domaine Bellegarde; Collioure from Roussillon; Thouarsais and Saint Pourcain from the Loire - I could go on and on!
Their Christmas Offers list is available now, and their Christmas Sale takes place at their premises in Mere, Wiltshire on Friday 24th and Saturday 25th November 2006.

For more info see www.yapp.co.uk