Category — Languedoc/Roussillon

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.

Yapp Bros at Mere are holding a series of informal tastings on the following Saturdays in 2007 between 11.00am and 1pm - so even though they are in Mere in Wiltshire, you could make a good day out of it - and learn much from this very knowledgeable merchant. There are probably few who know the wines of the Loire and Rhône as well as Yapp!
Sat 14 April - Wines from the Loire
Sat 12 May - Rosé Wines
Sat 2 June - wines of the Languedoc-Roussillon region
Sat 22 Sept - Introduction to Food and Wine Matching
Sat 13 Oct - Reds from the Rhône
Sat 1 Dec - Wines for Christmas
£15 per person
You need to book - 01747 860423
www.yapp.co.uk

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

(pull)Green & Blue 38 Lordship Lane East Dulwich London SE22 8HJ(/pull)
They have a shop and bar in East Dulwich, have a nicely designed website but I have never heard of Green and Blue before today. Sadly the website doesn’t offer full on-line ordering - you have to download and send in an order form.

There are two prices on the website, one for the shop, the other for the bar. An interesting range indeed which they describe as

We have two very important criteria for inclusion on this list - firstly, the wines have to have been made with due care and attention paid to the growing of the grapes. That means no or very minimal chemical intervention and low yields (not pushing the vines to grow as much bland, boring fruit as possible), giving fruit which needs very little intervention in the winery. Naturally then, most of the wines come from smaller producers, many family owned, who have the sort of respect for their vineyards that we heartily applaud. Those that come from slightly bigger companies all have the same ethos.

As an alternative to country listings, Green and Blue, have gone for grouping wines by style. ‘Crisp - elegant, lighter, dry & subtle’ or ‘Fruity - sometimes slightly aromatic’ are two of the white wine groups while the reds have ‘Spicy - smoky or rustic & earthy’ or ‘Rich - ripe or muscular & powerful’ for example.

The range isn’t huge with Italy appearing well represented although most countries make an appearance. The ‘Different… something unusual’ sections immediately appeal. Here you will find such delights as Château Montus Pacherenc Sec from Madiran £13.50 and Sigalas Santorini, from Greece at £16.75 or Massaya Classic Red, from the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon £9.25 or Domaine Labranche-Laffont Madiran ‘Vielles Vignes, Madiran, France £13.15

The fine wine section has such beauties as Seghesio Old Vine Zinfandel, California, USA £25.85 or maybe a bottle of Frogs Leap Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, California, USA is more your thing at £51.25. A smattering of spirits, dessert and fortified wines complete the tightly formed list. Each wine has a little description attached along with details of the grape varieties and a simple food matching suggestion. Overall a nice site but one that could really do with full on-line ordering.

All orders of £75 or more are delivered free of charge to any address within a 2 mile radius of the shop. Orders of less than £75 carry a £5 delivery charge. Elsewhere in London a charge of £10 will be made on orders under £150. Those over this amount are free. Outside of London, the delivery charge for 1 case (12 bottles) or less costs £10, two or more cases £15. Part cases are classed as a complete case.

Green & Blue
38 Lordship Lane
East Dulwich
London SE22 8HJ

Leon Stolarski, one of our favourite independent merchants (especially now he has added both Madiran and Jurancon from SW France to his list) has been asked to assist in a sale of some of the world’s finest wines - indeed, a veritable “Who’s Who” of growers from Australia, Bordeaux, Rhone, Burgundy, Italy and Spain, plus some gems from the Loire Valley, Champagne, southern France, California, Lebanon and many more. The collection has been fostered over the last 16 years by a Nottingham restaurateur.
See www.lsfinewines.co.uk

Richard Ehrlich, the Independent on Sunday’s wine correspondent, is hanging up his pen (or resting his typing digits!) and will no longer be writing his weekly column. Whilst taking a fairly broad swipe at wine blogs he does conclude his musing as follows: “My recommendations for the week affirm one thing I have grown increasingly convinced of over the past decade: that French wine is the best on Earth.” He goes on to recommend 3 wines, two of which are technically Vins de Pays, both more expensive than the White Burgundy he also recommends! That farewell selection says much about the way French winemaking has evolved over the recent years - inspired, well-made exciting wines from lesser-known regions, often based on less popular grapes (e.g. the 100% Carignan that is one of his choices), whilst you can also find decent examples of good classics at affordable prices.
Ehrlich has always been one of my favourite wine writers, as he was always looking for something interesting and different, always inquisitive and did not just write up the latest trade or press tasting he’d been to. He will be missed!

For more on how French wines have changed try Andrew Jefford’s The New France: A Complete Guide to Contemporary French Wine (Mitchell Beazley Wine Guides)

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

An interesting little operation is PIC Wines. Being based in the heart of the Languedoc gives the company direct access to the multitude of producers in this dynamic Southern French region.

Building long term relations with wine producers has always been the mainstay of the independent merchant; it gives access to those special wines often produced in small quantities. PIC Wines is no different; just living next to the producers has added benefits!

PIC Wines don’t actually hold stock of any wines they list. They collate orders over a month before visiting the producer and purchasing the quantities required. They then shipped to the UK and distributed. An interesting concept that might not suit all customers – those wanting immediacy and over night delivery – but good things come to those that wait, as the saying goes.

They hold regular London based tastings, informal and small, giving the opportunity to sample seasonally selected wines. You can purchase by the case or mix and match. A mixed case of six carries a £2.50 surcharge.

There were some mighty impressive wines at a recent tasting I attended (for details see Spittoon ); so good I have actually brought a mixed case.

PIC WINES
3, rue Basse
34380 Viols le Fort
France

Email: contact@picwines.co.uk
Tel: 00 33 499 62 09 27
Tel/fax : 00 33 467 55 81 28