Category — Germany

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

I always applaud those wine merchants (large and small) who are adventurous and try to offer something rather different. Nick Dobson continues to do this well, with a new selection of wines from Austria in addition to his other explorations into Switzerland, Germany (Mosel) and southern Burgundy.

Amongst the new arrivals is some Austrian Sekt (sparking wine) from Stift Klosterneuburg, a 900 year old Augustinian Monastery near Vienna:-

Cuvée comprising 60 percent Welschriesling and 40 percent Grüner Veltliner. Its fragrant fruit aroma is invigorating and refreshing. (£10.95)

More Sekt from Weingut Steininger in the Kamptal:

These are of particular interest as they are not only superlative quality, but made from a wide range of different grape varieties, not often seen in sparkling form - such as a Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé Sekt and a Sauvignon Blanc Sekt.

So if you are really looking for something a little different, and seldom seen on a supermarket shelf, then it could be worth a look:
Nick Dobson Wines Tel: +44 (0) 118 9771545 Mobile: +44 (0) 7799 661694
FAX:- +44 (0) 870 4602358 e-mail:- nick.dobson@nickdobsonwines.co.uk

A refreshingly different approach is evident as soon as you enter Cadman Fine Wines website. Its crisp design and great graphics tempt you with some good special offers, yet also provides easy navigation of the site to find what you want.

The tagline “Quality is merely a starting point…” is more than merely words - they do seem to have a real commitment to sourcing their wines:-

Cadman Fine Wines stands for quality, exclusivity and selection

We bring you the world’s finest wines from the world’s finest producers: classic labels from famous names and regions that sit at the pinnacle of their craft; rare gems that have never been seen in the UK, plus exciting, cutting-edge wines from newly emerging stars of the fine wine world.

Our wines are intelligently and skillfully sourced by an international team of experts based in Italy, France, Spain and the UK. Through desk research, field trips and tastings, our experts seek and source hand-crafted wines from producers and winemakers who reaclly care about the contents of the bottle. To achieve a Cadman Fine Wines listing, a wine must score at least 88 points on our quality rating system or from the world’s most authoritative wine critics.

The wine list is extensive covering a wide range from New and Old World, some classic fine Bordeaux and Burgundies together with an eclectic mix of lesser-known wines such as Spanish Jumilla DO, French Cour-Cheverny AC and Otago wines from South Island, New Zealand.

Yet for each and every wine there are thoughtful tasting notes and good background information - very impressive. What’s more each delivery comes with “full tasting notes and background information for each wine, including grape varieties, when to drink the wine and reviews from our own experts and the world’s leading critics where applicable. This leaves you free to argue/ discuss the merits of wines with your friends and family. Their inclusion also makes each order an ideal gift.”

Cadman Fine Wines
Freepost NAT21632, Northampton NN3 6BR
Tel: 0845 121 4011
sales@cadmanfinewines.co.uk

The Thames Valley-based Ultimate Wine Compnay will be holding a tasting of German Wines on 26 April 2008, in Marlow, Bucks.

Germany makes many great wines than just Riesling (not to denigrate Riesling by any means!). On Saturday, 26 April, you’ll get an opportunity to taste just a few of them. There will be REDS (yes, Germany makes some very nice red wine), whites, and even sparkling wines. Of course we’ll have a few Rieslings (how could we not?), but there will also be some outstanding Silvaners from Franken, some Spaetburgunder (Pinot Noir) from Ahr, some Dornfelder from Rheinhessen, and a whole lot more. These wines, as usual, will be accompanied by a selection of wonderful foods so you can see how really food-friendly the wines can be.

Location – ULTIMATE WINE COMPANY 8 Millbank, Marlow, Bucks. SL7 1UA
5:00 – 6:30 pm

Region Wine is a new Chester-based online merchant with a retail shop in the heart of historic Chester. The website is attractive and offers a wide range from around the world, including Greece, Oregon USA and Hungary in addition to the usual New and Old World sources. In addition to offering selections by region, grape variety and price there is also the opportunity to choose from a selection by “experience” - i.e. Aromatic white, exotic white, fruity white, quaffable red, red with herby notes, red with spicy notes, red, big and dark, refreshing rose, refreshing white, smooth red etc

Our company started out as a quality online wine merchant in 2006 by Ian Wildboar, fulfilling a twenty year ambition to turn his love of food and drink into a business. His aim is to help maintain diversity in wine choice throughout the UK at excellent prices and value for money.

On numerous visits to various exhibitions at London’s Olympia in West Kensington I would indulge in 2 diversions - firstly the Bristol car showroom (368 Kensington High St) where James Bond- style sports cars were on display looking fine, polished, elegant and very desireabl.

Almost next door was the second treat at Roberson Wine Merchants (348 Kensington High Street W14) which provided a welcome break from the usually frantic atmosphere of the exhibition hall. This was always a delight with an impressive range of wines - yes some very classy and expensive Burgundies and Bordeaux, but always some interesting discoveries from both the New World and Old World - and usualy some keenly priced binends. I never left without a couple of bottles to manhandle on the train home together with the piles of literature you tend to amass at exhibitions.

Fifteen years ago we began the business of building up what we believe to be the finest place to buy wine in London. From the start, we knew the ingredients; a range of Bordeaux and Burgundies unparalled in all of the city, wines imported from undiscovered producers of fantastic quality and people with the knowledge and enthusiasm to champion the cause of good wine.

Today we continue to believe in the same things. As High Streets are slowly being transformed into one faceless chain we believe there is an ever-growing need for the individual and specialist store. Roberson remain passionate advocates of wines from all over the world that offer value, character and substance. As an independent we are under no obligation to buy any particular producer’s wines. We don’t offer big brands of no discernable merit other than a large marketing budget; we simply choose wines that we like, wines that speak of place and individuality.

The shop, although in modern building, nevertheless has a cool and peaceful atmosphere with stone floors and a basement where they hold regular tastings usually about once a fortnight - for example on 1 May 2008 they have a seated tutored tasting of pre-1990 red Burgundies.

Good informative website with online ordering and offers.

Roberson Wine Merchant
348 Kensington High Street
London W14 8NS Tel 020 7371 212 Fax 020 7371 4010
Email: retail@roberson.co.uk
www.roberson.co.uk

(nearest Tube: Kensington Olympia)

Following our last visit the Vineking website has been given a bit of a spruce up (well done Eric!). We can only conclude that the Vineking is an independent not to ignore.

I have been following the developments of Eric Lann, The Vineking himself, from hesitant start-up through to fully fledged wine shop. The wine list, fully searchable online, has plenty to explore. The list has been updated with those gaps in the range - New Zealand, South Africa and America - now filled. The Australian range and France are well represented with a smattering from across the various regions and, more importantly, interesting producers.

Tasting events are an important way of discovering a merchants range. The Vineking has regular tastings with Vergelegen, the Loire, California and Champagne/Sparkling planned through the Summer. These cost £30 per person and are held in Reigate.

On all orders up to £300 delivery is charged at £10. Orders of £300 or more attract free delivery for UK mainland.

The Vineking
4 West Road
Reigate
Surrey
RH2 7JT

Retail: 01737 248 833
Wholesale: 0870 850 8997

A beautifully designed website - just a touch of animation/flash to keep things interesting. Did I see somewhere that there are 800 wines on their list? All the boxes are ticked with good representation from Chile, Burgundy, Bordeaux, Australia etc etc. Impossible to pull out just a few recommendations, especially when you take into account the 45 strong range of spirits, various special offers, mixed cases and 40 odd ports!

Prices begin at £5.99. You can down load the price list in a PDF file for printing and off-line perusing. There is also a very entertaining PDF magazine that combines staff recommendations, producer profiles and loads more. All very professionally produced.

Next working day delivery is fixed at a rate of £8.50 per delivery address for all quantities from 1 bottle upwards for those who cant make it to the store. Oh, and don’t neglect the series of wine tastings over the coming months.

Overall a great looking company and worth investigating.

The Secret Cellar
43-45 Church Road,
Tunbridge Wells,
Kent TN1 1JT.
ENGLAND.

Discovered via a recommendation on fellow UK wine blog Grapefan.

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
London(/pull)

(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