We concentrate on top-domaine wines from Burgundy, the Rhône Valley and Southern France, working very closely with such sought-after winemakers as Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, Jean-Marie Fourrier, Gérard Gauby and Daniel Ravier (Tempier), amongst [...]]]> A&B Vintners claim to be one of the leading independent specialist wine merchants with a focus on specific areas of France:

We concentrate on top-domaine wines from Burgundy, the Rhône Valley and Southern France, working very closely with such sought-after winemakers as Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey, Jean-Marie Fourrier, Gérard Gauby and Daniel Ravier (Tempier), amongst many others.

Such focus allows us to visit the regions and growers on a regular basis, in the cellar and the vines. As a small team, we are all very familiar with the wines upon which we stake our reputation and the personalities who make them. In short, we sell the bottles we enjoy and drink ourselves at home.

This is a merchant for those afficionados who know their wines and are prepared to pay premium prices for premium wines. The 2010 Wine List is on the website, but online ordering is not offered and is probably not appropriate for such select wines.
But the site does offer some great content on the selected growers, including videos of discussions with winemakers in the atmospheric surroundings of their cellars.
UK Delivery = £18.00

No tastings currently offered
A&B Vintners Little Tawsden, Spout Lane, Brenchley Kent TN12 7AS   t: 01892 724977

Ever since the foundation of the business our determination to source good value wines from classic and lesser-known wine regions and our focus on [...]]]> Offerng a comprehensive range of quality wines from individual producers across the south of France, specialist wine merchants Stone, Vine and Sun have some new offerings and tastings to tempt:-

Ever since the foundation of the business our determination to source good value wines from classic and lesser-known wine regions and our focus on producing high quality lists, has won us national acclaim.

…..There’s something very complete about our annual offer of wines from the Languedoc and Roussillon: with whites, rosés and reds, and wonderful fortified wines, the Vins Doux Naturels which are such a speciality of the region, there should be something for all tastes. Secondly, there are wines for every budget; at every level we believe these wines continue to offer terrific interest and value for money, at a time when finding such within the euro zone has become harder than ever. That’s why we continue to promote and recommend the wines of Languedoc-Roussillon with such enthusiasm. Now the region has really got its act together too, coming up with a unified marketing strategy under the jolly banner of “Sud de France”, and the creation of a new all-embracing Languedoc appellation, which stretches across the whole arc from east of Montpellier down to Perpignan.

Attractive and informative website with online ordering and good tasting note – shop/warehouse to visit!

UK Delivery = £5.50   

 Tastings offered
 Stone, Vine and Sun No.13 Humphrey Farms, Hazeley Road, Twyford, Winchester SO21 1QA   t: 01962 712351

Wines from “Mas Cremat” just outside Perpignan in the south of France, close to the Spanish border. … We’ll be tasting her new arrivals, a spicy dry Muscat and the [...]]]> Independent wine merchants The Winery launch their first tasting of 2009 on  20 January from 5-9pm  at their shop in Clifton Road, London W9.

Wines from “Mas Cremat” just outside Perpignan in the south of France, close to the Spanish border. … We’ll be tasting her new arrivals, a spicy dry Muscat and the deliciously juicy red “Tamarius”.
In the Rheingau…. Until recently Fred Prinz made his dry Rieslings in the garage below the block of flats where he and his family live in Hallgarten. We’ll be tasting his beautifully lean 2007.
….in the rural village of Ayl on the Saar, young buck Florian-Peter Lauer of Weingut Peter Lauer has taken over wine-making responsibilities from his father His wines carry the number of the steel tank each is made in. We will be tasting the fabulous contents of tank number 16. in the rural village of Ayl on the Saar.
….La Marcellina is named after Marcello…… Fabio is making charming, pure Chianti Classico with a deft, assured touch.

For more info see www.thewineryuk.com/

4 Clifton Road, London W9 1SS

T: 020 7286 6475  E: info@thewineryuk.com

Join writer and winemaker Monty Waldin for a fascinating and entertaining wine lunch at The Swan Hotel on 29th November. Monty’s TV series begins on Channel Four [...]]]> Adnams, the renowned Suffolk wine merchant (and brewery, hotel, deli…) is hosting a wine tasting lunch at the Crown Hotel in Southwold, Suffolk on 29 November 2008.

Join writer and winemaker Monty Waldin for a fascinating and entertaining wine lunch at The Swan Hotel on 29th November. Monty’s TV series begins on Channel Four on the 4th September, so there’s bound to be high demand for tickets. Book early to avoid disappointment.

They stock his wine, a Vin de Pays des Cotes Catalanes, so you can have lunch, taste his wines and learn about the biodynamic approach to wine making, and the story of trying to make a wine in southern France.

For more info see Adnams Kitchen and Cellar

A biodynamic wine is on one level an organic wine, with no added fertilisers or artifical chemicals added to the vineyard or in the cellar, [...]]]> Starting 4 September 2008 Channel 4 will be showing a 6-part series about an Englishman’s quest to create a biodynamic wine in the Roussillon in the south of France.

A biodynamic wine is on one level an organic wine, with no added fertilisers or artifical chemicals added to the vineyard or in the cellar, but overlaid with “cosmic” considerations such as the timing of various phases of growing the vine and making the wine are influenced by the phases of the moon and alignment of the planets. The most famous examples are the vineyards of the Coulée de Serrant in the small Loire appellation of Savennieres and a couple of Burgundy vineyards.

There is no consensus as to whether this approach makes any significant difference to the wine, or whether it is just a little quirky!

Top wine critic and author, Monty Waldin, has decided to put his money where his opinionated mouth is and pack it all in to make wine biodynamically in rural France. He has just over a year to turn 5.4 acres into top selling organic wine. Renovating an old cabin on his vineyard so he can babysit his vines 24/7, his only company will be his donkey and occasionally his high maintenance girlfriend Silvana when she jets in from Italy. Regarded by peers as a bit loopy because of his views about Biodynamics, and even as the enfant terrible of the wine world (he’s upset the establishment for his harsh criticisms of the wine industry), Monty’s nonetheless forged a successful career and written several award-winning books…But now he’s abandoning life behind the laptop for a new one making his own wine in the French Pyrenees.

As always there is a book to accompany the series – Chateau Montyand respected wine merchant Adnams is stocking the wines – Monty’s Red 2007, Vin de Pays des Cotes Catalanes – “The aromas of young, herby red fruits and a lively, juicy mouthful of charmingly rustic hedgrow flavours.”

UPDATE:-

There’s an article in the Daily Mail (26 Aug 08) “Grape expectations: Wine critic Monty Waldrin’s French vineyard was not the dream he imagined” – an extracts from his book Chateau Monty include:-

“I also had to start thinking months ahead about how to protect the vineyard from the wild boars before harvest.
Winegrowers here would erect temporary fencing to keep the boars out, and as my grapes began to change colour the boars had begun to take a real interest in the ripening crop.
Every morning I could see fresh hoof prints and topsoil that had been disturbed overnight, while whole bunches had had every grape sucked off as if by a powerful vacuum cleaner.

Jamie Goode, writing in the Sunday Express (17 Aug 08) adds: Think of biodynamic wines as “supercharged version of organic,” he says. Work in the vineyard is fitted in around the alignment of the moon and the planets, and growers claim it has improved the quality of their wine. Some of his recommendations include:-

• 2005 Corralillo Merlot Malbec, Vina Matetic, San Antonio Valley, Chile (£12.49, Majestic)
• 2006 Chapoutier Organic Côtes du Rhône, France (£7.99, Waitrose)
• 2005 Bodega Colomé Estate Malbec, Salta, Argentinia (£14.24, Waitrose)
• 2005 Bertie Collection Syrah, Minervois, France (£7.99, Oddbins)
• 2006 Meinklang Pinot Noir 2006, Austria (£9.25, Vintage Roots)
• 2006 Millton Chenin Blanc Te Arai, Gisborne, New Zealand (£10.99, Vintage Roots)
• 2004 Didier Barral Faugeres “Jadis”, France (£17.30, Les Caves de Pyrene)

Another online wine (or rather drinks) merchant – with an amusing strapline of “Drinks on the Mouse” offers an interesting mix of alcoholic beverages (including wine, cocktails, beers and spirits) plus drinks accessories and a lot of information. There is also a video diary of English winemaker, Simon Coulshaw at his Domaine des [...]]]>

Another online wine (or rather drinks) merchant – with an amusing strapline of “Drinks on the Mouse” offers an interesting mix of alcoholic beverages (including wine, cocktails, beers and spirits) plus drinks accessories and a lot of information. There is also a video diary of English winemaker, Simon Coulshaw at his Domaine des Trinites in the French Languedoc – his wines (Faugeres AC, Coteaux du Languedoc AC and a Viognier Vin de Pays d’Oc) are available to purchase on www.thedrinkshop.com

This is a great site for anyone who is looking for something alcoholic and wants to learn how to mix that extra special cocktail or buy spirits and stock up with the best known brand names and highest quality, specialty distillers around the world. Every spirit and cocktail mixer you can think of is here with a very simple and intuitive website that the Drink Shop has created.

Waitrose will be featuring 13 specially sourced small parcel wines from a wide range of less well-known appellations like Quincy, Bergerac, Provence and Lirac and the [...]]]> The French Wine Festival at Waitrose (online and in its stores) runs from 26 March to 27 April 2008 and will feature a total of 48 wines.

Waitrose will be featuring 13 specially sourced small parcel wines from a wide range of less well-known appellations like Quincy, Bergerac, Provence and Lirac and the wonderfully unusual Pierre Boniface Domaine des Rocailles Apremont de Savoie 2007 and La Bastide Blanche Bandol 2005 Provence.

Some highlights:

Champagne Taittinger Rose NV, save £7, £38.99 – £31.99 (A delightfully fresh and youthful pink champagne with mouth-wateringly delicate flavours of crushed wild raspberries and red cherries, perfect forearly summer as an aperitif or with strawberries. )

Vouvray AC Champteloup Vieux Vauvert 2006/07 Vouvray, 20% off, £5.99 – £4.79 (A fine, medium Chenin from the tuffeau terroir properties around the towns of Vouvray and Rochecorbon, famous for the production of these deliciously soft-textured, waxy wines.)

Bergerac AC Domaine des Eyssards Bergerac Rouge 2005 25% off, £5.99 – £4.49 (Another brilliant wine from Pascal Cuisset of Domaine des Eyssards in Bergerac. A traditional Merlot / Cabernet Franc blend yet with a soft,almost modern generosity in the mid-palate.)

Mercurey AC Blanc 2006, Philippe Hardi, 20% off, £13.99- £10.99 (A Burgundy Chardonnay using a combination of modern cool-ferment vinification followed by malolactic in barrel where the wine stays for a year, with regular lees stirring, to achieve theunmistakeable classic Burgundy signature with some modern fruit expression.)

Quincy AC (Loire) Domaine de la Pierre qui Danse 2006 Quincy, 20% off, £8.99 – £7.19. (Simple delicate, grassy style from this Domaine with its pretty name, the land of the dancing stones.)

Apremont de Savoie AC Pierre Boniface Domaine des Rocailles 2007, 20% off, £7.49 – £5.99 (a refreshing citrus acidity and a light grapefruit flavour.)

Lirac AC Domaine du Joncier 2005 Rhône, save 1/3, £8.99 – £5.99 (The Domaine is run by the charming Marine Roussell, who featured last year in Oz and James’ Great Wine Adventure. The wine is dense and beefy, with a good deal of brooding rich fruit and great concentration.)

Bandol AC La Bastide Blanche 2005 Provence, 25% off, £11.99 – £8.99 (Hugely impressive example of this most remarkable of appellations using the traditional Mourvedre grape as the backbone to the wine. …it encompasses the spice and complexities of Grenache, Cinsault and Carignan as well as the black, damson fruit of Mourvedre andSyrah.)

Minervois AC Château Maris Organic Syrah 2006, 25% off, £7.99 – £5.99 (An extremely lively Syrah from the irrepressible Bertie Eden at his Biodynamic estate in the Minervois. This is full of bright and peppery raspberry fruit, with a twist of liquorice and is a highly drinkable style.)

Waitrose Wine Direct

For one week only, we are offering 15% off a large selection of wines from our main list. This is no ordinary sale and these [...]]]> Online French specialists Leon Stolarski Fine Wines offer new classics from Languedoc, Roussillon, Southern Rhone and Beaujolais (and South West France, Loire, Alsace…..) and have a special offer available:

For one week only, we are offering 15% off a large selection of wines from our main list. This is no ordinary sale and these are not bin-ends, but represent genuine reductions on 60-odd of the very best wines from our core list. But hurry – this offer ends on 31 March 2008!

You can download their sale price list HERE – but hurry as the sale only lasts until 31 arch 2008!