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OUR FRENCH WINE EXPEDITION

We were delighted to visit the vineyards of Sancerre, Pouilly Fume, Saint Emilion and Margaux during our visit where we learned that this years harvest starts on the 3rd of October. The 2012 crop is good quality, however due to bad weather the crop is down by 30%.

Our trip started with Dominique Pabiot in Pouilly Fume where we tasted his 2011 vintage. Be prepared for the launch of his new wine ‘Cuvee Plaisir’, a limited edition wine with only a tiny quantity produced each year, a wine we are very excited to introduce to you. Howard exclaimed “this is the finest Loire I have tasted in 30 years”. Certainly high praise indeed!

We then crossed the River Loire on to Sancerre, to visit our friends and growers Patrick Doucet and his Mother. We managed to secure the last 100 cases of their 2011 Sancerre Blanc. This is a lovely crisp, fresh wine and the 2011 has really blossomed in the Loire.

We then flew from the Loire to Bordeaux where we were received with open arms by our family producers. We had a tour of Saint Emilion and we look forward to launching some great new wines from the famous 09 vintages. We particularly enjoyed the Grand cru Leydet Valentin. The 09 Vintage is rich, fully bodied with lovely soft tannins, a firm favourite for Chris. If you can resist the urge to drink straight away, cellar for 10 years.

We then travelled on to Margaux, where we discovered a new fabulous fine wine from our friend Frederic Valentin. His wines are sexy, gorgeous, spicy and have endless layers of fruit. Watch this space for further news on this exciting new and exclusive wine.

All in all it was a very enjoyable trip with some great tastings and the good news is there will be some exciting new faces on our winter wine list that we will be launching in the next couple of weeks. Contact us now if you would like an early preview of our fabulous new winter wines.