Quality is at the heart of everything that we do, and provenance is still the key word in our relentless search for the best wines. We have undertaken a large overhaul of our French selection, added agencies from two new countries for us in New Zealand and South Africa, and continued the broadening of our Italian and Spanish ranges.
Our dedication to premium wines also continues, with the USA remaining a strong niche for us, but this year with many lower prices. Our additions this year range from the historic Hartenberg estate in Stellenbosch, to the up-and-coming micro negociant Christophe Coquard of Beaujolais who is truly a name to watch. We’ve chopped and changed our Burgundy range in response to the current conditions with a focus on wines for drinking now that also over-deliver at competitive price points. It is important to note however that we have not shifted our focus away from quality. In Spain our never-ending search for quirky but quality oriented wines has brought us to the little known region of Emporda, where Espelt are a great find, and to Valencia and what must be one of Spain’s greatest ever values in El Molinet.
Marlborough in New Zealand is now represented by Wild South, who aside from offering classic Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir also give us our big tip for 2010: New World Riesling. Check out Wild South, Wirra Wirra and Hartenberg’s examples to see what we will inevitably be harping on about this year! A new partnership in Italy with the Itynera brand has brought us beautifully styled Montepulciano, Primitivo and Nero d’Avola, while we’ve discovered an amazing value Pinot Grigio from Sicily of all places!
Couple that with our new screwcap organic Prosecco from Perlage and there is now a huge amount of value across our list – helped undoubtedly too by the government’s decision to reduce excise duty. We hope that you have as much fun tasting our 2010 wines as we had – there’ll be plenty more information posted as the wines come on stream over the next few months.
