By Charles Lea on 01/11/2024
It’s that time of year when I encourage our customers to avoid the last minute rush and withdraw wine from their reserves. We have done our best to provide a colour-coded system, alongside drinking dates, to give you an idea of when and what you should be withdrawing (although these are always open to interpretation).
By Charles Lea on 06/05/2024
As anticipated, the 2024 L&S Champagne and Sparkling tasting generated quite a buzz, with press reports from Tam Currin for JancisRobinson.com (see Grower Champagnes, Finding Value), and Anne Krebiehl for Vinous.com (see Champagne the 2024 Spring Preview). "The grower-champagne movement has achieved something that the grand houses can only dream of.
By Charles Lea on 09/04/2024
In 2009 one group of like-minded 'grower-Champagne' producers ('Terre et Vins de Champagne') got together to put on a tasting which focused to a large degree on the vins clairs (the still wines) from the 2008 vintage, before they were bottled for the prise de mousse (the second fermentation in bottle which produces the bubbles).
By Charles Lea on 08/03/2024
Last night saw the 19th time that L&S has sponsored the City Fine Wine Challenge quiz evening at One Great George Streeet. Teams of City luminaries competed for the Patrick Sandeman Trophy, and this year, in an upset of the long-standing dominance of headline sponsor FNZ, the quiz was won by the team from JP Morgan, who were clearly on fire! A late note addition - the final net figure for this year's CFWC was £203,797.
By Charles Lea on 06/10/2023
36 years ago this autumn, I went to the office where we both worked at the time determined that I was going to speak to Patrick Sandeman about our future.
By Charles Lea on 06/07/2023
Neal Martin's latest article on the Vinous website is timely and, in a most measured and reasonable way, lays out how an apparently well-motivated individual is capable of making all the right noises about quality of wine and how to achieve it, so that the back story sounds plausible, while marketing it entirely on price.
By Charles Lea on 19/05/2023
The major Champagne houses have a long history of leveraging their access to vast resources to create exceptional blends. With a wide array of vineyards, grape varieties, and reserve wines at their disposal, they can ensure a consistent and high-quality product year after year.
By Charles Lea on 19/05/2023
Following on from the explanation of the various classifications of producer of Champagne ('Champagne - NM, ND, CM, RC, MA, or RM - what and why?'), this is how the pieces fit together in terms of their place in the market.
By Charles Lea on 19/05/2023
Following our 'Celebration of Spring' tasting, where we showcased our range of 'grower' Champagnes, Charles Lea is sharing some of the secrets of Champagne on our blog. First, a brief breakdown of the label codes found on Champagne bottles, which can help clarify the origin of what's in your bottle.
By Charles Lea on 21/04/2022
'Our first proper tasting for ages, and I was unable to attend having contracted Covid, (the reason for the long hiatus since our well-attended Italian tasting in March 2020). This was particularly galling after I had helped organise the attendance of some of the winemakers, notably producers of three new grower Champagnes who I had unearthed on on my post-vendanges trip in October.
By Charles Lea on 04/03/2022
The 2022 City Fine Wine Challenge in aid of NSPCC Childline was held on the 3rd March, and we were delighted to be back in One Great George Street after the virtual event last year.
By Charles Lea on 30/12/2021
Chablis - arriving in Fleys on the road from Tonnerre Towards the end of October I planned to set off from Kent to start a trip to Chablis and Champagne, and was told, when I began to make appointments for the Monday, that the Sunday was by chance the rather local event, the 'Fête des vins de Chablis' - a chance for the local vignerons to show their wares in a street closed for the day, and a good opportunity to try the wines of quite a number of different domaines - so I set off rather earlier than I'd originally intended to get there in time.