Wine of the Week:2011 Rosso di Montalcino Collemattoni
By Andrew Hooper on 31/07/2014
Of course, that makes Brunello di Montalcino a more expensive option, but for more of an everyday wine, Montalcino gives us Rosso di Montalcino
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A subtle old world summer white: 2013 ZUANI ‘Vigne’ Bianco Collio
By Ed H-B on 22/07/2014
Patrizia is certainly at home when it comes to wine making. Her father Marco Felluga has been making quality white wine in Friuli-Venezia-Giulia for decades. In fact the family has been producing wine, generation after generation, for over 120 years. Twelve years ago Patrizia left the family business and brought her own seven hectare vineyard in the heart of Collio.
Two IWC Awards for Lea & Sandeman – Celebrate with us!
By Andrew Hooper on 18/07/2014
Celebrate the Champagne & Sparkling Wine win with us! We were absolutely delighted to win Specialist Merchant of the Year Award for Champagne & Sparkling Wine. As you our customers will know, not only are our 'shelf' prices for Champagne consistently competitive, but also our low 'case prices' on Champagnes can almost always be enjoyed on the odd bottle mixed in with a case of other wines.
‘Large Independent Merchant of the Year’ – L&S ‘Highly Commended’
By Charles Lea on 18/07/2014
L&S was Highly Commended in the national awards for best 'Large Independent Merchant of the Year' We are delighted also to have won this impressive chunk of metal, for being Highly Commended in the national awards for best 'Large Independent Merchant of the Year'.
A superb Malvasia from Croatia
By Andrew Hooper on 17/07/2014
We were led to Istrian wine by our our friend Tony Hodges. Tony, who sadly departed earlier this year, coined the slogan 'The lightness of being Istria' for the nascent wine export drive. The 'basic' wines have been well-appreciated for a couple of years.
Lustau ‘En Rama’ a fabulous new arrival on the Sherry Scene
By David Porter on 15/07/2014
As advocates of 'En Rama' style sherries we were very pleased to discover that Lustau were joining in and releasing a range of their own unfiltered sherries. A fino from each town in the sherry triangle, Jerez, Sanlúcar and El Puerto Santa María. For us the Fino from El Puerto is the stand-out.
2012 RÉGNIÉ ‘Cuvée des Braves’ Domaine Rochette
By Andrew Hooper on 10/07/2014
In July 1395, Philippe the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, made a suitably bold statement declaring the bountiful Gamay to be a “very bad and disloyal plant”, outlawing it on the noble slopes of Burgundy where Pinot Noir should, did and does rule supreme. Read on –>
Wine(s) of the Week: The light, crisp & clean 2013 Gavi’s by Tenuta la Marchesa
By Andrew Hooper on 08/07/2014
Gavi has become seriously popular recently. Maybe it's the clean fresh style so 'typical' of Italian white wine, maybe it's that it's easy to remember and pronounce. It comes from the 'armpit' just north of Genoa, where the Italian peninsula joins the main European landmass.
In the Press – Victoria Moore’s “Best wines on offer this summer” in The Telegraph
By Andrew Hooper on 03/07/2014
Recommended in last weekend’s Telegraph were Victoria Moore’s “Best wines on offer this summer” and a fine trio of these came from the shelves of LEA & SANDEMAN.
Wine of the Week: Biodynamic – 2012 Rippon Sauvignon Blanc
By Andrew Hooper on 01/07/2014
Just when you may have started to tire of the cut grass, gooseberries, asparagus, sprinkling felines and tropical fruit character of “typical” New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, allow us to tempt you back in to the genre with Nick Mills’ outrageously tasty offering from Central Otago…
In the press – Dolcetto d’Alba 2012 Serraboella Cigliuti
By Andrew Hooper on 30/06/2014
Recommended by Hamish Anderson in The Telegraph last week - Dolcetto d'Alba 2012 Serra Cigliuti. "Claudia and Silvia Cigliuti make one of the finest versions of dolcetto. Where others can be aggressively herbaceous, this is a seductive wine. The floral, expressive nose makes you want to dive in for a sip and when you do, damsons and a delicate hit of spice are to the fore.
You say Douro, I say Duero: 3 Great wines from Ribera del Duero
By Ed H-B on 26/06/2014
It is said that Sir Alex Ferguson, amongst his famously impressively appointed wine collection, retains a soft spot for Ribera del Duero (‘a lovely little Spanish wine-making region’, Daily Mail, February 2009). To the south-west of Rioja, hugging the banks of the Douro River & a few tributaries, lie the vineyards of Ribera del Duero & Bodegas y Viñedos Montecastro