Was lectured about blogs. Apparently doing it all wrong. Need to shut up a bit here too. Get you to reply. Fine by me. OK so tell me what nice wines did YOU find on your Summer Holidays? Anything we should try and import. (Over the years got quite a few wines from customer tip-offs).
See you Friday/Saturday at The Laithwaites Wine Show! Got a few 'returns' if you need tickets.
Visit laithwaites.co.uk
Looking forward to seeing you later tonight, Tony. I'm bringing friends and we've all been looking forward to it for WEEKS!
ReplyDeleteLove your company, love what you do, totally agree with your philosophy of searching out small quality producers and avoiding overpriced "names".
ReplyDeleteI'm going to give you a tip about a really great Southern French wine from an overlooked region - the Luberon in Provence. First a bit of background. I love Southern France and Southern French wine. I have been visiting the region for the past 20 years and I love to visit producers to hunt out superb gems and haul them back to the UK for consumption with friends and family.
For years I was looking for a wine that could rival Châteauneuf-du-Pape in terms of taste and quality but not price tag and I think I finally found it - a producer called Chateau La Verrerie from the village of Puget-sur-Durance, nestling at the southern tip of the Luberon mountain range. They produce red, white and rose, but I think we can focus on the reds which are truly exceptional. The domaine has been owned by a very nice old chap called Jean-Louis Descours since 1981.
The terroir is classic Ch-du-Pape (although the AOC is actually Cotes du Luberon) - very high levels of annual sunshine hours are complemented by gentle night breezes from the Vallée de la Durance, clay and limestone soil with pebble stones to reflect the sun's rays.
The wines: 4 different reds - a cabernet and 3 syrah/grenache blends, with a prestige offering (the "Grand Deffand") at the top. The Grand Deffand is simply awesome, has to be tried to be believed, it outclasses many, many more expensive Ch-du-Pape. The other reds are also of outstanding quality. I am not aware of any UK importer consistently stocking these wines so it would be great if Laithwaites could make these available.
Hi Philip, certainly sounds worth a look. Am on family business today but the buying team are having a conference at Vinopolis so have forwarded them the details. See how fast they can go. No promises; up to them. Any more ideas anyone? That was one magnificent show we had at the w/e. Haven't calmed down yet.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the lead! We’ve been in touch with Chateau la Verrerie and discussed what we might be able to do. Unfortunately, with duty, shipping and VAT it would retail in the UK for around £10 for the most basic wine to £15+ for some of the others. Whilst good value in France at French prices, it wouldn’t represent such good value in the UK. A wine that is very similar and represents great value at £12.49 is Domain Bouscatiere 2002(www.laithwaites.co.uk/35979), made on a little sheltered estate just down the road from Chateauneuf. Give it a try and let me know what you think! All ideas welcome, so please keep them coming - we’ll get in touch with the vineyard and let you know how we get on …
ReplyDelete