What our customers have been drinking this winter By Eve-Marie Letondel on 04/01/2023 A customer wrote after the New Year festivities - 'Happy New Year! Gosh this is good and a way to go still. Read more
2021 Burgundy harvest reports | Côte de Nuits By Charles Lea on 20/10/2021 An interesting report given that there seems to be a 'blanket' view that 2021 is a disaster in France. In Burgundy the quantity of white is certainly disastrously low, but there will as usual be some nicer surprises. Read more
In the field – Tasting the 2019 Burgundy Vintage – Part III By Jack Chapman on 23/12/2020 Domaine François Raquillet It’s a winding back road through the vineyards to get to Domaine Raquillet and I more than once tested the brakes on Charles’ car (he’s promised not to sue for the whiplash, but we’ll see). Read more
In the field – Tasting the 2019 Burgundy Vintage – Part II By Jack Chapman on 15/10/2020 Domaine Frantz Chagnoleau Our second day began with a longer journey, from our digs in Beaune (which we had settled into the night before after driving down from Chablis) straight south to Pouilly-Fuissé. In the tiny commune of Pierreclos, we drew up to a maze of buildings and were greeted, then ushered down some steps to the tiny cave of Frantz Chagnoleau. Read more
In the field – Tasting the 2019 Burgundy Vintage – Part I By Jack Chapman on 11/10/2020 We've touched down in Burgundy and have an intense, covid-safe programme of visits that will see us covering the length and breadth of Burgundy starting from Chablis in the north – to the south in the Mâconnais and not missing anything out in between! An early start for Day 1, after our 10 hour journey from London - the following day, is something easily met when you know that your day will be packed full of Chablis tasting - helped even more by the first Domaine being just down the road. Read more
What we’ll be drinking for Christmas – Our Favourite Wines By David Porter on 23/12/2019 It’s the busiest moment of the year for our team as we try to help everyone get the right wines into their glasses as well as the perfect presents into people's stockings for Christmas. Read more
2018 Burgundy En Primeur | First Impressions By Peter Ogilvy-Wedderburn on 25/11/2019 2018 was a very hot vintage – the growing season only beaten by 2003 for overall heat. However the wines are very different from 2003, for even where they are ripe there is much more freshness than one could have dreamed possible. Read more
Domaine Dugat-Py | Wines Of Grandeur & Heritage By Edward Richardson on 21/10/2018 [caption id="attachment_29768" width="600" align="alignright"] L'Aumônerie, Gevrey Chambertin[/caption] During the 11th century, Abbot Halinard instructed for cellars to be built in Gevrey Chambertin as a store for the Abbey of Saint Benigné in Dijon. Nine hundred or so vintages on, the very same vaults shelter the latest batch of exulted offerings from Domaine Dugat-Py. Read more
Country Life – Harry Eyres on 2016 Burgundy to buy now By Charles Lea on 26/01/2018 Following our 2016 Burgundy tasting, this week's Country Life wine column by Harry Eyres picks up on the story of the small harvest as a result of frost, but also says: "at its best this is a very good vintage indeed, with especially elegant wines. Read more
2016 L&S White Burgundy: ‘A beautiful chardonnay with lissom curves’ Moneyweek By Edward Richardson on 05/01/2018 2016 Lea & Sandeman White Burgundy Burgundy en primeur season kicks off next week and most of the talk will be about the frost and the tiny volumes produced in some areas. Don't be put off by the gloom! The fruit that survived has produced some wonderfully pure, classically-shaped Burgundy - right down to village level. Read more
The best value of all in the 2015 Red Burgundy vintage? By Charles Lea on 26/01/2017 Domaine Francois & Isabelle Lumpp - Givry, Cote de Nuits, Burgundy Amongst all the chatter about high prices in 2015 Burgundy, some real bargains get overlooked. We have been happy to see some of our regionals - 'Bourgogne Rouges' gain good traction as critics realise what great value they represent - from as little at £90 a case of 12 in bond. Read more
Wine of the Week: 2013 MÂCON VERGISSON La Roche Domaine Daniel Barraud By Ed H-B on 11/07/2016 A favourite of Robert Parker and Allen Meadows, Daniel Barraud makes some of the best wine in Maçon, a fact recognised by some of the biggest noses including Robert Parker: ‘Barraud is unquestionably in the very top echelon of producers in Pouilly-Fuissé. [He] is crafting superlative wines that equal or surpass the finest offerings of the Cote de Beaune’s grand cru vineyards.’ Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, www.eRobertParker.com Read more