{"id":35607,"date":"2023-10-06T09:28:07","date_gmt":"2023-10-06T08:28:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leaandsandeman.co.uk\/blog\/?p=35607"},"modified":"2023-10-06T09:28:07","modified_gmt":"2023-10-06T08:28:07","slug":"35-years-of-lea-sandeman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.leaandsandeman.co.uk\/blog\/2023\/10\/35-years-of-lea-sandeman\/","title":{"rendered":"35 years of Lea & Sandeman"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Lea36 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. My French was shakier then, despite my claiming it was fluent at my job interview, and I liked to get the calls to France out of the way before the the sales team arrived, so I was on the telephone when Patrick arrived and came straight over and simply said \u2018we should have lunch today\u2019. The lunch at the Caf\u00e9 Delancey confirmed that we were thinking the same thing \u2013 and \u2018Sandeman & Lea\u2019 was decided upon before we returned to the office<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

We always wanted to combine retail and wholesale. Our initial thought, that we were going to take over the former site of \u2018Les Caves de la Madeleine\u2019 at 301 Fulham Road, initially foundered on the premium being asked. Our first trading month was June 1988, and for the next six months we worked from my home at 1 Henning Street in Battersea, our office complete with two telephones, a couple of rolodexes and a golfball typewriter on which Patrick\u2019s wife Katie typed up the invoices and kept the books. Our wine was at a self-storage unit on the south side of Vauxhall bridge, and in the afternoons we took turns to jump into our van and do the deliveries.<\/p>\n

\"Original<\/p>\n

Eventually the negotiations over 301 Fulham Road bore fruit and after a very quick tosh-out (it had most of the shelving we needed already), we opened the shop six weeks before Christmas. I was near the door sweeping the floor for the opening party when our first shop customer tapped on it and asked if he could buy some wine. He left with three bottles each of Bollinger Vieilles Vignes Fran\u00e7aises and Domaine Ponsot Clos de la Roche. We thought this a very good start.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"1988

Our Mission Statement from 1988<\/p><\/div>\n

Since 1988, everything has changed and yet, as you may see from our initial \u2018mission statement\u2019, in some ways nothing has changed. When we started, we sold mostly to city institutions \u2013 banks, brokers, discount houses and so on – for their dining rooms, and to private customers who often came to our \u2018office\u2019 (occasional evening tastings which resulted in at least one marriage). Quite quickly the arrival of the American banks (we called Merrill Lynch \u2018Moral Lunch\u2019 because alcohol was famously banned from the building) rapidly changed the culture of the City which lost its importance as a market. We grew our sales to restaurants and to private customers, both through the shops and through primeur and in-bond sales, and the website gradually became an important window and another shop. The \u2018regular fine art exhibitions\u2019 had to end when we moved across the road from 301 Fulham Road to 170, for simple lack of wall space.<\/p>\n

But – we still sell only wines we like<\/strong>. We still buy our French wines from small domaines or wine-farmers \u2013 but we have through growth been able to expand this sourcing to Italy, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Germany, Greece, Slovenia, Georgia, Australia, New Zealand, California, Oregon, South Africa, Argentina, Chile and more.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Patrick and I worked together for 25 years, but as we prepared to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the company, there came the devastating news of Patrick\u2019s death in a skydiving accident. Katie Sandeman was still very much involved as the bookkeeper, a role which she managed to continue with for another eighteen months even in the face of this shattering blow. Our team were incredibly supportive through this very difficult time, and it is very much thanks to Katie and to them that the company survived and continued to grow.<\/p>\n

The business continues to thrive on long-term relationships between us and our customers, and between us and our suppliers. Trust and loyalty on both sides are crucial, and there are still some suppliers from our first list feature in the current selections.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

It really was Vincent who Patrick and I first met at Domaine Vincent Delaporte in Sancerre<\/a>. We continued to buy from his son Jean-Yves, and subsequently Vincent\u2019s grandson Mathieu came to work for us one summer, and it is now he who runs the domaine. At Domaine Comte Armand in Pommard<\/a> we have bought wine from r\u00e9gisseurs Pascal Marchand, Benjamin Leroux and now Paul Zinetti. Domaine Charles Jobard in Meursault featured in our first list, and we continued through Domaine Charles & R\u00e9mi Jobard and on to the current Domaine R\u00e9mi Jobard<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Champagne R&L Legras<\/a> has been on the list since we opened the first shop. Chablis from the Boudin family<\/a> has also come from three generations, as we started buying from Adh\u00e9mar, then his son Francis, and now Francis\u2019 daughters.<\/p>\n

As we gradually expanded others have been added over the years, and we are still always looking for new things which offer exceptional value to our customers.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\n

Lea & Sandeman 35th Anniversary Mixed Case | 6 Bottles | \u00a3200<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

\"35th<\/p>\n

A mere 6 bottles to sum up 35 years is a bit of a challenge, but we decided to give it a go.<\/p>\n

\"Order<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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