It took John Chapman, managing director of the Oxford Wine Company, very little time to make his decision. The Château Bellini Rosé 2024 was just the Provençal label he was looking for this summer. In went the 500-strong order for the bottle he had taken back to the office after it was given to him at a special dinner on the Monday evening of the London Wine Fair.
Credit to Business France, the organisers, and the five French producers, the sponsors of the dinner, who brought their wines to the South Kensington restaurant. Each sent representatives – either winemakers or sales managers – to join half a dozen invited UK importers.
“As events go, it was exceptionally worthwhile," Chapman mused. “Normally you go along to these and wonder what calibre of producer you are going to get. It can be a complete waste of time, but this was one fruitful and well-positioned as Business France got some interesting wineries, who were genuinely looking for distribution and not just there to tick an EU-funding box.”
On the back of the dinner, Chapman is also in email contact with the biodynamic Beaujolais estate, Le Crêt de Bine.
One of the wines shown by Le Crêt de Bine at the event
Chapman's Château Bellini Rosé order is scheduled for early June delivery.
“It’s a proper example of a full-blown Provençal Rosé,” Chapman continued. “It will go into our shops and be very popular with our private clientele, and will also be in restaurants by the end of July hopefully. The thing with Provence Rosé, from our perspective, is you’re always looking for wines that are on the way up. This will be £19.50 retail as it’s lower-end upmarket quality. We already have a £14 Rose from Provence, which doesn’t have the same complexity and length.”
Stephen Goodchild, Château Bellini’s UK representative who was at the dinner, revealed it had been a very useful exercise.
“We’ve worked with John Chapman before, and I’m pleased that he was so confident with the wine that he placed the order straightaway,” Goodchild said. “I’ve also had five or six expressions of interest in the Bellini Côtes de Provence 2022 Syrah which paired very well with the steak. The dinner was great as I ended up next to Megan of Ellis Wines, who I will follow up with as they are perfect to distribute into restaurants and wine shops. The buyers from Guy Anderson Wines and Vagabond Wines also tasted through. I’m looking for not one importer but several.”
Elie Gauthier of Laurent Gauthier Wines - one of two winemakers showcasing Beaujolais wines
Laurent Gauthier – ridiculously priced wines for the quality
Ellis already imports some labels from Terroirs Originels, a group of 45 independent Beaujolais producers, one of whom, Elie Gauthier of Laurent Gauthier Wines was present. His Côte du Py Vieilles Vignes AOC Morgon 2018 had sumptuous fruit and vibrant acidity.
“The most important things,” he said, “are that we work eco friendly in the vineyard, mainly by hand and without herbicides. We have a really low intervention way to produce our wine, with whole cluster grapes, no pumping over and low sulphites.” All of the Gauthier Gamay are bush vines.
Pierre Anderson, the UK sales manager for Terroirs Originels, was full of praise for Gauthier.
“It was fantastic to have Elie there – as he’s such an exciting young talent in the winemaking – and to champion all of the producers, not just his domaine,” Anderson declared. “We are not a co-op but take away that commercial burden and help find them different avenues to market. One meeting that came out of the event was for a large distribution channel; another for a more specialist channel. I will say the challenge we face is that the UK market is not buying very heavily or as much new wine as it has in the past.
“We showcase the north of Beaujolais in particular. To find Crus like Morgon and Fleurie at under €5 ex-cellar is very, very competitive. Our producers are able to offer that price because they don’t have to incur high overheads. Elie and his father and brother have 23 hectares, and are the only people managing that. They are in the vines taking care of them; it’s why a lot of our producers are either organic or undergoing organic conversion, and yet we’re still able to be competitive with price.”
“The 2018 and 2020 Morgon from Elie are astounding quality wines. At the time of release they were €5 ex-cellar; now they're only €5.80 ex-cellar. These are ridiculously priced wines for the amazing quality. Beaujolais is such an exciting, welcoming region; the fact that there were two winemakers at dinner showcasing different styles was great.”
Florence Subrin of Le Crêt de Bine - looking for a second UK importer
Le Crêt de Bine and mindful winemaking
That second Beaujolais owner-winemaker was Florence Subrin of Le Crêt de Bine, which has been certified biodynamic since 2008. Her La Cuvée de Francois 2022, from vines on granitic soil planted between 1951-7, caught the eye of Noel Reid of Rediscover Wines, an Oldham-based independent importer.
“I thought that was tremendous and something to consider,” he said. “Not right now but over a period of time when I’m looking to bring in a wine to balance the portfolio. People like lighter, fresher styles but that also had some lovely complexity.”
Subrin, who has 12 hectares of vines in the south of the Beaujolais region, Beaujolais AOP, also makes white Beaujolais (from Chardonnay) and sparkling Rose (from Gamay). St. JOHN brings in some of her labels but she is looking for a second importer.
“Our family is very keen to reveal the typicity of our granite terroir,” she told The Buyer. “The commitment to organic and biodynamic agriculture is very important for us: to balance and stimulate our environment by taking great care of soil life and biodiversity in particular. Our gentle vinifications without inputs, at low temperatures are there to transmute what our grapes reveal to us. We hope that our wines transmit this approach through their aroma, freshness, length in the mouth and energy.”
Reid was also taken by the two white wines that went well with a salmon ceviche starter. The first was an AOP Vire Clessé from Macon, namely Les Vignes D’Adélie 2022 by Christian Terrier; the second was a Riesling Grand Cru Schlossberg 2022 from the second biggest producer in Alsace, the Bestheim co-op.
“Delicious,” was Reid’s verdict of the latter, “but we know Alsace has a very limited market in the UK. Loved by us buyers but perhaps not the wine public, and they’re two different things. The Vire-Clessé was very nice to see on the table - two different styles to go with the fish.”
The final wine we drank was a splendid Banyuls from Les Vignes du Vent - with 120 g/l of residual sugar, from the Roussillon co-operative, Vica. This was €7 ex-cellar, although its many other labels range from €3.50-5.50. Representing over 1,000 growers, it produces 11 million bottles per annum. It is looking for a UK importer that supplies restaurants, bars and retailers in and around the Manchester area. That is because it sponsors 11 rugby league clubs that play in the Super League, where the Vignes du Vent branding is visible in all games. Vica also sponsors the Catalan Dragons rugby league club in Perpignan.
A special thankyou to the UK buyers who attended the event:
John Chapman, managing director, Oxford Wine Company.
Megan Clarke, head wine buyer, Ellis Wines.
Noel Reid, founder, Rediscover Wines.
Matt Ward, head of commercial and finance, Guy Anderson Wines.
William Stephens, head of wine, Nectar Wine/ Asahi Direct.
Colin Thorne, wine buyer, Vagabond Wines.
