Grand Vin Wine Merchants UK | Blog

I thought I knew about Champagne but a two day trip to the region this week changed my whole perception.   After two decades of working with wine, I had never before visited Champagne but what better way to rectify that than with appointments at Ruinart and Krug.    At Ruinart, we were warmly welcomed into Champagne's oldest house.   Dom Ruinart was a contemporary and acquaintance of the man credited with creating the first Champagne, Dom Perignon.   Our visit started with a tour of one of their three levels of underground crayères.   As we descended their depths, the drop in temperature was profound. Upon entering the first chamber, words failed me; to call this awe-inspiring would be a gross understatement.   The vast chambers have shafts reaching vertically towards the surface far above, often exiting in someone’s back garden; therefore the tunnels are owned quite independently of whoever owns the property or land above. Resurfacing, we embarked on a tasting of t

For many this would be their dream tasting; 12 x 100 Parker Point wines from, as he describes it, "Unquestionably the greatest Bordeaux vintage I have ever tasted". The event was held in The Martini Library at The Arch, London near Marble Arch. This beautiful boutique venue provided a relaxed atmosphere for us to entertain the 40 guests in attendance. Many of these guests were on a fact-finding mission, having invested heavily in many of the wines on offer and keen to discover where the wines were in their development. The concept of the '1200 point dinner' was the brainchild of BWI founder Andy Lench , who wanted to provide BWI clients with the rare opportunity of a horizontal tasting of 100 point / 2009 Bordeaux, matched with exquisite food. This concept was first adopted back in 2010 with the creation of:  'The Mythical Case' 100% Perfection 12 Bordeaux scoring 100 points as Rated by Robert Parker A case of 2009 Legends Andy has