Grand Vin Wine Merchants UK | Blog

Latest blog from Martin Lea, our General Manage r in the Far East : Yesterday I had the privilege of attending the inaugural James Suckling Great Wines of Italy event held at the Island Shangri La in Hong Kong . All of the top producers in Italy were where there - Bruno Giacosa, Casanova Di Neri, Marchesi Antinori, Paolo Scavino, Tenuta Dell'Ornellaia, Tenuta San Guido (Sassicaia), Valdicava, Vietti, Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona and Zenato (to name just a few). It was the biggest tasting of Italian wines ever hosted in Asia and the event was completely sold out, highlighting the growing popularity of the wines in this part of the w orld.  Italian wines are made to be drunk. They are great with food and offer outstanding value for money, so it is no surprise that as the market for fine wine in Asia grows, so has the demand for Italian wines. There is nothing like meeting the winemakers to learn about the wines - all of the producers that I spoke to were really excited t...

Our man in Hong Kong, Martin Lea, enjoyed an evening – and a wine – this week that he won’t forget in a hurry: As nights go in Hong Kong, I knew this had the potential to be a bit special.  From the moment the invitation was offered to dine at Otto E Mezo Italian Restaurant (the only three star Michelin outside of Italy) from a very generous Japanese client, who also promised to bring a bottle of '95 Le Pin, I found it hard to contain my excitement.  I also found it daunting trying to select a wine that could hold its own in such lofty company!  I opted for a bottle of '86 Haut Brion, which I knew was hitting its prime having tasted it a few months ago.   The Haut Brion was impressive, although not quite in the same league as the previous bottle, highlighting the old adage that 'there are no great wines, only great bottles'.  A bottle of the delicious '90 Las Cases followed, whilst throughout we enjoyed...

Letter from Junior... Our lovely colleague Martin Lea has gone East to head up BWI's new Hong Kong office. We have managed to squeeze an update out of him after several frenetic weeks. Hong Kong is clearly a fantastically exciting place for a (relatively!) young man to build a new life. Good Luck Martin! It’s only been three weeks since I moved to Hong Kong, and what a crazy and exciting three weeks it’s been! First the opening of the BWI Hong Kong office and our fantastic BWI Hong Kong launch party with Chateau Margaux then the Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Fair  and then the tasting to end all tastings... This week I had the great pleasure of attending one of the most eagerly anticipated tastings of all time, Robert Parker's 'Magical 20' , which focused solely on the much heralded 2009 vintage.  Robert Parker was full of praise when he initially reviewed the wines in 2010, but they have now been bottled and many experts were wondering whether they were goin...