Anthony Byrne Fine Wines

• Tony
• Tue 18 Oct 2016

In September ABFW visited Jean-Yves Larochette of Domaine des Perelles, Burgundy, a high quality 11-hectare domaine in the appellations of Macon Blanc Villages, St Veran and Pouilly Fuisse. The 2015 vintage has been particularly successful in this domaine, producing wines typical of each appellation. Well balanced with good acidity. Drink 2017-2022.

• Tags: Growers
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• Sarah
• Sat 08 Oct 2016

A fantastic round of October tastings was opened by Florence Bauchet of Champagne Bauchet presenting her three cuvées (Brut, Signature and Rosé) produced with her cousin and winemaker Bruno Bauchet in Bisseuil. Winemaker Pablo Barro of Apaltagua then presented wines principally from his vineyards in the San Antonio and Curico Valley regions of Chile. We completed the selection with a preview of an modern, upcoming New Zealand winery Misty Cove, and finished with a fine selection of sweet wines from Coteaux Du Layon of the Loire Valley.

As usual our Autumn tastings were held in Oxford (Brasserie Blanc, Wednesday 5th October), Cambridge (Restaurant Alimentum, Thursday 6th October), and London (Fish Restaurant, Borough Market, Friday 7th October).

Champagne Bauchet Selection

1. Bauchet Origine Brut NV
2. Bauchet 1er Cru Signature NV
3. Bauchet Brut Rosé NV

Apaltagua Winemaker Pablo Barro presenting

Sparkling

1. Apaltagua Costero Extra Brut Chile NV

White

2. Apaltagua Reserva Pinot Grigio, San Antonio Valley 2015
3. Apaltagua Reserva Sauvignon, San Antonio Valley 2016
4. Colección Marsanne Roussanne Viognier, San Antonio Valley 2015
5. Apaltagua Reserva Riesling, Curico Valley 2015
6. Apaltagua Reserva Chardonnay, San Antonio Valley 2014

Rosé

1. Apaltagua Reserva Rosé Carmenere, Maule Valley 2015

Red

8. Apaltagua Reserva Pinot Noir, Curico Valley 2015
9. Colección Pinot Noir, San Antonio Valley 2014
10. Apaltagua Reserva Merlot, Colchagua Valley 2015
11. Apaltagua Reserva Syrah, Maule Valley 2014
12. Apaltagua Reserva Malbec, Maule Valley 2014
13. Apaltagua Reserva Carmenere, Colchagua Valley 2015
14. Colección Carignan, Maule Valley 2013
15. Envero Gran Reserva, Colchagua Valley 2014
16. Apaltagua Signature Cabernet, Maipo Valley 2013

Introducing Misty Cove, New Zealand

24. Misty Cove Sauvignon, Marlborough 2015

Dessert Wines from the Loire Valley

51. Coteaux Du Layon, Vieilles Vignes, Domaine des Hautes Brosses 2015
52. Coteaux Du Layon, Les Roches Fortes 2015
53. Coteaux Du Layon, Louis d’Or 2015

Invitations to our tastings are emailed to customers by the sales team 2-4 weeks in advance, and we rotate venues to give all customers a chance to attend. Please speak with sales@abfw.co.uk to open a trade account for your business.

• Tags: Tastings
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• Chris
• Thu 14 Jul 2016

We are delighted to showcase the work of two French growers, visiting in person this month for our early summer trade tastings held in Cambridge (Côte Brasserie, Wednesday 6th July), Oxford (The Anchor, Tuesday 5th July) and London (L'Autre Pied, Friday 8th July). We will be exploring the wines of Loire winemaker Auguste Bonhomme and, joined by Corinne Ehrhart and her daughter Margot, those of the husband and wife team at Domaine Saint Remy, Alsace.

Domaine Bonhomme ‐ the Great 2015 Vintage

4. Chardonnay Sauvage de Brie, Auguste Bonhomme, Vin De France 2015
5. Sauvignon Sauvage de Brie, Auguste Bonhomme, Vin De France 2015
6. Sauvignon Touraine, Auguste Bonhomme, France 2015
7. Muscadet Cuvee de Printemps, Sur Lie Domaine France 2015
8. Muscadet Sur Lie Domaine Le Fief de la Brie, France 2015

Loire Red

30. Chinon Domaine Gerald Tapin, Auguste Bonhomme, Loire 2015

Domaine Ehrhart - Benchmark 2014 Tasting

Alsace Whites

21. Pinot Auxerrois Ehrhart, Domaine Saint‐Remy, 2014
22. Muscat Ehrhart, Domaine Saint‐Remy, 2014
23. Riesling Villes Vignes Ehrhart, Domaine Saint‐Remy 2014
24. Riesling Herrenweg Ehrhart, Domaine Saint‐Remy, 2014

Alsace Red

31. Pinot Noir Rosenburg Ehrhart, Domaine Saint‐Remy, 2014
32. Pinot Noir Barrique Ehrhart, Domaine Saint‐Remy, 2012
33. Pinot Noir ‘H’ Ehrhart, Domaine Saint‐Remy, 2012

Invitations to our tastings are emailed to customers by the sales team 2-4 weeks in advance, and we rotate venues to give all customers a chance to attend. Please speak with sales@abfw.co.uk to open a trade account for your business.

• Tags: Tastings
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• Chris
• Mon 20 Jun 2016

The company would like to thank customers old and new that helped celebrate our fortieth year of trading, especially those able to join the celebratory lunches held at Restaurant Alimentum (Cambridge), Brasserie Blanc (Oxford) and the Royal China Restaurant (London, Canary Wharf).

In London, customers joined us for a high speed boat trip down the Thames followed by lunch at one of our longstanding customers, Royal China Canary Wharf. Spirits were high and guests enjoyed Anthony Byrne recounting the changes in the UK wine consumers' market from the 1970s to the present day (remember Mateus Rosé?), accompanied by his favourite wines discovered after four decades of research!

• Drappier Carte D’Or Brut NV, Jeroboam
• Sancerre Clos des Bouffants, Domaine Roger Neveu, Magnum 2000
• Pouilly Fuisse Vignes Blanches, Domaine Thibert, Magnum 2007
• Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru Petit Plets, Domaine de L’ Arlot, Magnum 2008
• Châteauneuf‐du‐Pape Domaine de Nalys, Magnum 2009
• Rosso DOC Mosaico, Casa di Terra, Bolgheri Tuscany, Magnum 2011
• Recioto di Soave Oro, Umberto Portinari, Magnum 2002

The sales team were thanked for their hard work and the strengths of remaining an independent family business, as seen through the decades, were reiterated.

We look forward to continuing the supply of distinctive and enjoyable wines to our customers for the next 40 years.

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• Sarah
• Fri 06 May 2016

We're delighted to announce that two new Prosecco wines are now in stock, both from our new grower Ca’ di Rajo. We first tried these back in late January 2016, when we met brothers Marino & Simone Cecchetto, a trip during which we were specially looking to explore the mid-to-high range of the market. This is reflected in the price, coming in slightly more expensive than our house Prosecco. We will be featuring both proseccos at our spring & early summer trade tastings; please contact your sales manager if you are reviewing your lists and want to try them sooner.

• Prosecco Millesimato Brut DOCG Valdobbiadene NV
• Terredirai Prosecco DOC Treviso Extra Dry

• Tags: Growers
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• Chris
• Tue 26 Jan 2016

This update comes to you from the cool, crisp hills of Traviso in January, as the buying team visit several as-yet-unnamed growers looking to bolster our range of Prosecco wines in anticipation of the coming summer.

We then visited Stephano, Tiziano and Allessandre Accordini of Corte Alta, and found the cellar busy with bottling in progress. We were fortunate to taste the 2015 Valpolichelo Classico, having just been released from maturation in tanks. We tasted the Ripasso, Amarone and of course the fabulous Recioto sweet wine, of 100% air-dried grapes. Tiziano talked of the need to balance volumes of Aberone with Ripasso as he needs one old barrel of Aberone from a previous year to make two barrels of Ripasso the next.

Finally we called to visit the Portinari Family, meeting Maria and Silvo to taste the 2014 vintage Soave Classico Ronchetto (DOC) and Soave Albare (DOC) of the same year. We then tried the Soave Albare and Santo Stefano of previous years, tasted generously with home-made Salami Portinari!

Arrivederci!

• Tags: Growers, Visits
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• Chris
• Wed 18 Nov 2015

As our customers have known for some time, Callejo wines, from the Ribera del Duero region of Spain are excellent. This has been confirmed by Robert Parker this month with a great set of scores given for recent vintages, continuing the trend of gradual improvement the family have worked for over the last decade:

• FELIX CALLEJO 2012, 93 points
• GRAN CALLEJO 2010, 91 points
• Majuelos de CALLEJO 2011, 92 points
• CALLEJO 2012, 91 points

For supply of these wines or any other from our portfolio, please contact our sales team at sales@abfw.co.uk.

• Tags: Awards, Growers
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• Chris
• Sat 19 Sep 2015

Paolo Ciacci and his father have celebrated the end of year's harvest by winning both gold and bronze medals at this year's Decanter World Wine Awards. If you would like to discuss the supply of Abbadia Ardenga wines for your restaurant or business please contact our sales team.

Abbadia Ardenga, Brunello di Montalcino 2010

Gold at Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) 2015

Decanter's review: "Glossy and modern, with lovely perfume and ripe yet fresh cherry druit bolstered by notes of expensive oak and liquorice. Savoury and understated, this is full of well-harnessed power, with fine tannins propping up the sour cherry flavours. Ethereal, pure and delicious." (14.5%, page 225)

The vineyards are those on the Sienese slope of the hill of Montalcino, with South-west exposure.

Abbadia Ardenga, Vigna Piaggia, Brunello di Montalicino 2010

Bronze at Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) 2015

This wine is produced with the grapes from the vineyard “Piaggia”. The excellent exposure and exceptional pedoclimate lend this wine great personality and balance, a complex and elegant expression of the Sangiovese grape variety.

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• Sarah
• Mon 31 Aug 2015

The Eguren family have been producing balanced and expressive wines from Rioja Alavesa vines since 1870. Vitorino Eguren Ugarte is the fifth generation Eguren to cultivate the 130 hectare site (containing some vines which are over 100 years old). Now aged 82, he is joined in the vineyards by his three sons.

Our particular Eguren Ugarte favourites include:

• the award winning Ugarte Cosecha 2012, made with Tempranillo and Garnacha grapes: soft and fruity, with a touch of vanilla from the oak;
• from the top of the Ugarte range, the Dominio Ugarte Riserva 2010: 95% Tempranillo, this has a more pronounced oaky aroma with expressions of dark berries, herbs and spices. A balanced wine with ripe and strong tannins, it pairs excellently with all jamón and many other dishes besides.

We hope customers will enjoy to meeting Vitorino Eguren at these tastings, if you would like to learn more about Vitorino's wines please contact us.

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• Sarah
• Fri 13 Feb 2015

Time to share photos from a client's fine wine tasting we organised on the River Thames, for corporate clients in London. ABFW worked with the boat operator to make sure everything was ship-shape, and our salemen were on hand to talk through the fine selection of wines. Some careful pouring required by the team!

Featured wines: Ballast Stone Stonemason Shiraz (Australia), E. Guigal (French, red Rhône), Apaltagua (Chile), Chateau Maligny (French, white Burgundy).

• Tags: Tastings
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