Issue: 21 / Sunday 22 April, 2018
Introducing the incredible
Eileen Hardy
 
97+ points - Stuart McCloskey "More intense, open-knit and richly textured compared to the 2015 although, both vintages are matched by their exquisite balance. The wines aromatics (honeyed citrus fruits, waves of minerals and a little maritime note) unfold with 20 minutes in a decanter (advised for ultimate satisfaction). The palate is medium to full-bodied, ripe and endlessly long. The play between textured weight and acidity is fantastic – A perfect marriage of cohesion and completeness. Given my experiences with mature Eileen Hardy Chardonnay’s, the ’14 is difficult to pin down to specific flavours. This wine is more to do with sensation as the palate feel is incredible. I do feel the 2015 has the slight edge and will become one of their best vintages over the past three decades however, there is something irresistibly special about the 2014."
We’ve found the perfect song to pair with the wine,
which is an education for the young ones in the office. Watch & Pour
97 points – James Halliday "A wine with an impeccable pedigree, and synergy between Tasmania and Hardys' Upper Yarra Bastard Hill vineyard. It's not easy to identify the contributions of the respective regions, but I would guess the Yarra Valley adds fruit flesh to the minerally structure ex Tasmania."
Our new Margaret River exclusivity has arrived in the UK for the very first time. After spending two months in-transit, the vessel docked at Tilbury on Friday with all stocks due to arrive at our HQ this week.
Their 2016 Single Block Chardonnay has won gold medal after gold medal, trophies galore and 98 points from James Halliday. The 2014 Awakening Cabernet Sauvignon won the trophy for Best Cabernet at both the 2016 and 2017 Perth Royal Wine Show. This is the first time a Cabernet of the same vintage has won this prestigious award
in successive years.
At the very recent 2017 Royal Adelaide Wine Show both the 2014 and 2015 vintages collected Gold Medals. The quality of Watershed’s Cabernets is further underlined by the 2010 Awakening Cabernet Sauvignon receiving 98 points, the equal highest score, in James Halliday’s 2018 Australian Wine Companion. We have shipped both the 2010 and 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon vintages.
Their ‘Senses’ and ‘Shades’ range, which we firmly believe, will offer some amazing drinking for their respective price tags.
We will be showcasing the range during a private function in a week’s time – We will report back on the groups findings.
What’s Been ‘Hot’ During the Week?
• It’s been a very busy week with key wines completely selling out…
• Run Rig Magnums (Our entire under bond stocks have sold –
only a few magnums remain at our HQ shop)
• 66 cases of the delicious 2001 Henry's Drive Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.
Be Warned – Hong Kong customers are enjoying all of the Henry’s Drive wines!
• Our entire stocks of the superb 2007 Hobbs of Barossa Ranges Gregor Shiraz.
• Last Weeks Wild Duck offer was a great success with under bond 2006 stocks of the Reserve Shiraz selling out.
• Kaesler’s WOMS Shiraz Cabernet is heading off to Hong Kong.
• Our allocation of 2010 Château Musar has sold-out.
Sadly, no further allocations are available.
• Felton Road’s Cornish Point Pinot Noir 2016 has gone too. We are looking
forward to receiving our 2017 allocations.
A Day in the Life at The Vinorium
Written by Natalie Holder
Before joining the team at The Vinorium in 2017 I had spent a long career in various buying roles. The most interesting of which was probably the ten years I spent as the lingerie and swimwear buyer for Harrods. During my time in the ‘intimates industry’ I learnt more than is strictly necessary about bras and knickers and now have a fun party trick of being able to tell most women’s bra size on sight!
My time working for Harrods also inspired a love for retail and a passion for fantastic quality products. Whether I am buying and selling bras or bottles of wine it is always a thrill to find and deliver the perfect product to a customer.
I love a glass of wine, (who doesn’t?) and since starting at The Vinorium I have learnt lots about this fascinating industry. Much like the lingerie business it is a small world, where everyone seems to know everyone else and is made up of many truly passionate people working to create inspiring products. We are really lucky here to work closely with some great producers and being able to sample and discuss the fruits of their labour must be one of the best things about the job.
On a day to day basis I work closely with our courier company to ensure the safe delivery of private customer orders all over the UK and Europe. This can involve a great deal of checking and chasing them up as we like to make sure your wine arrives with you as promised. It doesn’t always go as planned and occasionally orders seem to vanish within the delivery depots which is a cause of much frustration, however this is thankfully rare and we can usually resolve any issues that arise, even if that does entail dozens of calls to the courier!
I also spend a lot of time making sure our website is up to date so that a ‘real-time’ picture of our stock is always available. This involves checking the stock both at our HQ in Kent and across our various bonded warehouses; we use a LOT of spreadsheets to monitor it all!
In addition to the retail side of the business we also have a lot of trade customers all over the world, who place enormous orders for hundreds or thousands of bottles of wine to be shipped to all corners of the world. We look after these customers in much the same way as our private customers and ensure that their wines are released for shipment and check that they have arrived safely in their destination.
Our director and wine buyer is always looking for new wines and producers to add to the website, so we have a constant stream of new stock arriving. Part of my role is getting all of the information together to list these new wines on the website and getting them added and available to purchase as quickly as possible. We also strive to continually offer the most competitive pricing in the market so we make sure to regularly check the market pricing for all of the lines we sell to ensure we offer the best value possible.
As a small team we all get stuck into various aspects of the business, I’m just as likely to be found negotiating shipping rates as packing a case of wine for a customer or editing our weekend reading emails. Finding someone the perfect fitting bra was always a satisfying achievement but taking home a delicious bottle of wine to share on a Friday evening probably tops it!
Written by Stuart McCloskey
We have received one or two photographs and emails from customers concerning crumbling corks, which of course, is an annoyance but if fully understood and better handled is nothing to concern yourselves over (in the majority of cases). As science progresses, the debate concerning the best wine closures will continue for decades however, many wine producers are adamant that cork is best, which we find is rather outdated particularly as too many wines suffer from 2,4,6-trichloroanisole, more commonly known as TCA.
In the vast majority of cases, the quality of a wine is not compromised by a crumbling cork nor does it indicate that a wine has been kept in poor conditions.
Patience and the correct tools will help you overcome this problem with a certain degree of ease. Firstly, inpatient brute force will only make the problem worse.
Option 1: Push the crumbled cork back into the bottle and filter the wine through a fine mesh (a coffee filter works and a very fine tea strainer however, this depends on how small the cork particles are.)
Option 2: It is important to own two types of corkscrews. A sharp waiters friend for day-to-day usage and a two-pronged opener for older bottles or when you get into a pickle with a damaged cork. Again, we stress that you must extract the broken cork carefully. Take your time, push the cork towards the side of the bottle (rather than yanking from the middle) and gently extract. A two-pronged opener slips down the sides of a cork applying overall pressure, which eases extraction.
Greystone Pinot Noir 2014
96+ Points Stuart McCloskey
"When I taste a wine like this, my only wish is that every customer could experience how a very good Pinot Noir can be made without the enormous price tag. This is a seductive, handpicked offering from Greystone with thrilling aromatics which soar from the glass – Dark red berries and plums. The palate dazzles with complexities with remarkable fruit intensity, crunchy red fruits with pure silky tannins. Phenolic ripeness is spot on and often a problem with some Pinot Noirs. Lots of pedigree and class on show and a wine that could comfortably sell for £35+ per bottle. What a gorgeous wine.
Serving suggestion for those hot days – place in iced water for ten minutes (no more) which does not deter from the wines deeply satisfying crescendo of aromas and flavours. My sort of Rosé!"
£19.50 per bottle
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