 2025 marks 20-years of The Vinorium, a milestone that I am proud of. Originally, my company was named Z&B Vintners, an operation focused on the wines of Bordeaux, along with a smattering of wines from around the world. Bordeaux En-Primeur played a major role as did climbing mountains and cycling. I am not entirely sure which took priority. All the better if I could squeeze in all three, which I often accomplished. With thanks to my Blackberry and the kind understanding of my customers, I even managed to run a full En-Primeur campaign whilst climbing in the Alps, in preparation for a month climbing in the Karakoram, Pakistan. Climbing by day and selling Bordeaux En-primeur by nights was blooming marvellous. I and the company have certainly gone through many changes. For one, a change of name to The Vinorium, which happened over 12-years ago as did my switch from Bordeaux to wine retail. From a small shop, to a deli extension, which morphed into a 25-cover restaurant. We launched our first ecommerce website in 2013 – every website order is lovingly cherished and stored on my computer. Our first order was received at precisely 13:42, 13 April 2013 – thank you Anna who kindly purchased a case of 2011 Dog Point Sauvignon Blanc. 101 website orders were received in our first year! New world wines were very much part of our collection – Ata Rangi, John Duval, Elderton, Greywacke, Dog Point, Bonny Doon, Ridge, Cloudy Bay to name a few. Some 13-years later, we are still selling the same Italian olive oil from Fontodi, which sat on our deli shelves. Our 2024 allocation went directly to one customer who frequented our restaurant weekly… We’ve dabbled with taking The Vinorium on the road with our ‘pop-up’ which actually required lorry mounted cranes to position both, twenty-foot shipping containers. Six-months in the making and quite a feat of engineering however, ‘pop-up’ they were not. By 2023 we had won Decanter’s Australia Specialist of the Year for the sixth year running (the last year their retail awards were run), we were exporting directly from 50-Aussie producers, and website orders increased (thank goodness) from the original 101 to 14,055 in 2020. Times have certainly changed and I have enjoyed and endured the high and lows. The sweet spots being 2019 to the end of 2021 – three magnificent years which cemented all our hard work. Again, and with the cost-of-living-crisis, the detrimental impact of Brexit, and wallies running our government, we’ve had to readjust our expectations and ambitions however, we are seeing green shoots of recovery which is most pleasing. I will revert soon with a photographic timeline of our journey, which I thought would be fun, along with some interesting and fun stories, too. For now, be assured that every order received is truly appreciated (as, and most importantly, is your continued friendship). Best wishes,  "This delivers all that you could ever want from an Aussie Shiraz (think high-altitude Syrah)... It's that good – we have purchased every available case."  NEW 2013 Houghton Thomas Yule Shiraz A note on pricing Our prices Stuart McCloskey, February 2025 “A brooding, seductive bouquet which doesn’t reveal the wine’s true age. Plum, damson, blackberry, mulberry, spiced biscuit, liquorice, vanilla pod, beautiful florals along with a smidgeon of mint and fresh coffee with more aeration. It certainly smells regal and expensive. The palate is beautiful sculpted, fleshy, and the flavours gently envelope the palate. Layers of blue and black fruits meld with sweet spice. The tannins roll gently along and provide texture and a little grip. This is far from a ‘heavy’ example of Shiraz. Instead, there’s a sense of a lighter touch (without sacrificing the perfume or flavour) – an ethereal feel to the winemaking. Certainly, cooling without compromising the texture or flavour. Super elegant and seriously good. Evocative… Exceptionally long too. The wine opens-up and gets better with aeration (a few hours is perfect). Or, as I did, sit with a glass for an hour and enjoy the evolution. This is a very good wine and should not be misjudged… This delivers all that you could ever want from an Aussie Shiraz (think high-altitude Syrah). This offers an exquisite bouquet, bags of complex flavours, she’s svelte, satiny, and moreishly seductive. It’s that good – we have purchased every available case. 3 x Gold Medals, Perth Royal / Hobart Royal / National Wine Show of Australia. Served using Zalto’s Burgundy stemware (great to hold the wonderous bouquet). Drink now to 2035…” Also available under bond @ £185.50 per case (12x75cl) "A dreamboat bouquet... Outright delicious and the sense of quality is unmistakable. Seriously good and faultless for the money."  NEW 2016 Hardys HRB Riesling Clare Valley and Tasmania Stuart McCloskey "A dreamboat bouquet marrying gentle maturity in aromatics of lanolin (not excessive), lime zest, lime marmalade, curry spice, fennel seed, orange peel, honey, candle wax, white toast and saline. The wine drinks beautifully and feels harmonious. 2016 produced a fuller, generous style of wine – acidity and freshness are in abundance. Such a mouthwatering wine. The flavours are succulent – crackles of lime juice meld with honeyed apple, florals, minerals and a salty / Margarita-esque finish which goes on for an age. Complexity comes in layers as does the wine's energy… Outright delicious and the sense of quality is unmistakable. Seriously good and faultless for the money. Drink now to 2030++. Served using Zalto Universal stemware." £19.99 per bottle  A simple guide to storing wines ‘in bond’ with The Vinorium… What does ‘in bond’ mean? Essentially, wines and spirits that are stored in a H.M. Customs & Excise-approved bonded warehouse and that duty and VAT is deferred until such time as the wine leaves the bonded warehouse for home delivery. Duty and VAT are not levied for all bond-to-bond transfers. Does The Vinorium own their own bonded warehouse? In short, No. Instead, we work directly with London City Bond’s, Eton Park site – our excellent relationship goes back fifteen-years. Eton Park (home to circa 500,000 cases) offers the perfect environment for short or long-term storage, which is free from vibration, UV and daylight with bespoke temperature and humidity controls. Security is top-notch, too… What are the benefits? • Many wines require a degree of bottle age which, and with time, reveals a wines complexity. Unless you have access to a home cellar / temperature-controlled wine storage unit, it’s the wise choice to keep wines in optimum condition. Fluctuations in temperature and light causes damage and premature aging. • Deferring duty and VAT. There is little point paying duty and VAT when you do not plan to drink your wines for 5-10+ years. These taxes are deferred until you decide to receive your wine(s) at home, at which point they become payable. • Space for your personal collection to grow. Privacy too… Buy ‘in-bond’ via our website… • Where possible, we try to provide both options for all customers. Duty paid (by-the-bottle) and in bond (by the case). Currently, we do not offer ‘in bond’ by-the-bottle. • Our website takes care of all the mathematics, and we take care of the rest. Accordingly, it’s super-simple to purchase ‘in bond’. • Choose a wine that offers the option of ‘buy in bond’ and check out with ease. • Simply select ‘customer cellar’ when checking out. The admin team will take care of the rest. There is no need for you to have your own account LCB – we will liaise with LCB’s team on your behalf. You continue to deal directly with Team Vinorium. Can I see my in bond collection online? Absolutely. Simply login into your Vinorium account and view the list of wines we are storing for you in your ‘my cellar’ area. Remember to always login prior to purchasing as all your orders will automatically populate in ‘my cellar’. When placing future orders for storage, ensure you are logged into your account, select ‘customer cellar’ at checkout and we’ll add these to your sub-account for you. Your wines will not appear if you check-out as a ‘guest’. Please allow up to 5 working days from your order date to see the wine in your online cellar. What are the charges? £13.50 (excluding VAT) per 9-litre case, per year. £6.75 (excluding VAT) for a six-pack. All fees cover full replacement insurance which is underwritten by an independent, industry leader. You will be charged a pro-rata rate for your first storage fee when you purchase. Following this, you will be sent an invoice every six months (billed in advance). How do I take my wines out of bond? Send an email to Team Vinorium with the list of wine(s) you wish to receive at home. We will raise an invoice for the relevant VAT, duty and delivery charge. Once paid, we will instruct LCB to deliver directly to you. Delivery dates will be agreed at the time.. Of course, we remain on-hand and will happily assist wherever we can. We also offer a full bond-to-bond delivery service as well as preparing wines for export…  Thank you to Morgan for January's review of the month, two bottles will be on their way to you next week...   2020 Houghton Jack Mann Cabernet Sauvignon A word or two on pricing and availability: You will be hard pressed to find the ’20 vintage outside of Australia – we’ve looked everywhere (sold-out at the winery at two-hundred-bucks per bottle). Three Aussie retailers are offering bottles between $140 to $200. Accolade UK may be the answer as they were sitting on substantial stocks. Now, these all belong to The Vinorium, which is a privilege… It would have been a very silly mistake not to purchase every bottle. By-the-bottle @ £45.00 By-the-case (6x75cl) @ £234.90 (£39.15 per bottle) Last 28 bottles Available for dispatch Thursday 13th February  2020 Gladstones Cabernet Sauvignon No available stocks outside of Australia Our price: Last 23 bottles Available for dispatch Thursday 13th February   2021 Torbreck RunRig 20+ / 20 Points - Matthew Jukes “2021 RunRig will make you turn your head while you gawp in disbelief. This wine has something I have never seen in Runrig before – an immovable mountain of terroir, monolithically anchored in its core. Standing at the foot of this gargantuan flavour, I could not see the summit. There is so much ravishing Shiraz skin draped decorously around this totemic terroir it appears wholly demonic and fear-inducing. But the fruit notes are as refined and finely tuned as ever, providing the taster with a baffling counterpoint between the Dark Side and a Venetian dandy, resplendent in its filigree and finery. I cannot remember seeing two such opposing characters in one wine before, and every time I went back to the glass, there was more to admire, and these elements fuse and shape-shift into a glorious amalgam of sophistication and power. Of course, it deserves a perfect score. This wine is unique and uniquely stunning. I wish I could attend every opening of 2021 RunRig – oh, to be a fly on the wall, listening to the gasps of delight when people are lucky enough to taste this wine.” Last case (3x75cl) This week's new releases...  2022 Hardys HRB Chardonnay Stuart McCloskey "Sensational quality, and as we have come to expect from the HRB Chardonnay, lots of pedigree too. The bouquet feels refined and opens with stone fruits, apple, fresh ginger, lemongrass, Kaffir lime, minerality, fresh bread, and a spray of saline. This is so satisfying, balanced, flows beautifully, full of vitality, moreish and impossible to put down. You can add ‘expansive’ to the list, too. Acidity and a soupçon of phenolic grip provides the framework. The length is deliciously long… Unequivocally, this is a superb Chardonnay, and one that does not give a toss about fashion or critics. This delivers bags of flavour (nothing is overstated) and is packed with immense character. It is only January, and I bet I will not find another Chardonnay this delicious at this price. There is something for everyone’s palate here. Outright delicious… Drinks like a dream today and will gain complexity over the next 6-8 years. Served using Zalto Burgundy stemware." £20.00 per bottle Available for dispatch Thursday 13th February  Rob Hall Harriet's Vineyard Pinot Noir 2023 Stuart McCloskey, February 2025 "A deliciously moreish expression of Yarra Valley Pinot Noir. The aromatics lead with cooling red fruits, a dusting of spice, fresh cedar, mint, pomegranate, fennel seeds, rose petal and finishes with a splash of blood orange. The palate feel is superb and speaks accurately of its surroundings. Whilst cooling, there’s flesh and texture in abundance (velvety smooth, too). Medium-bodied, light on its toes, and beautifully delivered – the fruit does all the talking. So much charm and struts with quiet confidence. It’s pure in fruit (raspberry, redcurrant, red-cherry and wild strawberry) – sweet spice, herbs and a squeeze of blood orange provide another dimension. Beautifully composed - she feels unfettered. Immensely enjoyable now however, complexity will unravel through to 2030. Served using Zalto Burgundy stemware. Decanting is not necessary…" £26.50 per bottle £23.59 when you buy 6 bottles or more   99 Point By Farr RP Pinot Noir 2022 Stuart McCloskey, February 2025 “Regardless of the vintage, By Farr Pinots have a bouquet all to themselves. Highly distinctive, deeply savoury, and powerful. Even at such a young age, the bouquet is immensely complex and takes time to unravel. Tobacco, woodsmoke and meat lead from the first pouring. With time - smoked red fruits, sous-bois, charred red peppers, dried herbs, undergrowth, layers of minerals, graphite, earth, pencil shaving, black tea, bergamot, iodine, and sweet spice emerge. This is an archetypal glass of autumn, by the fireside. Such a fascinating bouquet – limitless, in fact. The palate surprised me as I was expecting a behemoth. Instead, this is somewhat dialled-back, but not at the expense of power nor complexity. There’s a primal edge to the wine – transparent, unforced – nature as she intended. In truth, I am not sure where to begin with the flavours. The fruit feels wild (picked off the hedgerows during winter), there’s wild rose, the unmissable tang from blood orange, which provides freshness and lift. The flavours, density and textures fan-out beautifully. This is composed and sensual (almost tender – to quote ‘iron fist in a velvet glove’). Astonishing wine and difficult to comprehend. The length is amazing – this goes on for minutes. This has every ingredient (of the highest quality) to cellar for 20+ years. Today, this is an exceptional Pinot Noir and will undoubtedly turn out to be a profound wine in 10-years. Quite incredible and must be close to perfection… Served using Burgundy stemware. I would decant for 1-3 hours or, follow my lead and pour straight into the glass (and spend the next few hours unravelling). 99 Points – Huon Hooke, December 2024, RealReview.com £89.00 per bottle Also available in bond £430.00 |
