Majestic has made a name for itself in recent years in the Bordeaux en primeur market. Burgundy however has proved more difficult to establish, as most of the best producers already have long-established relationships with smaller fine wine merchants.
Recently of course Majestic acquired the fine wine merchant Lay & Wheeler, which is one of those [...]
Simon Smith, Manager of our Dorchester branch takes us on a trip to Chablis.
The Vineyards
The Chablis region is over 100 km North of Beaune and so quite detached from the rest of the Côte d’Or. In rough terms, if you cross the Channel at a polite hour, Epernay makes an ideal place to stop for [...]
Today Majestic is pleased to begin offering 2007 Vintage Ports en primeur.
As I mentioned in my earlier post, Vintage Port is a great buy en primeur partly because it is only ‘declared’ in exceptional vintages, and partly because it is the most affordable way to buy wine to cellar for several decades. This also makes [...]
After stating yesterday that this week would see a pause in the campaign during the London International Wine Fair, it appears the Majestic crystal ball has malfunctioned: Ducru-Beaucaillou, one of the wines of the vintage for us and most commentators, has been released. With the same Parker marks as Latour we expect this to be [...]
The flood of releases from Bordeaux appears to be drawing down, and we’re on the home straight now as far as the 2008 campaign is confirmed – although there are still a few big names to come. It’s the London International Wine Fair this week, which may result in a hiatus, but we would hope [...]
All the major Port houses have “declared” the 2007 vintage, and we will soon be offering the wines en primeur. Port is an interesting wine to buy this way for several reasons:
Only the very best vintages are “declared”; it last happened in 2003 and 2000.
Port is the least expensive way to buy a wine that [...]
We have a couple of exciting new releases today. Pichon-Baron is a wine that almost everyone we’ve spoken to was impressed by, and at £500 per case we expect this to sell. Over in St-Emilion, Figeac is another wine that stood out in our tastings.
One further new release today is Yquem, which is only available [...]
A slight lull has descended over the major Bordeaux châteaux after last week’s excitement, presumably in anticipation of Robert Parker’s marks which are due any day now. This gives us the opportunity to focus on some less exalted but great value releases that are ideal for those looking to spend a little less a case.
First [...]
A big day today, with first growths Margaux, Mouton and Haut-Brion available. Quantities are miniscule and the wines are offered on a first-come-first-served basis – be quick!
In addition, we have some of Haut-Brion’s stablemates. Le Clarence de Haut-Brion (the second wine of Haut-Brion) is a successfully sleek and polished 2008, whilst La Mission is simply [...]
More new releases today, the most exciting being an extremely well-priced Calon-Ségur. Always attractive en primeur, the 2008 is an impressive effort (17.5+ points from Jancis Robinson), and at less than £300 a case we expect this to be very popular. Also good value, Beychevelle at £249 offers a soft, elegant style of St-Julien.
Also released [...]
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Richard Weaver
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Clayton Smith
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