As one at the ‘pointy end’ of the fine wine trade I am acutely aware that a speedy, well-timed release of wines from the top châteaux would be great. However, every year the campaign gets more drawn out and complicated as the wineries try to satisfy a growing worldwide demand while maximising their return on products which in many cases are seen as much as investment vehicles as bottles of beautiful wine.

For the uninitiated en primeur describes a wine bought the year after harvest but before it is bottled, and is often the only way to get hold of the most sought-after wines. Certainly it’s probably the most cost-effective way to put together a claret collection. So, laying to one side the investment-grade wines, about which everything that could be said has already been said, let’s have a look at the rest of the wines offered from the 2010 vintage.

A one word summary of the quality of 2010 Bordeaux would be ‘fabulous’. But 2009 was fabulous too, wasn’t it? Unequivocally yes, but the two vintages are very different. Unlike 2009, which was hot and dry, 2010 was really just dry. So, again unlike the opulent, almost Californian richness of the 2009s, the 2010s have a real freshness and balance that is highly appealing.

During our visit to Bordeaux in April, winemaker after winemaker told us that 2010 is truly exceptional. Across the board the levels of potential alcohol, acidity and tannins reached record levels, but crucially they managed to retain the balance I’ve mentioned. Without it the wines would have been clumsy but with it comes class and longevity. These are wines to buy in quantity and squirrel away. Especially in the lower price brackets, which may not always achieve the heights of the more exalted names, all the wines we have chosen merit serious consideration. For instance, Château Amelisse, one of Lay & Wheeler’s perennial favourites, made by star winemaker of Pomerol Denis Durantou, comes in at just over £10 a bottle and is certainly a 10-year wine.

Other picks?

• Definitely Château Haut-Batailley at £330 a case. An absolutely archetypal Pauillac, gorgeously put together and showing the famous cigar-box and pencil-lead aromas of the best Médoc wines. Tasted blind this would undoubtedly be up with the very best.
• Léoville Barton. Always a favourite among Majestic staff and always good value. We tasted the 2009 and 2010 alongside each other and, in my view, the 2010 shone.
• Grand-Puy-Lacoste. No apologies for recommending another wine made under the auspices of François-Xavier Borie (like Haut-Batailley). A fantastic expression of cabernet Sauvignon.
• Money no object? Then it has to be the fabulous Pomerol, Château l’Evangile. Incredibly precise, tightly-wound yet rich and silky. We tasted this last during an unparalleled two hours in Pomerol and I didn’t spit it out!

Jeremy Palmer
Managing Director

13 June 2011

Majestic Wine PLC (“Majestic”), the UK’s largest wine specialist with 165 stores, today announces its preliminary results for the 52 weeks ended 28 March 2011.

Download the full statement (PDF format) | Investors page

Highlights

• Group profit before tax increased by 26.6% to £20.3m (2010: £16.0m).
• Total sales up 10.3% to £257.3m (2010: £233.2m).
• Like for like sales in UK retail stores up 5.3%.
• Final dividend of 9.7p net per share, bringing the total dividend for the year to 13.0p, an increase of 26.2% on last year (2010: 10.3p).
• Lay & Wheeler: Profit before interest and tax at £701k (2010: £23k).
• Wine and Beer World: Like for like sales grew 23.6% with profit before interest and tax at £1.0m (2010: £0.4m).

Key Metrics

• A continued increase in the number of customers who have made purchases in the last twelve months, up 8.2% to 511,000.
• Average spend per transaction declined just 2.5% down at £126 but strong growth in transaction numbers, up 12.5% to 2.0m.
• Average bottle of still wine purchased at Majestic is now £6.94 (2010: £6.56).
• Online sales increased 9.6% on last year and now represent 10.2% of UK retail sales.
• Majestic Commercial: Sales to business customers grew 17.2% on last year and now represent 24.2% of total UK sales.
• Sales of fine wine (priced at £20 per bottle and above) increased by 23.7% on last year, representing 6.0% of UK store sales.

Stores

• Accelerated number of new store openings during the period, to twelve from six in the previous year. Redhill, Windsor, Totnes, Ashbourne, Bracknell, Canterbury, Cardiff (a second site), Cobham, Newmarket, Yeovil, Chiswick and the Isle of Wight. With a resite in Ipswich.
• Since the year end, we have opened in Evesham and Weston-Super-Mare, giving us 165 stores in the UK.
• Due to our reduction in minimum purchase requirements and following a detailed mapping exercise, we are confident of being able to expand Majestic to an estate of at least 330 stores.

Current Trading

• In the ten weeks from 29 March to 6 June 2011, UK like for like sales up 4.4%.

Commenting on the results Steve Lewis, Chief Executive, said:

“We are delighted that so many new customers have chosen to shop with Majestic and are encouraged that all parts of the business are showing strong progress.”

For further information, please contact:

Majestic Wine PLC
Steve Lewis (CEO) / Nigel Alldritt (FD)
Tel: 01923 298 200

Buchanan Communications
Tim Thompson / Nicola Cronk / Christian Goodbody
Tel: 020 7466 5000

High resolution images are available for the media to download free of charge from www.fovea.tv Tel :0207 089 2627

Download the full statement (PDF format) | Investors page

We had a brilliant time visiting Bordeaux and tasting the wines a couple of weeks ago – a mini heat wave and temperatures averaging 30 degrees very much contributed to our enjoyment! The main source of pleasure for us, however, was the outstanding quality of the wines in 2010, and the phrase “embarrassment of riches” has been uttered around the office quite a few times already – even the Bordelais, usually far from shy when it comes to selling their latest offering, seem almost apologetic when talking about the succession of these two amazing vintages.

2009 and 2010 are, however, very different stylistically. While the 2009s were incredibly opulent and seductive, the 2010s are concentrated and dense with much tighter tannic structure and taut acidity. In short, they are wines which will be perfect for long-term ageing, and if the fine wine market’s performance over the past year or so is anything to go by, interest will be very high indeed!

From such a widely successful vintage it is difficult to go wrong, however some particularly notable successes are St Julien’s Châteaux Léoville-Barton, Gruaud-Larose and Talbot, Domaine de Chevalier in Pessac-Léognan, Château Amélisse in St Emilion (vinified by the winemaker of l’Eglise-Clinet and great value for money), Château Gazin in Pomerol (outstanding), Château Rauzan-Ségla in Margaux, and Châteaux d’Armailhac and Grand-Puy-Lacoste in Pauillac (the latter a strong candidate for wine of the vintage!).

There have already been a handful of wines from the value for money/drinking wines end of the spectrum released and they are excellent examples of why it makes sense to “fill one’s boots” with wines from every level when Mother Nature graces us with such a stunning vintage. Particularly good are Château Montaiguillon, Montagne St Emilion, a bargain at £87.00 per case of 12 in bond, and Château Plince, Pomerol, at £258.00 for 12ib. We recently tasted a bottle of the 2000 Montaiguillon and it was mightily impressive considering its relatively modest place in the Bordeaux hierarchy: silky tannins, plummy core of fruit with a hint of winter spice and a leafy freshness on the finish.

You can find out more about the vintage, peruse the full list of wines we will be offering and express an interest in specific Châteaux on the Lay & Wheeler website. Alternatively feel free to email sales@laywheeler.com or call 01473 313 300 with any questions you may have.

It’s managed by our en primeur specialist, Lay & Wheeler, so members benefit from unsurpassed knowledge of the best fine wines to lay down, from brilliant, sought-after growers. And storage is taken care of at Vinothèque, a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to professional storage of fine wine, for a very reasonable annual fee.

To help get your new wine collection off to a good start, we’ll give new subscribers a fantastic free six bottle case of Croix de Beaucaillou 2009, the second wine of top St-Julien property Ducru-Beaucaillou from the heavily sought-after 2009 vintage.

With all the excitement that’s building around Bordeaux 2010, now is a great time to start your plan. I’m already a member of the plan; if you’re interested in joining me, find out more at majestic.co.uk/finewineplan.

Matt Philpott, Majestic Marketing Manager

With all the hype of the 2009 vintage it is encouraging to hear that 2010 is another excellent vintage. Follow them on the Lay & Wheeler blog for tales of their journey thus far – it sounds like they are having a fabulous time and yesterday Tweeted:

“Think being a buyer is hard work? Not for Nick and Kat of L&W in a 1955 Austin Healey #bdx10 http://yfrog.com/gysv5bmj“.

The fantastic hospitality at Caronne Ste Gemme certainly seems to be adding an element of fun to their stay in the Medoc! Once they have returned from their en primeur tasting week in Bordeaux and assessed the 2010 vintage they will publish their vintage reports and tasting notes to help guide us in what we should be buying.

To keep up-to-date with Nick, Kat and co. just make a note of the following links:

• Lay & Wheeler blog
• Follow Lay & Wheeler on Twitter
• Subscribe to their RSS feed

The older I get, the more impatient I become. Along with an occasional touch of road-rage, a few more grey hairs and several snapped golf-clubs this has also led to me opening a few bottles of fine wine a bit sooner than I had planned when I originally bought them. Great Clarets, Brunello’s, Barolo’s and Grand Cru Chablis are just a few styles of wine that will be at their best if you just give them a bit of time.

It’s a horrible feeling when you un-cork a wine that has cost as much as a new pitching-wedge, only to discover that it really could have done with a few more years to really develop into the finished article. Opening a 2005 Barolo today would be such an occasion. A bit premature. Give it a few more years and you will be drinking undoubtedly one of the world’s great wines.

As well as impatience, I’d like to think I’ve also gained a little wisdom too, and that is how I’ve come to reach a couple of decisions about my wine-buying habits. The first is that if I’m going to take collecting fine-wine seriously I will have to seek professional help (not for my anger-management issues before you ask…). This is where Majestic’s Fine Wine Plan in partnership with Lay & Wheeler comes in. A monthly investment from £50+ will mean some of my hard earned cash can be invested in some great wines that can be stored in a warehouse, well away from my impulsive hands. Click here to be redirected to the Majestic Fine Wine Plan website to read more about the plan and its many benefits in greater detail here.

The second decision I’ve made is that I’m going to stop buying top-drawer wines and leaving them to stew in the wine-rack in my kitchen, rather I’m going to buy slightly lesser wines that are made for drinking younger. A classic example would be to leave that Barolo well alone and try a Barbaresco instead.

Barbaresco is a village in the Piedmonte region in north-west Italy and its wines are made from indigenous Nebbiolo, just like its more famous neighbour Barolo. Barbaresco tends to be slightly lighter in style in part due to the fact that it is further east than Barolo and therefore has more of a maritime influence. It also released when younger than Barolo and doesn’t tend to age as well but it does share many of the same characteristics.

You get the same high acidity and tannins as you get in Barolo, and the same dark-cherry fruit with a hint of the classic tar and rose petals in the background. An excellent example of the style is our very own De Forville Barbaresco 2007 (currently £12.99 down from £14.99 when you buy 2 bottles). At half the price of a decent Barolo you’re getting an excellent wine that is ready to drink as soon as you get it home. And I’d heartily recommend you try it with a fillet steak in a porcini mushroom sauce. The earthiness of the mushrooms complements the background notes in the wine superbly!

So I’ll be buying a case of fine Barolo and leaving it in storage, ready to be drunk when it was intended to be drunk – in several years time. Whilst I’m waiting, I’ll gladly make-do with its younger sibling Barbaresco and there won’t be any regrets or temper tantrums, just great wine and a happy feeling about the money I’ve just saved!

It seems that the conditions were right for the production of great Bordeaux; hot and dry at the right times, with cool nights and occasional rain, giving balance and aiding maturation. The resultant wines are said to be extremely concentrated, with huge, yet soft, tannins, giving them a plump, attractive nature, even when very young.

A joint team of Majestic and Lay & Wheeler buyers and wine consultants will be heading out to Bordeaux this week to taste and assess the vintage and we are very much looking forward to finding out if this vintage is as great as it is supposed to be.

The tastings in Bordeaux are an exciting and busy few days, when the entirety of the world’s interested wine-trade arrives in the region in a flurry of hire cars and notebooks. Exhausting, but exhilarating, this week offers the wine trade often its first opportunity to really get to grips with the vintage and draw their own conclusions about the wines they wish to recommend to their clients.

The Union des Grand Crus (the society whose membership includes most of the top châteaux in Bordeaux) run tastings of the wines from individual communes, hosted at selected Châteaux in those areas. These events are frequently absolutely packed, with wine experts and journalists jostling for elbow room to write their notes.

In addition, the châteaux themselves are open to visitors (by appointment), who wish to taste their wines in a somewhat calmer and more collected environment. These more private tastings often offer the opportunity to gain valuable insight from the proprietors and managers concerning the vintage and how they feel their wines have fared.

The team will be blogging from the tastings in Bordeaux, updating us about the wines they have tasted and their views on the vintage. Make sure you follow our blog if you want to keep up-to-date with the latest information directly from Bordeaux.

(This is a précis of more detailed information over at Lay & Wheeler’s new blog.)

Recently of course Majestic acquired the fine wine merchant Lay & Wheeler, which is one of those merchants, and has an admirable portfolio of wines from the top Burgundian producers. With the imminent release of the 2008 vintage, Lay & Wheeler are putting on a superb tasting at the Glaziers Hall in central London on 14th Jan. Many of the producers will be on hand to show their wines, and there are some real treats in store. I went as a customer last year and, like Victor Kiam, was so impressed I bought the company (note to younger readers – ask your parents …).

Tickets are available from the L&W website, or call 0845 330 1855.

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 a midday break. You can then reach the town of Chablis by mid afternoon depending on how many courses you have for lunch.

The limestone and clay soil found at the centre of the Chablis region is referred to as Kimmeridgean, the name taken from the Dorset village of Kimmeridge which also shares the same soil type. It is one of the main factors that determines the style of Chablis and gives the wine its’ distinctive minerally character. The soil is packed full of tiny fossilised oysters and very rich in minerals. We visited Domaine Jean-Hugues Goisot in St Bris where we learnt the Latin name for these creatures is “Exogyra Virgule”. Ghislaine spent half the tasting trying to teach me how to pronounce this properly, but failed. They have a cuvée of St Bris named after this which is referred to in our house as “tiny oysters”. Much easier!

Domaine William Fevre

Despite arriving in Chablis just a few days before harvest the team at Fevre kindly showed us around and treated us to a fantastic tasting. This is one of the most historical estates in Chablis and is now responsible for some of the regions finest wines.

Since his first vintage in 1959 William Fevre has built up an enviable 47 hectares of vineyards in Chablis. The Domaine owns over 15% of the total land area of Grand Cru vineyards giving it the largest holdings. The 15.2 hectares are spread across Les Clos, Preuses, Valmur, Vaudesir, Bourgros and Cote de Bourgros. Fevre also produce a Blanchot and Grenouilles from bought in grapes. The rest of the estate is comprised of Chablis and Chablis Premier Cru.

Although the vineyards and winery are still owned by Monsieur Fevre, the business was bought by the Henriot family of Champagne in 1998. Didier Seguier now makes the wine at Fevre but continues the tradition at this Domaine for producing a terroir driven, classic Chablis. Having toured the wine making facilities I got a sense that there is real attention to detail, as well as constant innovation. This reflects well in the quality of the wines.

Winemaking

Grapes are hand picked and transported to the winery in small boxes to ensure they arrive in the best condition possible. Once there a sorting table is used to make a selection of the best bunches. A pneumatic press is used for a more gentle extraction of the juice. The stems are left on which allows faster extraction and therefore less skin contact. This helps retain the classic minerally flavour from the soil, where as skin contact would impart more of a “chardonnay” flavour.

The next stage is selection of the juice. The first 5% of the pressing has a slightly higher acidity and the last 5% is a little richer. These are vinified separately so they can be blended in later depending on the character of the wine. At Fevre they also vinify each parcel from within a vineyard separately. For example the Domaine has several plots within Les Clos. The vines at the top of the slope on poor soil have deep root systems and produce wines that are very mineral. Vines at the bottom on the richer eroded soil give fuller wines. This gives Didier more flexibility when assembling the final blend.

The use of oak, in particular new oak, has been quite a contentious issue in Chablis. At Fevre, barrels are used but only 2% are new and only part of the harvest spends time in wood. For the village Chablis, 90% is vinified in stainless steel tank and 10% in barrel. The different Premier Crus vary from between 40-60% in barrel depending on vintage conditions and vineyard. While about 80% of the Grand Crus are vinified in barrel. The benefit of using barrels is that the process of micro oxygenation helps open up the flavours and aromas of the wine. After the fermentations and some maturation the wines are returned to stainless steel tanks so no wood character is imparted and the purity of the fruit is retained. During our visit to Chablis we also tasted with Christian and Fabian Moreau. Here, we were told, there is no rigid formula for how long the wine is left in barrel before being returned to tank. The wine is very much in charge! I liked this intuitive style of winemaking which had very much in common with the philosophies at Fevre. Chablis is blessed with a unique terroir that produces wines that can’t be replicated elsewhere in France or even the world. There is no need or desire to produce a Meursault look a like here. Just a strong will to produce wines that offer an honest translation of where they come from.

Wine Tasting

During our visit to Fevre we were treated to a fabulous tasting of Chablis, Premiers and Grand Crus. This was a great opportunity to experience not only wines from different terroirs but also from different levels of the quality hierarchy.

Chablis 2008 – Pale lemon with green tinges. Concentrated nose of citrus and some mineral notes. More citrus on the palate with touches of white fruit on the finish. Good acidity and clean mineral finish.

Chablis 2007- A little less concentrated than the ’08, but still has a lovely weight of citrus and green apple fruit running through. Finishes fresh with nice mineral notes. Good quality for village level.

Montmains 2007 – Most of the fruit comes from Butteaux at the western end of Montmains. This area produces some of the most mineral wines of this 1er cru. There is a great concentration of lemon citrus and yellow fruit on the nose. The palate is beautifully balanced, with crisp fruit and lively acidity. One of my favourites of the tasting.

Vaillons 2007 – This 1er cru runs parallel with Montmains and has the same South East exposure. There is also more limestone in the soil where as clay dominates in Montmains. This has resulted in a wine which is more floral, with notes of spring flowers on the nose. The palate is rounder, with generous white fruit flavours, citrus and a fine mineral structure on the finish.

Les Lys 2007 – Named after the French Royalty who favoured wines from this northern part of Vaillons. The soil here is fine clay and the vines have a slightly cooler aspect to the rest of the 1er cru. This is much firmer than the Vaillons, with focused acidity and tight mineral structure. Really nice wine that I think should age a little better than the Vaillons.

Fourchaume 2007 – The largest of the 1er crus and one of best known. The nose offers a combination of blossom, ripe citrus and stone fruit. This has the most weight of the wines tasted so far. The vines are grown on relatively deep, rich soil and this comes through in the wine. The palate is concentrated with a supple texture and nice rounded fruit. There is still a good underlying structure to this wine but my personal preference is for a touch more austerity.

Vaudesir 2007 – Located at the higher end of the grand cru slope between Valmur and Preuses. We had walked around the Grand crus the previous day and noted the steepness here. Its quite a warm spot, lying in an enclosed valley which would also make for a cracking pheasant drive! The nose has subtle aromas of flowers, apple, lemon and wet stone. These continue on the palate which is rich, concentrated and has a great balance between power and elegance. It finishes bone dry, with great line and incredibly purity. Just a little more of everything when tasted alongside the 1ers.

Les Preuses 2007 – This is a blend of two parcels within the vineyard. Vines on the South East facing slope give a really mineral character to the wine. Vines on the flatter part of Preuses produce wine with more richness and weight. A hugely complex nose of lemon, lime and sea shell. The palate starts with a rich citrus character and gradually finishes with great purity and focus. Incredible elegance. My favourite of the tasting.

Les Clos 2007 – This has the reputation of being the most powerful and ageworthy of the Grand Crus. Again, it is blended from a number of parcel within the vineyard, which helps add complexity to the finished wine.  The nose offers citrus zest, crushed stone and a delicate hint of spice. There is a serious presence on the palate. Masses of fruit, a firm spine of acidity and once again, an underlying structure/minerality. The interplay between these seems to give the wine a real sense of vitality and a finish that goes on forever. Requires cellaring as do all of the above to a greater or lesser extent. 2007 does not seem as forward as the 2006 that I tasted here on my last visit, although, personally I love the style of the vintage.

Majestic periodically offer the wines of William Fevre En Primeur. There is also a wide selection available via the Lay and Wheeler broking list. I can thoroughly recommend them to you.

Lay & Wheeler made an aggregate profit before tax of £0.5m in the year to March 2008. The acquisition is expected to be earnings enhancing for Majestic in its first full year.

Lay & Wheeler, a family owned company, has been synonymous with high quality wines for over 150 years and has deep expertise in the specialist fields of fine wine sourcing, en primeur sales, portfolio management, cellarage and broking.

As a fine wine specialist Lay & Wheeler offers the storage of customers’ wines under bond. Wines are kept in optimum storage conditions with duty and VAT being deferred until the wines are removed from bond. As the fine wine industry deals predominantly in wines under bond, this gives Lay & Wheeler and its customers access to the wider market and strengthens customer relationships.

Over recent years Majestic has successfully introduced fine wine display areas into over a third of its stores and has achieved strong growth in sales of wines, at £20 and above, that are ready to drink. The acquisition of Lay & Wheeler allows Majestic to offer its customers a complete fine wine service from the vineyard through to storage, cellar management and then secure delivery to their home, or sale within the wider fine wine market.

Steve Lewis, Chief Executive of Majestic Wine PLC said,

“Given the clear and continuing appetite of our customers for fine wine, Lay & Wheeler is an extremely good fit with Majestic. This acquisition will allow us greatly to extend this important offering and help continue the Majestic growth story.”

Johnny Wheeler, the only family representative within the business, moves to the position of President of Lay & Wheeler. Jeremy Palmer, who has until now been Majestic Commercial Director, is promoted to become Managing Director of Lay & Wheeler.

Lay & Wheeler will continue to operate from its current base in Holton St Mary, Suffolk.

Johnny Wheeler commented,

“This is an exciting move both for me and for Lay & Wheeler. Majestic is the ideal partner to take our business on to the next level.”