Beautiful wines of Aurore Bachelet   It’s raining here in Richmond, so I thought I would send you some Burgundy sunshine as captured by a very talented young lady - please meet Aurore Bachelet.  Following business degree and few years of working/traveling around the world, she eventually decided that the heart is where the home is and that the home was back in Burgundy. Not a bad place to call home, especially if your family owns some very fine vineyards in and around the villages of Chassagne Montrachet, Santenay and Maranges. On her return, Aurore spent 5 years working with …

XF Rose 2023 by Marcos Eguren   I know it is supposed to be summer out there, but not sure where the sun had gone to. So, since the sun had been very shy this year, I thought we could reverse the concept in which we drink rose when the sun is shining. Perhaps if we open some rose the sun might decide to join us!?! Worth a try - after all, what do we have to lose? Moving forward, I had managed to get 12 different Roses to my shop last weekend for a tasting to try and pick …

Initial Report on 2023 Bordeaux Vintage   Another Bordeaux tasting week is over and the campaign had kicked of much faster then usual. We have already had few big scalps out this week, so I thought I might as well share my views on this vintage and wines performances. 2023 was one of those vintages that would have been a disaster 25-30 years ago. I am not going to bore you with the details here, but it was a very hard work - only the chateaux with deep pockets have been able to engage enough people to work all the …

Mauro and Terreus 2021 release Most of you are aware of my love affair with all things made by Garcia family and I am glad to announce that after more than 10 years, it is getting stronger and stronger. I am also glad that so many of you are enjoying these wines and write back to me; it makes it all worth a while. Not sure how they manage to deliver such level of quality year in, year out but, I for one, will not complain. The combination of biodynamic practices, improved understanding of high altitude vineyards as well as …

As promised, here is the first of the 2022 Burgundy releases.   Most of you would know that I am quite skeptical about the image and the hype that follows famous estates in Burgundy and rarely make releases from the region. Fortunately, behind all that hype there are numerous young people (away from the limelight) who are working tirelessly and crafting some of the most beautiful wine-lovers wines you will run across. As long as you are open to trying the juice from lesser known villages and producers, you will be in for a treat. The best thing about it …

  2021 release of AALTO and AALTO PS + 2022 AALTO BLANCO   I have spent last week in various Burgundy tastings here in London (just over 450 wines tasted) and have one more week to go. In principle, the wines are showing well and there are even some which are priced so that they are worth buying for home drinking - the full report and recommendations will follow at the beginning of February.   As it has become a tradition at this time of the year, I am glad to offer to you the latest releases from Bodegas AALTO …

GARMON 2020   Lukasz and I are getting ready to drive out to Burgundy tomorrow, but before we set of, the Vinous (magazine run by ex Parker contributors Antonio Galoni and Neal Martin) has published reviews of latest Ribera del Duero releases. As usual, our favourites have been given quite a high marks and inspiring notes, so before the traders and brokers start chasing me for the allocations, I thought I would release the stock first to my regular readers.   Most of you would be familiar with the Garmon project. Eduardo was able to acquire limited number of old …

The time flies and we are mid-November already. Whilst I am organizing my appointments for our Burgundy trip from next Sunday, Lukasz reminded me that I have still not released the 2020 Ornallaia which was scheduled for release in September. It's not like I am trying to hoard the whole allocation for myself, just that last few weeks were taken over by trying to get as much stock into the UK before Christmas rush but avoiding the heat which was sitting over Europe till late September.  Still, better late than never, so here we go.         Tenuta …

Contino Gran Reserva 2011 magnums   As we are approaching the end of October, I thought I would send you some inspiration for a very fine Christmas present for those who appreciate a drop of vino at perfect maturity point.   I present to you the 2011 incarnation of Contino Gran Reserva in magnums (packed in individual wooden cases).   In 2011 the winery was run by Jesus Madraso who was at the time considered to be one of the best winemakers in Rioja and some of you might remember my enthusiasm and my releases of Continos back in late …

  Valeyo 2021 by Mauro       We are at the beginning of the Autumn tasting season and before I update you with new releases from the well known wineries (Ornellaia / Serre Nuove etc) I thought we should start the season with the new project from Garcia family - please meet Mauro Valeyo from Bierzo.   Most of you are familiar with their other wineries, Garmon, Mauro, San Roman, and associated wines which are in the Duero Valley and produce deep, rich and hedonistic wines. The idea with Valeyo is to produce lighter, more elegant wines with a …

Valeyo 2021 by Mauro   We are at the beginning of the Autumn tasting season and before I update you with new releases from the well known wineries (Ornellaia / Serre Nuove etc) I thought we should start the season with the new project from Garcia family - please meet Mauro Valeyo from Bierzo.   Most of you are familiar with their other wineries, Garmon, Mauro, San Roman, and associated wines which are in the Duero Valley and produce deep, rich and hedonistic wines. The idea with Valeyo is to produce lighter, more elegant wines with a different structure and …

Mauro and Mauro VS 2020 release    Whilst we are waiting for the Bordeaux 2020 prices to be released, I have had sample of 2020 Mauro VS delivered and thought it would be a good time to open it and release the stock.   Most of you would be familiar with Bodegas Mauro run by legendary Mariano Garcia and his 2 sons, Alberto and Eduardo. I have been working with this organically run estate (now in a process of conversion to Biodynamic) for many years and I am still amused by their ability to produce high quality wines with such …

AALTO and AALTO PS 2020   I was busy writing the 2021 Burgundy review when a notice came from Wine Advocate with the review of 2020 Aalto wines. For the 3rd vintage in a row, we got 94 points from Louis Gutierrez. Not bad for a wine which opens at these prices. This will create a feeding frenzy, I thought, better release it straight away. Burgundy can wait.    And here we go. Regular readers of these missives of mine are aware of my love affair with Aalto which goes all the way back to 2006. I am very happy to admit …

As it has become a tradition in January, I will start the year with the release of the latest vintage of Bodegas Aalto in Ribera del Duero. The regular readers will knew that this is one of my favourite estates (after all it was Aalto back in 2004 that drew my attention to the region) and I am pleased that the winery is going from strength to strength with every new vintage.   2019 was about as classic as they get to be in Ribera; cold (down to -9 C in some high vineyards) and mainly dry winter. Mostly dry …

Good afternoon good people from a grey and cloudy Richmond.   It’s been a busy week of tastings since I came back from Barolo (more of that trip later). The highlight was tasting the top 100 Ribera del Duero wines, as selected by Tim Atkin MW and featured in the last issue of Decanter. Many thanks to all of you who forwarded me the article and, yes, I am proud to confirm that Garmon was granted the highest rating, and pretty much all of our other estates are included in the review (Aalto, Sastre, Vina Magna). Normally, I would release …

 Garmon 2017 Release Offer   Garmon 2017, we actually managed to get the stock into the country a few weeks ago, but I have been preoccupied with chasing 2020 Bordeaux samples and it got slightly neglected. And now Bordeaux can wait its turn, ‘cos. Garmon is worth it …   As mentioned in last 2 vintage releases for Garmon, it is fast getting serious recognition as one of the leading wines in Ribera del Duero. One does not often see this many critics reviewing a new winery and consistently awarding mid 90’s scores.   The vintage was characterised by significantly …

As promised long way back before lockdown, here is the first of future superstars I managed to find in Piemonte. There is more to come but thanks to travel restrictions the deals have not yet been concluded. I promise, as soon as they are happy to receive visitors again, I will be on the first plane out (hopefully within a few weeks). These wines and people who make them are more than worth it and I will do whatever I can to get the allocations. In February this year, I spent 4 great days crisscrossing Piemonte visiting 4 producers per …

GARMÓN CONTINENTAL 2016 Lukasz and myself are well and working very hard sending cases of lockdown wines all around the country, as well as getting organized with our various producers to get all the samples in for my tastings. Regular readers of these missives of mine would expect a flurry of Bordeaux en primeur reports and offers at this time of the year, alas that is not to be this time around. Still, as you can see in the picture below, I have lined up a good range of substitutes to look forward to in the coming weeks (Ornellaia, Serre …

COVID – 19 NOTICE   Dear wine loving people of Richmond, WE ARE STILL OPEN but due to the most recent COVID-19 advice, only for HOME DELIVERIES and PRE-ORDERED COLLECTIONS from our shop at 2 BRIDGE STREET, RICHMOND TW9 1 TQ.  Enquiries and to place orders, please contact us at: sales@citywinecollection.com or tel. 0208 948 7823 . Please note that we will assemble orders received by 4pm and try to deliver locally between 5pm and 7pm on daily basis where possible. As you can imagine we will need to streamline the operations and, in order to reduce contact and protect both you and us, we will have …

AALTO 2017 and AALTO PS 2017 2017 was a difficult vintage in most of Europe and Spain/Ribera were not spared the trouble. Following a dry and warm winter (about 60 % less rain than normal) the growing season kicked off early, only to be hit by late frost just as the plants were reaching pre budding stage. Subsequently, a fair amount of fruit was never set and what was there had to fight for survival till late August, when a bit of rain moved in and propped the plants to finish the season. As in previous difficult vintages, the quality …

I was in a process of writing an offer on some beautiful wines form Piemonte, when Parker's Wine Advocate turned up in my mail box. Knowing that inside would be reviews of my favourite Spanish estates, I could not resist to peak in. And... Don't worry, fine wines of Gianni Abrigo will be coming your way very soon but, thanks to high ratings, this has become quite urgent.   First of all, I am pleased to say that all the usual suspects have been given appropriate (read: very good) scores, but one specific wine caught my eye more than others …

I hope you are enjoying this Mediterranean summer we are having in England this year. I am quite happy with the sun and the heat, but must admit that few days of rain and wind over the weekend were a welcomed break.   Talking about long hot summer, I have had quite a few people in the shop asking about the right serving temperatures for reds and how to keep the wine in the right condition. So, I thought I would write few words on the subject within this offer - those of you who are interested will find detailed …

Hello good people and I hope everyone is coping well with this spell of miserable weather. Perhaps if we all wish really hard the sun might come out to play...   Fortunately, this week was made a touch sunnier and easier to bear as I was invited to a preview tasting - launch of 2015 vintage of the legendary Sassicaia.   The "Sass", as it is known in the trade, does not really need much introduction. It is the original Super Tuscan - the wine that started the whole revolution in Tuscan wine making back in late 60s (good old …

Good afternoon good people and hope you all had a good New Year's holiday.   It's cold and unfriendly out there so in the tradition of the last few Januarys, it is time to bring some sunshine in to your lives in the shape of 2015 Vintage of Aalto.   The winery releases the wine in the late Autumn but, as that is my busy time of the year, I never get around to it at the time. Also, it somehow feels right to start the year with one of my favourite wineries.   The 2015 was (very much like …

Good morning good people and hope you are all well. A chilly grey mist is rising off the River in Richmond today but, on Saturday we were enjoying a beautiful sunny day which reminded me of Summer, Spain, and inevitably, of Aalto. They released the 2014 vintage in November, but we were busy with Christmas trading and all that jazz, so it got shelved for a few weeks. And now, whilst I am waiting to get my Burgundy allocations confirmed, I thought, let's open the samples and unleash the 2014 vintage. Most of you know that I consider Aalto to be …

Good afternoon good people  There was not much of great note happening in Bordeaux last week so, I decided to open few samples that have accumulated in our shop whilst I was travelling over the last few weeks. Most of them were new vintages of our restaurant distribution wines, so not really something worth making a special offer on. However, there was 1 little gem worth making a special mention of: a new release of Preludio de Sei Solo from Javier Zaccagnini. Those of you who read these missives of mine would be familiar with Javier’s  name – he is …

Good afternoon good people, and hope you are all well. While I am putting together the 2015 Bordeaux en primeur report, and waiting for the Chateaux to release the prices, I thought I would draw your attention to a “little” wine from the South of France and some ready drinking vintages of it.  Essentially, one of my clients has asked me to find a home for some over-stock that he has in his portfolio from mature vintages of Clos des Papes – Chateauneuf du Pape. For those of you who are not familiar with the wine, Clos des Papes is one …

Good afternoon good people. Hope you all had a great January despite the market’s turmoils, terrorists and hurricanes. It was quite a hectic start of the year, so now is the time for a little bright spark: the Queen of all Whites – The White Burgundy. As usual in January, I have been busy tasting through new vintage releases, and some 400 different 2014 White and Red Burgundies have passed though my glass, many of which 2-3 times.  By a rough estimate, about 1200 wines in total over 3 weeks. Not bad for the start of the year.   The …