The Chronicle
Latest dispatches
64 results across all types
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Burgundy 2021 Vintage – Some real joy against all odds
It’s no longer breaking news that in 2021 Mother Nature threw everything at vignerons – across France – but in Burgundy the punishing impact on the vineyards, and on the yields, seemed somehow more tangible.
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What our customers have been drinking this winter
A customer wrote after the New Year festivities – ‘Happy New Year! Gosh this is good and a way to go still. Thank you !’ We take great pride in comments like this and so a big thank you to him and his photographer wife (who got him to take another without the kitchen tap […]
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Winemaker Dinner: Bert Salomon at Quality Chop House
It’s interesting, the little avenues that life takes you down. I’ve been at Lea & Sandeman for nearly three years now, and I’ve enjoyed each one more than the last, but, despite working exceptionally hard at the ‘research’ part of the job, I still haven’t tasted every wine we have. One particular wine that I’d […]
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October Wine Reviews
Recent wine reviews by Matthew Jukes, Rose Murray Brown, Cherry Magazine & The Telegraph.
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A trip around Georgia | Tbilisi
‘The oldest and the youngest winemaking nation in the world’ Georgia, the exotic and little-known country at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, holds one of the stronger claims for being the birthplace for wine and winemaking. Evidence of both crushed grapes and winemaking vessels, the famous Qvevri, have been found dating back to around […]
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A trip around Georgia | Kakheti: Part 1
The Caucasus Mountains as viewed from the Tsinandali Estate Our next stop was then the main winemaking region of Kakheti, about 2 hours northeast of the capital. This was proper winemaking country; endless wineries and vines and, as it was harvest, lorryloads of grapes being driven around. This region is split in two by the […]
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A trip around Georgia | Kakheti: Part 2
Mildiani The next day somehow managed to surpass the already heady memories of the previous. A morning visit to Mildiani was a great example of a massive producer (circa 3 million bottles) getting it right. Winemaker Gogi is a bit of a legend in these parts, consulting for various wineries and famous for saving the […]
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Wedding Wine – Much Simpler Than You Think.
Lea and Sandeman has been supplying wine for weddings for over three decades and choosing it (we are told) is significantly more entertaining than spending an hour deciding which napkin colour works best on your table. Tasting what you buy. We appreciate that wine is subjective, and given we’re all Spartacus in our cups, it […]
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Press Reviews: August
Our latest press reviews: The Telegraph, The Times & The Guardian. Benefit from our case price discount in red by buying any 12 bottles from this selection – in a mixed case of your design or simply by the dozen. The best wines from Languedoc-Roussillon, The Times, Jane MacQuitty 26/08/2022: 2020 L’ÉTRANGER 120 Year Old […]
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Press Reviews: July
Our latest press reviews: The Telegraph, The Buyer, Delicious Magazine and JamesSuckling.com Benefit from our case price discount in red by buying any 12 bottles from this selection – in a mixed case of your design or simply by the dozen. Think pink for these hot summer days, The Times of Turnbridge Wells, James Viner, […]
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Comte Armand – A Vertical of Pommard Clos des Epeneaux
A ‘flight’ not to be missed. Vintages 2017 to 1990 Recently, we were fortunate to be approached by a long-standing (and very generous) customer to taste through a flight of vintages (with the 1990 thrown in from Charles Lea’s own cellar) from an estate that has featured in almost every Burgundy offer we have published […]
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Press Reviews: June
Our latest press reviews: The Telegraph, The Buyer, Delicious Magazine and JamesSuckling.com Benefit from our case price discount in red by buying any 12 bottles from this selection – in a mixed case of your design or simply by the dozen. The best rosé wines for summer 2022, The Telegraph, Susy Atkins, 28/06/2022: 2021 GRENACHE-CINSAULT […]
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Press Reviews: May
Our latest press reviews: The Times, The Guardian, The Sunday Times and The Telegraph. Benefit from our case price discount in red by buying any 12 bottles from this selection – in a mixed case of your design or simply by the dozen. Platinum Jubilee Special – Part 1 – Party Wines, matthewjukes.com Matthew Jukes, […]
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2021 Bordeaux En Primeur | The gloom & the glory
All my pre-departure research had left me rather gloomy about the week ahead, tasting through the latest vintage in Bordeaux. Thank goodness I was travelling with Jack, ever upbeat, hopefully we could buoy each other along through the teeth-shattering tastings. From what I’d read and the people I’d spoken to, it seemed that 2021 was […]
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Why on earth would I buy Bordeaux 2021?
I feel like these blogs have become something of a confession of late, so here’s another one. As much as, when we visit Bordeaux, I’m acting in a professional capacity (something many of you will know I’m just about capable of…) to taste, evaluate and communicate a vintage to you, I’m also secretly really just […]
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The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Cookbook & L&S Mixed Case
With not only the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee to celebrate but also an additional Bank Holiday to enjoy (making a lovely long weekend) what better way to mark it, than with a specially selected Platinum Jubilee mixed case (£295 for 12 bottles and a book). But we haven’t stopped there, as we have also partnered with […]
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2021 Bordeaux En Primeur | Pauillac
Great old, grand old Pauillac. The most revered appellation in the Médoc felt more like it had gone back in time than perhaps any other area. The wines were generally very lean and precise – Merlot, again, suffered a fair bit up here and, with the wines usually Cabernet focussed anyway, it meant that these […]
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2021 Bordeaux En Primeur | Saint-Estèphe
Saint-Estèphe certainly felt like the most far flung, northerly part of the Médoc when we arrived, driving down the dip from Lafite and up to Cos d’Estournel as the sky darkened and rain began to threaten. An easy way to brighten up any day, is to walk through their ornamental garden, once you’ve squeezed your […]
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2021 Bordeaux En Primeur | Margaux
I have a soft spot for Margaux. I thought it was worth prefacing everything you’re going to read with this – The feelings I have for Margaux are along the lines of the ones I have for great Burgundy. On the face of things, it’s a pretty toxic relationship (for starters I’m not sure if […]
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2021 Bordeaux En Primeur | Saint-Julien
Our tour de Saint-Julien started on a lovely sunny morning, with both of us slightly the worse for wear from the night before, having briefly gone our separate ways (David for a dinner at Château Lafite, myself for a far more oikish, if exceptionally fun do in Bordeaux Town Hall). Leoville Poyferré was our first […]
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2021 Bordeaux En Primeur | Pessac-Léognan
Pessac-Leognan is a slightly peculiar place. You start in the city – Carmes Haut Brion, it’s fair to say, is quite literally an ‘urban winery’, such is its proximity to the hustle and bustle of Bordeaux. Slowly you start to drift out, Haut-Brion & La Mission, two absolutely stunning Châteaux, appear almost out of nowhere, […]
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2021 Bordeaux En Primeur | Saint-Émilion
Did Merlot suffer in Saint Émilion? Yes, is the short answer, but it was quite terroir dependent and also seemed less impacted than their left bank cousins. The running theme of the 2021 Bordeaux vintage was hard work – sometimes you question a bit of rhetoric, arching an eyebrow toward a statement which seems to […]
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2021 Bordeaux En Primeur | Pomerol
How on earth to summarise a vintage by appellation, which more or totally defied homogeneity? I’m going to try my best, almost solely using our own meandering experience and stack of tasting notes. Luckily Pomerol, which is where we began, makes is rather easier than most. If someone were to ask me to fill in […]
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Côte-Rôtie: what’s all the fuss about?
I am often asked why I have such a strong attachment to the wines of the Northern Rhône and in particular those of Côte-Rôtie. It is never an easy question to answer without a long preamble, but after close to 25 years of visiting the Rhône and the many stylistic changes we have seen over […]