Anthony Byrne Fine Wines

• Sarah
• Thu 06 Apr 2017

When a long-standing customer asks for assistance with a Charity project, it is great to assist, which took our team to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge on Saturday 25th March for dinner. We were exceedingly fortunate to have Pablo Barros, chief winemaker of Chilean winery Apaltagua visiting ABFW at the time, so we were happy to arrange a tutored tasting by him for the 120 guests present, and to donate the wine for the event. Pablo is pictured right with ABFW Director Rae Byrne.

Each course of the elaborate menu was cooked by a different head chief and team, drawn from local and regional restaurants and catering colleges. We paired the menu with a full range of Apaltagua wines, which were very much enjoyed. In total, the evening raised £10,500 for the NSPCC.

• Tags: Tastings
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• Anthony
• Wed 22 Mar 2017

ABFW just returned from ProWein 2017, hosted in Dusseldorf. We make this trip annually to meet as many of our distant suppliers as we can all in one place, as it has proven both efficient and a great way to maintain relationships in the industry.

As ever, a trade fair does not replace the importance of visiting growers in their place of work, as so much can be judged from the condition of the vineyards and cellars at different times in the year. For our own customers we continue our program of grower visits, where we host growers in the United Kingdom and they then present their wines in person to ABFW customers at our regular Trade Tastings (Oxford, Cambridge, London).

If your business shares our passion for sourcing the best wines, please contact sales@abfw.co.uk and lets see if we can bring something special to your wine list for your customers.

• Tags: Visits
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• Sarah
• Mon 30 Jan 2017

ABFW attended the 13th edition of Vinisud at Montpellier's Parc Expo and was pleased to see some excellent quality wines showing good value. The event, as always, allows us to meet our existing growers from the Mediterranean regions as well as establish new contacts.

We tasted some excellent wines from longstanding ABFW grower Domaine des Hauts Châssis and were particularly pleased to sample new wines from Franck's colleagues in Ambiance Rhône Terroirs, a union of eight families making quality wines throughout the Rhône Valley. We will be bringing these to the UK soon!

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• Sarah
• Fri 30 Dec 2016

The ABFW team visited some key Loire Valley growers (including Domaine Naudet and Pierre Marchand) in December to taste the 2016 vintage. Production volumes have decreased marginally compared with 2015, but the quality remains excellent.

The team tasted samples from all the growers' tanks, with the harvest segregated by soil type. Final blending will take place in March and April, to be released between April and August.

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• Tony
• Tue 18 Oct 2016

In September ABFW visited Jean-Yves Larochette of Domaine des Perelles, Burgundy, a high quality 11-hectare domaine in the appellations of Macon Blanc Villages, St Veran and Pouilly Fuisse. The 2015 vintage has been particularly successful in this domaine, producing wines typical of each appellation. Well balanced with good acidity. Drink 2017-2022.

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• Sarah
• Sat 08 Oct 2016

A fantastic round of October tastings was opened by Florence Bauchet of Champagne Bauchet presenting her three cuvées (Brut, Signature and Rosé) produced with her cousin and winemaker Bruno Bauchet in Bisseuil. Winemaker Pablo Barro of Apaltagua then presented wines principally from his vineyards in the San Antonio and Curico Valley regions of Chile. We completed the selection with a preview of an modern, upcoming New Zealand winery Misty Cove, and finished with a fine selection of sweet wines from Coteaux Du Layon of the Loire Valley.

As usual our Autumn tastings were held in Oxford (Brasserie Blanc, Wednesday 5th October), Cambridge (Restaurant Alimentum, Thursday 6th October), and London (Fish Restaurant, Borough Market, Friday 7th October).

Champagne Bauchet Selection

1. Bauchet Origine Brut NV
2. Bauchet 1er Cru Signature NV
3. Bauchet Brut Rosé NV

Apaltagua Winemaker Pablo Barro presenting

Sparkling

1. Apaltagua Costero Extra Brut Chile NV

White

2. Apaltagua Reserva Pinot Grigio, San Antonio Valley 2015
3. Apaltagua Reserva Sauvignon, San Antonio Valley 2016
4. Colección Marsanne Roussanne Viognier, San Antonio Valley 2015
5. Apaltagua Reserva Riesling, Curico Valley 2015
6. Apaltagua Reserva Chardonnay, San Antonio Valley 2014

Rosé

1. Apaltagua Reserva Rosé Carmenere, Maule Valley 2015

Red

8. Apaltagua Reserva Pinot Noir, Curico Valley 2015
9. Colección Pinot Noir, San Antonio Valley 2014
10. Apaltagua Reserva Merlot, Colchagua Valley 2015
11. Apaltagua Reserva Syrah, Maule Valley 2014
12. Apaltagua Reserva Malbec, Maule Valley 2014
13. Apaltagua Reserva Carmenere, Colchagua Valley 2015
14. Colección Carignan, Maule Valley 2013
15. Envero Gran Reserva, Colchagua Valley 2014
16. Apaltagua Signature Cabernet, Maipo Valley 2013

Introducing Misty Cove, New Zealand

24. Misty Cove Sauvignon, Marlborough 2015

Dessert Wines from the Loire Valley

51. Coteaux Du Layon, Vieilles Vignes, Domaine des Hautes Brosses 2015
52. Coteaux Du Layon, Les Roches Fortes 2015
53. Coteaux Du Layon, Louis d’Or 2015

Invitations to our tastings are emailed to customers by the sales team 2-4 weeks in advance, and we rotate venues to give all customers a chance to attend. Please speak with sales@abfw.co.uk to open a trade account for your business.

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• Chris
• Thu 14 Jul 2016

We are delighted to showcase the work of two French growers, visiting in person this month for our early summer trade tastings held in Cambridge (Côte Brasserie, Wednesday 6th July), Oxford (The Anchor, Tuesday 5th July) and London (L'Autre Pied, Friday 8th July). We will be exploring the wines of Loire winemaker Auguste Bonhomme and, joined by Corinne Ehrhart and her daughter Margot, those of the husband and wife team at Domaine Saint Remy, Alsace.

Domaine Bonhomme ‐ the Great 2015 Vintage

4. Chardonnay Sauvage de Brie, Auguste Bonhomme, Vin De France 2015
5. Sauvignon Sauvage de Brie, Auguste Bonhomme, Vin De France 2015
6. Sauvignon Touraine, Auguste Bonhomme, France 2015
7. Muscadet Cuvee de Printemps, Sur Lie Domaine France 2015
8. Muscadet Sur Lie Domaine Le Fief de la Brie, France 2015

Loire Red

30. Chinon Domaine Gerald Tapin, Auguste Bonhomme, Loire 2015

Domaine Ehrhart - Benchmark 2014 Tasting

Alsace Whites

21. Pinot Auxerrois Ehrhart, Domaine Saint‐Remy, 2014
22. Muscat Ehrhart, Domaine Saint‐Remy, 2014
23. Riesling Villes Vignes Ehrhart, Domaine Saint‐Remy 2014
24. Riesling Herrenweg Ehrhart, Domaine Saint‐Remy, 2014

Alsace Red

31. Pinot Noir Rosenburg Ehrhart, Domaine Saint‐Remy, 2014
32. Pinot Noir Barrique Ehrhart, Domaine Saint‐Remy, 2012
33. Pinot Noir ‘H’ Ehrhart, Domaine Saint‐Remy, 2012

Invitations to our tastings are emailed to customers by the sales team 2-4 weeks in advance, and we rotate venues to give all customers a chance to attend. Please speak with sales@abfw.co.uk to open a trade account for your business.

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• Chris
• Mon 20 Jun 2016

The company would like to thank customers old and new that helped celebrate our fortieth year of trading, especially those able to join the celebratory lunches held at Restaurant Alimentum (Cambridge), Brasserie Blanc (Oxford) and the Royal China Restaurant (London, Canary Wharf).

In London, customers joined us for a high speed boat trip down the Thames followed by lunch at one of our longstanding customers, Royal China Canary Wharf. Spirits were high and guests enjoyed Anthony Byrne recounting the changes in the UK wine consumers' market from the 1970s to the present day (remember Mateus Rosé?), accompanied by his favourite wines discovered after four decades of research!

• Drappier Carte D’Or Brut NV, Jeroboam
• Sancerre Clos des Bouffants, Domaine Roger Neveu, Magnum 2000
• Pouilly Fuisse Vignes Blanches, Domaine Thibert, Magnum 2007
• Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru Petit Plets, Domaine de L’ Arlot, Magnum 2008
• Châteauneuf‐du‐Pape Domaine de Nalys, Magnum 2009
• Rosso DOC Mosaico, Casa di Terra, Bolgheri Tuscany, Magnum 2011
• Recioto di Soave Oro, Umberto Portinari, Magnum 2002

The sales team were thanked for their hard work and the strengths of remaining an independent family business, as seen through the decades, were reiterated.

We look forward to continuing the supply of distinctive and enjoyable wines to our customers for the next 40 years.

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• Sarah
• Fri 06 May 2016

We're delighted to announce that two new Prosecco wines are now in stock, both from our new grower Ca’ di Rajo. We first tried these back in late January 2016, when we met brothers Marino & Simone Cecchetto, a trip during which we were specially looking to explore the mid-to-high range of the market. This is reflected in the price, coming in slightly more expensive than our house Prosecco. We will be featuring both proseccos at our spring & early summer trade tastings; please contact your sales manager if you are reviewing your lists and want to try them sooner.

• Prosecco Millesimato Brut DOCG Valdobbiadene NV
• Terredirai Prosecco DOC Treviso Extra Dry

• Tags: Growers
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• Chris
• Tue 26 Jan 2016

This update comes to you from the cool, crisp hills of Traviso in January, as the buying team visit several as-yet-unnamed growers looking to bolster our range of Prosecco wines in anticipation of the coming summer.

We then visited Stephano, Tiziano and Allessandre Accordini of Corte Alta, and found the cellar busy with bottling in progress. We were fortunate to taste the 2015 Valpolichelo Classico, having just been released from maturation in tanks. We tasted the Ripasso, Amarone and of course the fabulous Recioto sweet wine, of 100% air-dried grapes. Tiziano talked of the need to balance volumes of Aberone with Ripasso as he needs one old barrel of Aberone from a previous year to make two barrels of Ripasso the next.

Finally we called to visit the Portinari Family, meeting Maria and Silvo to taste the 2014 vintage Soave Classico Ronchetto (DOC) and Soave Albare (DOC) of the same year. We then tried the Soave Albare and Santo Stefano of previous years, tasted generously with home-made Salami Portinari!

Arrivederci!

• Tags: Growers, Visits
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