David Nieuwoudt (Cederberg, South Africa) in new project with Julio Bouchon in Chile

In the first joint venture of their kind, Julio Bouchon from Chile and David Nieuwoudt, winemaker at Cederberg - one of South Africa’s most prestigious wineries, have teamed up to produce a new wine.

The 2013 Sauvignon Blanc called ‘Longavi’ is the result of three years hard work between Julio Bouchon Lyon and David Nieuwoudt, internationally acclaimed winemaker from South Africa.

Produced at Bouchon’s winery in Chile, the wine is made from selected vineyard parcels in the Leyda Valley. It has a limited production of five thousand bottles and will be available from the Autumn of 2014 in the UK, exclusively through Bancroft Wines.

Julio, David and Julio Bouchon together

Bancroft Bar at London Bridge Open Kitchen

Last night the Bancroft team caused a vinous storm at Team London Bridge's second annual Open Kitchen - an event set up to showcase the best of all things food and drink at the White Cube Gallery from our beloved Bermondsey Street - an area once known as 'London's Larder'.

Bancroft's James W, Sophie, intern Rachael and Rob Allen setting up shop

The wines we had on show

Alongside the Bancroft Bar, the venue played host to restaurants including Hutong, Aqua Shard, Constancia, Village East, The Garrison, Antico and Pizarro.

Wine of the Week: Champagne Medot Rose NV

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With a flurry of events to celebrate this week we couldn’t think of anything more fitting than making a traditional and delicious champagne our wine of the week. You aren’t going to find a better excuse to raise a glass of the Medot Rose NV than the first birthday of our future monarch, the opening of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow or the finale of the Tour de France. Alternatively join us at the London Bridge Open Kitchen at the White Cube Gallery, Bermondsey tonight and buy it by the glass (for a bargain £5) to indulge in with delicious food from the likes of Antico, Pizarro, Brigade, Constancia and Village East.

Monte de Ravasqueira continue Bancroft’s Summer of Success

Another week is upon us and Bancroft has yet more success to share with you. This week it is our Portuguese producer in the spotlight collecting accolades for a huge number of their wines in the 2014 Ultimate Wine Challenge Awards. Each wine was subject to a number of blind tasting panels headed by Judging Chairman F. Paul Pacult and with all of their wines scoring 86 points and above Monte de Ravasquiera clearly impressed.

Monte da Ravasqueira Reserva Branco White Blend, 2013

91 Points – Excellent, Highly Recommended

Finalist

Pale yellow straw color. The nose is wonderfully floral with scents of white peach, green apple, and pear with hints of mineral, grapefruit, and lime zest. The palate confirms the nose while offering grapefruit in the lead with ripe, juicy fruits in support and a generous dose of fresh citrus like acidity that keeps it vibrant. A super aperitif. 

Win(e)ding off the beaten track: Matosevic and Simcic in 48 hours

Last week Bancroft's Alex and Neb headed to Croatia and Slovenia with a group of trusty, enthusiastic, wine-trade clients. Over 48 hours they visited our esteemed producers Marjan Simcic and Ivica Matosevic. 

Here's more of what they got up to. Alex Harper reports...

This was a wine trip like no other. It would take us through 3 countries in 48 hours visiting the lesser known premium production regions of Goriska Brda in Slovenia and Istria in Croatia. It was to prove to be a lesson in passion, art, and for our part, endurance as first Marjan, and then Ivica opened their arms and their wine cellars to us with exceptional generosity.

Furst Silvaner Independent Success

This week Anthony Rose from The Wine Gang listed the 2011 Rudolf Furst Silvaner Pur Mineral from Franconia as one of the 50 best wines of this year offering good value for money. They showcased all 50 at this year’s London Wine Fair with all of them receiving significant praise.

Rose praised the Silvaner in his report in the Independent, saying that is was ‘a dry white of considerable stonefruit flavours and great elegance’.

The Pur Mineral range from Fürst is crafted from grapes grown in stony soils and requiring intensive hands on work. This bone dry wine was created to demonstrate the purity of the grapes it is made from and displays great elegance and minerality. It pairs brilliantly with seafood dishes or poultry and perfectly with asparagus or alternatively it is a great match to Sushi.

   

Award-winning Australia:Hay Shed Hill

With a medal haul at the International Wine Challenge and mentions in the best 100 Australian Wines, Ray Jordan’s Top 100 reds and the Aug/Sept Wine Companion, Hay Shed Hill and its sister brand Pitchfork are the new high fliers on the Australian Wine scene and rightly so.

International Wine Challenge 2014

Hay Shed Hill put in a sterling performance at this year’s wine challenge and came home weighed down by their silverware with both the Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay being ranked among some of the best wines in the world.

          HAY SHED HILL CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2012

                                     - SILVER MEDAL

       HAY SHED HILL BLOCK 2 CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2010

                                     - SILVER MEDAL

       HAY SHED HILL CHARDONNAY 2013

                                     – COMMENDED

        HAY SHED HILL BLOCK 6 CHARDONNAY 2013

                                    – COMMENDED

Winery Of the Week: Andre Kientzler - Tour de France Special

If you are a fanatical cycling fan you will already know this, but for those who don’t have an encyclopaedic knowledge of all things Tour-de-France here is a little joyous news! Today’s stage is passing through the beautiful region of Alsace giving you the perfect opportunity to try a wine from ‘one of the most talented Winemakers in Alsace’ (Tom Stevenson, The Wines of Alsace), the remarkable Andre Kientzler. With a Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Blanc to choose from sit back, relax and explore the region through what’s in your glass. After the dramatic loss of both Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish from possibly the most unexpectedly eventful first week of the Tour De France yet, today’s region gives reason to keep following the race.

Tour de France 2014 - Etape 8 - Tomblaine / Gérardmer - 12/07/2014 - Vicenzo NIBALI et Peter SAGAN au départ © ASO/B.Bade

The Producer

Having been producing wine for five generations the Kientzler family are well and truly established in the beautiful village of Ribeauville owning 11 hectares of vineyards, one third of which have Grand Cru status. Their production is dominated by Riesling and Gewurztraminer, however the focus is on low yields, early picking, rigorous inspection and respect for the terroir creating wines of outstanding finesse and purity of fruit. While these wines retain the typicity of their varietal they are rightly marked out by the distinctive style of dedicated wine makers Eric and Andre. The Rieslings show great definition when young but age effortlessly for 10-15 years gaining weight and complexity.

The Who, What and Where of our latest Trade Tasting: Franciacorta at the Italian Embassy

Our intern Rachael Leach reports:

What was the event?

The Franciacorta trade tasting hosted by the Italian Ambassador, Pasquale Q.Terracciano and Maurizio Zanella, President of Franciacorta held at the Italian Embassy in London. We took our Villa Crespia range of Franciacorta presented by Dr Giovanni Bresciani.

Five minutes with... Roel Diterwich from Export Iberia

Roel talks to us about his Manium Crianza

Last week we welcomed Roel from Export Iberia into town.

As part of his visit, Bancroft's Sophie and Rob caught up with him over lunch at Bravas Tapas in St Katherine's Dock:

How long have you worked with Export Iberia?

I've been Brand Ambassador for Export Iberia since March 2013. It's quite a funny story of how I came to be here. One day Export Iberia's founder Rafael visited a winery searching for the right grapes to make his wines with just after harvest. In the winery's office there was a photo on the wall that I'd sent them from when I was working with the family there some years before - it was of us having a BBQ and eating 'migas' (like giant breadcrumbs, a traditional spanish tapa) after the harvest. One thing lead to another and here I am now!

Export Iberia's philosophy immediately interested me. We use top quality, healthy grapes bought locally and then work with small, family-owned wineries to produce wines with an international appeal. This means that we succeed in vinifying the grapes within the specific DO according to our international vision while maintaining the identity of the terroir within each bottle made.