Decanter's Best New Zealand Pinot Noir under £20: Wild South 2015

We've long been enamoured by the Wild South Marlborough Pinot Noir, a pure expression of the varietal which doesn't cost a pretty penny. Decanter panel tasters Melanie Brown, Christine Parkinson and Philip Tuck MW seem to agree, having awarded the latest release 93 points and a spot on their coveted list of Best New Zealand Pinot Noir under £20. Their note best sums up the juice in the bottle: 

"Vibrant crushed raspberries, spice, cocoa, liquorice and Darjeeling tea. Driven by acidity and showing earthy, nutty flavours that lead to a pretty finish."

Wild South Pinot Noir 2015, Marlborough, New Zealand

 For more information about the domaine, click here.

Michel Rolland's Yacochuya in The Financial Times

One of our Yacochuya altitude-infused wines from Salta was recently mentioned in The Financial Times, written up by Peter Richards MW.

More information on the winery can be found here:
http://www.bancroftwines.com/yacochuya/

“• Yacochuya 2008, Cafayate, 15%

To conclude, one of Michel Rolland’s own wines. Rolland began consulting in Salta in 1988 and immediately saw its potential. He found an old Malbec vineyard at 2,035m altitude and this 2008 vintage shows the tobacco-scented, softened edges typical of fine bottle-aged reds. At its core, though, this is a hedonist’s wine, one for those who like maximum impact — a dense, sinewy, full-throttle red with tons of peppery spice, juicy acidity and rich ripe fruit.”

Peter Richards is a Master of Wine and television presenter

                                                                                                                                                        

New recruits: Jack Cousins

Now fully inducted into life at Bancroft Wines, Jack Cousins has recently joined us on the orders desk as Sales Support Coordinator. A small Q&A session with him let's us get to know him better...

What were you doing before you came to Bancroft?

Working in wine PR, however I fancied pursuing a career in sales and was lucky enough to land a job here at Bancroft as a Sales Support Coordinator.

Dishoom Family Mela

Once a year Dishoom organises a huge party for all their staff and families. On Monday we attended to man the wine bar, as summer intern Alice Brandon reports...

Myself, along with a few other lucky Bancroft staff, not only spent a sunny Monday out of the office, but were fortunate enough to share in Dishoom’s celebrations.  Dishoom hosted a Family Mela for their staff and families celebrating both their commercial and charitable successes.

The Loire – land of eggs, Cabernet and windmills

A couple of weeks ago, Rob (@LuckyRobb99) and Anne (@annecathelineau) from our London Trade team headed off to sunnier settings: the Val de Loire. With suppliers from the coastal Muscadet to the continental Pouilly-Fumé 240 miles east, they were spoilt for choice. They opted to explore the road less traveled and found themselves in the land of eggs, Cabernet and windmills.

"We headed off to the arguably less well known end of the Loire, to the Appellations of Anjou, Saumur and Vendeé to see, first-hand, how our relatively new growers work and are set up. We started with Jeremie Mourat in the Vendée and it soon became obvious that he is a big fish in a small AC pond. Very forward thinking, experimental and rigorous in the way he works, crafting high quality wines across his estate. His unusual but very drinkable white Pinot Noir was universally enjoyed, matured in clay eggs to allow similar slow oxidation / development as oak barrels but with no woody flavour impact.