Same Day Pick-up
Wine Club
Wine Club
Christmas Sale
We pay tribute to the boutique wineries where, in spite of fewer resources and lower manpower, a commitment to producing truly artisan wines is still realised. Wine Enthusiast once defined “boutique” as wineries producing 10,000 cases per year or less. On top of this, a strong dedication as well as emphasis on terroir are often observed in these wineries, distinguishing them from large-scale and more commercial wineries. They’re across the New World and the Old World, and they’re making wines in every style, but we’ve managed to select 5 to feature here: join our wine tour now.
Pierre Peters
The Pierre Peters estate is one of the most sought-after, highly acclaimed “Grower Champagne” producers in the world. Situated in the heart of the Côte des Blancs in the village of Le Mesnil sur Oger, which is also the home to the world-famous Salon Champagne and Krug Clos du Mesnil, it has been a family house for six generations and has produced Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Champagnes since 1919. Some critics believed that Pierre Peters’ Les Mesnil Blanc de Blancs rivals Salon and Krug’s Clos du Mesnil, but at a much lower cost!
Unlike some of its more commercial counterparts which source grapes from different vineyards for Champagne production, Pierre Peters uses Chardonnay grapes exclusively from their own vineyards. With its cultivation adapted to obtain healthy grapes, their Champagne expresses the richness, subtlety and the elegance of the excellent terroirs of the Côte des Blancs more precisely.
Bodega Lanzaga
Bodega Lanzaga is a project by the legendary Spanish winemaker Telmo Rodriguez and his partner and friend Pablo Eguzkiza. Telmo’s family owns Remelluri, one of the oldest and most famous wineries in Spain and he is now the winemaker there. While working in Remelluri, he observed that many of Spain’s best vineyards grown with local varietals did not get the attention they deserved. Therefore, he and Pablo started a company, intending to identify and restore indigenous varieties in top vineyards throughout Spain and Bodega Lanzaga is their project in Rioja.
With Bodega Lanzaga, Telmo and Pablo have attempted to “re-understand how Rioja was made” back in the 18th century. They make wine in “an old-time model on a human scale”, with low intervention, particularly focusing on expressing the terroir and showing the true value of the land. Telmo believes that Spanish wine has the potential to compete with the best of Burgundy and Bordeaux. Wine critic Neal Martin said “(Bodega Lanzaga) reminded him of Burgundy’s more artisan domaines”. Las Beatas, Tabuérniga, El Velado, La Estrada are a few vineyards they discovered as a result of a passionate search for exceptional plots in Rioja.
Suavia
Located in Fittà, a tiny village inside Soave, Northern Italy, Suavia is a family winery currently owned and operated by the Tessari sisters. The trio’s passion and diligence have been reflected on the extraordinary quality of their wines, which are considered some of the best in the region.
Unlike most wineries in Soave, Suavia focuses on making only white wines using 2 indigenous grapes in the territory: Garganega & Trebbiano di Soave. They also insist not to blend the grapes, only producing 100% Garganega and 100% Trebbiano di Soave for a pure expression of the varietals. Their vineyards consist mainly of unique volcanic soils, yielding wines of structure and character. Despite the size of the winery, its amazing terroir combined with the sisters’ persistence has won the acclaims from media and wine critics, with wines ranked as top 100 Italian wines year after year.
Thistledown
“Hand-crafted, real wines. Lovingly made in small batches.” – Thistledown’s philosophy is perfectly reflected in their motto. The South Australian winery is founded by two “Masters of Wine”, Giles Cooke MW and Fergal Tynan MW, who met each other in their 1st year of Master of Wine course over beer (interestingly not wine). The small winery is now multiple trophy-winner, particularly for its signature Grenache, also crowned with James Halliday’s 5 Star Winery, Top 100 Australian Wineries by The Real Review 2019 and many more honors.
From the start, they aim not to impress people with size, weight, alcohol or oak in their wines but their unique “Thistledown” style: robust on the surface but show deep flavours and complexity that can be peeled back, layer by layer. They source fruit from many of the best sites in the iconic regions of South Australia: McLaren Vale Grenache, Adelaide Hills Chardonnay, and Barossa Valley Shiraz. The unique blend of superb fruit and founders’ experience in both the New and the Old Worlds help craft wine of subtlety, texture and detail, illustrating the benefits of great sites and intelligent winemaking.
Hirsch Vineyards
Located in the Sonoma Coast, California, Hirsch Vineyards is a single vineyard comprising of over 60 distinct blocks. In the early 90s, it was not yet a winery but one of the most sought-after sources for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes in California. In 2002, the owner David Hirsch, after 22 years of growing the best grapes in the region, thought why not to build a winery of his own and started to make wines. Time and their wines have proven that their love of the land and grapes not only make them great farmers but also excellent winemakers.
Their Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are known to express site-specific characteristics vintage after vintage. Perched on a ridge overlooking the Pacific Ocean at Fort Ross, the winery’s unique climate produces fruit and wines of unusual acidity and balance. In 2011, they began the process of converting the vineyards to biodynamic viticulture and by 2014 they became fully biodynamic.