Marketing and communications: a reference for fine wine PR

Informed by data, enriched by creativity, achieved through storytelling

In the midst of the 2020 global pandemic, after persuasion from some of our longstanding clients, Wine Lister launched its strategic marketing and communications division. We agreed to extend beyond our data roots to help a small handful of producers maintain and grow relationships with key industry figures around the world despite travel restrictions.

This branch of our services has expanded and excelled beyond our expectations, and, as a result, has had a large influence on the launch of our new website and logo. We apply the same rigour and methodology to this work as we do to our data and analysis services and are dedicated to devising effective solutions, both short- and long-term, to ensure the success of our clients’ brands.

With decades of combined fine wine experience across various fields of the industry (in the media, on- and off-trade, and production), our team is uniquely placed to provide strategic advice on how to increase global brand status. Drawing upon our genuine relationships with journalists, critics, merchants, auction houses, and sommeliers, we are dedicated to identifying unexplored opportunities and connecting our clients to those that matter.

Brand strategy

Using market research, case studies, and unrivalled industry insights, Wine Lister adopts a holistic, inherently analytical approach when building a communication strategy for our clients. We refine the stories that will resonate with their target audience and differentiate them from their competitors, while ensuring that their brand DNA remains at the core of the project.

Trade and press communications

Drawing on our unparalleled network, content creation expertise, and in-depth market knowledge, Wine Lister enables fine wine producers to make longstanding connections within the international fine wine sphere. With over 1,000 trade contacts and over 600 press contacts across the globe, we help our clients to establish credibility, build relationships, and effectively promote their wines.

Event organisation

We believe in the power of storytelling: each event is an opportunity to tell your story and connect with your target audience. Having attended hundreds of fine wine events around the world, Wine Lister is uniquely placed to plan and organise flawlessly executed, unforgettable events in London and beyond. Over the last four years of organising events, we have amassed a portfolio of case studies from which we can draw best practice examples and provide informed advice.

 

Find out more here 

 

 

“Wine Lister’s network is second to none. Its trade contact list is unparalleled.”

– Giovanni Mazzei, owner, IPSUS 

“Wine Lister’s widespread connections and insights provide the opportunity to boost activities in multiple sectors of the market in one project. Facing new markets and conducting business in a foreign language, Wine Lister helped me to sharpen and level up the way I talk about Fèlsina wines in English.”

– Michele Parodi, Export Manager, Fèlsina 


Larrivet Haut-Brion takes on London

A tour of the town with our Pessac-Léognan friends

The Larrivet Haut-Brion team joined Wine Lister to catch up with industry friends and meet some new faces in London’s fine wine scene after two years of restricted travel. Alongside a wine and cheese consumer tasting and a trade lunch, a series of individual merchant meetings provided the chance for the team to reunite with a market close to their hearts.

Larrivet Haut-Brion in London: (from left) Brand Ambassador Clara Bouineau, Technical Director François Godichon, Managing Director Bruno Lemoine

What are the latest developments at Larrivet Haut-Brion?

The viticultural evolution at Larrivet Haut-Brion kick-started with the arrival of their Managing Director, Bruno Lemoine in 2007. Fascinated by the mosaic soil structure unique to the property (with top-soils composed in patterns of graves, colluviums, or sand and clay-limestone), Bruno conducted extensive terroir analysis which informed a detailed replanting programme, allowing the team to better match grape varieties to soil types for optimum quality. Among other changes, this led to an increased proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc vines planted across the vineyard sites.

Further changes were implemented in 2015 with the arrival of Technical Director, François Godichon, who integrated several new production methods informed by his Burgundian roots. His parcel-led approach was reinforced in 2018 with the construction of a new cellar with space and facilities for a more precise vinification of individual micro-plots.

The final piece in Larrivet Haut-Brion’s winemaking puzzle, Cellar Master, Charlotte Mignon joined the team in 2020 and drives continuous experimentations with different ageing vessels, including combinations of concrete eggs, terracotta amphorae, and both new and old oak barrels. With Charlotte unavailable to join the visit (having just welcomed her second child), the London trio was completed by the property’s Brand Ambassador, Clara Bouineau, who joined the team in January 2022.

Wine and cheese tasting: Bruno and François tell guests about their wine (left), wine and cheese  at Must & Lees (middle), Bruno pouring wine for guests (right)

A marriage of Bordeaux wine with British cheese

The first stop on Larrivet Haut-Brion’s London tour was specialist wine shop Must & Lees, where the team was joined by some of North London’s Bordeaux enthusiasts for a wine and cheese evening on Wednesday 23rd February. Celebrating the estate’s commitment to the UK market, Wine Lister and Larrivet Haut-Brion devised a tasting format that showcased their red and white wines alongside a selection of 100% British cheeses from Neal’s Yard Dairy. While providing the opportunity for the team to build relationships with its consumers, the evening showcased the suitability of Larrivet Haut-Brion wines with some of the UK’s favourite fromages, including the likes of St Jude and Colston Bassett Stilton.

Wine and cheese pairing: Larrivet Haut-Brion Blanc 2017 with Sinodun Hill, Les Demoiselles Blanc 2019 with St Jude, Larrivet Haut-Brion Blanc 2014 with Baron Bigod, Larrivet Haut-Brion Blanc 2007 with Durrus, Les Demoiselles Rouge 2019 with Ogleshield, Larrivet Haut-Brion Rouge 2017 with Colston Bassett Stilton

Frederick’s trade lunch: François opening a 2015 magnum (left), magnums on display with bespoke booklet (middle), Bruno presenting a magnum (right)

A taste for technical developments

Having already met with some of London’s key fine wine merchants, on Thursday 24th February, Wine Lister invited a handful of its fine wine trade and press friends for lunch at Frederick’s to discover some of Larrivet Haut-Brion’s best recent vintages in magnum.

With positive feedback across the board, Larrivet Haut-Brion’s whites showed freshness and complexity, thanks to the blending of Sauvignon Blanc with Sémillon from old vines grown on limestone soils. Alongside an impressive showing of some iconic recent vintages of reds (including 2005, 2010, 2015), the 2017 Rouge provided a promising picture of the future of Larrivet Haut-Brion 2021, with a low proportion of Merlot offset by a higher percentage of Cabernet Franc mirroring the projected blend of this year’s release – which may contain no Merlot at all.

To round off the lunch, the Larrivet Haut-Brion team poured some of their favourite wines from outside the property – an exercise that they believe is crucial to learn and gain inspiration from others. Amongst their “beyond Bordeaux” selection were Pierre Gerbais’ Prestige Extra Brut, Mas Jullien 2018, and Domaine Moingeon Saint-Aubin 1er Cru Sur Gamay 2018 – each giving guests a glimpse into the team’s personal preferences. 

Wines tasted: Les Demoiselles Rouge 2019, Larrivet Haut-Brion Rouge 2019, Larrivet Haut-Brion Rouge 2018, Larrivet Haut-Brion Rouge 2017, Larrivet Haut-Brion Rouge 2016, Larrivet Haut-Brion Rouge 2015, Larrivet Haut-Brion Rouge 2010, Larrivet Haut-Brion Rouge 2005, Les Demoiselles Blanc 2020, Larrivet Haut-Brion Blanc 2020, Larrivet Haut-Brion Blanc 2019, Larrivet Haut-Brion Blanc 2018, Larrivet Haut-Brion Blanc 2011

For further information on WLPR’s tastings and events, please contact the team here.


Another victorious vintage: the brilliance of the Brunello Riserva Millecento 2016

Tales of the 2016 told by Castiglion del Bosco

One of the highest-scoring vintages in recent decades, 2016 has been described as a milestone for Montalcino and its flagship wine, Brunello. Providing the first taste of 2016 Riserva in the UK, WLPR was honoured to accompany Castiglion del Bosco through an early preview of its monumental Riserva Millecento 2016 release (set for January 2022) at London’s Enoteca Turi, joined by a handful of the city’s leading trade figures and fine wine collectors. 

Bespoke menu (left), Castiglion del Bosco’s Marketing Manager, Gemma Grieco talking guests through the line-up (middle), Enoteca Turi owner, Giovanni Turi pouring the wines (right)

The 2016 Riserva – some of the best from Brunello?

With big shoes to fill following the release of the highly-praised 2015, the 2016 marks the second great year in a row for Brunello di Montalcino, though very different from its predecessor. Whilst the 2015 growing season was hot and dry, 2016 was slightly cooler, with greater diurnal range during the ripening season. These climatic differences result in the 2015s being more generous in both texture and body, while the successive vintage is pure and elegant, with significant ageing potential.

Having been at the property since its acquisition by Massimo Ferragamo in 2004, Castiglion del Bosco’s winemaker Cecilia Leoneschi describes the 2016 as the estate’s “best ever” Brunello. The mild summer encouraged a long, slow ripening, while good conditions at harvest allowed the estate to “harvest each vineyard at the perfect moment” – resulting in “rich wines with outstanding elegance”.

Cecilia hails the 2016 vintage of Castiglion del Bosco’s Riserva Millecento (so-named due to the property’s original construction in 1100) as having  “arrived at our intention”. She refers to creating a wine that reflects the magnificence of the estate’s past, while “representing what we want our future to be”. Finally, she adds that the 2016 relays the estate’s key message with absolute purity, as the growing season allowed her to finetune her senses, and “listen to the land” completely.

Campo del Drago 2017 (left), Riserva Millecento 2015 and 2016 (middle), and Riserva Millecento 2004 (right)

Bringing to life the best of Brunello

The Castiglion del Bosco team came to London on Thursday 14th November to tell the tales of the Riserva Millecento 2016 to an audience of 25 industry members and fine wine collectors. Bringing Tuscany to Chelsea, and the estate’s historic past to the present, all guests left with a short storybook, detailing key moments at Castiglion del Bosco that shape the estate’s future, and of course, its wines.

The chosen pouring order of wines, paired with a traditional Tuscan fare from Enoteca Turi’s Head Chef, Massimo Tagliaferri was also symbolic of the changing hands of time, and those traditions maintained – vintages 2004, 2010, 2015, and 2016 we served side-by-side, and tasters were invited to try from 2004 upwards, and back down again.

2004 was the first Riserva made under the current team, while the 2010 was the first to be released under the “Millecento” name. A direct comparison of the 2015 and 2016 – the latest Riserva released, and that which is yet to come – illustrates what Cecilia describes as “two different approaches to quality” in consecutive years.

Table designed by Isabelle Buckland (top left), Castiglion del Bosco’s CEO, Simone Pallesi greeting the guests (top right), guests enjoying their aperitivo, Zuppa di Cipolle (bottom left), and the complete Riserva line-up (bottom right)

Wines tasted: Brunello 2017, Campo del Drago Brunello 2017, Riserva Millecento 2016, Riserva Millecento 2015, Riserva Millecento 2010, and Riserva Millecento 2004 (from Massimo Ferragamo’s private cellar), and a Vin Santo 2014 to finish.

For more information on our organisation of tastings and events, please contact the WLPR team here.


The Rule of Five Tasting – Château d’Issan

Wine Lister recently teamed up with 67 Pall Mall for a vertical tasting of five d’Issan vintages led by owner, Emmanuel Cruse, and Commercial Director, Augustin Lacaille. Last Wednesday, Emmanuel transported over 60 members of the UK fine wine trade and press to the historic Margaux property, guiding them through four of his favourite recent vintages: 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015.

By invitation only: a selection of snaps from guests’ home tasting set-ups. Photos from (from top left anticlockwise): Bud Cuchet (@budcuchet), Charlie Goblet (@charliegoblet), Will Lyons (@mrwill_lyons), Wine Lister (@winelister), Emily O’Hare (@emilyowine), Wine Lister (@winelister), Charlie Goblet (@charliegolet), and Tom Harrow (@winechapuk)

Tasting kits were accompanied by individual copies of The Four Seasons of Château d’Issan – a cookbook assembled by the property’s head chef, Frédéric Braud, with seasonal recipes from a year in the kitchen at d’Issan. Following a short introduction video including aerial scenes of the château and close-ups on its vines, Emmanuel commenced the vertical tasting with the 2000 vintage.

Having taken over as managing director in 1998, he proclaimed that the 2000 was the last “old school” d’Issan. Indeed, the property’s winery has since been almost entirely rebuilt, with a new cellar inaugurated in 2002. The vintage marks the last to be composed of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot, the Cabernet proportion being decreased to 60% in 2005.

Emmanuel was not shy in praising the 2005 d’Issan, calling it “the first great vintage” under his watch. He notes there was “perfect weather all year”, recounting how the summer was so warm that the pickers all worked in swimsuits, leading to abnormally regular visits from inquisitive négociants.

According to Emmanuel, 2010 is “from a technical perspective, maybe the best ever vintage made in Bordeaux”. The year had an excellent growing season, void of the hailstorms that had blighted d’Issan in 2008 and 2009. He informed us that the year was also personally special to him, marking the year he married his wife, Virginie. While still on the younger side, Emmanuel suggests decanting the 2010 for three hours ahead of its enjoyment.

The tasting concluded with the 2015 vintages of the property’s Grand Vin and its second wine, Blason d’Issan. Emmanuel stated that it was a broadly excellent year for Bordeaux, and specifically Margaux, which received “less rain than other appellations in the Medoc”. The ratios shifted slightly more towards Cabernet Sauvignon in 2015, which makes up 65% of the blend – Emmanuel’s personal preference.

Hailing from the estate’s younger vines, which are around 15-20 years old, Blason comprises 60% Cabernet Sauvignon in 2015. Emmanuel specifies the same winemaking practices are applied to the second wine, which he hopes to be “an introduction to the flagship”.

D’Issan owner, Emmanuel Cruse, and Commercial Director, Augustin Lacaille, in “The Rule of Five” virtual tasting

D’Issan 2020 will be released en primeur this year, and we look forward to finding out what the latest edition of “The Rule of Five” will bring – especially since the property’s acquisition of neighbouring Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot vineyards in March 2020. While the official blend for the 2020 vintage has not been finalised, Emmanuel is sure that the added varietals will be a “real plus”. If the serendipitous pattern of five is anything to go by, especially with the excellent growing season in 2020, the “rule” has every chance of continuing to reign.

For more information on our organisation of virtual tastings and events, please contact the WL PR team here.