Wine lists are easy to fill. Good ones take more work.
Every wine we bring in has been tasted properly and chosen deliberately. We don’t buy off descriptions or scores alone. We taste everything ourselves, talk directly with the people behind the wines, and build relationships over time. That matters — because consistency, honesty, and reliability only really show up once you’ve had more than one conversation.
When we look at a producer, we’re not chasing trends. We’re looking for people who know what they do well and stick to it.
Real France — Château Carbonneau
Château Carbonneau is a perfect example of why this approach matters.
These are not wines designed for export markets or built around hype. This is real, rural France — the kind of wine people actually drink at home. Small production, local focus, and limited availability by nature, not by marketing choice.
What we like about Carbonneau is how straightforward the wines are. They’re honest, balanced, and expressive without trying too hard. Supply is tight, allocations are small, and once a vintage is gone, it’s gone for good. That’s exactly what makes them interesting for lists that want something authentic rather than generic.
La Nascosta — Quiet Tuscany
Then there’s La Nascosta in the Val d’Orcia — which literally means “The Hidden.” This isn’t a massive Tuscan operation. It’s a family-run estate where you walk the vineyards with the people who planted those vines and hear them explain why a single row of Sangiovese matters as much as the whole field.
They make a handful of wines — from crisp whites that reflect the volcanic soils to ageworthy Sangiovese reds — all from tiny plots spread across the estate. It’s low yield by design, and every bottle feels like it’s carrying a piece of that hillside with it. Quite simply, outstanding!
Vaglio — Argentina Done Properly
Vaglio in Argentina stands out because the wines are made with restraint.
They’re not trying to overwhelm you with ripeness or oak. The focus is balance, structure, and drinkability. They’re also produced in relatively small quantities, which keeps quality tight and consistency high. The wines have picked up multiple awards over time, as well as being selected in James Sucklings Top 100 Argentinian wines, but that’s never been the driver — it’s simply a result of doing the basics well, year after year.
Fetherston Vintners — Precision Over Scale
With Fetherston Vintners, what drew us in was precision.
These are wines made carefully, with passion and in limited volumes, with a clear idea of what each bottle is meant to be. Availability is always controlled, and vintages don’t hang around forever. If you want wines that feel purposeful rather than mass-produced, this is exactly the kind of producer we like working with.
Borsao — World-Class Garnacha, Real-World Format
Then there’s Borsao — a different conversation, but an important one.
Borsao is widely regarded as producing some of the best Garnacha in the world. That reputation wasn’t built overnight, and it wasn’t built on packaging. It was built on decades of working with old Garnacha vines and understanding how to get the best out of them.
We carry Borsao exclusively in bag-in-box, and that’s a conscious choice. This is great Garnacha in a practical format. For restaurants and bars, it makes sense: consistent quality, excellent value, and wines that taste clean and fresh by the glass. Perfect for house pours, carafes, and high-turnover service where reliability matters just as much as flavour.
Good wine doesn’t stop being good because it comes from a box — and Borsao proves that every day.
How We Actually Select
We’ve tasted every wine in our portfolio. More than once.
We talk directly with producers, understand how their wines are made, and keep those relationships active. Over time, that’s how you learn who’s consistent, who communicates clearly, and who you can rely on when vintages change or supply tightens.
We say no far more than we say yes.
No to wines built purely to hit a price point.
No to overworked styles hiding weak fruit.
No to filler.
What remains is a focused range — many with limited availability, several award-recognised, all chosen because they make sense in the glass and on a real wine list.
That’s what sits behind the bottle.