Nico McGough

By Nico McGough   Wine importers often look back as the wine year is coming to an end. I certainly do that, and for 2019 there are two, maybe three, ‘wine discoveries’ that have made this year special. We have… read more >

Wines of the YearBy Nico McGough   Wine importers often look back as the wine year is coming to an end. I certainly do that, and for 2019 there are two, maybe three, ‘wine discoveries’ that have made this year special. We have to go back to last January, the moment our purchasing starts up again after the very busy Christmas season. During more than three months, we taste all the new vintages of wines that are in our collection, about 600 to be precise. But there is also a great ‘urge’ to add new titles, to find new wines that will knock our customers off their socks. Of the 1,000 to 1,500 new wines we taste, only a tiny proportion will successfully make it into the collection. After coming in number one in five buyer’s guides in a row, here in Holland, we have a reputation to uphold. Extreme precision in purchasing is the basis of our nationwide success. One sunny January day, I made acquaintance with two new wine producers, and re-connected with one Domaine that I have been following now for about 30-odd years. It is evident that Wine God Bacchus was on my side that crisp winter day all the way ‘down south’ in France.   www.bosmanwijnkopers.nl read more >

Champagne’s Rising Superstar   This tiny champagne house was founded back in 1872. It remained a small house until Pascal Leclerc, who had a profound interest in organic viticulture, took its reigns. He began cultivating his vineyards with biodynamic techniques… read more >

Leclerc BriantChampagne’s Rising Superstar   This tiny champagne house was founded back in 1872. It remained a small house until Pascal Leclerc, who had a profound interest in organic viticulture, took its reigns. He began cultivating his vineyards with biodynamic techniques and was widely regarded as one of the pioneers of biodynamic Champagne.   In the late ‘80s of the past century, he started to produce single-vineyard champagnes from the village of Cumières. These splendid Champagnes boosted the reputation of Leclerc Briant by mentioning the names of the vineyards of Les Crayères, Les Chèvres Pierreuses, and Clos des Champions on the label. In 2010, Pascal Leclerc passed away suddenly, and his daughters sold the house and its vineyards to large producers such as Bruno Paillard and Roederer.   In 2012, the company, including all buildings and stocks, was purchased by American investors ‘with deep pockets’. They appointed the very best director around, Frederic Zeimett – who contracted Hervé Jestin, an oenologist and former chief wine maker at Duval-Leroy, to manage the winemaking. Hervé is a guru of biodynamic wine making and this year received the title of “the most influential wine maker in Champagne this past decade, and the coming one”.   For sales addresses in Holland, visit www.bosmanwijnkopers.nl read more >