Château Lafite on pour at London Wine Fair

Château Lafite 2010 will be on pour at May’s London Wine Fair as the Rothschild Collection confirms its presence at the exhibition – the first time it has come to the event.

Waddesdon Wine will also be opening a bottle of the 2010 Château Lafite on the Tuesday of the fair

The Rothschild Collection will have its inaugural London Wine Fair presence as part of the group’s strategy to reach the high end on-trade and retailers through its UK distributor, Waddesdon Wine.

“Waddesdon Wine is delighted to be part of the London Wine Fair for the first time,” said Waddesdon Wine’s national sales director, Helen Miller.

Continuing, she said, “The focus on the high end on-trade and independent retailers at the fair, very much aligns with our strategy for these increasingly important sectors. “

Among the wines on pour at the exhibition, which is based in London’s Olympia, will be samples from Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite); Baron Philippe de Rothschild (Mouton); and Château Clarke (Baron Edmond de Rothschild); as well as Champagne Barons de Rothschild.

Waddesdon Wine will also be opening a bottle of the 2010 Château Lafite on the Tuesday of the fair, which runs from Monday 22 to Wednesday 24 May. The tasting will be by invitation only, although the trade can apply for one of the 10 places via helen.miller@waddesdonwine.co.uk

Waddesdon Wine is one of a handful of new exhibitors for this year’s fair, some of whom have decided to come back to the event after many years away.

Speaking to the drinks business on Wednesday this week, head of the London Wine Fair, Ross Carter, said that this year’s event had attracted a selection of generic organisations, big wineries and specialist premium importers.

Among the new names confirmed for May’s event, he mentioned stands for wine boards Inter Rhône and Châteauneuf-du-Pâpe, along with Rioja’s La Cámara de Álava; Vinadeis – the largest still wine cooperative group in France – and Wines of Germany, which Carter told db had come back to the fair after seven years away.

However, he also said that certain major UK distributors had decided not to exhibit at this year’s London Wine Fair, including Mentzendorff and Enotria.

Admitting that attracting exhibitors to the fair, which he has managed for the past five years, had been harder than ever before, he described the 2017 event as “the most challenging” of his time at Brintex.

This he added was evident in the decision of a few importer-distributors to either downsize their stands or choose not to take part whatsoever.

Nevertheless, highlighting the large number of visitors from the on-trade and independent sectors that come to the fair, he said that now was the perfect moment for distributors to take part.

“At a time like this when there are challenges supplying the multiple retailers, and distributors are looking for a more diverse customer base, there has never been a better time to put your best foot forward and show your entire portfolio at the London Wine Fair,” said Carter.

Continuing, he said that 2017’s fair had “the most diverse group of importers in the fair’s history, which goes back 37 years.”

Along with the aforementioned wines, The Rothschild Collection stand will feature wines from across the portfolio, which incorporates domaines from: Languedoc; Bordeaux; Chile; Argentina; South Africa and New Zealand.

In addition to Mouton Cadet, the world’s largest selling AC Bordeaux, highlights will include: Lafite Légende; a collection of wines which offer the Lafite Bordeaux experience at £12 to £28; Los Vascos, DBR Lafite’s Colchagua Valley-based winey; Bodegas Caro, the Mendoza based collaboration between DBR Lafite and the Catena family; and Rimapere, a joint venture between Craggy Range’s Peabody family and Baron Edmond de Rothschild.

More information on the London Wine Fair will appear in the April edition of the drinks business.