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Hatch names Buckingham Schenk as exclusive UK importer

01 May 2024 By Jessica Mason

Buckingham Schenk Family has been appointed as the exclusive UK importer for Australian producer Hatch wines.

This new partnership will see Buckingham Schenk Family target luxury hotels, independent wine merchants, and premium wine retailers with four wines from the Hatch range.

Hatch was founded by Australian winemaker Chris Hatcher who has over 50 years’ experience within the industry including accolades such as chief winemaker at Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) and 27 years as chief winemaker at Wolf Blass. Now, Hatcher has embarked on a new journey to bring his own wines to the market with his new business named Hatch which is titled to pay homage to the moniker he has been known under for most of his life.

The four wines that now form a part of the Buckingham Schenk Family portfolio in the UK are: Clare Valley Watervale Riesling; Eden Valley Flaxman’s Riesling; Barossa St Johns Shiraz; McLaren Vale Vesey Shiraz.

Speaking about the new partnership, Hatch founder Chris Hatcher said: “I am very excited to be changing direction and building a small, family-label from the ground up. It’s a
chance to share my continuing passion and knowledge with a whole new audience.”

Hatcher explained: “These four wines are incredibly important to me personally, in both their flavour and their heritage. The two Rieslings and St Johns Shiraz are from single vineyards. However, as the McLaren Vale Shiraz is a blend of several vineyards across the region, I have named it after my great-grandfather Alf Vesey who started winemaking at Penfolds in 1883 and worked at Magill for an amazing 69 years. He was the master winemaker for 47 of those years and famously mentored Max Schubert, the creator of Grange, on winemaking and the art of blending. I look forward to bringing my latest project into the UK with Buckingham Schenk Family and the new opportunities that it will bring as our partnership grows.”

Buckingham Schenk Family managing director Craig Durham added: “We are delighted to be working with Hatch. Chris Hatcher is an incredibly well respected, dynamic and innovative winemaker, with a very impressive selection of wines that we are thrilled to now have in our portfolio. We will be working alongside the team to represent them in the UK and build their presence within the market. This is a really fantastic opportunity for both Buckingham Schenk Family and Hatch, and we are very excited to be working with them.”

To read more about Hatcher and his views and experience, read db‘s Uncorked interview here.