Indispensable Classics
Classic wines are the cornerstone of any discerning wine list.
These time-honoured bottles offer a familiar comfort that resonates with any wine drinker – by delivering consistent quality and prestige. By incorporating these classics into your selection, you will cater to the expectations of your customers while also offering an opportunity to introduce them to lesser-known gems from our portfolio. These indispensable classics represent the pinnacle of tradition and craftsmanship and are all about restraint and elegance.
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Paul Buisse
Paul Buisse has been running as a family business in the Loire Valley for 100 years, over four generations. It began back in 1905 with Eugene Buisse, who established a business selling barrels of table wine. As appellation wines rose to prominence over the century, the business evolved. By the 1980s the business was passed down to Paul Buisse, and the chef-turned-wine producer acquired vineyards in Touraine AOC.
La Chablisienne
La Chablisienne is the very essence of Chablis. This cooperative winery embodies the region's unique terroir, producing wines renowned for their crisp, mineral character. Under the skilled guidance of winemakers like Estelle Roy, who has won White Winemaker of the Year at the IWC for her deep understanding of the region’s terroir and winemaking techniques, La Chablisienne has consistently produced exceptional wines showcasing the unique character of the region.
Compagnie de Burgondie
Compagnie de Burgondie is a progressive wine collective uniting seven houses who share the same values. From Auxerrois in the north to the Monts du Beaujolais in the south, the wines produced from the array of vineyards express diversity across the region. The cooperative unites over 700 families, who are committed to sustainable agriculture and the production of outstanding wines.
Chateau la Nerthe
The Mistral has cooled the vines of Chateau La Nerthe since 1560. Now, nearly 500 years later, the estate has 13 grape varieties planted over 57 plots, covering 92ha. Natural springs and a mosaic of soils and subsoils give the estate’s wines freshness and elegance, making it one of the most exciting terroirs of the Chateauneuf-du-Pape region.
Caring for the land is paramount to the team at Chateau La Nerthe, and they have farmed organically since 1998.
Bisol
Prosecco at its most elegant! The family has been making wine in the checkerboard hills of Valdobbiadene since 1542 and today all the grapes come from their own land, something extremely rare in the region.
Bisol’s 20 vineyard plots stretch across 60ha in Prosecco’s DOCG region – a landscape so unique that the hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene have now been given UNESCO World Heritage Site status.
Ca Maiol
On the southern shore of Lake Garda, Walter Contato founded Ca Maiol in 1967. And with Ca Maiol came the creation of the Lugana DOC appellation. In 1996 the winery passed into the hands of his children, who have continued in his footsteps as fierce custodians of the land.
With a commitment to sustainable winemaking practices, Ca Maiol is dedicated to producing wines that are not only delicious but also environmentally responsible. The team place a special focus on a white grape called Turbiana, which produces still wines with aromas of green apple, lime, and wild thyme.
Cantina Mesa
Cantina Mesa stands at the top of slopes that guide the eye down to the Porto Pino Valley in Sant’Anna Arresi, the only region of Sardinia where Carignan is permitted to be produced. The vines are protected from the Mistral and surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea, and Cantina Mesa crafts elegant, acidity-driven wines.
‘Mesa’ means table or dinner table in both Spanish and Italian, and perfectly encapsulates the soul of the winery – sharing the bounty of Sardinia with friends and family.
Santa Margherita
When Gaetano Marzotto founded Santa Margherita in 1935, he had a clear vision for what he wanted to create: a vineyard farmed in a sustainable but modern way. Named after his wife, Margherita, the company has been at the forefront of winemaking technology ever since.
Their wines hail from some of Italy’s best winemaking regions, from the patchwork hills of Conegliano Valdobbiadene to the Alpine skies of Alto Adige and gently rolling hills of Chianti where the wines are made.
Sustainability is the foundation of their work, and the winery uses copper and sulphur in the vineyards and compost made from pruned vegetation to feed the soil. They are also working towards organic certification.
Vivanco
Four generations later, Vivanco is one of Rioja’s leading producers, with winemaker Rafael Vivanco Saenz at the helm. Rafael crafts a modern style of Rioja, focussing on bright, juicy fruit flavours. The family owns seven bodegas and some 400ha of vineyards, with other wine interests in Navarra.
Springfield Estate
Ninth-generation siblings double-act Abrie and Jeanette Bruwer of Springfield are the opposite of your typical university trained winemakers. The Bruwers choose to take the path less travelled in order to make the sort of wines they want to drink.
Set in the heart of the mountain-ringed Robertson Valley of South Africa, the Estate has been run by the Bruwer family for generations. Today the Springfield approach involves sustainable viticulture, wild yeasts, long fermentations and a stubborn (but justified) belief that the rocky, unforgiving soils of Robertson are perfect for producing outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon.
