Dear Reader,
With the festive season upon us, we look back at yet another strange year but one where at least there has been some degree of return to normality.
This year we launched our series of ”Annual Icons” wine events, starting with a focus on Burgundy.
As GD continues to grow, so too does our infrastructure. We share news on new cellar space and a gifting room.
With international travel having returned, Wayne and GD’s General Manager Derek Kilpin are in Europe again to see as many of our producers as possible.
Plans have begun for another GD gastronomic tour in 2023 after the pandemic put a hold on these annual highlights.
There are some new producers being added to the GD portfolio which is always exciting and an integral part of our growth. We also look forward to welcoming some of our international producers to South Africa in 2023.
Lastly, Wayne and Derek were inducted into the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Coteaux de Champagne a few weeks ago.
We would like to use this opportunity to thank you for your support this year and wish you a wonderful festive season and all the best for a prosperous 2023.
Wayne, Derek, Venetia and the whole Great Domaines team.
ANNUAL ICONS WINE EXPERIENCE
Recently at Beyond restaurant, Great Domaines hosted its maiden Annual Icons wine experience. We shared some of the world’s most sought-after wines from the hallowed region of Burgundy with twelve customers. The Annual Icons is a project we have been working on for a while as it requires keeping back specific wines and adding them to our library cellar. Rare and highly coveted wines like these attract big price tags in the international market, therefore making them even harder to acquire. We believe that special wines are made special by the people you enjoy them with. The nature of this first occasion meant that the number of people to share in it with us was going to be very small. Going forward, and as the concept grows, we will hopefully be able to make it available to more people. Amongst those in attendance was the successful bidder from the 2022 Cape Wine Auction who very generously bid towards this exceptional experience.
The following wines made up the maiden Annual Icons experience on Wednesday evening the 23rd of November 2022: a 1997 Champagne Salon upon the guests’ arrival, followed by a 2005 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru from Domaine Bonneau du Martray, a 2005 Meursault ”Porusot” Premier Cru from Domaine Guy Roulot, a 2009 Échezeaux Grand Cru from Domaine Méo-Camuzet, a 2009 Échezeaux Grand Cru from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, a 2009 Clos Saint-Denis Grand Cru from Domaine Dujac, a pseudo Grand Cru in the Gevrey-Chambertin ”Clos Saint-Jacques” Premier Cru (also 2009) from Domaine Jean-Marie Fourrier, a 2009 Chambertin Grand Cru from Domaine Armand Rousseau and finally, a 2009 Chambertin ”Clos de Bèze” Grand Cru from Domaine Robert Groffier.
The wines were paired with an eight-course degustation menu at Beyond by Peter Tempelhoff.
NEW GIFTING ROOM
Further to the infrastructure changes at GD, we have turned our old office space into a gifting room – a project led by Wayne’s wife and co-founder, Venetia Buissinne.
Her vision was to stock items that any wine lover or enthusiast will find interesting and useful. The shop is also a welcoming space for when customers arrive to collect their wines. It’s a comfortable place to browse, shop, taste wines or just relax whilst waiting for the wines to be brought out of the cellar by the team.
Venetia first focused on lifestyle products to go with enjoying wine and sourced artisanal and locally made woven picnic blankets from the local manufacturer Mungo, and the beautifully crafted wooden picnic tables and chairs from another local manufacturer R.A.W. As a second phase, the focus shifted to playful gifts such as wine region puzzles from Water and Wine. There is now also a range of t-shirts with wine-inspired designs. There are some more educational gifts such as Incognito wine bottle socks which are perfect for blind tastings. Finally, the perfect tools of the trade, the Zalto glasses, Coravin and the latest addition, sourced from France, the original Sommelier knife Forge de Laguiole®.
NEW CELLAR
We have added the equivalent of two 40-foot containers to our cold storage capacity on our property. The additional cellar was added to create space for the storage of our customers’ wine and will also enable us to increase the size of our purchase orders to avoid the out-of-stock situations going forward.
GD GASTRONOMIC TOURS
We are very pleased to announce that we are able to resume our gastronomic tours. In 2023, thanks to the knowledge and insights from Charlotte Dagueneau, we have put together an incredible week filled with tastings in the appellations of Pouilly-Fumé, Sancerre, Montlouis, Vouvray, Chinon, Bourgueil and Saumur. A series of lunches and dinners in some of the region’s best and most interesting dining destinations are of course part of the tour. And as one can’t go to the Loire without visiting historical châteaux, our guests will visit the Château de Chambord and Château de Villandry.
Picture top left to bottom right: Vincent Foreau, Weingut Emmerich Knoll, Estate Argyros, Weingut Keller, Domaine Gilbert Picq
NEW PRODUCERS
We are constantly on the lookout for opportunities with producers who we feel will complement our current portfolio. This year, thanks to Charlotte Dagueneau, we have been able to add a number of new producers from the Loire: Domaine du Bel Air, Pierre & Rodolphe Gauthier in Bourgueil, Domaine Guiberteau, Romain Guiberteau in Saumur and Domaine du Clos Naudin in Vouvray.
Further to these, we have also added the following producers:
Bordeaux, Pomerol: Henri Bruno de Coincy’s Château Belle-Brise
Burgundy, Chablis: Domaine Gilbert Picq
Austria, Wachau: Weingut Emmerich Knoll
Germany, Rheinhessen: Klaus Peter Keller’s Weingut Keller
Greece, Santorini: Estate Argyros
ORDRE DES COTEAUX
In October, thanks to Champagne Lanson who sponsored a table, Wayne and Derek were inducted into the Chevalier de l’ordre des Coteaux de Champagne, along with two of our customers. This means that they are now officially Champagne ambassadors. This over 300 year-old French organisation opened its first Chapter in Cape Town. This is a wonderful opportunity for all champagne lovers to share their passion for champagne and gastronomy. The event took place at the beautiful Norval foundation, a perfect setting for such a prestigious event with excellent food pairing.
PRODUCERS VISIT
Nothing beats a producer visit – whether they are on holiday or come to South Africa as part of an official visit, our customers are treated to time spent with them and their invaluable insights and stories.
Earlier in the year, Frederic Weber from Bouchard Père & Fils came on holiday with his family. It was unfortunately not enough time for a formal customer tasting, but it was still an opportunity for them to visit South African producers David & Nadia and Donovan Rall and get a taste of South African fine wine.
In October, Emmanuel Gantet, Champagne Lanson’s export director came to Cape Town to represent the House at the prestigious Ordre des Coteaux event. We used this opportunity to do some trade tastings, trade visits and a private dinner.
Most recently, we had the privilege of hosting Nicolas Audebert, General Manager and winemaker for Château Canon, Château Rauzan-Ségla and Domaine de l’Ile. Monsieur Audebert guided our customers at a few events through the wines and what goes on behind the scenes at these prestigious estates.
Closing date: 22 December 2022 (Thursday) at 12:00 midday
Re-Opening Date: 5 January 2023 (Thursday) at 8:00 am
Final orders and deliveries:
Pretoria: These can be placed up to and including the 19th of December 2022 for final delivery on the 20th of December 2022.
Johannesburg: Final delivery day on the 21st of December 2022 (Wednesday)
Cape Town: Final Seabourne courier service on the 21st of December (orders up to 21st). Deliveries via RM Logistics in Cape Town final date the 23rd of December 2022, placed up to end Tuesday the 21st of December 2022.
Outlying Areas: As these deliveries are carried out by our courier service, final delivery date is the 15th of December 2022 from the GD cellar in JHB.
Collections at GD Offices: Final orders for collection on the 22nd of December before 12:00 midday.
