A glinting, glorious Spring day in London seemed to herald the start of new beginnings; and it was exactly that for Alliance Wine.
A tagline on the Alliance 2025 portfolio tasting booklet laid down the gauntlet with the words “Creating a Better World of Wine”, and it certainly felt like that as the doors of St Mary’s Church opened on to a congregation of over 480 wines and 60 winemakers.
"We are starting 2025 with what we believe to be an exceptional portfolio – one of which we are immensely proud.” Fergal Tynan MW
Fergal Tynan MW, the Alliance CEO set the scene in the tasting booklet: “Since we acquired H2Vin last autumn, our portfolio has expanded tremendously in both breadth and depth, welcoming over 70 new producers – many of whom are iconic and among the best at what they do.”
In an introduction to the new portfolio with H2Vin, he says it “brings together all of our combined strengths. The joining of the two companies means that we are starting 2025 with what we believe to be an exceptional portfolio – one of which we are immensely proud.”
Ahead of the tasting I spoke to James Mackenzie, the company’s head of UK marketing, to gain some insight into where Alliance sits in the UK drinks scene.
Alliance and H2Vin tasting, March, 2025
What does the acquisition of H2Vin mean to Alliance?
“The synergies are very much like-minded," says Mackenzie.
“When Fergal started talking to Christian [Honorez] they were on similar wavelengths in terms of how we believe in producers, want to applaud them, want to represent them.
“The joy with H2Vin was that thanks to Christian and Matt [Wilkin] they have an amazing access to wonderful wines from the classic regions, specifically Loire, Burgundy, the Rhône, Spain, Italy and further afield.”
The acquisition, says Mackenzie, “works for both of our customers. There’s a lot of win, win.
“For H2Vin customers, they get access to a far greater range of wines, as they were quite specialist; and our customer base gets access to a more depth of, and quality of, producer. It has accelerated our direction of travel by several years.”
What is that vision, that direction of travel?
“It has always been about being a commercial partner to the premium on-trade as fully and completely as we can," Mackenzie says.
“It is about always trying to provide the customer with the best wine that we can for the price point.
“We like to go that step further and be a genuine partner with a business. It’s not about dropping the case off at the back door, it’s also about helping a business. How are you going to sell it? How are we going to upsell this wine we’ve got?"
“At the tasting we’ve got our fundamentals section which is 30 wines which are very much the engine room. The by-the-glass listings, the floor-stackers, ones you want to trade up from, and to."
“The concept of creating a better world of wine isn’t just about providing a Chablis at £40, it’s also about perhaps a nice Chardonnay from the south of France that can be sold by the glass. We know commercially, that is what is going to make a bigger difference to a customer and their bottom line.”
The Fundamentals had their own table and tasting booklet at the event, including golden rules for creating wine lists. The main action was across 41 tables, from Champagne, to England, to Burgundy to Provence, Greece to Rioja and all points in between.
10 standout wines from new producers (well 9 really!)
Where to begin in this church-shaped celebration of wine? I followed the booklet’s bold red dots which denoted new producers to the portfolio. Even then I couldn’t visit all of them. Here’s a selection of wines which floated my boat for various reasons.
Champagne Larmandier-Bernier, 1er Cru Blanc de Blancs Latitude
The name Latitude is a nod to the fact that the grapes come from the same latitude; a sister blanc de blancs Longitude is so-called as the grapes form a line close to the 4th meridian. The producer has worked biodynamically for over 20 years and the base wines were fermented using natural yeasts. Both Champagnes have 40% reserve wines. Latitude has 2g dosage -the wine is pure, fresh, linear, vibrant with a touch of spice.
Domaine de Fondrèche, Ventoux Blanc, Rhône 2024
I fell off a bike in Ventoux. I wasn’t cycling up the famous Mont but alas in lanes and vineyards. I have a soft spot for Ventoux much as it had for me, luckily a muddy bit to the right of a tree. I beelined to the table with the wines of Domaine de Fondrèche. It is recognised as one of the top producers in Ventoux. There can be something ethereal about a wispy floral and peachily juicy white Rhône blend. This wine is 30% each of Grenache Blanc, Roussanne and Clairette, with the 10% coat tails picked up by Rolle.
Weingut Karthäuserhof, Riesling Dry, Schieferkristall, VDP Gutswein,Mosel 2022
Weingut Karthäuserhof has a very long history, founded by monks in 1335, a date its label proudly shows off. It is the eighth oldest winery in the world. The wine was a wake-up from a Mosel style I’m more used to: It was fermented with natural yeasts, in steel and oak; and then aged for 10 months on lees. It has a bold confidence with spice, grapefruit, wet stone, lemon citrus, lemon pith and a whisper of stone fruit.
Christophe Cordier, Saint-Véran 2023
It was so busy around the Burgundy tables; I was happy to find this Chardonnay as I weaved in and around clutched and proffered glasses. I’m a bit of a pushover for these warmer-end of Burgundy Chardonnays. A smokiness, flint, silky butter and a wraparound of stone fruits, ripe and green apples and lemon. Everything is hand-harvested and practising organic.
Jean Baptiste Jessiaume, Haute Côte de Beaune Blanc, Les Falaises 2022
I gave this wine three big stars in my book which says something (if only to me). The wine is fermented in oak barrels, and then lees aging adds the complexity, flavour and depth we find in the glass. It has long-lasting flavours of pears, stewed and baked apples, citrus, rounded white peach, spice and hazelnut.
Domaine Gardiés, Côtes Catalanes Rouge, On s'en Fish, Roussillon 2023
The crisp vibrant red crunch of this blend of Carignan and Cinsault was exceptionally easy-drinking. More complexity and peachy vibrancy could be found in Côtes du Roussillon Blanc, Les Glacières where both Grenache Blanc and Grenache Gris, with Macabeo and Roussanne, strutted their garrigue-y stuff. And who could resist a sneaky taste of their Rivesaltes Ambre? Nope, I couldn’t and was happier for it.
Artelium, Makers Rosé, East Sussex, England, 2019
Hello spring sunshine, and hello to an English sparkling you’d want to drink in it. Makers Rosé is a blend of Pinot Noir (66%), Chardonnay (29%) and Pinot Meunier (5%) from this boutique estate. The name Artelium comes from “a combination of ‘Art’ and ‘- ium’, a Latin suffix used to denote places where people congregate”. The estate celebrates art, as much as it does wine. Makers Rosé is lightly prickled with spice, with lifts of cranberry, cherry and rhubarb.
Bodegas Antidoto, Antídoto, Castilla y León
Tucked at the end of a crunch of Chinon wines was this red, a solo Spanish outpost in a French part of the room. The umbilical cord between the Chinons and the Antídoto was winemaker Bertrand Sourdais of Domaine de Pallus. Bertrand is the fifth generation of the Loire producer; yet he told me that his “heart is in Spain”. With this delightfully oaked, elegant, 100% Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) wine from Soria’s Ribera del Duero, he wears it on his sleeve. Bertrand has been recognised as one of Tim Atkins’ winemakers of the year.
Domaine Chatzivaritis, Migma Petnat White, Goumenissa
If you could bottle winemaker Chloi Chatzivariti’s enthusiasm for what she does, the world would be a better place. All of Chloi’s six shown wines were fantastic; this Pet Nat from half and half Muscat and Malagousia was rivetingly aromatic, fiercely fresh and vibrant. Chloi has a passion for low intervention winemaking and is now celebrating her native Greek varieties with experience garnered from France, Portugal, Chile and New Zealand.
Bodegas Ximénez-Spínola, Exceptional Harvest, Jerez 2023
I broke my rules by trying this wine, as it isn’t new to the portfolio. But you know what it's like when there’s a whisper about a “must try” table. This was it, and the wines of Bodegas Ximénez-Spínola. For almost 300 years they have concentrated on wines solely from the Pedro Ximénez grape. Grapes for the Exceptional Harvest have extended vine ageing, and then the wine matures on the lees for four months in old American oak barrels. Delicious. A biscuity, figgy delight.
Alliance Wine is a commercial partner of The Buyer. To discover more about them click here.
Jane Clare DipWSET of One Foot in the Grapes is a journalist and WSET wine educator
