Two More Wines From Your Sommelier

A right-bank Bordeaux and a Champagne from Your Sommelier

I was sufficiently impressed with the first two wines from new offering Your Sommelier to keep the remainder back for appropriate assessment, rather than merely an unthinking mid-week quaff.

Gimonnet-Gonet Blanc de Blancs Cuvée Or (£23.50) ripe orchard fruit and autolytic yeasty brioche; fine mousse with a long, nutty-creamy finish. Fresh, expressive and precise.

Very Good.

Château Saint Valery St Emilion Grand Cru 2010 (£15) plump-yet-fresh black cherry and bramble fruit, pencil shavings and coffee; supple, inky texture with fine tannins. Harmonious and adept - a really lovely wine.

Very Good.

Four wines in, the company has clearly demonstrated they can source good wines and sell them at sensible prices. So, would I buy from them?

My head says I would - and that you should too.

And yet ... the name is terrible, the website isn't particularly engaging and I'm naturally suspicious of the flash-sales model.

The adman in me would like to see them focus on a distinctive, more emotional, more value-based proposition, rather than the functional website, rational messaging and sales promotion techniques.

The core offering is just fine, it's all about presentation and marketing.

For more on how to balance off short-term revenue needs against long-term value creation, read the IPA's The Long and The Short of It.

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