Guide to the January Sales 2010
by Tom Cannavan
Each January sees a crop of sales in the nation's wine stores. As always there will be a mixture of genuine bargains, and less tempting propositions, but there's no doubt that
with a bit of judicious research and planning, there are some very good buys around. This mini-guide concentrates on those merchants that are also
sponsors of wine-pages - partly because it's a
little pay-back for them (though I never receive any commissions or fees for wines sales from any sponsor), and partly because basically everyone has some sort of sale on and I can't possible
feature them all. As always, the best bargains will go quickly.
As more sales are announced by my sponsoring companies I will add them here.
the sales
Berry Bros & Rudd
VAT is also being held by Berry's, so with up to 40% off there are some bargains here, though you need to buy in unmixed case quantities. At £24.95 per bottle, Roederer Brut NV - my Sparkling Wine of
The Year - catches my eye, though Lake Hayes Sauvignon Blanc 2007 at £7.50 is handy (89-points from The Wine Gang when £10.75).
A real bargain is Pintia 2006, the Toro wine from Vega-Sicilia which I rated 91-points when £41.95 from another retailer, and now on offer at £25.
Closing midnight Sunday 31st January at
www.bbr.com.
H&H Bancroft
Download the full list of wines in the bin-end sale from
www.bancroftwines.com. Some serious Burgundy, Rhône and Italian bargains,
as well as a classy selction of New World wines, some at almost half price. Genuine bin-ends with limited stock, so don't hang about.
Cadman Fine Wines
Cadman have some interesting stuff with up to 40% off, from the 88 Parker point Fondreche Fayard 2006 at £5.99 to Cheval Blanc 1989 at £235. My eye was caught by
Henri Perrot-Minot's Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru 2001 at £49.99. No end date, but limited stocks.
www.cadmanfinewines.co.uk.
The Wine Gift Centre
I always love poring over the sale items from accessories company The Wine Gift Centre. There are offers on all sorts of stuff from 'Le Nez du Vin' wine aroma kits (down from £65 to
£44.99) to Champagne bottle cufflinks! (£14.95 down to £8.99). See
winegiftcentre.com.
Vintage Roots
Organic wine (and beer) specialist Vintage Roots has various seasonal offers, but don't forget that for new customers spending £75 or more and quoting 'WPV' when they order, there's an additional
£20 saving. See the offers at
www.vintageroots.co.uk.
Corney & Barrow
There's a lot of very good mid-price drinking in C&B's sale, including wines from the excellent Portuguese estate of Quinta do Covela, Eagle Vale from Margaret River and some smart Chablis and
Sancerre. See
www.corneyandbarrow.com.
Hawkshead Wines
This independent merchant has some festive cases on offer with free delivery (saving £12) and they have a 10% off offer for new customers too. Take a look at
www.hawksheadwines.co.uk.
More January sale offers will be added as they are announced
