Welcome to our January edition. This month, BI celebrates 15 years of successful business, as well as the opening of a new office in Singapore. The year began with a bang at our 2010 En Primeur Burgundy tasting (photo below), which evoked quite a stir in both customers and journalists alike. Our events and tastings calendar is filling fast; already we can offer BI customers exclusive reduced rates and zero corkage at St. John Hotel and an Italian Tasting with winemakers in our dedicated tasting room.

"What We've Been Drinking" this month reflects BI's collective New Year’s Resolution to “Drink Better Wine” (perhaps less, perhaps not – but definitely better); as the team highlights some gems from our first private cellar sale of the year. We hope you enjoy the read.

Kind Regards,

The Bordeaux Index Team

BI Customers tuck into Burgundy 2010 at our En Primeur Tasting

It is hard to believe that we are now 15 years old - and it’s staggering how much has changed since our inception in January 1997.

It has been a momentous and memorable journey from our original 6 staff consisting of myself, Gary, Richard, Dylan, June and Rosella to the 59 staff we have today. Starting from one small office in Clerkenwell and armed solely with mobile phones and OWC’s as seats, 3 offices later we find ourselves in a purpose-fitted 4 floor building in London’s Hatton Garden with tasting room/school, not to mention offices in Hong Kong and Singapore. We all knew we were starting down a really exciting road but I’m not sure any of us back then could see quite how well it would pan out.

A lot has obviously changed over this period, but the one thing that hasn’t is our determination to provide an all encompassing one-stop-shop for the fine wine lover. We’ve been proud to launch our unique Live Trade 2-way trading system, as well as providing Wine Tours, a Wine School, Tastings and Wine Dinners, Wine Storage, Investment Service and of course a wide range of wines for any occasion or palate!

None of this would have been possible without the support and loyalty of our customers and suppliers, so we thank you all for helping us reach this stage in our development. We look forward to sharing the next 15 years with you as well.

- Sebastian Rowe, Director and Trade Sales

We are delighted to announce the opening of our Singapore office and appointment of Michael Daymond-King as our second member of staff there. Asia has always been an important part of our business, representing over 50% of sales in recent years. Our business in the region has grown strongly since our Hong Kong office opened [in 2008] and Angelina Teh joined us as our first member of staff on the ground in Singapore [in 2009].

Michael's first career was in financial services in London, South Africa, Asia and Australasia. More recently, he built on his long-standing passion for fine wine by becoming the owner of a winery and partner in a negociant business in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. Michael said “I am delighted to be joining BI in Singapore. Wine buyers in this part of the world are quite canny; they are keen investors looking to pick up relative value bargains across vintages and brands in both Bordeaux and Burgundy. They are also discerning wine drinkers who appreciate the taste/value ratio. Doing the simple things well and connecting this region’s wine buyers with the many fine wines previously unavailable here is only the first step in what will be a long term project. It seems fitting that in the month of our 15th birthday we are taking another confident step on the road to growing the BI brand globally.”

Over 125 of BI’s loyal customers poured into Hatton Garden last Wednesday for our 2010 Burgundy En Primeur Tasting. With what seemed like the majority of the residents of the Côte d’Or decamping to London for a week of tastings, we made sure to get our share and were delighted to have Vincent Morey, Jean-Paul Brun, Stephane Magnien, Guillaume Tardy (of Jean Tardy & Fils), Mark Haisma, Hubert Lignier and Christophe Thomas (of Maison J. Drouhin) presenting their wines to taste.

And, to misquote the great David Frost, what… a tasting… it was.

For many years St. John has been a favourite eatery of BI staff and customers. Our good friends Trevor Gulliver and Fergus Henderson recently opened their hotel in Chinatown to great reviews.  St John Hotel has fifteen charming rooms, a lively bar and, yes, Michael Winner's favourite new restaurant in the UK. A great new place in the West End for a breakfast (real chefs), lunch or dinner.

In this spirit, Matthew, their General Manager, is offering a special discount of 20% per night from the Best Available Room Rate for BI customers until the end of February. In addition, we can offer zero corkage at lunch in the restaurant for the whole of January and February.

Save the date for BI’s second Italian tasting, “The Great Winemakers of Italy” on Thursday 22nd March 2012 in BI's dedicated tasting room.  We will begin the festivities at 6:30 and are delighted to announce we will have a number of proprietors on hand to talk you through their wines.  A few estates that will be present include: Roberto Voerzio, Aldo Conterno, Fontodi, Isole e Olena, San Guido, Quintarelli, Pieropan and Galardi. As last year’s tasting was such a huge success, it's worth putting the date in your diary now; formal invitations will be sent nearer the time.  

A few of our best and brightest have lent a hand to help us "Drink Better in 2012". They've profiled wines they recommend from our current cellar sale, as well as building a wishlist of wines to drink or lay down across the year.