The Château de Caminade of Lussac-Saint-Émilion of Bordeaux

Having joined The Wine Society’s team in 1973 as promotions manager, Payne became the head buyer in 1985. He stepped down from this position in 2012, when Tim Sykes took over, but has remained on the buying team ever since. As part of his responsibilities, Payne has bought in every region throughout the years but, in recent years, focused mainly on Italy and Bordeaux. He was also instrumental in introducing wines from Eastern Europe and Greece to the portfolio. The Wine Society described Payne’s ...

Prices in the fine wine market have been increasing across all major regions in 2021, according to a new report by Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade. Its Liv-ex 1000 index, tracking some of the world’s most sought-after wines, rose by 2.4% in November to reach a new all-time high. The index, seen as an important bellwether for secondary market trading, has been rising consistently for about 18 months. ‘All previous records set in 2020 have been broken and surpassed in 2021, markin ...

There’s no doubt that 2021 was a challenging vintage. Most explanatory statements or technical sheets handed out over the past few weeks have mentioned the unfavourable, oft disastrous weather conditions, the sometimes very low and disheartening yields and the slightly varied or unusual blends on offer in 2021. Difficulties faced by vignerons both inside and outside of the cellar have been explained in detail as has the raft of highly important decisions needed be made throughout the year, ...