TED BAKER OF LAST DROP WINE SHOP IN LONDON
- Classification: Beer, Wine and Spirit (Retail)
- Business Description: A small friendly wine shop with very knowledgeable staff.
- Address: 492 Kings Road, West Brompton, London, SW10 0LE
- Shop opening times: Monday to Saturday 10am-7pm
- Web: www.lastdropwines.com
Their belief: One should be able to drink well without it costing the earth. In the wine world, finding fantastic wines at affordable and sensible prices makes an exciting proposition. While they seek good value in their wines, they never want to compromise on quality. They only sell wines in which they have complete confidence. If they find a wine they think is good, great or even sexy and the price is right, then they will take the opportunity to snap up the wine and get it on their shelves. It may be a lesser known producer, a less than stellar vintage, a far flung country or a grape varietal or blend you have not yet discovered.
They also enjoy meeting producers, old and new, understanding their philosophy practices and processes. In the world of winemaking, there is a good deal of tradition but this goes hand in hand with change. While the end product may be a wine of the same style, the process of getting there and dealing with the elements of nature may place demands and amend the winemaking.
Always on the lookout for new producers, they are loyal to those who continue to deliver a great wine but frank when the wine is not delivering what it should for the price. They search for the classic, the modern, the interesting but always the right wine at the right price.
TED BAKER
The principal advantages of buying wine form an independent wine merchant is the knowledgeable staff, in this case the owner Ted Baker an enthusiastic and passionate man.
Also this shop offers a range of wines the bigger players cannot. We’re not simply talking about the number of wines stocked; we’re talking about the mixture of small-scale, of-the-beaten track, artisan producers alongside low-volume, super-medium classics from those well established and well-earned reputations.
I highly recommend strike up a relationship with Ted Baker, the more information that you can give to him about what you like to drink the best - including price, variety, country, style, loves and hates - the closer he likely will find you something that really stacks up, and so the road to better drinking begins.
RIOJA RESERVA ESPECIAL 1998, BODEGAS URBINA
- Bodegas Urbina: Is a single estate situated in Cuzcurrita de Río Tirón, on the north-western edge of DOC Rioja. It is an area that produces wines with a great capacity for ageing.
- Winemaking: This wine comes from the best grapes from the winery (95% Tempranillo, 5% Mazuelo and Graciano), all from vineyards over 20 years., aged for 18 months in American oak casks (12 months in new oak casks followed by 6 months in 7 year old) and further aging in bottle before release.
- Tasting notes: This is an old school Rioja and nowadays is drinking beautifully. It has an attractive medium brick-red colour with amber tones. On the nose we find complex spicy, vanilla imbued, liquorice and still plenty of fruit. With age, this wine has become beautifully mellow and smooth on the palate. Layers and layers of flavour here with a delightful fruit compote character with hints of coconut and savoury vanilla from the lengthy barrel-ageing. There is certainly depth and body here, but has softened into a wine of real finesse, harmony, excellent length, classic and complex.
Last Drop Wines Ltd
492 Kings Road
West Brompton
London
SW10 0LE