Vine Appreciation

The WineBarn, based in the Hampshire countryside, has a great reputation for sourcing and supplying rare wines to the UK’s leading rare wine merchants.

The WineBarn has always had an exemplary standing in the restaurant trade, supplying fine wine to a range of Michelin starred restaurants. But recent years have seen the interest in buying rare wines as assets increasing as it offers financial savvy clients finances potential shelter from market turbulence. Wine has proved to be a resilient asset over the long term as return on investment generally sits at over 10%.

The world of antique wine sourcing is beguiling and has taken Iris Ellmann, Managing Director of the WineBarn on the most wonderful of journey’s. It’s a long, complex challenge to find the best wines in the world taking skill, patience and a great deal of perseverance. Not to mention a first class network of trusted suppliers, connected partners and exceptional producers.

With a growing reputation in this specialised field the WineBarn is regularly approached by private wine collectors from around the world who are looking to buy or sell some of their gems into the trustworthy hands of like minded collectors. The detective work and the challenge of finding wines that are officially unavailable anymore really gets the juices flowing; “It’s a journey that we simply can’t wait to take and we always find our treasure!” states, Iris Ellmann. “We travel to Germany on a regular basis by car through the wine estates, visiting winemakers, checking out private cellars and generally keeping an ear to the ground on where to find these rarest of wines. Or we embark on special individual wine finding missions and attend annual fine wine auctions in Germany, in the Mosel and the Rheingau. Whatever our clients seek, we endeavour to find and ensure they are delivered in pristine condition”. Iris adds; “Rare wine sourcing sounds quite a romantic notion but it’s a serious business and not to be embarked on lightly. We have spent years building up a very tight network of contacts who also trust the WineBarn as a client, and as a result are now able to supply to some of the UK’s leading rare wine merchants and our own private clients.”

Years of mutual respect and reliability go into keeping these networks open, with the sellers themselves, often private German collectors, particular about where the wines will be going to due to the amount of time and interest they have in them personally.

It’s not about sitting at a desk and having the wines shipped direct to you though. All the wines are sourced on an individual basis and have to be found, checked in person then transferred to their destination with the utmost care and attention. Nothing is left to chance. This attention to detail and personal service is the most important aspect of the WineBarn’s philosophy and is exceptionally important in the case of antique wines.

There is a wonderful charm to the surroundings that Iris often finds herself in, almost beguiling. The cellars are an inexplicable sight with dusty bottles lined up longing to be opened. There are a mix of places we visit, some are dim lit, dank cellars, smelling of grapes fermenting and others are completely state of the art, regimented with bottles in perfectly uniform fashion. Understanding the wines history, the heritage of some of the wines that have been kept for decades is the most bewitching of stories. Some date back as far as 1811 with the wine techniques having changed so dramatically there is something almost mystical about the way the wines were produced, an olden day potion for all ailments.

Unfortunately this is where the story has to end as the nature of the service means that where they end up is completely confidential. We’d love to tell you their price tags, but it’s top secret! A few of the WineBarn’s most recent finds include;

Schloss Johannisberg – Rheingau 1971, Schloss Johannisberg BA
Kloster Eberbach – Rheingau 1959, Steinberger Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese,
Jos Christoffel – Mosel 1976, Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Trockenbeere,
Karthaeuserhof – Mosel Saar Ruwer 1959, Eitelsbacher Karthaeuserhof TBA (No 3),
J.J.Pruem – Mosel 1976, Graacher Himmelreich TBA; and one of our producers,
Dr von Bassermann Jordan – Pfalz 1942 Deidesheimer Grainhübel Riesling TBA.

To find out more about antique wine sourcing visit www.thewinebarn.co.uk or call Iris on +44 (0)1256 391211.