Stannary St Wine Co has moved its annual Italian release of its top end producers to an en primeur sales model on the back of the "meteoric popularity of Italian wines".
The move follows 50% growth in sales of the fine wine merchant’s Italian wine to private clients over the past year alone (internal data).
“With Burgundy, it is a necessity to allocate, and we see that top end Italian wines are moving in the same direction,” said Italian buyer, Philippa Saunders, adding allocations of top wines were disappearing quickly into the private reserves of collectors.
“The popularity and prestige of Italian wines have risen sky-high over the last few years, which puts many of our producers in high demand. We’ve moved a portion of our portfolio into an en primeur model to accommodate our clients as best we can with the small quantities available of these wines.”
Stannary St Wine Co will launch its first Italy en primeur release on 24 April with a tasting showcasing their top growers, including Elena Fucci, Valter Fissore of Elvio Cogno, Marco Ricasoli-Firidolfi of Rocca di Montegrossi, Silvana Forte of Le Due Terre, Viola Gorelli of Le Potazzine and Alberto Tanzini of Roccapesta.
In addition, Valter Fissore of Piedmont’s Azienda Agricola Elvio Cogno, will run a masterclass on the “often-underrated” Barbera grape, including examples of Barbera from pre-phylloxera vines, Barbera from his Bricco dei Merli vineyard, and a mature vintage to show the ageability of the wine.
Stannary St Wine Co, which revamped its entire Italian portfolio four years ago to add exclusive names such as Barbaresco producer Roagna, and Elena Fucci, specialises in Italy, Burgundy and North America working with over 120 domaines and wineries across the world.