Friday Read: SITT and Boutinot tastings show innovation is alive and kicking

By Hamish Graham

Published: 28 February, 2025

At this year’s SITT London, there was a great sense of importers continuing to push the envelope, showing that despite the headwinds thrown at it, the trade can adapt, and confidently. The same impression was derived from Boutinot’s independents portfolio tasting, where collaboration showed itself to be as important as ever.

In the grand setting of the London Horticultural Halls, independents from the on- and off-trade showed the vitality of their sector at SITT London. In that vein, finding hidden gems and producers deserving of far more exposure are primary motivations for indies. Take the continued exploration of Argentinian whites by specialist importers of South American vintages.

Laurie Webster of Ucopia Wines described Argentinian whites as having two distinct expressions, those from the indigenous Criolla grape varieties and those from global varieties. In terms of the former, Webster highlighted an elegant expression of Torrontes from Bodega Lavaque, situated in the high-altitude Salta region of northern Argentina. As a fellow SITT attendee from Argentina explained, Criolla varieties have long been popular for drinkers in the country’s domestic market, though global varieties have begun more recently to dominate.

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There may be good reason for this shift. Webster described how there has been a revolution in Argentinian whites produced with global varieties and that the country now produces truly special wines from these grapes.

Some of these were on show from Condor Wines. Aaron Irons, sales and category development manager at Condor, guided Harpers through the business's selection, including the delightful 2024 Altocedro Los Poetas Sémillon and the 2024 Bodega Piedra Negra Santa Celina Pinot Gris. Irons explained that the latter winery had mistakenly planted Pinot Gris instead of Chardonnay, though the resulting wines made this a worthwhile twist of fate.

Flying from South America to Yorkshire, Cachet Wines had a fascinating selection on show via regional account manager Neil Goldie, who emphasised the importer’s belief in at-source bottling for all of its wines. The importer digs deep to find exciting vintages from lesser-known grapes and regions. Take the single vineyard 2023 Chateau Grand Moulin Bourboulenc, for example. This grape is usually blended away, Goldie explained, though the Chateau's winemaker remains passionate about highlighting its individual strength. Additionally, from a region known for its Gavi, the Piedmontese 2023 Mario Giribaldi Arneis Langhe showed other varietals such as Arneis deserve to take centre stage.

Meanwhile, in Marlybone’s St Mary’s Church, Boutinot also held the torch for a forward-thinking approach to wine. Karl Walton, head of independents at Boutinot, is aware of the challenges the industry faces, but is also relieved to get back to the things which make the wine world so unique.

“I think like the last couple of months in particular, it has been a bit doom and gloom in terms of duty, in terms of EPR, in terms of consumption and so it's nice now to get back to actually talking to people who really want good value, good quality wines.

“The conversations I'm hearing are really positive, people are really engaged in the wines: the stories about the wines and about the producers,” he said.

The most intriguing story from the Boutinot tasting was its new joint venture, Azul y Blanco, with Uco Valley winery Bodega Urqo. The idea of the partnership germinated from the organic success of the wines amongst Boutinot’s customers. As Robin Naylor, commercial manager for the new project vividly describes, the work carried out at Bodega Urqo is unique, though it needed a partner like Boutinot to amplify it to a greater audience.

“They were a tiny team with a white box in the desert that does this sort of Breaking Bad does Malbec. It's a very small team trying to purify Malbec in the mountains, it's very cool. But what they don't have is a sales force, so we are now their global sales force.

“They produce it in a very pure way, you could try and twist their arm into adding lots of chips and oak and jam and all the rest of it, but they don't want to make that wine. They want to rarify that thing which is mountain Malbec,” Naylor commented.

Manger at Bodega Urqo, Federico Ruiz, was in attendance to show off an array of great wine from its single vineyard 2021 El Mirador Malbec to their 2023 Palo Santo Cabernet Franc.

Also on show were wines from the Boutinot-owned Heaphy winery which was purchased in early 2023. The Nelson winery affords a cooler climate thanks to the cooling effect of Tasman Bay. This climate allows the winery to produce everything from an easy-going old vine Riesling to a tasty Pinot Gris.

Pushing for sustainability often requires innovation and Boutinot is continuing to press forward on that front. Since signing up for the Bottle Weight Accord last year, the company is well on the way to their target of an average bottle weight of 420g by the end of 2026. Deborah Brook, marketing director at Boutinot, is optimistic about this project, and as a producer of many of their wines, they are well placed to meet this target.

“As we control almost 50% of our wines on our own production, we are at liberty to be able to control our bottle weights ourselves,” she said.

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