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The Wines of FromVineyardsDirect

FromVineyardsDirect is the creation of Esme Johnstone and David Campbell, neither of whom are new to wine, although their names may not be immediately familiar to all. Esme Johnstone's first claim to fame was Majestic Wine Warehouses which he founded in 1981, only selling up in 1989 in order to move to Bordeaux where he and his wife, Sara, acquired Chateau de Sours. In 2004 he returned to the UK and although busy with several projects it was not long before he had established FromVineyardsDirect, a new wine merchant.

His partner in this project, David Campbell, cut his teeth in the world of wine publishing with Mitchell Beazley, before moving to Hachette in Paris. Here he was instrumental in the publication of France's most famous wine guide, the Guide Hachette des Vins, an achievement which he was awarded the Legion d'Honneur. Also back in the UK, perhaps his greatest success has been turning around the failing publisher Everyman Library.

His self-confessed aim, together with Johnstone, is to bring to the UK consumer a limited range of wines, of both quality and value, with minimal overhead and therefore at a good price. The list is not extensive, with 60 or so wines, divided simply into white and red, with a handful of sparkling wines and a single Port. But quality is always preferred to quantity, of course, and if the wines tasted here are typical, quality is one thing Johnstone and Campbell seem not to have any problem with.

These wines were provided for tasting by FromVineyardsDirect. As usual, the prices in brackets are theirs, but I also include wine-searcher links to facilitate comparisons. I have no commercial dealings with FromVineyardsDirect at the time of writing this. (10/12/08)

The Wines of FromVineyardsDirect - Tasting Notes

Tasted in December 2008. Click to locate stockists.

Pierre Janny St Véran Merloix 2007: Inexpensive Burgundy can so often be a disappointment, and of course in recent years the region's wines seem to have been plagued by premature oxidation when aged. Thankfully, there are no such problems here. This wine has a rich hue, a bright yellow-gold, with a clear and vibrant appearance. The nose is fresh, open, lively and expressive, showing lots of pineapple fruit, a little melon and vanilla too. On the palate it is fresh, flavoursome, rich but also reserved and structured, with an attractively bitter grip. What impresses most is the wealth of ripe fruit found here. It has a really finely defined texture in the mouth, a good presence, and a great structured finish. This wine just gives piles of pleasure. 16.5/20 (£8.95)

La Reserve Claret 2006: Generic Bordeaux is a wine I would usually approach with more than a degree of trepidation; whilst I acknowledge the fact that beyond the microcosm that includes the top classed growth estates there are thousands of smaller, little-known vignerons turning out good wines I have never even heard of never mind tasted, I must also point out that there is an awful lot of dross at this level. That shouldn't be the case here; this wine has been selected and blended by Jonathon Maltus, a name most readily associated with garagiste labels such as Le Dôme, but also the likes of Teyssier. Unsurprisingly given his right bank background, this is predominantly Merlot. The nose starts off fresh and fairly crunchy, before turning a little cedary, with notes of ash and bark. It has a nice, supple, gently fleshy weight on entry, a stance the wine maintains through to the finish. Underneath, for structure, a slightly bitter grip from the tannins which show more at the end. It is a little hard here, more woody than fruity, but there is substance and certainly a good frame for the wine. This is certainly a good effort at this level. 15/20 (£7.45)

Chateau Faîteau Minervois La Livinière 2004: The appellation of La Livinière, essentially a cru of Minervois, was legally delimited in 1999. The wines must comprise at least 60% Syrah, Grenache or Mourvèdre, of which the first two must account for at least 40%. This wine fits the bill, being 70% Syrah and 15% each Carignan and Grenache. It has plenty of sweet, somewhat baked fruit on the nose. The palate has a moderately firm entry, with plenty of warm Southern character, and a full and mouhfilling midpalate. It is well defined and bright, rather than creamy or overly plush. It is fresh, full of fruit, perhaps a touch macerated, with notes of sweet, herby friut from the Grenache. There is a good grippy structure underneath, with a little bitter, tea-leaf tannin; I suspect this could go a few years in the cellar. Very good indeed. 16.5+/20 (£9.45)

Bodegas Ortiz Mirabel (Vino de la Tierra de Extremadura) 2006: This wine is a blend of 70% Tempranillo and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and it sees six months in French oak before bottling. It is made with assistance from Anders Vinding-Diers who hails from a veritable dynasty of winemakers; both his father Peter and brother Hans are accomplished in this sphere, although perhaps even more famous is his cousin, Peter Sisseck of Dominio de Pingus on the Ribera del Duero. The wine itself has a good dark colour in the glass, and the nose opens to reveal aromas of smoky and peppery fruit, with a very clean and fresh character, red and black fruits, raspberries and damsons. The oak is not at all dominant, the fruit defining the character of the wine, which has a stony-dry character. First impressions suggest to me that this is really stylish. There isn't anything on the palate to dissuade me from this view; it has a lovely, fresh, sappy substance, with a mouth-filling, spicy-peppery, tingling acidity. It has a mouth-watering, somewhat sappy-sour fruit character to it which I find just delicious, a sort of cherry-skin, cherry-stone textural quality. Yes, there is plenty of style in this delightful wine. I hope Extremadura has more to offer like this...I might just become a committed fan. For label images and more see my Wine of the Week write-up. 17/20 (£13.45)