Laithwaite’s Wine is the UK’s number one online destination for buying wine. With over 50-years worth of experience championing a network of 450 talented winemakers making “real wines” in small volumes, it’s definitely a company to be trusted with wine recommendations, making the Laithwaite’s Wine Luxury Dozen Gift Box the safest of bets.
If you enjoy a bottle of wine, you probably have come across Laithwaite’s before. If you haven’t done yet, don’t worry, we’re about to change that.
What is Laithwaite’s?
Laithwaite’s got its start in life in 1969 when Lancashire born Tony Laithwaite got a job washing bottles in at a Bordeaux winery. It’s impossible to work in a winery and not drink heaps of the stuff and he quickly developed a taste for the “real quality stuff” that came incredibly reasonably priced.
“I fell so, so in love with their wonderful world of wine. It was the way the lives of everyone, from the bottle washers upwards, were totally wrapped around not just making wine but making THE BEST wine possible. These wine people weren’t just passionate, they were obsessed!”
He wrote home about this and his loved ones told him to bring some bottles over. Tony explains “most of the wine you could buy in the UK at the time was blended in vats in Britain and there was plenty of deliberate mislabelling going on”, which made him angry. He wanted to put a stop to this so wrote to the newspapers: “that’s what you did in the 1960s”.
This made some noise and more and more people started to demand the “real quality stuff”. So he borrowed a van, drove down to Bordeaux, filled it up with wines from growers he knew personally and drove back to share the excitement.
“Things went so well that winemakers across Europe began offering me their wines. So my girlfriend and I opened our first premises… under a railway arch. 50 years later we (now married, three sons, grandkids and all) have over 400,000 excellent customers … but we still work in a very similar way, knowing personally all our 450 winemakers around the world and knowing – thanks to technology – the likes and dislikes of every customer.”
This passionate and personal approach has stood the test of time and Laithwaite’s continues to champion great wine at fair prices.
Laithwaite’s Wine Luxury Dozen Gift
A bottle of wine is a great gift as it’s always going to be enjoyed. However, during the festive season, as family and friends gather together with nothing better to do than eat, drink and chat, one bottle is simply not enough.
That’s why we simply can’t recommend the Laithwaite’s Wine Luxury Dozen Gift Box enough. Presented in a handsome wooden box, the 12, hand-selected bottles feature an array of reds and whites of varying vintages, origins and bodies, as well as a ruby port, sweet Sauterne and a double Gold winning Champagne from Didier Chopin.
This is the perfect gift to be delivered in time for Christmas (especially if you’re sending it to where you plan to end up) and there will certainly be someone for everyone’s tastes.
What’s in the Box?
Marqués de Valdecañas Gran Reserva 2012, Spain
14% ABV
A superb Garnacha-based, Gold medal Gran Reserva. It’s wonderfully mature, with aromas of ripe red berries, mellow strawberries and vanilla. On the palate it proves itself to be incredibly smooth with a fragrant, robing red fruit character, gentle spice and hint of leather.
Familia Martínez Bujanda Gran Reserva 2009, Spain
14% ABV
From a cellar that made the list of the world’s top 50 wineries nine years in a row, this beautifully mellow Gran Reserva was matured for over two years in oak barrels. Silky smooth with intense red fruit, juicy black cherry, cedar, spice, leather and a hint of liquorice, it has a deep and oaky complexity that lingers pleasantly.
Hawke’s Bay Estate Cabernet Merlot Malbec 2015, New Zealand
13.5% ABV
Gimblett Gravels is New Zealand’s premier region for ‘Cru Classé’, Bordeaux-style reds, with conditions similar to pricy Pauillac. Leading the field is this estate. Barrel aged, with 20% new oak, this is a silky cassis red with claret like elegance. Expect intense cassis, spiced plum, ripe blackcurrant, cloves, oak and firm tannins.
Hunter’s Sauvignon Blanc 2018, New Zealand
12.5% ABV
A New Zealand Sauvignon that clocks up Golds every vintage. Since its launch in 1982, Hunter’s has been winning prizes galore, and no wonder with wines like this! Dazzling, fresh, citrusy and elegant with a nose of freshly mowed grass, lime leaf and green apple, breaking into a pure and crisp palate of vibrant gooseberry. Delicious.
Tyrrell’s Blacksmith’s Hut Shiraz 2017, Australia
14% ABV
From an iconic Hunter Valley cellar and a superstar region in Victoria, this shows all the lavish berry fruit and white pepper spice for which Heathcote has become famous. Its secret is a cool climate and ancient soil. The result: long-lasting velvety elegance and dark berry depth with smoky spice and herbal hints.
Domaine Daniel Reverdy Sancerre 2018, France
12.5% ABV
Domaine Reverdy’s fine Sancerre 2018 epitomises the complex and minerally character that has made Sancerre an enduring benchmark style for centuries. A classic Sauvignon Blanc in a stellar vintage and from an impressive small family domaine. Grapefruit, fresh-cut grass and lime fill the nose, followed by a mineral intensity, all which translates seamlessly onto the palate.
Didier Chopin Brut Champagne NV, France
12% ABV
If you want high quality Champagne without breaking the bank, look no further. This double Gold winner is a refreshing and crisp Blanc de Noirs with fruity and toasty notes. Take your time with this one and enjoy the light floral aroma, ripe stone fruits, fine mousse and complex toasty notes.
La Bâtisse Médoc 2017, France
12.5% ABV
On the border of Pauillac, home to three First Growths, Ramage La Bâtisse is another of the bottles in this box to achieve Golds every vintage. This is their reserve wine, usually put aside for family and friends, rarely making its way to the UK. A remarkably approachable, Cabernet-rich claret full of ripe raspberry, cassis, thick black fruits, cedar and rounded tannins.
Château des Bois 2016, France
13% ABV
This is a superb, minerally, yet creamy white Burgundy that tastes way fancier than its relatively humble Mâcon Villages label. From vines up to 50 years old and a small family domaine, this is a luscious, round Chardonnay with a floral blossom lift, white peach, zesty citrus, taught minerality and a precision freshness.
Newton Johnson Southend Chardonnay 2017, South Africa
13.5%
A fine, elegant Chardonnay from a dynamic Cape estate near Hermanus in ocean-cooled Walker Bay. Very much a family affair; it’s quickly gained an international reputation. Here you’ll find lovely crisp apple, pear, flinty minerality, light oak and a racy acidity. This seems more Chablis than Meursault.
Andresen Late Bottled Vintage Port 2012, Portugal
15% ABV
Andresen passionately believes that port is one of the world’s finest wines – and has won a host of awards from international competitions in their attempts to prove it. Ready for drinking now, their Late Bottled Vintage is something truly special. Dark plum, raisin and hazelnut aromas rise from the glass. One savoured sip reveals a plethora of rich blackcurrant and black berry juiciness, chocolate, spice and tobacco.
Château Pineau du Rey Sauternes (half bottle) 2004, France
13.5% ABV
What better at the end of a fine dinner (or with tea and cake) than a glass of delicious, mature Sauternes. This 14-year-old beauty has stunning white blossom notes, honeyed candied fruit, all underscored by freshness to keep it in perfect balance. The luscious, creamy mouthfeel with its candied orange zip is sure to stay with you for a while.
Price
You can purchase the Laithwaite’s Wine Luxury Dozen Gift Box online for £180.00. This works out at £15 per bottle (with almost all bottles included exceeding that value). This is a delightful gift for a family of wine lovers or for a group of friends to split.