Hedonism wines is not just your average wine merchant, it was
set up by Russian oligarch Yevgeny Chichvarkin to be the very best alcohol retail experience in the world. Ambitious, but given the multi
million pound investment, not all that unreasonable. A lot of that investment has gone on building up a rare and eclectic collection of over 5,500 wines after having poached Harrods longstanding buyer. This includes over 600 wines for under £30, and you can always taste some of the much more expensive bottles from their automatic tasting
machines.
Now I don't really know all that much about wine, I can tell you what I taste, whether or not I like it, and why, but as far as the grape, region or vintage is concerned, my guess is as good as yours. Given the incredible collection of wine, premium environment and highly qualified somelier staff, I was both delighted and surprised to find that there was none of the stuffiness you might expect. The staff there are genuinely fantastic: Orsi from Budapest who chatted away to us about her discovery of fine wine while working on a cruise ship, and let us know all about the wines we were trying. You can formally hire a sommelier for somewhere between £100 and £200 an hour (I can’t quite remember the quote) but if you are happy with a less hands on approach, it seems that any of the staff there are happy to answer your questions.
The tasting room is really nicely done too. The cool 17-degree cellar lined by magisterial 18litre bottles is warmed by Chalet-style fubsy white blankets and huge hand-carved, trunk-like seats. The rest of the shop is equally impressive: as you go down stairs, a chandelier made up of 125 hand blown Reidel glasses hangs above you.
This makes it a really great way to spend an hour or two with friends. I went and spent £20 and on 25ml of 8 or so different wines from a rather rough and unpleasant Gaia Thalassitis Assyrtik from 2012 at £19.80 a bottle to an incredibly smoky, earthy, blackberryish Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Mon Aieul Pierre, 2001 at £99.60 a bottle. My favourite of the evening was a lightly oaked, sweet, nutty and autumnal Hermitage Blanc ex Voto Guigal, 2006 at £124.40 a bottle. I would never usually spend that much on a bottle so it was lovely to be able to taste what I am otherwise missing!
The tasting room is really nicely done too. The cool 17-degree cellar lined by magisterial 18litre bottles is warmed by Chalet-style fubsy white blankets and huge hand-carved, trunk-like seats. The rest of the shop is equally impressive: as you go down stairs, a chandelier made up of 125 hand blown Reidel glasses hangs above you.
This makes it a really great way to spend an hour or two with friends. I went and spent £20 and on 25ml of 8 or so different wines from a rather rough and unpleasant Gaia Thalassitis Assyrtik from 2012 at £19.80 a bottle to an incredibly smoky, earthy, blackberryish Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Mon Aieul Pierre, 2001 at £99.60 a bottle. My favourite of the evening was a lightly oaked, sweet, nutty and autumnal Hermitage Blanc ex Voto Guigal, 2006 at £124.40 a bottle. I would never usually spend that much on a bottle so it was lovely to be able to taste what I am otherwise missing!
