“Tip-top
wine merchant.”
The Independent
CROQUE-EN-BOUCHE
Old Post Office Cottage,
Putley Green,
Ledbury HR8 2QN.
t: 01531 670809
f. +44 (0) 870 7066282
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For 24 years we were a restaurant called Croque-en-Bouche, on the side of the Malvern
Hills in Worcestershire. It was very small, just myself and my wife, no full-time
staff. We weren't fancy, but we were pretty good. We had a Michelin Star for 22 years,
and were in the top ten or so of the Good Food Guide from the early eighties. And
we'd won all the UK wine awards, including Egon Ronay Cellar of the Year. In that
time we learnt what people liked to drink, our enthusiasm for wine grew, we bought
more stock than we ought, and became wine merchants alongside the restaurant business.
But in the end, we got too old to be polishing glasses at 2.00am. And decided to
quit restaurants while we were winning!
That was June 2002, and since then we've carried on selling wine to regular drinkers,
mostly on the Internet. And to restaurants and hotels, where I advise and design
lists too - and in several cases do their websites. Being still involved with the
ressie business keeps me up-to-date on trends, and how diners think about wine.
We are not about ‘cheap’ wine or ‘investment’ wine, but interesting wine of value
and variety. We like drinking lots of wines, and we sell what we drink. Our wine
list is top-rated by Oz Clarke, the ‘Telegraph’ Wine Guide, Matthew Jukes in the
‘Daily Mail’, and Which? Wine Guide - top 150.
We have a large list, and we have lots of wine, though especially with the fine wines,
there is often not much of any particular wine. Please ask about quantities, or you
can look on the searchable database updated regular-ish(!) - apologies for previous
lapses. And do ask if you want advice, which I regard as part of the service.
We don’t have opening times as such. I’m available most days, including early evenings
up to about 7.00pm. I am pleased to discuss wine at length, by e-mail, here by appointment,
or on the telephone. Saturday and Sunday are good days.
Our wines are kept in good cool storage. Levels may be taken as fine in all cases
(all bottles are checked). I pay careful attention to the provenance of bottles.
All wines are ready for drinking, unless stated. I always look for value, at five
or fifty pounds. If it’s really expensive, it’s got to be really good not just rare.
