The Premier Cru The Premier Cru

This week is all about Gusbourne, one of England's leading wine producers!

Hugo and Ben welcome Laura Rhys MS, Head of Wine at Gusbourne, to discuss their success and acclaim since launching their first wines in 2006.

We discuss:


What it takes to become a Master Sommelier
Gusbourne's approach to viticulture and winemaking
The development of English wine since the 80's
And how English wine is perceived on the international market

And we tucked into these three wonderful wines from Gusbourne:


Blanc de Blanc 2019
Blanc de Noir 2019
Pinot Noir 2022



Check out and subscribe to our Substack. We will be connecting you with our guests and developing our community. Expect wine recommendations, recipes from chefs and much more!



You can also follow @The_Premier_Cru on socials to keep up to date with future episodes and behind the scenes snippets.

Hugo and Ben welcome Honey Spencer to The Premier Cru.



Honey is the lady of the hour in the UK wine scene. Alongside her husband, she recently launched a fantastic restaurant called Sune, which has already been nominated for the best opening of the year as part of The National Restaurant Awards.


As if that was not enough excitement, Honey has also just released a new book called ⁠"Natural Wine, No Drama: An Unpretentious Guide"⁠. The book expertly does what it says on the tin.

On this episode we introduce you to both Sune and Honey's new book, whilst tasting three wines available on the restaurant wine list:


Riesling, MIRA
Vino bianco "Arcese", Vittorio Bera & Figli
Les perles du Mont Blanc, Domaine du Gringet



Check out and subscribe to our Substack. We will be connecting you with our guests and developing our community. Expect wine recommendations, recipes from chefs and much more!



You can also follow @The_Premier_Cru on socials to keep up to date with future episodes and behind the scenes snippets.

In contrast to last week's ep with Corney & Barrow, this week we continue on the theme of Bordeaux but this time looking at New Wave Bordeaux - what the &*%$ is that I hear you say!

Hugo and Ben welcome Benedict Butterworth, founder of Benedict Butterworth Wines, onto the podcast to give us an overview of the modern state of play in Bordeaux. BBW is an independent wine importer and retailer with a focus on the innovative, wacky, and creative superstars you wouldn't usually associate with the most famous wine region in the world. 



We discuss:


China and climate change (sounds like a Trump special!)
Snarky Bordelaise politics including Cheval Blanc and Angelus
Grape varieties you've never heard of
And Ben attempts a Geordie accent, hawey the lads!



And we tucked into these three beauties for Benedict's portfolio:


⁠Chateau Cazbonne, Comme en 1900⁠
Vielles Chapelle, Les Amuse-Gueles⁠
Chateau Tapon Saint Emilion Grand Cru ⁠



Follow @The_Premier_Cru to keep up to date with future eps and behind the scenes snippets.

Subscribe to our ⁠Substack⁠ as well to access more exclusive content with our guests.

It's May, which can only mean one thing. The Bordeaux
2023 En Primeur Campaign has officially kicked off.



Hugo and Ben welcome Ida Weatherall, Sales Executive at Corney & Barrow, onto the podcast to provide an introduction to Bordeaux as a wine region and buying wine En Primeur. Corney & Barrow are one of the UK's oldest wine merchants. There is no one better to provide an introduction to Bordeaux, one of the most historic and prestigious wine regions globally.



We try 3 fantastic wines all available as part of their En Primeur campaign:


L'Aurage 2018
Chateau la Grave a Pomerol 2017
Chateau Rocheyron 2015



Follow @The_Premier_Cru to keep up to date with future eps and behind the scenes snippets.



Subscribe to our Substack as well to access more exclusive content with our guests. This week we will be providing a vintage report and some en primeur recommendations shared directly from the Corney & Barrow team.

Hugo and Ben welcome Margaux Aubry, Co-Founder of Naughty Piglets, onto the podcast.

Naughty Piglets is a fantastic restaurant based in Brixton, serving seasonal modern European food alongside 200+ organic and natural wines.

At the beginning of 2024 they started a chef residency programme which will keep the vibe of the restaurant changing throughout this year.



On the ep we discuss:


How they got started and what Jay Rayner had to do with it
The time Andrew Lloyd Webber asked them to set up a second restaurant
Margaux's pairing Comte and Vin Jaune straight from the bottle



And Margaux brought along 3 fabulous wines from the Naughty Piglets list:


Maupertuis Puy Long Chardonnay 2022
Marcel Lapierre Morgon 2022
Tony Bornard Vin Jaune



Check out and subscribe to our Substack. We will be connecting you with our guests and developing our community. Expect wine recommendations, recipes from chefs and much more!

You can also follow @The_Premier_Cru on socials to keep up to date with future episodes and behind the scenes snippets.

Hugo and Ben welcome Tom Gearing, Co-Founder and CEO of ⁠Cult Wines⁠, onto the podcast. Cult Wines specialise in fine wine investment and combine a deep passion for wine with financial and technology expertise.

Their latest innovation is ⁠Cult X⁠, an app helping users to easily trade and invest in fine wine. They can now cater to both complete novices and to experienced wine investors. Look them up now!


Not only is Tom a wine investment guru, but he is also a media superstar having featured on The Apprentice. You can see highlights of his time on the show here - this is a "must" watch (after our podcast episode of course)!



In this episode we look at:


how Cult Wines was founded
what makes wine a great asset class
building the perfect wine investment portfolio



We also try 3 investment grade wines selected by Tom:


Bannockburn Chardonnay, Felton Road, 2022
Cuvée 910, Clos des Vignes du Maynes, 2019
Les Suchots, Vosne Romanée, Domaine Grivot, 2009



In big news, The Premier Cru is also launching a Substack account, where we will be connecting you with our guests and developing our community. Expect wine recommendations, recipes from chefs and much more! Our first articles will be dropping this week, showing you the best performing investment wines released since 2000! Subscribe to hear more...



You can also follow @The_Premier_Cru on socials to keep up to date with future episodes and behind the scenes snippets.