The brilliant wine-maker Jean-Marie Guffens is behind Maison Verget which produces wines from grapes sourced across Burgundy but predominately from Mâconnais. This company created in 1990 in Sologny brings together all the wines of the trading business, with a superb range of appellations, from Chablis to Mâconnais, to highlight the specificities and nuances of each terroir.
The wines have acquired a solid reputation for their diamond-polished characteristics which are always very pure as well as being both rich and taut at the same time. The grapes are sourced from exemplary partner wineries and the winemaking and maturation processes are conduction with the same precision. A safe bet in Burgundy, Jean-Marie Guffens-Heynen is a Master in the art of Chardonnay. Since 2012, the brilliant oenologist Julien Desplans has joined him as a cellar master. Trained at Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, he takes the company to new heights, helping it win the award “Trading Business of the Year” in 2020 from the French wine magazine La Revue du vin de France. Read our article about Maison Verget on the iDealwine blog

A Speyburn small batch distilled in 2008 and bottled in 2018. Cadenhead's was founded in Aberdeen in 1842 by George Duncan. William Cadenhead then joined the company and, when George Duncan died in 1858, took over and renamed the business after himself. William’’s nephew Roberth Duthie developed the company in the early 20th century and it remained a family business until 1969. William Cadenhead Ltd was then sold to the Springbank distillery’’s owner J. & A. Mitchell and Co. Hedley G. Wright, a direct descendent of Archibald and John Mitchell, became William Cadenhead Ltd’’s CEO. In the past, Cadenhead had mainly sold its own brands, such as Putachieside, The Hielanman, Seven Stars and Green Label rums. Under Hedley G. Wright, the company began to take more of an interest in single malts. This led to the creation of the legendary collection of dumpy bottles in 1977. This series of single malts stood out for its very gentle filtration, lack of artificial colouring, and relatively high bottling strength for the time (80 proof/45.7% ABV). The labels included lots of information, including the month and year of distillation and bottling, and whether or not sherry casks were used. Also in 1977, the business moved to another address in Aberdeen, and finally to Campbeltown. In the 1980s, Cadenhead sold casks to legendary bottlers such as Samaroli and Corti Brothers through the subsidiary Duthie’’s. Finally, two new whisky ranges were created in 1991 and 1992, the Original Collection bottled at 46% and the Authentic Collection bottled at cask strength. Other special series to mark Cadenhead’’s major anniversaries (150 and 175 years), as well as new ranges launched since (Small Batch, World Whiskies, etc.), have all contributed to the company’’s ongoing history up to the present day. A limited edition of 540 bottles.