Happy New Year!

Hello all you wonderful people! Happy New Year from all of us at Chester's. Some year hey! Another one filled with trials and tribulations, but also packed with Joy and fun!

Once again I write this email with my glass half full, literally.. full of optimism and thankfulness to ongoing support from you guys, without you we are nothing & we really appreciate the community here at Chester's.

This is the 1st year in 8 I've managed to step away from the business for Christmas, leaving it in Jo's & the team's more than capable hands (you've probably noticed by now that they run the show anyway)..

I spent the festive period in South Africa, for some much needed sun and downtime & 2 rounds of golf.. It really gave me time to reflect on things back here at Chester's, I cant quite believe we are going into our 9th year of trading, feeling excited & cautious at the same time is a very strange feeling..

'Another' kick in the teeth from the government, with another duty increase from Feb 1st, will see the price of wines rise again. We always work hard to keep our prices as fair as possible & will do our best to keep any rises to your fave bottles as small as we can!

But less of that doom and gloom, lets be positive!

The 1st bottle of wine I sold today was a £38 bottle of Orange wine From La Mariota, this just shows there is hope for us yet & gives me massive encouragement that we are doing the right thing stocking the wines we love, from growers we respect that are farming properly and producing wines of real quality with a sense of place. The day we sacrifice that, is the day we close. 

Highlights of 2025

We hosted many dinners throughout the year, from bistro eves to winemaker dinners, the fire pit has had a good kicking this year! Here's to plenty more great wine fuelled evenings in 2026!
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Wine trips to regions across Spain, France, Italy all provided much pleasure.
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I took my usual pilgrimage to Rioja in November to catch up with our growers there. I cannot wait to tell you about some of the new wines that are on their way from Spain shortly, including the new releases from Jose Gil, his best wines to date? probably!
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New Faces coming, it seems like they've been here forever, but we welcomed Molly, Izzy & Maddie to the squad, and what wonderful additions they have proved to be! I'm pretty proud of this team.

Wines of the year?!

An impossible question really, but here are a few of my highlights!

Lapierre Morgon 2023
Probably the wine I drink most, inhaled a few this year, most memorably in a Bar in Paris where I felt like I was in a parallel universe, the owner was casually drinking a bottle of it, when 2 pints of Guinness arrived for him from the pub down the road, if you've been in hear on a Sat night, you've probably witnessed this happen, with some pints of dark stuff arrive from the Coach.. surreal, anyway brilliant wine, fresh as a daisy and the 24 has just arrived and is tasting great also..

Emidio Pepe Trebbiano 2015
Every time I get to taste a bottle of aged Pepe I jump to it!
This is the 2nd bottle of the Trebbiano I've had the joy to drink, this time shared with friends in a tiny wine bar in Valtellina, the owner let me loose in his cellar and happily let us open this beauty! Singing it was.. which sometimes isn't the case with these wines.

Alheit Vineyards Huilkrans 2017
As you know, I'm Chris Alheit's biggest fan, this was the last bottle of the 2017 wines i had, It showed what a bit of time can do to a wine of this ilk, truly one of the best expressions of Cape Chenin I've ever had the pleasure of drinking!

Maxim Magnon Rozeta 2021 (Magnum)
This was one of many Magnums drunk over a boozy lunch watching Wales play Rugby, like most Wales games these days the match was unmemorable, but the wines saved the day! The best grower in Corbieres by some way the, 2023 has just landed..

Coche Dury Meursault 2015 & Armand Rousseau Gevry-Chambertin 2019

Wines that i'l probably never drink again? only because I cant afford them, after a bit of a disastrous day driving around Burgundy or not, long story! I was in very good company who bought these wines for the table at dinner, safe to say they lived up to the hype, If anyone has some Coche hiding away, i'l help you drink it for sure..

Ganevat  'Les Grand Teppes' Pinot Noir 2018
One of 7 beautiful bottles consumed at our Christmas staff dinner, pure as pure can be! Absolutely mind blowing bottle that made us all go quiet for a moment, just a moment tho, have you met Izzy?!

Restless River 'Main Road & Dignity' Cabernet 2022
Cabernet making the list.. Rare yes! But this bottle was the perfect accompaniment to Christmas dinner cooked on the Braai in South Africa, should have bought 2 bottles really. Other bottles did fall victim though, big shout to Storm Vineyards Pinot Noir from the Hemel-en-Aarde, which I will be sourcing soon!

La Mariota Orange Tacsum
The best Orange wine have stocked, and the 1st bottle sold of 2026, a beacon of hope and a lovely wine indeed :)

We wish you all the best for the coming year and cannot wait to see you all in store soon!

January Hours

Tuesday - Thursday 10-5pm
Friday - Saturday 10am-10pm
Sunday - 12-4pm
Monday- Closed

Expect plenty of wine and lots more in 2026!

Happy New Years!

Team Chester's
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