The Generation Series: our most innovative release yet!

Orvieto was one of the only Italian whites on the List in this era and we chose borthers Bernardo and Niccolò to make this fresh and complex wine for us at the Barberani estate in Umbria, Italy. It’s an unusual and delicious blend of Orvieto picked two weeks apart: half at the start of the harvest for tension and citrus fruit, the other half picked later for richness and riper fruit. The result is an unmissable white with great balance with fresh nectarine, lime and apricot fruit, and a floral, salted finish.

Label shows: Wartime conditions and bottlings ‘shipped and distributed under authority of his majesty’s government’.

This thrilling, food-friendly white is a nod to the notable quality of Rioja’s aged white wines, which shone during this era (1924-1974). It was made by Bodega Hacienda López de Haro (also behind the red Rioja in this series) entirely from local grapes grown in high-quality vineyard plots. The wine is aged for 18 months in oak barrels and a further three years in bottle, resulting in a complex white with hints of floral notes and buttery, nutty flavours, soft texture and a precise finish.

Label shows: Edward VIII’s coronation and then abdication in 1936, wartime radio announcements and special ordering conditions for members during this period.

A delicious example of consummate food-friendly dry white Bordeaux, so popular in Britain in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but sadly often overlooked today. To showcase the best of the style, we collaborated with Maison Dourthe, one of Bordeaux's most respected château owners and négociants. We’re thrilled with the result. The blend is 54% semillon, which lends body and depth, 34% sauvignon blanc, contributing freshness and aromatic intensity, and 12% muscadelle, which adds a touch of grapiness on the finish. It includes fruit from the vineyards of Château Rahoul (which makes some of the best whites of the whole of Graves) and was partly aged in barrel. A classically styled dry white Bordeaux with mouthwatering notes of white peach and citrus, it can be enjoyed with a wide variety of fish and seafood dishes, poultry or goat's cheese.

Label shows: Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin and became a member in 1931; our art nouveau List cover replaced in 1930 after 30 years.

This is a charming, contemporary take on a style popular among Society members in the mid-20th century. We worked with Bleasdale, who were a joy to team up with, giving us access to prime fruit to create a fantastic-value red. Early Lists described Australian reds as ‘Bordeaux type’ which led to our choice of a cabernet-merlot blend. The cabernet sauvignon brings backbone and structure to the blend with a layer of black fruit and supple tannins. The merlot complements this perfectly, bringing succulent and vibrant red fruit and attractive floral aromas. A succulent and juicy wine showing the best elements of the two grapes.

Label shows: Sebastian Payne MW, longstanding buyer for The Society, who joined us in 1973.

This exclusive wine from Castello di Brolio has wonderful lift and elegance, with lovely aromas of red apple and rosemary. We may be celebrating our 150th anniversary but this is nothing compared to Brolio: their next big anniversary will be their 900th!

For such a historic estate, the factor that drew us to partner with them on this wine was the way in which current owner and president Francesco Ricasoli has so skilfully modernised the winery. His laser focus on sangiovese, even to the point of commissioning detailed studies into his own clonal trials, coupled with his meticulous vinification of small plot-by-plot production, means that his Chiantis are some of the most polished, classical examples that we try each year, perfect for a representative spot in this celebratory range.

Label shows: A new era for The Society in Stevenage, with purpose-built cellars and bottling line and a new range of affordable wines.

The Wine Society’s Generation Series Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux 2020

This fragrant plummy claret is a bespoke wine made for the Generation Series from the pick of the 2020 crop at Château de Pitray. We’ve been shipping Pitray’s for over four decades, including every consecutive vintage for more than 20 years. The vineyards are located in the Castillon region, whose soils are similar to neighbouring Saint-Emilion, and whose best wines (Pitray included) are made very much in the same mould.
Owner Jean de Boigne is the 23rd generation to run the estate, and the blend we made is 65% merlot, 30% cabernet franc and 5% malbec, the majority aged in French oak barrels. The result is a deliciously satisfying and intense wine with damsons, bitter chocolate and a hint of liquorice on the finish.

Label shows: Sir Henry Wood, co-founder and chief conductor of the Proms and Sir Henry John Newbolt, poet, novelist and historian (who became members in the 1930s).

This is an attractive and complex blend of Mâcon from a number of villages with 8% oak-aged wine to contribute principally structure, not aroma, and 19% from a superior appellation included to augment the quality. 2022 is a warm year that produced ripe yet fresh fruit with a melony character, it illustrates expertise of négociant house Maison Jacques Dépagneux, with whom we have had a long and fruitful relationship.  Their extensive contacts in Burgundy and their consummate skills in selecting and blending wines helps them to achieve such excellent quality at competitive prices.

The label depicts some firsts in our history taken from our Vineline: start of an enduring relationship with Gratien in 1906, installation of the telephone in 1905 and construction of the Palladium above our cellars in 1910.

Rioja has a long and celebrated history, and it has seen many changes over the centuries. For our anniversary we wanted to honour to the way that Rioja was made, aged and labelled when The Wine Society was in its infancy. To do this, we asked Bodegas Hacienda López de Haro to apply their generations of experience in Rioja’s vineyards to make this wonderful blend of garnacha and tempranillo and age it for several years before bottling in 2023.

Label shows: First office and cellar at Medical Society of London. Founder, Brudenell Carter FRCS.

Over the years, Château Beaumont has delighted us all with its consistent supply of benchmark left-bank claret and outstanding value, earning members’ unfailing loyalty and making The Wine Society their biggest customer worldwide. It made perfect sense for us to work with them in the exemplary 2019 vintage to make this silky-smooth, plump merlot-cabernet sauvignon blend. We believe that the members of the first 50 years of our existence would have enjoyed it as much as you will.

Label shows: Royal Albert Hall where we were founded in 1874. First Chairman, Mac-Leod of Mac-Leod. Company seal and earliest existing List cover, 1880.

This Bucelas really had to be among our anniversary wines. After all, a ‘Bucellas’ was the first wine The Society ever bought in August of 1874! We turned to Portuguese wine giant, the family-owned Sogrape Vinhos and their Quinta da Romeira estate, which has been producing wines since 1703, for this fresh modern version, a crisp, dry Portuguese white that epitomises the Atlantic freshness of Atlantic coast, and available by the bottle or the half-bottle.

Label shows: Victorian decanter labels reveal popularity of this wine. Punch illustration of Wine Society founder Brudenell Carter FRCS.

When The Wine Society began in 1874, rieslings from Germany were greatly favoured in Britain, not least by Queen Victoria herself. According to our Germany buyer, Marcel Orford-Williams, the popular rieslings of the time would have been dry. We therefore turned to our oldest partners there, the Bürklin-Wolf family of Wachenheim in the Pfalz region, to create a wine for our Generation Series.

Label shows: Wines were 'tested' rather than 'tasted' by the Committee for adulteration! Tower Bridge opens 1894. California zinfandel is listed, 1890.

It was somewhat unexpected to find primitivo appearing in so many of our early Lists. Our buyer for Italy, Sarah Knowles MW, was delighted, and partnered with Produttori di Manduria in the grape’s Puglian heartland to find an anniversary treat. A co-operative approaching its own centenary, they worked with Sarah to make this lovely primitivo from old bush-vine fruit on the Salento Peninsula.  Sarah was given free rein to choose any primitivo she desired for it. Her judgement was spot on.

Label shows: Advert for wine stoppers. Opening of Central London Railway. Death of Queen Victoria, 1901. New Arts and Crafts List cover, 1903.

It will surprise no one that Ports were among our earliest offerings to members. We believe that this silky unfiltered gem from the historic Quinta do Vale Meão, producer of The Society’s Exhibition Douro – a company woven into the tapestry of the Douro Valley – pays delicious homage to those great old Ports in considerable style. Ready to drink but quite capable of ageing, this is history in a glass just waiting for your cheeseboards or chocolates.

Label shows: 1918, dog guard joins staff following a theft from the van. Opera singer Louise Kirkby-Lunn becomes a member, 1922.

A trusted relationship of more than 100 years is a remarkable thing, but that is just what we have with the superb house of Gratien & Meyer in the Loire valley, producers of top-quality sparkling wines. They were the obvious choice to make a wine to celebrate our 150th anniversary and they have produced something scintillating. It’s a classic blend led by chenin blanc, so deliciously different to our popular Celebration Crémant and well worth celebrating in its own right.

Label shows: Alfred Gratien – we make our first shipment of bubbles, 1906. Arthur Conan Doyle joins, 1910. First typewriter, 1910.

Sherry has a long and storied history in Britain and was hugely popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a shoo-in for our Generation Series. We wanted a sherry that reflected the style of wine that would have been familiar to our earliest members, and the famous house of Williams and Humbert have come up trumps with this blend of old, bone-dry oloroso and a dash of rich, sweet pedro ximénez from a 90-butt solera in their Jerez cellars.

Label shows: Bottling at Hills Place cellars. New List design by GM Ellwood.

This fragrant, silky red-fruited Portuguese red is the culmination of discussions between Wine Society buyer for Portugal, Joanna Locke MW, and the charismatic, innovative and inspirational Dirk Niepoort and his son Daniel. Together they have blended across regions to produce a style of wine that we believe is close to those that we shipped for members in the late 19th century. This wine is not only good to drink, it’s a taste of history.

Label shows: Opening of Tower Bridge, 1894. Advert for California zinfandel. 1897, Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee.

Beaujolais wines have featured in Society lists since our earliest days, and such was the fame of Régnié as an excellent source that grapes from around the village doubtless made their way in to many a Beaujolais shipped to us then. Its quality is still renowned. We turned to our long-time suppliers, Maison Jacques Dépagneaux and their impressive resources and contacts, to blend a wine worthy of our Generation Series from the excellent 2022 vintage.

Label shows: Writer John Galsworthy joins 1913. Lease signed on cellars in Hills Place, 1902.