Lifestyle & opinion

Farewell and thanks for all the wine

Marcel Orford-Williams closes the pages of his final tasting notebook after almost four decades as buyer for The Wine Society

Farewell and thanks for all the wine
Marcel Orford-Williams - ©Van Son Huynh

Marcel’s contribution to The Wine Society can be measured in so much more than the 20,000 wines we estimate he has sourced for us. The way he has of communicating, his personality, his unconventional approach and his creativity… all have left their mark in how The Wine Society is perceived by thousands of members. I have been fortunate to share many tastings with Marcel and I have always valued his directness. There’s never any fuss, just a simple, ‘Yes, I like it’ or ‘No’. I think this is why he is adored by his suppliers: he is always transparent and honest. He has an amazing ability to hold silence which makes him a highly effective negotiator, and in his negotiations, he always puts members’ interests first, without ever compromising those of his wine producers.

Buying trips with Marcel have become somewhat legendary, covering vast geographies, multiple vineyards, extensive tastings and lots of driving. Every January, while everyone else is still using up their Christmas leftovers, Marcel has always made it his business to get over to France to taste the latest vintage before anyone else. Committed to putting together the best blends of our most popular wines, he’s made sure our orders get in early. 

Marcel Orford-Williams
Marcel thoroughly enjoying his work!

Returning from every trip, he’ll bring new ideas, many groundbreaking, like the somewhat radical concept to blend wines from two hemispheres for our Generation Series which he somehow managed to persuade a top Rhône producer to do. 

It was Marcel who spearheaded our Anniversary range when, returning from tasting the 2012 vintage in Champagne, he declared he had asked Nicolas Jaeger at Alfred Gratien to keep some aside for a special cuvée for our 150th anniversary (you can hear Nicolas talking about this in our brief interview with him). He also came up with the idea of creating a once-in-a-lifetime blend from the five top family producers in Gigondas for our Anniversary wine – the naissance of which was a Wine Society masterclass with members where all five estates were present. 

Marcel and Gigondas
Marcel with families of the five top Gigondas estates who collaborated to make our special 150th Anniversary wine

Marcel has always had a keen eye for maximising on opportunities for great-tasting wines. Not long after he started at The Society in 1986, he championed the innovative Grassa family’s endeavours to make still wines when the market for Armagnac nosedived. We were the first to ship their fresh, dry white wine whose popularity helped pave the way for the creation of the Côtes de Gascogne appellation. 

Blending wines has always been a passion of Marcel’s, and such is the faith our producers have in his palate, on more than one occasion he has managed to persuade them to try new things… adding better-quality grapes to the Hugels Gentil wines in Alsace; ripping up the rulebook in the Languedoc with Katie Jones and her A Different Direction wines, where Marcel’s efforts are immortalised on the labels! Quick to see the opportunities created by a change in French wine-label law Marcel was soon introduced cross-regional varietal Vin de France wines like our popular Society’s Pinot Noir and Duo Des Mers. 

A skilled communicator, Marcel’s idiosyncratic tasting notes somehow manage to convey so much more about a wine ‘it sorts out the hairiest of wild-boar stews and ‘as fresh as a bubbly Alpine stream and often include historical or musical references, reflecting his other passions.

Marcel at Decanter
Marcel being receiving a Decanter prize in 2007 from the late Steven Spurrier

Notes he published following a Champagne trade tasting in 2011 didn’t pull any punches, causing a stir, with comments such as: ‘Needs a pot of jellied eels… horrid, don’t touch… one doesn’t have to be at Glyndebourne to enjoy it… best used for launching ships and spraying F1 drivers’! Many found Marcel’s honesty refreshing and brave. 

A Glass with Marce
Filming ‘A Glass with Marce’ at home during the pandemic

Marcel was one of the first buyers to take to social media, with photos and updates from his travels. During the pandemic, he created the Glass with Marce series of YouTube videos which became a digital phenomenon. 

Apart from Bordeaux, Marcel has bought from pretty much every French region, as well as Germany and briefly Spain, too. While we’ve enjoyed the fruits of his labours in our glasses, his service to the country was officially recognised in 2010 when he was made a Chevalier dans l’Ordre du Mérite Agricole in recognition of services to French agriculture. 

So many at The Wine Society and the wider wine trade have benefited from Marcel’s attention. But perhaps most of all, we will miss his natural curiosity and delightfully unconventional approach. I know I speak on behalf of members, the team and the wider trade in saying that we wish Marcel a well-earned and brilliant retirement. 

Pierre Mansour

Director of wine

Pierre Mansour

Pierre Mansour joined the buying team in 2003 and was promoted to the position of Head of Buying in 2017 and then Director of Wine in 2019.

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