I'm delighted to say that Britain now has a host of independent wine retailers offering infinitely more exciting ranges of wines than the multiple retailers that Andy Howard MW is profiling every Friday. Lea & Sandeman, now a small group of highly individual shops in west London begun by Charles Lea and the late Patrick Sandeman in 1988, was in many ways the prototype. I'm delighted to say that the current team, while much missing Patrick and his widow Katie Sandeman, seem somehow to be keeping up the pace.
They offer the finest of investment-grade wines when they feel they...