Julian Osborne writes this entry for our indie writing competition:
I first came across Leon (on the right in the photo) when he made a presentation to our village wine club, perhaps five years ago now. He presented wines which were his personal favourites (no doubt within a set budget) from the wines he personally imports from the south of France. I thought those wines were exceptional value for money, especially the Jurançon Sec and the Minervois La Livinière. I bought them both some days later, and have been buying them from Leon ever since; they are both wonderful examples of their type.
Leon gave up his day job to concentrate on his wine importing. He does this personally, each summer making long trips into deep France, to offer the best the regions there have to offer. I guess Leon’s and my tastes coincide, as I find I practically never disagree with his recommendations (not something I can say of others). I now implicitly trust Leon’s judgement, and am happy to buy wines I do not know from him on the basis of what he says about them on his extensive lsfinewines.co.uk website.
Leon is a one-man band, with no one to satisfy but himself and his modest clientele. I do not drink vast quantities of wine, but I do want the wines I drink to be special. Leon delivers on this. His blog and facebook postings are very interesting, showing his empirical approach; and he has interesting things to say about the life of wines after they have been opened.
Leon Stolarski Fine Wines
32 Nottingham Road
Hucknall, Notts NG15 7QE
UK
tel/fax +44 (0)115 952 9387
leonstolarski@lsfinewines.co.uk
www.lsfinewines.co.uk