I thought you might be interested to read this in conjunction with Richard's tasting notes on Laithwaites current wines, many of them made in the winery described below by temporary intern Tamlyn Currin.
On the banks of the Dordogne, in Castillon east of St-Émilion in Bordeaux, is an old golden-stone building now called Le Chai au Quai. Built in 1856, this is Tony Laithwaite's French flagship for his hugely successful, UK-based international mail-order wine company Direct Wines: his baby, the pride of the business, and a place where he is investing a lot of money. It's also somewhat reminiscent of...