Laithwaites – what's to hide?

Laithwaites celebrate their fortieth year of trading this year, an era that has seen them grow from a man-and-van operation to a global network of mail-order companies with one million customers. (For the full back-story, see Jancis' article Britains' biggest wine company.)  What is more, they have done this very successfully without holding a single press tasting for over 10 years. So why return now? According to them, it comes from a 'concerted effort to get back to our roots of sourcing quality wines from winemakers we know directly who have a story to tell.'   

Story or no, what really...