Choosing the right wine can be challenging and perplexing. Selecting the bottle that will awaken the senses and complement the occasion takes skill and, as with so many forms of learning, a teacher is essential. Enter
Sarment, the private sommelier service which aims to help clients share and look after wine and offers an indispensible guide to vintages new and old.
Since its launch in June 2009, Sarment has brought together four award-winning sommeliers to provide a round-the-clock wine service to a select few; this year, no more than 75 memberships will be released. Advice is available on subjects ranging from cellar management and entertaining to bidding at auction.
Sarment was co-founded by Bertrand Faure Beaulieu, who began his career in banking and risk management. The company grew from Faure Beaulieu's long-held ambition to reshape the experience of discovering and understanding wine. Faure Beaulieu always knew what he wanted to offer: 'a truly personal service', plus 'unbiased advice and privileged access to wine and wine makers'. He also hoped to introduce a more dynamic way of buying wine.
It started, surprisingly, with a screw-capped pinot noir. When Philippe Messy, at the time the co-owner and head sommelier of
L'Etranger, suggested the cork-free 1999 Felton Road Block 5 to Faure Beaulieu, he was 'more than intrigued'. This began an odyssey into a world outside his comfort zone of Bordeaux and Barolos. 'I had found a sommelier who was not only empathetic and exceptionally talented, but was not afraid to challenge me,'
Faure Beaulieu recalls. Faure Beaulieu and Messy joined forces to create a service that made full use of Messy's insights and experience. At 23, Messy was the youngest sommelier of a restaurant that had gained three Michelin stars. Since then, he has devoted his career to the new and unexpected, working as an international buyer and helping to make award-winning vintages in Burgundy. He is joined at Sarment by three equally talented sommeliers, who share his passion for wine. Their combined level of knowledge is difficult to match.
Part of Sarment's appeal lies in its very personal approach. On joining, members are individually paired with a sommelier whose personality and slant on wine complement their own. At a restaurant, a sommelier has moments, not hours, to conjure up the perfect recommendation; in contrast, Sarment is designed to foster an evolving relationship. The sommelier arranges a series of conversations and home visits to allow them to grasp fully each member's expectations and desires. 'You can be much more precise,' notes Messy.
Members can also take the opportunity to expand their horizons via wine tours and private tastings. Others are drawn to the company's purchasing clout: as part of an exclusive buying group, members have unrestricted access to wine producers and a network of specialist transporters. For added security, delivery conditions are carefully monitored, using temperature tracking chips.
Sarment is certainly not the first or the only brand to approach time-poor individuals who hope to expand their cellars and knowledge of wine. But current advisory services, even the most carefully run, tend to be influenced by the need to turn a profit. The Sarment business model, in contrast, is built around enjoyment, rather than sales. There are no ties to wine merchants or distributors, so members can rely on receiving unbiased advice, free from any commercial pressure. 'It's about a relationship and an experience,' concludes managing director Niels Sherry. Members can expect vintages from Sarment that will surprise and inspire. As sommelier Gearoid Devaney points out, 'A great wine makes your palate dance. It's like opening Pandora's box.'
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Ichihiro
