Wines of the savoy Group Hotels

The Savoy Group includes some of London’s finest and most delightfully English hotels. Ben King visited three of their illustrious properties, on a mission to sample the fine wines which lie in their illustrious cellars.

The Connaught, nestling on a quiet street in Mayfair, is a relatively low-key establishment, as unostentatious as a luxury hotel can be. The interior is all dark woods, the occasional hunting trophy, and thick carpets which muffle the rush of footmen in morning coats. There are spectacular corners tucked away here and there, but at a pinch, it could almost be someone’s home.

‘We try to make this like a home for the people who come here,’ explains Michael Reeto, the hotel’s Food and Beverage Manager. They have their share of famous clients, of course - Alec Guinness wrote his autobiography on a little bureau beside the fire in the drawing room. But he was most offended when they tried to serve him mineral water. Tap water is quite good enough for the star of Oliver Twist and Star Wars. The Connaught is that kind of place – unpretentious.

This spartanism doesn’t extend to the wine list. Mr. Reeto likes to give his customers value for money, but some of the world’s finest wines are found in the hotel’s extensive cellars. The nearest Mr. Reeto comes to a cost-cutting scheme is to sell Bollinger Grande Année 1990 with afternoon tea. Or maybe filling the wine list with a lot of deuxième crus – The second harvest of grapes, which is often just as good as the first, but always less expensive.

A trip behind the scenes in a luxury hotel usually takes you to a world of stainless steel, white tiles and manic bustle. The Connaught kitchens seem just a shade more serene, though, and the path down to cellars is lined with rich honey-coloured tiles. The wines themselves nestle in alcoves built from the bricks of a ruined 16th century church in Sussex.

The old wrought iron rood screen now protects bottles dear enough to be treated with almost ecclesiastical reverence. There are dusty bottles of Château Margaux from 1924. Some of the last double Magnums of Château Pétrus 1970 left in the world lie waiting for some very special occasion – If you asked for the most expensive bottle in the cellars, this is what you’d get.

Lying nearby is another double magnum, set aside for a special client’s Millennium celebrations. It is an Organic Cabernet Sauvignon from Robert Durney’s Estate in the Carmel Valley, California. ‘The climate is idea for growing grapes,’ says Reeto. ‘Mountains, fog, cool breezes – Perfect for Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s much better than the Napa Valley, but it’s not really known over here. The wine is so good they don’t export it.’

Claridge’s is the most formal of the three hotels. It’s a royal hangout, teeming with footmen covered in brass buttons. It’s here that they say Winston Churchill won the war and lost the election, sitting in the same alcove in the restaurant where the band play for dinner-dances, and the Queen Mother sits when she comes to tea. They call it the Royal Box – Something of a misnomer, as the sommelier, Zeljko Stasevic, - or Stass as he likes to be known - points to the favourite tables of half a dozen other Royal families as we head towards the cellars.

The Claridge’s clientèle certainly know their wines, too. ‘I did a Masters degree in wine, but I still find people know as much as I do’ says Stass. ‘Sometimes their knowledge is just incredible. It’s amazing how much people’s knowledge of wine has improved in the past ten years.’

With around 350 wines on the list, there’s plenty for the erudite or the adventurous to choose from – though the front page of the wine list has some highlights for people who don’t want to wade through the full twenty pages.

Long as it is, it isn’t complete. There are other treats in the cellar which don’t appear on the list. So if a client has a particular desire to drink Clos de Tart, for example, there are three vintages on the list, plus a few in reserve. People often ask for a wine from the year they were born, and even the oldest will usually have several to choose from.

Old wines are a bit of a headache for Michael Simms, the sommelier at the Savoy. ‘I always have my heart in my mouth when I open one,’ he says. ‘Old wines are an acquired taste. People assume that price and age automatically mean quality. Now an old wine might have a wonderful nose, and an intriguing flavour, but not power. But that’s often what people are expecting.’

Nothing on the wine list here is older than 1961. The Savoy is perhaps the most businesslike of the three hotels. It was revolutionary for a London hotel of its time. It was built with 70 bathrooms, whereas half a dozen was usually thought to be more than adequate.

That’s not to say it’s a like soulless modern chain, far from it. It’s not as royally grand as Claridge’s, but several sizes bigger than the intimate Connaught. The interior is decorated in a slightly toned down version of the Claridge’s imperious opulence, with plenty of gilt pillars and pastel shades, but the high point is the excellent view over the Thames and the gardens of the Victoria Embankment.

Like most old-fashioned hotels, the Savoy’s wine list is dominated by Burgundy and Bordeaux. It’s what clients expect, and in a way French wine fits in best with the essential Englishness of the Savoy or the Connaught – It’s the wine the English have been drinking for centuries.

There is still room on the list for other countries. Spanish Cabernet Sauvignon, for example, an eye-opener for anyone who thinks of Spanish wine as nothing more than sherry and earthy Rioja.

Mention the name Cloudy Bay, and a faraway look appears in the eye of any sommelier. Only the 1999 vintages appear on a wine list. The wine is so popular that it rarely lasts more than twelve months. Even hotels like The Savoy are only allowed a few cases of each vintage, and they sell out extremely fast.