A hundred feet below the hills of Corsham, Wiltshire, you’ll find some of the finest wine in the world encased in solid Bath stone. A former mine, Octavian is the go-to cellar for many of the world’s leading wine merchants, wine funds and restaurants, as well
as having more than 10,000 customers from 39 countries.
Octavian stores £1 billion-worth of fine wine in more than a million cases, more than 100 of which are pre-1800 vintages, and some of which have been there for more than 20 years. ‘It’s one of the safest storage places in the world: because it’s underground, very little can go wrong,’ says MD Vincent O’Brien.
It’s been a year of firsts for Octavian Vaults, including helping a customer take out a loan on his wine collection for £20 million. ‘It has sparked a lot of interest,’ says O’Brien. The company has also welcomed a resident MW to help customers assess and value their collections.
Another notable trend is the growing diversity in the collections in storage. ‘Up to 2012, circa 90 per cent in our care was Bordeaux, whereas now it is less than 75 per cent, with Burgundies, Italians and champagnes making up the gap,’ says O’Brien, who concedes he does enjoy a nice glass of Sassicaia as a treat.
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