Recommended by Lord Rose, the former boss of Marks & Spencer, the delightful Susie De Paolis has been advising people on their wine portfolios and managing their cellars since 2001. She has recently been joined by her daughter, Francesca De Paolis, a wine expert in her own right with more than
a decade in the trade.
Clients include people from all walks of life, from heads of industry to private collectors, and they all have one thing in common: ‘Their portfolios are all quite sizeable,’ says De Paolis, who has a strict cap on the number of clients she’ll have at any one time (30). ‘Everyone has a different agenda. Some just want to drink it, others are buying for investment and everyone has different tastes, so I have to get to know my clients really well.’
De Paolis will create a comprehensive database with information on every single bottle of wine the client owns. ‘When a client has 2,000 or 3,000 cases and its broken down into not just cases but bottle quantities, and they’re not quite sure where they are or when to drink them or what they’re worth, they need someone to help them,’ she explains.
This year she has been encouraging clients to purchase 2014 white Burgundy – ‘an absolutely stellar vintage… Like all the great vintages, it will be enjoyable to drink relatively young, but also in 15 or 20 years’ time it will have evolved.’ For ‘great value, stunning and versatile wines’, she recommends Alsace and Germany.
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