Charles Lea

Spear’s Review

Lea & Sandeman (L&S) co-founder Charles Lea puts the fine wine firm’s success – it holds a Royal Warrant – down to consistency. ‘I was looking back at our first flyer when we opened the shop, and all the things we said then are really all of the things that we still stand for today,’ he says.

A full-service merchant devoted to quality, L&S has launched a private client division for those looking to buy en primeur, and it continues to increase its stock of wines from Italy, New Zealand, California and Patagonia.

The firm always buys directly from producers, and many of the relationships stretch back to when it first opened its doors. ‘We aim to be the route to market for a lot of quite small producers,’ Lea says.