The life of a Buyer involves a good deal of travel, a little bit of luck, and a lot of dead ends. Many is the Buyer who has, already late for the next appointment, endured escapades up hills and off roads in search of tiny specks of ancient vineyards. And of course, vignerons tend to be hospitable people, so there tends to be lunch, every day.
Our team of seven Buyers spend, cumulatively, around six months of every year in the pursuit of great bottles from the world’s finest winemakers. It is a labour of love fuelled by a passion for discovery, but also friendship and long-standing producer relationships. Many of our growers have been on the books for decades, generations even. We’ve watched sons and daughters move from school, to cellar hand, to winemaker and finally, patron.
Giles is celebrating his 25th year at Justerini & Brooks and heads the buying team of six, who travel the world in search of great wines from family-run domaines and estates. He joined J&B in 1997 as a cellar hand. It was the aromas while decanting incredible wines for lunches in the dining room at St. James's Street that sparked his passion and drew him into wine as a career, now having tasted over 30, 000 wines in the last 5 years alone.
Jules is responsible for Burgundy, Champagne, North America and England. Jules joined Justerinis in 2005, originally as a member of the private client sales team. His early days involved plenty of decanting and time spent digging around in the cellar for interesting old bottles.
Tom joined J&B in 2005, becoming Bordeaux buyer in 2008. He handles Justerini & Brooks' relationships with its Bordeaux Chateaux and negociants and orchestrates the annual Bordeaux En Primeur campaign. He is also in charge of customer broking. Assisting clients looking to sell their wines through Justerini & Brooks. He has witnessed the highs and lows of buying the wines of Bordeaux, but still loves the buzz of a Bordeaux campaign.
Josephine joined Justerini & Brooks in 2012 after graduating from university in Paris. She is a passionate Francophile with a keen interest in gastronomy and fine wine, particularly the wines of Bordeaux and Burgundy. As a Broker, she is responsible for sourcing fine and rare wines from the secondary market and the Bordeaux Place. She is already a veteran of many a Bordeaux en primeur campaign and has travelled to several wine producing regions to further her knowledge.
Freddie joined the wine-trade in 2014, starting his career at a Dorset vineyard producing English sparkling wine. During his time there he gained a technical understanding and passion for viniculture and vinification. Freddie joined Justerini & Brooks in 2019 as a Customer Relationship Executive before moving to the restaurant team, and more recently, fulfilling his ambition to join the Buying team, where he works closely with our portfolio of producers.
Mark is responsible for Italy, Iberia, Germany & Austria, South Africa, Loire Valley, Rhône, South of France, New Zealand and Alsace. Fine German Riesling remains his first love, but his tastes are necessarily broad, encompassing all the traditional wines of Europe, with particular affection for Piedmont, Galicia and the Rhône. Further afield, Mark has an enduring affinity with the contemporary wines of South Africa.
Pete joined Justerini & Brooks in 2015, he moved into Broking in 2019. He has honed his wine knowledge through running Primeur campaigns, the WSET diploma and pursuing his interests in Champagne, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Germany and Piedmont. As a Broker, he is responsible for sourcing fine and rare wines and whisky from the secondary market and the Bordeaux Place. He also deals with client reserves, performing valuations and liaising with customers looking to sell their fine wine through Justerinis.
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