Go to site menu

Wyard Druitt in the Press:

World of Fine Wine, July/August 2004

Article from the July-August 2004 edition of the World of Fine WineTHE WORLD OF FINE WINE

Angry swans, crowned lions and conundrums : decanter labels old and new
By Sara Basra

Decanter labels - or bottle-tickets as they were originally called - initially made an appearance in the UK in the 1730s. Although now a purely decorative item, they were then an essential practical device: paper labels did not become commonplace on wine bottles until the mid-19 th century, and visually similar wines like Sherry, Madeira, brandy and rum required identification.

A British company, Wyard Druitt, has recently started recreating some of the original Georgian silver and gold decanter labels. The collection includes reproductions of Hester Bateman's Angry Swan of 1755, Edward Farrell's Elephant of 1815, Richard Richardson's Pipe of Port of 1780 and Paul Storr's Crowned British Lion of 1811.

The Crowned British Lion decanter label

The Crowned British Lion was part of the service of silver-gilt plate commissioned by the Prince Regent in 1803 for grand entertaining planned at the newly renovated Carlton House. Storr, an eminent silversmith, was responsible for the smaller items of the service and made 33 decanter labels in total. The 'Grand Service', as it was called, is still used at Windsor and Buckingham Palace, the Port labels being the ones most often used today. The size and weight of the Crowned British Lion label means that the chain must pass through the curling tail of the lion to prevent the beast from falling forward.

The recreation of these decanter labels is the brainchild of Michael Druitt, a London wine shipper and long-time collector of labels. New designs, such as the Galloping Horse, have been produced, and commissions are also undertaken. Exclusive designs have recently been created for Château Léoville-Barton, The Worshipful Company of the Distillers and three-Michelin-star London restaurant Le Gavroche. Each label is hand-engraved to order, which allows for ample creative licence: Conundrum was recently requested by a keen wine-taster in Boston, Massachusetts.

Reproduced from The World of Fine Wine magazine Issue 2 July/August 2004 www.finewinemag.com

Return to press articles index | Back to top