Mayfair Wine Shop With 50 Wines to Sample: Hedonism Wines

Hedonism Wines is the shop London wine people send visitors to when they want to see everything at once. It sits at 3-7 Davies Street in Mayfair, a few minutes' walk south of Bond Street station, and its two floors hold around 6,500 wines and 3,000 spirits. The pleasure of a visit in late autumn is that you can taste before you commit. With Christmas dinners and Thanksgiving tables being planned across the city, this is a good place to try a pairing by the glass before you buy a case.

The shop describes itself as a fine wine and spirits boutique and dates its opening to August 2012. It has since collected a long run of trade awards. The Drinks Retailing Awards named it Luxury Retailer of the Year in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2026, and this year it also took Independent Champagne and Sparkling Wine Retailer of the Year. The rooms are kept at a controlled temperature and humidity, with lighting that gives off no heat. That keeps the bottles safe but leaves the shop cool, so staff hand out throws to anyone who lingers.

The range runs from everyday bottles to museum pieces. The shop's own history page singles out a magnum of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-Conti 1966 and a 27-litre bottle of Torbreck The Laird 2006. Most people will never buy either, and nobody minds if you come in only to look. Staff are used to walk-in browsers, collectors and buyers for restaurants all sharing the same floor on a Saturday afternoon.

The main reason to come in person is the sampling bar. The shop runs five Enomatic machines that hold close to 50 wines, and each pour is charged as a small sample rather than a full glass. The current list shows how wide the spread is. A taste of Von Buhl Riesling Bone Dry QbA 2025 costs £2.00, and the bottle is £19.00. Dobogo Furmint 2021 is also £2.00 a sample, against £30.00 a bottle. Politxo Blanc Soca Rel 2023 is £2.50 a taste and £36.00 to take home.

Further up the list, Château de Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 2023 costs £4.50 a sample and £70.00 a bottle. At the top end, a pour of Château d'Yquem 1983 is £35.50, and the full bottle is £600.00. Trying an old Sauternes this way costs far less than buying the bottle to find out. On Fridays and Saturdays you can add a plate of cheese and charcuterie to the sampling session, and pick a record from the shop's vinyl collection to play while you drink.

Hedonism also runs complimentary drop-in tastings on many afternoons, and the calendar for the run-up to Christmas is already published. They are informal, free and need no booking. Each runs from 4:30pm to 7pm. Upcoming dates include Blandy's Madeira on 20 November, Laurent-Perrier Champagne on 26 November, Guidalberto from the Tenuta San Guido estate on 11 December, and Maison Ferrand Cognac on 18 December.

The Laurent-Perrier afternoon falls on Thanksgiving, which makes it handy for American visitors looking for a fizz to bring to a London dinner party that night. The Madeira session is worth timing a visit around if you want something for the cheese course or for Christmas pudding. Madeira keeps for weeks once opened, so one bottle can last the whole season.

For a deeper look, the shop sells seats at producer evenings in its tasting room. The November list includes Paul Prieur from Sancerre on 9 November at £85 a ticket, an English sparkling wine showcase on 14 November at £85, and Château Haut-Brion on 17 November at £325. The most expensive event of the month, a Hedonistic Tasting called Meet The Founders on 24 November, costs £500 a seat. These sessions sell out, so book early if one lines up with a celebration.

The same downstairs tasting area can be hired for private events, which the shop arranges as a bespoke service. Companies use it for client evenings in December, so expect the room to be busier as the holidays get closer.

If you are buying for a large dinner, you don't need to carry it home. The shop offers free UK delivery on orders over £250, and delivery within the hour in central London. That second option is useful if you are staying in a Mayfair hotel and realise at six o'clock that the table needs another bottle of Champagne. Staff will help put together a mixed case by course, so tell them the menu, the number of guests and the budget.

For Thanksgiving or Christmas, a sensible plan is to taste three or four candidates at the machines, settle on a white and a red that suit turkey, and add one sweet wine for the end of the meal. Grower Champagne and English sparkling wine are both well stocked if you want something to open on arrival.

Davies Street runs between Oxford Street and Berkeley Square, which makes the shop an easy stop on a West End walk. Head north to Grosvenor Square, the large garden square that was home to the American embassy for decades, and then cut east along Brook Street towards the shops of New Bond Street. Going the other way, the street leads south into Berkeley Square, where the old plane trees turn colour in November.

If you have time to spare after a tasting, Bond Street station and the Elizabeth line are close by. The walk down South Molton Street, a pedestrian lane of boutiques and cafés, is a pleasant way back to Oxford Street in the dark.

Hedonism Wines, 3-7 Davies Street, London W1K 3DJ. Opening hours are Monday to Saturday 10am to 9pm and Sunday 12pm to 6pm. The nearest station is Bond Street on the Central, Jubilee and Elizabeth lines. Enomatic samples are charged per pour, and free drop-in tastings need no booking. Free UK delivery applies to orders over £250. Ticketed tastings are booked through the shop's website.