Independent fine wine merchants. Since 1999.
John Morgan founded Morgan Classic Wines in 1999, after twenty years distributing fine wine to the UK trade. Today MCW is one of Britain’s leading independent fine wine merchants, with over £250 million of fine wine traded to date.
We specialise in the secondary market, buying from the trade and well stored private cellars across the UK and continental Europe: clients exiting collections, families settling estates, fellow merchants liquidating positions. We sell to collectors, drinkers, restaurants and merchants in more than thirty countries. In addition we hold significant stock in bond at London City Bond, ready to ship.
Most of our clients have been with us for years. Some for decades. A good number spent their own careers in the wine trade and choose us over the bigger names. We think that says more about how we work than anything we could write here.
Independent by design.
We are not an agent for any producer. Which means:
- No allocations to push
- No agency contracts to honour
- No quotas to clear
When we recommend a wine, it is because we have chosen to stock it on its own merits and at the right price.
That independence is rare in this trade. It means we can tell you when a wine is overvalued. It means we can tell you when to sell. It means our list reflects what we genuinely think is worth buying, not what someone has told us we have to move.
After the 2005 campaign we stopped trading En Primeur. The economics no longer added up, and we have not looked back. We deal in physical, mature wine that you can drink, cellar, or ship the day you buy it.
“We have no allegiances. We choose what we sell. We follow the market, we don’t try to make it.”
John Morgan, Founder
Buying is easy. Selling is the hard part.
Many of our clients come to us with the same story. A previous merchant happy to build their cellar, then conspicuously quiet when it came time to sell some back. They arrive saddled with overpriced drinking wines and no clear route to a buyer. Building a cellar is easy. Selling one well is the hard part. We have done both for twenty-seven years.
How we work.
Buy from us
Our list changes constantly. It’s a pick-and-mix of fine wines from cellars privately offered to us and overstocked merchants needing to clear positions, and we have a knack for unearthing the trophies of the wine world at lean prices. They don’t tend to stick around long, so it’s worth checking in regularly. Sign up to our mailing list to be the first to know about new arrivals. Held in bond at London City Bond, ready for delivery in the UK or export anywhere in the world.
Sell through us
We are always buyers of well stored, in-demand wines. We can buy outright or broker on commission, and either way you deal with people who have spent their working lives in the trade. Pricing is fair, payment is prompt, and the process is straightforward.
Cellar advice
For long-standing clients we provide ongoing portfolio reviews, drink-keep-sell guidance, and a steer when something interesting comes up. The fine wine market is imperfect, and a calm second opinion is often worth more than a confident first one.
What sets us apart.
Independent
No producer allegiances. No agency contracts. No allocations to push.
Experienced
John has been in fine wine since 1979. The team has handled private cellars worth seven figures, and on occasion eight.
Founding Liv-ex member
On the exchange since its earliest days.
In bond at LCB
Significant stock held at London City Bond, the UK’s principal fine wine warehouse.
The team.
John Morgan
Founder & Managing Director
In the fine wine trade since 1979. Founded Morgan Classic Wines in 1999. Has handled a multitude of private cellars and overstocked wholesale merchants over the years. Was at the vanguard of the US and China fine wine buying booms of the 1990s and 2000s.
Alick Robertson
Sales, Marketing and Operations
Joined the team in 2018 from Jersey’s finest retailer. Acts as first base, prepares valuations, coordinates the website, and buys and sells private collections. Ensures buy and sell prices are set fair. Margin king.
Mel Harvey
Logistics & Accounts
Keeps the wines moving and the books straight. Has an iron grip on the pulse and efficiency of the company. Long-standing clients credit Mel by name for the speed of payment and admin when they sell to us.
Member of · Bonded with
Founding member of Liv-ex · Bonded with London City Bond
Testimonials
He analysed my portfolio and made some early recommendations on the ‘keep/drink/sell’ principle, and it’s gone on from there.
He has learned my tastes over time, and come up with interesting recommendations, wines I could not have known about, which work really well for me and my wife… Vive Morgan Classics!
Throughout, their service is professional, polite and prompt.
Highly recommended.
Conscious of my naivety of the market and how to do this, not to mention, of course, the potential pitfalls and risks of this I found John and his team in 2007 to help me navigate the market to reach this goal and to have some fun on the way!
John and the team at MCW have succeeded in guiding me fantastically through this. The relaxed but professional way MCW do things gave me huge confidence that we were doing the right thing.
Johns’s huge experience and network that he has built up over his years in the market has enabled me to build an extensive wide-ranging portfolio for the future.
The wealth of insight into the global market has been invaluable and the team are ALWAYS available to chat through things whenever however stupid the question! Johns’s advice is always tailored to my specific needs and the trust we have built up over the last 15 years gives me so much confidence! And, into the bargain, I have learnt a huge amount from him over the years and we have certainly had a lot of fun along the way.
Browse our list. Sell us a cellar. Or just pick up the phone.
Browse the list
Sell your cellar
Talk to John
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