Fingal-Rock is an independent wine merchant on Monnow Street, Monmouth, opened in 1987 by Tom Innes and his family. Burgundy is the speciality, bought direct from small growers in the Côte d'Or every year since the late nineties. The full list runs to twenty regions, and every bottle carries a short tasting note Tom wrote himself.
The website lives at pinotnoir.co.uk and that is not a coincidence. Tom's favourite type of wine is Burgundian Pinot Noir, the list runs dozens of red burgundies under twenty pounds, and Tom has been driving to Beaune to taste in cellars since 1997.
The shape of the list reflects who is buying carefully now. Young growers, mostly second and third generation, who have seen the New World coming and answered with wines of real character at village prices. Tom's tasting notes are first-person and in plain English. There is no marketing-speak in any of them; "fruit-driven" is a phrase Tom has written a 600-word essay against.
Tom Innes · owner since 1987
Burgundy is the house specialism. The site name pinotnoir.co.uk is the joke: the address is the grape, and the grape is the obsession. Tom buys direct from small growers in Beaune, Meursault, Volnay and Chambolle on annual buying trips, every one written up at length on the site. The list runs dozens of red burgundies under £20.
Champagne, Claret, Loire, Rhône, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, American, Australian and New Zealand, South African, plus Welsh wines and a dedicated pudding and organic shelf. Twenty regional pages. Every wine carries a short note in Tom's voice, not a press-pack paragraph.
Order by phone or email, pay by bank transfer or card. Free delivery throughout mainland England and Wales. Or collect from the shop by pre-arrangement, including outside the standard 9:30 to 2:00 hours.
A quiet B2B line that grew sideways from the retail shop. Tom supplies a college at Oxford, restaurants in the Good Food Guide, and the largest merchant bank in the City. AWRS number XWAW00000101792 on every invoice. Trade pricing by request, no minimum order.
Every wine listed carries a short tasting note written by Tom. No press-pack copy, no marketing adjectives. If a bottle is described as "bubblegum" or "fruit-driven", it is somewhere else, not here.
Tom Innes opened Fingal-Rock in early 1987. The original plan was a food shop with wine on the side. Within a few years the wine had taken over, and in January 2003 Tom closed the cheese counter to concentrate on the bottles. "Since then, happily, sales have leapt ahead." The same year, the International Wine Challenge named Fingal-Rock Regional Wine Merchant of the Year for Wales. The plaque has hung in the shop ever since.
IWC · REGIONAL WINE MERCHANT · WALES · 2003-4
“I am all for cheap wine. The more people drink wine, the happier I am. But I am interested in selling real wine, not alcoholic fruit juice. If I want to drink fruit juice, Ribena is a lot cheaper.”Tom Innes, owner · from the ‘Vinosity’ essay on the shop site
There is nothing Tom enjoys more than talking about wine. Send a note with the occasion, the rough budget and any preferences (or just write "surprise me") and you will get a reply with three suggestions, a tasting note for each, and a delivered price in pounds. Free delivery throughout mainland England and Wales.
Monnow Street is the high street that runs down to the Monnow Bridge. The shop is on the left as you walk down from Agincourt Square, four doors past the old Punch House. Free parking on the street outside, and a longer-stay car park five minutes away on Glendower Street.
Email hello@pinotnoir.co.uk or telephone 01600 712372. Copy and paste the wine details from the relevant page into the email, and Tom will reply with a price (delivered, in pounds) and a payment link. Bank transfer is preferred; card is also fine. Free delivery throughout mainland England and Wales.
Yes. The shop is at 64 Monnow Street, open 9:30 to 2:00 Monday to Saturday. If those hours do not suit, email or telephone in advance and Tom will arrange a collection outside the standard hours. Free parking on Monnow Street and in the Glendower Street car park five minutes away.
Send an email asking exactly that question. Tom's favourite type of wine is Burgundian Pinot Noir, the list runs dozens under £20, and there is nothing he enjoys more than talking about Burgundy. He will reply with three suggestions, a tasting note for each, and a delivered price.
Yes. AWRS number XWAW00000101792. Current trade customers include restaurants in the Good Food Guide, a college at Oxford University and the largest merchant bank in the City of London. Trade pricing on request. No minimum order, no quarterly commitment.
Email a list (producer, vintage, bottle count, storage history) to hello@pinotnoir.co.uk. Tom will reply with an honest opinion. Fingal-Rock buys carefully and only what fits the list; cellar collections that match the house style (Burgundy and the rest of France above all) are particularly welcome.