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Our Good Ordinary Claret is an early-drinking style of red Bordeaux – one that is versatile and reliably delicious. The 2020 vintage is predominantly Merlot, supported by Cabernet Sauvignon and a dash of Cabernet Franc. On the nose, ripe hedgerow fruits mingle alongside warming aromas of cedar and allspice. 

The palate is plump and moreish, laden with black cherries, blackberries and myrtle berries. Meanwhile, a backbone of smooth, velvety tannins brings structure and complexity. This is a great wine to please a crowd, perfect with a Sunday roast or a winter vegetable stew.

Ready to drink now

Georgina Haacke, Bordeaux Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd

Our new sustainably made tote bags are the smartest way to transport your bottles. These thick, high-quality canvas bags are produced for us by Re-wrap, a small firm specializing in sustainable and reusable textiles. Inside, you’ll find three individual bottle compartments, plus plenty of room for other shopping.

Our Chablis has been made for us by Sébastien Dampt. The warm and dry 2022 vintage has given a ripe and fleshy citrus fruit character which combines harmoniously with the classic Chablis notes of iodine and oyster shell. Entirely unoaked, this is perfect as an apéritif or with fresh seafood.

Drink 2024 - 2027

Adam Bruntlett, Senior Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd

The nose of our 2022 White Burgundy offers up a bouquet of juicy white stone fruit and subtle, toasty oak. Succulent peach and nectarine flavours fill the palate, tempered by zesty citrus and rounded out with notes of melted butter and a sizzling, iodine finish.

Drink now to 2026

Adam Bruntlett, Senior Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd

Sourced from the prestigious Grand Cru village of Mailly, our Own Selection Champagne is a classic blend of 75% Pinot Noir and 25% Chardonnay. With more than three years Eageing, it is a delightfully complex example of non-vintage Champagne. Aromas of brioche and flowers draw you in on the nose. The palate is elegant, marrying notes of lemongrass, gingerbread and honeysuckle.

Ready to drink now

Davy Żyw, Champagne Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd

This delicious sparkling wine shows elegant aromas of orchard fruit and honeyed spice. Aged traditionally and generously on its lees, it shows more exotic fruits on the palate with a clean, pebbly backdrop and an impressive depth of flavour.

Barbara Drew MW, Content Officer, Berry Bros. & Rudd

This cool and elegant Sancerre is made for us by 10th-generation vigneron David Sautereau. The nose is fresh and mineral, with citrus fruits mingling with crushed stone. In the mouth, the attack is precise, crisp and energetic, with pleasing mid-palate weight and a saline finish. This is excellent with fresh seafood or the local crottin de Chavignol goat’s cheese.

Drink 2024 - 2026

Adam Bruntlett, Senior Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd

This is deliciously moreish, with sweet strawberry fruit and cranberry bite for lift. The final blend included some wine aged in large foudres (three out of the thirteen barrels made), which adds a heartier, richer texture and rounds out the wine. While this is simple, it is far from one-dimensional. The wine comes from vines in Les Conardises and the village section of Les Fourneaux vineyards. This is very appealing and at its peak now.

Mark Pardoe MW, Wine Director, Berry Bros. & Rudd (January 2024)

Splurge on the magnificent 2022 Berry Bros Swartland Red by the Sadie family. It’s a wonderfully seductive Syrah with layer after layer of fat, fleshy, spicy incense and bramble fruit.

Jane MacQuitty, The Times (February 2024)

We’re thrilled to work with the legendary Eben Sadie for our Swartland Red, a new addition to our Own Selection. Eben has planted some incredible new vineyards over the last decade. In the future, he’ll use the fruit of these young vines for his own signature wines. But for now, he is working exclusively with us on our Swartland Red and Swartland White.

The precise blend will change from one year to the next; our 2022 Swartland Red is made from 100% Syrah fruit. With pure, freshly picked raspberries on the nose, the palate has deep, fleshy, bramble fruits and gravelly minerality. A delicate umami note lingers on the invigorating finish.

Ready to drink now

Catriona Felstead MW, Senior Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd (May 2023)

The King’s Ginger may be celebrating its 117th birthday, but it remains a timeless liqueur. On the nose, there’s fresh natural ginger and zesty lemon; on the palate, you’ll find ginger-syrup sweetness, fresh ginger and lemon  Edelicious on its own, or mixed in a cocktail. This year, The King’s Ginger is appearing in its new bottle. Its updated design is a nod to the saddle flask, and to King Edward’s love of the outdoors.

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We’ve worked once again with the magical Merlin family to bring you this distinguished and characterful Pouilly-Fuissé. Carefully selected fruit from late-ripening vineyards in Vergisson, Fuissé and Chaintré gives a wine with freshness and energy. This offsets the generous stone and citrus fruits beautifully, combining with subtle oak spice, yielding a complex and layered wine. It pairs beautifully with white meats, seafood and goat’s cheese.

Drink 2024 - 2028

Adam Bruntlett, Senior Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd

I recall picking La Serra in 2009 as if it were yesterday! The sun was just up, flooding the ESE facing, cliff-like face of the white La Serra with bursting orange light. Davide’s father Giovanni had had a bad night (he died the following January) so there had been a slight delay, even though their house lies close to the vineyard. They were one of the very last to harvest. The result: an uplifting, soaring wine, the emphasis on the high tone redcurrant notes, exhibiting both pulpy grasso and saline flavours. A joyful wine despite the sad circumstances.

David Berry Green

The excellent Domaine Guyon in Vosne Romanée has been below most people’s radar  Eperhaps because Jean-Pierre Guyon spends as much of his time as possible out in the vineyards, which have been farmed organically since 2006, certified from 2012. The wines are extraordinarily good, yet are priced very sensibly indeed, a winning combination.This range of wines is hugely impressive, from the simple Bourgogne Rouge up to the Grand Crus. Finding high quality Vosne Romanée at this pricing level is a rare thing indeed.

This is made for us by the celebrated Hambledon Vineyard. Bright, pure and refreshing, a neatly woven mousse supports notes of stone-fruit, gooseberry crumble and English meadow. The palate is foaming and firmly mineral, showcasing the quality of the Chardonnay from Hampshire’s pure chalk soils. This is the perfect partner for any celebration.

Davy Żyw, Senior Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd

As usual, this comprises fruit from the lieux-dits L’Ormeau, Sous la Velle, La Monatine, Les Herbeaux and Lameroses  Ewhich all lie in the middle and to the north of the appellation. Twenty percent of the wine is in barrel. There is lots of creamy fruit, a well-textured body and an open Meursault style, finishing with satisfying tension.

Drink 2022-2028.

The 2011 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne is superb with generous, bright aromas of lemon cream, stone fruits, baked pastry and almonds. The palate has a subtle verve: rich but not overbearing and its weight is carried with deftness and elegance. There is freshness here and a fine mousse brings a lively energy. Beautiful acidity and with extraordinary length, it finishes with a twist of salinity leaving you reaching for a second sip.

Larissa Buckley, Account Manager, Berry Bros. & Rudd

Arguably the most complex and age-worthy wine in the cellar, this is very tight in its youth, with a little floral character poking through a muted nose before some stony minerals emerge. The palate is tightly structured with densely packed, stony tannins a touch of oak spice and some rich red fruit. This needs time to open up, but will reward those with patience. Drink 2024-2032.

François is keen to highlight the importance of the solidarity shown by the Côte’s vignerons at the end of April, when everyone came together to burn dampened bales and create cloud cover to ward off the frost. Without such action this could well have been another catastrophic yield. Having avoided this threat, the rest of the season was fairly straightforward with careful vineyard management and harvest began on the 30th August. He feels the whites are a mix of 2015 and 2014, while the reds are pretty and will drink well from an early age.

Pierre Girardin Bourgogne Chardonnay Éclat de Calcaire unveils itself with a discreet presence and a velvety touch that gently caresses the palate. Olfactorily, it unfurls a spectrum of scents highlighted by crisp apples and succulent pears, interwoven with delicate hints of citrus. On the palate, its enveloping texture and well-balanced acidity lead to a pristine and invigorating finish.

From the walled clos surrounding Château de Puligny-Montrachet, this is fast becoming an iconic wine. The deep silt and clay soils help to resist dry conditions. The attack has juicy citrus and white stone-fruit. Pleasing acidity runs right through the wine. The white-flower notes and gentle, lacy texture make this feel like a Puligny in all but name. 

Drink 2023 - 2030

Berry Bros. & Rudd

We are delighted to be working with Château La Mascaronne’s brilliant team to produce this superb, terroir-driven rosé. The nose is full of juicy redcurrants and wild strawberries, with a refreshingly bright lift. The palate has the wonderfully pure, stone-pebble element of the property’s unique limestone-based vineyards. An herbal twist of wild oregano completes the delicious, salivating finish. This is drinking beautifully now, ready to open and share on a warm evening.

Catriona Felstead MW, Senior Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd

As one of the leading lights in Provence, Miraval continues to strive for excellence and the 2022 vintage certainly continues in this manner. Raspberries, candied strawberry, pear and white flowers combine beautifully on the nose and the palate is just as generous, with explosions of ripe white peach, lemon peel and pear all in perfect harmony. Beautifully pale in colour and with wonderful acidity, this really is the perfect drink for summer.

Classified as Vin de France. From five parcels of old vines planted between 1902 and 1953. Fresh and mineral, pleasant fruit weight with a slight tropical edge, pure and elegant style, ripe and juicy acidity, just a hint of yeast, crème patissière, good length. Not a very typical Aligoté, but a lovely wine.

This 2019 vintage is the best yet of our Nuits-St Georges from Benjamin Leroux. The nose is a heady perfume of dark berry fruit, violets and white pepper. The palate is creamy and succulent with a hint of vanilla. The tannins are like crushed velvet. This would be a perfect pairing with spiced lamb or lentil dishes.

Drink now until 2028

Adam Bruntlett, Senior Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd

Offering a touch more colour than the 2014, with a sweeter weight of fruit before the spice and tannins at the back. Some elegance too. This will drink well in the near future.Offering a touch more colour than the 2014, with a sweeter weight of fruit before the spice and tannins at the back. Some elegance too. This will drink well in the near future.

Jasper Morris MW, insideburgundy.com (Decemner 2019)

Batailley is one of the most consistent château in the whole of Bordeaux, in terms of its production of classic, refined, elegant Pauillac, and has become a benchmark for good winemaking. The 2004 goes beyond that and the Castéja family has delivered a really exciting wine which rivals their very good 2000. Whilst Batailley's wines are normally quite closed and backward the 2004 has more immediate appeal without losing any of its traditional, reserved quality. With a jammy blackcurrant fruit character and a richly dense, velvety texture, this is really quite racy for Batailley and will be a great value cellar filler.

Swathes of Cabernet fruit here. This wine has wonderful concentration, impressive layers of new oak, opulent fruit and a marvellously long finish. This is a wine that can be enjoyed in its youth, middle age and in 10 years time. Outstanding!

Francois Xavier Borie is now producing some of Bordeaux's greatest wines, expressing the personality of the terroir possibly more than any other proprietor. A fabulous wine balancing concentration, ripeness of fruit and complex structure all in one. One of the finest wines of the vintage.

Pretty pink purple with medium depth, this is extremely elegant, fills the mouth discreetly but with perfect composure and very good length, lightly marked by vanilla oak. Extremely attractive fruit that has not got too ripe.

Jasper Morris MW, InsideBurgundy.com (November 2020)

2005 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne is finely aromatic, a rich and creamy Blanc de Blancs at its very best. Although the 2005 can be enjoyed from release, a decade of patience will be well rewarded.

When Pierre Taittinger first discovered the Champagne region, he was a young officer during the First World War. He returned several years later to invest his energy into developing a family-owned independent Champagne house in Reims which is still managed by the Taittinger family today. 

Francois Taittinger chose Chardonnay as the dominant grape as he believed that modern tastes would increasingly appreciate the lightness, finesse and elegance of the Chardonnay grape in their flagship offering - Comtes de Champagne - first produced in 1952.

“We will never produce a large quantity of Comtes de Champagne because the technical characteristics we require so that this cuvée can be a very great wine are essentially unique in Champagne and very financially demanding. 

The Comtes de Champagne displays an eternal youth derived from our province’s greatest Chardonnay, a triumphant blend of force and elegance. Connoisseurs will appreciate it.”

Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger

A lean and focused Champagne with lemon rind hints and a fine mineral drive. It's chalky and stony with a tense, firm structure. - Decanter

The Gevrey-Chambertin is becoming somewhat totemic for Ben, produced mostly in a beautiful 35hl foudre which Ben feels gives the wine more elegance, finesse and precision than traditional 228-litre barrels. With gorgeous, sweet red cherry fruit, a charming softness and supple tannins, it is hard to disagree with his assessment.

Made from Chardonnay grapes from an old, 100 % Grand Cru vineyard in Avize, La Vigne aux Gamins is a unique Cuvee full of love and flavour. The wine has a very clear, almost limpid colour and delicate bubbles. The nose develops very subtly Aromas of prune whilst aerating the wine reveals notes of cooked fruits, brioche and the lovely lingering finish of a great terroir. La Vigne aux Gamins is free of all embellishments, making it an exceptionally pure Champagne.

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Les Aussy is a generous Premier Cru vineyard, and the 2017 characteristically offers rich and earthy red fruit, more concentration and density than the village wine and a more refined tannic structure. There is plenty of charm and approachability here, but a little more stuffing than its little brother.

Francois is keen to highlight the importance of the solidarity shown by the Côte's vignerons at the end of April, when everyone came together to burn dampened bales and create cloud cover to ward off the frost. Without such action this could well have been another catastrophic yield. Having avoided this threat, the rest of the season was fairly straightforward with careful vineyard management and harvest began on the 30th August. He feels the whites are a mix of 2015 and 2014, while the reds are pretty and will drink well from an early age.

Berry Bros. & Rudd

The sensuous, generous dollop of 40 % Merlot that went into this I think is what makes this so exquisite and beguiling. Warm, sweet red fruit with a hint of vanilla leading you to a palate which is plump and fleshy but elegant and sophisticated. It really reminds of a top Grand Cru Burgundy from a great year with its purity and grace. Please don't be put off if you read words like "elegant" to mean thin and lacking flavour as it can often mean in wine terms. Quite the contrary here, this is jam packed full of oomph and the finish is 3 to 4 minutes long. If its a small Christmas Day or New Years Eve gathering this year for you ( or you are an incredibly generous host/hostess and having the hordes in!) and you want something that will tick all the boxes ( and some boxes you hadn't even known you had) you wont be disappointed and you will certainly have a very happy Christmas.

Simon Staples, Berrys' Fine Wine Director (November 2009)

Bottled July 2016, disgorged May 2019. Zero dosage.

This is the second release from Leclerc Briant’s new clos in Montagne de Reims; the panoramic site was chosen for the longevity it gives its wines, and for their lucid nature. The 2015 vintage was vinified in mixed oak barrels – including second fill from Haut-Brion Blanc – giving it added texture. The nose is pretty and tightly coiled, with white flowers, green apples, nectarines and wild honey. The palate is cleansing, with racy white-and-yellow fruits, sweet hay, camomile and much more; it’s got lip-puckering tension and salinity. This is finely woven, with beautifully integrated mousse and minerality.

Drink 2024 - 2035

Davy Żyw, Senior Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd

This is actually quite aromatically similar to the Fichots with perhaps just a bit more sauvage character. The supple but punchy middle weight flavours deliver similar depth and persistence on the slightly firmer and more rustic finale.

Drink from 2025 onward

Alan Meadows, Burghound.com (April 2020)

The first impression is as invigorating as a sea breeze. I love the interplay of mirabelle, grapefruit and lychee fruit with minty freshness and waxiness from lees contact. And all this is welded to a beautifully proportioned palate with plenty of structure, bright acidity and the mousse animating. It's a very salty finish that pulls you back for more. 

A cuvee of 41% Chardonnay, 33% Pinot Noir and 26% Pinot Meunier. Of these, 15% fermented in oak and 85% in stainless steel. The final blend contained 36% reserve perpetual and 10% reserve wines of the 2012 - 2018 vintage from oak. The dosage is 7 g/l. 

Drink or hold

Stuart Pigott, Senior Editor at JamesSuckling.com (August 2023)

The first vintage of Leclerc Briant’s Abyss was in 2012. The cuvée takes its name from its unique ageing: it is stored 60 metres under the sea off the coast of Brittany for up to a year. Leclerc Briant considers this the ideal environment for the maturation of Champagne, devoid as it is of oxygen and light. Prior to submersion, the wine was aged for 10 months in second-fill oak barriques quietly sourced from some top estates in Bordeaux.

Abyss is always Leclerc Briant’s most intriguing cuvée, but the stunning 2018 is one of the finest they have released. The nose blends floral and white-peach aromas with a savoury and mineral edge. The palate is zesty and refreshing with a vivacious energy and tension running through it. A gentle salinity on the palate is interwoven with a purity of fruit derived from winemaker Hervé Jestin’s terroir-driven approach. This is a prestige-cuvée Champagne like no other, perhaps with its finest vintage yet.

Henrietta Gullifer, Account Manager, Berry Bros. & Rudd

This is one of the firmer and denser wines in the range, influenced more by the clay, which is more evident here than in the neighbouring Roncière wines. A compact and positive wine that will require a little more patience. Drink 2023-2029.

Jean Grivot, whose name continues to appear on the labels, took over from his father Gaston in 1955 and handed the estate on to his son Étienne in the early 1980s. Étienne, married to Marielle Bize from Savigny, has been through a number of incarnations as winemaker here. When he took over, his father’s style was for gentle, graceful wines which perhaps were a little weak in the lesser vintages. Since then Étienne has found his own voice and made a range of increasingly fine wines. The drive to reduce yields and fine-tune his work in the vineyards and cellar since the mid-2000s continues to enhance quality. The succession to the next generation is now well underway, with Mathilde and Hubert increasingly influential, under their father’s experienced and wise guidance.

Here the decision was to wait for a bit of rain, to get the skins and berries fully ripe. The rain did the trick and the resulting wines are among the best of the Côte this year. Adjectives tumbled from Étienne during the tasting: seductive and precise, glamorous, graphite and saline, luminous and suave. We both agreed we rather liked “resonant E Volumes are up 50 percent but Étienne warned us that the run of short vintages has depleted their reserves, and as such allocations this year will not move up in line.

The Millésime Rare is an absolutely delicious Champagne, and a wonderful example of the quality of the 2008 vintage. Made up of 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Noir, all grapes for the wine were sourced from Grand Cru villages. Initially delicate on the nose, it opens up in the glass to show aromas of sweet peach, dried flowers, almonds and white pepper. The palate is ripe with a rich mousse; it’s zesty and refreshing, with hints of pineapple, blood orange, liquorice and freshly-baked pastries.

Drink 2022  E2035

Paul Keating, Private Account Manager, Berry Bros. & Rudd (Nov 2021)

The second wine of Château Brane Cantenac (2éme Cru Classé), the 2014 Baron de Brane consists of 60% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon with small additions of Cabernet Franc and Carmenère that add depth and flavour dimension to the final wine. Black cherry, cassis and coffee all jump out of the glass, combining with a punchy palate full of dark ripe fruits. There is a touch of tobacco that provides a warming spice to the finish, while silky, ripe tannins create a rich and glossy mouthfeel. This is a very good example of the quality you can find from a property’s second wine.

Drink 2023 - 2026

Made from Chardonnay grapes from an old, 100 % Grand Cru vineyard in Avize, La Vigne aux Gamins is a unique Cuvee full of love and flavour. The wine has a very clear, almost limpid colour and delicate bubbles. The nose develops very subtly Aromas of prune whilst aerating the wine reveals notes of cooked fruits, brioche and the lovely lingering finish of a great terroir. La Vigne aux Gamins is free of all embellishments, making it an exceptionally pure Champagne.

The 2008 Potensac has an attractive bouquet with blackberry, briary and cedar aromas that gently waft from the glass, the oak here nicely integrated. The palate is medium-bodied with firm, grainy tannin. This comes across a little savoury in style, with hints of dried blood infusing the black fruit towards the slightly dry but still balanced finish. Fine. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 10-Year On tasting.

Drink 2018 - 2026

Neal Martin, Vinous.com (May 2018)

Perfumed and attractive, this is a ‘95 that is ready to sit up and take notice. Very graceful lines, still fresh behind but the fruit is maturing nicely. Just getting there.
(Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director)

Nicolas Potel, took his first steps as winemaker in the family Estate in Volnay, Le Domaine de la Pousse d’Or. He established his own negoce operation in 1996 , followed by Maison Potel-Aviron in Beaujolais region in 2000 and his efforts culminated in his own Estate, Domaine de Bellene in 2005, with 15 ha of organically-farmed vines in Côte de Beaune.

In 2008, after leaving the SAS Nicolas Potel company, Nicolas Potel launched a new, "Haute Couture"-style negociant business called "Maison Roche de Bellene" which focuses on offering the rare and fine cuvées.

The Bellene range encompasses wines from the Côte de Nuits, and has the widest selection of Grand Crus from Burgundy, as well as a number of prestige 1er Cru cuvées such as Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses, Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Les Combottes.

Recently , Nicolas Potel introduced a range of very rare older vintages, under the name "Collection Bellenum".
These exceptional wines, dating back from 1959 are the result of a strict selection of old vintages originating from the cellars of some of the most acclaimed wine producers in Burgundy.

Dominique rents this from the same owner as Vignes Franches, and the vines are also 60 years old. Arguably Beaune’s best vineyard, this has an extra layer of dark, meaty richness alongside the usual bright, floral notes.

Drink 2024 - 2031

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon is all you could hope for from Australian Cab. This is already showing a nice development, with woodsmoke and gentle pepper underneath the rich blackberry, cassis and eucalyptus character. The palate is rich, concentrated and yet silky smooth, with tannins than show subtle grip. The tobacco and polished leather character on the mid-palate bring real balance and lift. A real reminder of why I love Australia Cabernet Sauvignon.

Drink 2026 - 2044+

Paul Keating, Account Manager, Berry Bros. & Rudd

Dosage is 6 grams per litre.

The NV Brut 7 Crus is a very pretty, entry-level wine in this range. Bright, mineral and intensely vibrant, the 7 Crus is all energy. All the elements are so well proportioned. A blend of 90% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Noir, this captures all the house signatures with tons of energy and better overall balance than in some previous editions. White flowers, chalk and citrus linger.

Drink 2023 - 2031

Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (November 2023)

The style of Pol Roger is always about opulence, sophistication and purity, and their flagship wine, Réserve Brut, is the epitome of their craft. This is a careful balance of the three noble varieties of Champagne: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir & Meunier, grown across 30 of the region’s most desired villages. Although this is a non-vintage Champagne, this Réserve Brut is made mainly from the harmonious 2020 vintage, with 25% reserve wine. The reserve wine is held in steel tank, a blend of older vintages adding weight and complexity to the palate.

Aged for four years, longer than many non-vintage Champagnes, this additional time on lees guarantees the toasted patisserie flavours but also gives the finest, foaming effervescence. White gold in the glass, with a nose of golden pear, tangerine and fresh almond croissant. The palate dances with white peach, clean lemon pith, golden crumb and crescendos with a saffron-infused, chalk stream finish. A Champagne which reminds you what Champagne should be.

Drink now

Davy Żyw, Senior Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd (October 2024)

Gloriously scented with a lightness of touchy that belies its ageworthy staying power. Rose petal, red fruit and assam overlay taut tannins and fresh acidity. Incredibly mineral on the finish. More subtle than the Brunate, but no less delicious. Drink from 2023+.
Katherine Dart MW, Wine Buyer 

Nady Foucault working here on a consultation basis brings the obvious question, ‘Will this estate be the next Clos Rougeard?’. You get a hint of that ethereal nature in this cuvée, and that’s no surprise given the immense care taken, including four levels of sorting after harvest. 

Bright red cherry, raspberry and violets greet you in the glass and are carried by fine ripe tannins and zippy acidity. A garrigue and spicy nature complements the taut fresh notes and gives you a refreshing and clean finish. This is an instantly enjoyable Cabernet Franc that I’ve no doubt will continue to evolve and add further complexity over the next 10+ years. 

James Belok, Private Client Manager, Berry Bros. & Rudd

For many years now and since the turn of the 21st century, Ch. Pichon-Longueville Baron has been performing exceptionally well, in both the challenging and more favourable vintages. Their best Merlot plots are located next to Ch. Latour, and although this provides just 20 percent of the blend this year, it contributes a lot to the whole – providing dignified elegance and the cooling freshness we are finding in the top performers of 2014. There is a layered complexity here, fine, grainy tannins and generosity of fruit. A creamy texture fills the finish, enhanced by a prolonged, lingering, spicy undercurrent. It is a very good result.

80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot

Pale straw with a very faint, green tint, En la Barre is muscular yet also elegant, offering a huge volume of fruit in the mouth, crisp acidity, perfumed red fruit notes, cherries and an excellent finish on which the fruit lingers.

Overall yields were better than Antoine feared in 2014, but some of his vineyards, including those used for his Bourgogne Blanc and Meursault En la Barre as well as part of Poruzots, were particularly badly hit by the hail. He picked from 13th September and has made his usual range of outstanding, ageworthy wines which will not be bottled until next summer. The secret to his style is not clarifying the juice out of the press, and no stirring of the lees.

70% new oak. Hold + 3 years or carafe 3 hours.

Inky plum in colour, you can see this is rich and textured even before going anywhere near the nose, which then displays ripe fruit. Gorgeous quality, a wine that is packed full of graphite, pencil lead, waves of violet, cassis, liqourice, and chewy but well defined tannins. Leaps out of the glass and is clear proof that, when it gets it right, the 2014 vintage equals the 2015 in this northern sector of the Médoc. Good value also compared to the 2015 and 2016 - a must buy for me.

Drink 2024 - 2044

Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com (November 2022)

The 2010 Solaia is even better than the Tignanello. Here, too, it is the wine's energy and sheer vibrancy that stand out most. Blackberry jam, graphite, tar, espresso, violets, crushed rocks and spices all take shape in the glass. The 2010 is a wine I have followed since its infancy, and it has never failed to deliver the goods. Earlier this year I had a chance to taste every vintage of Solaia back to the inaugural 1978. It is still early, but there is little question the 2010 is one of the greatest – if not the single greatest Solaia ever made
97/100 Antonio Galloni - Aug-2013

The wine's intense red color reveals aromas of ripe red fruits and spices, with a beautiful tannic structure in the mouth. The vines for this wine are traditionally farmed by the winemaker Pierre Girardin, thus guaranteeing exceptional quality. For vintage 2021, this wine reflects the unique terroir of the region and fully expresses all the viticultural expertise of the house. Ideal to accompany meat dishes, this red wine is a real gem to enjoy in a convivial atmosphere.

Very much a young wine in its primary stage, this is silky and powerful and tasted excellent during this vertical, despite 2010 being an extremely difficult vintage for winemaker Michael Silacci. 

The year got off to a cool start, followed by a heatwave - the grapes at Opus escaped the shrivelling that much of Napa saw because of leaf cover. There are still plenty of signposts towards a hot summer - olive paste, rosemary, garrigue and liquorice notes, gorgeous ground coffee bean edging, and an excellent layer of freshness that picks things up on the finish and stops it being overly powerful. 

I like years in Napa that have a little fault in them - too much perfection with the natural generosity of Napa can make for an overly powerful wine, and I celebrate the nuances here. 

1% Malbec and 4% Petit Verdot complete the blend. 19 days skin contact.

Drink 2021 - 2040

Jane Anson, Decanter.com (September 2019)

This has a bright pink-purple colour, displaying darker fruit compared to the Vosne-Romanée and somewhat firmer tannins, combined with very good acidity behind. This is an excellent, intense, structured village wine. Drink 2020-2027
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

Etienne Grivot held off until 10th September because he felt the tannins were not quite ripe before then. Sugar levels never rose too high and acidity levels are good. When asked to describe the vintage, Etienne opined that 2015 has “charm and sensuality up front, energy behind; a charming but sophisticated vintage”. The vintage continues a superb recent run from the Grivots, with Etienne as éminence grise and Mathilde taking increasing responsibility during vinification.

I tasted two vintages of the top Garnacha (Peluda), so next to the 2017 Les Manyes, I also had the 2018; it was great to see the differences in the wines, even if the analytical data showed pretty similar. This amazing vineyard at 800 meters in altitude on red clay and gypsum soils has more in common with some vineyards from Montsant than the majority of other vineyards from Priorat. In 2016, they started ageing the wine 100% in concrete, and they have no intention of going back.

This is quite austere and compact and has had a slow oxidation in concrete, and the wine feels quite stabilized and fresher than other 2017s but again perhaps not as deep as the 2018. It's not a showy vintage; it's quite subtle. It takes a long time to open up in the glass, and it's clearly the freshest of the 2017s. 3,200 bottles were filled in June 2020 after a longer élevage, exclusively in concrete for this second bottling lot.

Drink 2020 - 2028

Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate (December 2020)

From five plots around the vineyard, Arnaud doesn’t use any whole-bunch here, feeling the floral profile of the vineyard does not need further embellishment. The nose is beautifully perfumed, with wild strawberry and delicate flowers drifting from the glass. Juicy, ripe red berries fill the palate, rounding out the middle, before the arrival of intensely fresh and chalky tannins. Seductive but serious.

Berry Bros. & Rudd

From five plots the vineyard, this is a wine for which Arnaud never includes any whole bunches. It has a wonderful, floral, red berry lift to the nose, while the palate is defined by the acidity and ethereal energy. Still discreet and hidden, this needs time to open. The new oak (70 percent) is so well-integrated as to be barely noticeable.
Adam Bruntlett, Wine Buyer

The domaine was founded by Charles Mortet, but rose to fame with the exceptional 1993 vintage crafted by his son Denis who tragically died at the age of 51 in January 2006. Denis believed with a deep passion that the work in the vineyard was everything. He has been succeeded by his equally, indeed exceptionally, talented son Arnaud, now also with the assistance of his sister Clémence. At the domaine everything starts in the vineyard, where every measure is taken to produce the finest, ripest fruit possible, creating a style of wine which, as Denis used to say is “a pleasure to drink young or old”. Arnaud Mortet is very happy with the quality of the 2016 vintage, explaining that its balanced profile with a mixture of ripeness and elegance will please everyone. Yields are very variable across the range, with anything from 30 to 70 percent of the crop having been lost to frost. Fortunately, mildew was not an issue as he acted swiftly to treat the vineyard when conditions began to deteriorate. He has generally used fewer whole bunches this year than in 2015.

Domaine Denis Mortet in Burgundy was founded by Denis Mortet in the early 1990s. He died at the age of 51, after taking his own life in January 2006. In his brief, but highly acclaimed passage from the winemaking scene, he rose to become a colossal figure in Burgundy, fashioning wines from relatively modest vineyard holdings which punch far above their weight. He rose to fame with an exceptional range of wines from the 1993 vintage. 

This bright purple Clos de Vougeot wine is a blend from two holdings, one near the top of the Clos and the other lower down. The fruit is a little reticent on the nose at first but develops strongly to the back of the palate. A deep, rich, complex, and spicy finish envelopes the palate, with a noteworthy structure also in evidence.

Two recent trends that winemaker Pierre Vincent has continued here are a slight reduction in the amount of new oak, which now mostly comes from the local forest of Cîteaux, and a slight increase in the use of stems during vinification. The latter is subtly judged, though, as there is rarely any outright feel of the stems in the bouquet or palate. 2010 is a tiny crop, averaging 24 hl/ha across the cellar, but the wines are magically concentrated.

Berry Bros. & Rudd

The 2014 Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru les Véroilles has a perfumed and floral bouquet with touches of violet infusing the red berry fruit, complex and engaging, more mercurial in the glass - perhaps a Chambolle with secrets to covet. The palate is very supple and silky in texture, and there is wonderful, saturated tannin here matched with a sorbet-like freshness and great precision towards the tender finish. This is a divine, delectable wine from Ghislaine Barthod. - Wine Advocate 92-94/100

Wow, this really is a magnificent vintage Champagne. Tasted side by side with the 2006, the 2007 Blanc des Millénaires was fresh, precise and zippy. I preferred it! With bright acidity, red apple and brioche notes, Cellar Master Cyril Brun calls 2007 a ‘dangerous champagne.’ Sensational now but with lots of potential for further ageing. The 2007 is linear, crisp with flint stony notes with a finish that goes on and on. Purity is the word that springs to mind when tasting, a perfect aperitif that is both refreshing and complex.

Drink 2022 - 2034

Berry Bros. & Rudd

Bibi Graetz considers his new-and-improved 2022 a true renaissance of Casamatta – becoming “a little Testamatta”. From around 420 metres above sea level, the Sangiovese used here comes from Bibi’s Vincigliata and Olmo vineyards in Fiesole. This is bright and energetic, vinified entirely in stainless steel to protect that character. Leaping with perfume, the wine flows with red berries and sweet dried violets. This is followed by glistening red cherries, fresh cranberries and supreme balance on the palate. This is one for the true Bibi fans.

Charlie Leech, Buying Assistant, Berry Bros. & Rudd (June 2024)

Formerly known as the cuvée "La Croix Blanche," Tremblay's 2018 Bourgogne Côte d'Or derives from well-situated parcels in the communes of Vosne-Romanée and Chambolle-Musigny. Offering up an inviting bouquet of red berries, woodsmoke and raw cocoa that's framed by a deft touch of oak, the wine is medium to full-bodied, velvety and concentrated, with a fleshy core of fruit, elegant structuring tannins and lively acids.

William Kelley, Wine Advocate (January 2020)

From a mix of Meursault, St. Aubin, Puligny and Chassagne.

A fresh and ripe nose combines notes of apple, pear and a pretty floral whiff. There is good vibrancy and very good density as well to the delicious flavors that conclude in a citrus-tinged finish that is refreshing and sneaky long. This is quite good for what it is and worth checking out, especially as an all-around house white.

Drink from 2021 onward

Allen Meadows, Burghound.com (June 2020)

This parcel of old vines is situated at the top of the vineyard, alongside Drouhin’s Clos des Mouches.  The aromas are of red and black fruit, with some  spice adding complexity. On the palate, it is all  cherry, with real richness, plenty of power and chalky but ripe tannins. The finish is creamy and floral. Drink 2022-2027.

After the famine of 2016, this year is something of a feast, at least in the case of the reds. Sadly, the whites, which Dominique praises as having excellent clarity, are in slightly smaller volumes than 2016. The good news is that the full range of red wines has been made, and in good volume too. Dominique is effusive in his praise for the 2017 reds, describing them as appealing, with beautiful balance, a lightness of touch, refined tannins and a floral character with stunning red fruit.

This is one-third whole-bunch this year, using the older vine fruit and de-stemming the younger portions where stems are typically less ripe. The high active limestone content in this vineyard gives an energetic and mineral expression of Pinot Noir, with succulent cherry fruit in the middle and a violet perfumed lift to accompany the chalky tannins. Drink 2021-2026.

Winemaker Brian Sieve draws comparisons between the white wines of 2017 and 2014, explaining that the texture, weight and freshness are very similar in both years, although 2017 has perhaps a little more fruit ripeness, along with excellent tension and persistence. He believes that this same freshness and brightness in the reds will provide ageing capacity, pointing out that they worked hard to restrict the yield of Pinot Noir to achieve riper grapes. Overall slightly less whole-bunch fermentation was used as Brian felt the stems and fruit were not as ripe as in richer vintages.

The 2015 Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda is a magnificent wine that shows all the magic this site is so famous for. All the Rionda signatures open in the glass. Sweet dark cherry/plum, lavender, spice, mint and pine meld together in a sensual, beautifully layered Barolo that pushes all the right buttons. The 2015 is going to need a few years to soften, but it is undeniably vivid and arresting in its sheer allure.

Drink 2025 - 2042

Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (January 2021)

Ripe purple, with a dense concentration of dark cherry fruit, there is something a touch firmer behind, with more structure, as befits a Premier Cru. The bones are covered by delicious, unctuous fruit. This is a wine with great persistence. Drink 2020-2028.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

Paul Zinetti’s second harvest at the domaine has at least given him a few more grapes to play with than 2014 and fruit of exceptional quality. Nonetheless 2015 was once again a very short crop because of the previous hail damage, delivering just one third of what used to be normal. The grapes were mostly de-stemmed, although some whole bunches were used, but always a minority.

An incredibly fresh, mineral and focused Champagne with aromas and flavours opening up in the glass beautifully. The nose is highly perfumed bringing notes of white flowers, fresh citrus fruits, lemon, grapefruit-like, with white peach and fresh yeasty dough coming along. On the palate the wine has a gentle creamy entry and shows racy acidity, amazing purity and steeliness, it will go a long way. Flavours of lemon, lime and orchards with touches of white pepper with a chalky finish and impeccable balance, truly exquisite and amazing vintage of Comtes to buy now and leave in the cellar for a few years.

Drink 2024 - 2040

Berry Bros. & Rudd

In classical Pol Roger style, this Rosé shows power, sophistication, and charm. Salmon pink in the glass, the nose is a heady mix of forest fruits and fine patisserie. The palate shows opulence but a firm grip and chalky cleansing tension. A blend of 60% Chardonnay, and 40% Pinot Noir, using the assemblage method using Pinot Noir red wine from the Grand Cru villages of Ambonnay and Bouzy, together with Hautvilliers. This gives a fantastic depth of fruit with a smoky, floral scent and muscularity on the palate. A proudly Pinot style, with raspberry and blood orange, mesmerized by a seamless, foaming and long mineral finish. Just superb. Drink with roast chicken and bearnaise. Or it is a spiced fish stew with a saffron rouille.

Perfect to drink now, but it will cellar to 2035.

Davy Zyw, Senior Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd (November 2022) 

Blend: 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay.

The 2015 Grande Année is a testament to Bollinger’s exceptional winemaking, being aged for 7 years, all under natural cork which sets them apart. With their emphasis on a high proportion of Pinot Noir in the blend, the Champagne offers a symphony of aromas, from small stone fruits and a medley of red currant to exotic touches of mango, all layered with a delicate woody scent. On the palate, it presents a rich texture reminiscent of Mirabelle plum jam, culminating in a finish that blends nougat and citrus notes for a generous and complex tasting experience. 

Sigurdur Thor Gunnlaugsson, Account Manager, Berry Bros. & Rudd (March 2024)

Deep ruby purple color. Pronounced and intense aromas of ripe red and black cherries and blackberries, paired with notes of spices and a hint of tar. Full bodied, with intense fruit on the palate that is paired with refreshing acidity. The single vineyard Scarrone has finesse, excellent balance, great complexity and a long lingering aftertaste.

The power of the solaire vintage is on show in the 2015 Frederic Emile which sits more in the broad shouldered camp that it’s sometimes slatey, lean style. Small, concentrated berries have yielded around a third less than normal. This is a FE of immense power and concentration I think will have the capacity for even longer ageing than normal but the luscious fruit also makes it highly approachable today  Eas shown by the Trimbach family’s generous donation of the vintage for us to show at our recent 325th Anniversary party. This is a great Freddie Emile!

This Ermitage from the top Rhone producer Guigal is nothing short of astonishing. The nose is reticent and shy to come out but shows fruits of the forest, liquorice, black olive tapenade. The palate is lush, mouthcoating and full, tannins are incredibly well integrated and balanced and yet there is still an underlying power that will keep this beauty into the next two decades.

Stuart Rae, Private Account Manager

For more than two decades, Thibault Liger-Belair has been following organic and biodynamic practices. He believes that winemaking starts not with the fruit, but with the soil. “We all talk about terroir, but my focus is on the soil and putting what it needs first, EThibaut explains. His wines are pure, focused and desirable.

The 2017 is a blend of Thibault’s five village Chambolle vineyards, but in 2018 he expects to make three cuvées. The vines are at least 50 years old and 40 percent whole-bunch was used. There is lots of pretty, floral fruit here and an intensely silky, seductive texture that is impossible not to love.
Drink 2020-2026.

Thibault continues to keep himself busy, having bought more vineyards in Moulinà-Vent. In the Côte d’Or he waited until 13th September to pick, feeling that the skins were not ripe until that point. He describes the vintage as transparent, where each vineyard’s identity is clearly visible, and one where those with large yields will not be able to hide. In the Beaujolais, hail was again a significant factor, reducing the average yield for those wines he made to an eye-watering 8hl/ha. The damage was so bad that it cost more to pick the grapes than he will make on the wines, but he felt a duty to harvest and vinify the fruit. With careful use of the vibrating sorting table, he was able to carefully select only the clean fruit and has made exceptional wines.

A Second Growth in 1855, Château Ducru-Beaucaillou regularly gives the First Growths a run for their money  Eespecially since the arrival of third-generation owner Bruno Borie in 2003. Bruno never saw such an “easy vintage Eas 2005, apparently: he considered every bunch “perfect E Some 18 years on, this is only starting to come into its own, with the promise of spectacular things to come.

There are pronounced, complex aromatics of fresh black fruits, leather, liquorice, dried leaves and cigars, though this is only a hint of what further ageing will bring. This is a dense, mouth-filling Claret with a lot of structure, a real concentration of fruit and lively, refreshing acidity. Approach it now if you are that way inclined, though it will evolve wonderfully for decades yet.

Bruno is famed for his cooking, and this standout wine deserves a special dish: a côte de boeuf or grilled portobello mushrooms would work very well.

This blend of the three classic Champagne grape varieties forms the signature Thiénot style of finesse, fruit and freshness, offering springtime notes, magnificent balance and a lingering finish. The Champagne House’s great classic.

Classy bajan Rum with a sweet fruity nose and balanced raisin and fig rich depths. The luxuriant fruity palate lingers through to a stylish finish.

The 2013 Saumur Champigny Le Bourg opens delicate like a Burgundy, with floral as well as flinty and toasty aromas but also intense red fruit and dark cherry ones. Pure, fine, and juicy on the palate, this is a silky-elegant Le Bourg with fine tannins and a long, salty and mineral finish. -Wine Advocate

Clos de la Dioterie is a northeast-facing vineyard on the left bank of the Vienne River that's on limestone clay. This is one of the last parcels to be harvested. The 2020 barrel sample offers a delightful texture - exuding a fine, chalky grain. It is almost creamy-rich in style, and yet this being Loire Cabernet Franc, it retains its elegance and shape. This is a ripe, black-fruited style with plentiful oak and long length. A fragrance of tea leaf, smoke and spice lingers long on the sinewy, focused finish, undoubtedly thanks to the limestone sub-soil.

A leading light in Chinon, the now-organic estate was founded in 1957 by Charles Joguet, a Chinon native sculptor and painter with an atelier in Montmartre. Joguet returned to found his domaine at a time when vines were part of a mixed farming approach – putting all your eggs in one basket was not the done thing. But the Burgundy wine lover was an artist, and artistic types tend to get away with taking an alternative approach, which soon became the norm.

The Genet family have owned the estate since 1997 and had partnered with Joguet for a decade before the takeover. With 30 hectares of vines, of which 28ha are Cabernet Franc and 2ha are Chenin, the estate makes a wide range of Chinons, but fine wine lovers will best know it for its cuvées Clos du Chêne Vert and Clos de la Dioterie.

Drink 2022 - 2030

Brilliant purple in colour with a lively bouquet of vivid dark raspberry. Medium-bodied yet really intense with glowing fruit, really long. A Gevrey to put away for a decade.

Violet and iris aromatics curling out of the glass, starting to reach their full expression at 20 years old. Beautifully finessed and elegant, with hints of black truffle, cloves and rich blackberry fruits, this is a vintage that showcases the best of Margaux. It took its time to reach this point but it has been worth the wait, and the wine just gets better and better over a few hours in the glass. Highlights the success of the partnership between owner Corinne Mentzelopoulos and director Paul Pontantallier, with this château delivering some of the most memorable wines of the turn of the century years in Bordeaux.

Drink 2020 - 2050

Half on alluvial soil and half on sand, the former adding spice and weight. Half raised in foudre and half in tank. Glowing purple and much fresher than Wild Soul. This is really classy with the lovely grip that Julien gets to reinforce his wines.

La Voûte Saint-Vincent is the Desvignes’ calling card: an accessible expression of Morgon made from vines planted on sandy soils. Made entirely without oak, the nose has a beautifully lifted perfume of red berries and peonies. In the mouth, the attack is juicy and saline, a theme that runs through the 2021s. This is already very expressive and charming in youth. This is a moreish and thirst-quenching wine, ideal for the summer months.

Drink 2023 - 2027

The colour here is a beautiful, brisk pink-purple. The nose is heady with pure red fruit, a little touch of new oak, good concentration. Bright red fruit follows on the palate, stretching out very nicely to the back. This wine is very much about the fruit and the delicacy of the approach. Good length. Drink 2022-2030.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

The Lamarches began on 10th September, picking over six days and realising better yields than in 2014. This year Nicole Lamarche has been able to make exactly the wines which she wants to make, avoiding deep extraction while using around 30 percent whole bunches. Do not expect dark colours and overt concentration, but if your taste is for elegant, floral, eventually ethereal wines then this is the place to be.

Vivid ruby-red. Displays expansive, smoke-tinged red fruit preserve and cherry-vanilla scents, along with vanilla, tobacco and allspice flourishes. Seamless and appealingly sweet, offering concentrated cherry, blackcurrant and spicecake flavors that tighten up slowly on the back half. The smoky note repeats on the sweet, seamless and impressively long finish, which features rounded tannins and lingering vanilla and mocha qualities.

Drink 2019 - 2026

52% Chardonnay, 32% Pinot Noir, and 17 % Pinot Meunier from the 2018 harvest, with tank-aged reserve wines added. Dosage 5.7 g/l.

Hambledon Vineyard has a long and fascinating history. Not only does the village have the reputation as the cradle of cricket, long before Lord’s, it seems, but it is also the location of the first English commercial vineyard, courtesy of the Francophile Sir Guy Salisbury Jones, who developed the vineyards in the early 1950s. After an uneventful hiatus, the vineyard was purchased by Ian Kellett in 1999, and his investments of both patience and capital are now yielding fruit, quite literally, in the form of some of the best-located Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes in the country.

Fruits of the 2011 harvest, with reserve sines added from 2010, this is a most impressive effort, its lees-ageing imparting gentle biscuity notes and adding weight and structure to the first impressions, which recall English orchard fruit, yellow fruits and quince.

Berry Bros. & Rudd

The alcohol this vintage is 14%, while the residual sugar is 129.4 grams per litre, and the total acidity is 4.5 grams per litre of H2SO4.

Pale to medium gold coloured, the 2002 d'Yquem strides confidently out of the glass with forthright notions of spiced pears, baked pineapple, apricot preserves and orange blossoms with touches of graham crackers, praline, ginger nut and lemon curd. The palate lends an understated earthy/savoury character with seamless freshness and a satiny texture paving the long, perfumed finish.

Open-knit, expressive and yet still packing some primary fruit flavours, this vintage has entered its drinking window for those who love Yquem while it still possesses bags of vivacity. Five to seven more years in bottle should begin to yield more of the toffee, toasted nuts and savoury elements for those who love that more evolved phase.

Drink 2019 - 2040

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate (August 2019)

Derived from the 2019 vintage, Benoît Dussot's NV Brut Nature Les Semblables (Boréal) is derived from north-facing holdings. Wafting from the glass with scents of crisp pear, citrus oil, white flowers and buttery pasty, it's medium to full-bodied, pillowy and chiselled, its fleshy core of fruit girdled by racy acids.

Originally from Beaune, Benoît Doussot arrived in Champagne in 2015 after a stint at Domaine Fichet in Meursault. Working at Vouette & Sorbée, he perceived that organic growers were selling their fruit to big houses and the local cooperatives for no premium, and he set out to change that. Today, Doussot works with some 12 hectares of vines, farmed by nine different vignerons, divided among 18 parcels. In sourcing, he's looking for the second terrace of Kimmeridgian limestone; and all his cuvées are derived from a single vintage, a single grape variety and this same terrace, differentiated by their different expositions.

Drink 2023 - 2030

William Kelley, Wine Advocate (August 2023)

Massolino's 2011 Barolo Riserva Vigna Rionda is a more than worthy follow-up to the stellar 2010. Silky, perfumed and incredibly inviting, the 2011 will also give up its considerable charms much earlier. Sweet red cherry, rose petal, spice, hard candy, and mint give the 2011 its inner sweetness. Above all else, the 2011 captures a compelling middle ground that balances the warmth of the year with a classic sense of structure. The 2011 is a racy, alluring Rionda that will be nearly impossible to resist, even young.

Brothers Franco and Roberto Massolino decided to give their single-vineyard 2013 Barolos a bit more time in barrel than normal. Tasted from bottle, those wines are every bit as impressive as they were from barrel. Massolino has made compelling Barolos for several decades. Still, in recent years, they have made additional investments that include a greater focus on quality, acquiring more vineyards and completing a significant cellar expansion. As for the wines themselves, they have never been better.

Drink 2021 - 2036

Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (October 2017)

An excellent value for money, underratted, yet immaculately made Barsac. Doisy-Daene does not possess the lusciously sweet character of other, more expensive Sauternes/Barscac wines.  It compensates with its rich, vivid fruitiness, well-supported by a remarkably fresh, harmonious acidity. And it can be approached at a much younger stage.

"Exhibiting plenty of honeyed ripe fruit, a more elegant personality, fine richness, chunkiness and depth, full body, and low acidity" Robert Parker (The bordeaux Book,  1998)

The 2015 Brut Vintage Rosé is generous and demonstrative, bursting with aromas of peach, orange and pear mingled with hints of red berries, fresh bread and ginger. Full-bodied, layered and vinous, it's rich and enveloping, its textural attack segueing into an ample, fleshy core that's girdled by bright acids and enlivened by a pillowy mousse. Long and expansive, it's more generous and gourmand than its racier 2014 predecessor, but just as good.

Drink 2021 - 2031

William Kelley, Wine Advocate (Sep 2021)

Precision, pleasure & elegance is what I always associate with Billecart Salmon. And in a vintage as fabled as 2008, these hallmark traits are revealed in greater detail. The Billecart Vintage 2008 is pure joy, tiny, steady bubbles stream through wild gold in the glass.The nose is filled with baked russet apples, waxy lemons and the golden crumb of cherry crumble, all supported by the noble Pinot vinosity of Grand Cru terroir.

The palate is a roasted medley of peach, Red Macintosh and white cherry, very seductive, very classy. Pinot noir leads the mid palate, earthy and richly textured, with the hallmark tension of the vintage extending the palate with an electric Cotes des Blancs, mouth-watering tang. The mousse is silky and seamless, the finish is tart tartin with saffron flecked Chantilly cream. The wine has benefitted from time in bottle, drinking beautifully now.

Davy Zyw, Senior Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd

This is the epitome of a classic, good, mature British Claret. Textbook cassis, cigar boxes, toast and minerals are all here. Its tannins are beautifully soft, but it has lost none of its flesh and intensity. It is fantastic right now, but will last for a further 10 to 15 years.

The Frapin family have been vinegrowers and distillers in Charentes since 1270, and count Rabelais among their ancestors. The family owns the largest single vineyard in Cognac Grande Champagne. Named after a twentieth century BB&R ancestor, Francis Lawrence Berry, this Cognac is floral and fragrant, with mellow, mature flavours.

This is a real standout, holding its own among its older and more established siblings in the Frapin range. There’s an amazing depth of flavour, and the price is approachable enough to entice Cognac aficionados and novices alike. I’ve shared this with friends and family, and it’s always a crowd-pleaser. Whether as an after-dinner tipple, a celebratory toast or after a takeaway pizza, F.L.B. punches well above its weight.

Markus Ljunghammar, Wine & Spirits Advisor

Emmanuel Brochet derives from a farming family in a part of Champagne that converted from viticulture to agriculture (more lucrative, given their proximity to Reims) in the aftermath of phylloxera. One of the remaining outposts of the vine is the Mont Benoît, where his grandparents had some 2.5 hectares contracted out. So, in 1997, Brochet took over and started a project of his own—a choice he made freely and enthusiastically, he emphasizes, rather than out of obligation.

Emmanuel Brochet's brilliant NV Extra-Brut Le Mont Benoit is the finest rendition of this cuvée that he has produced to date. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of waxy citrus rind, crisp stone fruit, bread dough, beeswax and nutmeg, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and vinous, exhibiting terrific concentration without weight, uniting the full maturity of the vintage with the pillowy, chalky signature of the Mont Benoit. Complex and compelling, this release underlines Brochet's status as one of the reigning champions of artisanal Champagne.

Drink 2023 - 2040

William Kelley, Wine Advocate (December 2023)

We’re delighted to work with the legendary Eben Sadie for our Swartland White, a brand-new wine in our Own Selection. Eben has been planting some wonderful new vineyards over the last 10 years. In the future, he’ll use the grapes from these young vines to produce his own signature wines. For now, though, he is working exclusively with us on our Swartland White and Swartland Red.

The precise blend will change from one vintage to another; our 2022 Swartland White is a blend of Chenin Blanc and Grenache Blanc. The nose is lively, with notes of yellow apple, white flowers and honey. The palate is gorgeous with tart white peach, fine minerality and a hint of tangerine. The finish is fresh and wonderfully pure.

Ready to drink now

Catriona Felstead MW, Senior Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd (May 2023)

It should come as no surprise that Pol Roger have delayed the release of their 2002 Vintage Champagne until 2012, in defiance of all commercial logic and the dictates of cash-flow. The reason is simple; 2002 is the best vintage in Champagne since 1990, a vintage which has not been equalled since and a vintage where the rewards of patience are and will continue to be very fine indeed. The wine was aged for nine years in Pol Roger’s famously deep cellars, kept at a constant 9 degrees, the perfect natural ambiance for gentle autolytic ageing and the nurturing of an exemplary equilibrium and a very fine and persistent mousse.
 
And as with all great things, fools rush in and the winemakers at Pol Roger, needless to say, are far from foolish. Indeed Cellar master Dominique Petit, formerly of Krug, is regarded as one of the greatest winemakers in the region and he knew from the out-set that the wine would need an unusually long cellaring before release. This, to borrow a phrase from another friend of Pol Roger, is his finest hour, thus far… The blend is a traditional one of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay; after the double-débourbage (cold-settling) the first fermentation is in stainless steel, kept relatively cool. A full malolactic fermentation ensues, followed by the second fermentation in bottle and then the lengthy slumber beneath Avenue de Champagne in Epernay. The bottles are hand – tuned by remueurs, the prestidigitatory efforts of whom ensure the completion of  yeast autolysis and ensure a blameless richness and length on the palate.
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer - June 2013

These vines are planted at 300 metres altitude on a mix of clay, sand and galestro. This 2019 is excellent: bright, serious and charming. Long, slow fermentation in steel, followed by 12 months in large oak, gives a floral nose with high-toned cherry and some wood spice. The palate is berry-laden and gleaming, with fleshy Sangiovese chew; the finish is vibrant.

Drink 2022 - 2030

Davy Żyw, Senior Wine Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd (February 2022)

This is definitely in the uplifting and refreshing domaine, having an exquisite balance of well defined spirit and beautifully integrated vanilla. The quality of the underlying rum gives structure and texture allowing the vanilla layers to fuse and play on the palate. Unique and enlightening!

Doug McIvor, Spirits Manager, BBR Spirits

Karlsson’s Vodka is handcrafted with different varieties of Virgin New Potatoes, all grown in Cape Bjäre, Sweden. Surrounded on three sides by the North Sea, the sandy, but fertile soil is home to the most exquisite heirloom potatoes, known locally as “Farmer’s Gold.”

Distilled once and unfiltered to preserve the rich taste of the delicate, young potatoes, the vodka’s unique character is the result of the quality and quantity of the ingredients from which it is made. Approximately seventeen pounds of Virgin New Potatoes are needed to make just one bottle of Karlsson’s Vodka.

Developed by Master Blender Börje Karlsson, Karlsson’s Vodka is a beautifully balanced and smooth spirit, possessing some unique qualities of character and natural taste. Karlsson’s Vodka honors the heritage of vodka by going back to an artisanal, handcrafted aesthetic that preserves as much of the inherent flavor as possible. 

Firm and focused, with a creamy mousse supporting a subtle weave of lemon meringue pie, poached white peach, toasted almond and honey, showing a pronounced vein of smoky minerality that echoes on the finish. Drink now through 2025.

Wine Spectator 92/100

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{maturity-text}Drink now{maturity-text}
{vintage}2005{vintage}
{ratings}
[]Wine Enthusiast::92/100
{ratings}{***}

The wines of Olivier Humbrecht MW need little introduction, possessing great depth and exactitude, as well as generosity… much like the man himself. The Humbrecht family’s viticultural roots can be traced back to 1620. Today they own 40 hectares across five villages in the Haut-Rhin, the southern half of the picturesque vineyards overlapping the Vosges foothills, treasured for its idyllic climate and tapestry of terroirs, as much for its half-timbered houses.

This is a delicious white showing structure, firm acidity and subtle hints of exquisite white peach. Combine this with a zesty lemon complexity and several pleasing saline notes. A match for simple preparations of chicken, fish and shellfish. Drink now and over the next five years.

Know your Bourdeaux from your Burgundy? Then you’ll also be familiar with Britain’s oldest wine and spirits merchants, Berry Bros & Rudd, aka the brains behind this bottle. It’s a suitably classy affair, delivering a strong herbaceous note, warming spice and a whiff of citrus  Eand at 46% ABV, they’re not mucking about. We’d serve it with a light tonic and fresh herb garnish.

Stacey Smith and Millie West, Esquire Magazine (November 2023)

No.3 perfectly balances three essential flavours: juniper, citrus and spice, making for the most refreshing gin and tonic, clean, crisp martini or distinctive negroni.

It took us two years to create our masterpiece, working with master distillers, top mixologists, and Dr David Clutton - the only person in the world to have a PhD in gin. We spent months selecting the best botanicals to create a truly classic London Dry Gin.

To meet our exacting standards, we distil our spirit and botanicals in a unique 100-year-old, brick-encased copper pot still in Holland - the home of gin. With the best ingredients, the know-how of the world’s leading gin experts, and perseverance, we created No.3 Gin.

No.3 is the only gin awarded ‘World’s Best Efour times (2012, 2013, 2015, and 2019) at the International Spirits Challenge (ISC).

The 1996 Dom Ruinart is beginning to enter the second stage of its life post-release, where the aromas and flavours are starting to show hints of development. Orange peel, apricot jam, spices and mint are vivid and beautifully delineated in the glass. The 1996 remains fresh and vibrant on the palate, with remarkable depth and more than enough pure intensity to drink well for another 15-20 years. Readers looking for a 1996 Champagne to drink now will find considerable pleasure in the 1996.

Drink 2014 - 2031

Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (March 2014)

This is Delphine’s top wine – at once her driest cuvée (at only 2g dosage) and oldest (old vines barely gives it justice, as these were planted in 1957 by her grandfather), so full of history and the culmination of decades of winemaking in the Cazals family. The 2014 vintage is very overlooked – this was a sunny vintage, which you can taste in the richness of fruit and quality of the finish.

The vineyard is only 1ha and is looked after meticulously – Delphine and her team visit every morning leading up to harvest, and frequently throughout the year, to monitor the ancient Chardonnay vines. Fermented in stainless steel but aged for 1 year in old Burgundy barrels, this is a textured and complicated champagne with a depth and tension only achieved from this specific terroir. This is still young and will reward cellar ageing, especially from magnum.

Drink 2024 - 2044

Katie Merry, Assistant Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd

55% Cabernet Sauvignon; 41% Merlot; 4% Petit Verdot.

The nose has a really nice aroma of tobacco combined with floral notes. Darker fruits dominate, with blackberry, cherry, and plum to the fore. The palate is sweet, too, with an energetic lift and a very rewarding length. We really like the wine this year. A cooling, mineral earthiness arrives on the finish, which is welcome and pleasing. Quite sumptuous for a second wine, it is serious this year—a good fruit core, nice and savoury and a joy to taste.

Berry Bros. & Rudd

65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, 4% Cabernet Franc.

Patrick Maroteau's excellent 2015 from this Fourth Growth estate shows real purity, with great precision and ripe tannins that grip and offer an intense focus—the rich, fresh, spicy nose of damsons and blackberry fruit oozes class. There is precision here, a polish—quite simply harmonious. The wine tastes glorious, just as great wine should taste: crunchy, pure and fresh fruit, high acidity, silky ripe tannins and nice balance. This is a triumphant wine, with a typical and classic blend for this great estate and phenomenal length. It's really elegant and one of our favourites—a must-buy this year.

Berry Bros. & Rudd

Produced with 50% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay, and the rest Meunier, the 2018 Champagne Millésime Extra Brut was vinified and raised for nine months in barrels. It sees 3 grams per litre dosage and was disgorged in March 2023. It pours a rich, youthful yellow hue and is forward in its expressive notes of toasted oak spice that are very assertive and joined by notes of toasted croissant, orange marmalade, white pepper, and ripe red berries. 

Full-bodied, it has a lush and pillowy mousse and a fantastic texture, filling the palate with ample fruit, a chalky texture, and a rounded and fleshy personality. Although, at first, it feels as if its oak is not well-integrated, it impresses me more as it opens and is approachable in its ripe fruit now. It’s long on the palate and is a very well-made wine, but I’d like to see how this harmonizes over time. 

Drink 2025 - 2045

Audrey Frick, JebDunnuck.com (November 2023)

Champagne Bollinger is famed for its rich house style. This is partly because 80% of each Bollinger harvest is matured in oak barrels adding depth, complexity and texture. The nose tantalises with aromas of strawberry, orange blossom and warm cherry. The palate is wonderfully rounded, adding some cream to those strawberry flavours and a hint of rose petal. Enjoy this fresh and lively Champagne with grilled prawns or strawberries and cream.

Drink now

Alexandra Gray de Walden DipWSET, Berry Bros. & Rudd

Lemon tinged hue with persistent, incredibly fine bubbles, its hallmark Pol from the off. Starting with a tantalising freshness, the Chardonnay is dominant with the nose offering crisp white currants, granny smith apples and notes of orange blossom. Hints of wild redcurrants arrive with aeration. Superb texture and weight, flavours of apple skin and toasted almond hits the mid-palate, complemented by an exquisite mineral zing which holds throughout.

Slight richness of warm gingerbread on the finish, followed by a crystalline acidity and saline crunch, the length goes on and on. So moreish and sophisticated, but one does not need to be to enjoy this! Another string to the bow of this adored Champagne house, this limited bottling is one to snap up.

Recommended to enjoy from 2023 - 2032.

Chris Lamb, Senior Account Manager, Berry Bros. & Rudd

The 2017 has more complexity and depth than the 2018. Selection from 60-to-70-year-old vines, aged 18 months in cement tank. Classic nose of violet, blackberry, black pepper and even a touch of jalapeño. This is very straight and savoury in the mouth, featuring black cherry, black olive, bay leaf and layers of dark minerality. The finish is attractive and long, full of smoke and tobacco leaf.

The father-and-son team of Philippe and Pierre Alliet have raised the bar for what’s possible with Loire Cabernet Franc and are now running one of the top domaines in Chinon. Pierre now mostly runs the estate's day-to-day, with 18 hectares of Cabernet Franc and a single hectare of Chenin Blanc. One thing he’s introduced is using more cement tanks and less oak. The south-facing limestone slope of L’Huisserie and the steep site called Côteau de Noire are two of the top single vineyards in all of Chinon.

Drink 2020 - 2032

Jason Wilson, Vinous.com (July 2020)

This is on very cool Comblanchien limestone; the vines need Champagne rootstocks to prosper. For this, Laurent selects his oldest vines (some 70 years old) from Clos du Roy. It’s raised two-thirds in demi-muid, the rest in barrique. This has more Marsannay grip and a spicy graphite finish, but then it unfolds, and there is a delicacy, too. 

Drink 2024 - 2032

Berry Bros. & Rudd

Benjamin Leroux’s Savigny-lès-Beaune blend is from Conardises and Fourneaux as usual; however, this year, no whole bunches were used, as there was too much fruit variation from the latter. The vineyards didn’t see too much frost damage, so yields were only down 15%. As in previous years, the wine was aged in 600l foudres. The wine behaved well in élevage, with a quick malolactic fermentation. This is a beautiful wine with good consistency and length. 

Drink 2023 - 2030

Berry Bros. & Rudd

Tasted blind at the annual Burgfest tasting in Beaune. The 2012 Volnay 1er Cru Santenots du Milieu showed just a touch of reduction, but otherwise there is appreciable blackberry and briary fruit here, tertiary/woodland scents with just a splash of balsamic. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, good backbone, more backward than its peers and probably befitting another 12 months in bottle. Broody perhaps? Yet there is appreciable balance and its sturdiness will soften with time.
Neal Martin - 30/10/2015

The 2018 Gevrey-Chambertin Les Champeaux, 1er Cru, comes from the southern flank of the vineyard and comprises just two barrels this vintage. It includes a little whole bunch, around 10%. When I tasted this from barrel, it had a reticent nose, quite distant and not as immediate or as seductive as Duroché’s other 2018s. The palate is mDuroché’sied with fine, pliant tannins matched with well-judged acidity. It develops a pleasant rondeur toward the finish, almost as if compensating for the aromatics. A multifaceted wine that becomes more and more floral with aeration. Mercurial and endlessly fascinating.

Drink 2022 - 2040

Neal Martin, Vinous.com (January 2020)

A markedly floral nose is comprised by notes of herbal tea, various dark berries and earth nuances. There is both good intensity and detail on the mildly rustic, complex and lingering finish. This is quite good for a Nuits villages and worth checking out.

Drink 2024+

Burghound (Apr 2019)

The 2018 Chianti Classico Riserva is floral, ethereal and nicely lifted. Sweet pipe tobacco, cedar, mint, dried flowers and leather give the 2018 terrific aromatic presence. This mid-weight Riserva drinks well now, but also has enough energy to develop positively in bottle for at least a handful of years.

Drink 2022 - 2028

Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (June 2022)

Founded in 1729, Ruinart was the very first Champagne House, and its Blanc de Blancs has always been the gold standard. Made from 100% Chardonnay, it is largely comprised of fruit from the Côte des Blancs, Montagne de Reims, the Sézannais and La Vallée de la Vesle. The aromatics are wonderfully clear, with notes of recently picked citrus, floral honey and fresh bread. The palate is full of sweet lemon and crisp nectarine, with a taut, refreshing line of acidity beautifully supported by generous, rich fruit. This will respond excellently to a further couple of years in the cellar. 

Charlie Leech, Buying Assistant, Berry Bros. & Rudd (April 2024)

The new vintages see 50% cement tank and 50% large 500l wood barrels; however, the 2018 was aged in 100% cement vats for 18 months.

This cuvée  comes from a selection of 70-year-old vines, which sit just behind the winery. Lovely dark fruit aromas of cherry and fresh plum predominate, intertwined with black pepper and a stunning wet stone freshness. The palate has lovely notes of sweet spices alongside bright black fruits. Offering good length and balance, this is a lovely entry level Chinon.

Drink 2024 - 2032

Yoan Bernard, Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd

This is picked, vinified and aged in four distinct parts, based on vine age and location, although Paul feels there are eight or nine distinct terroirs in the clos. Each adds something different, and the final blend is greater than the sum of its parts, with a dense fruit perfume leading on to a palate that is at once rich and fresh, with chalky tannins and floral touches. A rather delicate and elegant expression. Drink 2027-2040.

Vinified with 50% whole cluster.

A fresh, cool, and airy mix is composed of perfumed aromas of rose petals, violet, red currant, and a background hint of earth. There is a first-rate intensity to the mineral-driven and muscular medium-weight flavours that exhibit terrific persistence on the firm and moderately rustic finish. Pommard villages wines rarely get much better than this, though it is necessary to have extended patience.

Drink from 2028 onward

Allen Meadows, Burghound.com (January 2018)

The nose has lovely aromatics of strawberry and cream alongside a striking wet stone freshness. The palate is linear with good tension which balances the 14% alcohol. Fresh strawberries combined with ripe chalky tannins gives this Regnie a lovely balance. 100% destemmed, lovely.

Yoan Bernard, Fine Wine Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd

The grapes here come from two parcels; l'Eveque, which Frederic sold in 2024, and Champs Levrier which will become the main source of grapes for this label going forwards. The nose is perfumed and boasts of violets and fresh cassis. On the palate, the same cassis is precise and full of freshness combined with well-integrated chalky tannins. Good balance and length and lovely integration of wood.

Yoan Bernard, Fine Wine Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd

Les Vergers comes from 67 year old vines and is located right beside Chateau des Vergers from where it holds its name. The nose here is Chambolesque with loads of elegant red and black fruit alongside perfumed floral notes, piercing intensity, complexity and elegance - wow. On the palate we find the same elegance and concentration, great ripe tannins. This is much more delicate and ethereal compared to the Regnie Vernus parcel.

Yoan Bernard, Fine Wine Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd

This parcel is located at the foot of Cote de Py. Very floral on the nose alongside ripe black fruits retaining good freshness. We can also discern animal and leather notes compared to the straight Morgon adding a layer of complexity. Elegant on the palate with lovely bright blue fruit. Still, a more rustic Beaujolais compared to the rest of the range but will age very well. Give this one some time in a Carafe before drinking.

Yoan Bernard, Fine Wine Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd

Frederic only uses a horse to work this vineyard and the grapes are 100% destemmed. The nose exhibits succulent aromas of roses and bright strawberry, some Pinotage here! Great tension on the palate coupled with a lovely salinity and velvety tannic structure. This is utterly delicious.

Yoan Bernard, Fine Wine Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd

Stacks of redcurrant and oolong tea character give this sleek, but substantial Chiroubles plenty of appeal. Crisp and zesty finish with plenty of wet stone character. Only the third vintage from this new producer! Sustainable. Drink or hold.

Stuart Pigott, Senior Editor for JamesSuckling.com (March 2023)

For a 2021 this is brimming with sour cherry fruit, plus herbal and savory complexity. Fascinating interplay of fresh and ripe elements on the concentrated and lively medium-bodied palate. Long crisp finish with wet stone minerality. Only the third vintage from this new producer! Sustainable. Drink or hold.

Stuart Pigott, Senior Editor for JamesSuckling.com (March 2023)

The potential alcohol content was record high from the start, especially in Aÿ, with 11.1% straight away. Denis, just like me, sees great similarities between 2015 and 2019, but where the sharpness and freshness is better in 2019. It is not the acidity, but rather the mineral salt that gives the freshness together with the sense of umami the concentrated grapes give. Here, there is a swirl of exotic fruit and honey and a dry smokiness that I’ve learned to associate with the cluster of aromas that transforms over time into the note of railway on a hot summer’s day. It might sound fuzzy, but it makes perfect sense.

The combination of heated rail, dry gravel, dandelions and nettles that thrive in the embankment gives a concentrated, warm dryness strongly reminiscent of the character the grapes acquire when the temperature crosses the vine’s pain point on a few hot summer days. 41 degrees in the shade was a heat record in Champagne, especially a lot of shade, which the vineyards in Champagne cannot boast of, so the effect is reminiscent of that which arose in 1947, 1959, 1976, and 2003. Hence, this aroma was less marked in 2019. Let’s see if I’m right in 10 years when I expect “The Famous Note of Railroad Track” to appear in this beauty.

Richard Juhlin, The Champagne Club (June 2024)

From a single 1.5 hectare monopole vineyard in Bizay. Fermented in 600-litre demi-muids.

Almost sour citrus, like lime pickle? Very structured, with taut acidity. Honey too, but overall the acid and citric sharpness rules. Quite an onslaught, but in a good way. 

Drink 2017 - 2027

Richard Hemming MW, JancisRobinson.com (October 2017)

A perfumed and very pretty nose speaks mainly of various red berries and soft earth. The delicious, succulent and rounded flavours possess good vibrancy while exhibiting only a touch of rusticity on the moderately firm finale.

Drink from 2023 onward

Allen Meadows, Burghound.com (January 2021)

Reduction. This is completely different from the Beaux Monts, particularly in terms of size and weight as there is real muscle to the impressively concentrated and ripe medium-bodied plus flavors that culminate in a hugely long finish that coats the palate with dry extract. The supporting tannins are also markedly firmer and it's clear that this will require around 15 years to completely realize its full, and considerable, potential yet it should be approachable after 10 years or so. In a word, impressive.
Allen Meadows - burghound.com - Jan 2014

In contrast to the sullen 2018, Jamet's 2017 Cote Rotie Terrasses is more open at the moment, with attractive notes of strawberry and raspberry compote framed by velvety tannins. It's full-bodied, with enough stuffing to carry it at least another decade, probably longer.

Just a few steps up the hill and a solid stone wall apart from the old family domaine now home to his brother, Jean-Luc Jamet continues to build and expand his brand-new cellars. As it had been some time since my previous visit, we had some catching up to do, and we went through a few short verticals of the domaine's wines, as well as a quick barrel tasting of the lots destined for the 2020 Cote Rotie Terrasses.

Drink 2022 - 2035

Joe Czerwinski, Wine Advocate (January 2022)

This wine is still very backward but it will certainly be dark in colour and exceptionally concentrated. We will have to wait to understand the detail of the fruit. 75% stems were retained.
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director

Sylvie feels that her 2012s will benefit from a long maturation in barrel; the wines were certainly at a very backward stage of development when we tasted them in November. There was no hail in Gevrey- Chambertin but the poor flowering conditions restricted her crop to 25 hl/ha overall and she began picking on 24th September.

The vineyard is farmed by Benjamins right-hand man, Jean-Charles Carr, and the Clos de la Cave des Ducs is the epitome of perfectly balanced Volnay not massive but with an exquisite delicacy of red and black fruit and great persistence.

The outstanding wine in 2007 is equally brilliant in 2008. Deep purple in colour with exceptional power on the nose. Some fresh mulberry fruit at the start leads to more complex flavours and even a touch of bacon on the palate. Stems used in the vinification. Brilliantly put together. Very long finish, suffused with energy.
(Jasper Moris MW, BBR Buyer)

Dominique has this parcel on a fermage contract. It's an elegant expression of Beaune, with a bright purple colour, floral aromatics and rich fruit on the palate.  The tannins are silky, seductive and perfectly integrated with the fruit. A wonderful, floral finish. Drink 2021-2026

After the famine of 2016, this year is something of a feast, at least in the case of the reds. Sadly, the whites, which Dominique praises as having excellent clarity, are in slightly smaller volumes than 2016. The good news is that the full range of red wines has been made, and in good volume too. Dominique is effusive in his praise for the 2017 reds, describing them as appealing, with beautiful balance, a lightness of touch, refined tannins and a floral character with stunning red fruit.

This wine is built mainly around Mourvèdre, Grenache and Syrah, but the palate reveals it to be a careful construction from all thirteen Châteauneuf-du-Pape varieties. Counoise lends smoky, tannic complexity, while Cinsault adds softness and elegance. All in all it’s a classic Beaucastel, with black fruits, truffles, spice and bitter chocolate notes all present.

Made from equal proportions of Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvèdre and aged in new barrique, this is the closest the Rhône comes to a Pomerol. The velvety texture coats a most generous fruit basket. This will need a decade to really sing; the 2005 is not quite as good and is still very closed!

La Nerthe is one of the few Rhône properties where the property perfectly captures the grandeur of the wines. Our Fine Wine team loves to visit because everything, including the elegance of the wines, makes them think they are in Bordeaux. Christian Voeux is particularly pleased with the 2010 vintage, which, he advises, shares the rigour and precision of the 2005 and the generous fruit character of the 2007. As the 2007 la Nerthe was our best-seller of that particular vintage, these are words that we are happy to hear.

Berry Bros. & Rudd

This wonderfully sophisticated wine wears its newly awarded Premier Cru badge easily. A charming perfume wafts from the glass – a heady cocktail of white flowers, ripe white peach, nectarine and smoky oak. The palate is succulent and mouth-watering, with dense fruit layered between chalky limestone notes and saline acidity carrying the lingering finish.

Drink 2025 - 2035

Berry Bros. & Rudd

Antoine observed that his higher vineyards have loved the 2017 vintage. This has much more bulk than usual, but it is well-toned, resolving to an assertive and intense finish, through which the year’s bright freshness glitters like a quartz lode. Drink 2023-2031.

Antoine feels that 2017 is a little less rich than 2015, but also fresher. He likes wines with body, so the freshness is a bonus, adding another dimension. He will bottle in December and January; he feels that after a warm summer, two winters in barrel is too long and earlier bottling is necessary to capture the fruit. He now wonders whether he should have bottled his 2015s sooner. Harvest began on 31st August – even for his Blagny, which used to be one of the last to ripen, indicative of the warming conditions in the region.

Of the 13 plots which make up this wine, the key ones are Beaurenard in the north-west, Charbonnière on the central Crau plateau and Gallimardes in the south... in other words, this has a richly diverse provenance. The blend is 80 percent Grenache, 10 percent Mourvèdre, seven percent Syrah and three percent Cinsault. The wine displays classic aromas of thyme, sous-bois and macerated plum and an equally classic palate, which is long and unnervingly complex.  
Simon Field MW - Wine Buyer

The forebears of sisters Sophie and Catherine Armenier have been making superb wines since 1344 it seems, maybe modifying their techniques a little along the way, but not too much. Biodynamic in all but the letter, they are based close to Beaucastel, but their plots, albeit more modest in total surface area, are more widely spaced over the appellation, with the most significant holdings in the areas around Courthézon and on the central Crau plateau. Low yields are key to the exceptional quality of the wines.

Fine, bright colour, this has a brilliantly concentrated nose, showing power and muscle, plus beautiful fruit. It is an astonishingly gorgeous mouthful of fruit with richness, density, and a lovely finish. This is accessible, adorable, but with the structure to age well.

Jean-Philippe is serene in the knowledge of the quality of his 2014 vintage. The grapes were entirely healthy, there were no problems in vinification, the maturation process is happening as it should and the wines are set to give a great deal of pleasure all round. There is less reduction than last year, so they will be accessible reasonably early, while still having good keeping potential.

65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc.

This Fourth Growth St Julien estate has been performing consistently well for the past several vintages and 2014 is no exception. The nose is pretty, attractively perfumed, fresh and expressive. The palate is dominated by rich, fleshy fruit. There is a purity here, great precision and ripe tannins which grip, and offer an intense focus. High acidity, complexity and a persistence on the finish suggest this wine has excellent potential for aging. Elegant and fine, it is a wine that the château can be proud of. Bravo indeed.

Berry Bros. & Rudd