Just back from my annual visit to the Loire where I assessed the vintage, caught up with Berrys’ suppliers, visited some new names to get a clearer perspective & dwelt on some of the issues influencing Loire wines, particularly those of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé.

The 2011 Loire vintage was shaped, as elsewhere in Europe, by the unusually warm and dry spring that signalled an early harvest. This was compounded in the Loire by the lack of a preceding winter; Sancerrois David Sautereau remarked that there were no frost days during this period, compared with twenty-five the previous year. Consequently Sancerre’s ‘ban de vendange’ (official start date) came on 1^st Sept, after a cool and damp July/August that threatened to upset the party with outbreaks of rot. The Caslots in Bourgueil commenced on the 15^th Sept, versus 1^st Oct in 2010. For Nöel Pinguet at Gaston Huet, harvesting on the 27^th Sept. was an unprecedented early start but proved fortuitous in his (US owners) quest for drier Vouvray – something that’s he’s finding harder to come by these days. A fine, warm September facilitated fermentations to dryness, especially for those departing from the norm in using wild yeast (i.e. already present in the winery) as opposed to cultured. Acidities are generally on the low side making the pretty wines delicious in the early to medium term, without the grip or zip of the 2010s, but still fresh thanks to the cool summer. Yields are normal, certainly above the small, sun-tanned crop of the 2009 vintage.

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In an ideal world, every wine lover would have the chance to travel the globe visiting each and every wine region. Yet the sad truth is that with work and home commitments (and no lottery win!) this isn’t usually possible. I’ve been spending most of my holidays in wine regions for years and still have a huge list to tick off. So that’s why we’re immensely privileged here at Berrys to welcome a stellar line-up of wine producers every year to our programme of tastings and dinners. This allows us and our customers to learn from these wonderfully passionate winemakers first-hand without making the trip – and let me tell you, there is nothing like meeting the person who has nurtured the grapes and crafted the wine to help you appreciate it more fully.

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In life, many a Thursday evening can pass with a glass of something whilst cooking, a moan at the lack of decent television and an early night in preparation for the weekend ahead. Last night was no such evening. I sashayed along to Cocktail Hour & Champagne at No. 3 St James’s Street for Berrys’ only Champagne and Cocktail specific event of the year, where special guest ‘bacchanologist’ Mark Jenner of the Connaught was shaking up an exciting range of drinks. The development of Spirits within Berry Bros. & Rudd is further acknowledgment that Cocktails are more exciting than ever and not just for the stereotypical demographic but more about a genre of drinks that can integrate with our everyday lives.

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A week in November spent tasting the first samples of the 2010 vintage proved to be not only highly enjoyable but also, in the context of all the doom and gloom pervading every facet of life at present, an uplifting experience. Listening to weather reports in the days before the start of the harvest there was no evident reason to believe that a great vintage was in prospect, as the conditions throughout the crucial month of August had not been particularly hot. In September, however, the temperatures had shot back up, and a welcome burst of rain between the 20th-25th freshened up the vines pre-harvest and put paid to fears that they would shut down because of drought.

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In the run up to Christmas, our cellars beneath our No. 3 St James’s Street shop are always buzzing with tutored tastings, fine wine dinners and wine schools. What I love about teaching at Berrys is that our customers are always so keen to learn, and I suppose it’s easy to be enthusiastic when you’re learning about wine!

No matter how much theory you read about a certain wine region or grape variety, the best way to learn about wine is to taste it. This might seem like an obvious thing to say, but knowing that Chablis lies on Kimmeridgian clay won’t necessarily help you choose a wine to accompany your grilled salmon, whereas remembering the crisp minerality on the last Chablis you tasted will.

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Located in Italy’s toe, Calabria presents a very different landscape to that of Puglia’s stilettoed heel. Different not just geologically but also in the way their society appears to be woven together. The net effect has obviously influenced the character and quality of their wines. In November last year I ventured south, in search of the (holy) Gaglioppo, an ancient grape responsible for the elegant Cirò DOC.

Cirò is the prime three thousand hectare viticultural zone lying on the east coast of Calabria, overlooking the Ionian sea to Puglia on the horizon. Compared to the fresh, damp, granitic terroir of the western, Tyrrhenian sea coastline, Cirò’s location is sheltered by mountains, dried by African sirocco winds while enjoying sedimentary calcareous clay soils. Its eucalypt-dominated landscape conjures up visions of Australia (the trees were introduced to combat malaria, absorbing excess water), while the undulating coastal range up to 250 metres above sea level reminded me of Santa Barbara (minus the fog).

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The start of a new year is always an exciting time for me as it gives me the opportunity to look back on the highlights of last year’s Wine Club – the tastings, dinners and meeting with our Masters of Wine to choose the perfect wines for the Wine Club cases! It also gives me a chance to think about all the exciting events and new wines we can look forward to this year.

The Wine Club Walkaround tasting is the first event on the Wine Club calendar every year, and I always look forward to seeing our regular attendees and meeting new members for the first time. Last year’s Walkaround theme was a preview of the May cases, which gave members a chance to try the wines from every Wine Club case. It also gave them the opportunity to meet the buying team who love getting direct feedback from the people who drink the wines they choose.

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Personally, I think Beaujolais is brilliant. Yet it presents us with a paradox. Having achieved phenomenal worldwide brand recognition in the 70s and 80s with their light, fruity ‘Nouveau’ style, many Beaujolais producers are now trying to disassociate themselves from this style and hence from the very source of their success. Why? Well, human nature being what it is, as soon as the popularity of Nouveau became evident, certain producers jumped on the bandwagon with such gusto that they began to produce huge quantities to meet demand, and as is often the case, quality suffered severely. This is not to say that all Nouveau produced is of poor quality, or even that those producers whose quality did drop weren’t also producing other excellent styles of Beaujolais – but in the branding of any product, including wine, perception can be more important than reality. And most people’s perception of Nouveau (and by association, of Beaujolais in general) is still that of a thin, acidic, banana-and-bubblegum-scented wine which is barely more than alcoholic Ribena. The region’s image suffered so badly that by May 2003 Jancis Robinson MW had described Beaujolais as in ‘self-avowed crisis’ due to slowing demand, with ten million litres of surplus wine sent for distillation in that year alone.

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With Christmas less than a week away, now is the time for panicked last-minute purchases and hurried preparations for that all important Christmas Dinner on Sunday. With that in mind, we’ve put together a basic guide to festive food and wine matching!

Remember that the most important factors to consider when matching food and wine are:

• Match the weight of both the food and wine. Full-bodied wines complement heavy, rich foods
• Match the flavour intensity of both (full-flavours like Sauvignon Blanc and asparagus) and also consider the wine’s fruit character (the raspberry flavours in Pinot Noir complement duck the same way a fruit sauce would)
• Match or complement acidity in wine and food (high-acid wines complement fatty foods the same way lemon cuts the greasiness of smoked salmon)
• Salt is not found in wine but does clash with tannic wines, so avoid this pairing
• The more texture a food has (fatty food like duck or chewy food like steak), the more tannin the wine should have
• Always remember to serve a wine with greater sweetness than the food. Sweetness in wine also acts as a foil to rich foods (Sauternes and foie gras is a classic pairing)

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Last week I led a group of Berrys’ suppliers from across Italy to Tuscany to exchange views and experiences with five Chianti Classico counterparts, including Bibbiano, Badia a Coltibuono, and Castello di Ama. A fascinating experience viewed through the eyes of Italians, and at the same time reminding me of just why ‘Chianti-shire’ remains such a pull for the Inglese!

The phrase about Englishmen and their castles hung in the air as we wound up lengthy drives towards imposing castelli, owned often by Marquises and Counts, their hunting dogs and helps scurrying between vast, draughty halls. Such a setting, I could see, would strike a chord with homesick Brits, gazing up at these fortresses, rich in heraldry, noble pride and cobwebs; their largely not-for-profit viticultural activities propped up by EU subsidies, preserving an ancient feudal landscape… for now.

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I have just emerged from under the cosh of preparing January’s Grand Burgundy Offer unveiling the 2010 vintage. This time of year is always very high pressure – firstly we need to taste the whole range of wines – around 500 of them – and prepare tasting notes; then there is the frantic whipping in of prices and allocations form producers who promise to let us know the news by the end of November but rarely do. I should look up the French word for Deadlines.

Too late now, the offer has gone to the printers and will land on doorsteps throughout the land in time for the new campaign to kick off on Wednesday 4th January. Then the fur will fly because the wines are exceptional in 2010 but there is very little volume compared to last year. Delicious reds in a classic style, with excellent balance between fruit, acidity and tannins. The whites are also mostly very impressive, generous wines with good acidity, while Chablis is superb.

Jasper Morris MW

Spurred on by an impressive display of Italian wines made from autochthonous southern grapes at the June’s event ‘Radici del Sud’, as covered in my blog, I took to the road last week to explore the vineyards of Puglia, stretched out across the ‘heel’ among the olive groves, in an attempt to find out where the opportunities lie.

What is clear is that Puglia has a great chance to make world-class easy drinking wines. I mean, just look at its terroir: ample sun, vines air-conditioned by salty breezes criss-crossing the Puglian heel between the Adriatic and Ionian seas, flat land for ease of mechanisation (and for replanting as and when), fertile red clay over limestone soils giving ripeness as well as natural minerally freshness, and a lattice of roads making vineyard access and fruit delivery a speedy operation. Estates seem to be large enough too to enjoy scale and are now better equipped. Bottled whites seem less in evidence at present; a shame as I think the sunny, salty style shown by Bombino Bianco, or more lemony Fiano could offer a refreshing alternative to new world offerings. Reds remain the meat and drink of the region, with a significant proportion of most cantina’s production sold in bulk as ‘vino di taglio’ (see below). Yet it’s their Rosato (Rosé) that catches the eye, not least on account of its pretty salmon pink colour and deliciousy juicy stone fruit accessibility.

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Wine dinners are more common than Dim Sum Restaurants in Hong Kong at present. To be honest one can get a little blasé about the frequency you get to drink great wine. However once in a while you experience a night that just stops you in your tracks and takes you that little bit closer to your maker! Well last week, unexpectedly, I managed to find myself sat at dinner – awaiting some of the finest food in Hong Kong (we were at 2 Michelin Starred Amber)… oh and also a vertical of the iconic First Growth going back to 66!

This grand Event did have a rocky evolution. Poor Big Si The Wine Guy was down to host but had to pass the baton onto me (tough life), and then 24 hours before Frederic Engerer (the genius behind Latour’s incredible run in the modern era) had to urgently fly back to Bordeaux as well. I had a feeling the event was cursed and all the bottles would end up corked! Fortunately we had the perfect replacements in Jean Garandeau (Ch. Latour’s Sales and Marketing Director) and Jeremy Quievre (Latour’s Asia Representative) – who were both at Amber hours before decanting and fine tuning the evening with more detail and tactical acumen than Sir Alex.

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One of my personal favourites, and also a favourite restaurant of the wine trade, is the excellent Trinity in Clapham Old Town. Billing itself as a neighbourhood restaurant, but in reality far finer than your everyday local, Trinity champion seasonal eating in a fine dining, yet relaxed manner. The wine list in varied and well-priced (for London) and the Chef’s Cellar is a very welcome addition – fine wines sourced from around the globe with a £20 corkage and VAT added to the cost price. I wish more restaurants would follow suit, as after all, fine wine can only add to the experience of a good dinner and transparency on costs will result in more people ordering the wines. A debate for another day though!

With provenance becoming a buzzword in the kitchen, as well as the wine world, Trinity have gone to a new level, offering a Beef fortnight, where they butchered their own Longhorn heifer and offered various cuts with suitable accompaniments. The original idea came from a Pig week they ran in the summer, which led to too much success, and I’m told the Beef fortnight sold out in a little over a day. Luckily we got in in time and had pre-ordered the Bavette, an under-rated cut that is often overlooked.

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Our annual tasting trip to Burgundy is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the year for me, and it is also one of the most challenging trips – we generally average just under 100 wines a day and these are cask samples, not the finished product.  As such they demand a great deal of attention, and can occasionally be a little tough on the teeth, mouth and gut.

Thankfully the 2010s were for the most part a joy to taste, the reds particularly so, and our award-winning selection of growers have all done very well in what was a very difficult season.  To quote our host at Domaine Sauzet: “2010 was a difficult but beautiful vintage”.

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On the outskirts of the beautiful Georgian town of Marlow, one finds the gastropub that “would be king!” – The Hand & Flowers. 

A brilliant white washed exterior expresses an almost humble non presumption of the culinary expertise and delights that await you inside.

The Hand and Flowers is owned and run by Head Chef, Tom Kerridge and his wife Beth.  Tom is probably most well known from the BBC programme “Great British menu”  where he competed against  some of the UK’s best chefs to get his dish included on the menu at a People’s Banquet in Leadenhall Market, City of London.  2011 seems to be the year for Mr Kerridge as not only did one of his dishes win the Great British menu 2011 but his Hand & Flowers also won the accolade of 2 Michelin stars! (Possibly the reason I found it so hard to get a reservation!?)

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This December, in the spirit of Christmas, we’re offering two lucky entrants the chance to win a classic wine art print by Raymond Campbell. We’ve collaborated with Easyart Loves to bring you the work of this British artist, who is a passionate wine collector himself.

Enter our prize draw and two lucky winners will be selected, at random, to win one of the following framed art prints, each worth over £100 each:

Life’s Pleasures

A collection of desirable dust covered bottles of Bordeaux, port and their complementary cheeses – all rendered in Campbell’s recognizable trompe l’oeil style.

Black Rib frame with vermilion mount and glass glazing. Framed size 63.2 x 85.2cm RRP £111.97

Tasting

A collection of clarets in a still life composition that’s reminiscent of the works of the Old Masters.

Black Rib frame with emerald mount and glass glazing. Framed size 67.2 x 97.2cm RRP £124.60

To enter the prize draw, simply email your name, address and name of the print you prefer to blog@bbr.com by 31st December 2011. Winners will be chosen at random and announced on 3rd January 2012.

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Fanciful thinking maybe, but there’s something compelling about this northern Piemonte hillside that reminds me of the Rhône’s most perfumed expression of Syrah: the combination of predominantly acidic, igneous soils, altitude, steep slopes, handkerchief-sized zones and pocket-book estates (!), the use of other grapes (Vespolina mainly) to give complexity…terroir interpreted this time through the Nebbiolo grape, or Spanna to give it its local name.

Set among forest-clad alpine foothills two hours drive north of the Langhe and near to Milan at between 400 and 500 metres above sea level, the three key quality zones of Bramaterra, Gattinara and Boca seem to delimit what was once the crater rim of ancient volcanoes that imploded many moons ago leaving behind Lakes Orta, Maggiore and Varese. Their soils are consequently a mix of mostly acidic, porphyritic rock, along with sand, clay and iron deposits depending on the region.

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A week spent tasting the 2010 vintage proved to be a joy, despite an inauspicious beginning on Monday morning under leaden skies with the lunar calendar telling us it was a Root Day, not deemed propitious for tasting.

After the opulence of the easy-to-read 2009s the growing season in 2010 was more challenging, with less heat in the crucial months of high summer but with the benign influence of dry, warm September days balanced by cool nights. The harvest was later than usual and the combination of factors referred to above led to the grapes achieving perfect ripeness, good concentration and, crucially, maintaining an excellent level of acidity and thus freshness.  The wines are, in consequence, beautifully balanced.

The reds have abundant tannins but as they are ripe they do not intrude aggressively onto the palate, and the flavours are layered and the textures supple. The whites are blessed with excellent ripeness, precise, floral aromas and a beguiling freshness.  Both colours display wonderful length.

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The BBR HK Team was fortunate enough to attend the Robert Parker tasting at Wine Futures last Tuesday (amazingly most of our rivals did not bother!). As well as being able to taste alongside the great man, this reaffirmed just how spectacular the 2009 vintage is. All of his “Magic 20” showed superbly in one way or another – and cemented the greatness of this vintage. We were fortunate enough to have our Fine Wine Director, Simon Staples, present and he has written an intro and his brief notes on the “Magic 20”. Please note that due to the special nature of this Event, demand picked up dramatically for these wines, so please be sharp, in order to secure the stock you want.

You may very well receive numerous emails like this over the next few days, for that I apologize, but I was very fortunate to have been invited and it was amazing and I need to tell someone about it!
It was the first time I had ever seen Robert Parker in action and I have to say I was bowled over. He was professional, passionate, authoritative but above all humble. I was somewhat star-struck, truth be told, as was the rest of the captivated audience.

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