Berrys’ Wine Blog
The closest link between the people that make wine and the people that drink it
– your chance ‘ to be a buyer’, yet more Biodynamics and fresh from the market…
Week nine of wine adventures in Piedmont
I just heard that my six year old son Patrick (left) made the correct call when asked to judge which Champagne should be served at his cousin’s wedding this summer – that’s my boy! The power of genetics!
Want to play? Fancy yourself as a bit of a buyer? I came across two quite different Barbareschi last week, producing markedly different results. Do you want to take a guess at who delivered the finest wine, and why?!
If all this talk of biodynamic wines has whet your appetite and made you curious, then we have created a biodynamic mixed case of eight bottles which we are offering to Wine Matters readers a week before we tell anyone else.
Take a look at the case here – it is made up of four different wines, including whites from Burgundy and reds from Montirius in the Rhône (who will be interviewed on Wine Matters very soon).
As a little ‘green’ bonus, it also comes with a free Berrys’ Bag for Life which, aside from being ethically and environmentally friendly, also includes handy compartments to keep your cheese and wine separate. Bring on the picnics!
Nigel Greening of Felton Road Estate in New Zealand gives us an insight into his recent trip to Dubai…
OK, The land of concrete and dust is finally come. Fittingly, I flew in on an Emirates A380, the largest plane in the world. It is an astonishing bit of kit… apparently there is a spa with showers in first class, where they will shortly be pouring our wine (first, that is, not in the shower!)… typical that the wine travels better than I do! I have to ‘make do’ with business, no shabby choice with large beds, and a very roomy bar to lounge in. The thing is just ridiculously big; I think they have to keep the upper deck pressurised even when the plane is on the ground, it is so tall.
Week eight of wine adventures in Piedmont
So whoosh! up went the thermometer and with it went the vines; particularly Nebbiolo, Italy’s most well-endowed in the foliage department after Sangiovese, scaling two metres high come the end of May. Two theories abound as to what to do next. Option A: slice off their punti/tops to focus the plants energy into triggering flowering early or B, bind the tips over to form a lofty hedge. Talking of which, guess who suddenly became Signor Popolare…had I found my vocation in life? Not after spending the best part of a day sweating buckets and being bitten to hell as I trimmed Sandrone’s Valmaggiore vineyard, a sandy amphitheatric cauldron of a site, located north of the River Tanaro in the Roero.
Read the rest of this entry »
In this video Jasper Morris MW helps explain how the biodynamic calendar works.
It looks as if 2009 will be an early harvest in Burgundy. The flowering has just taken place in very good sunny conditions during the last week in May, which suggests that the grapes should be ripe around 10th September. Too early to be sure of anything yet, of course, but the year has started well except for the occasional hailstorm. Clos de la Roche and surrounding vineyards took a hit on 21st May.
This weekend staff at Berrys’ Factory Outlet in Basingstoke opened a range of biodynamic wines for customers to taste alongside wines from non-biodynamic producers.
The successful event was held at the tasting table in the shop, with Berrys’ staff at hand to educate customers on the principles of biodynamics and guide them through the tasting table, which included delights from Montirius, Zind Humbrecht and Chapoutier.
Gavin Partington, Head of Communications at The Wine and Spirit Trade Association, answers some questions about their view on biodynamic wines
Wine Matters: What is the WSTA’s official line on biodynamic wine production?
Gavin Partington: The increasing popularity of biodynamic wine production stems in large part from the growing interest in methods of organic food production. The EU Commission is currently considering a regulation for organic wine production. However we shouldn’t exaggerate the impact of the current fashion on the industry as a whole. Our view is that biodynamic and organic methods of wine production will, overall, make a minor contribution to influencing production methods of the category as a whole.
Read the rest of this entry »
Week seven of wine adventures in Piedmont
It was as if someone had yanked up the thermostat overnight, gazumping spring in favour of summer. For since May 1st the temperature has risen dramatically to 30-35 degrees celsius by day and 23 by night, forcing all but mad dogs and Englishmen to hibernate in the middle of the day. Yet being perched high up on the Serralunga ridge at 450 metres there’s always a refreshing breeze to ventilate vines and minds.
By Nigel Greening, Felton Road, New Zealand
It’s about minus 1 outside, snow well down on the mountains and the vintage, though only about five weeks ended, seems an eternity away. This is a time of year when there is a stark contrast between our vineyards and those of our neighbours who farm conventionally: perhaps more difference now than any other time of year.
For the “conventional” growers (actually, of course, they are anything but: we are the farmers who work most closely to the conventions of the past thousand years of modern viticulture) there is not a lot to do. Nets are being wound onto huge reels (we net for bird protection in most vineyards in Central Otago), and pruning is starting to happen: the damp bare ground looks sullen and unloved. Read the rest of this entry »
More and more of our producers have been experimenting with biodynamic methods of viticulture in recent years. Some go the whole hog and have achieved biodynamic certification; others are experimenting with certain aspects only. A third group is fully committed but not certified.
Of course another viewpoint is that these producers are certifiable and should be committed at the first opportunity. There are certainly aspects which are hard to swallow: the burying of dung in cow’s horns, the harnessing of cosmic forces, too slavish discipleship of the theoretical founder, Rudolf Steiner.
Week six of wine adventures in Piedmont
From somewhere – who knows where? - Papa Silvio summoned up funds to help not just Abruzzo’s earthquake victims (word has it that Chinese and American themed villages are on the table), but also those among the Langhe hills, marginally less traumatized by recent rains. For the rain, coming on top of unprecedented snowfalls this winter, led to slippages (see left), not just of roads but also vineyards. Some of the most famous Barolo producers, Luciano Sandrone and Elio Grasso to name but two, have seen decades of work washed away. Cost to replant: a (not so) cool £50k per hectare…but what price for 60 year old vines. So water-clogged has it been here in Barolo that even Lowly Worm and his mates were seen taking the overland route. Climate change at first hand.
Week five of wine adventures in Piedmont
It’s not everyday you find yourself in the back of a British-built, racing green Bentley, coursing through some of Italy’s most prestigious vineyards on a secret mission! But then again, how often are you called upon to assess one of Montalcino’s top addresses on behalf of a prospective buyer, one with fathomless pockets? The figures were mesmerising; the prospects audacious.
I was utterly bewildered when I sat down to see Robert Parker’s scores the other night! If you’ve been following our progress in Bordeaux then you will know that we were genuinely surprised by the ’08s – some of the wines we tasted were excellent and many surpassed our expectations. But the blunt fact of the matter is that, on the whole, this vintage was not legendary, exceptional or outstanding – it is simply surprising. Yes, there were some gems, but it was patchy; the now infamous weather during the vintage has still left its mark, and only those with nerves of steel, who risked everything on cutting back their crops and waiting for those last days of Autumn sunshine were rewarded with remarkable wines, and few would deny that. The success of the campaign relied on the chateaux getting the prices right and it’s been encouraging to see that those who have released their prices, for the most part, have been sensible.
The sad news this month is that Nicolas Potel has parted company from the negociant house which bears his name, owned by the Cottin brothers of Maison Labouré-Roi. Nicolas, son of the late Gérard Potel of Domaine de la Pousse d’Or in Volnay, is one of Burgundy’s most dynamic figures – not just in terms of the wines he has made over the last ten years but also for his absolute passion for his native region, its vineyards and its wines. It is a wonderful treat to hear him talk about one of his new releases while tasting it from the barrel, or to share a beautiful old bottle crafted by his father.
Week four of wine adventures in Piedmont
The only crunch the Ferrero chocolate factory in Alba can surely have endured came as a result of the pre-Pasqua surge for its Kinder eggs, a fine selection of which were on display at the altar on Easter Sunday. Whoever said the Church is out of touch should have attended Serralunga’s 11am service. There they were, lined up on the front rail, all 30 eggs, some larger than the children heaving them over, each identically wrapped in garish foil, a plastic Kinder ‘friend’ primed to burst out and surprise! Father Pietro, as old as the Langhe hills, reverently ushered in an array of appropriate items: oil, water, a lit candle, before raising his frail arms to receive the holy egg: a particularly large specimen, this one decked out in gold foil (nice), placing it oh so carefully in the heart of the congregation. He didn’t waiver; nor did he succumb to the temptation of tucking in.
Recently I had my first chance to taste Olivier Merlin’s 2008s, including his terrific range of Pouilly Fuisses. He makes three of them in all, one from Fuisse itself, one from the Clos des Quarts, and my regular favourite which comes from the village of Vergisson. Here is Olivier talking about it as he draws me a sample from the barrel:
Bordeaux 2008 is, quite frankly, a vintage that has taken most of us by surprise. Who would have thought that after months of continuous bad weather and set-backs in the vineyards, and weeks of speculation about the quality of the wines, that we would actually come away with anything better than mediocre praise for these specimens? But there’s no denying that many of the wines surpassed our expectations (though it must be said that many didn’t). Either way, it is certainly a unique vintage, and I caught up with Jancis Robinson MW for our annual En Primeur review (this time on video!) to discuss the highs and the lows. Jancis tells me that she was surprised and delighted from the outset and talks about how many of these refreshing wines will be ‘an agreeable shock’ to those who had doubted the vintage.
Watch the video here to see our views on what Jancis describes as ‘a vintage like no other’.
If you would like to receive up-to-the-minute reports of the 2008 releases then follow Simon Staples on 
. Sign up now, it only takes a few seconds and it’s free.
Week three of wine adventures in Piedmont
Bright sun and a warming breeze was all the encouragement a fair-weather lackey needed to swap the pen for the secateurs. Alas it wasn’t to be. All togged up in my choicest gear, complete with hiking boots, the boss/il capo effectively left me on the bench as I watched a pair of seasoned Macedonians dominate the set pieces. Still, I was left in no doubt as to the mercurial talent of Giovanni Rosso’s rattling 4×4 Fiat Panda; thirty years old it may be, yet it remains as nimble as ever among the vines and not short of pace…
A week on from tasting almost 400 wines and having many heated discussions with négociants and châteaux owners I feel fairly upbeat about Bordeaux 2008 as the prices start to come out.
From a qualitative level 2008 is a mixed bag. It’s not a Right Bank or a Left Bank year, nor a Cabernet or Merlot vintage. It all has come down to which châteaux had the nerve and skill to let their grapes sit on the vine longer and absorb all that wonderful Indian summer sun. This, combined with huge attention to detail and their rigorous selection at all stages.
About This Blog
Welcome to Berrys’ Wine Blog, offering news and views from our Masters of Wine and those with a finger on the pulse of the wine world. Have your say by joining in the debates, brought to you by the UK’s oldest independent wine merchant – Berry Bros. & Rudd.
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