A small gathering of some of the UK’s most renowned wine writers assembled in our Pickering Cellar to taste a vertical of 11 vintages of Ch. Haut-Bailly recently (4th October), where the general manager of the chateaux in Pessac-Léognan, Veronique Sanders, gently guided us through 11 vintages from 2000 to 2010.
You could hear a pin drop whilst we all tasted the first row of four vintages – 2000 to 2003 – but lively debate soon ensued between Steven Spurrier, Neal Martin, Anthony Rose, Jancis Robinson, Oz Clarke, Jamie Goode and Victoria Moore. I managed to get in on the tasting and the press were also joined by Berrys’ Sales and Marketing Director, Simon Staples (aka BigSitheWineGuy), and our Bordeaux Buyer, Max Lalondrelle.
Of the mythical 2000 vintage, initial comments were a little disappointing as it was felt the wine was fairly closed at the moment. Neal Martin, UK wine writer for Robert Parker and contributor to Wine-Journal on erobertparker.com, said: “This wine is showing very well but it’s not as intense as it was four or five years ago. As a vintage it has closed down a bit.”
Steven Spurrier, author and of Decanter fame, added: “I was expecting a little more robustness in this wine and then the 2001 came along and to me this is a superior wine.”
The 2001 vintage has been described as ‘Elegance’ by the chateaux and I personally felt it seem quite brooding with lots of promise, although I wasn’t confident to air my views in a room full of so many renowned experts. Simon Staples described it as “fresh” but with the “Haut-Bailly finesse”.

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In this new video, Berry Bros. & Rudd’s Chairman, Simon Berry, talks about life at Berrys before wine, when the company was a grocers and sold tea and coffee. He also shares his thoughts on Berrys’ new premium No.3 Gin and his philosophy on wine.

For more videos with Berrys’ wine experts, including food and wine matching expert Nick Page, visit the video diaries page of Jazz FM

At Berrys we sell many of the world’s best spirits but my focus at work as PR Manager, and at home as a consumer, is predominantly on wine.
My preamble is the result of a new discovery – a love for Cognac! (apologies to those of you who already do…)

Definitely Delamain – A Fine Cognac Tutored Tasting was presented by Delamain’s Director Général Charles Braastad who captivated the gathered audience of 28 for two hours during which he presented eight Cognacs.

The first thing we learned as beginners was that you only need your nose in a tasting to appreciate Cognac. There is no need to taste, we were told. I thought this was a tasting…..! Another point we soon noted was that Cognac shouldn’t be confused with brandy – brandy can be made anywhere around the world but Cognac is just from Cognac in France, obvious really I guess.

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The Wall Street Journal’s wine columnist, William Lyons, talks about the Lafite phenomenon and shares how you can drink like a King on the wage of a pauper.

He is also joined by Director of Ch. Gruaud Larose, David Launay, to taste Ch. Gruaud Larose and Sarget de Gruaud Larose.

As the temperature continues to drop this week, there is simply no better drink to have in your hipflask than The King’s Ginger. This emphatically ginger liqueur was specially formulated by Berry Bros. in 1903 for King Edward VII. Rich and zesty it was created to stimulate and revivify His Majesty and has been appreciated by bon viveurs, sporting gentleman and high-spirited ladies ever since. His Majesty was a man with a peerless sense of fashion, so we have spoken to our friends at esteemed hatters, Lock & Co, and they have agreed to make a bespoke, made to measure Edwardian hat for one lucky winner in our new competition.

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 Four lucky people will get the chance to become The Glenrothes Whisky Maker for a week following a worldwide competition launched this week. The successful candidates will be recruited to work as The Glenrothes Whisky Makers in the heart of single malt production, Speyside, Scotland.

As part of this opportunity, the successful candidates will learn the time-honoured art of making The Glenrothes and the time-honoured skills that have been passed down from generation to generation. The winners will spend time working at each stage of the whisky-making process: testing the purity of the water source at the distillery’s two springs; milling the malt to achieve the golden proportions of husk, grits and flour; mashing to ensure maximum extraction of sugars in the wort; adding yeast to the washbacks and overseeing fermentation; slowly and carefully distilling new make spirit in our tall copper pot stills. From there the winning Whisky Makers will be involved in making casks at the cooperage, laying down casks for maturation and rolling casks to the warehouse.

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Some have called it revolutionary and others have even gone so far as to say magical, but one thing is for sure the new iPad from Apple is perfect for navigating the new free Berrys’ Fine Wine App.

Wine and technology geeks can tap into our vinous knowledge and the shiny iPad’s magical multi-touch screen makes reading easier and browsing and navigation far simpler, and much more intuitive.

Whatever time it is, wherever you are, take a look at the brand new Vintage Charts, producer Profiles and Wine Ratings. We have listened to your feedback on our iPhone App launched last year and we have enhanced the search functionality and you can now filter by price and vintage rather than just the previous keyword search of wine name, region, producer and grape. We have also improved the transactional function which means it’s now even easier to purchase through the free App.

But don’t fear – you can still enjoy original favourites like tasting notes from our Masters of Wine and the Virtual Wine School video tutorials.

This is the must-have upgrade for all Fine Wine aficionados, whatever the size of your cellar – or portable communication device!! Download the free App at: www.bbr.com/app.

This beautiful weather has seen endless garden gatherings over the last few weeks.  But, we’ve noticed today’s barbecue parties are more sophisticated than ever before. Burnt-yet-raw chicken drumsticks have been replaced by dishes like char-grilled sea bass and Halloumi cheese kebabs. And of course, such delicious fare deserves the right wine to accompany and complement it.

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Our new (free!) iPhone App is certainly satisfying wine lovers’ thirst for knowledge as a total of 22,500 people have downloaded it in the last couple of weeks!!

The App allows you to browse our list of over 2,000 wines, as well as consult tasting notes, maturity guides and even watch the popular ‘Virtual Wine School’ videos from both iPhones and iPod touch devices.

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 International Wine Challenge – Wine Merchant of the Year; Direct Merchant of the Year and Rhône Specialist of the Year
Decanter Online Wine Merchant of the Year 

The excitement has almost lowered to a low buzz following our success in last week’s wine awards.

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A charity dinner, auction, wine sales and sponsored diet helped raise a huge £150,000 for Wine Relief on Red Nose Day (Friday 13th March).

Berrys’ Big Red Nose Dinner with Ch. Latour and Jancis Robinson MW raised £23,500 for Wine Relief, one of the fundraisers for Comic Relief. The auction, also held in the cellars beneath Berrys’ London shop, saw 15 imperials of top Bordeaux wines from the legendary 2005 vintage raise £37,500 and another five lots made an additional £65,000. A further £6,000 was raised from the sales of Berrys’ best selling wine Good Ordinary Claret in the six weeks before Red Nose Day and £17,000 from a sponsored diet undertaken by 16 Berrys’ staff.

Wine Relief is the brainchild of internationally respected Master of Wine Jancis Robinson and her husband, restaurant critic, Nick Lander. They put their heads together to devise Wine Relief in 1999 which has fast become a key fundraiser for every Red Nose Day campaign since. Wine Relief has raised over £3.5 million as part of the Red Nose Day campaigns.

Jancis Robinson says she was speechless after the event which raised such an amazing total.

“While millions of Britons were watching what sounds like a distinctly superior night of comedy in aid of Comic Relief on BBC1, I spent last Friday evening in the cellars of Berry Bros. in St James’s, London at the wonderful Ch. Latour dinner which, with its small number of hand-picked, rare auction items and some extremely generous bidders, managed to raise an extraordinary total. Coupled with the sums raised by selling Berrys’ Good Ordinary Claret during the fundraising period and the famous Chunky Monkey campaign, which has seen sponsored weight fall off the likes of Jasper Morris MW and Simon Staples,” says Jancis who says she is delighted with the unbelievable total.

Separately at the Berry’s headquarters in Basingstoke, members of Berrys’ fine wine team Matt Tipping and Simon Lubawy (left) ‘did something funny for money’ by painting their heads red in a bid to mimic this year’s Red Nose design.

Berrys’ is delighted to be supporting this year’s Wine Relief, a key fundraiser for Comic Relief and its Red Nose Day campaigns launched this week (Do Something Funny for Money).

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 With more than 1,000 years experience between them, The Bunch is a group of six wine merchants representing the independent sector. With growing competition from supermarkets and high street off licences The Bunch provides a voice for the independents, all be it quite a softly spoken one.

Former Berrys’ employee and now famed wine writer for The Daily Telegraph, Jonathan Ray, persuaded The Bunch to provide a mixed case of affordable wines perfect for those feeling the pinch. The final selection represents classy but modern alternatives to classics like Barolo and Bordeaux, Champagne and Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Condrieu and Chianti – all for the bargain price of £99 including delivery.

Tantalise your taste buds with a delicious Viognier from Domaine de Coudoulet. This wine dances with delicate apricot notes and a peach-stone texture. Alternatively, the Gran Marius from Bodegas Piqueras in Almansa, Spain is great with red meats and cheese dishes.

Click Here for further details of the offer and a full list of wines with tasting notes.

To order this unique case drawn from six of the UK’s finest independent merchants at the credit crunch-busting price of £99 (inclusive of delivery), CLICK HERE or call 0870 900 4300.

Since recently returning from a captivating holiday in Cuba, my boyfriend Barney and I (below) have been trying to recreate a little bit of Havanan cocktail magic of our own.

We might be lacking the Caribbean sunshine and fading grandeur that Havana has to offer, but Barney has become an expert at making Mojitos.

They are not quite as good as those we enjoyed at El Floridita, crafted by Cuba’s top mixologists, but this is our recipe – perfected by my very own Tom Cruise. Enjoy!

• Two shots of Havana Club Anejo Blanco
• 1 shot of fresh lemon and lime juice
• 2-3 fresh mint leaves
• 2 teaspoons caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon Angostura Bitters
• Soda water
• Ice

Muddle the mint and sugar together in the bottom of a tall glass. Add the rum and citrus juice and stir. Add ice, top with soda water and finish with a teaspoon of Angostura Bitters and stir again.