A wonderful offer from Berry Bros & Rudd, this. Wine-loving readers will know that once or twice a month we hold Spectator winemakers’ lunches at 22 Old Queen Street. A well-known winemaker will bring some wines and chat about them to a maximum of 14 readers over lunch in the boardroom.
These entertaining affairs must surely be the best value in town: just £75 a pop for four courses of jolly fine grub and as much wine as you can drink; not to mention the chance to chat to some of the world’s leading winemakers and to meet like-minded Speccie readers. Little wonder that we always have to flick the lights to turf folk out as afternoon turns into evening.
Anyway, the point I’m getting to is that Mark Walford was our most recent vigneron and brought with him wines from Le Soula, the remarkable organic/biodynamic estate high in the Fenouillèdes mountains of south-west France. All of us present were blown away by the wines’ freshness, by their individuality, their concentration, their complexity and their, well, downright tastiness. I just knew we had to offer them here.
The 2011 Le Soula Blanc (1) is a blend of nine different low-yielding, hand-harvested varieties (Sauvignon, Vermentino, Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne, Chardonnay, Macabeu, Malvoisie du Roussillon and Grenache Gris), from centuries-old vineyards where no herbicides, pesticides or chemical fertilisers are used. Thanks to high altitude (sunny but cool) the wine has a freshness to it, as well as a touch of oak. £21.00, down from £24.95.
The 2011 Le Soula Rouge (5) is a blend of the traditional southern French varieties of Carignan (mainly), Syrah and Grenache, aged for 22 months in both tank and oak. Poor soils mean low yields, and low yields mean concentrated fruit.
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