Hurrah, they’re back! After years away from our embrace, mighty Berry Bros & Rudd have finally returned to the Spectator Wine Club fold, and I couldn’t be happier.
I spent many jolly years working for Berry Bros a few decades ago and it was wonderful to return to my alma mater to taste wines for this offer, in the company of BB&R’s Ned Donaldson and my old chum Tom Cave – a new boy when I started and now one of the senior prefects, in charge of customers’ private reserves.
The old wood-panelled shop at 3 St James’s St, SW1, has barely changed and I reckon its famously sloping floor could still take a bit of left-arm spin, as it did years ago during our regular impromptu indoor cricket matches. Berrys’ wine list, though, is cutting edge and it was a joy to explore their range of Loire wines for this offer although impossible to select just six.
The 2023 Denis Jamain ‘Les Coignons’ Reuilly (1), from the eastern end of the Loire Valley, set the tone for an excellent tasting. Made from 100 per cent Sauvignon Blanc, it sees no oak but spends time on its skins before fermentation and time on the lees afterwards. It has a deliciously creamy texture and is neither grassy nor lean but full of restrained exotic fruit. One sip and we were all beaming. ‘How could you not love this?’ queried Tom, and he doesn’t even like Sauvignon Blanc. £15.26 down from £17.95.
Having nailed my top six, I couldn’t resist going back for a palate-cleansing gulp of the 2022 Daniel Chotard Sancerre (2), realising in a trice that it’s simply too good not to include. Indeed, it’s stunning. Produced from low yielding, organically farmed vines, it’s partly fermented and aged in large oak casks, and has a gorgeously creamy, slightly oily texture and plenty of honeyed white stone fruit. I can’t remember when I last enjoyed a Sancerre so much. £20.83 down from £24.50. (Available in sixes but not in the mixed case.)
The mighty Berry Bros & Rudd have finally returned to the Spectator Wine Club fold
The 2022 Arnaud Lambert ‘Les Perrières’ Saumur Blanc (3), from Anjou-Saumur in the mid-western part of the Loire, is Chenin Blanc at its seductive best. Arnaud Lambert is a rock-star winemaker and has magicked up something gorgeous from old vine, organic, biodynamic fruit, fermented partly in barrel and partly in cask. With peach, hazelnut and creamy Amalfi lemon on the finish, it’s truly gorgeous and although not exactly cheap, it’s half the price of equivalent white burgundy. £27.20 down from £32.
The 2023 Claude Riffault ‘La Noue’ Sancerre Rosé (4), made from 100 per cent Pinot Noir, is the antithesis of many an anonymous, bland Provencal rosé. Presented in a green rather than clear bottle, it has weight, it has character, and it has buckets of glorious, fresh, creamy, crushed fruit – I say strawberries and Tom says raspberries. Either way, it’s just so damn classy and I could drink it forever. £25.50 down from £30.
The 2021 Domaine du Bel Air ‘Les Vingts Lieu Dits’ Bourgeuil (5), from father and son Pierre and Rodolphe Gauthier, is the first of three pitch-perfect expressions of that increasingly trendy grape, Cabernet Franc. With juicy, fleshy, ripe cherry fruit, it’s open and inviting and, well, utterly joyful. £21.68 down from £25.50.
The 2020 Charles Joguet ‘Les Charmes’ Chinon (6), from ‘Mr Chinon’ Charles Joguet (sold to the Genet Family, Anne-Charlotte Genet), has an enticing nose of brambly, earthy fruit and luscious red and dark berries in the mouth. No wonder Cab Franc is currently so popular. ‘Perfect with lamb,’ says Ned. ‘Steak and kidney,’ says Tom. ‘Anything!’ say I. £23.38 down from £27.50.
Finally, the 2021 Domaine de Closiers ‘Les Coudraies’ Saumur-Champigny (7), one of three Cab Franc cuvées from Anatole de la Brosse, produced from organic/biodynamic fruit with minimal human intervention. Intense with vibrant fruit and a savoury finish, this shows why the domaine is so much talked about. £29.75 down from £35.
The mixed case has two bottles each of wines 1 and 3-7, with wine 2 available in unmixed sixes. Delivery is free for a dozen bottles or more.
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