Today it was the annual en primeur get-together, where our very own Simon Staples (aka @BigSiTheWineGuy) meets with  Master of Wine Jancis Robinson to discuss the current Bordeaux campaign.

So, what did they really think of 2010?  Can it be compared to any other vintages? What are the bargains, and how did the First Growths fare? And most importantly, what about pricing…?  Find all of this out and more, by watching the video below:

Last month, in our Pickering Cellar saw one of the most scintillating tastings ever held in our premises. Proprietor of Château Climens Bérénice Lurton came over from Bordeaux and talked through a dazzling array of 12 vintages of her extraordinary Barsac wine, ranging from 2008 back to 1964. In all the themed tastings I have attended or hosted in Berrys’ Cellars I cannot recall an event which prompted so many comments and questions. Many of the guests expressed their delight at the end of the evening with several saying how they had never before realised the scale of the dedication involved in producing top-class Sauternes. It was not only highly enjoyable but also a real education!

Bérénice conveyed, with a beguiling combination of charm and erudition, the philosophy of the family-run estate, seeking to create wines which intrinsically reflect the terroir from which they are produced, and the desire of Climens to produce, above all, wines of ethereal elegance and finesse rather than sweet wines of power and weight.

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Last week in Bordeaux we were lucky enough to bump into Tim Atkin MW, whilst tasting the wines of Ch. Léoville Las Cases. In the video below Tim gives us a quick insight into his thoughts on Bordeaux 2010 en primeur:

Read more about Bordeaux 2010 en primeur.

This morning we finished off our tasting journey with a trip to Pessac-Léognan. Beginning at our final First Growth, Ch. Haut-Brion, we began to see that the vintage has produced great wines in this appellation too. Interestingly, 2010 was the driest vintage at Haut-Brion since 1949 but, thanks to their skills, the wines are still beautifully balanced – something that not every property has managed to achieve. Some may also be interested to see the full line-up of bottle sizes that they now offer for both Ch. Haut-Brion and La Mission. Moving on to the much anticipated Domaine de Chevalier (above), we were treated to a sample of both the 2009 (which is an absolutely beautiful wine and ageing well), as well as 2010, which is also shaping up to be a characteristically wonderful wine. In Pessac we have also caught a glimpse of a few white wines that are elegant with fruity minerality and that all important acidity, which is lacking in a few other whites we have tried this week.

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Yesterday was our final full day of tasting and, although we still have a few producers in Pessac-Léognan to visit this morning, a much clearer picture has formed in our minds. Ending Wednesday evening with the sensational beauty of Latour (above) and beginning Thursday with the serious majesty of Lafite and Mouton, we were set for a day of great wines, further proven by lovely examples at Cos d’Estournel (below) (we can almost still taste the finish!) and Ch. Pontet-Canet (see video) whose entire operation is now fully biodynamically certified for the first time.

We were also especially impressed by Ch. Haut-Bages Libéral and Léoville-Poyferré wines which are set to be real keepers – as is the wonderful Ch. Angludet (note the omission of the ‘d’’, which has been dropped on the label this year). A visit to Ch. Pichon-Baron completed our Pauillac portfolio and confirmed to us that this appellation is one of the star performers of the vintage.

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Today has been an excellent day in Bordeaux, not only because the weather has been better than anyone can remember during en primeur week, but also because of the quality of wines we have been tasting. The likes of Ch. Pichon-Lalande, Batailley, Lynch Bages (video), Ch. Branaire-Ducru (below) and Gruaud Larose are producing some classically elegant wines that are pure, true expressions of their heritage.

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Tuesday April 5th is a great day to remember for me. During the afternoon we had a very constructive meeting to develop plans for e-publishing Inside Burgundy. Exactly how ambitious we can be with the electronic version is still work in progress, but watch this space!

Then we went en masse – Simon Berry as publisher, our publishing colleagues Chris Foulkes and Carrie Segrave, and our wonderful designer Lizzie Ballantyne – to the Goring Hotel for the André Simon Food & Wine Book Awards. It was a strong field this year among the wine books so we were very nervous, definitely hopeful but no more than that. Sarah-Jane Evans MW was presiding over the wine book and I got less and less hopeful as she sang the praises of all four short listed books –

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And so day two drew to a close and, having tried many Left Bank wines, things are starting to fall into place. It is very clear that the wines are not as consistent this year, you have to search through a few over-extracted, over-alcoholic examples to find the real beauties, but when they come along they are worth the wait.

We spent the morning at a negociant, tasting a lot of Left Bank wines. Again, the best have a real balance, a pure fruit core and a refreshing streak that is lacking in many others. Individual styles vary, but many of the top châteaux are producing classic examples of their wines (not least Ch. Margaux, whose 2010 is certainly one of the best wines we have tasted so far.)

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And so day one comes to an end. A day of flitting between Right Bank châteaux and tasting a lot of Merlot. 2010 was a very hot vintage and many areas were affected by drought, so over extraction has been an issue, with alcohol levels very high this year. This concentration has been evident in a few wines we’ve tried, though many of the poorer examples are exceptionally acidic with huge tannins, masking the fruit and making them very difficult to taste.

Those who shine so far are the ones who managed to keep the freshness and elegance alongside the wonderful ripe fruit that such a warm vintage can provide.

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Bordeaux 2010. Bordeaux zero-ten, or just Bordeaux ’10? We’re still not totally sure how to refer to it, but either way, there is no doubt that this latest vintage from France’s darling region will be an interesting one.

Can it really be another ‘legendary’ vintage? Another once-in-a-lifetime year? We’ll have to get back to you on that one, as we are about to embark on our annual en primeur tasting trip to sort the big boys from the pretenders.

As usual we are starting with the Right Bank properties, tasting the softer Merlots, before spending the latter part of the week in the Left Bank, sampling the likes of Mouton and Latour, and experiencing the tannins full throttle.

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After the hype and chaos that was Bordeaux 2009, it seems quite incredible to think that yet another great vintage may be on our doorstep. As my colleague Max writes in his blog, all the early indications are that this vintage is very special – but I will be heading down to Bordeaux on Sunday to find out for myself.

Meanwhile, I see the annual fun and games have started already. As reported by Decanter.com yesterday, French wine critic Michel Bettane is threatening to boycott the primeurs unless ‘other’ critics are told to hold back on their scores before the main tastings. But one less body in Bordeaux next week won’t be a bad thing at all to be honest. We shall miss him. Consumers are a savvy bunch and they will wait until all the critics and dare I say it, even the little wine merchants, have their opinions in. They will triangulate their favourites, make their minds up and then sit back and watch the never ending tumbleweed of indecision as we all wait for the prices to be released.

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Spring has sprung and, even when the sun hides behind one of England’s famous cloudy patches, you can still smell the changing of the seasons on the air. The warmer wind, the fresh grass and even the soft fragrance of daffodils on the wind all signal the arrival of the new season – bringing back memories of sunny days that follow the dark winter months.

It’s this evocative power of our sense of smell that plays a key part in our appreciation of wine, so we asked some of our buyers to tell us the aromas that they associate with spring, and then pick out the wines that conjure up those cherished memories of the season.

Here are a couple of their selections, but you can view all 10 choices on bbr.com:

Simon Staples (Berrys’ Fine Wine Director)
2009 Sancerre, Caillittes, Domaine François Cotat, Loire
“Nothing signals the arrival of spring like the smell of freshly mown grass, and so the fresh, grassy aromas of Sauvignon Blanc always shouts ‘spring’ to me. Cotat makes the finest Sauvignon Blanc on the planet: pure, sleek, classy stuff. Once you’ve tasted it, you’ll never think of Sauvignon Blanc as simple again.”

Simon Field MW (Berrys’ Wine Buyer)
2008 Crozes-Hermitage, Cuveé des Galets, Domaine des Haut Châssis, Rhône
“Whenever I detect the black cherry notes of this Crozes-Hermitage, mingled with notes of tapenade and black olives, I am transported back to a bright March morning, many moons ago, on my first ever trip to the Rhône. These rather flamboyant aromas always evoke that day in mind.”

Read the rest of their choices.

I have tasted only a few wines from 2010 so far and all have been in their infancy. It is therefore a bit too early to pass judgement, but the 2010 Bordeaux vintage is looking promising. 2009 was a great final chapter to what has been the most successful decade Bordeaux has ever seen, but 2010 is looking set to be the start of another one. It is too early to say and we will be going back in early April to taste all the wines, but in the meantime here are the hard facts so you can make your own judgment:
 
Rainfall between July and October in 2005-2009-2010 (from the French met office)
  
 
Hours of sunshine between July and October in 2005-2009-2010 (from the French met office)
 

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We have been proudly working with Room to Read for a little while now and recently we received some very good news – a new library has been built at a school in Zambia, dedicated to Berry Bros. & Rudd as thanks for various activities and contributions over the last year.

The new library has been built at Matonga Basic School in the Petauke District of Zambia, a school which has around 350 pupils of all ages. Before the project commenced there was no space in the school building for a library– or funds and supplies, so a new construction had to be built. The completed ‘Constructed Reading Room’ now serves the whole community and houses almost 600 books, as well as art supplies, games and all the relevant stationary and furniture.
Room to Read seeks to transform the lives of millions of children in developing countries by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education. Working in collaboration with local communities, partner organisations and governments, they develop literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children, and support girls to complete secondary school with the relevant life skills to succeed in school and beyond.

If you would like to know more about this fantastic cause, please visit Room to Read’s website.

If there’s one constant in this life it is that every time I fly out from Hong Kong, I fly out an utterly broken man. I must have looked a pathetic sight as I shuffled along through passport control, bleary eyed and doing my best to keep it together after a week of impressively late nights and intense days of tastings and lunches. I’m probably not going to get much sympathy from most of you, but honestly sometimes being a wine merchant can be pretty tough… honestly!

Back in Shanghai with batteries re-charged I have a chance to reflect on what was not only a fantastic, but also very significant week.

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Having been in business for over 300 years, BB&R has seen many trends come and go and we have always used this knowledge to make sure that we were reactive when we needed to be, but also that we remained trendsetters, rather than followers. In the early 80s St Emilion wines were on the verge of losing their identity due to a new “garage” style, initiated by Michel Roland and Robert Parker. It was a concept born to revitalise the St Emilion market and make it accessible to the world, but, unfortunately, something that started as genuine commercial solution to the region’s problems quickly escalated in the destruction of an identity. Not everybody followed suit but the new image of St Emilion was one of over extracted, over oaked and powerful Merlot that rivalled with those of California or Australia. On the back of this trend BB&R significantly reduced their St Emilion portfolio to concentrate on the Crus classes of the Médoc.

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I’m very excited; I’m very, very excited. In fact I’m as excited as a steamed-up Dim Sum dumpling that’s just realised he’s been served up as the Hong Kong representative in the annual Chinese Dim Sum Cup! And no, of course it’s not linked to the symbolic win of Italy over France in the Six Nations Rugby…but plenty to do with having just returned from a week leading five Piemontese producers – Cantinas Giovanni Rosso, Cascina delle Rose, E.Pira, Cascina Fontana and Mascarello Bartolo – to BB&R Hong Kong, their exclusive importers.

You only have to watch the video interview below to witness the buzz the trip generated. In fact so successful was the trip, the first for all bar Davide Rosso, that they’d barely touched down back in Milano and they were already planning their return!

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It was during a beautiful cold sunny Friday in March that I went with three of my work colleagues to Le Manoir Aux Quat Saisons. Le Manoir is located in the heart of the Oxfordshire countryside. As we turned up the driveway, the gardens looked spectacular even at this time of year. The hedges were trimmed to perfection and the vines and fruit trees pruned ready for summer.

The manor house fits beautifully into its picturesque setting and it must be one of the most attractive restaurant locations in England. Chef Raymond Blanc has been receiving a lot of attention recently with the release of his new cookery book ‘Kitchen Secrets’. A large display of the new book greeted us in the entrance hall reminding us of the marketing power of the new wave of celebrity chefs and heightening our anticipation of the culinary delights awaiting us.

When we arrived we were kindly greeted and lead through a multitude of passageways to a lovely well appointed reception room which overlooked the beautifully groomed gardens. A range of canapés served on grey slate were presented to us and were washed down by a glass of bubbly fresh Prosecco – a perfect aperitif!

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Every year I promise to do something special for my Mum for Mother’s Day but it always comes around so quickly that I end up in a last minute dash round the shops where all originality goes out the window and she ends up with chocolates and flowers. My advice is to plan ahead so this year’s present is something she’ll love.

Berrys’ is hosting a Mother’s Day Celebratory Lunch and we are going to ensure everyone is suitably spoilt. The menu has been specially created with ladies in mind and we have chosen some supremely elegant wines to match, finishing with a rare, sweet Pol Roger Champagne to accompany a wickedly indulgent chocolate pudding. To top the day off, everyone will be sent home with a bottle of pink Champagne.

We have a pair of tickets worth £250 to give away. To be in with a chance of winning this fabulous prize, just send your address to blog@bbr.com by midnight on Monday 28th March. The lucky winner will be sent the gift wrapped tickets in time to surprise their Mum on Mother’s Day.

*The event will be held on 9th April at 12.45pm in the Napoleon Cellar beneath Berrys’ shop at 3 St James’s Street, London SW1. Winners must arrange their own travel. For full terms, please visit www.bbr.com/terms

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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