Wines for Spring

A blend of 70% Chardonnay and 15% each of Chenin Blanc and Mauzac, this is a beautiful, balanced wine, with elegant aromas of orchard fruit and honeyed spice. Aged traditionally and generously on its lees, it shows more exotic fruits on the palate with a clean, pebbly backdrop and an impressive depth of flavour.

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{color}White{color}                                                               {maturity}drink-now{maturity} {maturity-text}Drink now{maturity-text}
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Benjamin Leroux is perhaps best known as a négociant, but he now owns a significant proportion of his own vineyards. He bought fruit from this 0.5-hectare parcel until eventually buying the land in 2021. The soil is light and sandy with brown gravel, giving a perfumed and pretty wine that has a light and delicate structure. Five barrels were made in 2017. The nose is spicy with open red-berry fruit, with floral aromas that follow through onto the palate. This is a pretty, pure and transparent expression of Beaune.

Drink now to 2027

Adam Bruntlett, Senior Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd

We are delighted to be working with Château La Mascaronne’s brilliant team to produce this superb, terroir-driven rosé. The nose is full of juicy redcurrants and wild strawberries, with a refreshingly bright lift. The palate has the wonderfully pure, stone-pebble element of the property’s unique limestone-based vineyards. An herbal twist of wild oregano completes the delicious, salivating finish. Serve straight from the fridge alongside fish, charcuterie or salads.

Catriona Felstead MW, Senior Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd

Deeply coloured with a crimson hue, this was remarkably expressive at first taste before decanting for a few hours. Instinctively, I was expecting a muscular and brooding Batailley, such is the nature of the vintage, but rather quite the opposite with a silky and seductive wine which showcased layer upon layer of complexity, forest fruits and blackberry pie, through to cedar and spice box. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still plentiful structure keeping this completely alive, the tannins finely etched into the background, and acidity plays a balancing role; however, I find the wine is in harmony at present, with 16 years under its belt.

With an opportunity to do this justice, I served alongside a roasted rare topside of fine beef and couldn’t have asked for more - this was absolutely singing, with mineral freshness and impressive length to boot. I would certainly recommend this food pairing. Otherwise, it is extremely enjoyable on its own after a few hours in a decanter. Undoubtedly, it will give for another 10-15 years, but there is certainly no harm in cracking open some 2005 Ch. Batailley now! A stalwart of Pauillac from a brilliant vintage, it’s a reminder of how good Bordeaux can be….Fabulous.

Chris Lamb, Account Manager, Berry Bros. & Rudd

55% Cabernet Sauvignon; 41% Merlot; 4% Petit Verdot.

The nose has a really nice aroma of tobacco combined with floral notes. Darker fruits dominate, with blackberry, cherry, and plum to the fore. The palate is sweet, too, with an energetic lift and a very rewarding length. We really like the wine this year. A cooling, mineral earthiness arrives on the finish, which is welcome and pleasing. Quite sumptuous for a second wine, it is serious this year—a good fruit core, nice and savoury and a joy to taste.

Berry Bros. & Rudd

This is Berthenet’s most full-bodied style, with ample fresh stone fruit, a hint of golden apple and a touch of hazelnut. The vineyard sits right at the top of the Côte Chalonnaise, giving the wine a vibrantly charged acidity and a round, plush texture. As with his other cuvées, the élevage is carefully curated. Here, the wine is aged entirely in (30% new) demi-muids before being moved to stainless steel tanks – ensuring the wine remains vivacious and reflects its terroir. The finish is resplendent with a rich spiciness and a piquancy of flint.

Drink now - 2032

Henrietta Gullifer, Account Manager, Berry Bros. & Rudd (September 2024)

This 2022 Soldaat has the characteristic red cherry and bright pomegranate fruit aromas that carry through into deeper earthy flavours. This year the colour is slightly darker but still bright red, and the tannins are softer than usual. The fruit is overall quite expressive, and the softer mouthfeel of the tannins suggests that this vintage was quite fully ripe at 13% alcohol. It will be hard not to drink it, but the wine gains massive complexity with time in the bottle.

Pierre Précieuses is Alexandre’s flagship cuvée. It is aged 38 months before release, 18 months in barrel and 20 months in stainless steel and undergoes no battonnage during this whole time. The nose is delicate with white flowers, lovely lemon and grapefruit notes, and juicy, fresh quince.

The finesse and freshness are striking on the palate, whilst having a great consistency and body. Plenty of citrus peel and grapefruit bitterness is balanced with honey, buttery notes, and some sweet spices, and it is truly complex. These bursts of intense flavours are perfectly balanced through a very lifted palate and impressive fruit precision. Utterly delicious.

Yoan Bernard, Fine Wine Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd

Only 5% alcohol, this very gently sparkling wine is fully sweet, with 131g/L residual sugar. It's a delightfully fresh style though, not in the least bit unctuous. Bright and aromatic on the nose with peach and lemon sherbet, and white flowers. Perfect for summer, it's a great match for fruit salads, pastries and birthday cake. 

Drink 2024 - 2026 

Amy Wislocki, Decanter.com (April 2024)

This is the baby Testamatta Bianco. It is produced using the youngest vines on the island of Giglio. The grapes are hand harvested and vinified entirely in stainless steel. The fermentation temperatures are kept low, protecting the wine’s fresh, crisp brilliance. The coastal fingerprint is unmistakable, the palate awash with grapefruit peel and lemon peel. Also present is the signature salty, fennel-like refreshment and complexity typical of Bibi Graetz’s whites. You may not have heard of Ansonica (the dominant grape), but you will certainly be pleased you found it.

Charlie Leech, Buying Assistant, Berry Bros. & Rudd

Saumur Blanc: sourced from young vines from Clos des Cârmes and Clos de Guichaux, as well as old vines from the lower slopes of the Coteaux de Brézé. Manual harvest; slow, gentle whole bunch pressing. Fermentation with natural yeast in 2-4 year old barriques. Matured in tank until the Spring following the harvest. Light filtration only at bottling.

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{region}Sancerre{region}
{color}White{color}
{vintage}2019{vintage}
{maturity}drink-now{maturity}
{maturity-text}Drink now, but can keep{maturity-text}

{ratings}{ratings}

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The 2017 Syrah Cailloux Vineyard begins generous and inky in the glass, with black fruit at its core and floral aromas of violets and lavender followed by a soft smokiness with layers of olive tapenade and dust-covered black raspberry. Full-bodied, the Cailloux Syrah is intensely complex and reveals layers of crunchy minerality and silky tannins that frame the elegant notions of cherry blossom in the mouth. Ending with a long-lingering and sophisticated finish, the wine continues to reveal its subtleties, expressing umami and savory characteristics. Proving to be yet another stellar bottling from the Cayuse team, the wine dares me to keep my hands off the glass. I can’t. - The Wine Advocate

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{color}Red{color}
{vintage}2017{vintage}
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{maturity-text}Ready, but will improve{maturity-text}
{ratings}
[]The Wine Advocate ::96/100

[]Wine Spectator ::94/100

[]James Suckling::97/100

[]Vinous::95/100

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Dominique has this parcel on a fermage contract. It's an elegant expression of Beaune, with a bright purple colour, floral aromatics and rich fruit on the palate.  The tannins are silky, seductive and perfectly integrated with the fruit. A wonderful, floral finish. Drink 2021-2026

After the famine of 2016, this year is something of a feast, at least in the case of the reds. Sadly, the whites, which Dominique praises as having excellent clarity, are in slightly smaller volumes than 2016. The good news is that the full range of red wines has been made, and in good volume too. Dominique is effusive in his praise for the 2017 reds, describing them as appealing, with beautiful balance, a lightness of touch, refined tannins and a floral character with stunning red fruit.

The 2022 Treinspoor is textbook in its display of darker blueberry, spicey and herbal aromas with graphite aromas. The tannins are present in volumes, but as is the case throughout the 2022 wines, they are incredibly smooth and rounded. The purity in this wine and the focused fruit purity make for a very serious wine with many layers and textures. Please afford this wine time, for it comes with ownership.