BBX Quality Guarantees- Requirements


Berry Bros. & Rudd follows rigorous inspection guidelines on all wine which is accepted into our warehouse for on going sale through our business. We strongly recommend that customers intending to submit such wines to Berry Bros. & Rudd read these guidelines first and pre-inspect their wines before submission as an administration and delivery charge will be applied to any wines rejected and returned.

These inspection guidelines, whilst to a degree subjective, set the threshold for what Berry Bros. & Rudd define as minimum acceptability of quality and condition.

All wines will automatically be opened and inspected on receipt or will be inspected prior to confirmation of sale and approved against these guidelines. If you do not consent to your wines being opened and inspected in this way Berry Bros. & Rudd reserve the right to refuse receipt.

Overview of inspection guidelines

All wine sold through Berry Bros. & Rudd must meet minimum requirements in the following categories:

1) Label condition
2) Bottle fill level or ullage
3) Cork condition
4) Capsule condition
5) Colour


1) Label and packaging condition

a Torn/missing labels

 
  • Reject if part or all of the vintage, producer, vineyard, alcohol content or back label is not legible or missing
  • Reject if nicks in label exceed ½ inch


b Damp-stained labels

  • Accept if label is slightly discoloured (to be expected for wines that are older than 15 years)
  • Reject if label is noticeably discoloured or illegible (wine may not be bad but marketability is adversely affected)


c Wine-stained labels

  •  Reject if label is partially or significantly stained whether


d Scuffed labels

  • Reject if scuffed and/or illegible


e Faded labels

  • Reject if noticeably faded and illegible


f Writing on labels

  • • Reject if labels have writing on labels (affects marketability)


g Copy labels

  • Reject if bottle label is a facsimile/photocopy or otherwise judged not to be original or authentic


h Strip labels

  • Reject if bottle has US or non-EU strip labels


i Packaging

  • Reject if not in Original packaging or if Original packaging is in poor condition

2) Bottle fill level or ullage

BN – Base Neck
TS – Top Shoulder
US – Upper Shoulder
MS – Mid Shoulder
LS – Low Shoulder Fill levels


a. For wines more than 20 years old:

  • Standard Bordeaux-shaped bottle: Accept only if fill level is Top Shoulder or higher
  • Burgundy-shaped bottle: Accept only if fill is 1 cm from cork or less

b. For wines less than 20 years old:

  • Standard Bordeaux-shaped bottle: Accept only if fill level is Into Neck, or High Fill for younger wines.
  • Burgundy-shaped bottle: Accept only if fill level is 0.5 cm from bottom of cork or capsule whichever is the lowest point

Note: Since Burgundy-shaped bottles have a sloped shoulder, it is not practical to describe fill levels (ullage) of these wines in the same manner as those in a standard or Bordeaux bottle (e.g., Base Neck, Top Shoulder, Mid Shoulder, etc.). Therefore, the fill level should be reviewed in centimetres from the cork bottom. Also, the condition and drinkability of a Burgundy is less affected by ullage than other wines and should be considered with the overall bottle and label condition as well as the wine colour.


3) Cork condition

a. Protruding or "pushed"

  • Accept if the cork is raised less than 1mm, the capsule is not breached and there is no other sign of damage, as it is likely that it was caused by variations in corking machine settings or manual insertion.
  • Reject if cork has pushed through the capsule or is raised 1mm or more from the top of the bottle. Occurs when wine has been exposed to extreme temperature (either too hot or perhaps frozen)


b. Sunken

  • Accept if depression is minor (less than 1mm) and likely caused by variations in corking machine settings or manual insertion.
  • Reject if depression is 1mm or more, which is likely a sign that the cork may be defective or "easing" and increases the chance that the wine is oxidized.


c. Signs of seepage

  • Reject

4) Capsule condition

a. Metal/lead capsules - corroded (e.g., appears as white "dust")

  • Accept if minor (capsule does not have open gaps or holes from the corrosion) since some corrosion is normal due to a substance/chemical in the lead capsules that make them biodegradable
  • Reject if corrosion on top of the capsule is advanced to the point where there is a hole in the capsule, as there is an increased chance that the cork is faulty


b. Metal/lead capsules - Missing or cut

  • Reject unless specific reason it is missing or cut is known and acceptable. Note that Berry Bros. & Rudd may request the ability to cut the capsule to check the authenticity of the wine by verifying printing on the cork. (We do not cut the capsule without the owner’s permission.)

c. Metal/lead capsules - Torn or ripped

  • Accept provided tears are minor (2mm) and do not reduce likely marketability of the bottle


d. Wax capsules - Chipped or partially missing

  • Accept as this is fairly common and does not indicate anything in particular about the wine condition
  • Reject if entire cork is exposed


e. Wax capsules - Non-original

  • Reject for particularly expensive wines as it is often an indication of counterfeiting

5) Colour

a. White Wine - Dry (e.g. Burgundy)

For wines less than 15 years old: 

  • Accept if clear, lemon to light gold in colour
  • Reject if colour is deep gold or amber

For wines more than 15 years old: 

  • Accept if colour is a shade of gold
  • Reject if colour is brownish

b. Sweet (e.g. Sauternes)

For sweet wines less than 15 years old: 

  • Accept if colour is a shade of gold

For sweet wines more than 15 years old: 

  • Accept if colour is a shade of amber, even mahogany as this is natural
  • Reject if the shade is closer to black, as it has most likely been exposed to excessive heat

c. Red wine

For wines less than 15 years old: 

  • Reject if the colour shows any hint of brown as the wine is likely spoiled. Note that it is the shade of colour that is in question, not the intensity of colour, which will vary by variety and a paler shade of red is common for certain varietals and tends towards raspberry in colour

For wines more than 15 years old: 

  • Reject if more brown than red. Again, it is the shade that is in question, not the intensity of colour since with aging pigment is absorbed into the sediment and “falls out” of the wine