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Rhône 2007 Overview

2007 is a truly exciting vintage in the Rhône. The wines are uniformly excellent, from relatively humble Vins de Pays up to the grandest  Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Parallels have been drawn with 1999 and 2001 in the North and 2000, 1998 and 1990 in the South. François Perrin at Ch. de Beaucastel has gone as far as to opine that 2007 is the best year in the Southern Rhône since 1947, an opinion shared, it would seem, by a certain wine critic by the name of Robert Parker. 

The Berrys’ Buying team, over the course of a wonderful if exhausting ten days in November, is delighted to concur with such praise. Indeed the subsequent visit in January, just to have another quick look, may be described as a touch indulgent, such was the manifest and indubitable quality of these wines right from the outset.

This is by far our biggest Rhône En Primeur Offer, a worthy reflection, we feel, of the quality of the vintage. These wines provide an excellent showcase for both the established names of the region and the new wave of winemakers such as Emmanuel Darnaud, Stéphane Usseglio and Laurent Daniel, all of whom we are proud to represent.

The only problem in the Rhône is that prices tend to be released at differing times; we have had to resist the temptation to sell some of the wines already, such has been the demand. The idea was to wait, to continue the research and tasting and thereby to assemble a comprehensive selection from the region as a whole. 

We are aware, of course, of the current economic turbulence, and therefore recommend these wines not only because of their sublime quality but also for the fact that they still represent exceptional value in comparison to wines of the same calibre from other parts of France. That said there will, as always, be great pressure on stocks, and where the pressure is greatest the wines have been flagged as being in short supply.