Fine wine highlights

Dark inky purple, the 2016 Clos Marsalette has notes of dark blackcurrant, coffee with generous, dark fruit, bright fruit and a succulent finish. Very good indeed.

Blend: Merlot 55%, Cabernet Franc 40%, Cabernet Sauvignon 5%

Sarget de Gruaud Larose is the second wine of Second Growth Ch. Gruaud Larose, a property that produces some of St Julien's most full-bodied and long-lived wines. Often a staff favourite at Berry Bros. & Rudd, Sarget is capable of serious ageing for a second wine, while 2006 is a dark horse of a vintage that suffered by following the great 2005 vintage.

A textbook St Julien nose of cigar-box, pencil shaving and cedar combines with smooth cassis and spice. It’s elegant and smooth on the palate, but with good structure and composed, fine-grained tannins. This is quintessential Claret and outstandingly good value.

Louis Roederer, a wonderful family-owned Champagne House founded in 1776, has a tremendous reputation for quality. It has remained an independent, family-owned company and is now managed by Frédéric Rouzaud, who represents the seventh generation of the lineage. Eighty percent of the firm's needs are supplied by their own, magnificent, 444 acres of vineyard holdings.

This wine is without doubt one of the very top non-vintage Champagnes. Its elegant complexities come from the barrel-ageing of a high proportion of the blend, together with at least four years' maturation in bottle before disgorging.
The quintessence of the House style, Brut Premier offers quality and glamour as well as excellent value. A structured, elegant wine, it is deliciously creamy with almond and toast characteristics alongside the complexity and roundness that are the hallmarks of this House.

Pichon Lalande's second wine, the 2011 Reserve de la Comtesse offers juicy, cherry, red and black currant notes as well as a medium-bodied, elegant, finesse style. It is already drinking well and should continue to evolve nicely for another decade.
Robert M. Parker, Jr. - 30/04/2014

This vintage Cockburn performed on a par with the likes of Taylor, Graham and Fonseca. It is a classic port and undoubtedle their best since 1977. There is elegance and masses of concentrated fruits, and a dry and excessively long finish. Try it in 2005; we expect it to be long lived (2030).

Eponymous slopes, suitably adroit, from the near homophone lieu-dit, Les Chailles, host one of Alain’s most sublime pieces of work. Syrah is seldom as expressive in youth, and after only a little time in glass it will cede a cornucopia of woodland magic. Oak plays its part, but discretely, diplomatically, as the fruit rejoins an almost painfully eloquent soliloquy. Drink 2022-2030+.
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer

Renowned for its delicacy, the heat of 2003 has provided this wine with atypical richness. Fortunately the talents of Henri Lurton have enabled him to harness the conditions brilliantly to get the best of both stylistic worlds, and continue the upward quality trajectory at this historic estate. A fresh nose of ripe plums and minerals is backed up by a well-structured palate with velvety fruit, silky tannins and fresh acidity. This is an outstanding Brane-Cantenac. Drink 2010-2025.

Some in the old guard might call it infanticide, but this is still youthful and  drink rather well now. Aside from its luscious sweetness, concentrated black and red berried fruit, liquorice and herbal notes, this wine is all about texture, body, and layered complexity. Perfect with Christmas pudding, a multitude of cheeses, various cakes or alone…just the two of you.
Demetri Walters MW - Wine Buyer



Very concentrated on the palate, full bodied with layers of plum and black fruits. I would drink it now or hold onto it for another decade, if you can.
Valiant Ki, London Shop

For many years now and since the turn of the 21st century, Ch. Pichon-Longueville Baron has been performing exceptionally well, in both the challenging and more favourable vintages. Their best Merlot plots are located next to Ch. Latour, and although this provides just 20 percent of the blend this year, it contributes a lot to the whole – providing dignified elegance and the cooling freshness we are finding in the top performers of 2014. There is a layered complexity here, fine, grainy tannins and generosity of fruit. A creamy texture fills the finish, enhanced by a prolonged, lingering, spicy undercurrent. It is a very good result.

80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot

Having made Clos des Epeneaux at Comte Armand, Ben had always harboured an ambition to make Pommard’s other great wine, so was delighted to take the opportunity; this comes from a plot in the lower part of Les Rugiens-Hauts. There is a real concentration of fruit here, Grand Cru weight and a wonderfully elegant tannic structure which underlines the class of this site. Drink 2023-2035.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

Having created a name for himself as régisseur (general manager) of Comte Armand in Pommard from 1999 until 2013, Benjamin Leroux established a small négociant business based in Beaune in 2007. The emphasis is on Côte de Beaune whites and Côte de Nuits reds. The company also owns a small holding of Bâtard-Montrachet and since 2014 some vineyards in Meursault. In a short space of time Benjamin Leroux’s wines have built an impressive reputation. Ben is a big fan of his 2016s, praising the sizzling tension of the whites and the beautiful quality of the Pinot fruit, which allowed him to use more whole bunches than in 2015. In early stages of élevage he drew comparisons to 2010, and feels these are wines which will surprise people and gain complexity with time. Thanks to his strong relationships with suppliers, Ben was able to maintain production at around 2015 levels despite the frost, although in general he has less Village and Grand Cru wine and more at the Premier Cru level. For reasons of space, the limited volumes of Grands Crus have not been included in this catalogue. Since the 2014 vintage, all white wines are bottled under screwcap.

The name “Yattarna” comes from the Aboriginal word for “gradually” and represents Penfolds’s desire to conquer the realm of Australian Chardonnay. This is made from 100 percent Chardonnay from cool-climate regions in Tasmania and the Adelaide Hills. The wine spent eight months in French barriques (65 percent new). The nose shows hints of pear, apple and a touch of oak. Fine acidity races through the mouth with generous apple and pear flavours. The hint of new oak, as on the nose, shows itself here. It finishes long and balanced. Drink now to 2023+.
Mike Jordan, Private Account Manager

A wine that is contemporary in feel and yet has deep historic roots within the story of Penfolds, the single-vineyard Magill Estate is singing this year. The nose is complex and inviting, with a melange of blackberry, damson and hints of mocha, thyme and beef fat. The palate is precise, svelte and medium-bodied. The French and American oak is absorbed beautifully into the rich fruit. Great acidity gives a moreish, tannic (filigree) bite at the end – full of spice and coffee notes. This is a rich succulent style of Shiraz, and yet with great coolness, purity and length. A wonderful expression of terroir. Drink 2021-2030+.
Stuart Rae, Commercial Manager
Dark purple. Very dense. Rich and very high toned. Sweet and with extremely high tannins. Lots of dried spices on the nose – handmade and with lots of dry integrity on the end. Very different from the Penfolds norm. Much drier and more traditional.
18/20, Jancis Robinson MW

The nose blows up in your face, like walking into a spice shop: cinnamon, cardamom and lavender along with hints of chocolate, orange and forest floor. The palate is classically Barossa in its proportions, with massive blue and black fruit supported by layers of cinnamon, lavender, five spice and smoked meat flavours. It’s all wrapped in a blanket of cedar and vanilla. The tannins and wood are still very strong and need a little time to integrate. Drink 2021-2030.
Mike Jordan, Private Account Manager

Earthy, with a succulent cherry and Raspberry fragrance, sweet spices as well. Very focussed on the palate with a core of sweet red fruit and fine line of acidity. This is right up there amongst the finest Pinots of the New World. A real beauty. Drink 2019 to 2025+.
Fergus Stewart, Private Account Manager

This the pure essence of Pauillac: profound, ripe cassis aromas flow from the glass and herald a palate of cool, spicy, incredibly concentrated blackcurrants, and cream, vanilla and bitter dark chocolate all tightly woven together in a precise core. Lynch-Bages has again performed as well as many of the super-Second Growths.