Pinot Noir
Prices:
Bursting with juicy black cherry, blackcurrant and plum, complemented by notes of liquorice and spice; this is an elegant unoaked wine with a lovely concentration of fruit. “Umore Nero” refers to the dark skins of the Pinot Nero (Pinot Noir) grape, but also to the “dark mood” of winemaker Giovanella Fugazza when cultivating it – it is a challenging grape to work with, but one that delivers exciting results.
Bottle
£14.35
Bottle
£15.95
Bottle 12 x 75cl 7cs
Bottle
£16.50
Bottle 6 x 75cl 361cs
Bottle
£16.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl 203cs
Bottle
£17.50
Bottle 6 x 75cl 21cs
Bottle
£17.50
Bottle 12 x 75cl 167cs
Catriona Felstead MW – Wine Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd
Bottle
£17.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl 388cs
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer
David Moreau is very happy with his 2015s, describing it as a vintage without stress. The grapes, picked from 7th September, were ripe but with acidity in balance and with an adequate yield for once. For the vinification, David used slightly more stems this year in the interest of structure and freshness, with a slightly shorter length of time in the fermentation vats. Very encouraging wines.
Bottle
£19.50
Bottle 6 x 75cl 6cs
Bottle
£19.50
Bottle 6 x 75cl 37cs
Bottle
£19.95
Bottle 12 x 75cl 18cs
Jasper Morris MW, Berrys' Burgundy Director This is an exciting new discovery for us: David Moreau has taken over part of his grandfather’s domaine in Santenay and has produced wines there since the 2009 vintage. Prior to that, he had worked with Olivier Lamy and Domaine de la Romanée Conti, as well as doing a stage in New Zealand at Neudorf. David made significant changes in both viticulture and vinification compared to the ancien regime. The vineyards were almost all planted in the 1960s so he has old vines to work with. They are mostly pruned by cordon royat to minimise vigour, and the land is either ploughed or left with grass depending on the circumstance of a given plot.
Bottle
£19.95
Bottle
£19.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl 60cs
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director
The domaine is now in organic conversion, which Jean-Yves says has reduced the amount of disease in the vineyard. Rully and Beaune were spared the worst of the hail, but his Volnay and Hautes Côtes vineyards were the worst hit, and he was not able to source his usual Chassagne-Montrachet grapes. So, there are short rations, but as it turns out, excellent quality. During vinification the reds developed wonderful colours without any need for extraction and the two Rullys are absolutely delicious this year.
Bottle
£19.95
Bottle
£21.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 7cs
Despite the ravages of hail over the last few vintages, Jean-Yves has successfully converted his vineyards to organic, and is certified from the 2014 vintage. Though Meursault, Beaune and Volnay suffered once again from the weather, Rully saw a respectable harvest. Jean-Yves reports healthy fruit, with not especially high sugar levels. The reds remind him of 2010, while there is more flesh to the 2014 whites than popular vintages such as 2004 or 2007.
Bottle
£21.00
Bottle 12 x 75cl 18cs
Bottle
£21.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl 9cs
Bottle
£22.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 50cs
Anne McHale MW - Wine Education Specialist
Bottle
£22.00
Bottle 6 x 75cl 21cs
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director
One of the brightest talents in the northern Côte de Nuits is Laurent Fournier who runs the estate which carries his father’s name, as well as being the man in charge of the dossier for defining some Premier Cru vineyards in Marsannay. We have been hugely impressed with his wines for several years and are now offering them En Primeur for the first time. There is a quality of fruit here which fully reflects the joys of the Côte de Nuits, yet at rather more affordable prices.
Bottle
£22.50
Bottle 12 x 75cl 2cs
“Those who did the work in the vineyards will find it paid off in 2014”, opines Laurent Fournier. There is no problem with concentration if the yields were reasonable. He went through the vineyards twice, at the end of August and again just before picking, to remove any bunches he was not happy with. Even then he discarded two small plots of Clos du Roy so as to ensure that what made it to barrel, and then bottle, was first-rate. As indeed it is.
Bottle
£22.50
Bottle 6 x 75cl 161cs
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director
We have been buying from David Moreau since his first vintage in 2009 and are delighted to have found such a class act at the southern end of the Côte de Beaune. There were little bits of hail in 2012 here but nothing very serious compared to other appellations. David chose to harvest relatively late, around 27th September, with yields between 18 and 33 hl/ha.
Bottle
£22.50
Bottle 6 x 75cl 52cs
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer
Laurent reports a difficult start to the season, with mildew pressure, while the flowering went better in the late sectors than the earlier ones. A good, healthy crop though, so Laurent was able to use some whole bunch fermentation. Rich fruit but high acidity is the hallmark of the year, he thinks. The harvest began with Clos du Chapitre on 4th October and finished by the 12th.
Bottle
£22.50
Bottle 12 x 75cl 4cs
Bottle
£22.50
Bottle 6 x 75cl 3cs
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer
Laurent Fournier has made beautiful wines in 2015, keeping him cheerful during the trickier 2016 growing season. He began with his whites on 8th September before attacking the reds, finishing by 16th September. There was no need for sorting the completely healthy grapes nor for extraction because all came out naturally. The wines have been matured in a mix of bigger and normal-sized barrels. There is also an excellent Bourgogne Rouge Le Chapitre.
Bottle
£22.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl 183cs
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Director
Bottle
£23.50
Bottle 6 x 75cl 44cs
Bottle 6 x 75cl 2cs
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer
Laurent reports a difficult start to the season, with mildew pressure, while the flowering went better in the late sectors than the earlier ones. A good, healthy crop though, so Laurent was able to use some whole bunch fermentation. Rich fruit but high acidity is the hallmark of the year, he thinks. The harvest began with Clos du Chapitre on 4th October and finished by the 12th.
Bottle
£23.50
Bottle 12 x 75cl 100cs
Bottle
£23.50
Bottle 6 x 75cl 25cs
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer
This is our first vintage with Domaine Bart, who makes wines of lovely understated grace and elegance. They had decent yields in 2013, just 10% below a full crop. Overall they have good colour and acidity with a fresh and cheerful fruit.
Bottle
£23.50
Bottle 6 x 75cl 35cs
Bottle
£23.50
Bottle
£23.50
Bottle 12 x 75cl 19cs
Pinot Noir is probably the most frustrating, and at times infuriating, wine grape in the world. However when it is successful, it can produce some of the most sublime wines known to man. This thin-skinned grape which grows in small, tight bunches performs well on well-drained, deepish limestone based subsoils as are found on Burgundy's Côte d'Or.
Pinot Noir is more susceptible than other varieties to over cropping - concentration and varietal character disappear rapidly if yields are excessive and yields as little as 25hl/ha are the norm for some climats of the Côte d`Or.
Because of the thinness of the skins, Pinot Noir wines are lighter in colour, body and tannins. However the best wines have grip, complexity and an intensity of fruit seldom found in wine from other grapes. Young Pinot Noir can smell almost sweet, redolent with freshly crushed raspberries, cherries and redcurrants. When mature, the best wines develop a sensuous, silky mouth feel with the fruit flavours deepening and gamey "sous-bois" nuances emerging.
The best examples are still found in Burgundy, although Pinot Noir`s key role in Champagne should not be forgotten. It is grown throughout the world with notable success in the Carneros and Russian River Valley districts of California, and the Martinborough and Central Otago regions of New Zealand.