Our Fortified Wines
Our links with fortified wines have been in existence for centuries, so what better way to utilise the knowledge gained over the generations than to produce our Own Selection Port, Sherry and Madeira, with the assistance of some of the world's most well-respected producers?
Learn more about Our Fortified Wines
We are, as one might expect, the leading British importer of Vintage Port – from the likes of Dow, Quinta do Noval and Quinta de la Rosa – and have also bottled Vintage Port under our Own Selection label for over 50 years. Yet there is more to this fortified wine than Vintage, as is proven by our perennially popular 20-year-old William Pickering from the House of Noval.
Our Madeira range, meanwhile, covers the gamut of styles, with all our wines upgraded to the five-year-old premium category, and matured by the superior Canteiro ageing method. The results of these labours are evident in our Own Selection Boreas, Meredith, Spy and Rainwater varieties, whose names allude to the colonial ships in which they were both transported and matured.
As pioneers in the realm of Sherry we have been able to forge strong relationships with the very best producers, from Lustau to Barbadillo. Sherry retains a certain enigmatic character, the quality of its wines a source of awe and inspiration, yet it remains amazingly-priced and relatively unfashionable, in spite of its unmistakeable allure.
Prices:
Bottle
£10.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl 144cs
Our Dry Oloroso has a nose suggestive of something sweet, with its notes of walnuts and dried fruit, so the lack of sweetness on the palate is initially something of a shock. As the layers of flavour unfold in your mouth, this is clearly a very different wine from a more commercial, sweetened cream Sherry. In addition to the nuts and raisined-depth, there is a haunting toffee-sweetness on the palate of this dry wine. The finish persists for an age.
Bottle
£11.75
Bottle 12 x 75cl 66cs
This Amontillado, especially blended for us and classically aged in Jerez de la Frontera, expertly captures vestigial freshness from the flor yeast, which has been allowed to die, in return adding colour, texture and complex malty hazelnut flavours to an unnervingly complex ensemble.
Bottle
£13.95
Bottle 6 x 75cl 37cs
This wine is especially produced for Berry Bros. & Rudd and boasts La Rosa’s classic feminine charm and attractive aromatics, coupled with delicious accessibility and silky, warming sweet berry-fruit. This Port does not need decanting and is delicious to drink now.
Bottle
£15.45
This beautifully sweet Madeira boasts a lovely golden colour with aromas of toffee and nuts, then a richly luscious palate with nuances of chocolate, molasses, wood smoke and vanillin all thrown into glorious relief by a rapier-like acidity.
H/Litre
£16.95
H/Litre 6 x 50cl 124cs
The driest and in some ways the purest style, the Spy has a distinctive nose of dried flowers and walnuts and then a magnificently complex palate which marries notes of fig, mocha and dried fruit.
H/Litre
£18.95
H/Litre 6 x 50cl 152cs
From the latter category, this wonderfully rich yet subtle wine has been aged for over 20 years in wood before bottling, with each passing year gaining in nutty complexity and unparalleled elegance.
Bottle
£28.95
Each case contains 1 bottle of each of the following wines:
Berry Bros. & Rudd Amontillado, Emilio Lustau, Jerez, Spain
Berry Bros. & Rudd Fino, Emilio Lustau, Jerez, Spain
Berry Bros. & Rudd Dry Oloroso, Barbadillo, Sanlúcar de Barrameda
£30.00
This is a rich, dark Port with ripe aromas of cherries and blackberries. Vibrant, concentrated fruit is backed up by silky tannins. The complex structure will enable considerable ageing but its luscious ripe fruit can be enjoyed today. The wine is unfiltered and, as it ages, may throw a sediment and need decanting.
Bottle 6 x 75cl 2cs
The blend is mainly Touriga Nacional and Tinta Roriz, with a small percentage of Souzão sourced from some of the best vineyards of the Douro Superior. The nose glories in notes of gum cistus and violet, and the palate is beautifully rounded, yet with finely etched tannins on the finish – making this vintage, to my mind, the best since 1994.
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer
The famous house of Emilio Lustau has been maturing Fino Sherries in Puerto de Santa María since 1869. This superlative example harnesses their expertise to offer a wine of great pedigree. Aromatics of sea air, yeast and green apples lead to an equally distinguished palate, which is marked by its smoky gravitas and great potential to match a wide variety of tapas dishes.