The long Easter weekend is always the perfect time to gather with friends and family, and share a glass of something delicious over some seasonal dishes. Whether you’re opting for traditional fare or trying something different, we’ve brought together some of our favourite bottles to match each course beautifully.

Lamb

There’s something special about traditional spring lamb when it comes to Easter.  

Lamb is full of saturated fat – which make it a fantastic pairing for wines high in tannins. Tannins cling to saturated fat and help clear it from your mouth. That’s why a tannic red alongside lamb can help reduce the sensation of grease, and keep your palate refreshed.

One option is a Merlot or Right Bank Bordeaux blend: the sweeter fruit flavours in Merlot will complement the rich flavours of lamb without overpowering them. These are particularly suited for fattier cuts of lamb.

If you’re opting for a leaner cut, like a rack of lamb, a Rioja could be a better choice, as these are slightly less tannic. Made from the Tempranillo grape, Riojas are rich in strawberry flavours alongside a hint of vanilla, which work wonderfully with the aromatic meat.

The vegetarian course

Lamb is such a famous choice for Easter that a vegetarian option might not instantaneously spring to mind. However, a traditional Italian dish has vegetarians covered: the Torta Pasqualina.

Originating from Liguria, this classic pie is filled with spinach or chard, herbs, eggs and prescinsêua (a ricotta-like cheese). It’s a delicious option, and one that tastes even better the next day – if you’ve managed to leave any leftovers.

Given the dish’s Italian origins, it seems sensible to suggest a wine pairing from the same country. An Arneis or Ribolla Gialla would make a wonderful choice. Each of these white wines has slight herbaceous aromas, which will match well to those of the pie, while being refreshing and zesty enough to cut through the fattier cheese and egg filling.

A better-known choice will be a light-bodied, unoaked Chardonnay – such as a Chablis. Again, it’ll provide that lovely freshness to balance out the pie, while staying light-bodied enough to allow the dish to shine.

Chocolate

Does anything say Easter like a chocolate egg? Each year, the nation stocks up on chocolate in abundance – and these foil-wrapped treats are the centrepiece of many a celebration.

Chocolate, though, is a tricky partner for wine. Put them together, and the outcome can often be a bitter mess of sour and mouth-coating disappointment. Chocolate fights for the same space on your palate as wine: its thick texture and sugary sweetness often swamps a wine’s fruit, and overpowers its subtleties. Any tannins in wine can also clash with those naturally found in chocolate, resulting in bitterness being highlighted.

The solution is to choose a wine where its character appears sweeter on the palate – and that can mean riper notes, or flavours of cooking spices, as well as a higher sugar content. A tropical New Zealand Sauvignon can make a great pair for creamy white chocolate; while a Rioja rich in coconut and vanilla can complement the richness of a milk chocolate.

Port, though, is always a fantastic solution to the chocolate-and-wine conundrum. Its sweetness and higher alcohol counteracts the tannins in both wine and chocolate.

Tawny Ports have a nutty, dried fruit and caramel touch that can complement similar flavours in chocolate – while their gently oxidative character provides a delicious tang to counteract creaminess. A Ruby or LBV Port can also work with milk chocolate, while more complex Single Quinta or Vintage Ports work with darker examples too.

Hot cross buns

Hot cross buns are now so popular that they’re sold year-round – but Easter provides even more opportunity to enjoy them. While they’re more commonly served up as a breakfast or morning snack, and consumed with hot drinks, we think our Own Selection Sparkling Tea can provide a delicious – and non-alcoholic – pairing, to be enjoyed at any time during the day.

For those who want something stronger, a sweeter sherry can provide just the thing. They’ll help match both the sweetness and the dried fruit notes of the hot cross bun, giving you a combination that works in perfect harmony. Delicious.

Twice a year, No.3 St James’s Street plays host to one of the most reputable culinary names of the day: Michel Roux. Here, we talk to our Experiences Team Leader, Michael Dabbs, about setting up such a unique event, and what those lucky enough to get a ticket can look forward to.

Twice a year, we hold a very special event. Our most exclusive dining room’s doors are laid open, iconic bottles of wine are uncorked, and our team hand over the keys to our kitchens to visitors – visitors spearheaded by a legendary figure in culinary history.

An iconic chef

Everyone even slightly familiar with London’s food scene will know the name “Michel Roux Jr.”. His father and uncle, Albert and Michel Roux, came to the city in the 1950s, and opened their famous operation Le Gavroche in 1967.

While Le Gavroche closed early last year, its name still inspires wistful reminiscences amongst those lucky enough to have enjoyed its plethora of dishes: Soufflé Suissesse, Le Caneton Gavroche or Omelette Rothschild.

What was notable for wine lovers, though, was the quality and calibre of Le Gavroche’s wine list.

“They were well known initially for bringing a very French attitude to the London hospitality and restaurant scene,” says Michael Dabbs, our Experiences Team Leader, and the person who helps host our biannual Michel Roux dinners today. “So, sourcing the best French ingredients and importing them – and obviously that went for the food ingredients, but also for the wine as well. But, they always took a view that they would buy wine to store.”

The list was filled with iconic French wine that had seen the benefit of a little age. “You’d be able to order something that was more at the level of maturity that people would want to find.”

Continuing the tradition

We first asked Michel Roux and his team to cook for a dinner at No.3 decades ago. Unsurprisingly, given the theme of Le Gavroche’s wine list – the tradition of serving aged French wines to accompany Michel’s food continued here, too.

Historically, “aged French wine” meant First Growth Bordeaux, in this context. Now, though, Michael has encouraged Michel to branch out. “We’ve expanded it to include really amazing Champagne, really amazing white wines from the Loire, red and whites from Burgundy or the Rhône – although we always have a Château d’Yquem to finish.”

What caused the change? “Well, with the First Growth Bordeaux, it was always quite apparent that people were having to eat things like fish with red Bordeaux. It’s not impossible – but it maybe doesn’t go quite as well. You got the sense that people thought it was a little bit incongruous.”

A feast of fine food

So, aside from a spectacular line-up of wines, what can those who have secured a ticket to one of these dinners expect?

The night itself is fairly straightforward. Our own chefs vacate the kitchen for a night, making way for Michel Roux and his team – who, prepped and ready, promptly get to work, cooking some of the most delicious courses you could imagine. Upstairs in our old shop, Champagne bottles aplenty are popped and conversations begin to flow, as our guests arrive. Michel is introduced, as are his team – and then, the feasting commences.

The dinners are held in our Directors’ Dining Room, our most private events space – to the extent that the majority of colleagues aren’t allowed to enter it without express permission from the Berry or Rudd families. The room seats only 12; these dinners are nothing if not exclusive.

Once sat, guests are treated to Michel’s own cooking, just as fine as it was in the days of Le Gavroche. “I steer the courses, and every now and then Michel will pop into the room,” says Michael. “He’ll finish a dish, either with a sauce or coming around with a great truffle.”

After guests have eaten their fill, Michel joins them, and spends time with each person – answering any questions they might have.

Looking forward

Tonight will mark the latest of these dinners. As you read, Michael is in the midst of overseeing preparations: under his watchful eye, wines are being opened, tasted and decanted. The Champagne is on ice; the table is being laid – and below the surface of St. James’s Street, a legendary kitchen team are already beginning to cook up a storm. The exact menu and wine list will remain a secret until later. But, we can safely say, it’s guaranteed that both will be as outstanding as Michel Roux himself.

Our next dinner with Michel Roux will be hosted later this year. Sign up to our emails to stay in-the-know and secure a ticket for yourself.

There’s more than one kind of “Grand Cru” in Bordeaux, and they’re not all created equally. Here, Charlie Geoghegan breaks it down.

Pick up a bottle of Bordeaux and find the phrase “Grand Cru” staring back at you, and you might reasonably think you’re in for something special. The cream of the crop. You could well be right about that – but you could also be wrong. 

These two little words mark a rare way in which Bordeaux is actually more complicated than its stroppy cousin Burgundy. A Grand Cru there is assuredly the best of the best: Montrachet, Richebourg, Chambertin, that kind of thing. It’s hard to go wrong, and even the less-well-regarded Grands Crus are, well, Grands Crus. They’re almost literally the one percent. 

Things aren’t so clear-cut in Bordeaux, where the term is slightly slippier. Grand Cru means something different in Bordeaux than it does in Burgundy, you see. But it also means something different from one part of Bordeaux to another. 

That Grand Cru Claret in your hand? Look carefully, because it might be a profound vintage from a top-tier estate, or it might be a bog-standard bottle of something better left on the shelf. Then again, some of Bordeaux’s greatest labels won’t bear any mention whatsoever of the phrase. How do you make sense of that, then? 

What is a Grand Cru in Bordeaux? 

Most of the time, when people talk about Grands Crus in Bordeaux, they mean the top five percent or so of producers. The sort of estates that sell their wines En Primeur. The top 250 or so château in a region with over 5,000. 

There is a distinction to make, however, and it relates to classifications. The phrase “Grands Crus Classés”, often translated as “Classified Growths”, is used to refer specifically to those châteaux that feature in Bordeaux’s key classifications. 

Classifying wines is something of a local pastime here, and over the centuries there have been a plethora of different attempts to organise the region’s wines neatly into one little box or another. Some have stood the test of time, others have fallen by the wayside and others still never really caught on. The late Dewey Markham Jr’s excellent 1855: A History of the Bordeaux Classification documents many of these attempts – and is well worth tracking down. 

Today, there are three classifications that are pertinent to the Grand Cru discussion: the 1855 classification of the Médoc and Sauternes; the St Emilion classification, introduced in 1955 and subject to regular revisions; and the Graves classification, which has been in effect in its current form since 1959.  

You may be familiar with the Cru Bourgeois classification, and you may have heard of the Crus Artisans. Both are worth digging into, though they sit outside and beyond the big three – and the featured producers are not considered Classified Growths. 

Bordeaux classifications in a nutshell 

You don’t need to know these classifications inside-out to appreciate Bordeaux, but a little refresher might help.

The 1855 classification

This one covers the red wines of the Médoc (plus one outlier from Graves) and the sweet whites of Sauternes. The Médoc list is broken into five tiers, from First Growths to Fifth Growths, and covers 61 châteaux. Sauternes is simpler, with three tiers: Château d’Yquem alone occupies the top level as Premier Cru Supérieur (“Superior First Growth”, but generally considered on par with the Médoc’s First Growths), followed by First Growths and Second Growths. There are 27 Classified Growths in Sauternes. With the notable exception of Château Mouton Rothschild’s promotion to First Growth in 1973, the classification has remained largely the same since 1855. These wines will typically say something like Grand Cru Classé en 1855 on the label.

The St Emilion classification

Something of a moveable feast, this one has regular revisions, theoretically once every 10 years. Its current incarnation is from 2022 and contains three levels. In descending order, the terms you’ll see on the label are: Premier Grand Cru Classé A; Premier Grand Cu Classe B; and Grand Cru Classé. There are 85 estates included. (More on this in a moment.) 

The Graves classification

This classification operates a little differently in that the estates are classified for either their red wine, their white wine or both. (Take this with a pinch of salt, though: Château Haut-Brion is classified only for its red wine, though its white wine routinely commands an even higher price.) It in theory covers the entire sub-region of Graves, but all 16 estates are located specifically within Pessac-Léognan. These will probably say Cru Classé de Graves on the label.

The classifications combined

A cereal-packet calculation puts the roster of Classified Growths at 188 estates throughout the Médoc, Sauternes, Graves and St Emilion (Château Haut-Brion features in both the 1855 and Graves classifications so is counted twice above).  

These estates are among the most prestigious in the world, though it’s important to note that this group, for various reasons, also excludes some of the region’s greatest names. So when considering the Grands Crus of Bordeaux, it’s necessary to widen the definition a little bit. 

Not all Grands Crus are classified 

Confusingly, some of Bordeaux’s undisputed greats don’t belong to any classification at all.  

This is most evident in Pomerol. This small pocket of farmland north-west of St Emilion isn’t much to look at, but don’t be fooled: this is the dark-blue bit on Bordeaux’s Monopoly board, and almost every square metre of vineyard land here belongs to an estate of note. You can’t throw a lump of blue clay without hitting something prestigious: Petrus, Le Pin, Château L’Evangile, Château La Conseillante, the list goes on. Not a classification in sight, but nobody would deny these estates their place among Bordeaux’s best.

See also the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux. This is the body that organises the annual En Primeur tasting week, a string of events in France and the sort of lengthy world tours that’d give Taylor Swift or Bruce Springsteen a run for their money.  

Its 130-plus members include châteaux from each of the three major classifications (though not all Classified Growths are members). But it doesn’t stop there. Pomerol, as you might expect, is well represented. The union also includes non-classified châteaux from the Médoc and Graves, like Château Angludet and Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion. These are among the most impressive producers in Bordeaux today. They, and others like them, make a strong argument that the classifications aren’t infallible. 

And then there’s St Emilion. In the leadup to the most recent iteration of the St Emilion classification, some high-ranking estates decided not to apply for reclassification. Notably this included three of the four châteaux at the top tier: Ausone, Cheval Blanc and Angélus. Château La Gaffelière, previously sitting at the next level down, also left the classification. They may no longer be part of an official ranking, but these properties are no less prestigious than they were beforehand.  

While we’re on the subject of St Emilion, actually… 

When is a Grand Cru not a Grand Cru? 

We need to talk about St Emilion. Or rather, the phrase “St Emilion Grand Cru”. These words, in isolation, refer to an appellation rather than a classification.  

When you see St Emilion Grand Cru on a label, it simply means that the wine has been made within a defined geographic area according to certain criteria. It’s not inherently telling you that it is part of a classification; that it’s a high-quality wine; or that it’s a higher-quality wine than one that doesn’t have this label.

The St Emilion Grand Cru appellation has around 5,400 hectares of vines. That’s bigger than the entire Haut-Médoc and almost 10 times the surface area of Burgundy’s Grands Crus combined. The nature of those estates varies widely, understandably enough – as does their level of ambition, their resources and, ultimately, the quality of their wine. As a category, St Emilion Grand Cru includes everything from Château Ausone to own-brand supermarket wine; you really do need something a little more to go on. 

It’s worth noting that there’s a separate appellation called just “St Emilion”. It covers the same geographic area as St Emilion Grand Cru, though it has slightly different requirements relating to things like maximum permitted yield and minimum permitted alcohol-by-volume. Essentially, the St Emilion rules allow you to make a little bit more wine from grapes that don’t have to be quite so ripe. Having said that, St Emilion is not intrinsically lower in quality than St Emilion Grand Cru. 

To be a Classified Growth in St Emilion, you need to make your wine using the St Emilion Grand Cru appellation. But crucially, not all wineries in the St Emilion Grand Cru appellation are Classified Growths. 

Making sense of Bordeaux’s Grands Crus 

So you’re in a shop and you’ve picked up that bottle. Not every Bordeaux that says Grand Cru is going to set the world on fire, though equally there are plenty of bottles that don’t say Grand Cru that are really special. How do you sort the wheat from the chaff?  

Most Classified Growths will proudly tell you of their status right there on the label, for a start. Those that opt not to make a song-and-dance of it are probably famous enough without it: Châteaux like Palmer and Léoville Las Cases come to mind.  

Then there’s Pomerol. Not every single estate there makes great wine, though as a rule of thumb it’s difficult to find bad Pomerol. Keep an eye out, too, for those non-classified estates that punch above their weight. And when it comes to St Emilion, remember that “Grand Cru” alone isn’t a guarantee of quality.  

In all cases: it pays to explore your own tastes and understand what you like. You may get just as much pleasure, if not more, from a Fifth Growth than a First Growth. And if you’re not a fan of Merlot, it doesn’t matter how highly ranked a particular St Emilion is – it’s probably not going to be your cup of tea. 

In Bordeaux, Grand Cru can be a useful term, though it’s not the be-all-and-end-all. And ultimately, we’re talking about a small minority of wines from a big, diverse region. The Grands Crus play a very important role, though they don’t exist in a vacuum. Enjoy your Grands Crus as part of a well-balanced Bordeaux diet. 

Explore our range of Bordeaux Grand Crus to lay down. 

Get to grips with the villages of Barolo with this handy guide from our Italy Buyer, Davy Żyw.

There are officially 11 communes in Barolo.  

In a region as complex and complete as Barolo, we are spoiled with many of these great crus. They show their value even more in this vintage. There are high points and top crus in every village of Barolo. But more generally, there is a golden thread in each of the villages, linking styles and character based on soils, exposures, altitudes, microclimates and winemaking approach. And we are lucky to work with a strong pedigree of producers who make wines so emblematic of their village personality, and of Barolo as a whole.  

La Morra 

La Morra is the largest of all the Barolo vineyard areas, and the furthest west. As with our three La Morra-based Barolisti, producer philosophies vary here, as does the range of aspects and altitudes. The top wines are grown on calcareous marl, the best of which are on south- and south-east-facing amphitheatres carved into hillside which leads up to the town’s terracotta clocktower, above Marcarini’s cantina.  

Grand Cru-worthy Rocche dell’Annunziata is a jewel in the village’s crown. The most famous vineyards here rival the greatest sites in the whole region. But if one looks a little deeper, there are other sites that showcase La Morra’s splendour and importance. Marcarini’s Serra and Veglio’s Arborina and Gattera sites showcase such individual expressions of the town, all with the La Morra charm. The thread of the villages’ vineyards is that many are planted on darker, heavier soils on top of calcareous layers. This gives gloss and fruit weight to the wines.  

As demonstrated by Marcarini’s Comune di La Morra Barolo, the village wines here are less tense and more pleasing in youth than elsewhere. Minerality plays a supporting role rather than the headline. And aside from the cellar-worthy top crus, the wines offer fuller, juicier fruit with spicy aromatics. 

Castiglione Falletto 

The most central of the villages, the hilltop Castiglione Falletto forms a naturally fortified island above two rivers on either side. These rivers have sculpted some of the steepest vineyards in the area, revealing an incredible diversity of soils: from white calcareous like Serralunga d’Alba; mineral-flecked marl like Barolo and La Morra; to lighter alluvial sand, which lend elegance and aromatics to the wines.  

We are proud to work with Mario Fontana, known for purity, composure and finesse in his wines, illustrative of the best of Castiglione Falletto’s terroir. The wines of the village are filled with an unmistakable floral perfume, combining elegance, vivid minerality and sweeter tannins than any other village – but are by no means less serious. 

Serralunga d’Alba 

Serralunga d’Alba is the furthest east of the Barolo communes. The ridge line of the village runs due south to north, vineyards descending both east and west off this calcareous steep-sided spine. The wines of Serralunga have a signature austerity; they are vertical, complex and compact. Altitude plays a role, too, but it is the exposures and geology which gives Serralunga its character. 

The soils here are poor, white talc, unfertile and calcareous. This manifests in wines of complexity, tension and saline minerality. They are often wrapped in powerful, austere tannins and can be demanding in youth. Historically, the best sites are the hanging valleys to the east of the village.

The 2021 vintage is one of homogenous excellence, where each comune so clearly expresses its respective signature, but none possibly more so than Serralunga d’Alba. The vintage feels as though it was made for Serralunga; with hallmark power, tension and poise from the ancient limestone soils interwoven immaculately with sweet, velvet-like, high toned fruit. From their Comune di Serralunga up to Vigna Rionda, Andrea Delpiano has crafted masterful wines at Giovanni Rosso.

Barolo 

Barolo is the beating heart of the entire area. The name “Barolo” refers to both the wider region and its principal wine village. Its historical fame continues thanks to its now-iconic winemakers, particularly Bartolo Mascarello and, more recently, our friend Luciano Sandrone. The village has some of the greatest vineyards sandwiched between the hilltop ridges of Castiglione Falletto and La Morra.  

None are greater than the hilly saddle of vineyards which sits below the town, flanking the south-east side of the only road. These vineyards are named Cannubi and Cannubi Boschis. This site is almost directly in the centre of the whole Barolo region. Here, the river divides the ancient hills of Barolo and La Morra from those of Castiglione Falletto and Serralunga d’Alba. This is the only site in the entire region where the Tortonian and Helvetian soils from different geological eras meet.  

The unique complexity of soils gives the wines expressive intensity. They are highly perfumed with austere tannins, combining the best traits of the whole region’s terroirs. None more so than Sandrone’s Aleste, arguably the greatest expression of Cannubi Boschis. Luciano, like his predecessors, knew this was a prized site. This unique geographical nuptial is where the name “Cannubi” originates from: connubium is Latin for “marriage”. The styles here tend to combine the classical traits of Barolo: perfumed nose, glossy fruit, tannin and elegance, minerality without the austerity of many neighbouring sites. 

Verduno 

Verduno is located in the far north of the region, on the very edge of the Barolo zone. What sets the wines apart is their finesse and elegance; the colours are paler, the wines fresher and lighter.  

Today, Vittore Alessandria runs the traditional cellar, while his brother Ale tends 15 hectares of vineyards. Their first vintage was in 1978, and Fratelli Alessandria was the first producer to put Monvigliero on a label. The 2021 vintage marks 20 years of Vittore at the helm. A special year to find such a coincidence, with 2001 and 2021 sharing so many positive parallels.

Verduno’s finesse can also be attributed to the chalky soils. They give purity and tension, which you can taste and feel on the palate. This is particularly apparent in the renowned Monvigliero vineyard. 

Monforte d’Alba 

The southernmost Barolo commune, Monforte d’Alba offers a multitude of soils, and elevation reaching heights of almost 500m. It decided to classify only 10 vineyard sites, although the area of land is larger than that of other village vineyards. Bussia was the first vineyard site to be declared officially in 1961. It creates some truly superstar wines from its very best tiny plots, although it has been subsequently expanded. So the name of Bussia is not necessarily the universal guarantee it once was. 

Among the others is Alessandria’s Gramolere and Veglio’s Castelletto, which showcase the dual identities of the village. To the west, the more fertile sandstone and heavier soils yield wines with breadth of fruit, palate weight, spice and intensity – as found in Alessandria’s beautiful Gramolere.

Further south in Seghesio’s Vigna Pajana, the steep slopes are a continuation of the calcareous Serralunga d’Alba ridge line, with white Formazione di Lequio limestone soils (similar to Serralunga d’Alba). This imparts much of the mineral austerity found in Serralunga; the wines are firmer, more delicate in fruit and with sapid minerality, as is clear in Seghesio’s Vigna Pajana. The 2021 has a crystalline purity with cool, blue-toned fruit, dried rose, liquorice and sweet botanical notes adding depth and complexity.