Growers’ Champagne – A Growth Industry

Simon Field, our buyer for Champagne, sheds a little light on what makes Growers’ Champagne such a beguiling prospect. The term Grande Marque does not lack for Gallic flair, and – as with many things of Gallic persuasion – it does not actually mean a great deal. In relation to Champagne, the ‘Marque’ (ie ‘brand’) […]

To Declare or not to Declare

That is the question……………soon to be answered.Vintage Port is a fascinating example of a category which has gained a fanatical following amongst a relatively small constituency of wine connoisseurs, most of them based in Great Britain and latterly the USA. Berry Bros are lucky enough to be the largest single importer of Vintage Port into […]

Southern Rhône Report

The South does not recall 1991 with quite as much nostalgia as the North, so we shall restrict anecdotal comparisons to more recent vintages, although no-one seemed to agree on a specific vintage to highlight. The most nominated candidates were, in order: 2006, 1999, 2001 and 2004. To complicate the issue yet further, for Vincent […]

Northern Rhône Report

Michel Chapoutier is not alone in detecting similarities between 2011 and 1991. Both followed a brace of superlative vintages and both had rather uneven growing seasons, unusual even. Indeed 1991 took rather a long time to achieve its due recognition; hopefully the same will not apply to 2011, for all the sound and fury associated […]