Today saw us visit two of the behemoths of Pauillac: Ch. Mouton-Rothschild and Ch. Lafite-Rothschild. Originating from the traditional French (Lafite) and flamboyant English (Mouton) branches of the Rothschild family, there has always been a bit of needle between these two great First Growths. The 2006 vintage was the first year in a very long […]

It has not been an auspicious start to the 2007 Bordeaux En Primeur tasting week. After a Saturday of glorious sunshine, Berrys’ Buying Team arrived in Bordeaux to cold, driving rain. Certainly there is little evidence of the global warming that was discussed (and slightly worryingly, rather welcomed by some) at the Climate Change and […]

It’s going to be a tricky one to be honest. If Oliver (our Fine Wine Purchasing Manager) and I hadn’t just tried a handful of 2007s in February (watch out for a spellbinding 2007 Ch. Giscours this year…as long as the price is correct it’s a cellar must-have) I would be packing my well used tasting […]

It has been clear for while that the growing imbalance between supply and demand in Champagne, fuelled by burgeoning international demand, is set to lead to shortages in certain markets, with concomitant higher prices and hopefully a more carefully selected distribution chain. Pretty much every corner of the 33,500 hectares where vines are permitted to […]