If you ever ask any of the renowned wine critics about a top independent wine merchant in London, their top of mind would be ‘Berry Bros and Rudd’. Jancis Robinson, a writer behind a wine encyclopaedia ‘Oxford Companion to Wine‘ and also a regular contributor to Financial Times wine section, always put them on top in her review called ‘London for Wine Lovers‘.
When you wonder around Pall Mall, Green Park sort Buckingham Palace you can make a stop at one of the oldest classic wine ‘indies’, just turn onto St. James street and close to St. James Palace you will find this rather small-ish shop that is behind one of the best selection when it comes to French and Italian classics.
I have paid them a visit as well and of course focused more on their organic offering.
Well, I must say that you won’t be spoiled with choice – the selection in-store is rather limited in general and I could not spot any organic wines there at all. Moreover, they do not label or mark the wines as ‘vegan’ or ‘suitable for vegetarians’ either, which became quite a norm when you are shopping elsewhere.
You can find a few examples online at their BBR website, but again the search is rather complicated as they do not segregate the wines according to a particular viticulture.
Yet what I found interesting is their Wine Club offering – if you browse through and select the most affordable selection, which starts at £120 per 12 bottle case (not a bad value as wines individually retail at no less than £13-15), and their September case features Cotes du Rhone Nature Rouge 2012 by La Famille Perrin. The producer is very well-known in the Rhone Valley and this wine in particular is vilified close to their main chateau – Beaucastel, as Berry Bros and Rudd pointed out, in an impressive installation called Le Grand Prebois and is made in accordance with strict organic principles and standards. The tasting note says that 2012 has a medium garnet colour and a charming nose of macerated cherry, liquorice, thyme and juniper. The palate is juicy, with a silky plummy mouth feel and a cool, refreshing finish. The wine is ready to be drunk now or to be kept till 2017.
I was not as lucky as club members in terms of organic produce in store, but I could not believe I would be going home empty handed, so after a quick browse I found a bottle of Priorat wine that I simply could not miss but taste it later.
Clos Monlleo 2005 Priorat is a super-premium wine at £39 and is made from Tempranillo and Mazuelo grapes.
It offers glorious aromas of black fruit, vanilla, other sweet spice, but also pleasant minerality and perfumed freshness. This wonderful complexity is supported by enormous strength of this wine (not just alcohol, but the power of its concentrated fruit).
