About Berry Bros & Rudd
Over 300 years ago, Berry Bros. & Rudd opened its shop at 3 St James’s Street, opposite St James’s Palace, where it still stands today. Berrys’ now has shops in Hong Kong and Basingstoke, as well as a business in Japan and Dublin and a duty free presence in Dubai. Berrys’ range comprises over 4,000 wines and services include The Wine Club, The Cellar Plan, Wine Wedding List, Fine & Rare Wine Advice, comprehensive Wine Tastings, Fine Dining and Wine School. The cellars and Pickering Place at Berrys’ are available for corporate entertaining, cocktail parties and wine tastings. Berrys’ award-winning website www.bbr.com is a one-stop shop online and includes expert advice from Berrys’ own wine advisors.

Wines to drink in 5 years

2005 Ch. Brane-Cantenac, Margaux, Bordeaux, France (£515.64 per case of 12, in bond)
This got a little lost when last year due to being released amidst a pack of more famous names. Offering outstanding value for a Second Growth, it is quintessentially Margaux, harmoniously beautiful and definitely one not to miss!

2005 Ch. Beychevelle, St Julien, Bordeaux, France (£539.64 per case of 12, in bond)
Best Beychevelle any of us at Berrys has ever tasted. This has a vivid and attractive nose of raspberries and apples, and what it loses in power, compared to some of the 2005s we have tasted, it gains in finesse. A silky texture and fresh creamy red fruit flavours provide a crisp, concentrated wine. The blend is made up of 47% Cabernet Sauvignon and 46% Merlot, which is unusually high Merlot for the region. The 2004 is glorious now but showed poorly last year, so maybe the 2005 will be even better a year down the line. And let’s be honest, it’s so good now it is a risk well worth taking.

2005 Chianti Classico, Castello di Ama, Tuscany (£235.32 per case of 12, in bond)
A wine which punches well above its weight, Marco Pallanti’s Chianti Classico is so finely perfumed that it would surely gladden the heart of any fine wine lover, and those charmed by Pinot Noir in particular. For the nose is exquisitely detailed, sweetly scented with bright redcurrant, herbs and a hint of meat while the palate’s brilliantly constructed, the red-berry flavours perfectly interwoven with fine tannins and deliciously fresh, invigorating acidity.

Wines to drink in 10 years

2007 Ch. Pavie Macquin, St. Emilion, Bordeaux, France (£324 per case of 12, en primeur)
This is currently one of most exciting estates in Bordeaux, producing wines that combine incredible richness with real St Emilion terroir character. Rightfully promoted to Premier Grand Cru Classé status in 2006 this biodynamically-farmed estate has made another highly impressive wine in 2007. The nose is brilliant: elegant, rich and complex with dark chocolate notes; the creamy, supple palate boasts ripe tannins while the black and red fruit builds slowly to an unbelievably long, pure finish. With immense breeding, this is another testament to the magic being worked here by Nicolas Thienpont and Stéphane Derenoncourt.

2007 Ch. Branaire Ducru, St. Julien, Bordeaux, France (£264 per case of 12 bottles, en primeur)
Ch. Branaire Ducru – Master of St. Julien. The wine of choice for the Bordeaux cognoscenti, Patrick Maroteau’s stunning wine is close to the quality of the First Growths in 2007. With the same (albeit much riper) tannins as the 1996, Patrick ranks this as the 5th or 6th best Branaire of the last 15 years. The rich, fresh, almost porty nose of spicy damsons and blackberries simply oozes class while the precise, creamy cassis palate is as sleek and balanced as anything we have tasted. Fine grained tannins add structure while a long, pure black fruit, coffee and bitter chocolate finish is the icing on the cake.

Wines to drink in 15 years

2005 Ch. Lynch Bages, Pauillac, Bordeaux, France (£780 per case of 12 bottles, in bond)
A sublime masculine heavyweight Lynch. It is Pauillac personified with an impenetrable but incredibly ripe nose bursting with pure, minerally cassis. Mouthfilling creamy black cherry and blackcurrant fruit is phenomenally smooth and boasts great structure with hints of tobacco, coffee, leather and mint. The tannins are rich and silky with a rare freshness. The wine is aged in 80% new oak which is the most they have ever used, feeling it necessary to cloak the exceptional fruit and powerful tannins. This is set to be a legendary Lynch so don’t miss out.

2005 Ch. Palmer, Margaux, Bordeaux, France (£2016 per case of 12, in bond)
Awesome. Showstopping. Remarkable. Palmer is all of these things in 2005. A stunning, full bodied expansive beauty of a wine, it is quintessentially Margaux with a Pomerol-like richness. It is silky and gorgeous with unbelievably pure, firm and precise fruit on the palate. With multiple layers of complexity, the finish was so long we could still taste it – without any exaggeration – 15 minutes after leaving the château. The 78-year-old former winemaker said the only vintage to compare to the 2005 was the 1945 and in his view the 2005 surpassed the legends of 1961, 1983 and 1989 at the same stage

2006 Pommard, Clos des Epéneaux, 1er Cru Domaine du Comte Armand, Côte de Beaune, Burgundy, France (£497.28 per case of 12 in bond)
A deep, brooding yet beautifully layered nose of raspberry, cherry and red pinot fruit nuanced by hints of spice, earth, minerals and a dried herb component introduces intense, balanced and pure flavours that culminate in a serious, mouth-coating and well built finish, where the tannins are solid but not rustic or aggressive. This will require the better part of a decade to arrive at its majority.