I’m partial to Zinfandels. I picked this Ridge Lytton Springs Zinfandel blend up from Berry Bros & Rudd, but have since seen it at Majestic. It’s not a pure Zin, it has a good dollop of Carignan and a splash of Petit Syrah, but there’s still about 80% of Zinfandel in there. It’s a wonderful rich… Read More »
I do love Berry Bros & Rudd. It’s a delight to shop at as the staff are so enthusiastic. I generally stock up with a random selection of wines that I just don’t see anywhere else, and then pick up a few of their “own brand” wines from specific regions. These are not quite the… Read More »
It’s warming up a bit. It’s starting to feel decidedly spring-like. The sun is shining in between the rain showers and there’s blossom on the trees. It’s time to try some wines for spring evenings. This bottle of Rully from Jean-Yves Devevey came from Berry Bros & Rudd. The wine is a bright, clear, pale… Read More »
I admit, I bought this wine because I just couldn’t resist it, with the cheery octopus print on the bottle. It’s Greek, so we had it with a lovely Mediterranean falafal flatbread salad. It seemed like a good way to support the people of Greece in their time of austerity. I’ve had some truly awful… Read More »
This wine is a wonderful dark, thick purple colour, with legs like Chris Hoy. It smells of cigar box, or at least it smells of a mix of wood and tobacco, which I imagine a cigar box would smell like as I’ve never actually smelled a box of cigars. It also smells of cherries, I’ve… Read More »
This Mountain View Monterey County Pinot Noir was a lovely colour, bright, light red. It could be mistaken for one of Spain’s more assertive pink wines. It smelled fresh and fruity, and that carried through to the taste, there were fresh squashed cherries and maybe some damsons. These tasted best when it was cool. As the… Read More »
I know it’s not smart to buy a wine based on the picture on the label, but you must admit, the label on this one is just so pretty I couldn’t resist. It’s also Primitivo, something else I find hard to resist. The American translation is Zinfandel, the variety brought over from Italy by early… Read More »
I like port. There, I’ve said it. I also like wines that have the taste of port without the full on alcohol hit. The good people of the Douro have been working hard over the last decade to do more of that. That’s probably why I think they are good people. The good people at… Read More »
Thee best thing about having to go to Basingstoke is being able to stop off at the Berry Bros & Rudd Outlet on the way home. It gives me a chance to pick up some interesting wines sold by passionate people at a significant discount. It’s a bin-end bonanza so sometimes wines are a little… Read More »
We had a mini celebration this week, which required a mini-celebration wine. I was despatched to root around and find the perfect wine. I don’t do well under that kind of pressure. It wasn’t a fizzy situation, but I had no red/white bias to guide me. I wanted to make a good choice, not a… Read More »