The rival, royal warrant-holding wine merchants Berry Bros & Rudd and Justerini & Brooks face each other across London’s St James’s Street. For generations they specialised in the most traditional of French wines plus port and sherry but now, as reported in detail by Walter in his long introduction to Glorious Piemonte – an audit, they are both, at last, taking Italy seriously.
The wines below represent their current selections from Italian regions other than Piemonte, including some very nice wines indeed.
TRENTINO-ALTO ADIGE
FRANZ GOJER
15.5
/20
White
Very pale yellow with a green tinge. Catchy, lifted and very ripe white fruit and undeniably Germanic in style. Cool-ferment fruit palate with high-tuned acidity. Fresh and uncomplicated. (WS)
Alcohol: 13.5%
Drink:
2012
–
2014
Price: £18.50 Berry Bros & Rudd
Red
Pale violet ruby. A little bit of horse saddle on the nose, but otherwise quite serious for Schiava. Lots of flavour and sweet dark fruit combined with a light palate weight. Very good length. Appetising too. Impressive result for this modest grape variety. (WS)
Alcohol: 13%
Drink:
2012
–
2015
Price: £17.24 Berry Bros & Rudd
FRIULI
LIS NERIS
White
Pale straw. Overtly sweet perfumed nose, but at least it actually smells of something! Clean and viscous due to the alcohol, and yeasty impact on sweet fruit finish. Mid length and bitter almond finish. (WS)
Alcohol: 14%
Drink:
2012
–
2014
Price: £108 per case of 12 ib Berry Bros & Rudd
White
From a single vineyard with 28-year-old vines, and vinified in oak. Pale, brilliant lemony yellow. The fruit just manages to come through the oak. Very tactile palate with sweet fruit and a little bit subdued at the moment. Could do with another six months in bottle perhaps. (WS)
Alcohol: 14%
Drink:
2012
–
2015
Price: £180 per case of 12 ib Berry Bros & Rudd
VENETO
BELE CASEL
White
Pale straw. Fresh and attractively perfumed on the nose. Strikes a near perfect balance. A lovely, fresh style, and exactly what straight Prosecco should be about. 17 g/l RS. (WS)
Drink:
2012
–
2013
Price: £12.95 Berry Bros & Rudd
White
Very pale straw and with a slow bead. Profound and concentrated. Assertive, fine CO2, almost full-blown sparkling, but ends gentle and perfumed. (WS)
Drink:
2012
–
2014
Price: £96 per case of 12 ib Berry Bros & Rudd
White
Secondary fermentation in bottle and not disgorged, hence with a fine sediment of lees. Intense pale straw. Serious, deep yeasty nose with sweet notes. Very fine but lasting bubbles. Very dry and with lively acidity the finish. Well made and food compatible. Frizzante rather than spumante. (WS)
Drink:
2012
–
2014
Price: £124 per case of 12 ib Berry Bros & Rudd
NOVAIA
Red
After the harvest the grapes were dried for 30 days. Herbal and crushed, sweet red fruit. Lively, crunchy and with real bite. Aromatic passito notes, but nothing over the top. (WS)
Alcohol: 14%
Drink:
2012
–
2016
Price: £288 per case of 12 ib Berry Bros & Rudd
VIVANI
14.5
/20
Red
Pale red. Fresh, light nose and just a little bit green. Slightly too pale. (JR)
Alcohol: 12.5%
Drink:
2011
–
2012
Price: £114.97 per case of 12 Justerini & Brooks
TOSCANA
CALAROSSA
17
/20
Red
29% Cabernet Franc, 16% Merlot, 16% Petit Verdot, 14% Syrah, 14% Alicante, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Sangiovese. Grape blend almost sounds like a recipe for, well, recipe winemaking. Very deep, dense ruby. Pretty, red sweet fruit and oak. Very appetising acidity, and perfectly built. Everybody's darling, no doubt. (WS)
Alcohol: 14.5%
Drink:
2012
–
2020
Price: £276 per case of 12 ib Berry Bros & Rudd
16.5 +
/20
Red
91% Sangiovese, 6% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon. Mid ruby starting to mature. Subtle sweet fruit nose with the merest hint of oak. Muscular, grainy tannin. A richer style of Sangiovese due to the blend, no doubt, and with a long and layered finish. (WS)
Alcohol: 13.5%
Drink:
2012
–
2018
Price: £108 per case of 12 ib Berry Bros & Rudd
DUEMANI
Red
50% Merlot, 50% Cabernet Franc. Cement fermented and aged in oak. Difficult to see real geographical personality. A bit sweet and confected. Dry finish. Sudden finish. (JR)
Alcohol: 14%
Drink:
2013
–
2016
Price: £100 per case of 6 ib Justerini & Brooks
15.5
/20
Red
100% Cabernet Franc. Debut vintage. Planted 2001. Demeter. Bright crimson. A little sweet and simple. I find it difficult to see the purity of Cabernet Franc in this wine though of course it is well balanced. A little crude and confected, I feel. (JR)
Alcohol: 14%
Drink:
2012
–
2016
Price: £75 per case of 6 ib Justerini & Brooks
15.5
/20
Red
Selected Cabernet Franc, oak fermented as well as aged. Dark crimson. Modern winemaker style. A bit thick and sweet. Hard work. Where is the relaxed aromatic side of Cabernet Franc? Well intentioned, I’m sure, but… (JR)
Alcohol: 14.5%
Drink:
2013
–
2017
Price: £315 per case of 6 ib Justerini & Brooks
Red
Oaked Syrah. In fact more oak than Syrah alas. Very sweet. And polished. But is does seem so much more winemaking than vine growing! Harsh tarted-up finish. (JR)
Drink:
2014
–
2018
Price: £315 per case of 6 ib Justerini & Brooks
IL PALAZZINO
Red
Light and smoky. A bit sweet then drying. Not a great pleasure. (JR)
Alcohol: 13%
Drink:
2010
–
2013
Price: £85 per case of 12 ib Justerini & Brooks
Red
Smells pretty mature! No great spine or line. A bit expensive. (JR)
Drink:
2012
–
2015
Price: £185 per case of 12 ib Justerini & Brooks
Red
Sweet and round and easy. At peak? Soft and easy? Just not quite fresh enough. (JR)
Drink:
2010
–
2014
Price: £110 per case of 12 ib Justerini & Brooks
Red
Mid ruby. Quite evolved and pretty farmyardy. Nicely evolved. Holidays in Tuscany… But a bit tart on the finish? Drink up. (JR)
Alcohol: 14%
Drink:
2010
–
2014
Price: £303.37 per case of 12 Justerini & Brooks
POGGIO ANTICO...
