Berry Bros. & Rudd
Saint Julien Red Bordeaux Blend
This review has thankfully been made simple by the fact that I was charmed by the elegance, freshness and balance of the wine, combined with the lovely rasberry jammy nose (almost cherry like).
I approached this wine with some trepidation, having in the past routinely avoided own label berry brothers and rudd wines, on the baseless assumption that they will be nice but perhaps uninteresting with monotone flavours. The fact this was of the variable but generally ok to good (but not great) 2012 vintage did not add confidence.
However, this wine proved all of my assumptions wrong; the nose was full of enticing raspberry and jam like aromas and with more to it than I expected and I really was drawn into the wine. On the palate the wine was light and fresh with a lovely overall mouth feel and a continuation of the fruit flavours my nose had told me to hope for. Also just the right amount of tannin for this style of wine and making it perfect for my chosen meal; combined with the lamb there was a lovely release of flavour.Most impressive was the balance of the wine; it really did seem to be exceptionally complete for a st julien at this price point, leading to a real feeling of elegance (slightly pleased after writing this to read bbr say the same things as me) and this in my opinion seems to be the perfect point in its evolution to be consumed. Perfectly poised to offer all of itself after being allowed to open.
I decanted this wine in a wide based carafe for 45 mins before consuming and it continued to open up further thereafter.
I had this wine as the first red with my sous vide rack of lamb, cheese mash and ratatouille before moving on to a weightier 2009 St Julien. It really fit nicely into the meal and allowed the ladies to transition nicely from their prosecco with fish starter. Whilst I tend to go for richer and weightier reds, this really did please everyone at the table.
Conclusion; elegant, fresh and well balanced. Good with food but does not require it. A great value wine that will appeal to red wine drinkers of all tastes. I really was charmed by this pretty and invitingly approachable wine, surprisingly thought provoking. It has a place at my table and perhaps also beside my reading chair. Deserving of the berry brothers and rudd label." — 8 years ago
Château Moulin Riche
Saint Julien Red Bordeaux Blend 2009
Delightful wine, seeing the other tasting notes I wonder how many people took the time decant the wine in a wide based carafe or a developing decanter an hour or more before drinking? full bodied and hearty for st julien, nice casis and lovely tannin expression and went beautifully with rack of lamb, cheese mash and ratatouille. Still young, but with balance and racy if not long finish. Excellent value and overjoyed that I had the foresight to buy 6 for autumnal drinking. 7 % of beautiful petit verdot from leoville poyferre main vinyard that showed fantastic maturity but simply wasn't needed for the grand vin, together with 30% of the grand vin fruitwent into this and it shiws with spice from the excellent petit verdot and extra depth and complexity from that 30% grand vin. Great wine and the site is now it's own separate vineyard. If you didnt decant this wine at its current stage of evolution then do not rate it. Great value and crying out for food. Hungry again for lamb now. — 8 years ago
Martin Easterman
Do not let the fact that this wine is not labelled under a particular chateau put you off from
considering this. The fruit was selected from J P Mouix’s estates in Pomerol and blended solely for the society. Anything that gives you access to those grapes and that expertise in such a fabulous vintage should be considered. In comparison to other Pomerol offerings from this year, the society’s newly released Pomerol 2010 is outrageously cheap or perhaps just a fairness of price that has disappeared from the general market place (Wine Society is non-profit and run for its members since 1874).
The wine from the first sip widens the eyes with its opulent and generous style. Voluptuously full bodied, deep dark gorgeously scented fruit, bringing to mind a bowl of boosie framboise and dark berries, fine grained tannins that grip the palate whilst the overall mouthfeel is silky smooth. This culminates in a long and sexy dark chocolate finish (as promised by the society). There is alcohol but the weight of flavours is in balance.
This is begging you to consume with food and the flavour with beef or game is divine; this wine can stand up to and improve almost anything, I suspect that the pairing will be more about the food’s flavour not being devoured by the wine and simply becoming a vehicle for the wine....although if you are drinking this wine the food may well become of lesser interest in its own right. Perfect for the winter weather, I imagine arriving home through the snow to a hearty meal of venison pie by the light of a fire and reaching in the low reflective light for the decanter shimmering with this inside.
I decanted this wine in a wide based carafe 40 mins before drinking and I feel that this is a real must right now to get the best from this wine, it is approachable and exceptionally enjoyable right now but you just now the next few years are going to add extra layers of complexity to this powerful and exciting wine...just so hard to resist at the moment; maybe a couple of cases for the cellar will help ensure that a few bottles are still around in 18 months time. Chapeau JPM and the wine society. 92-93+pts. — 8 years ago