Berry Bros. & Rudd
Saint Julien Red Bordeaux Blend
St. Julien, Médoc, Bordeaux, France
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."
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."
