In the wake of the third terrible hailstorm in Burgundy in three years, and the remorseless upward spiral of burgundy prices (hotly discussed in this thread in our Members' forum), burgundy price reductions were the last thing I expected.
But London wine merchants Berry Bros are starting a big burgundy sale today. They're dressing it up as a festival by calling it (surely ungrammatically?) their Fête de le Bourgogne (now corrected to 'la'), but basically it's a sell-off. Perhaps their Burgundy-based buyer Jasper Morris MW (author of the excellent book Inside Burgundy published by Berrys in 2010 and pictured here) may have been encouraged to overstock.
Berrys' wine-buying director Mark Pardoe MW explains it thus: 'The majority of our activity with Burgundy is now based around our Grand Burgundy Offer in January each year. Customers' focus then is naturally more on the top end of the new releases from one new vintage, and many delicious wines from new producers or less fashionable appellations slip under the radar. This is an opportunity to put them under the spotlight with less competition from their more renowned peers. Furthermore, with so much activity in January, we thought it would be good to adjust the emphasis and give Burgundy a little time in the sun at another time of year.'
Fair enough. The highlights of the sale are:
- Up to 40% off
- No cases less than 20% off
- Discounts of up to £588 per case
I've tried to make sense of the information I was given on the wines available below. 'VV' of course stands for Vieilles Vignes. Below are listed the wine names as far as I can make out, the number of bottles in each case, the full price per bottle and then the new discounted price, although there are one or two oddities which are presumably explained on Berrys website.
| WHITES |
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| Olivier Merlin |
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| 2010 Pouilly-Fuissé, Terroir de Fuissé, Olivier Merlin | 6 | £27 | £20 |
| 2010 Pouilly-Fuissé 'Terroir de Vergisson', Olivier Merlin | 6 | £27 | £20 |
| 2009 Pouilly-Fuissé ' Clos des Quarts', Olivier Merlin | 6 | £54 | £38 |
| 2010 Puligny-Montrachet, Sous Le Puits 1er Cru, Olivier Merlin | 6 | £49 | £34 |
| 2009 St.Véran, Le Grand Bussière, Olivier Merlin | 6 | £26.95 | £20 |
| J C Bachelet |
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| 2010 Chassagne-Montrachet, Boudriotte, 1er Cru, Jean-Claude Bachelet | 12 | £57.50 | £39 |
| 2009 Puligny-Montrachet, Domaine Jean-Claude Bachelet | 12 | £44 | £31 |
| Dom de la Vougeraie |
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| 2009 Clos Blanc de Vougeot, 1er Cru, Domaine de la Vougeraie | 6 | £72 | £49 |
| 2009 Clos Blanc de Vougeot, 1er Cru, Domaine de la Vougeraie (mag) | 3 | £145 | £97 |
| Camille Giroud |
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| 2010 Chassagne-Montrachet, Verger, 1er Cru, Camille Giroud | 6 | £52 | £36 |
| Dom de Bellene |
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| 2010 St Romain Blanc, Vieilles Vignes Domaine de Bellene | 6 | £22.50 | £17 |
| 2011 St Romain Blanc, Vieilles Vignes Domaine de Bellene | 6 | £22 | £17 |
| Patrick Javillier |
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| 2009 Meursault, Clos du Cromin, Domaine Patrick Javillier | 12 | £42.50 | £30 |
| 2010 Meursault, Cuvée Les Clousots, Domaine Patrick Javillier | 12 | £47.50 | £33 |
| Maison Roche de Bellene |
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| 2010 Chassagne-Montrachet, Vielles Vignes, Maison Roche de Bellene | 12 | £34 | £25 |
| 2010 Meursault, Les Chevalières, Maison Roche de Bellene | 12 | £34 | £25 |
| 2009 Puligny Montrachet, Les Chalumeaux 1er Cru, Maison Roche de Bellene | 12 | £49 | £36 |
| 2010 Puligny Montrachet, Les Chalumeaux 1er Cru, Maison Roche de Bellene | 6 | £49.95 | £36 |
| Devevey |
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| 2010 Chassagne-Montrachet, Macherelles 1er cru, Jean-Yves Devevey | 12 | £45 | £32 |
| 2010 Meursault Les Vireuils, Jean-Yves Devevey | 12 | £35 | £25 |
| Heritiers Lafon |
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| 2010 Mâcon-Chardonnay, Clos de la Crochette, Héritiers du Comte Lafon | 12 | £22.50 | £18 |
| J-N Gagnard |
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| 2009 Chassagne-Montrachet, Clos de la Maltroye 1er Cru, Jean-Noël Gagnard | 6 | £49 | £37 |
| 2008 Chassagne-Montrachet, Morgeot, 1er Cru, Domaine Jean-Noel Gagnard | 12 | £59 | £41 |
| Loichet |
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| 2010 Meursault, Sylvain Loichet | 2 | £32.50 | £24 |
| Ch de Puligny-Montrachet |
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| 2009 Chassagne-Montrachet, Ch. de Puligny-Montrachet | 12 | £43.50 | £30 |
| 2009 Puligny-Montrachet, Ch. de Puligny-Montrachet | 12 | £47.50 | £33 |
| 2010 St Aubin, Les Remilly, 1er Cru, Ch. de Puligny-Montrachet | 12 | £35 | £25 |
| 2009 Puligny-Montrachet, Chalumeaux, Ch. de Puligny-Montrachet | 12 | £59.95 | £40 |
| 2009 Puligny-Montrachet, Les Folatières, 1er Cru, Ch. de Puligny-Montrachet | 12 | £75 | £50 |
| 2009 Puligny-Montrachet, Ch. de Puligny-Montrachet | 12 | £47.50 | £32 |
| 2009 Puligny-Montrachet, Ch. de Puligny-Montrachet (mag) | 6 | £100 | £67 |
| 2010 St Aubin, Les Remilly, 1er Cru, Ch. de Puligny-Montrachet | 12 | £35 | £25 |
| 2010 St Romain, Les Sous Roches, Ch. de Puligny-Montrachet | 12 | £27 | £20 |
| Bret Bros |
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| 2010 Pouilly-Fuissé, En Carementrant, Bret Bros | 12 | £28.50 | £21 |
| REDS |
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| Louis Jadot |
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| 2009 Pernand-Vergelesses, Croix de Pierre, 1er Cru, Louis Jadot | 12 | £29 | £21 |
| Dom de Bellene |
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| 2008 Beaune Grèves, 1er cru, Domaine de Bellene | 6 | £39 | £26 |
| 2009 Nuits-St Georges, Chaignots, 1er Cru, Domaine de Bellene | 6 | £69 | £49 |
| 2009 Nuits-St Georges, Vieilles Vignes, Domaine de Bellene | 6 | £39.95 | £29 |
| 2008 Savigny les Beaune Hauts Jarrons 1er Cru, Domaine de Bellene | 6 | £29.95 | £22 |
| 2009 Savigny les Beaune Hauts Jarrons 1er Cru, Domaine de Bellene | 6 | £35 | £27 |
| 2008 Savigny les Beaune Vieilles Vignes, Domaine de Bellene | 6 | £22.50 | £18 |
| 2009 Savigny les Beaune Vieilles Vignes, Domaine de Bellene | 6 | £25.95 | £20 |
| D Moreau |
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| 2009 Santenay, Clos des Mouches, 1er Cru, David Moreau | 12 | £35 | £24 |
| 2009 Santenay, Clos Rousseau, 1er Cru, David Moreau | 12 | £29.95 | £21 |
| 2009 Santenay, Cuvée S, David Moreau | 12 | £22.50 | £17 |
| Joliet |
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| 2008 Fixin, Clos de la Perrière, Domaine Joliet | 12 | £36.50 | £26 |
| Roche de Bellene |
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| 2009 Gevrey-Chambertin, Combottes, 1er Cru, Maison Roche de Bellene | 6 | £57.50 | £39 |
| 2009 Volnay, Clos des Chênes, 1er Cru, Maison Roche de Bellene | 12 | £39.50 | £28 |
| 2008 Volnay, Réserve Spéciale, Maison Roche de Bellene | 12 | £29.95 | £23 |
| 2008 Vosne-Romanée, Les Malconsorts, 1er Cru, Maison Roche de Bellene | 6 | £85 | £56 |
| Liger-Belair |
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| 2010 Aloxe Corton, La Toppe au Vert, Domaine Thibault Liger-Belair | 6 | £54 | £37 |
| Dom des Croix |
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| 2010 Beaune, Bressandes, 1er Cru, Domaine des Croix | 12 | £39.95 | £28 |
| Loichet |
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| 2008 Clos de Vougeot, Grand Cru Sylvain Loichet | 6 | £90 | £61 |
| 2009 Clos de Vougeot, Grand Cru Sylvain Loichet | 6 | £95 | £65 |
| Ch de Puligny-Montrachet |
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| 2009 Nuits-St Georges, Clos des Grandes Vignes, 1er Cru, Ch. de Puligny | 12 | £55 | £37 |
| 2009 Nuits-St Georges, Clos des Grandes Vignes, 1er Cru, Ch. de Puligny (mag) | 6 | £110 | £74 |