Berry Bros. & Rudd is the UK’s oldest fine wine and spirits merchant, and adding to their collection of thoroughly quenchable tipples is the house’s first-ever Berry’s Own Selection Champagne Rosé Extra Brut.
Produced by Leclerc Briant on behalf of Berry Bros. & Rudd, it is based on the superb 2019 vintage, making it the perfect pour this summer and beyond.
Davy Żyw, Senior Buyer for Champagne and Italy for Berry Bros. & Rudd says, “We are excited to launch this special Champagne Rosé Extra Brut made by our friends at Leclerc Briant, who have been driving innovation in the Champagne region for decades. Over the years these Berry’s Own Selection bottlings have become customer favorites so we are delighted to add another fantastic product to the range.”
Biodynamically farmed, this serve is a terroir-focused rosé; combining Chardonnay which provides citrus, yellow pear, and a vibrant mineral line, along with Pinot Noir that gives color and musky perfume, texture, depth, and freshness. Just team it with seafood dishes such as langoustines or crab tartlets.
This exciting new product joins the brand’s current Own Selection range—expect 62 lines and seven sparkling products in this range including wines from David Ramey, Ch. Léoville Las Cases and Giovanni Rosso. Unsurprisingly, the collection is tremendously popular with customers with over 700,000 bottles from the Own Selection range sold in a single year in 2022. Offering her expert knowledge, Barbara Drew MW of Berry Bros. & Rudd shares her tips for serving Champagne.
Consider what dish you’re serving it with
Sparkling wine, and in particular Champagne, is an incredible food wine. The acidity and bubbles mean it pairs with a wide range of different dishes. Choose a fruity and floral rosé Champagne like our Champagne Extra Brut Rosé to pair with the sweet freshness of seafood or creamy and toasty Blanc de Blancs for poultry or cheese-based dishes.
Serve it well-chilled
Whilst wines show different flavors when served at various temperatures, sparkling wines are best served around 8 degrees. Any warmer than this, and they can tend to lose some of their lively fizz.
Consider your glassware
Narrow flutes or wide coupes are both beautiful for serving sparkling wine, but if you’re showing off something really special then you want to be able to enjoy the flavors. Choose a flute with a wide bowl (like our Merchant’s Flutes) or even a large wine glass, to get the most out of your fizz.
TDouble up
Many traditional method sparkling wines like Champagne and Crémant can age very well – certainly the vintage and prestige examples from top producers. So, if splashing out on a special bottle, stretch to two. You can enjoy one this year, and tuck one away in the cellar for future drinking enjoyment.
Don’t be afraid to decant
And if you are going all out and serving a richly flavored and full-bodied prestige cuvée such as Pol Roger’s Sir Winston Churchill, Dom Perignon, or even a single vineyard Krug, treat it like a wine first rather than fizz. If serving it very young, perhaps just 5-8 years old, then decant shortly before serving. It will still have plenty of bubbles when you come to taste it, but decanting will help it release more aromas for you to enjoy.