Definition Rioja Reserva 2009 (£11.99, or £9.99 as part of a case of six bottles, Majestic) Given how much effort they put into distinguishing themselves from the supermarkets, it’s curious how many specialist wine retailers have come out with their own versions of that most supermarket of practices: the own-label range, lately. The idea is that we punters should trust the retailer’s name as much as any producer. But why make the effort to go somewhere that prides itself on its diversity only to buy bottles where the maker’s name is either obscured or, in some cases, a secret? When it works, I suppose, the question is moot, and for the most part Majestic’s Definition range does work: certainly its wonderfully suave and savoury rioja is beautifully judged, the balance of oak and fruit perfectly al punto.
Adnams Chardonnay, South East Australia 2015 (£6.50) With around 200 stores, the scale of the Majestic business makes the economics of commissioning and sourcing an own-label range rather more compelling than it is for a one-man band. But smaller specialists are nonetheless increasingly attracted by the idea. Lea & Sandeman bottles a luminous Bourgogne Blanc 2014 (£12.95) and a classically cassis-scented Bordeaux 2014 (£10.95) for its customers in its four stores in posh parts of London. And East Anglian independent Adnams has not one but three levels of own-label, ranging from the bargain, plump but fresh Australian Chardonnay, to the charmingly fragrant Adnams Selection Beaujolais 2015 (£8.99), and the complex, deep top-of-the-range claret of Adnams Estate Moulis-en-Médoc 2010 (£21.99).
Berry Bros & Rudd Chianti Classico by Badia a Coltibuono, Tuscany, Italy 2014 (£14.99) The specialist retailer that has gone deepest into own-label in recent years is one of the most traditional. For Berry Bros & Rudd, which has been in the wine merchanting business for more than 300 years now, the recent extension of its own range is really just a matter of reconnecting with a past, when it would import by the barrel and bottle in its St James’s Street cellars. There’s no secrecy here: in most cases the (generally celebrated) producer gets equal billing. Highlights of the very smart modern collection include a wonderfully vital, deep, fragrant Argentinian Malbec by Pulenta Estate 2015 (£11.95) and the perfectly poised cherry and tobacco Chianti of star producer Badia a Coltibuono.
Follow David on Twitter @Daveydaibach
