This bottle of 'rouge' is very elegant looking. A typical Rhone shape, slim and curvaceous, with low shoulders and short sides, very similar to the Burgundy shape but a little less substantial.

Immediately you are struck by the Royal Warrant markings (meaning members of the royal family occasionally enjoy a Berry Bros tipple), one immaculately pressed into the foil cap and a couple printed on the label. It has been a while since I have laid eyes on such a pleasant bottle, not a hair out of place. A good benchmark for perfectly balanced bottle presentation.

Those who know about the 2007 Rhone vintage will quickly tell you that it was an exceptional year, which bodes well for this bottle. You can take this information at face value, but interestingly there was some debate about the varying views back in 2007 as aired by Jancis Robinson ' the reliability of generic bodies' vintage reports'. Believe the hype... or not, it's up to you, but the only real benchmark is drinking the stuff, and now most people agree that 2007 is a great vintage.

This bottle is 14.5% vol which is certainly big, cleverly disguised in its diminutive Rhone packaging. I have drunk overpowering Rhones in the recent past, and went off them for a while. Too much booze and spice in a glass. Chateauneuf-du-Pape being a culprit for me. It is so big and bold, and even likes to wear its ego outside the bottle in the shape of a large coat of arms stamped into the glass. In fact a flamboyant marking like this is quite a common trait for the Rhone bottle.

I was hoping this bottle would deliver a more measured approach, and a lovingly prepared chicken chasseur was waiting as a foil.

To give the beautiful bottle some respect I took out my precision laser foil cutter, borrowed from the set of Goldfinger (in my overactive imagination). I did not want to leave a ruffled brow. The long traditional cork revealed a dark velvety wine. Not too spicy, not overpoweringly alcoholic, not bitter... although in the battle of food vs wine that night, the food was on the ropes towards the end of the meal. There are only some many rounds you can last in the ring with a big Rhone. It was nevertheless delicious, and without exception everyone at the table commented on how nice it was (impressive as I served it with no fanfare, and we were all too familiar for politeness).

A definite winner, and at £7.55 (less if you buy a case) great value.

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