A heady night of feasting in a boudoir-like salon; then that moment you half expect Adam Ant to leap up and stride down the long table to shake up the conventional. Such was the mood when Berry Bros. & Rudd released its latest limited-edition label for its perennially popular Good Ordinary Claret.
It was natural genius to show off its fine and dandy label by artist Kate Boxer, matched up with her son Jackson Boxer’s modern cooking at the flamboyant Brunswick House – the Georgian mansion crammed with antiques and salvage to covet and buy.
This night of hospitality with gusto and intensely rich flavours cast all meekness aside. Befitting a first full-blown feast of Autumn, it was a textured setting of draped swags and the patina of old satin polished wood, with a tumble of flora from the mantlepieces.
The Kate Boxer label is the third limited-edition design by BBR, and follows its commissioned Paul Smith label for its 2013 GOC and the 2014 GOC by design wonder Luke Edward Hall. The depicted dandy and his dog - modelled by Kate’s dog Figgy - is a chap on a mission. He’s firing his pistol to proclaim, ‘Let the feasting begin’.
The wine is a bright and modern Bordeaux red, with notes of deep cherry and bramble. You sense swathes of country mists and goblets filled and re-filled to the brim. It’s a wine to be generous with; an everyday indulgence. When a designer designs, the inspiration usually comes from relishing the product and its aura. As Kate describes her creation, you figure how much she enjoys this kind of feasting on a regular basis; she is very much part of the Boxer lineage of gourmets and chefs.
To reflect the flavours of the claret, Jackson styled a menu of jewelled beets with gutsy charcuterie, followed by succulent slices of rare, full fat roast beef – all plattered up for guests to convivially serve each other. Even the dessert of richest, darkest chocolate and brandy infused prune loved this wine.
And yes, the dandy himself lent his full-size presence to the feast. Kate Boxer’s original dry point etching with carborundum seemed so completely at home in the deep shadows and candlelight.
The new Kate Boxer-labelled Berry Bros. & Rudd Ordinary Claret is available from 25 October 2018. £9.95 for a bottle. And when the 7,000 bottles are gone, they’re gone. www.bbr.com
The dinner:
Prosciutto, bresaola, fennel salami, mortadella, olive, cornichon and caperberry
Heritage beetroot, goat curd, pistachio dukkah and puntarella
Rare roast sirloin of beef with horseradish, Cornish potatoes, roast carrots and pound farm leaves
Chocolate pot with boozy prune, cultured cream and almond
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Champagne Berry Bros. & Rudd Grand Cru by Mailly
Negroni cocktails
White Burgundy 2017 Berry Bros. & Rudd by Collovray & Terrier
Red Bordeaux 2016 Berry Bros. & Rudd Good Ordinary Claret by Dourthe
Su-Lin Ong attended as a guest of Berry Bros. & Rudd.
Twitter: @sloLondon
I love Berry bros & rudd, this event sounds fantastic.
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