As Senior Copywriter at wine merchant Berry Bros. & Rudd, I’ve written extensively for bbr.com, the Berry Bros. & Rudd blog and No.3 magazine.
I have interviewed and written about many of the world’s top wine producers. I have particular interest, experience and expertise in the wines of Bordeaux and Burgundy, though my writing has also covered Champagne, Italy, California, Australia and beyond.
As a freelance wine writer, my work has also been published in Decanter magazine.
Here, you’ll find a selection of highlights.
Charlie Geoghegan: “If Bordeaux got out of its own way, more people might see what they’re missing”
Decanter magazine and decanter.com, July 2024
People like me aren’t supposed to like Bordeaux. I’m a Millennial from Ireland, and I didn’t grow up with a wine cellar. I wasn’t around for the fuzzy yesteryear you sometimes hear about, when a case of Château Lynch-Bages cost a few pence and Latour a few shillings. As I write, I’m trying to make the maths work on my upcoming wedding and buying my first home; filling a cellar I don’t have with wines I presumably can’t afford feels far-fetched. And yet, Bordeaux is the mainstay of my humble wine collection (that is, the wine rack I inherited from a neighbour). How do you figure that, then?
Loose rules for a picnic
Berry Bros. & Rudd blog, July 2024
When it comes to picnics, there are few if any rules. Here, Charlie Geoghegan sets out why that’s a very good thing.
Bordeaux notes: off-road in St Julien
bbr.com, June 2024
Anyone who says Bordeaux is not about the vineyard has clearly never taken a Land Rover tour with a Game Ranger in suede loafers (and his wet dog). Notes from a particularly informative visit to Châteaux Léoville and Langoa Barton.
In search of a lingua franca
Berry Bros. & Rudd No.3 magazine, Spring/Summer 2024
Despite the best of intentions, the language we use to talk about wine has done a lot to reinforce exclusionary ideas about who should be drinking it. But who really benefits from it, and why do the words we use matter? Charlie Geoghegan shines a light on the complex world of wine-speak.
Bordeaux 2023 vintage report
bbr.com, April 2024
Co-written with Mark Pardoe MW, this report examines the growing season in some depth while also giving an early assessment of the wines.
Domaine Faiveley: big and small
Berry Bros. & Rudd blog, February 2024
Erwan Faiveley leads one of Burgundy’s largest domaines – and one of its smallest major négociant houses. Domaine Faiveley doesn’t fit neatly into any one box, so how well do we really know it?
Domaine Jean-Noël Gagnard: it’s complicated
Berry Bros. & Rudd blog, February 2024
Can it be that it was all so simple then? Caroline Lestimé has spent the past three decades making life complicated for herself – and the wines from her family domaine in Chassagne-Montrachet have never been better.
Domaine Méo-Camuzet: a staggered revolution
bbr.com, December 2023
Jean-Nicolas Méo has overseen a staggered revolution at his family estate in Vosne-Romanée, from tenant farmland to Burgundy’s A-list.
Rediscovering St Emilion
bbr.com, May 2023
The wines of St Emilion are every bit as varied as its sprawling terroir, says Charlie Geoghegan. There’s no one style of St Emilion – and that’s truer now than perhaps ever before.
Petrus: “in the shadows”
bbr.com, May 2023
Olivier Berrouet has perhaps the most daunting job in the world of wine: making Petrus. Here, he reflects on following in his father’s footsteps, the unavoidable nature of typicity and the merits of doing nothing.
Château Léoville Barton: “a spirit about the place”
bbr.com, May 2023
There have been Bartons in Bordeaux for almost 300 years. Today, Damien Barton Sartorius oversees one of the region’s longest-running family firms. Here, he remembers his grandfather, considers his own place in the story and ponders the future.
Getting to know Burgundy
Berry Bros. & Rudd blog, December 2022
Through a series of non-consecutive, though not entirely unconnected, experiences, Charlie Geoghegan begins to see the appeal in Burgundy. Over the course of six years, his recurring encounters with this often-mysterious region have resulted in a constantly growing appreciation for its fine wines.