One of cooking’s most intoxicating aromas comes from the Maillard reaction. It’s the flavor associated with browned foods: think a well crusted steak, chocolate, bread crusts, coffee beans, and dark beer. First identified in 1912 by Louis Camille Maillard, the reaction is similar to caramelization, but produces earthier, more complex flavors.
The monks and farmers of France have spent centuries years identifying the grape varietals that best fit their lands. Most grape-place pairings were settled long ago, and now the happy marriages -- Syrah in the Northern Rhône, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Burgundy, Sauvignon Blanc in Sancerre -- produce many of the world’s finest expressions of each varietal.
Burgundy and Bordeaux are the two giants French wine. In nearly every aspect -- style, tradition, grape varietal, scale -- they are opposites. As a small père et fils enterprise, Ansonia’s model fits far better with Burgundy, and we work with more than four Burgundy sources for every one in Bordeaux.
The monks and farmers of France have spent about a thousand years identifying the grape varietals that best fit their lands. Most grape-place pairings were settled centuries ago, and now the happy marriages -- Syrah in the Northern Rhône, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Burgundy, Sauvignon Blanc in Sancerre -- produce many of the world’s finest expressions of each varietal.
The 2015 vintage produced exceptional red wines throughout France. We’ve most recently highlighted some of our favorite examples from Burgundy and the Rhône. But the vintage was just as successful in Bordeaux.
Bordeaux is a region best known for wines that are expensive, ageworthy, and red. So in the spirit of keeping readers on their toes, we’re introducing a new Bordeaux today that is the complete opposite: inexpensive, drink-now, and white.
Named for an 8th century Breton hermit monk, the medieval town of St-Emilion has long been a center for winemaking. Viticulture there dates to at least 275 AD, when Roman soldiers cleared the local forest and replaced it with vines.
Prices in Bordeaux have never been higher. Due to increasing global demand, particularly from Asia, it is harder and harder to find values in the region. In search of high quality wines that also offer good value, we often consider second wines of famous vineyards or secondary properties from famous winemakers.
Wine classification changes dramatically from one region to another. The Old World tends to identify wines by place, while the New World tends to use grape varietal. It seems a minor shift, but it has important implications for the way people perceive wines.
Well aged wine is hard to come by these days. Today’s consumers often drink wines too early, or avoid age-worthy bottles all together. So whenever we can, we look for opportunities to import wines that are near their optimal drinking window.
The 2015 growing season brought warm weather to nearly every region in France. The wines from Burgundy and the Northern Rhône are some of the finest in a generation. Those from the Southern Rhône are dense, very rich, and easy to enjoy. And the 2015 reds from Bordeaux are some of the smoothest and roundest in years.
We don’t import much Bordeaux. We’ve always taken more readily to the scale and culture of Burgundy, where the estates are much smaller and the atmosphere less formal. But it’s no secret that Bordeaux makes some extraordinary wines, and we like having some in our portfolio.
The famous wine writer Hugh Johnson once wrote, "If one had to single out one commune of Bordeaux to head the list, there would be no argument. It would be Pauillac." This tiny town in the heart of Bordeaux is most famous for its three superstar chateaux: Latour, Lafite-Rothschild, and Mouton-Rothschild. But there’s more to Pauillac than just these legendary…
Patience is uncommon in our fast-paced world. Today’s wine consumers tend to drink wines too early, or to avoid age-worthy bottles all together. So whenever we can, we look for opportunities to import wines that are near their optimal drinking window.
Over thousands of years the monks and farmers of France experimented with different grapes to find the varietals that best fit their land. The grape-place pairings were settled centuries ago, and now the happy marriages -- Syrah in the Northern Rhône, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Burgundy, Sauvignon Blanc in Sancerre -- produce many of the world’s finest expressions of…