September Futures

Order Deadline 9/19

Ansonia Wines

As we post the September Futures offering, the vignerons of France are preparing for the harvest. This year’s growing season has been a reminder of the risks inherent in their business. Serious spring frosts trimmed potential yields across the country, sometimes dramatically, and a wetter-than-usual growing season has required them to battle one malady of the vine after another. We spoke to a few winemakers in May who were already down over 80% for hard-hit plots. We suppose it had to happen eventually — a succession of warm summers all across France has brought a string of vintages in which the wines seemed to make themselves.

For our part, we continue to stock our cellars with the delicious results of this run of excellent years. The 2019s — particularly good in Burgundy and the Northern Rhône — continue to arrive, along with many still coming in from the sunny 2018 vintage. We are pleased to offer great choices here, from a range of whites from Burgundy’s Côte d’Or, to a range of reds from the Côte d’Or and from a rising star of Burgundy’s Côte Chalonnaise, to delicious Northern Rhônes from yet another stellar vintage. In addition, we offer opportunities to restock wines from the Loire valley and from the Southern Rhône. Finally, we return to a long-lost favorite Macconais white from Viré-Clessé under a new label, which sharp-eyed longtime readers may recognize.

We hope there will be something in this offering for every taste and budget. If you find anything of interest, please submit your orders by the Order Deadline of September 19. We will place the orders for the wines immediately thereafter. We expect these wines to arrive in November, though recent supply chain delays have added weeks to normal transit times.

JUMP TO SECTION

Bohrmann
Couvent / Varoilles
Desvignes
Forces Telluriques
Bonnefond
Saint-Clair
Souverain
Sanzay
Ligier
Lafont-Menaut
Bardoux

Domaine Bohrmann

Meursault, Burgundy

In very little time, the Domaine Bohrmann has claimed a prominent place in the cellars of many Ansonia Wines clients. Sofie Bohrmann has combined the skillful acquisition of fine Côte d’Or terroir with a refined winemaking style, and her wines are more sought-after every year.

The delicious 2019s continue her winning streak. Since last weekend’s post many of you have already signed up for the delicious white Bourgogne “Les Belles Gouttes” 2019 and the equally delicious Bourgogne Pinot Noir “Entrecoeur” 2019. Those who missed the post can read more about these excellent values by following this link. But there are many more excellent choices to consider from the towns of St. Aubin, Meursault, and Puligny Montrachet.

In St. Aubin, there are two premier cru wines we found particularly attractive. First, “En Remilly” 1er cru 2019. This wine shows an exuberant nose of ripe fruit, with just a background note of toasty oak. In the mouth, the wine is rich and round, but not at all flabby. The freshness emerges in the mid-palate, providing plenty of support that continues through a long finish. As with all Bohrmann wines this is oaked to perfection – just enough to add background structure, but never enough to notice.

The second St Aubin is from “Murgers des Dents de Chien,” the “walls of dog teeth” vineyard that many of you already know. The 2019 is a refined and elegant wine with particularly nice balance. It is round but subtly so, with a solid core and supporting acidity that creeps in gently and carries the wine into a strikingly long finish. Look for notes of golden apples, stones, and almonds. We expect this wine to age well.

From Meursault, the “Durots” is a 2019 version of the floral wine for which the village is known. There is an expressive ripe nose with a nice balance between fruit and oak. The ripeness shows in the mouth as well, with the supporting acidity providing quiet support, and the wine finishes with the length called for by its pedigree. Look for notes of baked lemon and white flowers. It’s an eminently drinkable wine that we think will provide much pleasure over the next year or two.

We have two suggestions from Puligny-Montrachet, a village that often challenges impatient Americans who want their wines to show well from day one. In fact, Puligny usually needs a little time in the bottle for its elements to integrate and its characteristic elegance to show. But both of this year’s Pulignys from Bohrmann will require less patience than usual. The village level “Grand Champs” 2019 offers a pleasant, balanced nose with good ripeness. This is the most drinkable young Puligny we’ve had in years. It shows the appellation’s signature angularity and precision, but rounds it out with youthful ripeness and stony intensity. Fans of Meursault looking for an extra dollop of tension and cut should consider this unusually good Puligny villages.

Perched high on the hill overlooking the village, the Puligny premier cru “La Garenne” particularly benefits from its elevation in the warm 2019 vintage, producing a strikingly well-balanced wine that is likely to provide pleasure over many years. The mouth shows unmistakable premier cru depth, with notes of white flowers, pear, and stone. There’s plenty of freshness here, but it integrates with a remarkably nice mouthfeel. And there is a roundness that one rarely sees in a just-bottled Puligny 1er cru. This exciting wine is drinkable right now, but should be lights-out with another year under its belt.

BOHRMANN
(case prices)

Bourgogne blanc 2019: $295
St-Aubin 1er cru “En Remilly” 2019: $495
St-Aubin 1er cru “Murgers des Dents de Chiens” 2019: $495
Meursault “Durots” 2019: $550
Puligny-Montrachet “Grands Champs” 2019: $695
Puligny-Montrachet 1er cru “La Garenne” 2019: $995

Bourgogne rouge 2019: $325

Couvent & Varoilles

Gevrey-Chambertin, Burgundy

As you may recall, the Domaine des Varoilles, our source in Gevrey-Chambertin, changed hands in 2020. The winemaker Philippe Cheron now controls most of the vineyards, and going forward many of its wines will be sold with others of his wines under the name Domaine du Couvent. We expect to offer more of Mr. Cheron’s wines in an upcoming offer, but we are adding his Grand Cru Clos Vougeot 2019 to this importation to be assured that it is available. Cheron draws mostly from a large plot of 75-year-old vines in the center of the massive Grand Cru vineyard;

The Domaine du Couvent Clos de Vougeot 2019 has a lovely ripe nose of dark fruit. In the mouth it is very rich, with noticeable toast showing up to complement the fruit. The balance is excellent. As one might expect from this vineyard, there is plenty of supporting structure, but the tannins are perfectly coated with fruit, providing excellent support for a long life. This is tightly coiled, beautifully balanced, and a very promising start from the Domaine du Couvent. Vinous’s Neal Martin scored it 92-94, praising its “attractive nose of brambly red berry fruit, morels and tobacco, nicely focused and showing good intensity,” and calling it “a superb Clos Vougeot.” Inside Burgundy’s Jasper Morris awarded it 93-95: “This is surprisingly easy-going at the front end then a little touch of acidity and more structure behind, providing the typically robust Clos Vougeot experience.” For those looking for a wine to lay down for a bit, this is excellent terroir in a magnificent vintage.

Most writers describe the 2019 red Burgundies as the best vintage since 2015. We’ve enjoyed checking in on a few 2015s in recent months, and the initial hype around the vintage has panned out just as expected.We’re offering two premier cru Gevrey cuvées from the superb 2015 vintage, now with six years already under their belt. Both offer much enjoyment today, but will continue to pay dividends for those with patience and cellar space.

The premier cru vineyards “Clos des Varoilles” and “La Romanée” sit side by side on the slope of the valley that runs west out of Gevrey-Chambertin. Though geographical neighbors, their terroirs are quite distinct, as are the wines they produce. The Clos des Varoilles is a typical Gevrey-Chambertin, while La Romanée is leaner and more elegant. Clos des Varoilles is classic Gevrey – meaty and bold with notes of spice, perfume, violets, and blackberry. La Romanée, planted on stonier soils and further up the slope, is more elegant and vibrant – look for notes of dried flowers, cherries, cassis and stones. Both of these 2015s are still youthful Gevrey with just five years in the bottle, but both are beginning to show secondary aromas and the complexities that develop with bottle age – notes of cedar and perhaps a touch of tobacco.

COUVENT/VAROILLES
(case prices)

Couvent Clos de Vougeot 2019: $1,995

Varoilles Gevrey-Chambertin 1er “Clos des Varoilles” 2015: $995
Varoilles Gevrey-Chambertin 1er “La Romanée” 2015: $995

Domaine Desvignes

Givry, Burgundy

We are as excited about the wines from the Domaine Desvignes in the Côte Chalonnaise as we have been about an upcoming producer in a long time. You may recall the story — we first bought bottles there from Gautier Desvignes’ grandfather in 1998, while we were living in Cluny just down the road. It was well-made, straightforward wine, and that was the domaine’s style until young Gautier began to make changes less than a decade ago. In a remarkably short time, he has upgraded the winemaking facilities, installing a gravity-fed winemaking process and new barrel rooms, and has updated bottling practices, the viticulture, and begun selectively replanting some vineyards.

Both Vinous’s Neal Martin and the Wine Advocate’s William Kelley MW identified Gautier as a rising star of the Côte Chalonnaise a few years ago, and the results of his work are more impressive every year. Reviewing the excellent 2019s just a few weeks ago, Kelley reported: “The young Gautier Desvignes continues his rapid ascent at the 11-hectare estate, and I was delighted by these new releases. … Elegant, sumptuous reds and bright, chiseled whites are the order of the day, and everything reviewed here comes warmly recommended.

The 2019s are excellent at every level, and we are delighted to offer them here. Though the growing season was nearly as hot as 2018, predictably resulting in rich, round wines, the 2019s managed to retain a beautiful freshness and energy. The Desvignes 2019 village-level Givry rouge is delicious. It’s hard to improve on Kelley’s comment: “The 2019 Givry rouge is already hard to resist, bursting with aromas of sweet berries and warm spices. Medium to full bodied, lively and charming, with melting tannins and juicy acids, it has turned out beautifully.”

At the premier cru level, we have three wines to suggest. First, Givry 1er cru “la Grande Berge”. This wine simply sings in 2019; its slightly higher elevation gives the wine particular energy, with youthful tannins that promise to round out into excellent supporting structure as the wine matures. We loved its ripe cherry and blueberry fruit, and sumptuous vibrant texture. The monopole Givry 1er cru Clos du Vernoy, which is effectively in the Desvignes’ back yard, lies lower than the Grande Berge, making for a rich, round wine that Kelley called “velvety and sapid.” Its 60 year-old vines yield nicely coated tannins. Kelley praised its “aromas of cherries and sweet berry fruit mingled with notions of sweet spices, smoke and loamy soil.”

The Givry 1er cru “Clos Charlé” lies at the north end of the village, just alongside the D-981 as one arrives from the Côte d’Or. It offers a lovely array of aromas, with blackcurrant fruit, overtones of licorice, and noticeable oak. There’s less earthiness here than in the other two, but it’s classic red Burgundy with a particularly good balance. Kelley – a tough grader by any standard – awarded 93 points and called it “excellent,” finding “velvety tannins and fine depth.” You can’t go wrong with any of these delicious reds.

Desvignes’s Givry blanc “En Chenèves” comes from vines Gautier planted in 2015 – 90% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Blanc. The wine is crisp and precise: pure Chardonnay fruit with floral overtones. It offers a completeness and complexity that recalls the famous whites of the Côte d’Or to the north, far overperforming its humble origin. Gautier may be best known for his reds, but this shows he’s just as talented with white Burgundy.

DESVIGNES
(case prices)

Givry 2019: $295
Givry 1er “Grand Berge” 2019: $325
Givry 1er “Clos du Vernoy” 2019: $350
Givry 1er “Clos Charlé” 2019: $350

Givry blanc “En Chenève” 2019: $295

Forces Telluriques

Quintaine, Maconnais, Burgundy

When we lived near Cluny in Burgundy more than twenty years ago, effusive praise from the English wine writer Anthony Hanson led us to a nearby producer in Quintaine, a tiny hamlet in what later became the appellation Vire-Clessé. (Hanson had said the wine “took my breath away”). The young couple who owned it tended their vineyards and made their wine according to organic and biodynamic principles – not at all the norm back then – and their work opened our eyes to the quality possible in the Maconnais, a region known for simple, straightforward, and early-drinking unoaked wines.

We bought this wine enthusiastically for many years on behalf of friends and family, but the domaine already had a national importer here and so we never sought to give their wine a wider distribution. Since our time in the neighborhood the couple’s daughter has grown up and joined them in the vines along with her husband, and the winemaking is as good as ever. Not long ago we opened our last bottle from the 1996 vintage and found it as alive, pure and vibrant as it was twenty years ago.

In recent years another English wine writer, the Wine Advocate’s William Kelley, has shown similar enthusiasm for the domaine: “These are honeyed, concentrated wines that are imbued with remarkable concentration and energy and develop beautifully in the cellar. Their strong personality is a world away from the insipid and ephemeral whites that shape many consumers’ perceptions of the region, but that is precisely why they merit attention.”

We are delighted that we are now able to offer the results of this superb winemaking under the label “Forces Telluriques;” we recently obtained a sample, and we’re pleased to report that the wine continues to be extraordinary. It features clean, pure, lemony fruit, along with remarkable freshness and energy from such a sunny vintage. Despite its freshness it is round and mouth filling, almost unctuous; and its long finish rivals those of the Côte d’Or’s white Burgundies. The nose bursts with yellow orchard fruit and notes of tangerine and honey. Reviewing the 2018 under its primary label, Kelley awarded 93 points, finding notes of “honeycomb, orange oil, and elderflowers,” calling it “layered and succulent… with a charming core of fruit and a saline finish.”

Trust us on this one – it is brilliant wine that you will be delighted to have in your cellar. As Anthony Hanson put it when he wrote that book decades ago, for this wine “all you need is a bottle, two glasses, and a friend.”

FORCES TELLURIQUES
(case prices)

Quintaine: $350

Patrick & Christophe Bonnefond

Côte Rôtie, Northern Rhône

2019 was the fifth in a string of wonderful vintages in the Northern Rhône. We can’t say how long the stars will continue to line up for the region, but we can confidently urge you to enjoy the run while it lasts. Indeed, some producers have picked 2019 as one of the two best (along with 2015) of this streak. As Vinous’s Josh Raynolds reported, “2019 was a hot and dry year, but the wines look extremely promising and show an uncanny blend of depth and vivacity.” Certainly the wines of the Domaine Patrick and Christophe Bonnefond live up to this billing, with the Domaine’s Côte Rôties garnering scores in the mid nineties.

Bonnefond’s VDP Syrah is always terrific, and though we haven’t tasted the 2020, we offer it without reservation. According to notes from Christophe, the 2020 is much like the very successful 2019 but with more freshness. Expect dark blueberry fruit with a bit of pepper and black olives in a juicy, approachable wrapper. It’s priced to serve early and often.

The regular cuvée of Côte Rôtie “Colline de Couzou” offers a beautiful nose of sweet fruit mixed with aromas of violets and smoke. It is just lovely in the mouth, with plenty of body. Raynolds called it “hefty and broad yet lively as well, finishing with well-judged tannins and strong, floral-driven persistence.” This wine combines floral high notes and dark inky low notes with the skill of an orchestra conductor.

The Bonnefonds’ top cuvées are also highly impressive. As usual, they show even more depth and intensity than Colline de Couzou. Côte Rozier is particularly complex – a mineral line mingles with the fruit – and super intense. Raynolds found it “chewy and subtly sweet, offering concentrated dark berry preserve, licorice pastille and spice cake flavors that show noteworthy energy and tension.” In short, there’s a whole lot going on. This wine shows a lighter touch than Colline de Couzou or Rochins, sporting elegance and poise on par with a Chambolle-Musigny. “Les Rochins” is at the same level (Raynolds scored both at 94-96), but in a different mode. The wine is very dense and chewy right now, promising a long life. Vinous praised its “powerful spice- and mineral- accented cherry and blackberry scents, along with suggestions of smoked meat, incense, licorice and exotic flowers.” Lovers of Côte Rôtie might well consider putting some of each wine at the back of the cellar. They will grace many meals over many years.

We have been buying Côte Rotie made by Christophe Bonnefond for some twenty years now, and have watched his style evolve. His wines have always had plenty of stuffing, but over the years he has dialed back the oak and extraction, and his wines now show a particularly elegant, deft touch. This year the Domaine released a wine made By Christophe’s daughter Lea, a blend of grapes from Roziers and Rochins called “Dans les Vignes de Mon Père.” Apparently the apple falls not far from the tree. Made with 100% whole clusters, this wine is ultra-dense, almost unctuous in the mouth but supported by lots of structure. Josh Raynolds found it “juicy, appealingly sweet and concentrated yet lively on the palate, offering intense black raspberry, cherry liqueur and spice cake flavors and a hint of candied flowers on the back half.” We look forward to enjoying the work of the latest Bonnefond in the coming years.

Christophe’s Condrieu “Côte Chatillon” is rightly lauded, and would sell out every year even if the only customers were the great restaurants of Lyon. With Condrieu, no patience is required: the wine is all about its beautiful aromas, which grace the wine from the time of bottling. The 2020 has a lovely nose, a clean mixture of flowers and fruit. There are hints of orange blossom, white peach, pear and honeysuckle, all complemented by just a touch of oak. This is the perfect wine for quaffing on a soft summer evening; pour it into your biggest balloon glass and let it slowly unfold over half an hour or so.

BONNEFOND
(case prices)

Syrah 2020: $195

Côte Rôtie “Colline de Couzou” 2019: $565
Côte Rôtie “Côte Rozier” 2019: $695
Côte Rôtie “Rochins” 2019: $695
Lea Bonnefond Côte Rôtie 2019: $995

Condrieu 2020: $495

Domaine Saint Clair

Crozes-Hermitage, Northern Rhône

Not everyone has the budget or patience for Côte Rôtie, and fortunately the Northern Rhône also has the appellations Crozes-Hermitage and St. Joseph for those who love the all-Syrah reds from the region. Denis Basset’s Domaine St. Clair makes two cuvées of Crozes-Hermitage, and 2019 was an excellent year on his side of the river as well. Basset’s first cuvée, “Etincelle,” offers an attractive nose of dark fruit with notes of pepper and graphite. In the mouth, the wine shows its structure right now, but it should round out nicely in the coming months. We’re pleased to offer the old-vine cuvée “Fleur Enchantée” from 2018 again. The extra year in the bottle has smoothed out the rough edges and melted in the oak, and this wine is terrific these days. Dark smoky fruit with a touch of pepper dominates the nose; and in the mouth it is rich and round, with notes of toast joining in to complete the palate. Serve with lamb stew once the weather turns cool again.

The Domaine St. Clair’s 2020 Crozes-Hermitage blanc is, as usual, simply delicious. It’s a blend of 70% Marsanne and 30% Roussanne, fermented and raised in oak barrels. The wine makes a perfect apéritif, and is so popular among the restaurants in the area that we had to wait three years for our first allocation. Look for notes of peaches and apricot along with floral aromas of white peach.

SAINT CLAIR
(case prices)

Crozes-Hermitage “Etincelle” 2019: $195
Crozes-Hermitage “Fleur Enchantée” 2018: $235
Crozes-Hermitage blanc “Un Matin” 2020: $195

Domaine le Souverain

Séguret, Southern Rhône

Here’s a wine for fans of Côtes du Rhône — smooth, ripe reds with a plummy mix of Grenache and Syrah. Eric Chauvin’s Séguret, which we happened upon in the picture-postcard town of the same name a few years ago, offers more than the typical Côtes du Rhône, but at a price in the same category. The Séguret 2020 is 65% Grenache, 30% Syrah, and 5% Mourvedre. It’s entirely vat raised, so the fruit is front and center. The wine is smooth and round, with a nice balance — a good match for your tailgate or late-autumn backyard gathering. Souverain is entirely organic, and the wines show an earthy complexity that’s unusual for their price point. It’s inexpensive and versatile enough to serve as your house red from the Southern Rhône.

In price and name this resembles the Côtes du Rhône at your supermarket’s checkout counter. But in quality and value, this is worlds apart.

SOUVERAIN
(case prices)

Séguret 2020: $150

Domaine des Sanzay

Saumur-Champigny, Loire Valley

Many of you are already enjoying the 2019 vintage of the Domaine du Sanzay’s delicious, juicy Saumur Champigny, which was part of the May Futures importation. The 2019 old-vine cuvée of Cabernet Franc requires twelve months of elevage, and is only just now in bottles. As usual, the Vieilles Vignes offers more intensity and concentration than its younger sibling. There’s a pleasant nose of dark fruit, with a touch of pepper and graphite. For a few months after it arrives, this wine will benefit greatly from forty-five minutes in a carafe, or pairing with food, or both; but by the end of the year the wine should be round and pleasant in the mouth, with just enough tannin to provide good definition. From then on, it will be its versatile self, fine for quaffing but also with enough structure to cut through the fat of a stir fry or braised short ribs.

Sanzay also makes more serious reds, with real aging potential and sophistication. Our choice in the 2018 vintage is Saumur-Champigny “Les Dares,” from 55 year-old vines and raised in small oak barrels for 15 months. In this wine a pleasant dose of oak joins the fruit. It’s very attractive in the mouth: round in the opening but with plenty of supporting structure and very nice length. Fine grained tannins support the notes of cranberry, cassis and silky minerality. We think that this wine will develop well for at least four or five years.

SANZAY
(case prices)

Saumur-Champigny Vieilles Vignes 2019 : $235
Saumur-Champigny “Les Dares” 2018 : $295

Domaine Ligier

Arbois, Jura

France’s Jura region sits only 50 miles east of Burgundy, but in winemaking it’s a world away. The Jura is best known for its light reds and idiosyncratic whites. We’re excited to offer four wines from a small winemaker in Arbois named Hervé Ligier — they’re not like anything else in our cellar, but they’re classic, traditional examples from this fascinating region.

Ligier’s red is made from the “Trousseau” grape (known as “Bastardo” in Portugal). Trousseau is darker than rosé, but not by much — there’s low tannin and pleasant wild cherry fruit. If the Jura is Burgundy’s untamed, rugged cousin, then Trousseau perfectly represents its region: similarly delicate, but less sophisticated, a little wilder. We found this an utterly pleasant (and quite affordable) glass of lightweight red.

The Jura’s best known style of wine is its intentionally oxidized whites made from the Savagnin grape. Rather than topping up the barrels to prevent exposure to oxygen, Jura winemakers allow a “voile” (veil) of yeast to form on the wine’s surface. The wine rests in barrel under veil for years, over which time the volume decreases and the otherworldly flavors develop.

This year we’ve been offered two white cuvées, and both are terrific. Ligier’s 2016 Savagnin rests “under the veil” for three years; the 2014 Vin Jaune is aged for a full six years. Both show the classic oxidative notes: butter, apricot, coffee, almonds, walnuts, apricot. The Savagnin starts oxidized and nutty, but finishes somewhere between a traditional white (think dry chardonnay) and the unusual Vin Jaune. For those interested in the style but not ready for the full experience, this is a lovely way to try it out. Serve it in place of sake, with sushi, stir fry, or just some charcuterie.

If the Savagnin is a half-sour pickle, the Vin Jaune is the full on garlicky dill spear. It shows everything in the Savagnin, but more so — the texture is dry and waxy. Think a fino sherry but with much fuller and richer mouthfeel. Pair with comté and fondue and it’s one of iconic food-wine marriages of France. But another traditional pairing is our favorite — chicken thighs in a cream reduction. Throw in some morels, and you’re in for a real experience.

And finally, for dessert, Ligier makes a delicious Vin de Paille (“straw wine”). After harvest grapes are left out to dry: their sugar level (and potential alcohol) increases, and the final product ends up with some residual sugar. Ligier uses this ancient technique with a mixture of three grapes: Chardonnay, Savagnin, and local red varietal called Poulsard, which gives it a pink/orange hue. The oxidized Savagnin resembles the Vin Jaune in the nose just a bit, but the mouth is off-dry, with pleasant golden fruit and notes of raisins and nuts. If fino is the sherry analog for Vin Jaune, the analog for Vin de Paille is amontillado. Serve this at the end of a dinner party, and your guests can choose whether to pair it with cheese or dessert.

LIGIER
(case prices)

Trousseau 2018: $165
Savagnin 2016: $295
Vin Jaune 2014: $595
Vin de Paille 2015: $395

Chateau Lafont-Menaut

Graves, Bordeaux

Bordeaux has plenty of wines that require decades of patience and a second mortgage. But we’re also fans of the simpler stuff — hearty, well-made wines with character and stuffing. As in Burgundy, the 2019 vintage produced terrific wines in Bordeaux — ripe fruit and lovely vibrant textures.

Château Lafont-Menaut is the second property of the famous Chateau Carbonnieux, run by winemaker Philibert Perrin. It’s long been one of our go-to sources for inexpensive Bordeaux, and the 2019 Lafont-Menaut rouge is even better than usual. It overperforms because it doesn’t overpromise — the nose shows dark violets and inky plums alongside lavender and cassis. The mouth is dense and full, with a touch more sophistication than usual. Enjoy this with roasted fare this autumn and winter.

Lafont-Menaut’s Pessac-Leognan blanc is pure Sauvignon blanc — but the gravel-heavy terroir produces an entirely different wine than France’s more famous Loire Valley interpretation of the grape. It’s a serious, more savory wine, with beautiful citrus and tropical notes alongside herbs and stones. The 2020 is unusually soft and lush; we think it will drink well immediately, and for another year.

LAFONT-MENAUT
(case prices)

Pessac-Leognan rouge 2019: $195
Pessac-Leognan blanc 2020: $195

Domaine Pascal Bardoux

Villedommange, Champagne

Pascal Bardoux is our source for delicious grower Champagne in Montagne-de-Reims. In person he’s a talker – thoughtful and articulate, taking his time over each word and each cuvée. Over email, he’s somewhat less communicative — after months of back and forth this summer, we’ve finally learned he (again) has one cuvée available.

The good news, though, is that it’s everyone’s favorite: the Brut Traditionnel NV. With a Futures price around $40/bot, this is among the best values we source. Bardoux’s Brut Traditionnel NV is a blend of 60% Pinot Meunier, 30% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Noir. This wine has the complexity and depth to match the finest bottles from Burgundy or Bordeaux. The nose shows plum, chalk, lime zest, and buttered biscuits; the mouth is dry, elegant, and smooth, with notes of apple and toast.

It takes a while to make good Champagne, and even longer to get Pascal to send us some, but we promise it’s worth the wait. We expect this to arrive in time for enjoyment in the holiday weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.

BARDOUX
(case prices)

Champagne Brut Traditionnel NV: $485

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If you have any trouble submitting the new order form, you can always email us your order. Or give us a call with questions: 617-249-3657, or tom@ansoniawines.com

The deadline to place orders for this issue is: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 19.

Questions? Need advice? Call us: (617) 249-3657.

OPTIONS FOR GETTING YOUR ORDERS
Pick-up in Massachusetts. We store our inventory in a basement in Newton (437 Newtonville Ave), and open it up to the public on Saturday afternoons. Futures customers can pick up their orders here during Saturday open hours, or by appointment.

Pick-up in Pennsylvania. Many of those who aren’t near Boston will choose to collect their wine in Sharon Hill, PA. For such people, we offer pickup at a new storage location for a month after arrival.

Shipping elsewhere. In most states we can arrange for shipping at an additional cost that varies by location ($3.50 per bottle to the addresses west of Chicago; $2.50 per bottle east of Chicago). If shipping interests you, let us know the state and we will figure out if it can be done.

Ansonia Wines

September Order Form