SEPTEMBER WINE CLUB
REDS | WHITES | PLUS REDS | PLUS WHITES
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***WINE CLUB REDS***
1. Amiot Coteaux-Bourguignons 2023
GRAPE 50% Gamay, 50% Pinot Noir
TYPE a traditional Burgundian blend from Morey-St-Denis
YEAR 2023; warm, dry, abundant
NOTES Amiot’s Coteaux-Bourguignons is a traditional Burgundian blend of 50/50 Gamay and Pinot Noir. The gamay comes from a 60 year old plot of vines in Morey-St-Denis, and for decades the blended cuvee was reserved just for the family. It blends the rugged muscly character of gamay with the finesse and silky texture of pinot noir. The resulting wine is a delightful aperitif – a marriage of tthe untamed soul of the Beaujolais with the polish and detail of Burgundian Pinot Noir.
FOOD grilled meats; a charcuterie board
PRICE: $29 ($23.20/bot with club discount)
2. Givry “Champ la Dame” 2023
GRAPE 100% Pinot Noir
TYPE red Burgundy from the Côte Chalonnaise
YEAR 2023; warm, dry, abundant
NOTES A humble thirtysomething winemaker with a near limitless attention to detail, Gautier landed at his family’s domaine a decade ago, and has since transformed it into one of the region’s superstars. We find ourselves saying this almost every year, but his 2023s are the best he’s made – ripe and sleek with perfect extraction and maturity, vibrant textures, and elegant, lifting finishes. Gautier called them “digeste” (roughly, “digestible”), which is an excellent characterization. Gautier’s 2023 Givry “Champ la Dame” is excellent. The nose shows violets and spruce, with perfectly rounded tannins and a welcoming finish. The tannins are chalky and fine but almost disappear by the end of the palate.
FOOD grilled chicken; soup; turkey
PRICE: $39 ($31.20/bot with club discount)
3. Malmont Séguret rouge 2022
GRAPE 50% Grenache, 50% Syrah
TYPE organic, high-altitude Southern Rhône blend
YEAR 2022; hot, dry
NOTES Grown high in the hills above Séguret in the Southern Rhône, the Malmont vines struggle through rock-laden, nutrient-poor soils, slowing their maturation. The resulting wines are almost an anomaly in the modern Rhône Valley: organic, delicious southern red blends that barely hit 13.5% alcohol. Nicolas Haeni’s Séguret 2022 is the best he’s made. The extreme heat and drought delivered loads of ripe, intense fruit; Nicolas extracted them minimally and perfectly, and the resulting wine impeccably balances lush fruit with a subtle, sculpted backbone. The nose shows wild strawberries with hints of gingerbread and pain d’épices.
FOOD pasta bolognese, ratatouille
PRICE: $32 ($25.60/bot with club discount)
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***WINE CLUB WHITES***
1. Gautheron Chablis “Emeraude” 2023
GRAPE 100% Chardonnay
TYPE organic unoaked white Burgundy from Chablis
YEAR 2023; warm, dry, abundant
NOTES As Master of Wine Jasper Morris wrote recently: “Cyril Gautheron is a superb producer making wines in a crisp cool classically Chablis style, which is now really quite hard to achieve in these warmer seasons.” His Chablis “Cuvée Emeraude” 2023 is purely in the classic style: entirely vat-raised, steely, and bursting with energy — the sort of wine that inspired the classic pairing of Chablis with oysters. Its fruit is pure, clean lemon and lime. The Kimmeridgian limestone soils in which the 30-40 year old vines grow deliver a mineral line to complement the fruit and add a finish of mouthwatering salinity.
FOOD oysters, grilled shrimp
PRICE: $35 ($28/bot with club discount)
2. Nicolas Maillet Macon-Verzé 2022
GRAPE 100% Chardonnay
TYPE organic unoaked white Burgundy from the Maconnais
YEAR 2022; hot, dry
NOTES Nicolas is a bear of a man who has embraced organic farming and biodynamic winemaking with discipline and enthusiasm. Maillet relies on indigenous yeasts for spontaneous fermentation, and never rushes the process, allowing it to proceed for months if the slow fermentation in his cool cuverie so requires. The Macon-Verzé 2022 is rich and beautiful, with noticeably ample gras and roundness alongside excellent acidity. Neal Martin called it “lovely” and awarded it 90 points, praising its “crisp nose of lemon rind and crushed stone.” He found the palate “medium bodied with pretty white and yellow fruit.”
FOOD butter-based fish, roast chicken
PRICE: $35 ($28/bot with club discount)
3. Garenne Sancerre “Alliance” 2024
GRAPE 100% Sauvignon Blanc
TYPE organic unoaked Sancerre
YEAR 2024; cool and rainy
NOTES The Godon-Reverdys are from a storied Sancerre family that has produced wine in Sancerre for generations. They’re certified organic, and in fact use many biodynamic treatments they find useful, as well as a team of sheep to keep grasses down and soil fertilized. Their wines are classic Sancerre, and among the most popular in the store. Alliance ‘24 offers beautiful sauvignon fruit with aromatic overlays of grapefruit and some orchard fruit, perhaps white peach. Alliance is generous for a Sancerre, but in the mouth there’s a spine of freshness that keeps the wine bright enough through the palate. It is classic and delicious.
FOOD goat cheese on crackers, sushi
PRICE: $29 ($23.20/bot with club discount)
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***WINE CLUB PLUS: REDS***
1. Cantemerle Haut-Médoc 2020
GRAPE 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot
TYPE Left Bank Bordeaux
YEAR 2020; warm and dry, excellent
NOTES Château Cantemerle is an extremely old Bordeaux property dating back to the 12th century, and recognized as a “fifth growth” in the 1855 classification. The nose is outstanding, gorgeous, and deep, showing wild cherries, tobacco, and just a hint of spice. The mouth is sturdy and extremely well built, with tremendous concentration and a long impeccably balanced finish. There’s dark, rich fruit, solid structure, and impressive freshness. James Suckling found “layers of well-integrated, finely polished tannins…with a fresh and lively fruit-forward palate.” William Kelley found “aromas of rich black fruits, plums, pencil shavings and forest floor…broad and fleshy, with ripe, powdery structuring tannins and a nicely defined finish.”
FOOD steak
PRICE: $52 ($41.60/bot with club discount)
2. André Châteauneuf-du-Pape rouge 2021
GRAPE Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cinsault
TYPE biodynamic, organic Southern Rhône red from very old vines
YEAR 2021; cool and rainy
NOTES In his excellent “The New French Wine” published last year, Jon Bonné writes, “Jacqueline André has quietly been upholding the extraordinary quality of her family’s domaine in a manner that legitimately earns the word ‘artisan.’” The 2021 vintage was anything but smooth across France, but truly great winemakers show their greatness most clearly in difficult vintages, and Jacqueline André’s 2021 results put her in that class. Her 2021 Châteauneuf-du-Pape rouge is elegant and absolutely delicious wine. Grenache always dominates the fruit in her wine, but in 2021 the distinct aromas of dried rose petals join the usual sweet wild strawberries to produce a refined and elegant glass of wine that is strikingly good.
FOOD mushroom risotto, ratatouille
PRICE: $65 ($52/bot with club discount)
3. Clerget Chambolle-Musigny 2022
GRAPE 100% Pinot Noir
TYPE organic red Burgundy from the Côte de Nuits
YEAR 2022; hot, dry
NOTES Thirtysomething Justine Clerget has brought renewed energy, refined techniques, and a passion for organic viticulture. The Clerget wines were always classical, terroir-transparent, old school red Burgundy; Justine has maintained this spirit but added polish and class. The Chambolle is a blend from six different plots around the town, and shows the village’s classic silky, seductive nature. Neal Martin gave 90–92 points, praising its “sense of vibrancy and tension” on a “very well-controlled and persistent finish,” concluding “this is worth seeking out.” This is a wine of perfume, elegance, and grace, but with real density from the hot, dry summer – we think it punches above its village weight.
FOOD duck breast, tenderloin
PRICE: $82 ($65.60/bot with club discount)
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***WINE CLUB PLUS: WHITES***
1. Giroux Pouilly-Fuissé 1er “Vignes Blanches” 2022
GRAPE 100% Chardonnay
TYPE organic low-oak premier cru white Burgundy from the Maconnais
YEAR 2022; hot and dry
NOTES Sebastien Giroux is a quiet and careful winemaker making superb wines of understatement and precision. If some Maconnais whites can verge into overripeness in warm years, Sebastien’s are entirely devoid of heaviness. His careful winemaking – low sulfur, minimal oak, extremely long élevage – results in minimalist wines of precision and grace. Sebastien crafts this magnificent cuvée from a tiny ⅕ hectare plot. The nose is deep and floral with notes of magnolia and gardenia; the mouth is extremely long, with a vigorous attack of rich fleshy fruit and a long, clean, finely channeled finish. We’d put this in a prize fight against lots of far fancier wine from the Côte de Beaune.
FOOD fish in beurre blanc
PRICE: $58 ($46.40/bot with club discount)
2. Thomas St-Aubin 1er “Murgers des Dents de Chien” 2022
GRAPE 100% Chardonnay
TYPE classic Côte d’Or White Burgundy
YEAR 2022; hot and dry
NOTES Even if St-Aubin is less hidden than it once was, its wines are better than ever. At the western edge of the appellation lies a plot named “Murgers des Dents de Chiens.” Perched just up the hill from Montrachet itself, this St-Aubin premier cru is a remarkable value. Gérard Thomas’s 2022 St-Aubin “Murgers” shows terrific concentration, with ripe lemon fruit blending perfectly into a chiseled mineral core. On the palate it’s crackling and savory, with a long and tense finish that’s vibrant and lithe. Jancis Robinson’s reviewer found it “rich, creamy and inviting…lots of spice on the palate,” concluding “fresh, flavorful and full of fruit.”
FOOD roast chicken
PRICE: $55 ($44/bot with club discount)
3. Roc Breïa Blanc 2022
GRAPE 100% Chardonnay
TYPE a Vin de France from the Maconnais
YEAR 2022; hot and dry
NOTES A collaboration with Théo Dancer, winemaker at Domaine Vincent Dancer in Chassagne-Montrachet. Dancer has reached near cult status in Chassagne, and many consider him one of the best white Burgundy domaines operating anywhere. In addition to taking over the family estate, Théo has embarked on a new project in the Maconnais called Roc Breïa. It’s a 10-hectare property in the Maconnais that Dancer began farming in 2021. The Pinot Noir vines are 35+ years old, and the Chardonnay averages over 60. The 2022 Roc Breïa Blanc is floral and beautiful, with a sunny Maconnais complexion cut by fresh lemon zest and chalk. William Kelley writes the wine “bursts with aromas of pear, white flowers, bread dough and hazelnuts,” followed by a “fleshy palate with a satiny attack…and a saline finish.”
FOOD scallops
PRICE: $99 ($79.20/bot with club discount)