As we prepare for our Spring tasting trip to France, vignerons in Burgundy are getting ready for the invasion of the Grands Jours de Bourgogne, a biennial trade-only event attended by most of the producers in the region. There are so many people and so much wine to taste at these events that we usually avoid the week in favor of more leisurely tastings later. And while our producers may be a bit weary when we see them, we’re expecting a pretty happy group this year, with 2023 providing a second consecutive harvest with good quality and good yields. As you’ll see in the notes below, the even better news is how good the 2022 Burgundies look as they are bottled. It is particularly gratifying to see wine of this quality coming from the hottest and driest growing season in more than 75 years. As we’ve said before, vignerons are helping vines and vineyards adapt to a warming climate. Growing grass between the rows greatly reduces soil temperatures, and good leaf and canopy management reduces stress on the grapes as they grow. All of this adds to the evidence that a string of hot growing seasons have not ended the powerful influence of place that makes Burgundy unique. March Futures begins with a wide choice of 2022 Burgundies in both colors – reds from the Côte de Beaune, and whites from Chassagne, Chablis and Pouilly-Fuissé. Then from the Loire Valley we have ever-popular Sancerre, and from the Alsace there is a wide range of tastes. We head back to Austria for some Rieslings and Grüner Veltliner, and we close with a selection of 2023 rosés for drinking on the patio or roof deck this summer. *Note that for many wines at the higher end of the price scale we’ve reduced the minimum purchase from 6 to 3 bottles. We hope there will be something for everyone here. If anything is of interest, don’t forget to place your orders in case or half-case lots by the Order Deadline of March 24. We’ll be placing the orders in France immediately thereafter. JUMP TO PRODUCER 
Roger BELLAND
Domaine GAUTHERON
Caroline LESTIMÉ
Pierre VESSIGAUD
Domaine de la GARENNE
Charles FREY
Weingut SALOMON-UNDHOF
Three 2023 ROSÉS
March Futures
Order Deadline: 3/24
Domaine Roger Belland
Santenay, Burgundy
Following the disastrously miniscule yields of the 2021 vintage, vignerons up and down the Côte d’Or (and their bankers) held their collective breath as the 2022 growing season unfolded. They had plenty of reason to worry. Early on, low temperatures threatened severe losses from frost; thereafter, stretches of great heat and dry spells made it the hottest and driest vintage in Burgundy since 1947; and in the midst of it all there were dramatic deluges that threatened to swamp the grapes and the vines. But in the end, the catastrophes missed Burgundy. “Beautiful and bountiful,” writes Jasper Morris; “very good wines and plenty of them.” The collective Burgundian sigh of relief after harvest in 2022 was probably heard all the way to Paris. Indeed, despite a roller coaster of peril, 2022 brought wines that William Kelley calls “succulent, suave and charming”, “offering excellence in both colors and in a wide variety of styles.” He found the 2022s “harmonious and charming, . . . reminiscent, in reds, of a hypothetical marriage of 2017’s easy charm with some of 2015’s depth and in whites, evoking a somewhat more giving, open version of the 2020 vintage.” Roger Belland’s wines were our first opportunity to assess the 2022s in bottle, and tasting through the range in January brought smiles to our faces. They are indeed open and charming, and though they will offer good drinking from the get go, they are also likely to mature well. In short, it’s a vintage to stock up on, and you won’t go wrong wherever you choose to buy. Belland’s base is in Santenay in the Côte de Beaune. Just below Santenay, at the southernmost tip of the Côte d’Or, lies the lesser-known town of Maranges, whose reds offer the best prices in Belland’s range. His Maranges premier cru “Fussiere” is excellent in 2022, with a very attractive texture. It has plenty of substance, with pleasantly ripe tannins and good dark fruit. The fruits are plum and cherry, with a youthful, friendly texture – bring this along to a summer picnic. Though Santenay is near the southern end of the Côte de Beaune, a southerly twist in its orientation there makes for generous reds that tend often to resemble those of the Côte de Nuits. A perennial favorite of Ansonia buyers, Belland’s Santenay 1er cru “Beauregard” is delicious in this vintage. After a few minutes in the glass, its sunny ripe fruit begins to emerge. In the mouth it is particularly pleasant, fresh enough but not brisk, and round but not too mouth filling. The combination gives it an elegant feel, with ripe tannins providing support at the back end. This will pair easily with any meal that calls for red Burgundy. Beauregard’s neighbor Santenay Gravieres 1er cru is often a bit more serious than Beauregard, with a character that needs a bit of time to emerge. On the day we tasted the 2022, the nose was open and expressive, with a delightful combination of Luxardo cherries and blueberry. The mouth showed a bit more density than Beauregard, and a touch of austerity on the long finish suggests a bright future for this wine. Today, Beauregard offers sweeter fruit and readier pleasure; as their evolution unfolds, Gravieres’ darker, denser fruit may carry it longer and higher. Just across the border between Santenay and Chassagne-Montrachet lies the Belland family’s large premier cru monopole, a vineyard in Chassagne-Montrachet premier cru’s Morgeot sector called the Clos Pitois. The vineyard is planted half to red and half to white. Though it lies in sight of Gravieres and Beauregard, Clos Pitois rouge is every inch a wine of the Côte de Beaune, with a dense, tightly packed structure and exceedingly fine grained, very ripe tannins. Its dark, beautifully ripe fruit unfolds slowly in the glass, hinting at fine things to come as the wine evolves. We expect this wine to age beautifully, hitting its stride in four or five years, and continuing to mature for another five or ten. Belland has just a single parcel in Volnay, but it is in Santenots, thought by some to be the town’s best premier cru vineyard. In Santenots the weight shifts from the Clos Pitois’s power to a more elegant, flowing style. Writers usually cite Pommard as a foil to Volnay’s elegance; but we think there’s a similar contrast here with the Clos Pitois. The 2022 Volnay Santenots can be expected to deliver a steady evolution of increasing complexity and subtle aromatics, and we have seen its remarkable bouquet develop in vintage after vintage, with notes of earth and sous-bois joining the fruit. Belland also produces an impressive range of white wines, and the 2022s are universally successful. His white Santenay 1er cru also comes from the Beauregard vineyard. It sports a very attractive price tag for a wine that is in many respects a junior version of the Clos Pitois blanc. Dial back the intensity, depth, and persistence just a bit from the Clos Pitois, and you have the Beauregard premier cru blanc 2022. Particularly in 2022, we think most people tasting this blind would put it on the Chassagne side of the border – think opulent, golden richness. The wine will stand up to bold flavors in dishes calling for big white wine, such as butter-basted monkfish filets, grilled swordfish, or oven-roasted halibut. Belland’s Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Clos Pitois blanc is, of course, the real deal. The Clos Pitois blanc is classic Chassagne: big wine that at its best offers weight without heaviness. In 2022 there is already a beautiful nose, a subtle blend of fruit and oak. In the mouth it is very concentrated and dense, with a near-Grand Cru level of intensity. It persists on the palate remarkably well. No one will refuse a second glass of this today, but this wine ages magnificently, and if you can keep your hands off a few bottles for a few years you’ll be glad you did. If you are looking for a white of particular elegance, consider Belland’s Puligny-Montrachet 1er cru Champs Gains 2022. Its contrast with Chassagne is as you might expect: a bit leaner and quieter in the early years, then hitting its stride with complexity and persistence building as it matures. It’s from up the slope, so the fruit has a bit more lemon and a bit more cut than the Chassagne, but in time it could be the perfect accompaniment for a Dover sole meunière or lightly sautéed sea scallops. 
BELLAND Maranges 1er cru “La Fussiere” 2022: $395 Santenay 1er cru “Beauregard” blanc 2022: $595
(case prices)
Santenay 1er cru “Beauregard” 2022: $495
Santenay 1er cru “Gravieres” 2022: $495
Chassagne-Montrachet 1er rouge “Clos Pitois” 2022: $750
*Volnay 1er cru “Santenots” 2022: $895
*Chassagne-Montrachet 1er cru blanc “Clos Pitois” 2022: $1,195
*Puligny-Montrachet 1er cru “Champs Gains” 2022: $1,395
*(wines marked with asterisks are available by the quarter case)
Domaine Gautheron
Chablis, Burgundy
As William Kelley said, the 2022 vintage offers excellence in both colors. This is emphatically so at the Domaine Gautheron in Chablis, where once again, Cryil Gautheron has made wine of the first rank. In last week’s opening advance order post, many of you read Master of Wine Jasper Morris’s fulsome praise for Cyril’s winemaking: “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.” Indeed, his performance with the 2022 vintage was a tour de force, a perfect combination of the fleshy fruit of recent Chablis vintages and the brisk, and vibrant wine of earlier ones. The Chablis Vieilles Vignes garnered five stars from Morris – his highest category, awarded to less than 10% of the wines he reviews. Though a fifth of this wine saw time in oak, its influence is in the addition of sophistication and refinement rather than flavor. Morris felt that the old vines “really add something” beyond concentration here, finding “flesh apparent even on the nose” and “searing, chiseled white fruit.” Taking into account the excellent price, this wine is an irresistible choice. Any lover of Chablis should have some of this wine around to complement summer’s coming bounty. At the premier cru level, 2022 offers an embarrassment of riches. Gautheron’s Chablis 1er cru “Vaucoupin” has many loyal buyers. It is always raised entirely in stainless steel, yielding an impressive purity of fruit. In 2022, Morris praised its “good tension, with lemon and lime, a little youthful bitterness, very promising in its classical Vaucoupin style.” We found a note of white peach among the citrus, and with its greater roundness than the 2021, we expect it to offer excellent drinking from the time it arrives. The Gautherons own vines in Vaillons, one of two large vineyards on the left bank of the Serein. (Many of you are familiar with Vaillons from the Domaine Collet, our other Chablis producer.) Their vines here are old ones, and lie at both the top and the bottom of Vaillons’ long slope. Vaillons is classic left bank Chablis – cooler and less sunny – and the wine is drier and more piercing than Gautheron’s others. Morris was particularly impressed with the domaine’s Vaillons in 2022, projecting a score of 94 at the top end of the likely range. His comments: “Cool and backward, no signs of excess ripeness here. All in white fruit, barely even any lemons, with the requisite drier stony finish and the pleasing youthful grip. A fine example.” We’re also recommending both wines from Fourneaux, the premier cru vineyard that lies just below the Gautherons’ winery. The Fourneaux premier cru 2022 regular cuvée was raised without any oak. In weight it is more Puligny than Meursault, to borrow a comparison from the Côte d’Or. When we tasted it, the nose was showing subtle ripe fruit, leaning orchard over citrus. Its combination of ripeness and elegance will be hard to beat, and we expect to be serving it across a range of dishes. Fourneaux premier cru “Vieilles Vignes” 2022 saw 15% oak, which contributes roundness and complexity. Its most impressive feature, however, is its showy length on the palate, a result of the old vine concentration. The balance of depth, energy, fruit and stones here is just terrific. We expect lovely evolution and a long, happy life for this wine. As you can see, there is indeed an embarrassment of riches at Gautheron this year. We’re hoping that our collection of comments will help you to select which wines will most please your palate, but we don’t advise overthinking it. You really can’t go wrong with anything on this list.
GAUTHERON Chablis Vieilles Vignes 2022: $295
(case prices)
Chablis 1er cru “Vaucoupin” 2022: $395
Chablis 1er cru “Vaillons” 2022: $395
Chablis 1er cru “Fourneaux” 2022: $395
Chablis 1er cru “Fourneaux” VV 2022: $425
Caroline Lestimé
Chassagne-Montrachet, Burgundy
Caroline Lestimé has led the domaine named for her father Jean-Noël Gagnard for nearly three decades. Over that time she’s maintained and even elevated its stellar reputation, adapting to modern winemaking without losing their signature traditional style. “The style is classic, even charmingly old-fashioned” writes William Kelley; “such a steadfast domaine” writes Neal Martin. The wines have never been better, and we’re thrilled to offer two new ones – both are from Caroline’s negociant business, meaning the grapes are purchased but the vinification and cellar work are hers; both wines are screwcap enclosure. Both cuvées from the Lestimé label are from vineyards in which Caroline also farms for the domaine, and her familiarity with the terroir is evident. As recently as the 1970s Chassagne-Montrachet produced more red than white wine – today white is dominant, but Pinot Noir still accounts for a third of production. The Clos-St-Jean is among the best regarded plots for red Chassagne, perched high on the hill above the town and full of shallow red-colored soil. Caroline’s Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Clos-St-Jean rouge is terrific in 2022 – the nose bursts with redcurrant and raspberry jam, with a pleasant chalkiness. The mouth is succulent and enticing with a whisper of wood and lovely notes of cherry and wild strawberries. There’s plenty of youthful energy here, but after just a half hour in a decanter this was smooth and delightful. Caroline’s signature sophisticated polish is in full effect, and for fans of classical red Burgundy this is an easy pick. In white, Caroline’s village-level Chassagne-Montrachet “les Chaumes” is golden and lovely. The 2022 vintage was (again) the hottest on record, and the whites all show the fleshy, sunny character we’ve come to expect from white Burgundy. But in the hands of a careful vigneron – and they don’t come much more careful than Caroline – winemakers were able to balance acidity, fruit and oak into a terrifically successful wine. The nose shows the signature Gagnard richness and opulence, with beautiful notes of lemon pulp, hazelnut, vanilla and white flowers. The palate is a real mouthful – punchy and rich with great zip and quite a long finish for a village level wine. It bursts with lemon curd sucrocité – we think it should drink beautifully beginning this fall.
LESTIMÉ *Chassagne-Montrachet 1er cru rouge “Clos-St-Jacques” 2022: $750 *(wines marked with asterisks are available by the quarter case)
(case prices)
*Chassagne-Montrachet blanc “Chaumes” 2022: $995
Pierre Vessigaud
Pouilly-Fuissé, Burgundy
You know what they say about what comes to those who wait. Two years ago we discovered a pair of terrific winemakers in Pouilly-Fuissé: Sebastien Giroux and Pierre Vessigaud. The former has become a fixture of our white Burgundy collection, but the latter has been a bit harder to bring online. A reservation snafu meant that only precious few futures readers were able to purchase the Vessigaud 2020s, and even your trusty importers only got 3 bottles a piece. But what magical bottles they were… After being offered exactly zero bottles from the catastrophic 2021 vintage where the domaine lost as much as 90% of some parcels to frost, we’re pleased to report – enfin! – that Vessigaud’s wines are available. And they’re outstanding. As William Kelley puts it, “succulent but serious, any bottle bearing Vessigaud’s label is worth seeking out.” Vessigaud is a committed biodynamic vigneron whose wines are Demeter certified, the highest organic classification. In the bottle this translates to superb purity and clarity, with careful elevage and excellent balance. Combine this with an enviable array of vineyards, including two of Pouilly-Fuissé’s newly minted premier crus, and we think this domaine is a real find. We have four Pouilly-Fuissés on offer. First their Vieilles Vignes cuvée, a combination of twenty plots around the appellation with an average age of 60 years. The wine sees 18 months of elevage (20% in tank, 80% in oak between 7 and 15 years old), and shows terrific balance of fruit, stones, and wood. The nose is expressive and pure, with a hint of exotic fruit joining the classical Chardonnay notes. “A super finishing weight of flavor – really persistent…simply delicious,” writes Bill Nanson in his “Burgundy Report.” Next a single parcel Pouilly-Fuissé called “Pierres a Canards,” from vines high on a hill facing due east. This too sees no new oak, but spends a year in barrels between 5 and 10 years old, then six months in tank before bottling. The resulting wine is floral and pretty, less obvious than the old-vine cuvée, with a longer, finer finish. Vessigaud suggests pairing with the famous local Bresse chickens – we think your favorite local free-range source will more than suffice. Vessigaud’s two premier crus are outstanding, and a convincing argument for their newly elevated appellation. The first, Pouilly-Fuissé 1er cru “Vignes Blanche,” is rich, smooth, and vibrant, with unusual power and depth. Even here Vessigaud eschews new oak, opting for 5-year-old demi-muids (large 600L barrels) for a year. He’s right, of course – the wine wants for nothing, showing notes of brioche, pear, and chalk with a long, sleek, shimmering finish. “This is achingly good – simply excellent wine,” writes Nanson. We wouldn’t be shocked if this won in a prize fight with a village Puligny at twice the price. Vessigaud’s other premier cru Pouilly-Fuissé 1er “Les Reisses” is more powerful but just as well crafted. It’s from 60-80 year old vines, and the added concentration is obvious. It receives the same oak treatment as the Vignes Blanches, a choice of admirable (and tremendously successful) restraint given the density. The nose is simply gorgeous with notes of peach, lemon zest, wildflowers and melon; the mouth is long, lithe and vibrant with incredible persistence. We’d choose this one for a matchup in the ring with a Meursault, and again, pound for pound, we’d place our bet on the Vessigaud.
VESSIGAUD Pouilly-Fuissé Vieilles Vignes 2022: $350
(case prices)
Pouilly-Fuissé Pierre a Canard 2022: $425
Pouilly-Fuissé 1er cru “Vigne Blanche” 2022: $525
PouIlly-Fuissé 1er cru “Les Reisses” 2022: $525
Domaine de la Garenne
Sancerre, Loire Valley
Sauvignon blanc has been having a moment (okay, many moments) in the wine world. It adapts well to a range of climates so it is now widely planted, and in some places (New Zealand, for example) it readily produces large quantities of well priced wine that flaunt its grapefruit-driven aromas. There is so much Sauvignon around that people often forget where wine of this style came from. Sancerre, in the upper Loire valley, was the first place to produce a wine in this style, and it is still the reference point for quality. Our producer in Sancerre is the Domaine de la Garenne, owned by members of a leading wine-producing family in the town. The Godon-Reverdys produce superb Sancerre at a variety of price points, and their wines are among the most popular at our Newton Depot. Today we have four of their wines to suggest, two from the 2023 vintage, and two from 2022. The regular cuvee has a new name and label this year – “Alliance” 2023 – but it offers the same combination of the classic elements that made Sancerre’s name: beautiful ripe grapefruit and excellent dry freshness. In the 2023 vintage, the nose also contains a note of orchard fruit, perhaps white peach, and the wine is generous in the mouth, with a pleasant dollop of supporting acidity. The palate is drier than the nose suggests, showing grapefruit zest and dried flowers. As always it is an excellent choice for everyday drinking. As usual, there is a single-parcel cuvée from “Les Bouffants,” along the same slope as the celebrated “Monts Damnées.” Bouffants is a limestone laden terroir, and from it the wine draws its deep mineral intensity. The vines in Bouffants have an average age of 40 years, and so it’s a more serious wine than the regular cuvée, with stony fruit that lingers long on the palate. It has a lighter touch than the base cuvée Alliance, with more elegance and a bit less flesh – a more sophisticated Sancerre. In the 2023 vintage, the finish is unusually long. This year there’s a new single-terroir wine to offer: “Les Villaudes,” from the 2022 vintage. This cuvée is from a small parcel close to the domaine on clay-limestone soils, and the vines average 25 years. Villaudes is raised for a full year on the lees in an oak foudre. It doesn’t show the wood, indeed we tasted before knowing the elevage and thought it unoaked; over its year in foudre the lees add complexity, and micro-oxygenation rounds it out. We were very impressed, particularly with its roundness and the added floral notes that show up in the nose. In general we don’t like barrel-raised Sancerre, but this was masterfully done. Finally, we have a new name for the cuvée that used to be named “Infidele.” Now known as “Silex,” it comes from a small parcel laden with flint, whose characteristic aromas include a touch of gunflint smokiness. This wine has always offered extraordinary density and a sumptuous mouthfeel, and that is a feature of the 2022 vintage as well. The domaine never has much of this wine, and those interested in either Villaudes or Silex should get their orders in early.
GARENNE Sancerre “Alliance” 2023: $285
(case prices)
Sancerre “Bouffants” 2023: $295
Sancerre “Villaudes” 2022: $350
Sancerre “Silex” 2022: $395
Charles Frey
Dambach-la-Ville, Alsace
Longtime Futures buyers will remember the Domaine Charles Frey as the Domaine Mersiol, the Alsatian producer from Dambach-la-Ville, and an early adopter of organic techniques. The domaine merged a few years ago with the Domaine Charles Frey, and they chose to keep the latter name going forward. Frey makes honest, unfussy, organic Alsatian whites – low on pretense and high on clarity. They’re also a terrific bargain. Back under the Mersiol brand, one of our favorites was a white called “Auxerrois,” named for the cuvée’s dominant grape, a variant of Pinot Blanc. The successor to this wine is Frey’s Pinot Blanc “Eclectic,” which is humble and delightful in 2022. It features the characteristic orchard fruit nose, with notes of lychee and mango. The mouth, all of 12% alcohol, is dry, fresh and waxy with grapeskin core and pleasant stony notes. It’s a perfect patio sipper. There are two bone-dry Rieslings at Frey, and both are worth your attention. The first, named “Granite,” in 2022 sports a beautifully floral nose of elderflower and stones. The mouth is terrific – very vibrant, dry, lightweight and clean. Serve this with takeout sushi on a hot summer evening. The second, a 2021 Grand Cru from the Frankstein vineyard, is nearly twice the price but at least twice the wine. The nose is deep, reductive and slate-filled, with unusual complexity. The mouth is long and elegant, with a dry savory quality that’s serious and sophisticated. This wine ages beautifully, but with a bit of air and a bowl of mussels it’ll be lovely later this year. Finally, dessert – the late harvest 2017 Pinot Gris Grand Cru Frankstein is beautiful sweet wine, with pineapple and honeysuckle in the nose. The mouth continues with candied lemon and tangerine, finishing with a stony freshness. Master of Wine Anne Krebeihl found it “sweet, intense, elegant, bold, and totally aromatic with its freshness.” Nothing finishes an elegant dinner quite like a small glass of dessert wine.
FREY Pinot Blanc 2022: $195
(case prices)
Riesling Granite 2022: $195
Riesling Grand Cru “Frankstein” 2021: $325
Pinot Gris Grand Cru “Frankstein” VT: $350
Weingut Salomon-Undhof
Krems, Austria
Back by popular demand, we’re pleased to offer three white wines from our lone Austrian source: Weingut Salomon-Undhof. The Salomon-Undhof estate dates to 1792, and is currently on its 7th and 8th generation winemakers, father and son Bert and Bert Salomon. Their terraced vines overlooking the Danube have long been an excellent source, with the country’s preeminent wine guide calling them a “figurehead of Austrian wine history.” First, their affordable, delicious dry Riesling “Terrassen” is back, and it’s terrific in 2022. The nose is bright and clean with notes of white stone fruits, lime zest, and a hint of slate. The mouth is pretty and concentrated with dried apple fruits and a lemon-saline finish. This is stonier and more piercing than Frey’s Riesling, with a bit more length. On a hot August day this will be a delight. Their Grüner Veltliner “Wachtberg” is an unusually serious take on the varietal, and it’s particularly tasty this year. The nose is beautiful combination of pear, chalk, lime and grape skin. The mouth is waxy, crunchy and terrifically vibrant with a mouthwatering stoniness that makes it hard to have just one glass. “This has definition, drive, vivaciousness and ample fruit,” writes Anne Krebiehl MW in Vinous. Serve with a thai coconut curry. Lastly, Salomon’s 2021 “Pfaffenberg” Riesling is in a class of its own. From a steep vineyard directly on the Danube river, this is extraordinarily complex wine – worthy of conversation with some of the finer white Burgundies we import. The nose opens smoky and dry, with lemon peel and herbs. The mouthfeel is rich, broad and palate coating on the attack but quickly distills into a lean, lithe, piercing mineral finish. Vinous’s reviewer Krebiehl gave 95 points, finding it “beautiful, linear, taught and bright, with zesty concentration, the finish is absolutely mouthwatering and dry.” Riesling isn’t for everyone, but we’d be surprised if there were many people who would turn this down.
SALOMON-UNDHOF Riesling “Terrassen” 2022: $235
(case prices)
Grüner Veltliner 1ÖTW “Wachtberg” 2021: $295
Riesling 1ÖTW “Pfaffenberg” 2021: $425
Summertime Rosés
Loire Valley, Chianti, Rhône Valley
And finally, as usual in March, we’re suggesting a collection of rosés. It may be too cold where you are to imagine rosé today, but we expect these wines to arrive by mid-May, just in time for summery weather. We have three to offer this year, all from 2023, all familiar, but all from different origins – one Loire, one Chianti, and one Rhône. Domaine des Sanzay’s Cabernet Franc Rosé has quickly become a crowd favorite among our readers – the lightweight character, charming label, and affordable price all combine to make it the perfect quaffing rosé for the summer months. This rosé always has gorgeous aromatics – red berries, flowers, lemon peel – and a nice roundness on the palate to accompany the chalky freshness. It makes an excellent match for sushi, a goat cheese salad, or just a muggy August afternoon. A quick trip over the Alps takes us to Fattoria Poggerino for their newest wine, a pure Sangiovese Rosato that’s become a favorite of readers since its introduction two years ago. It offers lively freshness, attractive fruit and just the right weight for a wine meant to chase away the heavy heat of summer. The nose is drier than the Sanzay, with stony freshness and dried rose petal notes. Serve with a caprese salad or grilled vegetables dressed in good olive oil. Finally the Séguret Rosé 2023 from Domaine Malmont in the Southern Rhône. Winemaker Nicolas Haeni is a master of engineering balanced wines in his scorching hot climate, and his rosé is a perfect example. An 80/20 blend of Grenache and Syrah, it’s rounder and smoother than Sanzay’s or Poggerino’s but at 13% alcohol remains lively and fresh. Look for rose petals and wild strawberries in the nose, with a clean, refreshing minerality in the mouth. Given the extra texture this is a perfect rosé for summer meals – goat cheese salad, grilled chicken, or a cold summer soup.
ROSÉS Sanzay Rosé 2023: $185
(case prices)
Poggerino Rosato 2023: $195
Malmont Rosé 2023: $195
_____________________________ We expect these wines in May/June 2024 (hopefully May) 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, MARCH 24. Questions? Need advice? Call us: (617) 249-3657. OPTIONS FOR GETTING YOUR ORDERS Pick-up near Philadelphia. We’re pleased to restart our PA pickup option. Wines ordered for PA pickup will be available in May/June, depending on temperatures. Email us for more details. 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.
Pick-up in Massachusetts. We store our inventory at our new warehouse in Newton: 12 Hawthorn St, Newton MA 02458. Futures customers can pick up their orders here during Saturday open hours, or by appointment.