Author: Thomas Wilcox

Most wine today is opened before peak maturity. It’s not necessarily a bad thing – in general you’d rather drink a wine too young than too old. But as fewer wine drinkers cellar their wines and as winemakers increasingly craft cuvées for early drinking, it’s rarer to find a bottle that deserves patience and receives it.

Today’s wine is proof that just a few extra years transform even a humble village-level wine. Michel Gros’s Nuits-St-Georges from the terrific 2016 vintage is just about at peak. From vines near the border with Vosne-Romanée, this is floral, subtle and beautiful, combining the elegance of Vosne with the meaty character of Nuits.

This 2016 is a missive from Burgundy past – perhaps the last of an old style of vintage before the new hot-dry normal set in. The weight is ethereal and gorgeous; with just a half-hour in a decanter this will be singing from the glass. Serve it in a context with space for subtlety and understatement.

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Michel Gros Nuits-St-Georges 2016
bottle price:$102
15% off 2+ bottles with code: NSG16

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The 2022s from Burgundy continue to delight. It’s a terrific vintage in both colors – the reds are characterful and intense with tremendous freshness and lovely fruit; the whites are vibrant and delicious, clear and compelling representations of their terroir.

The world has by now discovered St-Aubin, the once secret town tucked away up a valley between Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet. But if it’s 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.

Gerard Thomas’s 2022 St-Aubin from this special vineyard has shed its youthful edge and today is vibrant and beautiful. It 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, and inviting…lots of spice on the palate,” concluding “fresh, flavorful and full of fruit.”

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Thomas St-Aubin 1er “Murgers” 2022
bottle price: $55

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Some wines in our portfolio hit a perfect balance between fruit, freshness, texture and price – Goubert’s Gigondas, Desvignes’s Givry, and Bohrmann’s Bourgogne blanc come to mind. But this category wouldn’t be complete without Poggerino’s Chianti Classico. It’s one of only a handful of non-French wines we import, and yet it’s among the most popular wines in the shop.

“The 2021 Chianti Classico is exceptional.” Thus begins Antonio Galloni’s review of Poggerino’s flagship wine. This vintage shows the same gorgeous floral, dusty nose as always, with perhaps a deeper plum fruit profile than usual. The mouth carries an extra dose of richness and length. Galloni awarded 93 points, finding “lavender, spice, menthol, licorice, and tobacco,” and calling it “racy and layered.”

Jancis Robinson’s reviewer found it “fantastic,” calling it “long, intense and concentrated, with bags of polished tannins that never dominate the fruit.” It’s hard to find much wrong with this wine, and it’s somehow still only $25. We don’t have much left, and won’t get more until March – if it’s on your list, we counsel haste.

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Poggerino Chianti Classico 2021
bottle price: $25

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Most Burgundy drinkers are familiar with the Clos Vougeot, a 12th century castle surrounded by an enormous Grand Cru vineyard. It’s a cultural and viticultural landmark of Burgundy – impeccably preserved, and worth a stop on your next visit to the region. But even seasoned collectors are usually less familiar with the rest of the appellation of Vougeot.

Indeed about 80% of the vines in the town of Vougeot are part of the enormous Clos Vougeot Grand Cru, but the other 20% covers some exceptional premier crus, including “Petits Vougeots,” which borders both Clos Vougeot and Le Musigny over the border. Justine Clerget’s plot here produces impressive wines, bolder than her tasty village Chambolles and approaching the concentration of the nearby Grand Crus. Broad, sturdy and delicious, this is not a wine you’ll soon forget.

This wine has many years of cellar potential ahead of it – we’ve got some tucked away with a 10-year timeframe. But even today it’s concentrated and delicious, and with an impressive holiday meal – beef wellington or rack of lamb or the like – it will wow your guests. Give it an hour in a decanter and you’ll too feel surrounded by Grand Cru energy.

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Clerget Vougeot 1er “Petits Vougeots” 2022
bottle price:$125

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There’s a cliche among wine critics that a “vintage of the century” tends to occur on average every decade or so. It’s true that the floor for vintage quality has risen dramatically in the last 25 years – sorting tables, better technical control of fermentation, and increasing demand for quality have meant that truly poor vintages are now few and far between.

Nobody will ever call 2017 a “great vintage” in Burgundy – it has neither the structure nor the concentration for longterm cellaring. But as anyone who has had one recently will tell you, on finesse, drinkability and sheer pleasure, the vintage is off the charts. They’ve been delightful since they arrived, and the few that are about as pleasant as Burgundy gets.

Today we’re suggesting the last few bottles of our 2017 Corton-Bressandes Grand Cru from Domaine Ravaut. Tasting this five years ago, Jancis Robinson’s reviewer found it “fleshy, ripe, sweetly spiced nad wonderfully fruit forward.” Ravaut’s Bressandes is always their best wine, and this has aged perfectly over the last seven years. The nose is dark and pretty with cassis and violets; the mouth has softened and gives way to an exquisite burst of earthy black cherry fruit.

If you haven’t picked out a bottle for your holiday table, consider this.

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Ravaut Corton-Bressandes Grand Cru 2017
bottle price:$125
2+ bottle price: $109    (use code CORTON) 

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As summers in France become warmer and drier, the line between Chablis and the rest of white Burgundy has blurred. Chablis was once known for its piercing wines full of tension, minerality, and zip, in contrast to the rich, mouthfilling whites of the Côte d’Or. Today there’s less stylistic room between them, as very ripe grapes have turned Chablis a bit plumper – the wines are tasty, but often less distinct.

But some winemakers have found a way to preserve the old style. Jasper Morris writes “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.” Gautheron’s 2022s are a tour de force, and perfectly balanced marriage of fleshy fruit with brisk, vibrant mouthfeel.

We think Gautheron’s best premier cru is his old-vine Fourneaux “Vieilles Vignes” 2022 – it sees 15% oak, contributing layers and complexity without toast. 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, but it’s magnificent already today.

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Gautheron Chablis 1er cru
“Fourneaux” Vieilles Vignes 2022
bottle price: $45

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Pouilly-Fumé is the less famous neighbor of Sancerre, located just across the Loire River. The grape is Sauvignon blanc, and there’s a high percentage of flint in the soil, which gives the wines their eponymous “smoky” (Fumé) character.

Our producer here is Frederic Michot, a brisk and energetic vigneron who makes wines that mirror his personality. His cuvées are no-oak, no-nonsense, delicious and refreshing – and extremely well priced. Winemakers in other parts of the world tend to overthink Sauvignon Blanc; Michot revels in simplicity.

The Pouilly-Fumé 2023 is fresh, lively and delicious. The nose shows grapefruit, a hint of herbs, and a burst of stoniness. The mouth is savory and punchy with a quick, clean mouthfeel and notes of grape skin and lemon zest. Serve with fish, oysters, cheese and crackers, or nothing at all.

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Michot Pouilly-Fumé 2023
bottle price: $19

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In real estate and winemaking, location is everything – and nowhere is this more true than in Burgundy. A few yards difference in vine location can amount to a few extra zeros on the end of the price. Every wine from Vosne-Romanée – the most famous winemaking town in the world – is at minimum worthy of interest. But Vosne is not a monolith, and each corner of the tiny appellation has its own expression.

Nearly all the slopes in Vosne (and Burgundy for that matter) face some combination of East and South. But today’s wine comes from an unusual North-facing plot, and this fact defines its identity. “Les Barreaux” lies atop the slope in Vosne, adjoining the Grand Cru Richebourg and the Premier Crus Aux Brûlées and Henri Jayer’s famous “Cros Parantoux.” The view is spectacular, but the wine is somehow even better.

Barreaux’s northern exposition has historically been a limitation, and likely why it’s classified at the village level – the less sunny slope has made it hard to ripen fully. But in the new normal of hot, dry growing seasons, this exposition has become an asset. And in 2020, it’s produced something spectacular.

This wine blew us away when we first tasted it, and it’s only gotten better – impossibly fine and delicate, but with density and length. The shallow limestone soil and unusual exposition balance the extreme ripeness of the vintage, and the resulting wine is a masterpiece. Jasper Morris MW had a similar reaction – he gave it 5/5 stars and awarded it 93-95 points, finding “vibrant deep red fruit” and “very good acidity as well.” it “really quite a striking Vosne-Romanée,” with “superb length.” We agree – for anyone with a taste for the magic of Vosne, this is not a wine to be missed.

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Couvent Vosne-Romanée “Barreaux” 2020
bottle price: $108

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Tasting this spring at her domaine in Meursault, Sofie Bohrmann summed up the 2022 growing season with one word: “parfait.” After the catastrophic 2021 vintage, in which some of her parcels lost over 90% of their crop, 2022 provided clean, healthy grapes, and plenty of them. It was hot and dry as it always is these days, but rain fell at exactly the right time – a bit of good luck after a season of bad.

The results speak for themselves. Across Burgundy the 2022 whites (and reds, for that matter) are friendly, lush, balanced, vibrant, and flat out delicious. Sofie’s style is pure and vibrant with limited oak (max 15%). Today we’re suggesting her St-Aubin 1er cru “En Remilly,” a masterpiece from the town’s finest vineyard.

The secret is out about St-Aubin, but it still offers terrific value relative to its fancy neighbors. The 2022 Bohrmann En Remilly tastes just like what you’d expect – expertly made wine from a top terroir in an outstanding vintage. It’s lively and generous at the same time: thick and full of a rippling intensity, combining perfectly ripe golden fruit with structure and minerality. Serve with a sole meunière.

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Bohrmann St-Aubin 1er “En Remilly” 2022
bottle price: $72

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Our newest Champagne source is RH Coutier, and it’s quickly become a reader favorite. The Coutiers are an old family in Ambonnay (there since 1619), and today produce small-batch Champagnes exclusively from their own organic Grand Cru vineyards.

Antonio Galloni of Vinous calls the Coutier wines “gorgeous…all showing the natural richness of Ambonnay,” and writing they “have been favorites of mine for years, because of their quality, personality, and exceedingly fair prices.” Ambonnay is known as Pinot Noir country, where extra clay and warm southern exposure lend themselves well to the red grape.

Courtier’s base “Cuvée Tradition” is simply exquisite grower Champagne at a remarkable price – we had it open at our RacletteFest tasting last weekend and it stole the show. It’s super expressive exploding from the glass with notes of spring flowers, pear, raspberries, herbs and brioche. At 6g dosage and a blend of 70% pinot noir and 30% chardonnay it’s dry but full of fruit, and the texture is at once lush and crisp.

This is accessible, affordable, downright tasty Champagne, with seriously good pricing – full of character, flavor, and life.

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Coutier Champagne “Tradition” NV
bottle price: $52

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Regular readers will know Gautier Desvignes, the humble, friendly, thirtysomething winemaker who has transformed his modest family domaine into a top name in the region. William Kelley writes that Desvignes is “one of the leading lights in the Côte Chalonnaise,” and we wholeheartedly agree.

Gautier’s 2022s show a talented winemaker firing on all cylinders. He has refined his cellar technique considerably, using gentler extractions, and focused his barrel work through exhaustive (some might say obsessive) experimentation and tasting. The resulting wines easily rival reds from the Côte d’Or in detail and complexity, and simply blow them away on price.

Givry 1er cru “Clos Charlé” is detailed and sophisticated – higher toned and with more chiseled detail than his other premier crus. It’s particularly good in 2022, and easily worth the $6 upgrade from the village. The nose shows peony, wild cherries, and a delicate stoniness. The mouth is darker but retains a vibrant minerality alongside the inky fruit. Serve with a roast chicken on a cozy Sunday afternoon.

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Desvignes Givry 1er “Clos Charlé” 2022
bottle price: $42

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Of our six Futures issues each year, November has the most obvious star power. The Domaines Michel Gros and Boyer-Martenot are two of the most recognizable in our portfolio, top talent farming some of Burgundy’s iconic terroirs. Boyer holds vines in all three of Meursault’s famous premier crus (Charmes, Genevrieres and Perrieres) as well as the Puligny gem “Cailleret;” Gros’s envy-inducing lineup now includes three hallowed Grand Crus: Clos Vougeot, Echezeaux, and Richebourg. In other words, this is the Big Leagues.

And while few of these wines would be considered weeknight staples, the Gros and Boyer lineups have withstood much of the pressure of the latent Burgundy bubble. All but ten of the twenty-six wines remain in double-digit pricing territory, and at the regional level they both produce exceptional value cuvées. Both producers’ full lineups will be in next Sunday’s November Futures release, but we’re delighted to offer both of their sub-$30 Bourgogne Côte d’Or today.

 

Boyer-Martenot Bourgogne Blanc Côte d’Or 2022
Vincent Boyer now works with his sister Sylvie, and together they share the viticulture (mostly her) and winemaking (mostly him). They’ve nearly completed their conversion to organic farming, and their always excellent wines have become even better in recent years. The Boyers use an extended two-year elevage in oak barrels and then concrete eggs, and the resulting wines are sleek and full, steering well clear of the traps of overoaking and heaviness.

Boyer’s Bourgogne Côte d’Or comes from vines near his hometown of Meursault, and well overperforms the category. (After a price spike caused by last year’s catastrophic vintage where some plots lost 90% from hail, Boyer actually lowered his prices this year – about as unheard of in Burgundy as disinflation is over here.) The resulting wine is as good as sub-$30 Burgundy comes. Burghound found the nose “elegant” and “exuberantly fresh,” with “delicious and equally vibrant flavors” in the mouth. This may be “just” a Bourgogne, but it is remarkable wine, whatever the label says.

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Boyer Bourgogne blanc 2022
Ansonia Retail: $456
November Futures: $350/case

 

Gros Bourgogne Rouge Côte d’Or 2022
The “Michel” of Gros fame is now fully retired – or, at least, as fully retired as a winemaker can be with 45 vintages under his belt, a house nearby, and his name on the label. His son Pierre has taken the reins, representing, in Neal Martin’s words, “a change in tack rather than charting a totally different course.” Like many of his peer group Pierre has moved the domaine toward organics, and if his first few vintages at the helm are any indication, the future at Gros may be even brighter than the past.

Like Boyer’s, Gros’s Bourgogne Côte d’Or comes from vines just outside his hometown – in this case Vosne-Romanée. It’s middleweight and pretty, with red currants and violets in the nose; the mouth has mild tannins and a pleasant earthy and floral finish. This year Burghound found “good vibrancy and detail,” and Neal Martin called it “quite fleshy and dense.” It drinks effortlessly from the start, and however much we set aside for ourselves, we always wish it were more.

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Gros Bourgogne rouge 2022
Ansonia Retail: $456
November Futures: $350/case

Part of November 2024 Futures
Available by the case and half-case
Wines expected January 2025
Pickup free, shipping not included
No further discounts, quantities limited

Romain Collet is a terrific young winemaker running his family estate in Chablis. He dabbles with modern, oak-infused Chablis, and the wines are tasty if not traditional. But our favorites are always the classics: plenty of stony freshness, low or no toast, and clean zippy finishes.

Burghound called Romain’s lineup of outstanding 2021s “entirely classic,” and we agree — they’re dry and focused, with just the right amount of depth. Lovers of old school Chablis will find much to like.  For his Premier Cru Vaillons cuvée, Romain uses an elevage of ⅓ barrels, ⅓ foudre, and ⅓ stainless tank for this cuvée, and his 50+ year old vines here produce a perfectly balanced wine, with good concentration and well-supported ripeness.

Jasper Morris found the bouquet “both stylish and typical, stones with lemon zest.” Burghound praised its “cool and airy aromas,” its “intense and attractively sleek” flavors, and its “lovely minerality.” With Thanksgiving approaching and R months upon us, there’s no better time to stock up on Chablis.

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Collet Chablis 1er “Vaillons” 2021
bottle price: $38

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Climate change has thrown a series of hurdles at the winemakers of Burgundy, but the news isn’t all bad. In some corners of the region vignerons will (somewhat sheepishly) admit that a warming world has improved their wines, and nowhere is this more apparent than the Côte Chalonnaise, where grapes once on the margins of ripeness are now basking in abundant sun and heat.

Nicolas Ragot is our newest Côte Chalonnaise producer, and his wines have quickly become crowd favorites. He’s based in Givry, and his style is one of rugged polish: excellent balance and richness, plump tannins, smooth and perfectly clean. He makes ample use of amphoras, which give his wines an appealing patina and exquisite freshness. William Kelley calls his reds “supple and flavorful,” Jancis Robinson writes of their “purity” and “classiness,” and Neal Martin of Vinous finds them “caressing,” “fleshy,” and “excellent.”

His finest wine is the Givry 1er cru Clos Jus, from one of Givry’s most famous vineyards. This is ripe and powerful, with a nose of violet and cassis, the mouth bursts with fleshy red cherry fruit and a bit of cracked pepper. We think it’d hold its own against a village-level Gevrey-Chambertin, and certainly wouldn’t be the weaker of the two. Its inky density means it will improve for several years, but no patience is required – grab it while it lasts.

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Ragot Givry 1er cru “Clos Jus” 2022
bottle price: $45

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Christophe Mestre is from an old Châteauneuf-du-Pape family. Together with his wife and son they craft a single delicious, traditional, early drinking cuvée. In a town where luxury cuvées and single-varietal bottlings have become in vogue, the Mestres stick with the original formula – a single, appellation-wide cuvée.

Christophe farms plots more than a dozen plots around the appellation, blending Mourvèdre, Grenache, Syrah, and a touch of Cinsault. The elevage is 18 months, mostly in foudres and large oak, with some in cement eggs and vats. The resulting wine is accessible, crowd pleasing, and the perfect wine for cool weather.

The 2022 vintage is explosive aromatically – you can smell it from a glass several feet away. It offers a bursting nose of youthful fruit with lush floral notes. It’s rich and supple, but with noticeable freshness that prevents heaviness and keeps it juicy. The bigger the glass you have, the more you’ll appreciate the nose. Serve with an autumn stew.

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Mestre Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2022
bottle price: $35

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