Author: Thomas Wilcox

Several years ago, based on a tip from a Boston area Master of Wine, we contacted La Briccolina, a tiny family-run source in the heart of Barolo. As devotees of Burgundian Pinot Noir we’ve always been intrigued by Nebbiolo from Piedmont – an analogous thin-skinned varietal grown at its northern limit and capable of tremendous complexity and elegance.

La Briccolina is the product of the Grasso family who have grown grapes here for a century, but only recently started bottling their own wine. They produce a single cuvée, all from the Serralunga d’Alba terroir on the eastern side of the Barolo appellation. The soils are compact marls and sandstone with very high iron content, resulting in firm, mineral-driven wines of real character.

We’re delighted to introduce the 2020 Barolo from Briccolina. The nose is exquisite – cherries and spices explode from the glass with notes of licorice, plum, lavender, cedar and mocha. The mouth is refined and very fine grained – with an hour in a carafe it opens beautifully into a middleweight, delightful wine with notes of black cherry, iron, saline and dried roses.

Antonio Galloni of Vinous calls Briccolina’s Barolos “very fine,” and writes that “a bright future lies ahead” for the estate. He loved the 2020, awarding 93 points and finding it “soft, fruity and charming, all of which make it a fine choice for drinking now and over the next decade.” We had sworn off adding new sources for a while, but this opportunity (and this wine) was just too good to pass up.

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Briccolina Barolo 2020
bottle price: $85

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Last year we introduced Arnaud Baillot, an exciting new source in Burgundy. He started just 10 years ago as a micro-negociant, purchasing grapes and making tiny batches from small plots. In the last decade he has acquired 10 hectares of vines around the Côte d’Or, farming organically and crafting beautiful, understated modern Burgundy.

We were quite taken with Arnaud’s wines, and when Vinous’s Neal Martin visited last year he was similarly impressed. He describes Baillot’s wines as “excellent,” “impressive,” and “lovely and energetic,” even going as far as comparing him to Marquis d’Angerville, a legendary and iconic source in Volnay.

Baillot’s village level 2023 Volnay is terrific – made with 50% whole cluster fermentation, adding a beautiful textural backbone to the fruit. The nose is dark and spiced with gorgeous plum fruit. The mouth is extremely elegant and fine-grained, with great density and a finely channeled mineral finish – classic Volnay in fruit profile and texture. Martin found “an attractive, finely delineated bouquet…quite floral,” and in the mouth “nicely structured and quite persistent.” In short – modern, gorgeous, understated red Burgundy.

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Baillot Volnay 2023
bottle price: $85

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We’re always on the hunt for small, family-run operations in Bordeaux. They’re harder to find than in Burgundy, but with some research and a bit of shoe leather we’ve managed to discover a few. One of our recent favorite finds is Chateau Roquegrave.

Roquegrave is located in Valeyrac, fully an hour and a half north of Bordeaux, near the top of the Médoc peninsula and along the banks of the Gironde estuary. They produce humble, unfussy, extremely well-priced red Bordeaux, more at home in a Parisian bistro than a Michelin restaurant.

We’re delighted to offer their 2022 Médoc – it’s been a Cru Bourgeois since its founding in 1932. It’s a bargain and a great candidate for an everyday house Bordeaux. The nose is dark and pretty, with beautiful deep plum notes alongside cocoa and violets. The mouth is juicier and fuller, with younger fruit and younger tannin. Give this a half hour open in a carafe and pair it with lamb chops or shish kabobs or steak frites.

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Roquegrave Médoc Cru Bourgeois 2022
bottle price: $25

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Credit for the discovery of sparkling wine is a matter of dispute. The monks of Limoux in the South of France claim 1531 as the date of genesis; the Champenois, with their stories of widows and Benedictine monks, have certainly won the publicity war; and even the Brits, who invented glass thick enough to contain the pressure, stake a claim.

But whomever you credit with its creation or taming, the world has become quite fond of bubbles over the past few centuries. We stock Champagnes from four Grower producers, but our best value bubbles are the crémants from Maison Picamelot. William Kelley, Wine Advocate editor in chief and former Champagne reviewer, writes that “Picamelot produces some of the best sparkling wines in Burgundy,” calling them “elegant,” “excellent,” and “superb.”

Picamelot’s best value cuvée is their “Les Terroirs” Brut NV. This cuvée combines three grapes from three corners of Burgundy — Pinot Noir from the Côte de Nuits, Chardonnay from the Côte de Beaune, and Aligoté from the Côte Chalonnaise. After its first fermentation, the wine ages on its lees for over a year, gaining complexity and richness. The result is a delicious wine that’s as honest a representation of Burgundy as any still wine.

In the glass (skip the flute), “les Terroirs” is bright and lively, with nice dryness and pleasant, delicate mouthfeel — an extraordinarily versatile food-pairing win, and a bargain.

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Picamelot Crémant “Terroirs” NV
bottle price: $29

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The town of Maragnes is an underrated source for red Burgundy. Located at the very southern end of the Côte d’Or, it’s often left off regional maps, and its reputation is for rusticity over refinement. But chosen carefully, Maranges can offer unparalleled value for red Burgundy drinkers.

Our source in Maragnes is Roger Belland, a family domaine farming organically and producing tasty, user-friendly Burgundies that drink well from the start. Their 2024s are lighter weight and more elegant than usual, but the 2024 Maranges is the juiciest of their lineup. Lush, deep and pretty, this is a perfect springtime pinot noir.

The nose shows blueberries, blackcurrants and cocoa powder; the mouth is juicy without being rich. The tannins are middleweight and attractive. Think of itas somewhere between a Burgundy and a Beaujolais — the refinement of a Pinot Noir, matched with jolliness and joie de vivre of a Gamay.

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Belland Maranges 1er “Fussiere” 2024
bottle price: $39

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Gérard Thomas’s 2024 white Burgundies have arrived and they’re an excellent first look at the vintage. They’re decidedly old-school in texture, ranging from 11.5% to 12% (!) in alcohol, and sporting a refined daintiness that’s impossible to resist. Imagine a bold, buttery, mouthfilling, oaky Pouilly-Fuissé from the 1990s – these are exactly the inverse.

Winemaker Isabelle Humbert (Thomas’s daughter) crafts humble, clean, delicious white Burgundies with remarkable price-to-value ratios. They’re rarely the showiest or most impressive wines in a lineup, but they’re consistently delicious, and blow everyone away on cost. As spring arrives and the weather warms, these are pitch perfect, understated everyday whites to fit the season perfectly.

The Thomas Bourgogne Côte d’Or has been our go-to everyday white Burgundy for nearly two decades, and it continues to shine in its category. The 2024 is pretty and vibrant, with white flowers in the nose, and barely a whisper of oak. The mouth is light and fresh – not lean or harsh, but featherweight and clean. Jancis Robinson’s reviewer found “precision and a linear finish,” concluding “super-clean showing lots of finesse.”

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Thomas Bourgogne Côte d’Or 2024
bottle price: $36

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Patrick and Christophe Bonnefond’s wines somehow keep getting better. They’ve enjoyed a string of excellent recent vintages in the vines, but they also seem to be hitting their stride in the cellar. Once firmly in the ripe, oaky, “extroverted” camp that made them a darling of Robert Parker, the domaine has shifted towards subtler expression in recent years: less time in oak, larger barrels, and earlier harvests.

Much credit belongs to Léa Bonnefond, Christophe’s twentysomething daughter who has returned to the domaine – she’s brought a penchant for whole cluster fermentation, and gentler extractions, and the results are terrific. The Bonnefonds now achieve an extraordinary subtlety in their wines — it’s still bold, brooding, inky-dark Northern Rhône Syrah, but somehow also with subtlety, grace, and lift.

Their 2021, after 5 years in the barrel, is tremendous success – a perfect balance of grace and power. The dark, ripe fruit in the nose is just lovely, with added notes of pepper, minerals, and maybe a touch of iodine. Instead of the depth and teeth-staining concentration of a Cornas, it shows the elegant, sophisticated side of Syrah.

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Bonnefond Côte Rôtie “Colline de Couzou” 2021
bottle price: $65

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It is now about a quarter century since we first discovered Poggerino, and we can’t think of a producer with a better decades-long record of consistent, careful winemaking. Antonio Galloni, the founder of Vinous and a renowned critic of Italy’s best wines, calls Poggerino’s wines “some of the purest expressions of the Sangiovese grape in Italy.”

We visited winemaker Piero Lanza last fall, and his winemaking is in top form. All of his most recent crop of wines has arrived and are in stock on the website. Given that Spring is (at least technically) here, we’re suggesting his tasty, low-alcohol (12%), entry-level red.

Labirinto is entirely vat raised (no oak), and the young vines bring a bright freshness and red cherry fruit to every glass. Galloni called Labirinto “a striking combination of red Sangiovese fruit buffered by bright acids and floral notes,” adding that “the purity of the flavors is compelling.” Pour this all summer long.

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Poggerino Labirinto 2024
bottle price: $25

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Dennis Basset is beloved among our readers for his crisp, vibrant Syrahs from the Northern Rhône appellation of Crozes-Hermitage. His careful organic viticulture and light touch in the cellar produce terrific wines with precision and class, not to mention very reasonable price tags. His lone white wine, a Crozes Hermitage blanc, shows the same terrific detail and friendly character.

Basset’s white Crozes-Hermitage “Un Matin” has an enthusiastic following, not only among Ansonia clients but among restaurants in his region. In fact we had to wait a few years before we were allocated any, so popular is the wine among local restaurateurs.

It is easy to see why: “Un Matin” is an aromatic and expressive blend of Marsanne and Roussane that recalls Condrieu in its unctuous texture and exuberant nose. To maintain freshness, Denis planted additional Marsanne about five years ago, and those grapes, raised in stainless steel, are now finding their way into the wine. The Roussanne gets about seven months of aging in oak barrels, which provides the roundness and gras (“fat”) that makes the wine so appealing as an aperitif.

The final blend is a delicious combination of 55% Marsanne and 45% Roussanne. It’s a versatile wine that is perfect to bring out before dinner for a friend who might be tired of the usual suspects.

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Saint Clair Crozes-Hermitage blanc 2024
bottle price: $29

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Perched where the Loire river meets the windswept Atlantic coast, Muscadet has long been a source for a classic, dry white wine. Served by the carafe in the oyster bars of Paris and London for decades, it’s refreshing, abundant, and inexpensive — a perfect glass to wash down a plate of crustaceans.

In the last few decades Muscadet has undergone a reinvention of sorts with the elevation of the region’s best towns to a new “Cru Communal” status. Our source here is Martin-Luneau, a fourth generation family domaine farming old vines on the plains south of Nantes. Combining excellent terroir with extended years on the lees, their wines offer an unusually complex take on a classic.

Martin-Luneau’s Muscadet “Gorges” 2022 is everything you want for warm weather. It’s a marriage of the brisk, refreshing essence of the sea, with the delicate herbal and fruit flavors of western France. The nose is clean and pure, showing dried flowers, melons, and lemon. The mouth is smooth and very dry, with notes of stones, salt air, and apple skins.

Oysters are the longstanding pairing of choice with Muscadet, and the thick savoriness in this wine is an exceptional foil for the fresh brinyness of an oyster. Otherwise moules marinières or goat cheese on crackers will do.

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Martin-Luneau Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine
Sur Lie “Gorges” 2022
bottle price: $25

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The Domaine Guillemot Michel has been a benchmark source for biodynamic white Burgundy from the Maconnais. For years they made just a single wine: an iconic Viré-Clessé from Quintaine. And the wine deserves every bit of its extensive praise. “Honeyed, concentrated wines that are imbued with remarkable concentration and energy, and they develop beautifully in the cellar,” writes William Kelley, “One of the best producers in the Maconnais.”

A few years ago the domaine’s latest generation began experimenting with separate cuvées, and we’ll admit we were skeptical at first. But we should have known better – the founder’s daughter and son in law have taken the reins and maintained the same impeccable quality, adding new ideas and techniques. Our favorite of these new cuvées is “Retour a la Terre.”

The grapes for this cuvée come from a parcel situated on clay soils, and the elevage is 100% in Amphoras — clay vessels — hence the name “Return to the Earth.” Amphoras deliver micro-oxygenation at about the same rate as Burgundy-size barrels, but without oak flavors, and so this wine is a little more generous and longer on the finish. Jasper Morris found “a cashmere texture” to the wine, and we agree this is a stunning, innovative white Burgundy of the highest degree.

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Guillemot-Michel Viré Clessé
“Retour à la Terre” 2023
bottle price: $65

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Our newest Champagne producer, RH Coutier, is a real find. Coutier has been a favorite of Vinous founder Antonio Galloni “for years;” he calls their wines “gorgeous… showing the natural richness of Ambonnay.” The Coutier style is open and accessible – the non-vintage “Traditionnel” is expressive, captivating wine at an exceptional price – today we’re introducing their finest cuvée.

Coutier’s non-vintage cuvée is a terrific bargain and we open it regularly; their 2015 Vintage cuvée is something extraordinary. It’s 75/25 Pinot Noir/Chardonnay, and has spent 96 months on the lees, gaining astounding complexity and depth. At 3g of dosage, this is dry, sophisticated and simply extraordinary.

The nose immediately jumps forth with layer upon layer of dry papery fruit; as it opens it adds almonds, brioche, and white flowers. The mouth is dry but full of texture and concentration, a sleek core perfectly balanced by delicate acidity and detailed minerality. Galloni found it “bright and sculpted” with “energy and cut,” remarking that “citrus peel, mint, white pepper and crushed rocks all race across the palate.”

Serve with a soufflé, cornish hens, a fish in beurre blanc, or just a quiet Sunday afternoon.

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Coutier Champagne Millesimé 2015
bottle price: $82

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Poggerino is often cited as a reference point for Chianti Classico. Vinous writes of their Poggerino’s “remarkable purity and nuance,” and Rajat Parr calls their wines “excellent” and “some of the purest expressions of the grape in Italy.” Their organic vines from Radda-in-Chianti produced exquisitely balanced wines, full of depth and richness but also tension and lift.

Poggerino’s finest wine is their Chianti Classico “Riserva,” a magnificent cvuée we’ve enjoyed both young and with 15+ years in the bottle. Their Chianti Classico “Annata” is delicious as always (and back in stock soon!) – fresh and lively and bursting with perfectly extracted black cherry fruit. Their “Bugiala” Riserva cuvée is all of that, but moreso – deeper and richer with beautiful texture and a long, chiseled finish.

Vinous’s founder and chief reviewer Antonio Galloni writes that “cherry, incense, leather and spice give this virile Riserva plenty of complexity.” He called it a “dark, powerful wine, . . . impressive, especially in terms of its depth and overall substance.” Now with seven years in the bottle this is magnificent wine – serve with a Sunday afternoon osso buco.

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Poggerino Chianti Classico Riserva 2019
bottle price: $45

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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 even this humble cuvée shows a glimmer of that golden Meursault character.

The resulting wine is the best value Bourgogne blanc in our cellar – and with this year’s pricing it might be the best value too. Burghound found the nose “elegant” and “exuberantly fresh,” with “delicious and equally vibrant flavors” in the mouth. The nose opens with citrus and white flowers, and the mouth is full of concentrated fruit and tension. An exceptionally successful white Burgundy, and at the price, an excellent value.

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Boyer-Martenot Bourgogne Côte d’Or 2023
bottle price: $38

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Everything in Cornas is small, but the Domaine Dumien-Serrette is tiny. Today fifth generation winemaker Nicolas Serrette farms just 1.8 hectares (4 acres) of his family’s ancient vines. Simon Field MW of Berry Brothers writes of the Dumien-Serrette wines’ “granitic splendor” and “beguiling floral elegance which sets them apart.” Their old vines produce intense, concentrated Syrah, with extraordinary depth but remarkable freshness.

Their primary cuvée is called “Patou,” made from 80+ year old syrah vines – and that’s their “young vine” bottling. The 2023 is terrific, and follows a similar pattern to the 2023 red Burgundies: it bears a strong resemblance to the 2022s, but with more lift and energy. Once upon a time a tasting of young Cornas would be considered work, and you might have to brush your teeth afterwards – but not today.

The 2023 is so well balanced it was hard to spit out even during our barrel tasting. Vinous’s reviewer found it “gorgeous” with “floral nuance” and “spot-on balance.” It’s sleek, dense, silky Syrah with a gorgeous sweet dark fruited nose and a refined, detailed palate. Serrette used 100% whole clusters this year, and the delicate tannin behind the perfectly ripe fruit is magnificent. In short, fans of this wine will rejoice; those unfamiliar will immediately become converts.

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Dumien-Serrette Cornas “Patou” 2023
bottle price: $58

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