Author: Thomas Wilcox

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Perfectly Cellared 2004 Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé.

Ancient.  Saint Emilion is an old place. Founded by Romans in the 4th century, the town is named for a monk who lived there until 787, and who began construction on the cathedral that stands today. Because of its location on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela, Saint-Emilion has been a cultural and commercial hub in southwestern France for over a thousand years.

Wine lovers have enjoyed the wines of Saint-Emilion for most of its history, and the wines offer a similar ability to stand the test of time with grace and elegance. Today’s offer is for a 2004 Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé now a dozen years on from harvest. Most wine from Bordeaux needs patience and proper cellaring to reach its full potential. With this wine, which arrived in our warehouse last month, the work is all done — all that’s left to do is pull the cork

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Right Bank. For many years now our source for classic Saint-Emilion has been the Chateaux Destieux and Montlisse, the projects of biopharma-exec-turned-winemaker Christian Dauriac. Many readers picked up some of his Chateau Montlisse, a delicious and approachably priced Grand Cru. But for special occasions, Destieux (now a Grand Cru Classé) is an impressive step up.

Destieux is a right bank blend: two thirds Merlot, with the final third split evenly between Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Today the wine shows cedar, licorice, and dark black cherries, with a long, silky mouthfeel and lovely earthy balance. For a carefully cooked high end cut of steak, it’s hard to imagine a better match.

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DESTIEUX Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé 2004
Ansonia Retail: $68
quarter-case: $56/bot

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AVAILABLE IN   3-   6-   AND  12-   BOTTLE LOTS

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or call Tom: (617) 249-3657

 

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Springtime in Alsace: Refreshing Pinot Noir

Storybook.  Alsace is beautiful any time of year, but it’s particularly charming in spring. Colorful flowers spill from window boxes on half-timbered houses, water spouts from weathered stone fountains in the quaint village square. No wines better capture this springtime spirit than those of Francis Muré.

Muré is a true artisan, and aside from smoking his own trout and making his own duck confit, he makes small batch wines that regularly garner praise in the Guide Hachette. Muré’s range of wines offers something for nearly every spring and summertime occasion. We’ll release his new whites and rosé in the coming weeks but we’re starting with the Pinot Noir.

Chillable.  Muré’s Pinot Noir is the perfect summer weight red wine. It’s light and fresh, full of notes of wild cherries, and fresh springtime flowers. We like to serve it slightly chilled — pull it from the fridge 20 minutes or so before serving. It has the freshness of a white, the nose of a rosé, and the light, fruity body of a summery Pinot Noir.

If it’s a bit more complex than many other Alsatian Pinots, it’s no less delightful. With just a hint of oak during elevage to help round it out, this wine adds hints of cinnamon and clove to the pure wild cherry fruit. Cool it down and serve it with salads, sushi, or grilled chicken — it’s the perfect red to welcome the warm weather at last.

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MURÉ Pinot Noir 2014
Ansonia Retail: $22
case, half-case: $16/bot

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AVAILABLE IN   6-   AND  12-   BOTTLE LOTS

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Golden, Refreshing Premier Cru White Burgundy

Pure.  Chardonnay grows in nearly every corner of the winemaking world. With a large spectrum of styles hailing from a wide range of origins, it’s hard to pin down what the grape itself tastes like. But our best suggestion is Chablis, or what wine writer Jon Bonné calls “the world’s great, BS-free expression of chardonnay.”

Chablis is white Burgundy grown on limestone- and fossil-laden soils, and has always been a source for unusual value. The Chablis brand, sullied long ago by California jug-wine, has yet to recover; but that’s all the better for buyers. In our opinion, Collet’s 2013 Chablis 1er cru “Forets” approaches a very fine Puligny-Montrachet in style and quality — and it can be had for less than $35.

Crisp. The 2013 “Forets” is a bit atypical for Chablis — it has subtle notes of oak to accompany the classic acidity. It could easily be mistaken for a white Burgundy from the Côte de Beaune. But beneath a beautiful golden mouthfeel lies an elegant strain of minerality whose origin could only be the rocky hillsides of Chablis.

The balance in this wine is striking. Every note — lemon, mineral, pear, straw, oak — hits in perfect harmony. The mouthfeel is at once rich and crisp, the finish mouthfilling and tense. Well suited for whole roasted fish or a classic risotto, this wine will elevate a weekday meal, or lend grace to a weekend feast.

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COLLET Chablis 1er cru “Forets” 2013
Ansonia Retail: $38
case, half-case: $32/bot

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AVAILABLE IN   6-   AND  12-   BOTTLE LOTS

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Extraordinary 2009 Premier Cru Gevrey-Chambertin.

Almost Grand Cru.  In Burgundy as in real estate, location is everything. Today’s wine comes from a vineyard classified as a Premier Cru, but surrounded by five Grand Crus. It sits along the famous stretch of Grand Crus between Morey-St-Denis and Gevrey-Chambertin, and today many believe its classification has as much to do with centuries-ago politics as any geography.

But whether it’s a secret would-be Grand Cru, or just a perfectly positioned Premier Cru, one thing is settled — the “Combottes” vineyard turns out magnificent wine. The Domaine Pierre Amiot is based in Morey-St-Denis, but makes a few hundred cases each year from this plot just over the border in Gevrey. Today’s offer is for the 2009 — a near-perfect vintage now more than five years on from the harvest.

 

Timing.  We opened a bottle of 2009 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er cru “Combottes” a few days ago with marinated skirt steaks. The steaks were delicious, but the wine was extraordinary. Combottes has a beautifully dark and floral nose, with notes of spice and mushrooms. The mouth still has ripe tannins which have weathered and knit together over 4 years in the bottle, dominated by notes of dark cherries and forest floor.

Most red Burgundy improves with age; some requires it. Combottes today is twice as delicious as it was few years ago, and given another few years it will likely show even better. But life is short, and while this wine will reward patience, it no longer demands it. We’re selling our last bottles in lots of three, and how you parcel them out is up to you; there’s no wrong answer.

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AMIOT Gevrey-Chambertin 1er cru “Combottes” 2009
Ansonia Retail: $95
quarter-case: $79/bot

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AVAILABLE IN   3-   6-   AND  12-   BOTTLE LOTS

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Pairing Spotlight: Skirt Steak / 09 Gevrey 1er

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FOOD.

Thomas Keller’s Marinated Skirt Steak — this is a great way to get a lot of flavor out of an inexpensive cut of meat. The longer you marinate, the more intense the flavor; make sure to brown the meat well. (Recipe).

WINE.

AMIOT Gevrey-Chambertin 1er cru “Combottes 2009 — extraordinarily delicious; beautifully dark and floral nose, spice, earth, mushrooms and smoke. Mouth retains juicy tannins which have dried and knit together over 4 years in the bottle — sour cherries and mouthfilling — really excellent.  (More about this wine.)

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Crisp, Refreshing Muscadet: Melon and Salt Air.

Rugged Coast.  Good Muscadet should be three things — refreshing, inexpensive, and served next to something from the sea. At its best Muscadet is a dry, precise white wine that’s the pinnacle of freshness. Grown near the mouth of the Loire River, Muscadet is at once brisk and hearty — the essence of the windswept Atlantic coast.

It’s also inexpensive and abundant. Wine writer Lettie Teague calls it “one of the world’s best, if most obscure, bargains,” saying ““a glass of $8 Muscadet will always be a better wine than an $8 glass of something else.” With our focus on Burgundy, most of our white wines are north of the $25 mark; but a really good bottle of Muscadet can be had for less than $15.

Freshness.  We discovered the Domaine Martin-Luneau in the only way Muscadet should be discovered: over a few dozen oysters on the outdoor patio of a bistro in Nantes last June. The finest Muscadets are raised “sur lie” (on the lees) to add complexity, and both of Martin-Luneau’s cuvées contain this distinction. Their “Cuvée Deux Roches” is bright and crisp, with lime rind and melon in the nose, and zippy, refreshing acidity in the mouth.

The marriage with seafood is so harmonious it’s hard to think of reasons for other suggestions: grilled fish, pan seared scallops, steamed lobster, and most perfectly, oysters. Last night we enjoyed a bottle with moules marinières and fresh bread; the match was fantastic. But for the fish-phobic, we’ll admit it’s also a delicious thirst quencher for a salty cheese.

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MARTIN-LUNEAU Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine 2010
Ansonia Retail: $19
case, half-case: $14.95/bot

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AVAILABLE IN   6-   AND  12-  BOTTLE LOTS

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Pairing Spotlight: Moules Marinières / Muscadet

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FOOD.

Moules Marinières — we were feeling decadent so added some cream to the broth before serving. Made bread à la Tartine to accompany. We let mussels soak in flour/water for an hour — meat was clean and plump. (Recipe).

WINE.

Martin-Luneau Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine “Cuvée Deux Roches” 2010 — delicious, dry, refreshing; notes of grape skin and lime rind; more roundness to back up minerality / acidity than remembered; very nice (More about this wine.)

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Cool, Refreshing, Springtime Côtes du Rhône.

Crisp.  As this weekend’s April showers spill into the month of May, we’re reminded that the arrival of warm weather is rarely dry or smooth. If the sweltering days of July and August require a well-chilled rosé, this transition time between spring and summer calls for a refreshing, mid-weight red. For this we usually direct readers to the Pinot Noirs of Burgundy and Alsace, but today we’re suggesting something a bit different.

The Domaine Malmont’s Côtes du Rhône is unique and delicious. The wine owes its distinctiveness to an unusually high percentage of syrah (60%), which contributes dark berry and black pepper notes, and keeps the wine lively and fresh. Where many Côtes du Rhônes are rich and full of baked fruit, Malmont’s is cool and crisp, with pleasant tannins and a long, balanced finish.

 

Olive and Plum.  Malmont is the project of Nicolas Haeni, a young Swiss winemaker who founded the domaine about 5 years ago. His grapes are grown on terraced vineyards in the hills above Séguret, and his wines have already met with wide acclaim from the international wine press. His Côtes du Rhône 2014 is refreshing and dark with notes of olive and plum.

Though it’s not raised in oak, there’s a pleasant note of toastiness in this wine, which makes it an excellent companion for anything from the grill. If you’re not a grill-in-the-rain type, a simple chicken piccata or pasta with sausage will fit nicely. There’ll be plenty of rosé, Chablis, and Muscadet a month or two down the road. While there’s still a chill in the air, consider this crisp, lively red.

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MALMONT Côtes-du-Rhône 2014
Ansonia Retail: $24
case, half-case: $19/bot

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AVAILABLE IN   6-   AND  12-  BOTTLE LOTS

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Old-Vine Loire Sauvignon Blanc: Intense and Refreshing

Jardin.  Known as the “Garden of France,” the Loire Valley winds leisurely across nearly two thirds of the country. Though dozens of grape varietals grace its gently rolling hills, none is more famous than Sauvignon Blanc. Planted as far afield as California and New Zealand, Sauvignon Blanc finds its purest expression in the Loire Valley, particularly in the neighboring towns of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé.

One of our most exciting discoveries last year was the Domaine Frederic Michot, a tiny source in the hills outside Pouilly-Fumé. Michot’s old-vine Pouilly-Fumé shows an extraordinary intensity, a result of vines planted in the 1940s. This Sauvignon Blanc is a perfect wine for the spring and summer — both floral and mouthfilling but beautifully refreshing.

 

Concentrated.  Last month’s Guide Hachette called Michot’s 2014 Pouilly-Fumé “powerful; at once unctuous, fresh, and persistent…remarkable in its intensity and harmony.” We agree, and are happy to report that it’s drinking just as well as it was last fall. The nose shows grapefruit rind, mango, and wild herb honey. The mouth is rich and concentrated, with grapefruit and lime rind freshness.

Grilled shrimp, pan seared scallops, broiled haddock, steamed Maine lobster — these will all form a harmonious and delightful match with this wine. Or if fruits de mer aren’t your thing, try a glass with another invention of the Loire Valley — goat cheese on a crusty piece of French bread.

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MICHOT Pouilly-Fumé Vieilles Vignes 2014
Ansonia Retail: $24
case, half-case: $18/bot

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AVAILABLE IN   6-   AND  12-  BOTTLE LOTS

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Grower Champagne: Rare and Exquisite.

Branding.  Mass production Champagne is easy to find in the US. You’re as likely to run into a bottle of Veuve Cliquot at your corner convenience store as on a restaurant wine list. And at around $60 (or $160 in a restaurant), the actual contents of the bottle often disappoint; it’s that orange label you’re paying for more than what’s in the glass.

Just 5% of Champagne exported to the US is “grower champagne,” made by small winemakers who tend and harvest their own grapes and make their own wine. We were thrilled last fall to add a grower champagne to our list at last: the Domaine Bardoux in Montagne de Reims. Bardoux’s small batch Champagnes are elegant, lively and complex — about two thirds the price of Veuve Cliquot, and easily twice as delicious.

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The Real Deal.  Pascal Bardoux is a small-scale, fifth generation vigneron outside Reims, and today’s post is for his Champagne NV Brut called “Traditionnel.” Bardoux’s Champagnes are truly wines, with complexity and intricacy to match the finest bottles of Burgundy or Bordeaux. Traditionnel’s fine bubbles and dry, mouthfilling fruit make for a perfect example of Bardoux’s small batch grower style.

The blend is 60% Pinot Meunier, 30% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Noir, showing citrus, apple, and plum. The mouth is dry and full, with notes of raspberry and almond. This is Champagne as it was meant to be — wine first, bubbles second. Champagne is among the easiest wines to pair with food, but our favorite match is triple-cream cheese on fresh bread. Serve this on a summer afternoon, and your guests won’t care how orange the label is.

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BARDOUX Champagne NV
Ansonia Retail: $46
case, half-case: $39/bot

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AVAILABLE IN   6-   AND  12-  BOTTLE LOTS

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Mixed Case: Red Bordeaux Sampler

The Other “B.”  Burgundy is at the heart of our portfolio. Most domaines in Burgundy are small and family run, just like Ansonia. But we always like to have a few wines around from the other “B.” Bordeaux presents a larger scale of operation — it’s about 10 times the size of Burgundy — and also a wealth of grapes, styles, and delicious wines.

We’ve collected four reds into this Bordeaux Sampler — two from the left bank, two from the right; all blends of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Some reds from Bordeaux drink well young, and the Lafont-Menaut, Lehoul, and Montlisse are already lovely. Others age magnificently, and we’ve included a 12 year old Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé to show just what proper cellaring and a bit of patience can do.

We serve Burgundy with nearly everything, but if there are pepper-crusted steaks in your future, it’s best to have some Bordeaux around.

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LAFONT Pessac-Leognan 2013
This Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon blend comes from the same owner as the Chateau Carbonnieux. The wine shows dark, briary notes of blackberry and currant, with the Merlot adding dense notes of plum jam.

LÉHOUL Graves 2012
This small property turns out excellent wine each year, but 2012 is the best in recent memory. The Merlot-Cabernet Franc blend shows dark chocolate, and toast; the tannins are round and fine, showing blackcurrant and cedar.

MONTLISSE Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2010
From an exceptional vintage, this 2010 Saint-Emilion Grand Cru has many years in its future. But with conservative oaking and ripe fruits, it’s already delicious. Look for a dense, meaty texture, showing notes of ripe plums, cassis, and cedar.

DESTIEUX Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé 2004
Now a dozen years since its harvest, this wine has added the secondary aromas that make older Bordeaux so enticing. The nose shows roasted cherry jam with earth and bay leaf; the mouth is smooth and long and velvety, showing pure softened fruit and a beautifully balanced texture.


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MIXED CASE:

RED BORDEAUX SAMPLER

3x   LAFONT-MENAUT Pessac-Leognan 13:   $25
3x   LÉHOUL Graves rouge 2012:   $28
3x   MONTLISSE St-Emilion Grand Cru 2010:   $38
3x   DESTIEUX St-Emilion Gr. Cru Classé 04:   $64

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Ansonia Retail: $465
mixed case price: $395/case

(free East Coast shipping)   |   save $70

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Everyday Sangiovese: Dark Chocolate and Roses. $15

Across the Alps. The wine regions of France are enormous and diverse. The wide spectrum of vinification styles, climate patterns, and grape varietals provides a staggering range of wines. France offers enough diversity to keep us busy for years, and in some regions we feel as though we haven’t even scratched the surface.

But from time to time we gaze across the borders into the countries beyond. About 350 miles southwest of Mont Blanc (or for the purposes of this post, Monte Bianco) lies a charming Tuscan hilltown that has long enticed us from our Francophillic tendencies. The Fattoria Poggerino is a small, organic winemaker crafting delicious, affordable wines of pure Sangiovese — a small but delicious exception to our French-centric portfolio.

 

Tomato Season.  Poggerino splits the Chianti Classico vines into older and younger parcels, bottling the former as “Chianti Classico” and the latter as “Il Labirinto”. The Classico, which we released last week, is elegant and delicious — but the Labirinto, whose “young” vines are now 35-years old, is a Classico-quality wine that is an astounding bargain for the price.

The Labirinto 2014 is delicious — the nose is very ripe and juicy, with plum and sweet cherry notes. The mouth is young, earthy, and vibrant, with sturdy tannins under a smooth patina of fruit jam. This is lively and pleasantly drinkable on its own, but like most wines, it’s best enjoyed with the other fruits of its home terroir. Try a homemade pizza (good recipe for the dough here) or a pasta with a tomato based sauce.

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POGGERINO Labirinto 2014
Ansonia Retail: $19
case, half-case: $15/bot

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AVAILABLE IN   6-   AND  12-  BOTTLE LOTS

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Pure Syrah, Wild Yeasts, and the Ancient Art of Winemaking.

Earth Day.  Winemaking began in the Languedoc around 125 BC, and over the last two millennia, little has changed in its basic chemistry. Though the past century has seen the advent of new chemicals and measurements, winemaking is still the combination of grapes, yeast, and time.

The winemakers at the Mas Foulaquier return to this simple alchemy. Their pesticide-free vineyards are archetypes of polyculture, with wildflowers and insects at home amid the rows of vines. And it’s from these vibrant vineyards that the winemakers obtain both elements of the winemaking process — untreated grapes from the vines, and wild yeasts from the skins and ambient air.

This is winemaking in its purest, most original form, and the results are wines of remarkable complexity and grace.

 

Natural Syrah.  The winemakers at Foulaquier aren’t just back-to-the-land hippie types (though they’re not not that) — they are master viticulturalists and winemakers. Winemaking without vineyard treatment or controlled yeast strains is not easy, but Foulaquier’s wines may be the finest and most consistent biodynamic wines we import.

Today we’re releasing the 2013 “Les Calades,” a syrah-based wine of a beautiful dark, inky hue. In the nose this wine could almost be mistaken for a Northern Rhône Syrah, showing the grape’s signature clove, blackberry, and dark chocolate. But in the mouth this is unmistakably Foulaquier — a symphony of cool, earthy, jammy notes that is at once mouthfilling and carefully balanced.

This wine perfectly captures the northern Languedoc’s ruggedly beautiful landscape, a blend of silky elegance and rustic earthiness. Wherever you are, open this outside if you can — take a sip, close your eyes, and reconnect with the natural world.

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FOULAQUIER Calades 2013
Ansonia Retail: $32
case, half-case: $25/bot

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AVAILABLE IN   6-   AND  12-  BOTTLE LOTS

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A New “Reference Point” in Gevrey-Chambertin.

Seventh Century.  Gevrey-Chambertin has long been considered Burgundian royalty. The vineyards surrounding the town, first planted around 640 AD, are known for their clay-rich soils, which produce wines of unusual intensity and muscle. Last summer we discovered a new source in the village, the Domaine Gérard Quivy.

Last month’s Guide Hachette, the premier French language wine guide, describes Quivy as “undoubtedly one of the reference points in the appellation.” This helps confirm what our noses told us last summer — Quivy is an uncommon and exceptional find. We’ve released two of his delicious village wines (En Champs, Journaux), and today we’re pleased to release his premier cru.

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Seductive.  Quivy’s Gevrey Chambertin 1er cru comes from the “Corbeaux” vineyard, perched on the slope west of the town center. Quivy’s 1er cru vines were planted in the 1950s, and today produce wines with remarkable depth and intensity. We had flagged the 2013 Corbeaux for long term aging, but on the advice of a customer opened a bottle last night and were pleasantly shocked at its drinkability.

The Corbeaux today is seductive and remarkably elegant. The classically Burgundian nose shows dark cassis fruits, with woodsy notes of blackberry and black pepper. The mouth is deep and silky, showing intense old-vine fruit, roasted cherries, and cinnamon. The tannins are smooth, intense, and deeply concentrated — an exceptionally fine and elegant red Burgundy.

Premier Cru Gevrey-Chambertin is rarely destined for weeknight drinking, and this is hardly an everyday-priced wine. But for true Pinotfiles who recognize Burgundy as the height of elegance and grace, we can’t recommend this enough.

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QUIVY Gevrey-Chambertin 1er cru “Corbeaux” 2013
Ansonia Retail: $92
quarter-case: $76/bot

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AVAILABLE IN   3-   6-   AND  12-  BOTTLE LOTS

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Vibrant New 2014 White Burgundy. $24

Zeal.  Nicolas Maillet is an unusually passionate winemaker. He discusses the finer points of rootstock selection and fermentation chemistry with the same intensity most reserve for Les Bleus (the national soccer team). Even more impressive is how Maillet manages to breathe this energy into his wines, which shimmer with complexity and life.

Maillet’s tiny hometown is tucked amid the rolling green hills of southern Burgundy. His wines are classic Maconnais — cool, round chardonnay, with excellent balance and no oak. The notes in these wines almost sing from the glass, a chorus of lively, joyful aromas. Maillet’s wines owe their remarkable complexity and purity to his commitment to careful organic viticulture. We drink them year round, but perhaps no season that suits them better than spring.

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Printemps.  The 2014 Macon-Igé is as good as any Maillet has produced, from a vintage that has white Burgundy enthusiasts rejoicing. Maillet’s cool, months-long fermentation perfectly preserves the fruit in the Macon-Igé, which shows notes notes of tangerine, apricot, and green tea in the nose. The mouth is rich and vibrant, with mouthfilling notes of baked lemon and white flowers, balanced by excellent freshness and a hint of minerality.


With no oak to overshadow the gorgeous fruit, this is Maconnais at its best — pure and unadulterated chardonnay. Last night we enjoyed a bottle on our back porch, alongside spring asparagus and grilled swordfish. There’s enough freshness to make this an excellent food wine, and the pairing was delicious; but it took some effort not to drink it all as the grill warmed up.

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MAILLET Macon-Igé 2014
Ansonia Retail: $28
case, half-case: $24/bot

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AVAILABLE IN   6-   AND 12-  BOTTLE LOTS

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