Author: Thomas Wilcox

Wet stones.  “Minerality” is a hard word to define. It appears throughout the wine world, but nobody can quite say exactly what it is. Last year wine writer Lettie Teague called it “a helpful word to describe wines that aren’t fruity, spicy, or herbal.” That’s still a bit vague, but it’s a good start.

We often use the word to describe wines from Chablis, Pouilly-Fumé, and Muscadet, but we too struggle for an exact meaning. Our best suggestion for defining minerality? Today’s wine: Gautheron’s Chablis Vieilles Vignes. Whatever your lexical definition of the term, one sip of this wine will tell you what we mean.

Value.  Chablis draws its minerality from its calcium-rich soil. The Chablis region was once the bed of an ocean, and the vineyards are peppered with chalky white fossils. Made from old vines and aged for what seems like a split second in oak, this wine has length and breadth, but also a vibrant backbone of freshness.

Chablis has always been a source for remarkable value, from last week’s Grand Cru under $50, to today’s weeknight-priced Vieilles Vignes. The market for Chablis still hasn’t quite recovered from the undrinkable “California Chablis” of decades ago, but the misconception only furthers the extraordinary value of these wines.

Raw oysters are the classic pairing for Chablis, and sitting as we are in the midst of “R months,” there’s no reason to abandon this tradition. If bivalves aren’t your cup of tea, fresh fish, pasta with lemon, or even sautéed greens will match with ease.

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GAUTHERON Chablis Vieilles Vignes 2013
Ansonia Retail: $25
case, half-case : $19.95/bot

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AVAILABLE IN  6-  AND 12-  BOTTLE LOTS

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At the top.  In Burgundy, Grand Cru is as good as it gets. Making up just the top 1.3% of wines produced, these are the finest wines Burgundy has to offer. Their correspondingly high prices mean that most wine drinkers enjoy them only occasionally, if at all. Many bottles fetch prices in the hundreds, and some even in the thousands.

But Chablis provides a seeming contradiction in terms: well-priced Grand Cru. Located an hour and a half northwest of Burgundy proper, Chablis is a terroir unto itself, where stony and fossil-laden soils produce pure, exquisite expressions of Chardonnay. At its best, Grand Cru Chablis rivals the greatest whites from the rest of Burgundy, and we think today’s wine deserves such a label.

Lemon and Gardenia. Today we suggest the Grand Cru 2013 Valmur from Jean Collet. As with much Grand Cru Chablis, Collet’s Valmur is raised in oak; but the wine handles it beautifully. The wood melts effortlessly into the lemony perfume, adding a rich background for the classic burst of acidity and minerals. The mouthfeel is remarkably long and dense, a real testament to the power found in top class white wine.

This is a special wine, and deserves a special dish to accompany it. Chablis and oysters are the easy pairing, but you’d have to find some pretty exceptional oysters for this wine. Scallops might be a better match, seared carefully in oil and butter. Or a triple-cream cheese – Brillat-Savarin, or Delice de Bourgogne – left on the table for a few hours to come to room temperature.

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COLLET Chablis Grand Cru “Valmur” 2013
Ansonia Retail: $60
quarter-case: $48/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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OH-say.  Some of the best values in Burgundy are from towns just off the beaten path. Last week we wrote about St-Aubin, a hidden gem up the valley that stretches west between Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet. This week we’re focusing on another valley about 5 miles to the north, which features the town of Auxey-Duresses.

Auxey-Duresses is an often overlooked town, set in the crook of a bucolic vine-covered valley west of Meursault. Master of Wine Clive Coates describes Michel Prunier as “certainly the best grower” in the town, though Monsieur Prunier himself is humble, welcoming, and kind. At barely 5 feet tall, he perfectly fits the charming, small-town Burgundian feel of the region.

 

DYOO-ress.  Prunier’s Auxey Duresses blanc 2013 is lively and pretty. Made by a low-profile producer in an underappreciated town, it punches way above its weight for the price. The nose is simply gorgeous, showing elderflower and lemon rind with a whisper of carefully-integrated oak. There’s the fullness and roundness you expect from Meursault, with perhaps a bit more youthful exuberance.

This should drink well for another few years, but it’s awfully drinkable today. Try it with tuna or swordfish, and let it breathe for a half hour before serving. We know there’s nothing quite like the wines from the Big Three, and if that’s what you’re after, we understand. But for those with a love for white Burgundy and a nose for value, we can’t recommend this enough.

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PRUNIER Auxey-Duresses blanc 2013
Ansonia Retail: $38
case, half-case: $32/bot

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AVAILABLE IN 6-  AND 12-  BOTTLE LOTS

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Une fête.  Americans don’t drink enough sparkling wine. By restricting its use to special occasions, we ignore its many other capabilities: a classy way to welcome guests, a gentle start to a meal, or a versatile pairing with an enormous range of foods. The French are more apt to treat sparkling wine as just that — a wine that sparkles, to be enjoyed like any other.

But if you need a celebration to pop a cork, there will be no shortage of them in the next few weeks. The clear winner as the prettiest bottle in our stock is the sparkling rosé from Picamelot in Burgundy, with its pink and silver habillage. If it’s Valentine’s Day you plan to celebrate this month, this one’s an easy match. If it’s Mardi Gras, then something colorful and celebratory should fit right in. And if Presidents Day is your cup of tea, we’ll remind you that none of the founding fathers were exactly teetotalers.

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Charmant.  Happily, the contents of a bottle of this Crémant Rosé are every bit as attractive as the appearance. Made entirely from Pinot Noir, this shows a lovely balance of fruit and floral notes, with good fresh acidity. The wine is perfectly dry, but has a pleasant creaminess alongside notes of strawberry and lemon.

Serve this in a white wine glass (skip the flute), and pair it with anything from beignets to chocolate covered strawberries. And if there are a few bottles left over after this month’s festivities, try pairing this with a regular meal you might serve with white wine. The winemakers at Picamelot suggest asian foods, or something else with some spice.

 

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PICAMELOT Crémant Rosé
Ansonia Retail: $24
case, half-case: $18/bot

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AVAILABLE IN 6- AND 12- BOTTLE LOTS

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Violets and Smoke. Burgundy is best known for its wines of refinement and elegance. The delicate, often ethereal Pinot Noirs from towns like Vosne-Romanée and Chambolle-Musigny are unlike any others in the world, and rightly receive the majority of Burgundy’s press. But there’s a whole other world of red Burgundy to the South of the Côte d’Or.

Burgundy’s Côte Chalonnaise is home to towns like Mercurey, Givry, and Rully, where Pinot Noir takes on a heartier, brisker form. These are red Burgundies that trade elegance for rusticity, more comfortable in a Parisian bistro than a three-star restaurant. Today’s wine, a Givry 1er cru, perfectly embodies the vibrant, rugged side of Pinot Noir.

Everyman.  Many readers have become fans of the Desvignes Givry “Meix au Roy” we released last month. (So much so, in fact, that we’re out.) Devignes’ second wine is a Givry 1er cru “la Grande Berge,” which is similar to the first, but with more tannin and richness. The tannins here are juicy and dense — you wouldn’t mistake them for Vosne-Romanée, but you wouldn’t mistake the price either.

The Givry 1er 2012 shows dark currants and cherries in the nose alongside toasty oak. The mouth is full, rich, and almost chewy, with notes of plum and wild cherries. Grown in a tiny village surrounded by rolling green hills, this wine captures the heartier, more paysanne side of Burgundy — and sometimes, that’s just what we’re looking for.

 

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DESVIGNES Givry 1er cru 2012
Ansonia Retail: $29
case, half-case: $25/bot

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AVAILABLE IN 6- AND 12- BOTTLE LOTS

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Complexity.  Nicolas Maillet is our new source for chardonnay from southern Burgundy. His wines are classic examples of white Maconnais — cool, round chardonnay with excellent balance and little or no oak. If the Côte d’Or is home to Burgundies of pedigree and refinement, then the Maconnais is home to Burgundies full of vibrancy and joy.

Maillet takes this idea one step further, vinifying his wines using biodynamic viticulture, indigenous yeasts, and a slow, months-long fermentation. The result is wine of remarkable complexity and purity, a veritable symphony of flavors in the glass. Maillet is a man full of passion — for his vineyards, for his rootstocks, for biodynamics, and for the purity of his harvest. And he manages to translate all of this energy into truly extraordinary wines.

Passion.  Maillet doesn’t lack confidence in his techniques, and after a sip of his wine, you won’t either. His Macon-Verzé 2013 shows a dazzling array of notes in the nose, including white flowers, green tea, tangerine, and apricot. The mouth is classic Maillet — rich and long and pure, but with striking freshness and a beautiful baked lemon core.

With no oak to overshadow the pure fruit, this is Maconnais at its best, showing beautiful, unadulterated ripe chardonnay fruit. So complete is the palate of this wine that it requires no accompaniment from food. Should hunger or houseguests force your hand, we suggest cow’s milk cheeses like Comté or Beaufort. Depending on the time of day, a bowl of steamed mussels would not be unwelcome.

 

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MAILLET Macon-Verzé 2013
Ansonia Retail: $28
case, half-case: $22.95/bot

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AVAILABLE IN 6- AND 12- BOTTLE LOTS

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SAHN-tuh-nay. On most maps, Santenay is the last town in Burgundy’s famous Côte d’Or. Forever second fiddle to its famous neighbor Chassagne-Montrachet to the north, Santenay nonetheless produces excellent wines. With neither the staying power nor the tannic structure of wines from Chassagne, they are often far easier to enjoy young.

A case in point is Roger Belland’s Santenay 1er cru “Beauregard” rouge from 2013. Belland is known as one of the finest sources in the village — Clives Coates calls their wines “individual and stylish.” Belland’s reds are punchy and ripe, with tannins that are round and juicy rather than harsh. Readers who have picked up 2013 Belland’s red Maranges should love the 2013 red Santenay, which is similarly lively, but noticeably more elegant.

Crackling. Roger Belland and his daughter Julie represent the 5th and 6th generations of winemakers in their domaine. They have used no herbicides for more than 20 years, and their wines are careful, pure expressions of their origin. Many readers have enjoyed Belland’s white Santenay Beauregard in recent months; its red counterpart is drinking just as well, if not better.

The 2013 Beauregard rouge is more elegant than most Santenay. The nose is intense and bright, with red fruit and stony earth accompanied by spring flowers. The mouth is concentrated and long, with excellent balance and a clean, silky mouthfeel. This is a refined red Burgundy, to decant on a Sunday afternoon and serve with a roast of lamb or beef.

 

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BELLAND Santenay 1er “Beauregard” rouge 2013
Ansonia Retail: $40
case, half-case: $34/bot

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AVAILABLE IN 6- AND 12- BOTTLE LOTS

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Hidden Gem.  St-Aubin is the insider’s white Burgundy. While writers spill most of the ink on the great wines from Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet, savvy drinkers know of the treasure that lies three minutes to the west, in a valley between the two famous towns. The wines from the tiny, hidden village of St-Aubin may lack the aging power and depth of Chassagnes and Pulignys, but they remain what Rajat Parr calls “some of the best-value Chardonnay in the world.”

The Famille Thomas has an intimate knowledge of the terroir of St-Aubin, where they’ve lived and made wine for over 70 years. Today Gérard Thomas works alongside his two daughters, and their understated, highly affordable wines are some of the best sellers in our portfolio. We opened the 2013 village level over the weekend for a tasting at our warehouse, and found it to be in a perfect drinking window.

Drink-now. The 2013 St-Aubin “Champ Tirant” is a pure expression of a single, limited terroir. Over the last 8 months, the wine’s initial vigorous acidity has melted beautifully into the round, mouthfilling palate. Today it shows gorgeous round fruit and muted toasty notes, with baked lemon and almond in the nose. It has the richness needed for a wintery white wine, but enough freshness to keep it lively.

Food pairings for white Burgundy are not difficult. According to Parr, who heads up the wine programs for Michael Mina’s extensive restaurant group, white Burgundy pairs best “with oiler and meatier poached fish like halibut, salmon, monkfish, cod and grouper.” Monkfish is a particular favorite at our house, and we look forward to matching it with our next bottle of St-Aubin.

 

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THOMAS St-Aubin 2013
Ansonia Retail: $34
case, half-case: $28/bot

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AVAILABLE IN 6- AND 12- BOTTLE LOTS

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“Monraché.” In 1787, Thomas Jefferson visited Burgundy, recording his favorite wines in a journal: Chambertin, Romanée(-Conti), Clos Vougeot, and Montrachet. Jefferson wasn’t the first or the last to recognize the greatness of Montrachet, and today most consider it the finest white wine vineyard in the world.

On Montrachet’s northern border lies most experts’ pick for the finest premier cru in Puligny-Montrachet: Le Cailleret. In fact it is the only vineyard bordering Montrachet that’s not also a grand cru. Named after the “cailloux” (small stones) scattered across the vineyard, it features the famous red chalky soils of its neighbor Montrachet.

Puligny hasn’t changed all that much from Jefferson’s visit two centuries ago. Its fame has only increased, and today it remains home to several of the world’s most sought-after wines. Or, as Master of Wine Clive Coates puts it simply, “Puligny-Montrachet is the greatest white wine commune on earth.”

Apotheosis of Chardonnay. The Cailleret vineyard has only five owners (unusual for Burgundy), including our friend Vincent Boyer from the Domaine Boyer-Martenot. His plot in Cailleret is small, but the quality is second to none. Our small allocation of the 2013 Cailleret arrived last month, and it’s already showing signs of an impressive future.

Cailleret shows an intensely concentrated nose of honey and gardenia. The mouth is cool and dense and extraordinarily long, showing classic Puligny minerality and beautiful white peach fruit. This is as luxurious as white Burgundy gets.

If you’re brave enough to age white Burgundies these days, this is an excellent candidate. Vincent counsels waiting as much as 14 years to drink this; we might hedge a bit and try one in two or three. Steven Tanzer of Vinous found “noble Puligny herbs and white pepper” in the nose, and a “concentrated and classic” mouth. Allen Meadows (“Burghound”) was even more enthusiastic, awarding 93 points and saying it is “both classy and refined and should reward up to a decade of cellar time.”

At the price, this wine is a bit of an extravagance, so we’re relaxing our ordering limit to 3 bottles. Then again, a pallet of 50 cases (more than the total production) still wouldn’t set you back as much as a ticket to Davos…

 

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BOYER-MARTENOT Puligny-Montrachet 1er cru “Cailleret” 2013
Ansonia Retail: $114
quarter-case: $95/bot

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AVAILABLE IN 6- AND 12- BOTTLE LOTS

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Email Tom to place an order.

or call Tom: (617) 249-3657

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