Author: Thomas Wilcox

A Thousand Bottles. Of the 12,000 acres of vineyards planted in Chablis, only 250 qualify as Grand Cru. This highest tier includes seven distinct vineyards, each famous in its own right. But among the seven, the Grand Cru “Les Clos” is generally considered the finest. And it is from these hallowed 68 acres — just one tenth of a square mile — that today’s wine hails.

As Master of Wine Clive Coates puts it, Les Clos is “Chablis at its very, very finest… combining depth, intensity, and great elegance.” Our tasting chez Collet usually ends with their excellent Grand Cru “Valmur;” but in June, Romain concluded with a bottle of 2013 Les Clos, explaining that a tiny plot of 65-year-old vines (less than half and acre — enough for about 1,000 bottles) has found its way into the family lineup. Our delight at the new addition was surpassed only by the contents of the glass.

 

As good as it gets. One whiff of the Collet’s 2013 Les Clos, and you’ll understand the hype — it may be the finest wine we’ve tasted from Collet’s impressive lineup. The nose shows exquisite lemon, pear, and mineral aromas, and follows with an extraordinarily long, rich, tension-filled mouth. It’s hard to imagine more concentration or density in white wine, particularly one with nearly imperceptible use of oak.

This wine is yet another example of the Chablis discount — the product of a brand name still suffering from barely drinkable California knockoffs of decades ago. Where Grand Cru White Burgundy from the Côte d’Or is hard to find for less than $100/bottle (and often exceeds $350), the very finest Chablis has to offer can be had for less than $60.

Les Clos is famously long lived wine, with aging potential stretching out a decade or more; and the longer you can keep your hands off of it, the better it will be. We opened a bottle last week, we’d suggest decanting it (yes, decanting), for an hour or so before serving, at least for the next 6-8 months. Give it a year, and you’ll wish you had bought more; but even in its youth, Les Clos is unmistakably in a class of its own.

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COLLET Chablis Grand Cru “Les Clos” 2013
Ansonia Retail: $66
case, half-case: $59/bot

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AVAILABLE IN 6- AND 12- BOTTLE LOTS

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One size fits. For the next four weeks, most lives are filled with gift exchanges, holiday parties, and large family meals. Whether you’re a host or a guest, everyone’s just a bit happier to see you with sparkling wine in hand. Here’s a bottle of affordable, versatile bubbles that fits as well in a secret Santa or office cocktail party as on your family’s holiday table.

Last week we released our first grower Champagne, and within a few hours we sold out entirely. (We have more on its way, arriving next month). Until it arrives, we’re browsing through our stock of crémant, Champagne’s less glamorous but more affordable cousin. Today’s crémant comes from Burgundy, and at $25 is an exceptional value. A glass of bubbly may always say “celebration,” but it doesn’t have to say “extravagance.”

Pure Pinot. The Champenois often mix uncolored Pinot Noir juice into their cuvées of Champagne, and today’s example from Burgundy borrows this idea. Made from a select plot of 100% Pinot Noir grown in the hills above the Côte d’Or, the Maison Picamelot’s “Terroir de Chazot” is an complex and unusual example of terroir-based sparkling wine.

Most crémant in Burgundy and Alsace is a blend of several varietals from different locations. For this wine, Picamelot decided to isolate a single grape from a single plot and bottle it unblended – the result is a finer, more intense and earthy sparkling wine, with notes of roasted apples and herbs.

Sparkling wines provide the answer to dozens of food-pairing puzzles that might otherwise remain unsolved. Anything from asparagus to strong cheese to dessert will work nicely with this crémant; but our pick today is Delice de Bourgogne, a triple cream cows’ milk cheese that will deftly eliminate the need for butter on your bread.

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PICAMELOT Crémant “Terroir de Chazot”
Ansonia Retail: $30
case, half-case: $25/bot

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AVAILABLE IN 6- AND 12- BOTTLE LOTS

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Geology. Puligny-Montrachet and Meursault are neighboring small towns in Burgundy. From end to end they cover just under five miles, and their combined populations number less than 2000 souls. Both towns have made wine for a thousand years, and today are world famous as sources of the finest white Burgundy.

Yet beneath the vineyard surface their differences are stark. In Puligny-Montrachet, the water table is so high that most domaines have no underground cellars, and flooding is a frequent concern. Just a stone’s throw away in Meursault, the water table is unusually low, and the vines must stretch deep into the earth to find their nutrients.

These invisible differences contribute enormously to the character of each village’s wines. We love the delicate precision of Puligny-Montrachet, but today’s wine is from Meursault, and has the persistence and firm structure hard won by roots struggling below.

A New Star.  Vincent Boyer, the thirtysomething winemaker at the Domaine Boyer-Martenot, has had the reins of his family’s domaine for less than a decade, but the secret is getting out. We were blown away by Boyer’s 2013s, and we weren’t alone; the seldom effusive Allen Meadows (Burghound) put it flatly: “Vincent Boyer produced simply terrific wines in 2013.”

Today we’re releasing the first of four 2013 Meursaults from Boyer. “Tillets” is from the slope above the village, where the wines show particularly brisk minerality and energy. Named for a type of medicinal lime tree found here centuries ago, Tillets shows white flowers, pear, hazelnut, and a beautiful chalky core. Vincent counsels serving this with fish like salmon or sea bass; we would agree, adding (as we often do) lobster in butter to the list of pairing ideas.

 

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BOYER-MARTENOT Meursault “Tillets” 2013
Ansonia Retail: $56
case, half-case: $48/bot

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AVAILABLE IN 6- AND 12- BOTTLE LOTS

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Adversity.  It is often said that good wines are made in the vineyards. That may be true, but they can also be saved in the winery. When we visited the Domaine Collet in Chablis in the midst of the 2013 harvest, it seemed a scene of tragedy. Rot-laden grapes and malfunctioning machinery had kept the young winemaker Romain Collet up all night with worry, and we made a mental note to exercise caution before buying the finished product.

Imagine our surprise, then, when this past June Romain presented us with a lineup of elegant, beautiful wines from 2013 — so much so that many of our normal allocations had been severely reduced. Bottle after bottle showed excellent balance and precision, a testament to both technology and considerable winemaking skill.

Clearly Romain eliminated all the bad grapes, sacrificing quantity but preserving quality. We commend Romain on his success in a very difficult year — we only wish there were more of his excellent results.

 

Value.  Chablis has always been a favorite source for value in White Burgundy. 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.

The 2013 “Forets” is just a bit atypical for Chablis — with slightly lower acidity and a careful note of oak, this could easily be mistaken for something 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. Well suited for whole roasted fish or a classic risotto, this wine will elevate a weekday meal, or lend grace to a weekend feast. Save a bit for Thanksgiving, but don’t expect it to survive much of a crowd.

 

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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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Nectar des Dieux. For about a thousand years between the 5th and 15th centuries, French monks dominated the world of wine. It was the monks, tasting the products of the rich Burgundian soils (and often the soils themselves), that first developed the idea of terroir.

In the south of Burgundy, winemaking culture centered around the Abbaye de Cluny, which by 1000 was the wealthiest monastic organization in the Western world. Much of its wealth and fame came from the product of the local vineyards. And it is from these vineyards, now in production for over 1100 years, that today’s wine hails.

 

France profonde. Nicolas Maillet is a passionate young winemaker working in the heart of the Maconnais. His wines are as pure an expression of the Chardonnay grape as we know, with no oak to obscure the gorgeous fruit. They have the purity and clarity of fine Chablis, but the weight and roundness of a Côte d’or Chardonnay. Grown about five miles east of the famous Cluny Abbey, this is as traditional as white Burgundy gets.

The nose on the 2013 Maillet Macon Villages is all spring flowers and honeysuckle, with faint notes of dried straw. In the mouth it’s a typical Macon — rich and full with bright floral notes, beautiful acidity, and lots of depth. For white Burgundy fans, this is a remarkable value — far more complexity here than the price tag suggests.

 

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MAILLET Macon-Villages 2013
Ansonia Retail: $24
case, half-case: $19.95/bot

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AVAILABLE IN 6- AND 12- BOTTLE LOTS

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New Pinot, Old World.  Red Burgundy is known as a wine lover’s red wine, often requiring years of aging and a hefty price of entry. Even mature, many red Burgundies exhibit a finesse and delicacy can be drowned out by the cacophony of New World tannin and oak.

But not all red Burgundy is complicated. While Burgundy’s most famous wines come from the Côte d’Or to the North, many of its more accessible come from further south. Today we’re pleased to introduce a new wine from a new (almost) producer — the small, family-owned Domaine Desvignes in Burgundy’s Givry.

Wild Raspberries.  We discovered the Proprieté Desvignes in Givry during our year in Burgundy. We were away for a while, but our visit in June reaffirmed what we found nearly 17 years ago — a quality domaine making tasty red Burgundy at affordable prices. We’ve stocked up on two Givrys, and are pleased to release the first today.

The Desvignes Givry “Meix au Roy” is a Burgundy disguised as a Côtes du Rhône. There’s more rusticity and juiciness than Burgundy from further north, but the same pure, delightful Pinot Noir fruit, and deliciously accessible mouthfeel. Look for fresh wild raspberries in the nose, and a crackling lively mouthfeel. This is a charming wine that succeeds in being just what it sets out to be — hearty and refreshing.

This would be an excellent choice for Thanksgiving, borrowing a bit of the exuberance from its neighbor Beaujolais to the south, but adding just a hint of refinement from the more finesse-inclined Pinot Noir. For readers who enjoy red Burgundy on a regular basis, here’s a break on the usual bill associated with the affliction. For those unaccustomed to French Pinot Noir, here’s a great place to start.

 

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DESVIGNES Givry 2012
Ansonia Retail: $26
case, half-case: $22/bot

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AVAILABLE IN 6- AND 12- BOTTLE LOTS

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Microsource.  The tiny Burgundy village of Morey-St-Denis covers just under four tenths of a square mile. It has long played second fiddle to its famous neighbors Chambolle-Musigny and Gevrey-Chambertin, but in fact it holds five Grand Cru vineyards and produces excellent red Burgundies. At their best, the wines of Morey-St. Denis show a beautiful lace-like minerality, and an elegance only possible in Pinot Noir from Burgundy.

Our producer in Morey-St-Denis is the Domaine Pierre Amiot, which has a large range of wines from the town. Amiot’s wines often drink better after a few years in the bottle, so we’re suggesting four wines with 3 to 8 years in the bottle. This case is an excellent way to get to know the Domaine Amiot, and to see remarkable range within the corners of this tiny town.

 

Amiot’s village level Morey-St-Denis is bright and delicate, and with eight years in the bottle has blossomed into a delicious, classic earthy wine. Look for notes of wild cherries and toast, and decant this for a half hour before serving.

The Millandes 1er cru 2007 shows raspberry and wild cherry fruit in the nose — now eight years after the harvest, it has begun to show toasty “sous bois” elements like mushrooms and forest floor. The tannins have softened, but retain enough structure to match well with foods. The Amiots suggest red meats and ripened cheeses.

“Aux Charmes” 1er cru 2010 shows one of the characteristics of Morey-St-Denis we like best: a warm, agreeable earthiness. In the nose there’s smoke and toasted red fruit; in the mouth you’ll find the cool dense tannins characteristic of this small but very fine vintage.

As the youngest wine in the case, Ruchots 1er cru 2012 has many years ahead of it. But it’s already expressive aromatically, showing excellent dark woodsy fruit and plenty of juicy tannin. This will benefit from some cellaring, but as with most 2012s is surprisingly drinkable today.

 

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MIXED CASE: AMIOT RED BURGUNDY SAMPLER

3x   Morey-St-Denis 2007:   $52
3x   Morey-St-Denis 1er “Millandes” 2007:   $65
3x  Morey-St-Denis 1er “Aux Charmes” 10:   $72
3x  Morey-St-Denis 1er “Ruchots” 2012:   $78
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Ansonia Retail: $801
Notebook price: $685/case

(free East Coast shipping)   |   save $116

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