Author: Thomas Wilcox

Value. When we shape our portfolio, we look for wines that “punch above their weight.” These are wines that exceed expectations based on the price tag and the name on the label — bottles that, if tasted blind, you’d put in a higher class. A recent such discovery is a premier cru white Santenay from Roger Belland.

Santenay is known for mid-range Burgundies that can be delicious but are seldom extraordinary. But Belland’s 2013 Santenay 1er cru Beauregard blanc might the finest white Santenay we’ve had. Tasted blind it could easily be mistaken for a wine from neighboring Chassagne-Montrachet.

Sucrocité.  Clive Coates MW calls Roger Belland “one of the best sources in the village” of Santenay. Together with his daughter Julie, Belland crafts excellent wines with cool, fresh fruit and beautiful balance. Many readers picked up some of Belland’s village-level white Santenay from a few weeks ago, and some have already come back for seconds.

Belland’s 2013 Santenay 1er cru blanc has a pretty, baked apple nose with notes of white flowers and honey, but it’s on the palate that this wine really shines. The mouthfeel is thick and vibrant, showing unusual depth and excellent length. The oak, fruit, and acidity are all in perfect balance, presenting a wine that bursts with life and richness.

Pair this with a Sunday afternoon roast chicken or a hearty soup — pour it from a carafe, and you guests will never guess where it came from.

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BELLAND Santenay 1er cru blanc 2013
Ansonia Retail: $40
case, half-case: $34/bot

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AVAILABLE IN 6- AND 12- BOTTLE LOTS

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Seven Years Old. “Affordable” is not a word that’s often associated with Burgundy. With high demand and low supply, Burgundies often fetch prices that elicit eye rolls from casual drinkers. At many domaines, entry prices start at $50 and rise quickly thereafter.

But not all Burgundy requires a second mortgage or a budget reevaluation. With a bit of hunting and willingness to leave the beaten path, fine red Burgundy can be had for less. One of our favorite examples is the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits — a beautiful, rural patchwork of vineyards, meadows, and monasteries just west of the famous Côte d’Or.

And it’s from this often overlooked terroir that Michel Gros makes his excellent entry-level red Burgundy. Today we’re offering our last few cases of his 2008.

Classic Pinot Noir.  Now seven years after harvest, the Michel Gros 2008 Hautes-Côtes de Nuits has matured into an elegant wine. Gros is best known for his more famous wines from Vosne-Romanée, Chambolle Musigny, and the Grand Cru Clos Vougeot. But Gros’s simpler wines offer a glimpse of the elegance and silkiness for which this famous winemaker is known.

The Hautes-Côtes is an unpretentious place, full of dirt roads and crumbling churches, and this wine reflects its humble origin. The nose is red cherry fruit and earth, with faint hints of underbrush and cinnamon. The mouth has smoothed out but not lost its structure, and plays beautifully on the palate with notes of cranberry jam and toast.

Burgundy fans looking for a well-priced red will find much to like here. For those new to the region, this wine provides a look at what all the fuss is about.

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GROS Hautes-Côtes de Nuits 2008
Ansonia Retail: $34
case, half-case: $29/bot

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AVAILABLE IN 6- AND 12- BOTTLE LOTS

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Luck.  Sometimes timing is everything. We managed to land at the doorstep of the Domaine Quivy at the perfect moment, just after his longtime US importer retired. We were looking for a new source for Gevrey-Chambertin and Quivy needed a new distributor. Sources for high-end Burgundy don’t become available very often, and we were hopeful.

After a quick tour of his beautifully maintained 18th century domaine, Gérard Quivy sat us down to taste through his wines. After just a few sips, we knew we had found a gem. Quivy’s wines are much like the buildings of his home: handsome, meticulously made and cared-for, and true to their considerable history. They embody the tradition and elegance for which the finest Burgundies are known.

Cherry Jam.  Quivy makes Gevrey Chambertin at the village, 1er cru, and Grand Cru levels, and we’re excited about all four wines we’ve brought in. We’re beginning today with one of his villages: Gevrey-Chambertin “Journaux” 2012. With such a limited geographical reach, Quivy intimately knows the micro terroirs of Gevrey-Chambertin, and has crafted each of his wines to reflect a slightly different take on the famous town.

Quivy’s Journaux vines were planted in 1947 and 1933, and today turn out wines of impressive depth. The 2012 has an intense nose of earthy, briary raspberry, with lots of ripe cherry fruit. The mouth is young and energetic, with round tannins and an excellent, long structure that should carry it for many years. This a fresh, punchy wine that’s beautifully balanced and has a long future ahead of it.

Patience will be rewarded here, but we fervently enjoyed last night’s bottle, accompanied by skirt steaks and a roaring fireplace. We are thrilled to have found this new source for classic Red Burgundy, and look forward to introducing his other wines over the next few months.

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QUIVY Gevrey-Chambertin “Journaux” 2012
Ansonia Retail: $52
case, half-case: $45/bot

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AVAILABLE IN 6- AND 12- BOTTLE LOTS

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Bottle Aged.  Most wine in the US is opened too young. Blame it on retailers moving inventory or on our age of impatience, but it’s increasingly rare to enjoy a bottle that has been been properly cellared. Which is why we’re always excited to find older vintages still available at French domaines.

We tasted today’s wine last year during a visit to the Domaine Amiot, and brought in a few cases this spring. Amiot’s Morey-St-Denis 1er cru “Millandes” from 07 is not a wine to keep for decades more. But it’s proof of what proper conditions and a bit of patience can achieve — a smoky, woodsy red Burgundy with beautifully softened red fruit.

Premier Cru.  Amiot’s small plot in Millandes (just over an acre) yields only 200 cases a year. But its location (adjoining the Grand Cru Clos St-Denis) and older vines (planted in the 1950s and 60s) make it a gem. Millandes always requires some cellaring to reach its peak, but today we’re in luck: the Amiots have done it for us.

The Millandes 07 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 with foods; the Amiots suggest red meats and affinéed cheeses.

We think a wintery stew would match this wine perfectly, particularly served in an old stone chateau with a roaring fire. If you’re light on castles, the stew will probably suffice.

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AMIOT Morey-St-Denis 1er “Millandes” 07
Ansonia Retail: $70
case, half-case: $62/bot

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AVAILABLE IN 6- AND 12- BOTTLE LOTS

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Passion.  We stumbled upon the Domaine Nicolas Maillet last year during a visit to the Maconnais, and he has turned out to be one of our best finds. 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 extraordinary wines.

During our last visit in June, Maillet loaded us into his rickety jeep and drove us deep into his vines. He earnestly pointed out the subtleties of exposition of his valley, and showed us the evidence of success from the recent flowering. Back at the domaine he explained (with no less passion) his unusual method of fermentation, which involves many strains of indigenous yeast over many months at very cool temperatures.

Maillet doesn’t lack confidence in his techniques, and after a sip of his wine, you won’t either.

Purity. We discovered a new wine from Maillet on this visit — the Macon-Verzé. Readers who remember the Macon-Igé from earlier this year should be very impressed with the Macon-Verzé, which resembles it closely, but shows noticeably more expression in the nose, and perhaps more exotic fruit in the mouth.

We opened this for a tasting last night on the North Shore of Massachusetts, and it was huge hit. The nose is remarkably expressive and lush, showing white flowers, 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 fruit, this is a classic Maconnais, showing beautiful, unadulterated ripe fruit.

As Anthony Hanson once wrote about another of our favorites from the region, all you need with this wine is two glasses and a friend.

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MAILLET Macon-Verzé 2013
Ansonia Retail: $28
case, half-case: $24/bot

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AVAILABLE IN 6- AND 12- BOTTLE LOTS

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À la famille. We recently celebrated our sixth year as a père et fils business, a multigenerational approach that is common in Burgundy. The Belland family in Santenay is a particularly impressive example. Their domaine has operated since 1839, and today Roger and his daughter Julie comprise the 5th and 6th generations. With 176 years of experience, the Bellands know their terroir intimately.

The Bellands have used no herbicides for more than 20 years, and their wines are all careful, pure expressions of their origin. This is not a flashy domaine — there’s a small sign next to the door on the street, and you have to enter their cellar before seeing any of their many winemaking awards. But Clive Coates calls them “one of the best sources in Santenay,” and we agree.

Autumn White Burgundy.  In the past few years we’ve focused on Belland reds, which are bright, punchy, and delicious, with excellent minerality and fruit. But during our visit in June, his lineup of whites stole the show. We struggled to narrow our choice to three, and we’re pleased to introduce the first today — a village level Santenay. (Keep an eye out next month for white Belland 1er crus from Santenay and Chassagne.)

Belland’s Santenay blanc “Comme Dessus” is a beautiful white Burgundy. The nose is floral and pretty, with white flowers and lemon rind. The mouth is particularly intense, with impressive length and excellent tension. Belland employs very little oak, and this wine is about purity, minerality, and fruit. The ample body makes it lovely on its own, but the solid acidity means it will also match well with food.

We’d serve this with a roast chicken on a Sunday afternoon, though if the bottle is opened when the chicken goes into the oven, you may need a second by the time it’s done. We’ll toast you with thanks for another year in the business, and you can toast the Famille Belland.

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BELLAND Santenay “Comme Dessus” 2013
Ansonia Retail: $34
case, half-case: $29/bot

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AVAILABLE IN 6- AND 12- BOTTLE LOTS

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Fermentation.  Most of Burgundy completed the harvest last week, with all signs pointing toward an excellent 2015 vintage. As once tractor-filled streets return to their sleepy normalcy, the excitement and celebration in the air has given way to the sweet, yeasty smell of fermentation.

Most wines go through two fermentations — the alcoholic fermentation, happening now, converts natural sugars into alcohol. The second, the “malolactic” fermentation, converts malic acid (found in apples and tart fruits) into a softer lactic acid (found in milk). The effect effect of the malolactic fermentation is to soften a wine and to thicken its mouthfeel.

“Thickness” can be an attractive quality in white wine, provided it’s not overdone, as it is in many New World wines. The best white Burgundies possess a bright acidity that helps keep them lively and balanced. One of our favorite styles of this thick but balanced white Burgundy comes from the Domaine Ravaut in Ladoix.

Cool Weather White.  The Ravaut family is the ultimate local wine source. A generation ago the Ravauts developed a clientele among the workers in the quarries next door, and today they continue to sell more than half of their wine to local customers. They fly mostly below the radar of the international wine press, and we feel lucky to have found them. (Pictured above is Vincent Ravaut during the 2013 harvest.)

We’ve bought out the Ravauts’ remaining stock of 2012 Bourgogne blanc, and it arrived in our warehouse last week — it’s a delicious wine at an impressive price. With a rich mouthfeel and beautiful balance, this is a wine for gourmands – it’s generous, easy to drink, and pairs beautifully with food. There are faint notes of fennel and coconut, next to the traditional lemon and toast. And the richness makes it a perfect cooler-weather white wine. Try it with a risotto – squash or mushroom are our favorites.

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RAVAUT Bourgogne blanc 2012
Ansonia Retail: $25
case, half-case price: $22/bot

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AVAILABLE IN 6-  AND 12- BOTTLE LOTS

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Email Tom to place an order.

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