Author: Thomas Wilcox

In Burgundy as in real estate, location is everything. Today’s wine comes from a vineyard in Gevrey-Chambertin called “Combottes.” It’s classified Premier Cru but surrounded on all sides by five famous Grand Crus, including Charmes, Latricières, Mazoyères, and Clos de la Roche.

In lesser vintages, Combottes is an excellent wine that doesn’t quite match the depth of its famous Grand Cru neighbors. But as Rajat Parr writes, “in warm, dry vintages… Combottes can be every bit as great as [the Grand Crus], with a grace and suppleness to accompany potent cherry fruit.”

Amiot is Combottes’s second largest owner behind the legendary Dujac, whose Combottes you can pick up on online for around $400/bot. Amiot’s may not match Dujac’s in magnificence or staying power, but in an outstanding year like 2019 and at a quarter of the price, we think the Amiot provides exceptional value.

Burghound loved Amiot’s 2019 Combottes, marking it “outstanding,” finding it “admirably pure” with “excellent volume…appealingly graceful flavors” with a “beguiling texture,” awarding 91-93 points (just one point under Dujac’s 91-94, not that we’re counting).

The nose is dark and sweetly floral, with notes of spice, plum, and earth. The mouth is dense and sappy with a rich, mouthfilling concentration. If the weight is less than a Grand Cru, it is not by much. Very fine-grained tannins come in at the end, and the finish is very long.

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Amiot Gevrey-Chambertin 1er “Combottes” 2019
bottle price: $115
3+ bottle price: $97.75 (use code FRIDAY)

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The Domaine Ravaut is the ultimate local wine source. For over a century the family has cultivated a loyal clientele of friends and locals — our tasting visits are frequently interrupted by neighbors stopping by to stock up their cellars.

The Ravaut’s friendly, humble domaine disguises some sophisticated winemaking – William Kelly of the Wine Advocate finds “characterful wines with plenty of stuffing,” and “plenty to admire.” Their regional-level wines offer terrific value, and with just a few years in the bottle well overperform their billing.

Ravaut’s entry level wines are usually lightweight and pretty — but not in 2019. Abundant sunshine and warmth produced a crop of bold, juicy, delicious reds with lots of intensity and character. It’s dark, sleek, and beautiful with notes of gingerbread, earth, wild cherries, and smoke — all wrapped up in Ravaut’s signature polish. If you’re feeling adventurous, serve with seared tuna; for classicists, go with game or duck or just a simple mushroom toast.

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Ravaut Côte de Nuits-Villages 2019
bottle price: $38

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Châteauneuf-du-Pape is one of the world’s great wine brands – at its best, the wines can rival Burgundy or Bordeaux for complexity and nuance. But our favorite value in the Southern Rhône is Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s neighbor Gigondas. Our source here for several decades has been the Domaine les Goubert.

Vinous calls Goubert “one of the appellations most venerable domaines.” In particular he cites “the 2018 and 2019 versions, the current releases, are superb and in the upper tier of bottlings from those vintages.” Winemaker Florence Cartier has maintained her family domaine’s storied reputation, and the wines are as good as they’ve ever been.

Their 2019 Gigondas “Cuvée Florence” is terrific, and a perfect wine for the chill in the air these days. Vinous’s Josh Raynolds gave 94 points, finding “white pepper, incense, espresso,” and “smoke-laced blackberry compote, kirsch and mocha.” We think this wine has a long life ahead of it, but with a decanter and roast of lamb it will disappear from your table with haste.

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Goubert Gigondas “Florence” 2019
bottle price: $52

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In a few short years Gautier Desvignes has transformed his family’s sleepy, humble domaine into one of the stars of the region. Burgundy’s Côte Chalonnaise sub-region is a dynamic place these days – warmer summers, technological advances, and surging demand have combined to make it a source for terrific wine with excellent pricing.

William Kelley, Burgundy’s top wine writer, calls Gautier one of the “leading lights” of the Côte Chalonnaise, citing recent improvements in both the vineyard and cellar. Kelley calls the wines “elegant” and “sumptuous,” and given the string of terrific vintages Gautier has turned in over the last half-decade, we wholeheartedly agree.

Gautier’s village-level Givry is among the best values in our cellar, but his premier crus are well worthy of their increased prestige. Desvignes premier cru “Grand Berge” vines lie just in back of the domaine, and the wine is particularly expressive this year. The nose shows raspberries and pepper with forest floor and violets. The mouth is sleek and medium weight, with layers of fruit neatly packed over a long, precise profile. We expect this to drink well for 5+ years, but will be hard to put down by Christmas.

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Desvignes Givry 1er “Grand Berge” 2021
bottle price: $38

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Bordeaux is best known for its Grands Vins, the famous chateaux whose pricey wines improve for decades. But the varied terroirs of Bordeaux also produce some terrific “petit vins,” which share the same soils and grapes, but are more accessible for both the palate and the pocket.

Fleuron de Liot is a tiny, Burgundy-sized domaine run by the Negrier family. Their Saint-Estèphe is 50/50 Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, a humble, traditional, simply delicious Left-Bank Bordeaux. It doesn’t carry the prestige or airworthiness of Cos d’Estournel or Montrose, but that’s not its game.

The 2018 Fleuron de Liot is awfully tasty these days – with notes of plums, tobacco, pencil shavings, and gravel in the nose, the mouth remains sturdy and juicy, perfect for a weeknight plate of steak frites.

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Fleuron de Liot Saint-Estèphe 2018
bottle price: $32

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Chardonnay in Burgundy is capable of extraordinary complexity and regal sophistication – at its best white Burgundy can outshine reds of a similar caliber. But the region also produces humble, delicious expressions of the grape; more tasty than tremendous.

And in the hands of a brilliant producer and a top vintage, even humble appellations can produce excellence. Today’s wine is proof: a 2020 Pouilly-Loché from Sebastien Giroux. This young, talented winemaker with a few tiny plots of vines in and around Pouilly-Fuissé. His low- or no-oak Chardonnays burst with density, minerality and length.

From a tiny appellation and a near-perfect Maconnais vintage, the 2020 Pouilly-Loché is a hidden treasure. The nose is clean and refined with notes of white flowers, citrus peel and almond. The mouth is silky and beautiful with perfectly balanced acidity amid notes of yellow fruit, ginger, and tangerine.

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Giroux Pouilly-Loché 2020
bottle price: $29

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Chablis continues to provide exceptional value white Burgundy. Recent warmer vintages have produced Chablis with an unusual level of texture and richness – less fresh, more flesh. But in 2021, a cooler, wetter growing season led to brisk, more classical Chablis.

Romain Collet’s 2021s are terrific, pulsing with crisp minerality and beautiful tension. Romain raises his “Forêts” cuvée in cement eggs to give it a bit of extra weight from time on the lees, and the resulting texture is a perfect balance between depth and zip. We found notes of lemon peel, oyster shell, yellow fruit and salt air.

Burghound loved this cuvée, awarding 90-93 points and finding “white peach, sea breeze… fine volume…powerful, even muscular, medium-weight flavors that flash ample minerality.” This is delicious, dynamic, and (we think) a real bargain – we just wish there were more to go around. Quantities limited.

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Collet Chablis 1er “Forêts” 2021
bottle price: $38

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Picamelot is among Burgundy’s finest crémant houses. The Wine Advocate’s resident Champagne expert William Kelley writes that “Picamelot produces some of the best sparkling wines in Burgundy,” and calls their wines “elegant,” “excellent,” and “superb.”

Their wiens are priced to serve early and often – a perfect weeknight pairing for almost any food. Picamelot’s Brut “Les Terroirs” is their blend of Burgundy’s three grapes: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Aligoté. It spends nine months on the lees, and was disgorged earlier this year.

This nose is clean and elegant, with notes of almond, pineapple, and cream. The mouth is very dry, quite lively, and crisply refreshing, with apple fruit and a long vinous finish. With this in your cellar, you’ll need no excuse at all to serve bubbles.

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Picamelot Crémant “Terroirs” Brut NV
bottle price: $22

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Chambolle Musigny’s famous terroirs are the Grand Crus Musigny and Bonnes-Mares, and Premier Cru Amoureuses. All three fetch prices north of $500/bot, and are among the jewels of many serious collectors’ cellars.

But the undisputed fourth-best terroir in the town is Les Fuées, a premier cru immediately next to Bonnes-Mares. And it’s here that today’s wine originates. Our Chambolle source is the Domaine Boursot, which farms 75+ year old vines in Fuées – and the wine they produce is exceptional. It’s not cheap, but next to the top three it’s a bargain.

(We usually don’t use the words “fourth-best” to sell readers on a wine, but this is Chambolle, so even 24th-best would be special.)

Boursot’s 2019 Fuées marries power and grace in a way only a Chambolle vineyard can. Vinous’s Neal Martin awarded 93 points, finding it “refined’ and “supple.” The nose is dark and brooding, with cassis, violets, and gingerbread. The mouth is huge and intense, and yet elegant and silky in a way only Chambolle can be.

Mugnier’s Chambolle Fuées goes for $900/bot, and we’re certainly not saying Boursot’s would win in a prizefight. But pound for pound, at around a tenth the price, it more than holds its own.

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Boursot Chambolle-Musigny 1er “Fuées” 2019
bottle price: $129
3+ bottle price: $109.65 (use code FRIDAY)

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Winemaker Frederic Michot is as energetic as his wines: pure Sauvignon blanc, no oak, clean and crisp. Michot’s side of the river – Pouilly-Fumé – may be less famous than his neighbor Sancerre, but he isn’t willing to concede it any advantage.

Michot’s humble wines have quietly become some of our best sellers, and we’re pleased to restock today after selling out several months ago. His old-vine cuvée refreshing, unoaked, mouthfilling and utterly delicious – the 2022 is ripe and lush with terrific tension and bursting mouthfeel. There’s lots of inexpensive Sauvignon Blanc around — most of it doesn’t hold a candle to this wine.

The nose shows mango, grapefruit rind, and straw; the mouth shows ripe grapefruit, lime rind, and honey. The wine is at once mouthfilling and electric, with the persistence of richness and stony freshness found in a perfectly balanced Sancerre. Serve with goat cheese.

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Michot Pouilly-Fumé VV 2022
bottle price: $22

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Lancelot-Royer was one of our most exciting discoveries last year. Michel Chauvet and his son run this tiny house in Cramant, producing exquisite small-batch grower Champagne. All of their wines come from grapes they grow themselves, and their vineyards are 100% Chardonnay from exclusively Grand Cru plots. Everything here is done by hand, from harvesting and riddling to disgorging, dosing and labeling.

And the wine is as tasty as you’d expect from such an operation – we’ve just restocked on their popular “Cuvée des Chevaliers,” a non-vintage Brut that we think far outperforms its pricetag. After spending four years on the lees in the Chauvets’ 50 degree chalk cellars, they disgorged it for us earlier this year.

Champagnes from the Côtes des Blancs are known for their elegance and chiseled focus, and this cuvée does not disappoint. It’s rich and toasty, with a lovely nose of pear, apple and buttery croissants. The mouth is crisp and delicious with plenty of richness amid the energetic freshness. If you’ve got any entertaining in the next two months, this is a no brainer.

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Lancelot-Royer Champagne Grand Cru
“Chevaliers” Brut NV
bottle price: $58

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Our July shipment arrived last week, just in time for the arrival of autumn. It features crisp Chablis, earthy Burgundys, and, most perfectly of all, fresh, bursting Gamay from the Beaujolais. We’ve compiled a new collection of our autumn favorites, but to us, no other wine matches the crisp chill in the air quite like Beaujolais.

Winemakers Guillaume Goujon and Sebastien Dupré are redefining what’s possible from their humble terroir. Their vines, located in the Côte de Brouilly, share the earth with an impressive array of herbs, flowers, grasses, and wildlife – all in the name of fostering biodiversity and soil health. Ambient yeasts and a long patient elevage deliver honest, vibrant red wine that’s hard to put down.

The aromatics in Dupre-Goujon’s wines are as pure and delicate as we’ve ever found from gamay. Each cuvée has its own identity, but all share a remarkable purity of fruit. William Kelley agreed with our enthusiasm, calling the wines “supple and charming” and labeling it “an estate to watch.”

Their just-arrived 2022 Côte de Brouilly “Démarrante” is exactly what you want for an autumn red – juicy, earthy and stony, with lush red plum fruit, perfectly balanced tannin, and a crackling, mouthwatering, vibrant (12.5% alc) texture on the palate. Pour it with everything from tailgates to turkey to tomato soup.

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Dupré-Goujon Côte de Brouilly “Démarrante” 2022
bottle price: $29

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The 2021 Red Burgundies have a reputation as inconsistent and tricky, but someone forgot to tell Gautier Desvignes. Burgundy’s leading wine critic William Kelley calls him “a leading light in the Côte Chalonnaise,” and he’s navigated an extremely difficult vintage with skill and precision. His lineup of 2021 Givrys is outstanding top to bottom – they’re not delicious “for the vintage,’ they’re objectively excellent on their own.

William Kelley credits the improvements in Gautier’s wines to the use of manure for fertilizer, a more careful oak regime, lighter filtration, and longer elevage. Wherever combination of variables is the one making the difference, the advances in quality are obvious. Gautier’s prices have yet to catch up, making his wines some of the best value red Burgundies we know.

The Desvignes 2021s arrived this week, and the village level Givry is open, supple, and simply lovely. Gautier dialed back the extraction for this cuvée, and it perfectly matches the intensity of the fruit. The nose is red fruited with cherries and raspberries alongside dried violets and spice; the mouth is delicate and silky with mid-to-low tannin and an easy finish.

Tasting at the domaine this spring, this cuvée is immediately called to our minds his terrific 2017 village-level Givry, a wine known to evaporate from the dinner table with shocking ease. This was the first bottle we opened after receiving a shipment this week, and one taste confirmed our initial enthusiasm – no patience required, just a few glasses and a few friends. If accessible red Burgundy is on your shopping list, grab this and cross it off.

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Desvignes Givry 2021
bottle price: $35

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Philippe Cheron has been making wine in Burgundy his entire life, but his Domaine du Couvent is only a few years old. In a region where many domaines stretch back centuries, it’s unusual to see a “newcomer.” But Cheron is hardly a novice, and after one taste of his wine, his skill is obvious. Burghound calls Couvent “a domaine to watch going forward;” Neal Martin writes “definitely a grower that I will keep an eye on.”

Our first few vintages with Cheron have been impressive indeed. He’s navigated years both scorching hot and rainy/cold – 2020 and 2021 respectively – with consistency and style. He farms an envious series of village and premier cru plots in Nuits, Vosne, Chambolle, and Gevrey. But the wines at the top of his lineup are worthy of their acclaim, and none moreso than his Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru.

Neal Martin calls Cheron’s Clos Vougeot “splendid” and writes that it “whisks you directly to that famed vineyard.” The plot is a nostalgic one for Cheron – his grandfather purchased the vines from Comte Ligier Belair in the 1930s, and he told us fondly of enjoying bottles with his father on Sunday afternoons in his childhood. From a vineyard too large to deliver consistent excellent, Cheron’s is as good an example as we know.

Burghound and Jasper Morris both awarded 92-95 points, with Burghound finding a complex aromatic profile: “Ripe and fresh aromas of red and black cherry, plum and earth display a top note of kirsch” with “outstanding power.” This isn’t exactly a Tuesday wine or a tomorrow wine, but given a bit of patience we expect extraordinary things.

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Couvent Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru 2020
bottle price: $235

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Aside from Champagne, Chablis is perhaps the most versatile food-pairing wine in our cellar. It’s fresh, crisp, dry, and lively – perfect for a wide range of foods, or for nothing at all. Seafood in particular is a perfect match, and we serve Chablis with everything from linguine with clams to grilled halibut to bouillabaisse.

Our two Chablis producers make excellent, ageworthy premier and grand crus, but their entry level wines are just as good for the price. Today we’re suggesting Cyril Gautheron’s old-vine Chablis, a wine we think well overperforms its humble billing. We loved this wine and stocked our cellar enthusiastically – turns out we weren’t the only ones to notice.

Writing last week in Vinous, Neal Martin heaped praises on this wine, finding a nose of “crushed stone and pressed white flowers” and “citrus peel, orange rind, fine weight and quite a cohesive finish.” He concluded “there is a breeze quality to this Chablis that is very appealing. Worth seeking out.”

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Gautheron Chablis VV 2021
bottle price:$32

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