Author: Thomas Wilcox

St-Aubin may not be the secret source for white Burgundy it once was, but it’s not because of the quality. Soaring prices for Burgundy from its famous neighboring towns of Puligny, Chassagne, and Meursault mean that the spillover demand has nudged prices for St-Aubin well. But the quality has more than kept pace, and despite the demise of its anonymity, it’s still a source for exceptional value.

Most of the vineyards in St-Aubin are rockier and at a higher elevation than those in Meursault, Chassagne and Puligny. In an ever-warming climate this gives its winemakers an advantage in the perennial race to find freshness. Our source here, the Domaine Gérard Thomas, has performed magnificently over the past few sunny vintages — their wines are always fresh, clean, and full of energy.

Many readers know Thomas’s terrific 2020 Bourgogne blanc, an excellent everyday value in white Burgundy. Today we’re featuring their 2020 village-level St-Aubin, a considerable upgrade from the Bourgogne and a real bargain under $40. The 2020 is the best vintage we have seen of this wine.

The nose offers a lovely blend of toast and fruit. In the mouth there is plenty of energy, with a touch of grape skin and Puligny-like supporting acidity front and center; which then melts into something rounder and more complex. The balance is excellent, and there is very good persistence and a complex finale. This is first-rate Champ Tirant, resembling a premier cru more than a village wine.

Serve with roast chicken stuffed with lemon, garlic, and thyme.

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Thomas St-Aubin 2020
bottle price: $39

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The 2019 vintage is a terrific red Burgundy vintage, producing wines with extraordinary balance between ripe fruit, acidity, and tannin. As Neal Martin puts it, “they unexpectedly offer freshness and richness that were once thought to be mutually exclusive.”

Roger and Julie Belland are 5th and 6th generation growers in Santenay — their wines are perennial favorites among our readers, offering early drinking and friendly pricetags. Belland’s are always delicious and precocious, but in 2019s they’re even better than usual.

Located near the southern limit of the Côte d’Or, Santenay is one of our favorite sources of value. Beauregard is among the best vineyards in the appellation, located near the northern border with Chassagne. The 2019 Beauregard is simply beautiful these days, and we’re thrilled to have several cases left.

The nose is floral and easygoing, with notes of dry cherries, nutmeg, and earth. The texture is perfect – gorgeous, mouthfilling fruit with excellent clarity and depth. Burghound called it “delicious, plump and juicy,” and we can’t think of a better description.

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Belland Santenay 1er “Beauregard” 2019
bottle price: $45

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The Côtes des Bar and Chablis have a lot in common. They’re both satellite appellations of their respective areas (Champagne and Burgundy), and both produce wines of a slightly different style than their parent region. Chablis is a steelier, stonier, less-oaked version of Burgundy; the Côtes des Bar is a more Pinot Noir-focused Champagne, from more clay-rich soils. And though historically both have suffered a bit from their location off center stage, these days they’re both enjoying a moment in the spotlight.

We’ve got exciting new Chablis coming in May Futures next month, but today we’re focused on Champagne. Our producer in the Côtes des Bar is the Domaine Jacques Robin. The soils of this region are the same Kimmeridgian mixture as nearby Chablis — a blend of chalk, limestone, and clay, rather than the chalk-limestone of the rest of Champagne. The addition of clay gives the wines a broader mouthfeel than those from northern Champagne.

In short, Robin’s wines are delicious, user-friendly, and startlingly well-priced.

Robin’s Secret de Sorbée is pure Pinot Noir non-vintage Champagne, and majority of the current release is from the 2016 and 2017 vintages. The current release is as beautiful as always, and maybe more so. The nose is deep and delicious, with loads of depth and earthy richness. The barrel aging is apparent, resulting in toasty notes with fruit.

Look for notes of raspberry jam alongside buttered toast and violets. The mouth is plush and palate-coating, showing plum, butter, and minerals. It’s a perfect aperitif wine, round and delicious on its own; but also will work with your trickiest food parings. Whenever we open this wine, we promptly run out.

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Robin Secret de Sorbée NV
bottle price: $49

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Last week’s visit to Sebastien Giroux in Pouilly-Fuissé was a masterclass in deliberate, exquisite winemaking. Gone are the days of Pouilly-Fuissé meaning a glass of buttered popcorn and cream – Giroux’s wines are barely-oaked, sleek, chiseled, and pulsating with energy. They’re easily the most exciting new white Burgundies in our portfolio.

Giroux is a small scale winemaking with just 6 hectares of vines – they’re very much handmade, and obsessed over by a brilliant and focused winemaker. William Kelley discovered him last year, calling the wines “supple, pure, and charming.” They may be an hour south from Puligny and Chassagne, but we think pound for pound they’re easily as good, and probably better value.

The excellent 2020s will be included in next month’s May Futures, but we invite you to try out our current stock.

Pouilly-Fuissé “Raidillons” 2019 comes from limestone soils situated over marl. The wine spent about six months in barrels, followed by six months en cuve. The result is modern, expressive, simply gorgeous white Burgundy. The nose is a prototypical Maconnais: golden fruits, a whisper of oak, and a pleasant stony freshness. The mouth is concentrated and smooth, with a dollop of sucrocité on the attack, and a clean, focused, energetic finish.

For those familiar, picture a Thomas Morey Chassagne in a sunnier climate. William Kelley praised the 2019 Raidillons as “rich and layered,” “[u]nwinding in the glass with notes of pear and white flowers” and gave 90-92 points. There is a terrific mix of fruit and minerals here, offered in a racy style – thick texture but with excellent focus.

This spring’s visit confirmed last year’s discovery – Giroux is a real find, and, for now, still available.

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Giroux Pouilly-Fuissé “Radillons” 2019
bottle price: $35

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On Tuesday we spent the day tasting in the Côte de Nuits, sampling wines from Nuits, Vosne, Chambolle, Morey-St-Denis, Gevrey, and more. We’re no terroir skeptics, but it was a stark reminder of the unmistakable power of terroir. Across various producers and vintages, the appellation and villages shone through as clear as day.

Vosne-Romanée is the most famous of these towns, and its terroir produces some of the most subtle and nuanced wines in the world. But it’s not a monolith – each plot in the tiny appellation has its own identity. Today we’re thrilled to introduce a new wine to the portfolio, a village-level Vosne-Romanée from an exceptionally well located vineyard.

“Les Barreaux” lies atop the slope in Vosne, adjoining the Grand Cru Richebourgs and the Premier Crus Aux Brûlées and Henri Jayer’s famous “Clos Parantoux.” The view is spectacular, but the wine is somehow even better.

It’s one of the only north-facing slopes in Vosne-Romanée, a location that tends to produce middleweight, elegant wines. But in 2020, a year of unprecedented heat and dryness, with balance is exquisite.

This wine blew us away in our tasting last year – impossibly fine and delicate, but with density and length. The shallow limestone soil and unusual exposition balance the extreme ripeness of the vintage, and the resulting wine is a masterpiece. Having tasted it after its arrival in the States, we’re pleased to report our initial high expectations were well founded.

Jasper Morris MW had a similar reaction – he gave it 5/5 stars and awarded it 93-95 points, finding “vibrant deep red fruit” and “very good acidity as well.” it “really quite a striking Vosne-Romanée,” with “superb length.” We agree – for anyone with a taste for the magic of Vosne, this is not a wine to be missed.

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Couvent Vosne-Romanée “Barreaux” 2020
bottle price: $99

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We first visited the Domaine Dupré-Goujon last spring, and were delighted to return this past Thursday. Winemakers Guillaume Goujon and Sebastien Dupré are redefining what’s possible from the Beaujolais. 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.

This week’s visit confirmed our impressions and the reactions of readers who took a flier last year: this is Beaujolais on another level. The aromatics were 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.”

We’re excited to offer the new vintage in July Futures this year, but invite you to try out their “Démarrante,” already in stock in Newton.

The Dupré Goujon team aren’t trying to make a mountain from a molehill – they don’t see $300 Grand Cru Beaujolais in their future. But they’ve correctly identified there’s way more complexity and interest to be squeezed from the underrated gamay varietal. With ambient yeasts, biodynamic principles, and an unusually long elevage, they’re crafting honest, surprising, and beautiful red wines.

La Démarrante 2021 (“the starter”) is just that – an excellent entrée to the lineup. Goujon described it as something you’d find in a “bar à vin,” a refreshing, juicy, Beaujolais embodying the region’s jubilant spirit. It’s fruit-forward and lovely with bright red plums in the nose alongside hints of chalk and spice. The mouth is smooth and easy with low tannin and a clean, refreshing finish.

Enjoy this as Spring arrives.

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Dupré-Goujon Côte de Brouilly
“Démarrante” 2021
bottle price: $25

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Friday we spent the morning tasting in the Maconnais. This sub-region at Burgundy’s southern end is impossibly picturesque – quaint stone farmhouses and Charolais cattle dot a rolling countryside that lazily switches between lush green pastures and fields of vines. The wines coming from this region have never been better, and we’re thrilled to have expanded our portfolio here in the last few years.

One shining star form this region is a family in Viré-Clessé firmly to organic and biodynamic principles since before it was trendy. We discovered these folks decades ago when we lived in the area, bought this wine enthusiastically for many years on behalf of friends and family. A national US importer limited our distribution of their wine, and about a decade ago we stopped importing it – but have missed it ever since.

Today we’re delighted that we are now able to offer the results of this superb winemaking under a private label: “Forces Telluriques.” The excellent 2021 will be out in a Futures offer later this year; but the current vintage 2020 in our stock is outstanding.

In recent years the domaine has won praise from today’s top writers. The Wine Advocate’s William Kelley writes of the wine’s “remarkable concentration and energy.” Jasper Morris MW calls them “brilliant…  refined, pure, complex, lush.” Raised exclusively en cuve (no oak), it’s an exquisite expression of pure chardonnay.

The 2020 Forces Tellurique Viré-Clessé’s nose is extraordinary, hitting high notes and low notes simultaneously in a symphony of fruit and earth. We find notes yellow orchard fruit and notes of tangerine and honey. The mouth is expansive and rich, but with pulsating energy and exquisite balance, with a finish that would outlast many a Meursault.

Reviewing the 2020 under its primary label, Kelley awarded 93+ points, calling it “another terrific wine from this address,” and finding “white flowers, crisp melon and orchard fruit,” with “satiny and layered palate that’s racy and precise.” Jasper Morris MW was similarly impressed, predicting the 2020 might “join the very top vintages of the domaine.”

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Forces Telluriques Viré-Clessé 2020
bottle price: $35

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Yesterday we spent the morning with Jean-Pierre Cartier, visiting his vines in the steep hills above Gigondas. After climbing the (at times terrifyingly) steep slope up out of town, we visited the parcels from which Cartier crafts his most impressive wine: the Cuvée Florence. It was a reminder of just how physical the work of winemaking can be: a beautiful product of intense and grueling work.

The Cartiers reserve the fruit from these special plots for their “Cuvée Florence,” the flagship wine of their domaine, started 35 years ago after the birth of their daughter Florence (now the winemaker). The wine from this gorgeous and remote corner of the region is easily as impressive as the view. It’s delicious year in and year out, but the 2019 is particularly good.

Josh Raynolds of 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.” We had this open at the warehouse last week and it was terrific – lush, bold, and built for the long haul.

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 Easter table with haste.

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Goubert Gigondas “Florence” 2019
bottle price: $52

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We arrived yesterday in the Southern Rhône, where it’s beautiful — dry, mid-60s and sunny with that clear provencal blue sky. As usual, we began our tastings with Christophe Mestre, whose domaine is in the heart of the town of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Mestre and his wife are from old Châteauneuf du Pape families, and their vines are in plots scattered across the town’s remarkably diverse terroir – galets roulés, sand, and clay-limestone.

The Mestres are traditionalists, making a single red cuvée from all their terroirs, seeking an expression of the appellation as a whole. The 2020 is terrific (look for it in May Futures), but in the meantime we’re suggesting the excellent 2019 that’s back home. Mestre tasted us through eight vintages of his single red, and the 2019 stood out for its intensity and concentratino.

Mestre’s 2019 Châteauneuf-du-Pape is intense and powerful, and a ready candidate for back of the cellar. It’s a blend of 50% grenache, 25% mourvèdre, 20% syrah, and 5% cinsault. The nose explodes with ripe strawberry fruit and a pleasant cool earthiness. The Wine Advocate’s reviewer gave 92 points, finding it “full-bodied and supple, with a long, harmonious finish.”

Despite a blistering hot year, Christophe managed to build tannins behind the fruit beautifully, and this wine is well defined and not the least bit flabby. The mouth is rich and ripe, with remarkable intensity and length for its price — plenty of support for the lush, dripping fruit. A real bargain for the vintage and town.

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Mestre Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2019
bottle price: $35

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On Wednesday we spent the day tasting in along the sleep slopes of the Northern Rhône Valley. Beginning in Crozes-Hermitage in the south, we crossed the river to Cornas, and then worked our way up through Saint-Joseph and Condrieu before arriving in the northernmost appellation, Côte Rôtie.

Sometimes the last tasting of the day is a drag. By the time we got to Christophe and Léa Bonnefond we’d tasted well over 50 wines — many of them barely-fermented syrah from barrel, and our palates were tired. But tasting at Bonnefond is never anything short of a delight. Their Côte Rôties set the bar for the subtlety and elegance possible from the grape.

We tasted their lithe, elegant 2021s from bottle, and their lush, exuberant 2022s from barrel — but the 2020s are already back at home in our warehouse.

Syrah simply doesn’t get any better than this. From a plot bordering the famous La Landonne, the Bonnefond brothers produce only 125 cases of their Côte Rozier per year. Think of a flabby, high-alcohol, warm weather shiraz — this is its opposite. Vinous’s Josh Raynolds awarded 96 points, finding “very good depth as well as energy,” with a “wonderfully long” finish.

We found a dark perfumed nose of violets, cloves, and black raspberries. The mouth is inky and long with sturdy tannins but an unmistakable elegance — the texture is dense and very fine. On the palate there’s cherry jam, black pepper, and a hint of smoke. Picture the subtle elegance of a fine red Burgundy, with the dark fruit and spice profile of something further south.

The only problem with these wines is their scarcity — it was the first vintage in recent memory we didn’t get our full request. Act fast, then drink slow.

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Bonnefond Côte Rôtie “Rozier” 2020
bottle price: $78

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Winemaker Frederic Michot is as brisk and energetic as his wines: pure Sauvignon blanc, no oak, clean and crisp. Michot’s side of the river may be less famous than his neighbor Sancerre, but he isn’t willing to concede it any advantage. His wines are exceptional Sauvignon blancs, full of precision, focus, clean dry fruit, and beautiful tension.

Sancerre deserves its fame and acclaim – and we’ve got some great options in the March Futures that ends Sunday – but Pouilly-Fumé is its scrappy underdog cousin, with just as much to offer, and at a better price.

Michot’s Pouilly-Fumé Vieilles Vignes is refreshing, unoaked, mouthfilling and utterly delicious. His 2021 old vine cuvée is terrific and extremely well priced. Michot combines a ripe, sunny vintage with bursting tension underneath the gorgeous fruit. There’s lots of inexpensive Sauvignon Blanc around — most of it isn’t half this good.

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 freshness found in finest Sancerre.

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Michot Pouilly-Fumé VV 2021
bottle price: $22

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France’s Jura region sits only 50 miles east of Burgundy, but in winemaking terms it’s a world away. The Jura is best known for its light reds and idiosyncratic whites, many of which are purposefully oxidized before bottling. We find these unusual white wines delicious, but admit they’re not to everyone’s taste.

But we’re pretty sure anyone with a taste for white Burgundy will enjoy this new cuvée from Hervé Ligier, our Jura producer. Ligier’s “Cuvée des Poêtes” is pure Savagnin, the same grape as the region’s famous Vin Jaune. But unlike Vin Jaune, this is Savagnin “ouillé,” which literally transaltes to “topped-up.” Instead of allowing the wine to evaporate and the yeast to form over the top of the liquid as in the oxidative wines, winemakers continually refill the barrel to prevent oxidation.

The resulting wine shows all the delicious characteristics of the Savagnin varietal, but with none of the unusual nutty, sherry-like notes of an oxidized “sous-voile.” The nose is bright and a bit earthy, with notes of herbs and yellow apples. The mouth shows a delightful array of spices and fruits – pear, white pepper, chalk, grapeskin.

Picture a classic Bourgogne blanc: add a splash of chalk and herbs and a longer, sturdier shape – and then, given recent Bourgogne pricing, cut the price by a third – and you’ll have this wine. The texture is at once waxy and vibrant with lovely richness and great tension. This matches beautifully with sushi, or as a glass on its own before the meal.

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Ligier Côtes de Jura blanc “Cuvée des Poêts” 2019
bottle price: $25

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Chenin blanc has an enormous range of expression. It can be anywhere from bone dry to very sweet depending on vintage, terroir, and winemaker. Vouvray is the original source for Chenin Blanc, but the surrounding towns in the central Loire Valley produce excellent examples as well.

Several years ago we spent a few days in the Loire searching for a new source for Chenin Blanc. We enjoy the sweet stuff from time to time, but our main goal was to find a dry, refreshing, unoaked, affordable Chenin. Today’s wine is the result of that search, and it’s become one of our most popular bottles of white from anywhere.

Nicolas Paget is an energetic and impassioned young winemaker in Touraine-Azay le Rideau (a neighbor to Vouvray). Like much Loire wine today, Paget’s wines are organic and low-intervention in style. They’re aromatically expressive and beautifully balanced — lush exotic fruit presented in a clean, fresh package.

Paget’s 2020 Melodie is lovely, with an almost Chablisien array of grapeskin and minerals — clean, pure and delightful. The nose is floral and dry, with faint pear notes and a hint of apple. Even in a warm year Paget has managed to craft a refreshing cuvée — at 13% alcohol it’s beautifully balanced, and a refreshing break from the palate-coating wines that dominate the market these days. Serve with fresh goat cheese on crusty bread, or with asparagus on Easter Sunday.

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Paget Chenin Blanc “Melodie” 2020
bottle price: $19

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Vines have covered the steep hillsides of the Rhône river for over 2000 years. Sprouting from vertiginous granite slopes, gnarled syrah vines bake in the summer sun and produce intense, concentrated juice that becomes deep and unmistakable red wine.

Much like white Burgundy’s signature “weight without heaviness,” the reds of the Northern Rhône are at once intense and lively. Grown at its northern ripening limit, Syrah produces intense meaty flavors with unusual lift and balance. Picture a soaring violin solo amid a brooding Tchaikovsky concerto.

Denis Basset is a young winemaker based in Crozes-Hermitage, recently listed by Decanter and the Guide Hachette in describing a dynamic new generation of Crozes-Hermitage winemakers. His plot in Saint-Joseph covers only an acre, and bears the name Abimes de l’Enfer (the “Abyss of Hell”) for its plunging slope.

Basset’s 2020 Saint-Joseph is intense and beautiful. The nose shows spices, violets and intense black pepper; the mouth shows blackberry jam with notes of roasted meat and licorice. This intense wine remains low in alcohol, so while it’s mouthfilling and chewy, there’s not a bit of heaviness.

The 2020 vintage produced particularly elegant wines full of freshness and delicate complexity. Pair this with lamb burgers and let the wine breathe a while.

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Saint Clair St-Joseph 2020
bottle price: $32

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One of our favorite finds in recent years is the tiny Champagne producer Jacques Robin. They’re a small family outfit located in the Côtes des Bar, a sub-region of Champagne located near Chablis and known for its Pinot Noir-heavy cuvées. It’s an up-and-coming region these days, and one taste of this wine will explain why.

Robin’s cuvées are terroir-driven wines, not mass-produced fizz. They’re humble, complex, and delicious. Today’s cuvée is 100% Pinot Noir, grown in soils with a higher percentage of clay than the more famous corners of Champagne. The resulting wines sport a broader, richer palate, and a delightfully refreshing finish.

Robin’s non-vintage cuvée is called Secret de Sorbée, pure Pinot Noir from a single terroir. It’s fermented partially in barrel and left on the lees for over two years. In the glass this wine is toasty and fresh with lovely apple fruit and floral notes. The Guide Hachette awarded a star, and called it “at once round and tart,” with a “pleasant, intense fruit expression.”

At a bottle price under $50, this is true grower Champagne that won’t break the bank. The French require much less of an excuse to open Champagne than Americans — the start of a weeknight dinner is often enough. Keep a bottle or two of this in your fridge for the next time you feel particularly français.

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Robin Champagne “Secret de Sorbée” NV
bottle price: $49

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