Author: Thomas Wilcox

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[Advance Order] Intense New 2020 Red Burgundy from Chambolle. $250/case

One of our most exciting recent finds in Burgundy has been the Domaine Boursot in Chambolle-Musigny. They’re new to our portfolio but hardly new to the region, having started making wine there in 1550. Still, we feel as though we’ve gotten in on the ground floor – a new generation has taken the family’s unrivaled terroir in an exciting, modernized direction.

The wine world has started to take note – during our visit in April this year M. Boursot explained they had begun to turn away customers for lack of stock. Neal Martin calls their wines “superb” and “very fine,” and writes of a “foundation for a promising future.” The Boursot brothers have a brand new cuverie, and have begun to use amphora for elevage so as not to rely on wood.

Boursot’s entire lineup of excellent 2020s reds from Chambolle-Musigny will be in the July Futures, out next week. But we’re highlighting their Bourgogne rouge today.

Boursot’s regional-level Bourgogne vines are near Chambolle-Musigny and Vosne-Romanée, and the humble wine’s elegance echoes the famous earth from which it comes. Grand Cru Musigny this is not, but it boasts unusually finessed tannin and shape for its classification. Everything in 2020 is supremely concentrated (Boursot’s yields were 50% of normal), with excellent balance and classic pinot fruit but almost syrah-like color and intensity. Today’s Bourgogne is no exception.

We found a nose of bright fresh strawberries, with notes of violets and honeysuckle. The mouth is precise and clean, with an excellent chalky tension cutting through the abundant material. Neal Martin called it “a commendable regional red,” finding “a spring in its step…crunchy red berry fruit…and a chalky textured finish.”

Not much costs the same as it did a year ago, but thanks to an unusually favorable exchange rate the price on this wine hasn’t moved since 2019. Available by the case and half case; quantities limited, first come first served. If there’s any left we’ll include it in July Futures.

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Boursot Bourgogne 2020

Ansonia Retail: $336
July Futures: $250/case

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Joyful, Refreshing Natural Grenache for a Summer Evening. $22

Some wines we import are serious and ageworthy, requiring patience and investment to achieve their potential. Others are less complicated – simple, single-note wines that are inexpensive and easy to enjoy. We think both genres have their moment, and always like to have some of each at the ready.

Today’s wine is firmly in the second camp – indeed the best word to describe it might be “fun.” Jean-Louis Tribouley is a hardworking winemaker crafting wines that require no work at all. He practices organic farming, biodynamics, and low intervention. His property is high in the hills of the Roussillon, a remote winemaking area near France’s border with Spain.

Tribouley’s cuvées are delicious, wild, natural, and beautifully balanced – perfect for a sunny July afternoon.

Tribouley’s simplest (and probably most pleasant) wine is “Copines,” a blend of 70% Grenache, 20% Syrah, and 10% Carignan. The Grenache dominates this wine – an explosion of wild strawberry jam bursts from the glass. The mouth is lightweight and refreshing, with a pleasant natural funkiness alongside the pure smooth fruit.

Grenache is capable of profound richness and complexity (see Châteauneuf-du-Pape), but also of light-bodied freshness (see today’s wine). Serve this wine as you might a rosé – as an aperitif, or with cheese and crackers on the front steps on a warm summer evening.

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Tribouley Copines 2020
bottle price: $22

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Gorgeous “Terrific” New Organic White Burgundy. $28

The Maconnais has long been one of our favorite sources for white Burgundy. This southern sub-region produces wines with an often friendlier character than those of the famous Côte d’Or to the north. Maconnais whites typically have low or no oak, they’re more affordable, and require less cellaring.

Our source here (soon to be one of two) is Nicolas Maillet, an energetic, friendly winemaker bursting with enthusiasm for his craft. In his updated edition of “Inside Burgundy,” Jasper Morris MW calls Maillet “an excellent winemaker;” William Kelley calls his wines “elegantly textural and enveloping…pure and precise” with “immediate charm.”

We’ve been enjoying Maillet’s 2019 Macon-Villages for a year now, and are thrilled at last to have his other cuvée in stock from this superb vintage. The 2019 Macon-Verzé is simply delicious, bursting with pure, vibrant unoaked Chardonnay fruit. Its 50-year-old vines produce a concentrated wine that explodes from the glass with notes of pear, tangerine, wild honey, herbs and chalk. There’s excellent freshness following a smooth, intense, fruit-filled attack.

William Kelley found it “bright and precise” with a “gently honeyed finish,” awarding 90 points and concluding “it’s a terrific value.” We think this is an extraordinary amount of wine packed into a $30 bottle, and predict it will delight serious and casual wine drinkers alike. Pour with comté on crackers.

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Maillet Macon-Verzé 2019
bottle price: $28

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“Simply Excellent” 2018 Red from Burgundy’s Most Exciting Corner

Climate change has affected many aspects of winemaking in France. Most changes have proven challenging, such as spring frosts, hailstorms, and overripeness. But others have been beneficial. For instance, in Burgundy the malady-prone Pinot Noir vines have become healthier in warmer, drier weather. (See our Ansonia Journal article for more on climate change and winemaking.)

The most evident silver lining of climate change in Burgundy has come on the region’s margins. In areas like the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits and Côte Chalonnaise, where ripening Pinot Noir fully was once a perennial struggle, winemakers now often achieve ripeness with ease. Indeed the quality of wine from these “lesser” regions has improved dramatically in recent decades, but (in most places) prices have yet to catch up.

It was over 40 years ago that Michel Gros’s father Jean began buying up land in the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits. The terrain is 100 meters higher in elevation than the Côte d’Or, and the grapes typically ripen a week later. This prescient investment has begun to pay real dividends, and none more obvious than in 2018 — a vintage with record breaking levels of heat and sunlight.

Gros’s 2018s from the Hautes-Côtes are magnificent, often resembling village wines from the Côte d’Or in their depth and completeness. We opened this wine at our warehouse tasting over the weekend, and it blew people away — the nose opens immediately with plums, toast, violets, and briary dark cassis fruits. The mouth is smooth and full, with inky, palate-coating texture laid over a subtle foundation of velvety tannins. In the last 8 months this has blossomed into an exceptional value.

Vinous’s Neal Martin praised the “floral bouquet of sensual red cherries,” calling it a “finely crafted Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes.” Bill Nanson found “a lovely open, energetic character,” concluding “simply excellent wine.” It’s a tremendous value under $35 — serve it to a pinotfile, and they’ll guess you paid quite a bit more.

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Gros Hautes-Côtes de Nuits rouge 2018
bottle price: $34

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The Insider’s White Burgundy: Punchy, Delicious New St-Aubin

Wine writer Rajat Parr describes St. Aubin as the “insider’s white Burgundy.” Wedged in a valley between Chassagne and Puligny, this town produces white Burgundy with hints of Montrachet’s golden richness, but a less stratospheric price tag.

At the western edge of the St. Aubin appellation lies a plot named “Murgers des Dents de Chiens.” Perched just up the hill from Montrachet itself, this St. Aubin 1er cru is a remarkable value. It’s everything that white Burgundy should be – rich, refreshing, complex, and elegant.

Gerard Thomas’s 1er cru St-Aubin is exquisite wine — consistently excellent year in and year out. It’s polished and modern, and drinks like a far fancier bottle. St-Aubin is hardly the secret it once was, but it still provides nearly unparalleled white Burgundy value.

The 2020 is sleek, sophisticated, and delicious. Winemaker Isabel Humbert has channeled the extra weight from the warm summer into a powerful, mouthfilling wine, which nonetheless retains its vibrancy. The oak is perfectly integrated into the wine, with notes of yellow fruits, pears, and spice. Jancis Robinson’s reviewer found “a lovely combination of freshness, ripe fruit, and lingering stony notes.”

White Burgundy isn’t getting any cheaper, but St-Aubin continues to get better.

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Thomas St-Aubin 1er
“Murgers des Dents de Chien” 2020
bottle price: $49

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“Dramatic, Ample, Generous:” Magnificent 94 point Chianti

Poggerino is often cited as a reference point for Chianti Classico. Vinous writes of their Poggerino’s “remarkable purity and nuance,” and Rajat Parr calls their wines “excellent” and “some of the purest expressions of the grape in Italy.”

This year we’ve been enjoying their terrific 2021 Rosato, and the perennial favorite Chianti Classico, both of which are as good as they’ve ever been. We even have a bit of the “Nuovo” this year, the delicious egg-raised cuvée. But Poggerino’s finest wine has always been their Riserva, and this year is no different..

Poggerino’s Chianti Classico Riserva is from the “Bugialla” vineyard, and it’s just gorgeous again in 2018. Antonio Galloni called it “bold, dramatic wine,” with an ample, generous” mouthfeel and notes of “cherry, mocha, lavender and licorice.”

We’ve enjoyed this cuvée with 15 years in the bottle, but while aging that long will be rewarded, it’s not required. Particularly with a decanter, this is a magnificent wine today, full of depth and complexity, at once muscular and subtle. Pair with a hearty steak from the grill.

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Poggerino Chianti Riserva 2018
bottle price: $45

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Pear and Stones: Refreshing, Delicious Loire Chenin Blanc. $19

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 2019 Melodie sports 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 and welcome the arrival of spring.

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Paget Chenin Blanc “Melodie” 2019
bottle price: $19

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Refreshing, Exuberant Summertime Red: Loire Cabernet Franc. $19

The Loire Valley continues to be the epicenter of natural winemaking in France. We’ve found ourselves opening more and more Loire Valley wines recently, whatever the occasion. Organic viticulture, balanced wines, and affordable prices have all become the default in the Loire, a trend we celebrate enthusiastically.

Winemakers Celine and Didier Sanzay are fifth generation growers in Saumur-Champigny in the central Loire. Their reds are pure Cabernet Franc, and fit modern Loire style — small batch, organic, limited oak, concerned with balance and freshness rather than extraction and muscle. They use all wild yeasts, neither fine nor filter, and produce complex, natural expressions of the charming central Loire.

Their 2019 Saumur rouge continues to be the best wine we’ve had from them, and a remarkable value under $20.

This is exactly what you want Loire Cab Franc to be: pure, joyful, unoaked, and refreshing. Clean, juicy fruit bursts from the glass on the nose — think wild cherries and graphite. The mouth is fresh, fruit forward, inky, and intense, with a bold and vibrant attack and a quick clean finish. Think a juicy Beaujolais with more serious texture and darker fruit.

We think it far outperforms its modest pricetag, and offers a great alternative to your everyday, catch-all Rhône red. Pair with crackers and goat cheese, coq a vin, or a fresh pizza. Or drink cool on a patio at the end of a long summer day.

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Sanzay Saumur-Champigny 2019
bottle price: $19

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Fresh, Dry, Floral Sparkling Rosé from Burgundy. $24

The Maison 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.”

Picamelot’s everyday crémants are extraordinary values. With a bit less complexity and staying power than true Champagne, they come in at a fraction of the price, and in some cases outperform wines that are twice their price.

Picamelot’s dry rosé is 100% Pinot Noir, and made using the traditional method from Champagne: fermentation in tank, bottling, dosing with sugar and yeast, second fermentation, then disgorging. The rosé spends a year on lees before disgorgement, and gains a delicious creamy texture.

The wine shows a lovely nose that balances fruit and floral notes, with strawberry, herbs and lemon. The mouth is perfectly dry, with great freshness alongside a gentle creamy mousse of bubbles. Serve chilled but not too cold; use a white wine glass (not a flute). Pair with Chinese foods or creamy cheese on crackers.

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Picamelot Crémant Rosé NV
bottle price: $24

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The Last Unknown Town in Burgundy: Delicious 2019 Premier Cru

There’s not much left hidden in Burgundy’s Côte d’Or. A mere 30 miles long, the region is home to many of the world’s most famous vineyards. Limited supply and increasing demand mean even its most obscure corners receive visitors from around the world.

But even real Burgundy nerds scratch their heads when you mention the town of Ladoix. It’s right on the RN-74 (the main road that runs through the Côte d’Or) and located at the foot of the famous Hill of Corton. Yet it remains one of the last corners of the region relatively unknown.

Lucky for us. In a good year in the hands of a good producer, the wines of Ladoix can provide extraordinary value. Our source here is the centuries old Domaine Ravaut — a small family domaine of the highest quality. William Kelley calls their wines “hearty and characterful,” with “plenty to admire.”

The 2019 vintage produced wines that were almost universally successful. The tannins are compact and delicious, with an unusual succulence that makes them delightful even young. The fruits are both perfectly ripe and beautifully balanced, indicating a long life ahead.

Ravaut’s 2019 Côte de Nuits-Villages is among our most popular everyday red Burgundies. Today we’re suggesting its more sophisticated and classier cousin: the Ladoix 1er cru “Bois Roussot.” It’s bursting with strawberries and briary, woodsy berries in the nose; the mouth is smooth and fine-grained, with excellent density and a clean, modern finish.

Ravaut’s 1er crus usually need a year or two to show their stuff, but this one is already delicious today.

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Ravaut Ladoix 1er “Bois Roussot” 2019
bottle price: $49

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Refreshing $16 Côtes du Rhône, the Answer to Everything

Everyone needs a pantry wine — something to open without too much consideration or care. Thirsty guests looking for something to wet their whistle? Pantry wine. Back home after a long weekend away, with no energy for anything but takeout pizza? Pantry wine. NBA Finals game go into overtime and you need just one more glass of something simple? You guessed it.

For white, our pantry wine is usually Chablis or Sancerre — simple, refreshing, crisp, and uncomplicated. But when the situation calls for a red, it’s a humble red Rhône blend. We have plenty of options in the Côtes du Rhône genre, but none better balanced or less work than Goubert’s humble Côtes du Rhône.

 

A Côtes du Rhône should be three things: refreshing, dark, and inexpensive. Goubert’s is all three. The relatively low alcohol keeps it fresh and lively on the palate. The blend of six grapes classic Rhône grapes forms a rich, hearty, dark wine. And it’s inexpensive enough to pull out at a moment’s notice.

Winemaker Florence Cartier has improved this cuvée perhaps more than any other since she took over a few years ago. The nose is expressive and surprisingly refined, showing dark wild cherries, raspberries, and a hint of menthol. The mouth is both jammy and refreshing, with notes of white pepper, licorice, raspberry and plums.

Don’t overthink this and it won’t let you down.

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Goubert Côtes du Rhône 2019
bottle price: $16

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Lush, Delicious New White Burgundy from St-Aubin

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.

We’ve already written about 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 may be the best vintage we have seen of this wine.

The nose offers a lovely blend of oak 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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Extraordinary, “World-Class” 93-point Cornas

Cornas is a tiny appellation of only 50 growers. By rules and heritage, it’s the Northern Rhône: its wines are pure, unblended Syrah. But in spirit and character, it’s not far from the South. Cornas (which means “scorched earth” in Celtic) harvests a week earlier than Hermitage (just 20 minutes north), and the vertiginous slopes produce wines with a southern, sunbaked character.

Vinous writer Josh Raynolds calls the Domaine du Tunnel “among the top producers of Cornas.” Star winemaker Stephane Robert farms an envious collection of old syrah vines around the tiny appellation, and his wines very much live up to the hype. The domaine is named for an old abandoned railway tunnel in which Robert stores his barrels. In person Robert is humble and quiet, but his wines are bold, assertive, and utterly charming.

Once a forgotten appellation, Cornas has become the darling of the sommelier instagram set in recent years, as collectors chase aged bottles with names like Clape and Voge. Tunnel’s wines drink better a little earlier, and don’t require the same investment as the famous names. But they’re every bit Cornas, full of extraordinary depth and power.

Tunnel’s 2017 Cornas is a classic — the warm year produced lots of ripeness, making it juicy and approachable today. But there’s plenty of Cornas’s traditional sturdy foundation. Jeb Dunnock gave 93 points, calling Robert’s wines “world-class in every sense.” Vinous and Wine Advocate both awarded 92 points, finding it “loaded with blackberries, cassis and plums,” with “very good depth as well as energy” alongside “supple tannins.”

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Tunnel Cornas 2017
bottle price: $59

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Fresh, Organic, Natural Carignan for the Grill. $25

Jean-Louis Tribouley practices organic farming, biodynamics, and low intervention. His property is high in the hills of the Roussillon, a remote winemaking area near France’s border with Spain. The vines grow on schist and gneiss/granite, and range from 40 to 70 years old.

Our first purchase sold out quickly, as people were delighted by the approachability and lack of pretense in these wines. Perhaps the first word that comes to mind when we think about Tribouley’s wine is “fun.” His three 2020s are in stock and are delicious examples of the natural style.

His 2020 “Alba” cuvée is mostly carignan with dollops of Grenache and Syrah. This wine offers a more familiar profile, less funky than the other two cuvées, Elepolypossum and Copines. There are notes of olives, garrigue, black tea and lavender in the nose, which offer a savory complement to the black raspberry fruit in the mouth.

This is a great match for any meat coming off the grill, particularly one infused with smoky accents; but it’s lovely on its own. At $25 it’s worlds more complex and interesting than a similar Côtes du Rhône from your local supermarket. Tribouley’s wines are always best enjoyed outside, or by an open window.

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Tribouley Alba 2020
bottle price: $25

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Elegant, Opulent White Burgundy from a Secret Source

Chassagne-Montrachet is a town synonymous with opulence and richness. Its wines combine weight without heaviness – everything you want in a top class white Burgundy. When we want to really impress someone with a Chardonnay, we often reach for a bottle of Chassagne from Roger Belland.

Belland’s Santenay 1er cru “Beauregard” blanc is not as complex or long-lived as the Chassagne premier cru — but for half the price it does an admirable impression, and we think it’s a bargain. White Burgundy prices continue to rise around the region, but this wine is proof that there’s still value to be found.

Belland’s Beauregard blanc vines are a few hundred yards from the Chassagne-Montrachet border, and the wine drinks like it’s from much fancier terroir. The 2019 Beauregard blanc has good freshness to support its ripe fruit, a mix of orchard and citrus. There’s a hint of wood rounding out the concentrated, supple fruit flavors.

Jasper Morris found “a chiseled backbone,” and “the right degree of flesh.” It’s something we’ve found in the most successful 2019 whites — tremendous intensity and richness and length, but with a laser focus and elegant shape. This is remarkably complete white Burgundy for its level, and one that’s already drinking beautifully.

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

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