Author: Thomas Wilcox

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Cool, Refreshing New Stony Syrah Blend. $22

As hot, dry summers become the norm across much of France, winemakers in the south in particular are constantly in search of freshness for their wines. Some have adjusted viticulture techniques, others have altered their blends to re-balance freshness.

At the Clos Bagatelle in Saint-Chinian, they’re certainly adapting too — but Mother Nature has given them a head start. Their terroirs are located high in the hills of the northern Languedoc, and their vines grow from unusually schist- and mineral-laden soils. As a result, their cuvées are rich and full, but never out of balance.

Today we’re excited to welcome their “Au Fil de Soi” cuvée back into our portfolio.

Bagatelle’s “Au Fil de Soi” 2018 is a blend of 50% syrah, 30% grenache, and 10% each of mourvèdre and carignan. They’ve reduced the percentage of Grenache (a naturally high alcohol grape) in recent years to maintain balance. We continue to be amazed at Bagatelle’s ability to combine rich, mouthfilling, ripe fruit with delicate floral aromas and mineral tension.

This Syrah-heavy cuvée is simply delicious — way more wine than $22 usually buys you. The nose shows violets and anise, with blackberry fruit and thyme. The mouth bursts with blueberry pie and earth, cut by a crisp mineral line and supple tannins.

Upgrade your barbecue wine game — this is a perfect backyard summer red for bold flavors from the grill. Or, for our favorite pairing, pulled pork sandwiches.

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Bagatelle St-Chinian “Au Fil de Soi” 2019
bottle price: $22

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Rosé is Here! Dry, Refreshing $19 Sangiovese

We’re calling it: it’s now rosé season.

Okay, sure — it might have snowed last week, and it might be barely breaking into the 70s where you live today. But we’ve all been inside for what seems like over a year now, so we’ll take any excuse for sunshine we can get.

We’re looking forward to next month’s arrival of three new 2020 Rosés from the Rhône and Loire Valleys. But we’re excited to release today’s 2020 Rosato from Poggerino for the first time. It’s a bit of a different take on the genre than the French cuvées, but we’re confident it’ll be just as popular. The only problem is that we might not have bought enough…

Poggerino’s 2020 Rosato is a delight. Like all of Poggerino’s wines it’s 100% sangiovese, and is a blend of pressed and saignée juice. The nose is fresh and intense, with floral notes alongside strawberry and raspberry. The mouth is dry but full of fruit, with a clean, refreshing mouthfeel.

What sets it apart from the French rosés is its texture. Sangiovese is a bolder grape than the ones used in our other rosés (Pinot, Cab Franc, Grenache, Syrah), and this rosé has a lovely concentrated core to it. It’s light in color and light on its feet, but sports an ever-so-slightly tannic structure that gives it definition and depth.

Pour this all summer long. If you need a pairing besides a patio or a pool, serve with a fresh summer salad spotted with goat cheese.

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Poggerino Rosato 2020
bottle price: $19

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Vibrant New Alsatian Dry Riesling. $22

Riesling continues to be a criminally underrated varietal. Its sweet examples can be transcendent and delicious, but it’s also capable of excellence in dry form. Dry Rieslings make up some of the best values in our portfolio.

We have exciting dry cuvées in stock from Germany, including a few with almost two decades of bottle age. But for an everyday bottle, our favorite comes from Domaine Gross, a small, biodynamic family source in Alsace. It’s everything you want Riesling to be, all for under $5/glass.

Vincent Gross is a young, enthusiastic winemaker practicing biodynamic viticulture, and producing truly exciting wines. His 2019 has just arrived, and the rave reviews from customers are already pouring in. “Superb,” one called it; “Guess I’m a Riesling convert now,” confessed another. The nose is a gorgeous marriage of high-toned fruits and stony minerals. The mouth is dry and electric — look for notes of lime, honey, lemon zest, apple and pear.

Serve this on its own — it’s a crisp, lively aperitif to match crackers or early evening snacks. For dinner, pair with a dish full of spices — think middle eastern or Indian. Or, if it’s been a long day — takeout sushi.

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Gross Riesling 2019
bottle price: $22

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“Powerful and Zesty” New Premier Cru White Burgundy, $32

Chablis is at the forefront of Burgundy’s conflict with climate change. As the entire region warms, its northern outpost has begun to yield rounder, more full-bodied wine. This has led more and more Chablis producers to raise some wine in oak barrels, and it is now common to see wines there that bear a close resemblance to those of the Côte d’Or.

But the classic Chablis formulation is to raise wine with little or no oak, showcasing the clean, pure, Chardonnay fruit mixed with a stony minerality. Winemaker Cyril Gautheron is committed to this classic style, and his wines show little if any oak influence.

Today we’re excited to release a new premier cru of his for the first time: Chablis 1er cru “Fourneaux.”

Fourneaux is a premier cru vineyard near the hamlet of Fleys, home to the Gautheron domaine. This plot produces a mouthfilling, drier, more savory/herbal style of Chablis — a style another winemaker might be tempted to raise in oak. But Cyril maintains his commitment to Chablisienne purity, raising even this premier cru exclusively in stainless steel.

Like all of Cyril’s wines this shows laser-like focus and precision, and in 2019 he’s channeled the ripeness into a particularly neat package. Jasper Morris MW called it a “bundle of energy” and praised its “clean but powerful and zesty bouquet.” Look for notes of chalk, lime zest, savory herbs and grapeskin.

Consider decanting this, and make sure it’s not served too cold — there’s lots of complexity beneath the surface, and a bit of patience (in the glass or the cellar) will go a long way.

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Varoilles Bourgogne 2018
bottle price: $35

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Smooth New Biodynamic Grenache-Syrah Blend

A wine made up of 50/50 Grenache/Syrah can take on many shapes. Grown on a flat plain in irrigated soil by a large-volume winery, the blend will be a cheap, unremarkable Côtes du Rhône. Grown just miles away in the legendary soils of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and the wine can be an ageworthy gem.

Today’s wine is the same blend, but follows neither of these paths. The Mas Foulaquier’s “Orphée” cuvée is made from grapes grown in the untamed soils of the northern Languedoc. The winemakers practice biodynamics in the vineyards and the cellar, and the result is an entirely different take on the blend.

The grape makeup of this wine is important, but only as a vehicle to communicate the vignerons’ philosophy, and their rugged terroir.

Foulaquier is an excellent source in Pic-St-Loup, at the northern end of the sprawling Languedoc. Their wines are natural, wild, sometimes funky, and always delicious. They also exhibit a completeness often absent in low-intervention styles — where some offer a single, interesting, unusual note, Foulaquier’s wines are a harmonious symphony of nature — perhaps Philip Glass more than Beethoven, but charming nonetheless.

Foualquier’s 2018 Orphée is terrific. The nose is dark and woodsy, combining wild berries, lavender, and sous-bois. The mouth shows black fruits and black licorice, with a juicy texture and serious finish. This vintage is slightly bolder and more substantial than usual — we always enjoy this cuvée young, and you will too, but we’re excited to see this one age too.

Pour this at your first backyard barbecue of the year.

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Foulaquier Orphée 2018
bottle price: $28

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Exciting New Côte d’Or White Burgundy

White Burgundy is an easy wine to pair with food. At the high end, an ageworthy bottle Meursault or Puligny can be as subtle and magnificent as a red. Paired with a lobster risotto or veal in cream, it’s a marriage of opulence and charm.

But white Burgundy also answers the call for something uncomplicated and reliable — a Monday night pasta dish, or a hearty bowl of mussels. Gerard Thomas’s Bourgogne blanc has been our go-to white burgundy for nearly a decade now. It has become a “house white” for many of our readers, and has been for a number of well known restaurants in Boston and Philadelphia as well.

It doesn’t make Meursault promises — but it way overdelivers for under $6/glass.

The 2019 Bourgogne from Gérard Thomas has just arrived, along with exiting cuvées from Saint-Aubin and Puligny-Montrachet. Thomas’s 2019 white Burgundies are terrific — classy yellow fruit rippling with energy and golden fleshy roundness. At each classification level the wines drink above their weight.

Thomas’s Bourgogne is always good with food, but we think the 2019 will drink particularly well on its own as well. (In other words, if you open a bottle while you’re still making dinner, better have a second bottle at the ready.) The nose is soft and elegant, with hazelnut and toasty oak notes melting into lemon and baked apple fruit. The mouth is round and mouthcoating, with delicate freshness acidity balancing a shimmering core.

It’s hard to find Bourgogne blanc under $30 these days, and with the tariffs removed we think this is a terrific bargain. We strongly recommend setting aside a night for a high-end white Burgundy — Thomas’s other 2019s are great options. But for a busy weeknight when all you need is something balanced and crisp and refreshing, this is as good as Bourgogne blanc gets.

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Thomas Bourgogne blanc 2019
bottle price: $28

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Bold, Dark, Muscly New $35 Red Burgundy

Winemaker:   Where much red Burgundy tends towards subtleness and finesse, the Varoilles style is noticeably more intense. The winemakers harvest relatively late, and use a long cold soak to extract loads of flavor and texture from their grapes. The resulting wines are concentrated, dark, and delicious.

Appellation:   Varoilles is best known (and deservedly so) for their terrific village-level and premier cru Gevrey-Chambertins. They only began making a Bourgogne-level wine two years ago, but it’s an exciting addition to their lineup. And in 2018, a year of near-record ripeness, the wine is unusually good.

Wine:   The nose is very dark and spiced, with briary blackberry fruit, notes of woods, cinnamon, smoke, and a hint of ginger. The mouth is bold and smooth with a solid texture laid under intense masculine fruit. It’s not as long or as deep as a Gevrey, but there’s far more material than most Bourgogne-level wines.

Suggestions:   No need to cellar this — the 2018 red Burgundies are chewy and juicy, and with a carafe and a hearty cut of meat this is a ruggedly beautiful Pinot. If it lacks a bit of refinement and finesse, it makes up for it in character and charm. Give this some air, and enjoy now – 2023.

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Varoilles Bourgogne 2018
bottle price: $35

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Chianti Classico Returns: Inky New $25 Sangiovese

We’re thrilled to have Poggerino back in stock. We visit only once a year, and last year’s supply evaporated by the fall. So after some shipping delays (sans Suez) and a long trip across the ocean, the wines are at last in stock.

As a refresher, Poggerino is a top-notch producer from Chianti in Italy. Nearly all of our winemakers are French, but we carve out a small corner of the portfolio for our old Italian friends — they also happen to be terrific winemakers. Rajat Parr calls their pure Sangiovese wines “some of the purest expressions of [Sangiovese] in Italy.”

We’ve brought in their terrific Riserva from 2017, and their exciting new $19 rosé. But their flagship wine, and our favorite everyday Chianti Classico is our suggestion today.

Poggerino’s 2018 Chianti Classico bursts with intensity and energy. It’s at once expansive and well defined — it shows strawberry jam, anise, and a pleasant dustiness on the nose. The ripe fruit carries seamlessly across the palate, which is pleasantly mouth filling — but neither hot nor flabby — and the tannins are fine-grained and attractive. Look for notes of cherries and dried roses.

This is beautifully made wine without pretense, and at $5/glass it is a remarkable value. It’s hard to rival the Garenne Sancerre or the Gautheron old-vine Chablis for our best value at the $25 mark — but Poggerino makes an awfully good case.

Nobody’s doing much travel to Italy these days. But enjoy this on your front stoop or back patio under the warm afternoon sun with some crusty artisan pizza, and you might imagine yourself back in Tuscany.

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Poggerino Chianti Classico 2018
bottle price: $25

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Back in Stock: the Perfect $25 Sancerre

Sauvignon blanc is among the world’s most widely planted grapes, but its origin is the Loire Valley. In the Loire, Sauvignon takes on a floral, mineral style, juicy grapefruit notes with a lively minerality, often notes of flint, and pleasant herbal finish.

Wine writer Lettie Teauge once described Sancerre as a wine that delivers “pleasure not profundity.” Located at the eastern end of the Loire, Sancerre produces consistently delicious wines — approachable, affordable, and uncomplicated.

Since we introduced it a few years ago, Garenne’s Sancerre has become among our best selling wines. We’ve been sold out since before Christmas, and are excited to report it’s back in stock as of today.

Garenne’s 2019 Sancerre is easy and delightful. It’s bone dry with pure sauvignon grapefruit in the nose. In the mouth it’s lively but with no astringency or grassiness — a warm vintage gave added weight but no lack of freshness. Look for minerals and lime in the mouth,

As the weather warms this wine is as welcome as an open window. Pair it with a classic moules frites — a simple broth of shallots, wine, parsley, garlic and tarragon. The fries will soak up the broth, and you’ll soak up the spirit of springtime.

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Garenne Sancerre 2019
bottle price: $25

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Exquisite 7-Year-Old Côte Rôtie

The impossibly steep hillsides of the Côte Rôtie seem like the last place in the world to grow vines. With slopes reaching 60 degrees in places, all field work — planting, pruning, treating, harvesting — must be done entirely by hand. Every time we visit we wonder aloud what on earth would drive people to plant vines here.

And then we visit the Bonnefonds. Côte Rôtie syrah is unlike any other — at once dense and balanced, inky and crisp, mouthfilling and fresh. Christophe and his brother Patrick produce small batches of beautiful, concentrated syrah. Their domaine is a bit hard to find, but their wines are pure and exquisite.

Today’s offer is for one of their two top cuvées — the Côte Rôtie “Côte Rozier” 2014. 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.

Côte Rôtie famously ages well, and we think this wine has many happy years ahead of it. But its soaring aromatics and gentle secondary fruit make it really beautiful today. Vinous’s Josh Raynolds awarded the 2014 Roziers 92-94 points, calling it “extremely long,” “seamless in texture” and “powerful yet lithe.” Jancis Robinson’s reviewer called it “perfectly formed.”

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.

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Bonnefond Côte Rôtie “Rozier” 2014
bottle price: $59

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Sleek and Supple: 2018 Red Burgundy for Now

The critical reception of the 2018 red Burgundies can be described as qualified enthusiasm. The best examples are said to be ripe, rich, mouthfilling, bold, and delicious — Vinous’s Neal Martin found “a sense of nascent joie-de-vivre” across the vintage. But wines picked too late can be overripe — “very ripe wines of highly variable quality,” concluded Burghound.

We’ve had similar impressions to the vintage, though, at least among our producers, we’ve found far more successes than flops. Most winemakers have been able to match structure to the abundant fruit, and none more successfully than Roger Belland. His reds are typically lush and precocious, and 2018 is no exception. But each is carefully balanced by minerals, tannin, and acidity.

We might not age them 20 years, but at least for the next 20 months we think they’ll be simply delightful.

Even amid a trend of warmer and earlier vintages, 2018 stands out: record breaking temperatures, an early budbreak, copious sun and high sugar levels. Many winemakers drew comparisons to 2003, but credited a very wet winter with 2018’s superior balance — same heat, less drought.

Belland’s 2018 Santenay 1er cru Gravières carries more weight than usual, but it’s bolstered by beautiful minerality and firm, polished structure. We were delighted with the mouthfeel of the wine — at once rich and ripe but long and tense. Burghound agreed, awarding 90 points, finding “poached plum, cassis, violet and plenty of earth,” and calling it “rich, supple” and “sleek.”

The 2018s may trend bolder than usual, but Belland’s Gravières is proof that in the hands of a careful winemaker committed to balance, they’re no less Burgundian.

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Belland Santenay 1er “Gravières” 2018
bottle price: $42

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Fresh, Springtime Northern Rhône White

For many years at the start of our tastings, winemaker Denis Basset would give us a small taste of his only white cuvée. “Just to set the palate,” he’d explain, before continuing on to his rich, syrah-based reds. The white was always lovely — floral and fresh, beautifully expressive, and a perfect way to start a tasting.

And every year, when we asked how much we could buy, he’d smile and shake his head — already all spoken for. At last, a few years ago, we finally received our first allocation — at first just enough for Futures, and then a bit for inventory as well.

Today we’ve got a few cases left of the 2019, and are excited to recommend it today.

Denis Basset runs the Domaine Saint-Clair, which he started several years ago after spending the first decade of his working life in the family’s flower business. He has rapidly gained confidence and acclaim; both Decanter and the Guide Hachette have listed him in a dynamic new generation of Crozes-Hermitage winemakers.

Basset’s white is a Rousanne-Marsanne blend (70/30), in the style of a classic northern Rhône blanc. The nose is soft and enveloping, with tropical notes of mango, pineapple, and green tea. The mouth is rich and round, but with excellent concentration and length — it’s at once lush and sturdy, showing nectarine and honey notes.

This is a lovely springtime wine — open your windows, and serve a glass with a salty triple cream cheese and crusty piece of bread.

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Saint-Clair Crozes-Hermitage blanc 2019
bottle price: $28

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Extraordinary Red Burgundy Value: Hautes-Côtes de Nuits under $40

Michel Gros tends vines in some of Burgundy’s most famous towns: Vosne-Romanée, Chambolle-Musigny, Nuits-St-Georges, etc. The wines from these iconic appellations are magnificent, and priced fairly but accordingly.

Gros also owns quite a bit of land (half his acreage) in the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits, a region just west of the famous Côte. The terroirs are more varied and the grapes ripen a bit slower, but in recent warmer vintages the wines from these less famous hillsides have been seriously outperforming their humble heritage.

His finest wine from the Hautes-Côtes is the Fontaine-St-Martin, and in 2018 it’s a knockout.

The Fontaine-Saint-Martin vineyard is named for a nearby Cistercian abbey that dates to 1127. The hillside of vines was in production for centuries, and Michel has made wine there for over 40 years. The Fontaine St-Martin plot is indeed special — soil samples revealed the parcel contains the same mix of marl, clay, and limestone found on the Hill of Corton

We love this wine every year, but the 2018 is the best it’s been. It’s more impressive than anything we’ve had from the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits, and easily competes with village-level reds from the Côte d’Or. The tannins are dense and sophisticated, with dark blue fruit, and floral notes of violets and roses. Neal Martin of Vinous found “an attractive, quite opulent bouquet” and called it “balanced and precise.”

Burgundy isn’t getting any cheaper, but at least in the Hautes-Côtes, the wines have simply never been better. Someday you’ll tell your grandkids you were able to buy Hautes-Côtes for under $40.

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Gros Hautes-Côtes de Nuits
“Fontaine-St-Martin” 2018
bottle price: $39

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Magnificent, Layered Gigondas to Rival Châteauneuf

Compared with most regions in France, the Southern Rhône is an easy place to make wine. There’s plenty of sun and warmth, the grape varietals are generally hardy, and the northwesterly Mistral wind keeps the grapes dry and maladies at bay. It’s still hard work, for sure, but lots of winemakers we know in Burgundy look longingly at the conditions to their south.

Even by southern standards, the 2015 vintage was just about perfect. Early (but not too early) flowering, warm days, cool nights, enough rain, and clear skies at harvest time. On the subject of the 2015 Rhônes, Vinous’s Josh Raynolds found “wines that are full-flavored without being ponderous and with a compelling interplay of richness and energy.”

He goes on to highlight one town — “2015…produced one of the most consistently excellent sets of Gigondas that I’ve ever had the chance to taste.”

Today we’re suggesting the 2015 Domaine les Goubert Gigondas “Florence,” a Grenache-Syrah blend from one of our favorite sources in the Rhône. This is Goubert’s only barrel-aged wine, and while their whole lineup provides terrific value, nothing dazzles quite like the Florence.

This wine perfectly embodies the term “layers.” It changes the moment the bottle is opened — we suggest a half hour in a carafe to help it along. When it’s open and firing on all cylinders, it’s a symphony of taste: lavender, boysenberry, black pepper, chocolate, raspberry jam, earth, and toast.

It many be easier to make wine in the Southern Rhône, but very little of it tastes quite this good.

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Goubert Gigondas “Florence” 2015
bottle price: $52

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Fresh, Earthy, Summery Everyday Jura Red. $19

The Jura region has an untamed feel to it. Lying only an hour east of Burgundy, its a wilder, craggier landscape, producing unusual wines to match. Its most famous product, the sherry-like oxidized Vin Jaune, is fascinating and not to everyone’s taste. (We love it, though, and keep a few bottles in stock if you do too.)

The red wines of the Jura are somewhat less esoteric than its whites, but still embody a funkier, more rugged style than the Côte d’Or. If red Burgundy is a polished, Harvard-educated lawyer from Beacon Hill, red Jura is her younger brother who went to art school and lives in a loft in the South End.

Today’s cuvée is Ligier’s Arbois Trousseau 2017, a lightweight, pleasantly funky red full of freshness and character.

Trousseau is an unusual and increasingly rare grape — it’s grown almost exclusively in the Jura, and even there covers only 172 hectares (a bit larger than the town of Vosne-Romanée). Trousseau may be light in color, but it’s got plenty of character, and can stand up to a wide array of flavors — think prosciutto, duck, salmon, pâté, mushrooms, of the local specialty, Comté.

The nose is bright and fruit forward with strawberries and a hint of earthiness. The mouth has lightweight tannins, nice density, and a pleasant dry juiciness — look for notes of mushrooms, thyme, dried meats, and wild strawberries.

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Ligier Trousseau 2017
bottle price: $19

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