Author: Thomas Wilcox

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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The 2017 vintage was an unusual one in the Southern Rhône. Most reds here rely on Grenache for a majority (or at least plurality) of their blend, but in 2017 Grenache vines across the region had a bad Spring flowering, and yields were down dramatically.

This set the stage for other grapes to shine, and at Christophe Mestre’s domaine in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the understudy Syrah performed beautifully. Mestre’s cuvée usually features 75% Grenache, with Syrah somewhere around 10%. The 2017 features equal parts Grenache and Syrah (30% each) with Mourvèdre (25%) and Cinsault (15%) making up the rest.

The 2017 Mestre may be atypical, but it’s also flat out delicious.

Christophe Mestre continues to turn out delicious Châteauneuf du Pape at unusually good prices. He avoids heavy oaking and luxury cuvées, preferring an old school, uncomplicated style of wine. He makes a single red cuvée, and keeps his pricing astonishingly reasonable. Beaucastel this isn’t, but we think it vastly overperforms its $34 price tag.

His 2017 Châteauneuf-du-Pape won a gold medal at the Concours d’Orange, and it’s easy to see why. The wine offers a gorgeous floral nose, with Syrah’s violets front and center. The Syrah contributes structure as well, which means that this wine should stay textured a bit longer than his other Grenache-heavy cuvées. There’s really good complexity and a touch of tar and earth to go with the deep, dark fruit.

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Mestre Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2017
bottle price: $34

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Like many of you, the brief warm spell this week has summer on our mind. Yes, we know, it’s a few months off still, and April snow isn’t unheard of here in New England. But after more than a year cooped up indoors, we’re ready for some sunshine and (fingers crossed) some in-person socializing.

With that in mind, we’re excited to release a new model of stemware from Grassl Glass — the perfect upgrade for what we predict will be a summer of enthusiastic entertaining. Many readers have picked up the exquisitely crafted Grassl glasses from their top-of-the-line Vigneron series. Here’s just a few of the comments we’ve received:

“Those glasses. Wow. We’ve been Zalto users for a couple of years… the Cru Grassl glasses are just perfect though”

“Just stellar. Lovely.”

“We’re not too happy with our Riedels anymore.”

“Now it’s hard to use anything else.”

Today we’re excited to introduce the Versatile model from Grassl’s Elemental series — they’re smaller and slightly less fragile than the Vigneron series, and come at about half the price. They’ve become our household all-purpose glass, and they elevate every wine we put in them. (They’re also the new house glass behind the bar at Boston’s premier wine restaurant, Troquet on South.)

We use the Vigneron series (Cru, Liberté, and 1855) for special wines and special occasions, and the Versatile for that weeknight glass of Bourgogne rouge or Sancerre. At less than 4oz, each Versatile glass is a finely tuned piece of art, helping even the humblest wines show better.

We’ve got a year of entertaining to make up for — with immunity (we hope) on the way, we can’t wait to get back to planning picnics, dinner parties, and long, lazy brunches. The Grassl Versatiles are the perfect upgrade to your at-home wine game.

Grassl Glass: Versatile: $159/six-pack

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A vigneron in Burgundy once told us that making delicious Grand Cru was easy — as she put it, “we just get out of the way.” So perfect are the materials that come from these hallowed, ancient plots that a winemaker’s job is mostly to avoid screwing them up.

Conversely, we often say the mark of a good winemaker is the quality of his simplest wine. Regional level cuvées usually don’t exhibit the subtle nuances of terroir for which Burgundy is famous, but they’re a chance for a winemaker to show off cellar skills.

Today we’re excited to offer two terrific Bourgognes — one blanc, one rouge. Both will be featured in next Sunday’s March Futures release, along with fancier cuvées from both domaines. But we think both Bourgognes provide exceptional value, and we’re opening up the bidding early on them.

RAVAUT BOURGOGNE BLANC 2019

Vincent Ravaut’s Bourgogne blanc has become a favorite among readers in recent years. March Futures will include his excellent village-level Ladoix blanc and magnificent Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru. But his humble Bourgogne blanc punches way above its weight, particularly this year.

Ravaut is a master of careful oaking, and this Bourgogne is perfectly supported. The nose shows white flowers, silk, ripe lemon and just a whisper of toast. The mouth is rich and vibrant, with excellent sucrocité and lovely freshness. This is far more concentrated than most Bourgogne-level whites, a result of careful winemaking in an excellent vintage.

Weeknight white Burgundies don’t get much better than this — with a Futures price under $25/bot, this is among the best values in our lineup.

Ravaut Bourgogne blanc 2019: $295/case

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Available by the case and half case; expected arrival May 2021

 

PRUNIER BOURGOGNE ROUGE 2018

Michel Prunier and his daughter Estelle make delicious, traditional Burgundies in Auxey Duresses. We’re featuring a handful of 2018 reds and whites in March Futures his year. In some vintages Prunier’s reds occupy the lightweight end of the spectrum, requiring some time and a careful food pairing. But in 2018 all they need is a corkscrew and a glass.

The Bourgogne rouge 2018 is juicy, punchy, and delicious. From a warm, very ripe year, the Pruniers have crafted a wine bursting with fruit and spunk — the nose shows beautiful ripe cherries, with notes of licorice and roses. The mouth is fine and chalky, with a croquant (crackling) mouthfeel and elegantly filled in tannins. This isn’t long or subtle or ageworthy — it’s weeknight red Burgundy full of character and pluck.
All of Prunier’s 2018 reds are terrific — we had a hard time narrowing down the choices. But the 2018 Bourgogne rouge is just what Bourgogne should be — juicy, uncomplicated, well-defined, and a steal at under $25/bot.

Prunier Bourgogne rouge 2018: $295/case

Email Tom to reserve this wine

Available by the case and half case; expected arrival May 2021