Author: Thomas Wilcox

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“Intense and Gripping:” Grüner Veltliner on Another Level

The Salomon-Undhof estate dates to 1792, and is currently on its 7th and 8th generation winemakers, father and son Bert and Bert Salomon. Their terraced vines overlooking the Danube have long been an excellent source, with the country’s preeminent wine guide calling them a “figurehead of Austrian wine history.”

“Austrian wine” is nearly synonymous with Grüner-Veltliner, and 75% of the world’s Grüner is Austrian. The grape’s typical expression is uncomplicated and fresh, with low alcohol and blend of savory, herbal, and dry fruit notes.

But today’s wine is a whole other level of Grüner.

Salomon’s 2018 Grüner Veltliner “Wachtberg” takes the grape to new heights. It’s classified Erste Lage (similar to premier cru in Burgundy), and we think it easily earns its higher rank. It shows the same fleshy dryness as Salomon’s simple Grüner “Wieden,” but with more depth and complexity.

The nose is clean and spiced, with notes of grape skin and aromatic bitters. The Wine Advocate’s reviewer agreed, awarding 90 points and finding it “round and creamy,…elegant and piquant,” not to mention “intense and gripping.”

This wine walks a perfect line between richness and freshness. Serve it with a dish full of herbs — a middle eastern salad or a couscous.

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Salomon-Unhof Grüner Veltliner 2018
bottle price: $24

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“Seductive,” “Loaded” New 92-pt 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. 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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Sleek, Gorgeous Five Year-Old Red Burgundy

Vosne-Romanée and Nuits-St-Georges are neighbors with opposing characters. Vosne tends towards elegance, finesse, and spice; Nuits towards richness, more structure, and bolder flavors. In the hands of a talented winemaker, both can be superb.

Today’s wine not only comes from a supremely talented winemaker, but from an outstanding vintage and an exceptionally well-located plot. Michel Gros’s Nuits-St-Georges comes mostly from vineyards lying on the Nuits-Vosne border. The resulting wine shows a splash of the violets and spice for which Vosne is so prized, but beneath that nose a classic Nuits mouth.

After four years in the barrel, this wine has smoothed and mellowed out a bit. Its youthful brightness has given way to a gorgeous, patinated texture. Michel Gros’s wines are always perfectly clean, but even for him this is sleek and polished. Look for a nose of dried roses, violets, and leather, with inky cassis and baked raspberries in the mouth.

The Wine Spectator awarded 92 points, finding “fine harmony and balance,” with “excellent length.” We think this wine has a promising future but it’s simply delightful today. Decant this for an hour, and use big ballon glasses — it’s a wine that will reward a bit of attention and care.

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Michel Gros Nuits-St-Georges 2016
bottle price: $72

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“Perfectly Balanced” 2018 White Burgundy from St-Aubin

Burgundies are not getting any cheaper. With limited supply and ever-increasing demand, good values are harder and harder to find. But one Burgundian town that continues to deliver far more than people expect is St-Aubin. And we’re not the only ones to notice.

Rajat Parr writes writes that St-Aubin “produces some of the best-value Chardonnays in the world,” and Jancis Robinson says it “should now be regarded as virtually the equal” of Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet.

Our source here is Gérard Thomas, a small family domaine has lived and made wine in St-Aubin since the 1940s. Their 2018s (what’s left of them) are simply delicious.

Thomas’s Bourgogne blanc is as good as entry-level white Burgundy gets; their St-Aubin 1er cru “Murgers des Dents de Chien” is elegant, overperforming and classy. Today’s wine is their village-level St-Aubin, sitting nicely between the two.

Jancis Robinson’s reviewer loved this wine, finding “spicy citrus on the palate and on the nose. Lovely richness of pure lemon and just-ripe apricot fruit perfectly balanced by mouth-watering acidity. Persistent and pure.”

It may not be a paragon of refinement and subtlety, but it’s a serious value under $50.

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Thomas St-Aubin “Champ Tirant” 2018
bottle price: $42

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Dry, Refreshing Biodynamic Riesling. $22

To many wine consumers,, Riesling is a cheap, insipid wine — rarely interesting, and never noble. But to those in the know, Riesling can be vibrant, dry, and extraordinarily well priced.

No white grape varietal communicates its origin as fluently. As writer Terry Theise puts it, “Riesling does more than just imply terroir: it subsumes its own identity as fruit into the greater meaning of soil, land, and place.”

Our favorite everyday Riesling comes from Domaine Gross, a small, biodynamic family source in Alsace. A perfectly dry, everyday white wine.

Vincent Gross is a young, enthusiastic winemaker practicing biodynamic viticulture, and producing truly exciting wines. Gross’s 2018 Riesling is everything you want it to be. The nose is a gorgeous marriage of high-toned fruits and stony minerals. The mouth is dry and electric — notes of grapefruit, lemon peel, apples and pears.

Serve this on its own — it’s a crisp, lively aperitif to match crackers or early evening snacks. For dinner, pair with fish dishes, or with a classic tarte flambé (Alsatian Pizza). You’ll find yourself wishing all $22 wines were this good.

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Gross Riesling 2018
bottle price: $22

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Exquisite Dry Organic Chenin Blanc from the Loire. $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.

We don’t always find exactly what we expect when prospecting for new wines; but this time we hit the nail exactly on the head.

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.

Melodie offers Chenin’s pear-like fruit — clean, pure and delightful — with a perfectly dry mouthfeel. It works beautifully with food — think fish tacos or a wintery salad — but also on its own as an aperitif before a meal. Look for floral notes and yellow fruits in the nose, and a smooth mouth of pear, elderflower, and chalk.

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Paget Chenin blanc “Melodie” 2018
bottle price: $19

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A Rising Burgundy Star: Premier Cru 2018 Red Burgundy. $38

Climate change is hard to ignore when you’re a farmer. Warmer summers and earlier harvests have provided Burgundian growers with new challenges, as balance and freshness have become trickier to achieve. But in some corners of Burgundy, the warmer weather has been welcome.

For decades the Côte Chalonnaise has produced wine on the margins of adequate ripeness — in good vintages the wines were solid, in off vintages some could be thin and harsh. But the recent sunny turn of events has provided the Côte Chalonnaise reds with ample ripeness and depth.

Today the region’s best producers turn out wines of serious quality and complexity, and none is more exciting than the Domaine Desvignes.

Gautier Desvignes arrived back at his family’s domaine in 2015, and has since caught the eye of the wine press. The Wine Advocate’s William Kelley calls the domaine “very much a Côte Chalonnaise address to watch” and a “potential future star.” Vinous calls his wines “excellent,” and “really quite superb.”We’ve enjoyed the Desvignes wines since the 1990s, but we agree with Kelley — the wines are better than they’ve ever been.

Today we’re suggesting the domaine’s finest cuvée: the 2018 Givry 1er cru “Clos Charlé.” It’s the most serious and sophisticated of the lineup, and drinks like a red Burgundy from a far fancier neighborhood.

The nose is beautiful and floral, handling its oak with grace and poise — red berry fruits melt into chalky minerality and dried flowers. In the mouth it’s refined and detailed. Drink now with a carafe and a steak, or hold for 3-5 years and watch this turn into a real stunner.

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Desvignes Givry 1er “Clos Charlé” 2018
bottle price: $38

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Joyful, Old-Vine, Unoaked White Burgundy. $28

The most famous white Burgundies come from the Côte d’Or. Hailing from towns like Chassagne-Montrachet, Puligny-Montrachet, and Meursault, these are regal white wines with every bit as much complexity as their red counterparts. They’re sophisticated, polished, and classy.

The Maconnais lies an hour to the south, near the southern limit of Burgundy. Its pure Chardonnay cuvées are no less delicious than those of the Côte d’Or, but they offer a more relaxed expression of Burgundian terroir.

At its best, Maconnais Chardonnay is pure joy in a glass — and today’s cuvée is a perfect example.

Our source in the Maconnais, Nicolas Maillet, has always let nature direct his winemaking. Using only ambient wild yeasts and low sulfur, Maillet follows the lead that each vintage provides.

Maillet’s 2017 Macon-Verzé is a masterpiece. The nose blooms from the glass, with notes of pear, green tea, mandarin orange, and honeysuckle. Maillet ages this in stainless steel, so there’s no oak to dull the gorgeous fruit — white flowers and wild honey join a beautiful minerality and tension. William Kelley found it “full-bodied, satiny and tensile.” A remarkable value under $30.

For polish and refinement, try a Puligny-Montrachet. For vibrancy, joie de vivre, (and value), try the Macon-Verzé.

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Maillet Macon-Verzé 2017
bottle price: $28

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“Fleshy,” “Supple” Old-Vine Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru

Chambolle Musigny is best known for three famous terroirs: 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 Grand Cru Bonnes-Mares. And it’s here that today’s wine originates. Our new Chambolle source the Domaine Boursot has remarkable 75+ year old vines in Fuées, and their wine is extraordinary. It doesn’t come cheap, but greatness rarely does.

(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.)

We discovered the Boursots via a note from Vinous’s Burgundy reviewer Neal Martin, who writes of a “foundation for a promising future,” and describes Boursot’s wines as “superb,” “excellent,” “very fine,” and “worth seeking out.” In the 2018 Fuées Martin found “lovely red currant, wild strawberry and undergrowth aromas,” calling it “fleshy toward the finish, which displays admirable precision.”

Boursot’s Fuées marries power and gracefulness in a way only a Chambolle vineyard can. The nose is dark and brooding, with cassis, violets, and gingerbread. The mouth is huge and intense — today it’s bold and impressive; in a few years it will be refined, elegant, ethereal, and smooth.

JF Mugnier’s Chambolle Fuées goes for around $450/bot, we’re certainly not saying Boursot’s would win in a prizefight. But pound for pound, at 1/3 the cost, it more than holds its own.

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Boursot Chambolle-Musigny 1er “Fuées” 2018
bottle price: $125

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Brilliant, Tension-Filled Dry Riesling under $20

Ask a group of sommeliers to name their favorite wine region and most will say Burgundy. But ask them for just one favorite grape varietal, and it’s likely Riesling. Aside from its excellent food friendliness, Riesling communicates terroir with as much honesty and precision as any other grape.

Today we’re suggesting a bone-dry Riesling from our Austrian source Weingut Salomon-Undhof. Based in Austria’s northeastern corner, the Salomon family has farmed vines since 1792, and the country’s preeminent wine guide calls them a “figurehead of Austrian wine history.”

Grüner Veltliner may be the classic grape from Austria (and indeed Salomon’s is excellent), but this electric, piercing dry Riesling is too good to put down.

The 2018 Terrassen Riesling is bright and dry and crisp. The nose shows green apple and notes of stones and grape skins. The mouth is zippy and refreshing, with pleasant dry fruit and excellent freshness.

An unusually warm summer across Europe in 2018 produced wines with an extra dose of ripeness. In Salomon’s Riesling Terrassen this translates into an added weight and complexity – still entirely dry, but with a creamy mid-palate filling. In short, a remarkable amount of poise for a wine under $20.

Serve with sushi, Thai cuisine, or lobster.

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Salomon-Undhof Riesling Terrassen 2018
bottle price: $19

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“Vibrant,” Old-Vine 2018 Premier Cru Chablis

Romain Collet took over his family’s fines in 2008, and has since made great strides. Having introduced organic farming, natural yeasts, and a lighter hand in the cellar, the Domaine Collet has regained its once loft status among sources for high-end Chablis.

The 2018 vintage at last provided the Chablisiens with decent volume after the disastrous 2016 and 2017 growing seasons. The warm 2018 growing season meant wine with a slightly different profile from the usual Chablis. The wines are riper and smoother than usual, but just as delicious, and just as well priced.

Today’s wine comes from “Butteaux”, a subsection of the famous “Montmains” vineyard, located on Chablis’s left bank. Collet’s vines here are 50 years old, and produce concentrated grapes that deliver intense concentration and depth. If Chablis calls to mind something thin and stony, this cuvée will make you reconsider.

“Butteaux” is among Romain’s only oaked Chablis cuvées, and it’s done beautifully — just enough to add a bit of texture to the mouth, but not enough to mask the classic Chablis fruit and stones. Vinous’s Neal Martin gave 90 points, citing “an intense bouquet” and “vibrant” palate, with “touches of orange peel and dried quince.”

The nose shows orchard fruit and the faintest hint of oak — on a global oaked Chardonnay scale this would barely register — the mouth is generous and palate-coating, but full of tension, definition, and depth. Look for a long finish of savory minerals and sea breeze.

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Collet Chablis 1er cru “Butteaux” 2018
bottle price: $38

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Terrific New Grower Champagne under $50

The vignerons of Champagne grow Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. Blanc de Noirs cuvées are blends using the two Pinot varietals, whose skins are dark but whose juice is clear – Blanc de blancs cuvées come from Chardonnay.

Today’s wine is a blanc de blancs: the Cuvée Topaze from our small grower Champagne source Jacques Robin. But where most blanc de blancs cuvées are drier and lighter, Robin’s vines are in the Côtes des Bar, a southern subregion of Champagne with particularly clay rich soils.

We think this wine strikes a beautiful balance between the finesse and elegance of chardonnay, and the richer, fuller style of a Côtes des Bar cuvée.

The soils of the Côtes des Bar 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 — Robin’s cuvées may not be the subtlest of Champagnes, but they’re chewy, full bodied, and delicious.

The Topaze is a delicate blend of earth and citrus — refined and elegant but with juicy notes of lemon and baked apples. The nose will remind you of white Burgundy, and the bubbles add a festive, playful energy. Pair this with fish or shellfish, or with gougères on a classy Sunday afternoon.

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Robin Champagne “Topaze” NV
bottle price: $49

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“An Exercise in Harmony:” Silky 2017 Premier Cru Red Burgundy

The 2017 vintage in red Burgundy continues to impress. No one considers it a “great vintage” (stay tuned for 2019), but its accessibility and seductive texture makes it delightful early. The tannins are appealingly soft and the acidities relatively low — it’s an approachable, early-drinking vintage that’s providing much enjoyment already. Or as Burghound puts it: “user-friendly.”

Today we’re suggesting Pierre Amiot’s 2017 Morey-St-Denis 1er cru “Aux Charmes.” The vines are from a premier cru plot adjoining the great Grand Cru Charmes-Chambertin, and its name is apt. The wine always shows a silky, charming texture, but in 2017 it’s pleasant a few years ahead of schedule.

The bottle of Charmes 17 we opened recently was just outstanding. The nose shows candied red fruits and faint toast; the mouth is silky smooth with intense red cherry and cinnamon spice. The tannins are papery, muted, and fine, showing the texture of a far more mature wine. Burghound found notes of “plum, violet and dark currant,” calling it “an exercise in harmony.”

If you have cellar space and patience to age red Burgundy, you might pick something from 2015, 2016, or 2018. The 2017s may not be around for the long haul, but they’re irresistibly delicious today.

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Amiot Morey-St-Denis 1er “Charmes” 2017
bottle price: $75

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Refreshing Sauvignon Blanc: Crisp, Delightful Pouilly-Fumé

Sauvignon Blanc is among the world’s most popular white grapes, planted everywhere from New Zealand to California to Chile. But the original source for Sauvignon Blanc is France’s Loire Valley.

The twin villages of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé are the home towns of Sauvignon blanc. Here the grape takes on a distinctly mineral and citrus character. As the name suggests, the wines of Pouilly-Fumé also feature notes of smoke and gunflint, a result of the soils’ high flint content.

Our producer here is Frederic Michot, a small family vigneron with no other US importer and excellent wines. His 2019 is a beautifully balanced wine, bursting with freshness and fruit.

Michot’s 2019 Pouilly-Fumé is crisp and delicious — the nose is bright and expressive, with ripe grapefruit, honey, and lime. The mouth is full and very lively. There’s no oak at all, and the palate sings with zippy fruit and minerals. The palate is midweight and very clean, with a dry, slightly smoky finish.

This is pure, unoaked, refreshing Sauvignon Blanc — perfect as an aperitif on its own, or to pair with sushi or seafood. We also love this wine with Ottolenghi’s Leek Fritters, but the match is just as good with some crusty bread with a Loire-style chèvre.

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Michot Pouilly-Fumé 2019
bottle price: $19

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Uncomplicated, Refreshing 2019 Côtes du Rhône

Some wines just hit a sweet spot between price and quality. All the way back to our brick and mortar days in Dupont Circle in Washington DC, the Goubert Sablet has been among the best sellers in our lineup. When we left it off our order last year, we had half a dozen customers write in to express concern.

It’s not the fanciest wine in our cellar — it’s not even the fanciest Côtes du Rhône. But there’s something about the balance of fruit, earth, texture, acidity, tannin and price that make it a winning combination.

The 2019 Sablet is delightful. It’s a blend of Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah, all fermented together in the same tank. It’s raised in large concrete vats rather than oak barrels, and the resulting wine is fresh and untouched by notes of vanilla or toast.

Goubert’s Sablet 2019 is somehow both dark and refreshing: the nose is a blend of wild cherries, lavender, violets, and cloves. In the mouth the fruits are red perfectly ripe, with beautiful freshness and a clean, spiced finish. The weight is perfect: rich, rounded tannins, mouth-coating fruit, solid supporting acidity, and a smooth finish.

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Goubert Sablet 2019
bottle price: $18

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