Author: Thomas Wilcox

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Classic, Refreshing Muscadet: Bone-Dry $22 Loire White

Perched where the Loire river meets the windswept Atlantic coast, Muscadet has long been a source for a classic, dry white wine. Served by the carafe in the oyster bars of Paris and London for decades, it’s refreshing, abundant, and inexpensive — a perfect glass to wash down a plate of crustaceans.

In the last few decade Muscadet has undergone a reinvention of sorts with the elevation of three of the region’s best towns to a new “Cru Communal” status. Today’s wine comes from one of these three leaders in the new wave of Muscadet. Combining excellent terroir with extended years on the lees, this is an unusually complex take on a classic.

Martin-Luneau is a fourth generation family domaine farming old vines on the plains south of Nantes. Their 2016 Muscadet “Clisson” has just arrived, and it’s delicious — a marriage of the brisk, refreshing essence of the sea, with the delicate herbal and fruit flavors of western France. This is not your grandfather’s Muscadet — it’s a new generation’s take on a classic French staple.

The nose is clean and pure, showing dried flowers, melons, and lemon. The mouth is smooth and very dry, with notes of stones, salt air, and apple skins. Oysters are the longstanding pairing of choice with Muscadet, and the thick savoriness in this wine is an exceptional foil for the fresh brineyness of an oyster.

The winemakers themselves recommend serving this with a simple moules marinières, made with shallots, parsley, thyme, butter and, of course, Muscadet. As you might expect, the match is magnificent.

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Martin-Luneau Muscadet “Clisson” 2016
bottle price: $22

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Iconic Biodynamic Châteauneuf-du-Pape from 140-Year-Old Vines

Transition to organics/biodynamics may be trendy in winemaking today, but it’s nothing new at the Domaine Pierre André in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Jacqueline André’s grandfather stopped using chemicals in his vines in 1963, and the domaine has been certified organic since 1980 – the first in the appellation.

As it turns out, he was on to something — those vines are now 140 years old, and continue to produce every year. Today Jacqueline André and her son craft the fruit of these ancient “grand dammes” (as they call them) into a single magnificent wine. No luxury batch or cuvée speciale here — just one red, outstanding year in and year out.

As the appellation’s original organic and biodynamic source, André’s wines are a standard for elegance and clarity. And indeed the wine is as extraordinary as the story of the Domaine. The 2017 Châteauneuf-du-Pape red offers a beautifully expressive nose of plum/raspberry fruit, smoke, and pan drippings. It fills the mouth but is neither hot nor heavy; there’s plenty of support but the structure is beautifully knit together.

This wine will be delicious in its early years when the fruit dominates, and it will be equally delicious as it evolves over the years to show notes of leather, licorice, and forest floor. How does André achieve such exquisite balance in such a mouthfilling, voluminous wine? “It’s all because of the vines,” she tells us with a smile.

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André Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2017
bottle price: $58

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“Sleek” and “Beguiling” New Chassagne-Montrachet

If we were to sum up Thomas Morey’s wines in one word, it would be “precise.” Much like the man himself — wire rim glasses, serious demeanor, Zalto stemware in his tasting room — Morey’s wines offer crystalline elegance, with not one hair out of place. Each cuvée conveys its terroir with honesty and clarity.

Despite the warm growing season, this was no exception in 2018. Morey uses minimal oak — no more than 20% even in his Grand Cru — and picks relatively early to assure good acidity. These decisions led him to another exquisite lineup of white Burgundies in 2018, and one we’re excited to share.

Today we’re focused on Morey’s village-level Chassagne-Montrachet. A signature wine from the town his family has called home for 10 generations.

The 2018 Chassagne-Montrachet comes from 6 plots, all on the north side of the village. The 2018 is a refined wine, with a nose of pure fruit and a mid-palate that brings in just a touch of wood. The fruit is citrus: ripe lemons with maybe a hint of orange. It pairs beautifully with subtle dishes like sole meuniere or butter-poached scallops.

Jasper Morris MW praised its “notable class” and “excellent length.” Burghound called it “outstanding,” finding it “sleek” and “intense” with a “beguiling and generous texture.” Morey’s white Burgundies are a paragon of elegance and subtlety — give them attention, and they will reward.

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Morey Chassagne-Montrachet 2018
bottle price: $69

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Orchard Fruit and Ocean Breeze: Charming New 2018 Chablis Premier Cru

Winemaker:   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 lofty status among sources for high-end Chablis.

Vintage:   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.

Appellation:   Butteaux is a subsection of the famous “Montmains” vineyard, located on Chablis’s left bank. Collet’s vines here are 48 years old, and produce concentrated grapes that deliver an intense concentration and depth.

Wine:   “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. 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 “Butteaux” 2018
bottle price: $38

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[Advance Order] Extraordinary New Meursault-Like Bourgogne Blanc under $30

In a Beaune restaurant last spring we stumbled upon that most elusive of wine merchant targets: an unknown Burgundy domaine. Formed in 2002 with just 1.5 hectares of vines, the Domaine Bohrmann has no other importers, zero critical reviews, and a (very) hard-to-reach winemaker.

Bohrmann doesn’t sound very French, and it isn’t — Sofie Borhmann is Belgian, and splits her time between Belgium and Burgundy. We’re not sure where she’s been hiding, or why no other American importers have found her. But her wines simply blew us away, and we’re thrilled to feature them again.

We have an exciting lineup of white and red 2018s in our September Futures Issue, which comes out next Sunday 9/6. But we’re highlighting one cuvée that grabbed our attention today: the 2018 Bourgogne blanc.

Bohrmann is a master of careful oaking. By using barrels made with very old (fine-pored) oak trees from France and Austria, her wines show their wood subtly and beautifully. Borhmann’s Bourgogne comes from 40 year old vines, giving the wine an intense, distilled mouthfeel and excellent length.

The Bourgogne blanc 2018 is smooth, elegant, floral, and concentrated. In the nose it reminded us of Meursault, and a bit of research confirmed Meursault and Puligny as the neighborhood for the regional-level vines. The mouth is cool, impressively long, and vibrant.

In short, this is among the most impressive regional-level Bourgogne blancs we’ve tasted in years. We’ve asked Sofie to hold us a number of cases, but those interested should reply quickly — first come, first served. If there’s any left we’ll include it in next Sunday’s September Futures release.

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Bohrmann Bourgogne blanc 2018
Ansonia Retail: $432
September Futures Price: $350/case

To order, email Tom

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“Silky,” “Plush” 93-point Gigondas Returns

For years, Gigondas was a savvy wine collector’s secret: near-Châteauneuf-level complexity and richness, at a substantial discount. But even as its name has spread and prices have crept up, the price-value ratio in Gigondas remains unusually good. As Vinous’s Josh Raynolds put it after tasting several hundred cuvées this spring, “in the context of the world’s best wines, almost every Gigondas delivers solid and even remarkable value.”

Last spring we stumbled upon an exciting property, the Clos du Joncuas — a century-old domaine making old school Gigondas with extraordinary finesse and texture. The winemakers here use ambient yeasts, no oak (not even foudres), 100% whole cluster, no fining or filtering.

Readers were so taken with last year’s 2016 Gigondas that we sold out in a matter of months. We’re excited to report we’ve restocked on the same exact wine, and it’s even better than before.

The Joncuas technique sounds like a recipe for a massive, rustic wine, but sisters Dany and Carol Chastan somehow manage to produce wines of superb texture and subtlety. The Joncuas Gigondas 2016 is magnificent. It’s 80% grenache (some from centenarian vines), with the rest Mourvèdre and Cinsault. The fruit is clean and very pure, with a gorgeous silky texture and notes of violets, raspberry, garrigue, and spice. Think of it as Grenache that wants to be Syrah.

Vinous and Wine Advocate booth awarded 93 points, finding it “big and balanced,” “plush,” finishing “silky, sweet, and impressively long.” Close your eyes and this is easily a Châteauneuf-du-Pape; open them and it’s an astonishing amount of wine for under $40.

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Joncuas Gigondas 2016
bottle price: $36

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Exquisite, 95-point Grand Cru: “Chablis at its very, very finest”

Of the 12,000 acres of vineyards planted in Chablis, only 250 acres (2%) qualify as Grand Cru. And of these, most consider the “Les Clos” the finest. As Clive Coates MW puts it, Les Clos is “Chablis at its very, very finest.”

As you can imagine, there’s not much of Les Clos to go around. The Domaine Jean Collet’s tiny plot of 65-year old vines covers less than half and acre – enough for about 1,000 bottles – but the wine is always superb. Winemaker Romain Collet has made great strides since taking over the domaine seven years ago, and today Jasper Morris MW writes that Romain Collet’s domaine “is moving towards joining the pantheon” in Chablis.

We’ve just received Collet’s 2018 Les Clos in the warehouse — it’s impressive, powerful and rich. This is as serious as white wine gets, but amid its depth and concentration lies a subtle elegance and tension. Morris awarded 91-95 points, finding it “very solid, concentrated,” and identified a “sunny spice” alongside the “typical white fruit.” Look for notes of pear, grapeskin, orchard fruit and shells.

It’s hard to find Grand Cru Burgundy of either color for less than $100/bot, and many push quickly past $500. At $75/bot this wine is hardly your next by the glass house white, but for what it delivers it remains a genuine bargain. It’s not a wine you’ll soon forget.

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Collet Chablis Grand Cru “Les Clos” 2018
bottle price: $75

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Violets, Cassis, Forest: Gorgeous 2017 Red Burgundy

Winemaker: Michel Gros is a quiet, humble vigneron whose wines are world famous. Having directed every vintage at his family’s winery for 45 years, his knowledge of Burgundian terroir is deep and intimate. His relatively interventionist style stands out today amid today’s laissez-faire winemaking, but his skill in the vines and cellar is unparalleled, and the results are consistently superb.

Appellation: The Hautes-Côtes de Nuits is rural landscape about 10 miles west of the Côte de Nuits. The soils and exposition aren’t quite as perfect as in the Côte d’Or, but there’s real terroir here — and in the hands of an expert grower like Gros, the land produces excellent, honest, and affordable red Burgundies.

Vintage: The 2017 red Burgundies are delightful and easy — relatively low in tannin and acid, they offer early enjoyment and lovely terroir transparency. The French call them “restaurant wines,” a reference to their abundance, approachability, and charm.

Wine: Gros’s 2017 Hautes-Côtes de Nuits boasts unusual polish for its price, with a nose full of violets, cassis, and earth. The mouth shows juicy wild cherry fruits, a concentrated earthiness, hints of toast and wood, and a vibrant mouthfeel. Give it 30 minutes in a carafe, and it will drink far above its modest pricetag.

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Gros Hautes-Côtes de Nuits 2017
bottle price: $35

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Shimmering, Unoaked, Old-Vine White Burgundy

Harvest began in much of Burgundy last week, the earliest in a century. It’s a good reminder that even with all the advancements in measurement and technology, winemakers remain subject to the whim of Mother Nature — if the grapes are ripe a month ahead of normal, the picking must start.

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.

In 2017, his Macon-Verzé took 10 months to complete its fermentation (2-4 weeks is normal). “My oenolog kept telling me to heat the tank or add something to encourage the fermentation,” he told us. “But I told him ‘no, it will finish when it’s ready.’” Boy, was he right.

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 awarded 90 points, finding it “full-bodied, satiny and tensile.” A remarkable value under $30.

We’ll be interested to see what the unusual 2020 vintage delivers when its wines are bottled in a few years. But in the hands of winemakers like Maillet – those with the courage and skill to follow mother nature’s lead – we can confidently predict beauty.

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Maillet Macon-Verzé 2017
bottle price: $28

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Dark, Smooth, Gorgeous New Côtes du Rhône. $22

Vigneronnes: Sisters Dany and Carol Chastan make exquisite Rhône cuvées using old-school techniques. ambient yeasts, no oak (not even foudres), 100% whole cluster, no fining or filtering. It sounds like a recipe for a big rustic wine, but the Chastan sisters somehow managed to produce wines of superb texture and subtlety.

Appellation: Séguret is the simplest wine in the Joncuas lineup. Its soils usually don’t produce the same subtlety as Gigondas or Vacqueyras, but often match them in depth and punch. Séguret also often delivers terrific value.

Wine: The nose is dark and lovely, with notes of briary cherries, garrigue, orange peel, and provencal spices. The mouth is dark, old-school, and mid-weight, with lovely tannins and notes of raspberry and lavender. The handful of years in the bottle have smoothed and matured this wine beautifully. The Wine Advocate awarded 92 points, calling it “full-bodied,” “dark-fruited and herbal,” with a “long, mouthwatering finish.”

Serving: Think of this as an unusually rich and intense Côtes du Rhône. Serve it outside with summery fare: hearty salads or homemade pizza or grilled chicken thighs.

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Joncuas Séguret 2016
bottle price: $22

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Crisp, Refreshing, Zippy Unoaked Chablis. $25

Winemaker:   Cyril Gautheron is a 6th generation winemaker who approaches his winemaking with fanatical precision. He farms over 65 different plots of vines across the Chablis appellation, and vinifies each in its own separate tank. His obsession results in perfectly-calibrated cuvées.

Grape:   Chablis is 100% Chardonnay, typically raised in stainless steel instead of oak barrels. Chardonnay enthusiastically takes on the character of wherever it’s grown – in Chablis this means minerals, tension, energy, and purity.

Appellation:   Petit Chablis is the entry-level classification in Chablis, and can be less consistent than fancier appellations. But in the hands of a talented winemaker it can deliver a classic, stone-filled expression of the terroir. And today’s wine is proof.

Wine:   This wine bursts with cool lemon fruit and a stony, brisk mouthfeel. With no oak at all, sushi (or any raw fish) is a fantastic choice. Shellfish (especially oysters) and roast fish also work well, as will a simple roast chicken. And at $5/glass, it leaves room for a splurge on other ingredients. Whatever the choice, this wine will brighten your meal.

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Gautheron Petit Chablis 2018
bottle price: $25

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Brilliant 93-point Premier Cru Chablis: Pears and Sea Spray

Romain Collet’s lineup of 2018 Chablis is delicious. From their simple Vieilles Vignes to the magnificent Grand Cru Les Clos, Romain Collet handled the warm vintage with expert control, finding perfect balance and freshness in every cuvée.

Among our favorites this year was the Chablis 1er cru “Montmains.” Drawn from 45 year old vines in a Kimmeridgian limestone-filled vineyard, Romain uses no new oak for this cuvée: it’s Chablis at its most pure and brilliant.

Chablis is the ultimate food wine — dry, crisp, vibrant, and refreshing. With everyone cooking at home more than usual these days, this is as versatile as food-paring wines come. Jasper Morris MW writes that Romain Collet’s domaine “is moving towards joining the pantheon” in Chablis.

Collet’s 2018 Chablis 1er Montmains full of both depth and tension. The nose is bright and bursting with pear, stones, sea spray, lemon peel, and honey. The mouth is dry and chiseled, filled with exquisite tension and notes of green apple, chalk and oyster shells. Morris awarded 91-93 points, finding it “all about the stones,” with “good intensity and tension.”

We drink this with lots of food, but a particular favorite chez nous is Chicken Schnitzel. Use panko crumbs; after browning pour off most of the oil and deglaze with wine and finish with a cream reduction. The Chablis cuts like a knife through the sauce: a dynamic and delightful pair.

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Collet Chablis 1er “Montmains” 2018
bottle price: $35

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Reliably Outstanding: Smooth, Earthy Gigondas from Goubert

The Domaine les Goubert is among the most consistent winemakers in our portfolio. No matter the vintage – warm or cool, sunny or wet, easy or difficult — the Goubert wines are reliably outstanding.

The winemakers allow the vintage to influence the character of the wine, but never the quality. A case in point is the just-arrived 2017. The vintage was problematic for Grenache in the Southern Rhône, and many cuvées rely more heavily than usual on Syrah.

At Goubert in 2017, winemaker Florence Cartier decided to eschew barrels — the Syrah grape picks up oak notes more quickly, and she wanted to preserve the lovely floral fruit. The resulting cuvée is distinct and as delicious as ever.

Goubert’s 2017 Gigondas is smooth, rich and beautifully balanced. There’s much more intensity and depth than you expect from a sub-$30 bottle. The syrah contributes elegant notes of violets, laid over a muscular, black-fruit intensity that carries through a long and beautifully balanced finish.

The Wine Advocate awarded 90-92 points, finding “raspberry and stone fruit,” and suggesting a drinking window of 2020-2030. Goubert doesn’t get caught up in fads or winemaking trends, and they’re not reinventing the winemaking wheel. They simply turn out solid, reliably delicious red wine that drinks well above its price point.

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Goubert Gigondas 2017
bottle price: $29

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Magnificent New 2017 Pouilly-Fuissé

Pouilly-Fuissé was once the darling of American wine drinkers — fun to pronounce, rich and voluptuous in texture. Popularity bred overproduction, and quality suffered in the 80s. But in the last few decades local winemakers have begun to reclaim the wine, and today Jasper Morris calls it “the most dynamic white wine appellation in Burgundy.”

Nicolas Maillet’s exceptional Pouilly-Fuissé was once the only white in his lineup raised in any oak, but as of two years ago he eliminated oak for this one too. When we asked him about his decision, he explained it simply: “I realized the wine is good enough without oak; it doesn’t need it. So why add it?”

Maillet’s Pouilly-Fuissé vines are from an extraordinary plot: vines planted in 1945, from one of a handful of terroirs recently elevated to Premier Cru status. (The new status will appear on the label beginning in 2018.) Longtime readers may remember the now-retired Michel Forests’s excellent “Sur la Roche” cuvée — Maillet’s vines are from the same vineyard.

One taste of this wine and we think you’ll agree: it’s not missing anything. The terroir gives extraordinary complexity on its own — baked lemon, minerals, flowers, and herbs melt into a gorgeous and pulsating texture. The nose is expressive and delicate; the mouth is startlingly long.

But, as with everything else graced by the “Maillet touch,” the balance is impeccable: acidity, richness, length and aromatics all in perfect harmony. It’s elegant, polished, sophisticated white Burgundy; and an overperforming one under $40.

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Maillet Pouilly-Fuissé 2017
bottle price: $39

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Pouilly-Fumé Returns: Refreshing New Sauvignon Blanc. $19

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 has just arrived, and it’s the perfect antidote to a heatwave.

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 a summery dish of vegetables. We’re fans of 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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