Author: Thomas Wilcox

Sofie Borhmann is a bit of an anomaly in Burgundy. She’s not French (she’s from Belgium), not well known, and exports very little to the US. In a tiny region with exploding demand and skyrocketing prices, her wines are quiet, well priced, and relatively unknown. We found them on a restaurant list in Beaune, and after some persistence managed to track her down.

It was worth the effort – her wines have become favorites among many of our readers for their clarity, meticulous oaking, and excellent pricing. Most of her wines in our portfolio are whites, but her reds – particularly today’s Bourgogne rouge – are terrific as well. The just-arrived 2023 is her best yet.

Borhmann’s Bourgogne vines are across the RN-74 from Pommard. At 35 years old, they’re more mature than many Bourgogne-level vines, and their fruit produces a wine of real complexity. She uses 70% whole clusters, giving the wines excellent definition and exquisite tension.

The nose shows seductive, crushed ripe red fruits, overlaid with a soft floral character – an unmistakably Côte de Beaune profile. The mouth is perfectly ripe, smooth, and delicious, with fine chalky tannin supporting the bursting fruit. The 2023s possess an extraordinary balance of fruit, tension, and texture – the bottle on our Thanksgiving table evaporated with haste.

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Bohrmann Bourgogne Côte d’Or rouge 2023
bottle price: $45

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Romain Collet is one of the most exciting talents in our portfolio. He’s the energetic and innovative grandson of Jean Collet, the domaine’s founder. He experiments with all of today’s means of elevage, so a visitor to the cellars now walks past not only stainless steel tanks and large oak foudres, but also cement eggs, clay amphoras, and barrels of all sizes, from traditional Burgundian to demi-muids holding 400 or 500 liters.

Today we’re focused on his Chablis 1er cru cuvée from “Forêts,” a terroir made famous by Dauvissat’s iconic cuvée. Romain uses large concrete eggs for his Forêts cuvée, and the wine has a smoothed layer of fruit over the piercing Chablis acidity. The resulting wine is dry, dynamic and delicious, at once mouthfilling and bursting with saline and zip.

The just-arrived 2023 is terrific. It’s packed with yellow fruit and oyster shells – for the next few months we expect a dose of lemon cream atop the concentrated flavors. Down the road it should dry out and focus; the eggs mean there’s a subtle gras amid the dry extract, and the combination is delicious and mouthwatering. Jasper Morris found it “promising” with a note of “fresh licorice,” and writes “I expect it to develop well from here.”

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Collet Chablis 1er cru “Forêts” 2023
bottle price: $45

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The 2022 red Burgundies are shaping up to be an extraordinary vintage. Expectations were high from the start: “beautiful and bountiful… very good wines and plenty of them” wrote Jasper Morris. William Kelley called them on release “succulent, suave and charming.” The last year of tasting them in our homes and at the warehouse has confirmed – this is an all around terrific vintage.

The fruit is modern and ripe, the result of a very hot, very dry growing season. And yet the wines show impeccable balance, with low alcohols and excellent freshness. Roger Belland’s 2022 reds are some of the best he’s made, coinciding with a shift in winemaking style: they’ve dialed back the oak, extended elevage, added whole clusters.

The Santenay 1er cru “Beauregard” 2022 is simply delicious, and just getting started. Tasting just after bottling, Burghound noted “fine richness…suave and succulent flavors…could be enjoyed young but has the stuffing to replay up to a decade of keeping.” Over the past two years months in the bottle its youthful red fruits have mellowed a tad, and the palate has deepened and softened a beat or two. It’s still youthful and fresh, and we think it’s in a terrific maturity window today.

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Belland Santenay 1er rouge “Beauregard” 2022
bottle price: $54

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Amid a trend of rising prices across Burgundy, Chablis has maintained its place as a consistent source of value. Even Grand Crus from top tier producers still rarely break the $100/bottle mark. Of the forty premier cru vineyards across the appellation of Chablis, Montée de Tonnerre is undisputedly the finest and most prestigious. As wine writer Rajat Parr puts it, Montée de Tonnerre “produces at Grand Cru status, but still goes for Premier Cru prices.”

Romain Collet’s 2023 Chablis 1er “Montée de Tonnerre” provides terrific value. It’s one of his most impressive cuvées – regal, refined, complex and vibrant. He’s got exceptional terroir, and he knows how to use it. There’s everything at once – richness, depth, stoniness, length, and polish.

Jasper Morris found that “white clay with plenty of stones lend it some Left Bank minerality, but the superb exposure of the hillside allows the Right Bank richness of fruit to dominate.” We think Collet’s 2023 Montée de Tonnerre shows the completeness for which the vineyard is famous. Serve this with a fine dish from the sea – lobster, scallops, branzino, dover sole, swordfish, etc.

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Collet Chablis 1er cru “Montée de Tonnerre” 2023
bottle price: $49

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We were thrilled to welcome Domaine Christian Clerget back into the Ansonia portfolio last year. Thirtysomething Justine Clerget (Christian’s daughter) is now in charge, and has brought renewed energy, refined techniques, and a passion for organic viticulture. The Clerget wines were always classical, terroir-transparent, old school red Burgundy; Justine has maintained this spirit but added polish and class.

This tiny gem of a domaine has always been a favorite of ours – from their winery in Vougeot (population 174) they farm 6 hectares (14 acres) of average 60 year-old vines across eight appellations. Clerget’s wines have made many friends at our depot tastings this year, often winning tastings’ “wine of the day” award. We’ve just restocked stock from the exceptional 2022 vintage, and none is more exciting than their village-level Chambolle-Musigny.

The Chambolle is a blend from six different plots around the town, and shows the village’s classic silky, seductive nature. Neal Martin gave 90-92 points, praising its “sense of vibrancy and tension” on a “very well-controlled and persistent finish,” concluding “this is worth seeking out.” This is a wine of perfume, elegance, and grace, but with real density from the hot, dry summer – we think it punches above its village weight.

We’ve got lots of tasty, affordable wines to suggest for Thanksgiving, but if you’re in need of an upgrade this one would be a showstopper.

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Clerget Chambolle-Musigny 2022
bottle price: $99

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Sofie Bohrmann summed up the 2022 growing season with one word: “parfait.” After the catastrophic 2021 vintage, in which some of her parcels lost over 90% of their crop, 2022 provided clean, healthy grapes, and plenty of them. It was hot and dry as it always is these days, but rain fell at exactly the right time – a bit of good luck after a season of bad.

We’ve long loved the terroirs of St-Aubin, and are pleased to see them increasingly receiving their due – even if it’s meant they’re scarcer and pricier. We have several producers who farm here, but our favorite is Domaine Bohrmann. Bohrmann’s style is low oak, pure fruit, and exquisitely balanced texture: richness, depth and energy all at once. Raised in only 15% new oak for a year, their St-Aubin 1er cru comes from “En Remilly,” considered one of the town’s top vineyards.

The 2022 is outstanding – lively and generous at the same time. It’s thick and full of a rippling intensity, combining perfectly ripe golden fruit with structure and minerality. There’s precision capable of enhancing your most refined dishes — sole meuniere, for example. The use of oak is perfect: support for the minerals and fruit, but without too much spice or toast.

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Bohrmann St-Aubin 1er “En Remilly” 2022
bottle price: $72

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The wines of Margaux are some of the most celebrated in Bordeaux, admired for their unique blend of finesse and power. The soils are light and thin, full of gravel, sand and limestone, and the resulting wines combine Left-Bank muscle with an exquisite finesse and perfume.

Our latest arrival from Margaux is the Baron de Brane, the second wine of the prestigious second-growth estate Brane-Cantenac. The 2018 is simply beautiful, landing just in time for summer grilling season. This is 60% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Carménère.

Jeb Dunnuck writes “Another beautiful second wine…a rounded, sexy profile as well as terrific notes of blackcurrants, spice box, and earth, with hints of graphite.” The nose high toned silky character of classic Margaux that’s somehow both elegant and muscular. The mouth is no slouch though, with an extremely well balanced mouthfeel showing graphite, earth, cassis and an old-school weight and shape. Serve with something wintery.

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Baron de Brane Margaux 2018
bottle price: $55

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The Loire Valley continues to be the epicenter of modern of French winemaking. As other regions struggle with unusually warm summers, the Loire has become a reliable place for freshness and balance, a result of a cooler climate and a dedicated organic viticulture.

Winemakers Celine and Didier Sanzay are fifth generation growers in Saumur-Champigny.. Their wines are pure Cabernet Franc, and fit modern 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 subtle, natural expressions of the charming central Loire.

Sanzay’s regular cuvée of Saumur-Champigny is terrific — well priced and bursting with vibrant Cab Franc fruit. But today we’re suggesting their old-vine cuvée, a step up in intensity, longevity, and depth. It’s made from vines aged 50-110 years, and spends a year in large barrels (none new). The nose is delicate and pretty, with violets, plums, and red currants. The mouth is dense and very refined, with added notes of plum, allspice and black pepper.

This is expertly made Cabernet Franc, full of intensity, balance, and vibrant energy. It was the surprise hit at our Mushroomfest tasting over the weekend, and will fit our autumn dinner table with style.

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Sanzay Saumur-Champigny VV 2022
bottle price: $28

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In his book “The New French Wine” Jon Bonné writes that Jacqueline André’s wines “are about old-fashioned subtlety,” crediting her with “quietly upholding the extraordinary quality of her family’s domaine.” André is fully worthy of this praise, and it’s never been clearer than today.

Truly great winemakers show their greatness most clearly in difficult vintages, and Jacqueline André’s 2021 results put her in that class. The 2021 growing season brought challenges of biblical proportions, with damaging frost and hail in April, followed by serial heat waves, followed by late season rains. All of this dramatically reduced yields and threw off harvest schedules.

But despite the challenges of 2021, Jacqueline André has made an elegant and absolutely delicious wine. Consonant with the dictates of the year, her Chateauneuf du Pape rouge 2021 is a wine of medium weight and mild tannins rather than huge density. Grenache always dominates the fruit in her wine, but in 2021 the distinct aromas of dried rose petals join the usual sweet wild strawberries to produce a refined and elegant glass of wine that is strikingly good.

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André Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2021
bottle price:$65

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Sablet is a classic Southern Rhône town. Its 9th century streets are home to just 1400 residents, a couple of boulangeries, and a handful of restaurants and wineries. Winemaker Eric Chauvin is a Sablet native (also a volunteer firefighter), and it’s also the location of his tiny excellent Domaine le Souverain. His organic, balanced, extremely well-priced red Rhônes have become an everyday delight for many readers.

Souverain’s 2023 Séguret is perhaps their best yet. Dark, inky berry fruit explodes from the glass, and on the palate the wine pulsates with life and energy. Eric credits careful organic viticulture with his success and we don’t doubt him. The nose both fresh and intense,  with notes of crushed berries, lavender, and a cool earthiness. The mouth is smooth, friendly, and refreshing – clean dark fruit, just the right amount of tannin, and a smooth, easy finish.

Rhône blends are a dime a dozen these days, but rarely are they this packed with flavor, this well balanced, and this reasonably priced. Your autumn house red has arrived.

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Souverain Séguret 2023
bottle price: $22

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Cyril Gautheron makes a wide range of wines from his family domaine in Chablis. They’re all from the same grape of course (Chardonnay), and all from the same town (Chablis). But the range from Petit Chablis up to Grand Cru covers an enormous range of terroir and expression. Each is carefully and beautifully crafted, leading Jasper Morris MW to call him “a superb producer.”

Among our favorites in 2023 was his Montmains Premier Cru – it’s an exceptional plot, with vines high on a southeast facing hill planted in the 1940s. The balance is just beautiful, with good roundness in the mouth, plenty of freshness at the same time, and extraordinary persistence on the palate.

The 80+ year age of these vines has something to do with the exceptional results, but vinification also plays a part. For a part of this wine Cyril has used a 3500 liter wooden cuve tronconique (a cone lopped off at the top to make a truncated cone). It delivers micro-oxygenation without much movement of the lees, retaining freshness and focus while adding depth. This is superb white Burgundy, available for half the cost of Meursault.

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Gautheron Chablis 1er Montmains VV 2023
bottle price: $52

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Yesterday we spent a delightful afternoon tasting and sharing lunch at the Fattoria Poggerino in Tuscany. It’s been years since we last visited, and it was wonderful to walk among the sangiovese vines again. Piero Lanza is a gifted winemaker who has turned his humble property into what top wine writers consider a reference point for Chianti Classico.

“I’m like a chef refining a recipe,” Piero told us “but I only get one chance a year – so it takes time to perfect.” Two decades of winemaking have done just that, and Piero’s wines are better than ever. His current release (2023 Annata and 2022 Riserva) will be out in January Futures, but his 2021 Riserva is in stock in Newton and it’s magnificent.

Pierro yesterday said he considers 2021 among the best vintages of his career. Made with old-vine sangiovese grapes from his “Bugialla” vineyard, Poggerino’s top wine is exceptional. It’s bold and deep with remarkable purity and intensity, but with an elegance that carries the wine through a long and refined finish. Antonio Galloni of Vinous awarded 94 points calling it “superb… dark, virile, and strapping.”

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Poggerino Chianti Classico Riserva “Bugialla” 2021
bottle price: $45

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Many famous chateaux in Bordeaux produce a “second wine,” a bottling of juice from younger vines or less favored corners of the vineyard. The quality of this cuvée varies greatly depending on chateau and vintage, but at its best it can be an early maturing wine with excellent pricing, and a careful consumer can find tremendous value.

One of our favorites recent second wine discoveries is the Murmure du Larcis Ducasse, a St-Emilion Grand Cru. Chateau Larcis Ducasse is a well known estate whose flagship label “flirts with perfection” in good vintages (Jeb Dunnuck). We’ve just acquired some of the second wine from 2018, and it’s a real find. If you’re in need of a serious, mature, sub-$60 Bordeaux, look no further.

James Suckling gave the 2018 Murmure a 95, just two points behind the flagship label that year, finding it “elegant…juicy, and fleshy texture…savory…such balance.” This wine stole the show at our tasting in January, and we’re delighted it’s finally arrived. Among a crowded field of other St-Emilions, this showed a beautiful floral nose with violets and plum, and lush, very fresh fruit. The mouth is sturdy and rich, and every tannin is coated in gorgeous ripe fruit. Drink with steak.

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Murmure du Larcis Ducasse
St-Emilion Grand Cru 2018
bottle price: $52

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Vincent Boyer now works with his sister Sylvie, and together they share the viticulture (mostly her) and winemaking (mostly him). They’ve nearly completed their conversion to organic farming, and their always excellent wines have become even better in recent years. They raised prices after their catastrophic 2021 vintage where they lost 90% in some plots from frost, but actually lowered them this year given the healthier crop.

The Boyers use an extended two-year elevage in oak barrels and then concrete eggs, and the resulting wines are sleek and full, steering well clear of the traps of overoaking and heaviness. Boyer’s Bourgogne Côte d’Or comes from vines near his hometown of Meursault, and even this humble cuvée shows a glimmer of that golden Meursault character.

The resulting wine is the best value Bourgogne blanc in our cellar – and with this year’s pricing it might be the best value too. Burghound found the nose “elegant” and “exuberantly fresh,” with “delicious and equally vibrant flavors” in the mouth. The nose opens with citrus and white flowers, and the mouth is full of concentrated fruit and tension. An exceptionally successful white Burgundy, and at the price, an excellent value.

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Boyer-Martenot Bourgogne Côte d’Or 2022
bottle price: $38

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Organic viticulture is the future of winemaking — the majority of our winemakers are organic or in conversion. But at some domaines, it’s also the past. The Domaine du Joncuas in Gigondas turned 100 years old a few years ago, and they’ve practiced organic winemaking, as they put it, “depuis toujours” (“since forever”). Writer Jon Bonné cites them as a benchmark producer for the region, and labels them “essential defenders of grenache’s good name.”

Joncuas wines prove at least one thing about organic winemaking: it works. Sisters Dany and Carole Chastan are third generation vigneronnes practicing old-school winemaking — whole clusters, limited sulfur, all wild yeasts. They use no new oak, and neither fine nor filter. Their wines are juicy and deep and very expressive, with gorgeous fruit.

Their 2019 Gigondas would beat the socks off many a Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Grown from ancient Grenache vines and crafted with technology that their grandfather who founded the domaine would recognize, this is old-school winemaking at its best. Vinous’s Josh Raynolds awarded 92 points, finding “sweet raspberry and bitter cherry…excellent clarity…silky texture…energetic, long, sappy finish.”

As autumn finally arrives, this is rich, cozy, profound wine that’s not to be missed.

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Joncuas Gigondas 2019
bottle price: $42

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