Author: Thomas Wilcox

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Pantry Wine: $16 Côtes du Rhône

Most of us are getting better acquainted with our pantry these days, stocking up on pasta, canned goods, toilet paper, and other necessities. We won’t go as far as to claim that wine belongs on an “essentials” list, but we’ll put it in the category of “strongly prefer not to go without.”

So today we’re suggesting a supremely versatile wine — gulpable, crowd-pleasing (not that you’re having anyone over any time soon), and delightfully affordable: the Goubert Côtes du Rhône.

This won’t be the fanciest wine in your cellar, but it might be the most useful.

A Côtes du Rhône should be three things: balanced, dark, and inexpensive. Goubert’s is all three. The relatively low alcohol, keeps it fresh and lively on the palate. The blend of six grapes classic Rhône grapes forms a rich, hearty, dark wine. And it’s inexpensive enough to pull out at a moment’s notice.

Goubert’s 2018 Côtes du Rhône is the expressive and refined, showing dark wild cherries, raspberries, and a hint of menthol. The mouth is both jammy and refreshing, with notes of white pepper, licorice, and plums.

It’s a by-the-glass wine for your kitchen, something to enjoy before and during your meal. Serve this with anything from hamburgers to our favorite pasta: oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, and ample grated parmesan.

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Goubert Côtes du Rhône
bottle price: $16

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Extraordinary 2018 Premier Cru Old-Vine White Burgundy: 94 points, $39

Cyril Gautheron makes Chablis in its most stripped down form. His pure Chardonnay cuvées are intense and full, but draw their substance from their fruit instead of oak. They show minerality, depth, ripeness, and gorgeous texture.

For years we’ve bought three cuvées: Petit Chablis, Vieilles Vignes, and Vaucoupin 1er cru. Today we add a second premier cru: Montmains. Gautheron’s label for this wine also says Vieilles Vignes, and he’s not kidding — the vines date to the 1930s.

For readers that know Gautheron’s cuvées, Montmains shows all the intense, boldness of Vaucoupin, with an even silkier and deeper texture. The bottle we opened yesterday was gorgeous: concentrated essence of Chablis, with notes of seashells, dry lemon zest, and hints of melon.

Decanter’s Master of Wine Tim Aitkin was seriously impressed, awarding 94 points, writing “this is all about texture and fruit intensity rather than oak. Sappy, fresh and intense… lovely focus and zip and leesy, waxy concentration.”

Chablis remains a source for unparalleled value in the wine world — from anywhere else an old-vine cuvée with this concentration and polish would run $75+. Quantities limited, we don’t expect this to be around long.

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Gautheron Chablis 1er “Montmains” 2018
bottle price: $39

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“Sleek” Premier Cru Volnay: Dried Flowers and Silk

Red Burgundies aren’t known for their heartiness. Pinot Noir is a delicate, thin-skinned varietal — light in color and body. It usually displays subtlety over strength, polish over power.

But what they lack in weight they more than make up in elegance. The reds of Burgundy are unmatched in their ability to convey complexity, subtlety, and grace. In the Côte de Nuits it’s hard to pick a favorite town, but in the Côte de Beaune one name stands above the rest.

Volnay embodies the velvety silkiness of red Burgundy as well as any town in the region. Our producer here is the Domaine Roger Belland, who marries Volnay’s elegance with the domaine’s approachable style. The result is exceptionally fine red Burgundy, that’s also drinkable young.

Three of Volnay’s vineyards stand above the rest: Caillerets, Champans, and Santenots. And so from a town with no Grand Crus, these wines are as good as Volnay gets. (For a 2017 from Caillerets, check the current March Futures.) Today’s Volnay is from the premier cru Santenots vineyard, right along the border with Meursault.

Belland’s 2017 Volnay-Santenots premier cru is a delight. The nose shows plum, blackberry and spice; the mouth is tense and full, with fine tannins, and a savory, gamey finish. Burghound awarded 91 points, calling it “attractively sleek,” spicy and fresh” and “overtly floral.”

One of our best customers (with a serious Burgundy cellar) opened a bottle of this recently, and told us he and his dinner guest nearly came to blows over the last glass in the bottle.

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Belland Volnay 1er “Santenots” 2017
bottle price: $69

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Fleshy and Vibrant: New Everyday White Burgundy

White Burgundy is among the food-friendliest wines around. It works at the high end – an ageworthy Meursault, decanted for an hour, with veal medallions in a cream sauce, a hint of lemon, carefully sauteed mushrooms, a sprig of parsley… you get the idea.

But it 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 over delivers for $6/glass.

The 2018 Bourgogne from Gérard Thomas has just arrived. All of Thomas’s 2018s are lipsmakingly good — a tasty combination of fleshy texture and shimmering energy. At each classification level the wines drink above their weight.

The Bourgogne is always good with food, and the 2018 is no exception; but this vintage has a fuller texture, making it delicious on its own. The nose is soft and elegant, with hazelnut and wood notes melting into lemon and baked apple fruit. There’s solid acidity and plenty of body, and it’s more mouthfilling than most wine of its class.

We strongly recommend setting aside a night for a high-end white Burgundy — Thomas’s other 2018s 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 2018
bottle price: $29

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Rich, Muscular New 2016 St-Emilion Grand Cru

Most of the world’s Merlot is undistinguished. Its default expression is a soft, rounded wine lacking tannin, acidity, and character. “Global” merlot is smooth and easy, but neither distinctive nor particularly interesting.

But in Bordeaux, Merlot thrives as an essential component to the region’s most iconic wines. And its center stage – where the grape reaches its ultimate expression – are the Right Bank towns of Pomerol and St-Emilion.

Today we’re excited to release our Grand Cru St-Emilion from the Chateau Montlisse, from the exceptional 2016 vintage. It’s a mouthfilling, intense, drink-now red Bordeaux that packs much more than $7/glass of punch.

Made from 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, it’s a rich, velvety blend with a classic combination of dark fruit and spice. Wine Advocate awarded 91 points, finding it “medium-bodied, soft, refreshing and elegant,” with “quiet intensity.” Antonio Galloni of Vinous found it “soft, pleasant, [and] easygoing.”

This wine requires no patience: the mouth is rich and muscular, with fleshy, approachable tannins supporting the gorgeous fruit. Look for notes of plums and toast with cassis, dark chocolate and dried violets. These days good Bordeaux often carries a three- or four-figure price tag, but it’s good to remember that it doesn’t have to.

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Montlisse St-Emilion Grand Cru 2016
bottle price: $35

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Berries & Earth: Gulpable, Organic, Refreshing Côtes du Rhône. $19

Last Spring winemaker Eric Chauvin took us out into his vines for our tasting. He believes fervently in organic winemaking, and wanted us to taste his wine en plein air, amid the rich earth from which they spring.

The combination was magic — Chauvin’s wines pulsate with life and energy, a result of his low-intervention style and careful organic viticulture. Tasting them outside brought out their vibrancy, connecting us to the millenia of wines made from the very same earth.

These aren’t the fanciest or the most ageworthy wines in our portfolio. But it’s hard to think of any that are more alive.

We discovered Eric Chauvin’s wine three years ago in a bistro in Séguret. It took a few days to track him down — his Domaine le Souverain has no website, no road sign, and he didn’t answer our first few calls. But after finally connecting we realized quickly what a find he was.

Chauvin’s wines are intense and beautifully balanced Rhône blends that drink more like a Gigondas or Vacqueyras than the Côtes-du-Rhône pricing suggests. His 2018 Séguret is gorgeous — deep and juicy, with a blackberry and lavender nose, with a cool earthiness that fans of the Mas Foulaquier will immediately recognize. The mouth is beautifully balanced, with softened but present tannins, clean dark fruit, and a faint smokiness in the nose.

Enjoy this with a homemade pizza, or unwind with a glass on its own on a weeknight after work.

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Souverain Séguret 2018
bottle price: $19

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“Really Delicious,” “Creamy” New 2018 White Burgundy

The best kept secret in a Burgundy collector’s cellar is his stash of St-Aubin. From a once forgotten valley wedged between the superstar towns of Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet, the wines of St-Aubin are some of the most overperforming wines we know. Jancis Robinson calls it now “virtually the equal” of its famous neighbors.

Gerard Thomas’s terrific crop of 2018s has just arrived in our warehouse, and we’re thrilled to have them in stock. Today we’re beginning with our favorite, the 2018 premier cru St-Aubin from “Murgers des Dents de Chien.” From a beautiful plot overlooking the hill of Montrachet, this special plot is only a few hundred yards from White Burgundy Mecca itself.

The St-Aubin 1er cru is exquisite wine — consistently excellent year in and year out. It’s polished and modern, and drinks like a far fancier bottle. St-Aubin is hardly the secret it once was, but it still provides nearly unparalleled white Burgundy value

The 2018 of this cuvée is sleek, sophisticated, and delicious. Winemaker Isabel Humbert has channeled the extra weight from the warm summer into a powerful, mouthfilling, delicious wine, which nonetheless retains its vibrancy. The oak is perfectly integrated into the wine, with notes of yellow fruits, pears, and spice. Jancis Robinson’s reviewer found “generous fruit, creamy texture and really delicious harmony.”

Whie Burgundy isn’t getting any cheaper, but St-Aubin continues to get better. We think this 2018 still way overperforms its pricetag, and look forward to enjoying it for years to come.

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Thomas St-Aubin 1er cru “Murgers” 2018
bottle price: $52

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“Gorgeous,” “Impeccable” 2016 Chianti Classico. $25

French wines have long been the focus of the Ansonia portfolio. Of the 45 winemakers we work with, about half are from Burgundy, and all but a few are French. Our longtime exception to this rule is the Fattoria Poggerino.

Poggerino’s wines are all pure sangiovese — dark, delicately balanced expressions of an intense, powerful grape. We’ve worked with Poggerino for almost 15 years, but recently their star has risen dramatically. In his recent book Rajat Parr calls their wines “excellent” and “some of the purest expressions of the grape in Italy.”

Poggerino’s 2016 Chianti Classico has just arrived, and it’s simply terrific. It shows strawberry jam and anise on the nose, and cherries and roses in the mouth. The texture is firm and long, with excellent aging potential, but it’s finer grained than in some recent vintages, offering gorgeous, velvety immediate drinking.

Vinous founder Antonio Galloni was effusive: “Poggerino’s 2016 Chianti Classico is gorgeous. Aromatically lifted and juicy on the palate, the 2016 has much to offer. Black cherry, plum, tobacco, new leather, licorice and spice… the 2016 is impeccably done. Best of all, it will drink well right out of the gate. 92 points”

We think this is among the finer vintages of Chianti Classico that Poggerino has made. And at $5/glass, it’s a no brainer.

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Poggerino Chianti Classico 2016
bottle price: $25

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Delightful, Precise, Old-Vine Chablis Returns. $29

We’ve imported Chablis from the Domaine Gautheron for nearly a decade. Cyril Gautheron’s precise, elegant, well-priced white Burgundies have become a staple at our warehouse tastings, our kitchen table, and the cellars of many of our readers.

A week ago, for the very first time since they joined our portfolio, we ran out completely at the warehouse – not a single bottle of any cuvée from any vintage. It’s a mark of just how good these wines are: classic, honest Chablis priced to enjoy at a moment’s notice.

But unlike the scarcity of Purell or canned foods at your local grocer, our Gautheron shortage lasted only a few days. On Wednesday we received over a hundred cases of their excellent 2018s — our three standby cuvées, and an exciting new one.

We’re starting with a favorite: the old-vine cuvée. Drawn from vines planted in the 1950s, the Chablis VV shows excellent dry material. There’s no oak apparent, and the wine shows a soft savory spice that suggests grape skins, herbs, and dried flowers. Think Chablis that wants to be Muscadet: dry, intense, stony, and full of life.

For those worried that the European heatwave of Summer 2018 would produce flat wines missing character and life, fear not. At Gautheron, at least, they show an extra dose of weight, but never lose their freshness. This is Chardonnay in its purest form, and a bargain under $30.

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Gautheron Chablis VV 18
bottle price: $29

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[ADVANCE ORDER] Stellar 93-point Premier Cru White Burgundy: 2017 Montée de Tonnerre

The seven Grand Crus of Chablis sit side by side on a hillside facing the town. Just off their eastern border lies the premier cru “Montée de Tonnerre,” a vineyard known for overperforming its classification. As Rajat Parr writes, Montée de Tonnerre “produces at Grand Cru status, but still goes for Premier Cru prices.”

For proof of such value, look no further than Romain Collet’s 2017 Montée de Tonnerre. Where premier crus of the Côte d’Or usually exceed $100 per bottle, Collet’s Grand-Cru-like Premier Cru doesn’t even break $40 at retail. And today’s pricing is even better.

Collet’s excellent lineup of 2018s will be available through our Futures program later this year, but we have managed to get a small allocation of the few remaining 2017 premier crus, so we’re sneaking them into the March Futures, out next week. We’re particularly excited to have snapped up the rest of Collet’s 2017 Montée de Tonnerre.

Romain Collet turned in a terrific lineup of wines in 2017, and we’re not the only ones to notice. His 2017 Montée de Tonnerre received 93-point scores from Jasper Morris and William Kelley (WA), and a 92 from Burghound.

The 2017 Montée de Tonnerre packs a remarkable amount into a sub-$35 bottle: it shows pear, white flowers, and intense lemon peel in the nose, with seabreeze and citrus joining a beautifully tension-filled palate. Kelley writes of its “excellent texture and concentration;” Burghound calls it “outstanding,” “delicious,” and “refined,” concluding “this lovely effort is a wine of finesse.”

There simply isn’t value like this anywhere else in Burgundy, and, we might argue, the world: near-Grand Cru terroir for $32/bot. Quantities are limited; first come, first served. Look for the rest of March Futures out next week.

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Collet Chablis 1er cru
“Montée de Tonnerre” 2017

Ansonia retail: $504
March Futures: $385/case

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Nectar of the Northern Rhône: Extraordinary New Condrieu

The concept of terroir underlies nearly everything in French winemaking. French winemakers prize a wine’s expression of “somewhereness,” above all else. Plant Pinot Noir in Provence, and you’ll get a generic, uninteresting red wine; plant it on a hillside north of Beaune, and the result can be other-worldly.

Other grapes find their supreme expression in other spots: Sauvignon Blanc in Sancerre, Syrah in Côte Rôtie, Cabernet and Merlot in Bordeaux. And for the varietal viognier, the undisputed pinnacle of form is Condrieu.

Condrieu is a tiny appellation — just over half a square mile of vines. But it produces one of the world’s great white wines, as complex aromatically as it is elegant and mouthfilling on the palate. For fans of Viognier, there’s Condrieu, and then there’s everything else.

Our source for Condrieu is the brothers Bonnefond, a domaine best known for their excellent Côte Rôties. Their 2018 Condrieu is superb — the nose is extraordinarily complex and perfumed, with notes ranging from gardenia, herb honey, apricot, green tea, and dried mango. The mouth is smooth and rich with notes of peach and pear, and a beautiful grape-skin briskness that balances the mouthcoating texture.

Condrieu is the perfect winter white wine — rich, mouthfilling, expressive and alive. So complex and diverse is the array of flavors that it requires no accompaniment from food. Should hunger force your hand, a simple French salad is the best choice.

Final note — serve this in your largest Burgundy-style balloon glasses, and let the wine come up to room temperature in the glass. It’s an aromatic experience unparallelled in the world of food.

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Bonnefond Condrieu 2018
bottle price: $62

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2016 Margaux: Inky, Elegant, Profound Left-Bank Bordeaux

If you know anything about Margaux, it’s probably about the iconic Chateau Margaux. But there’s lots to the appellation besides the famous First-Growth chateau. Margaux’s sandy, gravel-filled soils produce some of the Left Bank’s most elegant red wines; Jancis Robinson cites their “haunting perfume,” and “silky texture.”

Last year we discovered a delightful new wine from Margaux, the Chateau Larrieu-Terrefort. We’re not claiming it competes with its famous neighbor, but with Chateau Margaux running $750 per bottle, this sub-$50 cuvée is a comparative bargain.

Margaux has exceptional terroir – don’t limit yourself to experiencing it only as a splurge.

The 2016 Larrieu Terrefort Margaux is a sophisticated, classy blend with real subtlety and elegance. It’s dark and powerful, but with silky, seductive texture; and at 13.5% alcohol it’s a welcome break from domestic Cabs with sledgehammer power.

The nose offers floral notes of violet, almost syrah-like, that blend nicely with the oak in which the wine was raised. Joining the violets are dark chocolate, black raspberry, and a hint of earth. It’s still a young wine, but its tannins are rich and perfectly balanced.

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Larrieu-Terrefort Margaux 2016
bottle price: $48

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A “Superb” Red Burgundy Source: 92-pt Premier Cru Givry

We’re often apprehensive when a new generation takes over a domaine. Young winemakers usually introduce needed modernization, but sometimes get caught chasing trendiness. No winemaker in our portfolio has more expertly balanced these impulses than Gautier Desvignes.

The impressive transformation chez Desvignes has not gone unnoticed. Vinous’s Neal Martin recently found Gautier’s wines “really quite superb.” And the Wine Advocate’s William Kelley calls the domaine “very much a Côte Chalonnaise address to watch,” and advising that “importers looking for a potential future star should beat a path to his door.”

Our customers have thoroughly enjoyed the fruits of Gautier’s winemaking renaissance. His village Givry is as good as entry level red Burgundy gets, and his premier cru Clos du Vernoy wowed people at our Newton Depot a few weeks ago. Even his white Givry, which we recently imported for the first time, has been making fans.

But the wine that shows just how far Gautier has been able to push his terroir is his Givry 1er cru “Clos Charlé.” In the 2017 vintage this seriously impressed Kelley, who awarded 92 points, finding “cassis and cherries… grilled meats, licorice and rich soil,” calling it a medium to full-bodied wine that’s the fleshiest, broadest-shouldered red in the range.”

This wine is proof that serious red Burgundy can be found outside the Côte d’Or. Givry continues to be a real source of value, and the wines continue to get better.

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Desvignes Givry 1er “Clos Charlé” 2017
bottle price: $38

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Transcendent Red Burgundy: 2015 Michel Gros Vosne-Romanée

People sometimes ask why we’re so drawn to Burgundy. Partly it’s nostalgia — we lived here for a year two decades ago, and have a fondness for the place and its people. But our goal at Ansonia is to find wines that reflect their origin, and no region does this better than Burgundy.

Burgundian winemakers use only two grapes — one white and one red — to find expressions of a singular plot of land. And because a wine is only as good as the earth from which it’s made, the finest Burgundies in any cellar are often from the hallowed town of Vosne-Romanée.

Vosne has been the epicenter of winemaking for nearly a thousand years. Centuries ago, a monk wrote that “there are no ordinary wines in Vosne;” this continues to be true. There’s a unique floral character to the best wines from Vosne, a blend of silky finesse with pure intensity. It is the pinnacle of Pinot elegance.

Our winemaker in Vosne-Romanée is Michel Gros, a vigneron who has lived his entire life in the town. His family has made wine there for nearly 200 years, and for a long time his mother was the town’s mayor. Today Michel’s domaine is world famous as a top source for red Burgundy, and the wines from Vosne are at the heart of his lineup.

Michel and his son Pierre are both quiet and humble in person, exuding a modesty that belies the excellence of their product. The Gros wines are among the most consistently excellent red Burgundies in our cellar, year in and year out. In a vintage like 2015, declared by many writers among the top two or three in a generation, they’re nothing short of transcendent.

The 2015 Vosne-Romanée is simply extraordinary wine. The nose shows violets and dried roses, redcurrants and a bit of spice. The mouth is intense and lively but smoothed, with silky ripe tannins in perfect balance with the dark pinot noir fruit. Open one today and you’ll be seriously impressed; open one in five years, and you’ll understand the millenium of fame.

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Michel Gros Vosne-Romanée 2015
bottle price: $85

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