Author: Thomas Wilcox

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Smooth, “Excellent” 93-point Premier Cru White Burgundy

The 2018 vintage provided the Chablisiens with something they hadn’t seen in years: decent volume. The 2016 and 2017 growing seasons brought the trials of Job — hail, frost, freezes and everything else, it seemed. In 2018, catastrophe turned to fruitfulness, as the vines produced strikingly large quantities of ripe fruit.

The warm growing season meant wine with a different profile from the usual Chablis — rounder and riper — but it is delicious and still carries the advantageous pricing that is Chablis’s calling card these days. Romain Collet’s lineup of 2018s are excellent, showing expert balance between ripeness and acidity.

They offer excellent early drinking opportunities — one glass of today’s wine and we think you’ll know what we mean.

Collet’s Chablis 1er cru “Vaillons” is vinified and raised in a third each of barrel, foudre (large barrel) and tank — the resulting wine has no notes of oak in the nose, but has hint of softness to balance out the classic Chablisienne mineral tension.

We loved Vaillons in 2018, and so did Jasper Morris MW who gave 90-93 pts. The nose shows minerals, lemon, and a deep core of savory oyster shells; the mouth is floral and smooth, with real subtlety and elegance, and what Morris called “an excellent finish.”

Like Collet’s other 2018s, we think this will age nicely for another few years. But the 2018 sun makes at a delight today.

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

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Inky, Bursting Rhône Red: New $25 Organic Vacqueyras

The Clos du Joncuas might be the most exciting recent find in our portfolio. Based in Gigondas in the Southern Rhône, sisters Dany and Carol Chastan learned their craft from their parents and grandparents, and have themselves been farming organically for 40 years.

This is old school winemaking: 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.

We don’t know what goes into their alchemy, but it’s pretty easy to like what comes out.

Last year the 2016 Joncuas Gigondas made lots of friends among our readers. That wine is back in stock (as is the exciting 2017), but today we’re focused on their simpler wine — the 2018 Vacqueyras. This wine blew us away at our tasting this spring, and a glass yesterday of the just-arrived batch confirmed our enthusiasm.

Made from Grenache and a splash of Mourvèdre, this wine resembles a cool inky Syrah, even though it’s absent from the blend. A floral nose gives way to ripe raspberries, lavender, sweet plums and earth. This is rich wine whose first impression is nonetheless freshness. There is good underlying structure, but the wine utterly without harsh or drying tannins.

This makes a powerful argument for being the best $25 bottle in the store.

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Joncuas Vacqueyras 2018
bottle price: $25

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Dry, Fresh, Floral: Organic Loire Valley Chenin Blanc. $19

Chenin blanc is a chameleon. Its expressions range from bone dry to startlingly 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 simple, dry, “summer sipper” 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. His lineup ranges from red to off-dry white to pet nat, but it’s his dry “Melodie” we’re suggesting today.

Melodie offers Chenin’s pear-like fruit — clean, pure and delightful — in an entirely dry package. It works beautifully with food — think fish tacos or a busy summer salad — but also on its own as a patio aperitif on an August afternoon. 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 “Melodie” 2018
bottle price: $19

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Provençal Rosé Returns, $19

As some of you noticed, we underbought rosé this year. Our entire summer’s worth sold out in 15 days, and by June 1 there wasn’t a drop of pink in the entire warehouse. Turns out all those people sitting at home got thirsty when the weather warmed up!

Well the good news is that our crowd favorite rosé is back in stock, and none too soon. With the temperature here in Boston pushing 100 today, it’s clear that summer is far from over. We’re glad to have a couple bottles of Goubert’s crisp, dry, and refreshing rosé in our fridge, and we recommend the same to anyone south of the Canadian border. Here are our notes from May:

Grenache/Syrah/Mourvèdre | Lightweight and lively. The nose is dry and fresh, with dry strawberries and lime zest. The mouth is light, clean, refreshing and delightful. You forget it’s even there. Pair this with fresh goat cheese on crackers.

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Goubert Rosé 2019
bottle price: $19

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Picnic Wine: $16 Côtes du Rhône

With most socializing happening outdoors these days, we’re getting lots of requests for wines suited for a patio or a picnic. We ran out of most of our everyday wines back when everyone was busy stocking up on pasta and purell. But we’ve just restocked, and none is more welcome than today’s Côtes du Rhône.

Goubert’s humble Côtes du Rhône is the least expensive wine in our portfolio (not counting Futures), but we think it well overperforms its rank. It’s supremely versatile: gulpable, crowd-pleasing, well priced, and pairable with everything and nothing at all. It’s not the fanciest wine in your cellar, but it might be the most useful.

A Côtes du Rhône should be balanced, dark, and inexpensive — Goubert’s is all three. It’s juicy, fresh and lively on the palate. The nose 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. And the 2019 that has just arrived is a whole lot of wine in a $16 bottle.

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 2019
bottle price: $16

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Exquisite, Unoaked Chablis from 88-Year-Old Vines. $29

Winemaker: Romain Collet has transformed his humble family domaine in Chablis into a real source to watch. Jasper Morris MW calls writes that under Romain’s direcion, Domaine Collet is “moving towards joining the pantheon of the top quality outfits” in Chablis.

Vintage: After several years of damaging frosts in Chablis, 2018 provided much-needed relief: quantity and quality. Romain told us his 80-something grandmother said it was among the best crops she could remember. The resulting wines have been delightful: ripe and smooth, but with solid foundations and good tension; we expect them to drink well early.

Wine: There are no regulations concerning what qualifies as an “old vine” in France, but Collet’s would meet just about anyone’s standard. Planted in 1932, these vines have survived everything Nature (and man) have thrown at them over nine decades. So intense and complex is their juice that Romain uses zero new oak for this cuvée, choosing instead to let the pure fruit shine through.

And shine it does — the nose is clean, pure, and precise, showing pear and stones. The mouth is brisk and lively but also intense and smooth, with an enticing roundness punctuated by vibrant minerality. This is Chablis as it was meant to be: no oak, clean, pure, lively, and smooth. We only hope we reach 88 with this amount of vigor…

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Collet Chablis VV 2018
bottle price: $29

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Licorice, Blackberry, Olive: “Seductive” New 92-pt Cornas

Domaine:   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. He’s humble and quiet in person, but his wines are bold, assertive, and charming.

Appellation:   Cornas is the southernmost appellation in the Northern Rhône. Its rules are northern: pure, unblended Syrah that ages for decades. But 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.

Wine:   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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“Total Knockout” Chianti Riserva, 95 points

The Fattoria Poggerino is the lone Italian source in our portfolio. Their careful organic viticulture and unusually pure wines have vaulted them to the top of most lists of winemakers in Chianti. Vinous writes of their Poggerino’s “remarkable purity and nuance,” and Rajat Parr calls their wines “excellent” and “some of the purest expressions of the grape in Italy.”

Pooggerino’s finest wine is their Chianti Classico Riserva from the “Bugialla” vineyard. Like their other wines, it is pure, unblended Sangiovese. But the Riserva comes from their oldest vines — nearly 45 years old now — and they raise it carefully in oak before bottling.

It’s always their top performing wine, regularly winning acclaim from critics. But the 2016 caught special attention.

Vinous’s Antonio Galloni was seriously impressed with Poggerino’s regular $25 Chianti Classico, awarding 92 points and calling it “gorgeous…aromatically lifted and juicy on the palate… the 2016 is impeccably done”

But he somehow found even better things to say about the 2016 Riserva. Awarding 95 points and calling it “a total knockout,” he wrote of its “superb depth and textural richness.” We agree — the mouthfeel of this wine is extraordinary, combining a palate-coating intensity with balance, fine tannins and polish.

Galloni concluded by calling it “fabulous in every way.” It’s hard to improve on that, so we wont try.

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Poggerino Chianti Classico Riserva 2016
bottle price: $45

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Supple, Earthy, Delicious: Old-School 2014 Pommard

Appellation: Pommard
The town of Pommard produces the Côte de Beaune’s boldest wines — they’re sturdy and masculine, and usually age beautifully. Pommard is often compared with its neighbor Volnay, which tends to produce wines of elegance and finesse.

Vintage: 2014
Burgundy critic Steven Tanzer calls 2014 “a delicious midweight vintage with alluring fruit, juicy supporting acidity, expressive terroir character, supple tannins.” We’ve found many of the 2014 red Burgundies are in a terrific place now.

Wine: Mégard Pommard
Mégard’s Pommard vines are near the border between Pommard and Volnay. The wine draws from both terroirs, blending Volnay’s tension and minerality with Pommard’s meaty richness. Now six years on from harvest, this is classic, old-school, earthy red Burgundy that’s just singing today.

Pairing: Magret de Canard (Duck Breasts)
There’s no better pairing for old-school Burgundy than duck. Here’s a primer on how to get it right: Hunter Angler Gardner Cook

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Mégard Pommard 2014
bottle price: $54

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“This is Superb.” Majestic 94-point Premier Cru Meursault

Meursault is a village stuck in time. Its narrow crooked streets and pointed steeple perch on a hill above fields of weathered vineyards first planted by monks in 1098. The golden nectar of these fields has been known for centuries, and today it is as sought-after as any wine in the world.

Meursault has no grand crus, but its three famous premier crus — Perrieres, Genevrières, and Charmes — almost make up for it. These exceptional terroirs produce some of Burgundy’s greatest wines of any color. Today we’re focused on Genevrières.

In his excellent recent book Rajat Parr describes Genevrières as: “crystalline in structure, at once gossamer and formidable.” We’ve asked to buy Vincent Boyer’s Genevrières for years, but received our first allocation only last year.

We found the 2017 Genevrières magnificent, among the best white Burgundies we’ve had in years. Critics were similarly effusive; Burghound awarded 92 points, finding it “sleek” and “refined,” citing “lovely minerality” along side “pear and apple” and “acacia blossom.” Steven Tanzer of Vinous found awarded 91-94 points, calling it “at once thick and piquant,” and “classic, dense, vibrant,” and concluding “this is superb.”

Simply put, this is extraordinary wine — it’s not cheap, but greatness rarely is.

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Boyer-Martenot Meursault 1er “Genevrières” 2017
bottle price: $132

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Smooth, Intense Northern Rhône Red: “the Best in 55 Years.” $25

Much has been written about the 2015 vintage in Burgundy, one of the best in at least a generation. But the vintage also blessed other regions in France, in particular, the syrah-based wines of the Northern Rhône. Jancis Robinson speculated the 2015 Northern Rhones might be “the best in 55 years.”

We don’t open 1962 Hermitage very often, so we’ll have to take her word for it. But we can say that they’re extraordinary wines — inky, dark, and mouthfilling but with exceptional balance and refined tannins.

With a few years under their belt these wines have become terrific. The greats (Cote Rotie, Cornas, Hermitage) will age for decades; many others are ready now.

Denis Basset is a young winemaker who is passionate and very talented – our tasting appointments with him we rarely begin (and never end) on time. His pure-syrah wines are a perfect marriage of Northern refinement and sun-baked Southern richness.

We bought about twice our normal quantity of the 2015 Crozes-Hermitage “Etincelle,” anticipating a bright future. Whether it was foresight or luck, we’re pretty pleased to have it around now. The 2015 Etincelle is a triumph — astonishingly intense and concentrated, but at 13.5% alcohol a balanced and refreshing glass as well.

The color is an inky black-purple, with a savory nose showing cloves, blackberries and violets. The youthful raspy tannins have given way to a gorgeous polish — it remains dense and smooth with classic notes of plum and black pepper. It’s a drink-now gem from a magnificent year.

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Saint-Clair Crozes-Hermitage “Etincelle” 2015
bottle price: $25

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[ADVANCE ORDER] Bursting, Juicy, Gulpable 2018 Red Burgundy

Maranges is the Côte d’Or’s forgotten appellation. In the past it was known for its unrefined, tannic wines — Burgundians used to call it “le medecin” (the doctor) because some secretly blended it into thinner Côte d’Or reds to bulk up weak vintages.

But today its reputation needs revision. Advances in winemaking and warmer summers mean that Maranges now produces wines of real character and complexity. They never reach the depth or elegance of reds from Volnay or Pommard, but they offer early enjoyment and pleasant, hearty textures.

Roger Belland’s Maranges 1er cru “Clos Roussot” 2018 is the best Maranges we’ve ever had. Belland’s excellent lineup of 2018 reds will be in next Sunday’s July Futures release, but we’re opening up the bidding early on this one.

The July Futures wines are set to arrive in the fall, and will also include our two Beaujolais sources, Monnet and Perrachon. Belland’s 2018 Maranges may be a different grape (Pinot Noir rather than Gamay), but it borrows a bit of the Beaujolais’s jubilant spirit — think red Burgundy with the soul of a Cru Beaujolais.

The 2018 vintage delivered unprecedented heat and sun in Burgundy, and the resulting wines are full of both ripeness and muscle. Our fears of flabby, overripe fruit-bombs were unfounded — these are wines boasting sturdy foundations and solid structures.

Belland’s 2018 Maranges blew us away during our sample tasting last month. The nose is cool and dark, with plum and spice in the nose; the mouth is dark, intense, and full, with punchy young tannins and lots of stuffing.

We’ve reserved some of this wine, but Belland’s quantities are limited. Orders will be first come, first served. If there’s any left we’ll include it in next Sunday’s July Futures release.

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Belland Maranges 1er “Clos Roussot” 2018

Ansonia Retail: $432
FUTURES: $375/case

 

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AVAILABLE BY THE CASE AND HALF-CASE

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Bold, Velvety, Intense: Plush New St-Emilion Grand Cru

Varietal: Merlot
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.

Appellation: St-Emilion Grand Cru
On Bordeaux’s Right Bank, particularly in the towns of Pomerol and St-Emilion, Merlot reaches its ultimate expression. The exact combination of limestone and gravel soils produce Merlot with balance, definition, and depth.

Wine: Chateau Montlisse 2016
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.”

Drink: Now – 2026
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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Magnificent Grand Cru White Burgundy

Only two white wine terroirs in Burgundy’s Côte d’Or hold the status of Grand Cru. Montrachet and its satellites, in the south between Chassagne and Puligny, are the more famous. The other is Corton-Charlemagne, perched on a large hill marking the midpoint of the Côte d’Or, so named after it was made a gift from the Holy Roman Emperor.

Upon donating the Hill of Corton to a local abbey in 775, the Emperor Charlemagne ordered that it be planted entirely with red grapes. Legend has it that his (fourth) wife was unhappy with the red wine stains on her husband’s beard, and convinced him to replant a portion of the vineyard with white. The wine was renamed to honor the emperor, and the world was given an extraordinary new wine.

The legend may have debatable merit; the wine’s greatness is undeniable.

Corton-Charlemagne is the highest caliber of white Burgundy. Its richness and depth is equaled only by Montrachet, and its ability to age is nearly unrivaled. Our source for this exceptionally fine chardonnay is the Domaine Ravaut, a small family domaine located at the base of the great hill of Corton.

Ravaut’s 2018 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru is in its infancy, but it’s already magnificent. We drink this wine with grand meals — something an emperor might have chosen, like a lobster or fine bouillabaisse. This wine has a complexity and intensity that is truly impressive, with notes of baked apples, juniper, and honey. The mouth is dense, spiced, rich, and impossibly long. As it ages, look for truffle, mushroom, and woodsy notes.

The Ravauts’ entire production is 900 bottles, and we’re allocated far less. Put a few aside for the next time you’re feeling imperial.

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Ravaut Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2018
bottle price: $125

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Inky Smooth Rhône Red: a $28 Châteaunef-du-Pape Neighbor

Châteauneuf-du-Pape is the Rhône Valley’s most famous terroir. Known for its bold, inky rich wines mostly from Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre, the town’s best examples improve for decades, and can cost three figures per bottle.

No serious collector’s cellar is complete without real Châteauneuf-du-Pape, but the Rhône Valley extends far beyond its famous jewel. Towns like Gigondas, Resteau, Séguret, and Vacqueyras produce wines with similar depth, earlier drinking windows, and friendlier pricetags.

Today’s wine is a dark, smooth, organic blend of Syrah and Grenache. It comes from a vineyard high in the hills above Séguret, where cooler temperatures and excellent air flow produce healthy grapes with excellent balance.

After several years of rugged youth, Domaine Malmont’s Séguret 2016 is just entering its drinking window. The nose is dark and spiced, with notes of lavender, leather, and roasted prunes. The mouth is fine grained and intense, with a beautifully dark, clean finish.

Plenty of Rhône reds are inexpensive and solid; some are terrific and pricey. Malmont offers near-Châteauneuf level complexity at a sub-$30 price.

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Malmont Séguret 2016
bottle price: $28

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