Author: Thomas Wilcox

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Gamay for your Turkey: Bold, Inky 2015 Beaujolais

Vignerons: From meticulously cultivated old vines and with careful use of oak, the Perrachon creates remarkably delicious and refined cuvées. Perrachon’s reds are honest, complex, delicious red Burgundies; they just happen to be made from Gamay.

Appellation: Beaujolais is best known for the Beaujolais Nouveau, a cheap insipid red rushed to market a month after harvest. Today’s wine is its polar opposite: Moulin-a-Vent, known as the “King of Beaujolais,” produces the regions most serious and impressive wines.

Wine: Today’s pure Gamay is dense and inky, drawing from vines planted in the 1930s. From a near-perfect vintage, this 2015 is perfectly extracted and carefully aged in oak barrels. With a few years under its belt, today it shows a beautifully dark, brooding nose of violets and anise. The tannins are juicy and full, with crackling texture and crunchy finish.

Pairing: This is an excellent candidate for Thanksgiving dinner — your guests might guess Syrah before Gamay. But between now and then, pair it with a steak in a cast iron pan and cold-oil frites. Close your eyes and you’ll be transported to a Parisian brasserie.

You might also like: Our five other Beaujolais reds, or our Beaujolais Sampler

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Perrachon Moulin-a-Vent Burdelines 2015
bottle price: $28

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“Very Impressive” 90-point Old-Vine Meursault

Burgundians have made wine in Meursault since 1098. Over the last nine centuries the village has proudly earned its glowing reputation, and today is among the most sought after wines in the world. Though it has no Grand Cru vineyards, Meursault’s wines are shimmering white Burgundies at their finest.

We began buying from Vincent Boyer more than a decade ago, and since then the international wine press has widely acclaimed him as a rising star. One of our favorites each year is his Meursault “Narvaux,” a village level white considered among Meursault’s finest. Boyer coaxes his 70 year old Chardonnay vines into perfect expressions of this extraordinary terroir.

Burghound named this wine “Outstanding” and a “Top Value” for the vintage. He awarded 90 points, finding “volume and richness,” with a “classic Meursault nose.” We loved this wine from the barrel, and found it even better in bottle.

The nose shows baked lemons, pineapple, flowers and stones. The mouth is typical Meursault, a perfect balance of rich golden fruit and stony depth — weight and richness without heaviness. Serve this a just a bit below room temperature, with veal or chicken in a cream sauce.

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Boyer-Martenot Meursault “Narvaux” 2017
bottle price: $69

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Vibrant, Biodynamic Dry Riesling. $19

To the uninitiated, 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.”

The most recent addition to our Riesling collection is a dry cuvée from Domaine Gross, a small, biodynamic family source in Alsace. A perfectly dry, everyday white wine under $20.

Vincent Gross is a young, enthusiastic winemaker practicing biodynamic viticulture, and producing truly exciting wines. With the retirement of Francis Muré, our longtime Alsatian source, our discovery of Gross couldn’t be timed more perfectly.

Gross’s 2016 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.

Pair this on its own, with fish dishes, or with a classic tarte flambé (Alsatian Pizza). You’ll find yourself wishing all $19 wines were this good.

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Gross Riesling 2016
bottle price: $19

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Old-Vine Gevrey-Chambertin: “Velvety, Super Rich, Outstanding”

Each town in Burgundy produces wines of a distinct character. Some are dark and brooding, others are lightweight and ethereal – but the boldest and most intense is Gevrey-Chambertin.

Our producer here is the Domaine des Varoilles, whose vineyards were first planted in the 12th century. Today their vines aren’t quite 800 years old, but they’re well over 70, and produce magnificently dense and concentrated juice.

Today we’re suggesting Varoilles’s 2014 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er cru Monopole “Clos des Varoilles:” bold, muscly, and powerful – a prototypical Gevrey.

The Varoilles style is extracted and ageworthy, but this wine is already silky and seductive. Burghound called it “outstanding,” awarding 92 points and citing “spicy aromas of pungent earth, plum and underbrush.” He called it “velvety, super rich and very suave” with a “serious and powerful finish.”

Look for notes of briary black fruits, toast, smoke, earth and plum. Pair this with duck breasts and crispy potatoes – a perfect winter pairing.

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Varoilles Gevrey-Chambertin
1er cru “Clos des Varoilles” 2014
bottle price: $85

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“Quintessential” Chablis: 90 point Unoaked White Burgundy. $26

White Burgundy makes an excellent “by the glass” wine for your house. It pairs with a wide range of foods, and with no food at all — an essential component to a well-stocked cellar. Think of it as wine’s Swiss Army Knife, useful in far more often than predicted.

Jean Collet’s entry level Chablis is particularly versatile, with enough freshness to match veal and mushrooms in a cream sauce, but enough ripeness for a glass after a long day of work. Collet’s 2017 Chablis is even better than usual, from a year with perfect balance between ripeness and tension.

The Wine Advocate’s excellent new Burgundy reviewer William Kelley called this “well worth seeking out,” awarding 90 points, and calling it “glossy and textural, with good concentration, racy acids, and a long, delineated finish.” He goes on to say “the combination of ripe fruit with quintessentially Chablisien cut and tension is compelling.” Kelley named it one of his “six great values on the market.”

We agree and are pleased to have some left in stock. 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. With entertaining season upon us, it’s as useful as a good pocket knife.

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Collet Chablis 2017
bottle price: $26

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Bold 2015 St-Emilion: Rich, Muscular 92pt Bordeaux

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’s Grand Cru St-Emilion from the Chateau Montlisse comes from the exceptional 2015 vintage. It’s punchy, unmistakably well made, and particularly in 2015, way overperforms its price.

Made from 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, it’s a rich, velvety blend with a classic combination of dark fruit and spice. Critic Jeb Dunnuck awarded 92 points, finding it “seriously good” and “sexy,” with its “beautiful balance” making it “already hard to resist.”

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. Serve this with good steak or veal, or something roasted on a Sunday afternoon.

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Montlisse St-Emilion Grand Cru 2015
bottle price: $38

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Unoaked $32 Premier Cru White Burgundy: Vibrant and Pure

Chablis is a singular place. Its combination of deep stony soils and cool climate exists nowhere else on earth. These factors produce a similarly unique wine — mineral and crisp, pure and clean.

Traditionally Chablis is made without oak influence. In recent years, modern vignerons have begun to oak their wines more aggressively, particularly among their higher-end cuvées. But winemaker Cyril Gautheron uses oak sparingly and carefully — when he thinks the wine doesn’t need it, he doesn’t use it.

Today’s wine, the Chablis 1er cru “Vaucoupin” is pure, shimmering Chardonnay. Gautheron keeps his entirely unoaked, allowing the stony soil to show through as delicate minerality. One taste and we think you’ll agree: the wine doesn’t lack anything.



The 2017 Vaucoupin is at once vibrant and voluminous. It shows a beautiful ripe core laid over an intense beam of stony freshness. This is pure, elegant, and remarkably long — it begins with flowers and fruit, and finishes (after a while) with freshness and minerality. The nose shows lemon rind and salt air; the mouth is long, tense, and full of energy.

It’s hard to imagine a purer interpretation of the Chardonnay grape, particularly under $35. The briny freshness of oysters (or a lemony-prepared fish) is a perfect foil for the brisk energy of the Vaucoupin.

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Gautheron Chablis 1er “Vaucoupin” 2017
bottle price: $32

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Rhone Valley Legends: 90-95pt Gems

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1. Tunnel Cornas 2017
Wine Advocate 91-94 “rich, velvety texture,” “crushed stone, Christmas spices, violets and cassis”
Vinous 92 “ Juicy and broad in the mouth, showing very good depth,” “supple tannins build on the finish”
Ansonia Retail: $59

2. Tunnel Cornas 2016
Wine Advocate 92 “Can a Cornas be too easy to drink?” “plump and silky on the palate”
Vinous 92 “ sharply focused black and blue fruit flavors show very good delineation”
Ansonia Retail: $59

 

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3. Dumien-Serrette Cornas 2017
Wine Advocate 91-93 “full-bodied and intense, with an attractive dusty texture of chalk dust, charcoal and crushed stone”
Ansonia Retail: $52

 

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4. Bonnefond Côte Rôtie “Côte Rôzier” 2016
Vinous 95 “Broad and fleshy but lively as well, offering palate-staining boysenberry, cassis, candied violet, chewing tobacco and exotic spice,” “Blends richness and energy with a sure hand and finishes with superb persistence”
Ansonia Retail: $75

5. Bonnefond Côte Rôtie 2016
Vinous 92 “showing very good clarity and a touch of smokiness to the sweet boysenberry, cassis and candied violet flavors. Lingers with strong intensity, leaving sweet blue fruit and spicecake notes behind”
Ansonia Retail: $58

6. Bonnefond Côte Rôtie “Côte Rôzier” 2015
Vinous 94 “deeply concentrated, palate-staining black and blue fruit liqueur flavors show excellent depth and clarity, and hints of star anise and olive build in the glass. Sweet, spicy and seamless on the extremely long, incisive finish”
Ansonia Retail: $72

7. Bonnefond Côte Rôtie “Rochains” 2015
Vinous 94 “outstanding clarity and a sexy floral nuance,” “Smoothly blends depth and energy and finishes extremely long and sappy”
Ansonia Retail: $72

8. Bonnefond Côte Rôtie 2015
Vinous 92 “impressive energy and lift on the palate, offering juicy boysenberry and cherry compote flavors,” “sweet and seamless in texture, finishing with very good energy”
Ansonia Retail: $58

9. Bonnefond Côte Rôtie 2014
Vinous 90 “ spicy and sharply focused, offering bitter cherry and black raspberry flavors that show very good depth,” “Finishes gently sweet and quite long”
Ansonia Retail: $48.60

 

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10. Mestre Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2013 (1.5L)
Vinous 90 “sweet and seamless on the palate, offering pliant raspberry and cherry compote,” “lively, persistent finish, which is framed by gentle tannins that fold nicely into the juicy fruit”
Ansonia Retail: $69

 

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11. Malmont Séguret 2016
Wine Advocate 90 “Full-bodied and lush, it delivers notes of cola, leather and allspice wrapped in a creamy texture and hints of mocha on the finish”
Ansonia Retail: $29

 

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12. Joncuas Gigondas 2016
Wine Advocate 93 “it’s full-bodied, plush in texture,” “big and balanced,” “velvety and long on the finish, it should drink well for 6-7 years”
Ansonia Retail: $34

 

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13. Goubert Gigondas 2015
Wine Advocate 91-93 “full-bodied yet supple wine that should be excellent when it goes to bottle. It shows some peppery spice and tart pomegranate flavors that slide into a long, silky finish”
Ansonia Retail: $28

 

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“Textbook” Morey-St-Denis, 91 points: “Succulent,” “Lovely,” “Outstanding”

The town of Morey-St-Denis exemplifies the small scale of Burgundian winemaking. Wedged between two more famous neighbors, this village of 680 people has a vineyard surface of under 4 tenths of a square mile. It’s delicate, delicious, classic red Burgundy — there just isn’t much of it to go around.

Michel Gros has a tiny parcel in Morey-St-Denis, from which he makes fewer than 1000 bottles annually. The vines are perched on the hill above the town, and the vineyard directly borders three Grand Crus: Clos de Tart, Clos des Lambrays, and Bonnes-Mares.

We always love this cuvée, but in 2016 it shone brighter than usual. Burghound agreed, giving 91 points, calling it “textbook” Morey-St-Denis, and declaring it a “Top Value” wine for the vintage.

Clive Coates MW describes the wines of Morey as a cross between the silkiness of Chambolle-Musigny and the sturdiness of Gevrey-Chambertin. Gros’s Morey-St-Denis is closer to the Chambolle side, and shows an elegant mouthfeel that’s typical of his style. Its location 10 feet from Clos des Lambrays helps explain its unusual depth.

We found beautiful, dark blackberry fruit in this wine, with cool, ripe tannins. Morey-St-Denis’s signature mineral core is evident and delightful. Neal Martin, awarding 90 points, noted a “crunchy finish that is a joy,” and concluded, “this is on par with the 2015, and may even surpass it with age.”

Michel’s entire lineup of 2017s is in the current Futures issue (deadline Sunday), but this excellent 2016 is in stock today.

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Gros Morey-St-Denis 2016
bottle price: $69

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Inky, Old-Vine Beaujolais: “for Drinking, not Contemplating”

We work with many winemakers with low profiles, but Jean-Marc Monnet might be the least visible. He has no roadside, no website, and no other American importer. We’ve gotten lost trying to find his domaine two years in a row. Jean-Marc himself is as humble as his winery is hidden, but the wines themselves are a wholly different story.

Beaujolais has long been known for its unserious wines — over-marketed and under-cared-for. But Monnet’s Beaujolais has the complexity of a very good Côte d’Or Bourgogne and the density of a Northern Rhône syrah. 2018 was a warm year in the Beaujolais, and this old-vine Gamay is as intense and chewy as anything we’ve seen from the grape.

If you still think of Beaujolais as light and fruity, give this a try.

Monnet’s reds are intense and perfectly extracted — the fruit is almost teeth-stainingly dense, but with no hint of bitterness. They look and feel like syrah in the mouth, but the fruit is red and juicy. It’s punchy, intense, and powerful: smooth and bold and delicious..

Monnet’s Juliénas Vieilles Vignes is like his other wines, but more so. From 50+ year old vines and a ripe vintage, the density is exceptional. The color is inky purple, with a dark nose showing raspberry and pure wild cherry. The mouthfeel is intense and smooth with a long, dense finish of cranberry, minerals and violets. This is delicious, and as Jancis Robinson puts it, “meant to be drunk, not contemplated.”

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Monnet Juliénas VV 2018
bottle price: $19

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Stunning, “Opulent” 93-point Grand Cru White Burgundy | (Plus Limited Valmur Vertical)

The wines of Chablis are known for their limited oak, piercing minerality, and crystalline elegance. Our favorites are often mid-range bottles that combine everyday pricing and with great energy and beautiful precision.

But high-end Chablis can be truly extraordinary. Far from the midweight mouthfeel and dry fruit of simpler cuvées, wines from Chablis’s seven famous Grand Crus show a depth and power that’s remarkable for a white wine.

The Domaine Jean Collet makes superb everyday village and premier cru cuvées. But if you have room in your budget for a white Burgundy splurge, this Grand Cru won’t disappoint.

Collet’s 2016 Grand Cru Valmur is huge and intense. Romain has expertly balanced Chablis’s signature minerality with a richness that calls to mind Corton-Charlemagne or Montrachet. Vinous and Burghound both awarded 93 points, finding “broad-shouldered flavors,” “highly-textured mouthfeel,” and calling it “opulent” and “very promising.”

This is exceptionally powerful white wine. The nose shows gardenia, green tea, and baked lemon flavors, with a bright chalky stoniness that enhances the fruit. The mouth is simply packed with flavor — it’s bold and rich, but vibrant in texture.

Recommended uses: convert a red-wine-only drinker; dress up a monkfish filet; surprise that friend who swore off Chardonnay. NOTE: We’re also offering a very limited number of Collet Valmur verticals, see link below.

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Collet Chablis Grand Cru “Valmur” 2016
bottle price: $69

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Collet Valmur Vertical: 2010-13, 2015-16
sampler price: $425

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New $16 Syrah-Blend: Fruit Jam, Lavender, Earth

For the careful shopper, the Languedoc can be an abundant resource. There’s still plenty of bad wine made in the vast region, but if you make good choices, $16 will take you farther here than just about anywhere else. Need proof? Today’s wine.

Vignerons:   Brother and sister Christine Deleuze and Luc Simon are the winemakers at Clos Bagatelle, a Languedoc estate that dates to 1623. Their meticulous vineyard work results in refreshing wines, even from a hot climate.

Appellation:   St-Chinian is an ancient town high in the hills of the Languedoc. Its high elevation and schist-laden soils produce wines with character, minerality, and crisp texture.

Wine:   Bagatelle’s St-Chinian “Origine” 2018 is full of cool, stony fruit – there’s a dark berry freshness and lack of heat that’s hard to come by in much of the Languedoc. The palate offers fruit compote, meatiness, and hints of tobacco, but without high alcohol or palate-tiring heaviness.

Pairing:   If your grill is still up and running, this is an excellent match for grilled meats — this flank-steak and scallions recipe would work beautifully. But as the weather cools, this is a perfect everyday red to have around to match with autumn dishes: a weeknight workhorse of a wine at under $4/glass.

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Bagatelle St-Chinian “Origine” 2018
bottle price: $16

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New Sampler: Best of White Burgundy Trio

Perched on a gently-sloping hill twenty minutes south of Beaune lie white Burgundy’s three gems: Chassagne-Montrachet, Puligny-Montrachet, and Meursault. The precise mixture of clay and limestone beneath these three neighbors is uniquely and perfectly suited to Chardonnay.

Each town has its own character, and we prefer not to pick a favorite. So we’ve collected a trio of village-level whites from these three iconic towns. Comparative tasting is the best way to learn about terroir. Invite over a friend or two, open these three side by side, and see what a few hundred yards of difference can make.

Bohrmann Meursault “Vireuils” 2017
This up-slope Meursault from our newest producer is clear, precise, and exquisite. Bohrmann uses little oak, allowing the pure, golden Meursault fruit to shine through.

Morey Chassagne-Montrachet 2017
Morey’s modern style of Chassagne-Montrachet is intense and impeccably clean. Burghound called it “outstanding,” finding it “bold, rich” and “promising.”

Boyer-Martenot Puligny-Montrachet “Reuchaux” 2017
Vincent Boyer is a rising superstar in Burgundy (see Futures). His gorgeous village-level Puligny-Montrachet shows the depth and concentration for which the town is known.

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Best of White Burgundy Trio
sampler price: $195

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Sophisticated New Cru Bourgeois: $24 Red Bordeaux

Bordeaux is full of expensive wines that need cellaring — here’s a humble, inexpensive, delicious wine with loads of character that’s ready to drink.

Vigneron:   The Negrier family is a tiny domaine based in Saint-Estèphe. Their two miniscule properties amount to less than 2 hectares (5 acres) in total. But both cuvées — today’s and their Fleuron de Liot Saint-Estèphe — regularly win acclaim from wine press. They’re among the best-value Bordeaux we know.

Appellation:   Moulin de Blanchon wine is a Cru Bourgeois from the Haut-Médoc. The Haut-Médoc encompases the areas surrounding the famous towns Bordeaux, in this case from outside Saint-Èstephe. Cru Bourgeois is a wine-based (rather than chateau-based) certification that is renewed each year.

Wine:   The 2017 Moulin de Blanchon is young, vibrant, and punchy — think a bold brasserie red with unusually sophistication and class. The nose shows raspberry jam, black pepper, fresh leather, and forest. The palate is long and inky with fresh fruits and an intense but delicate chalky finish.

Pairing:   Serve this with a rich beef stew or well crusted steaks. Put it in a decanter and give it an hour — your guests will swear you paid twice as much.

You might also like:   Bouquey St-Emilion, Fleuron de Liot 2014, Larrieu-Terrefort Margaux 2016

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Moulin de Blanchon
Haut-Médoc Cru Bourgeois 2017
bottle price: $24

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