Author: Thomas Wilcox

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“Outstanding” New Chassagne-Montrachet: Ten Generations of Excellence

Everything about Thomas Morey is precise. From his wire-rimmed glasses, to his spotless tasting rooms full of Zalto stemware, to his clean, meticulous wines: Morey is a man of purity and precision.

Morey is based in Chassagne-Montrachet, a town known for its white Burgundies full of richness and opulence. In style, Morey’s wines almost more resemble neighboring Puligny-Montrachet. But in fruit profile, depth, and expression of terroir, they’re classic Chassagne.

Morey’s spectacular lineup of 2017s has just arrived in our warehouse (browse all six here). Today we’re releasing his flagship: 2017 Chassagne-Montrachet villages.

Morey is relatively new to our lineup, but not to Chassagne. He’s a 10th generation resident: his ancestor Claude Morey arrived in 1643. His wines are as polished as any white Burgundies we’ve ever tasted. Jasper Morris calls them “very pure, precise, and elegant.” He’s been organic since 2014, and his wines pulsate with energy and life.

His 2017 Chassagne perfectly captures the Morey style. The nose shows dried peach, lime zest, green tea, and stones; the mouth is lush and round, but with excellent freshness and vibrant tension. Burghound called it “outstanding,” finding it “bold, rich” and “promising.” Morey blends 15% of premier cru vines into this village wine, and the depth and richness is evident.

It should improve for another 5 years, but it’s a magnificent glass today. Pair this with scallops with herbed brown butter.

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Morey Chassagne-Montrachet 2017
bottle price: $65

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Delicious New 2015 Saint-Emilion. $25

Bordeaux is best known for its expensive, ageworthy red wines. Some carry 3- and 4-figure price tags; the best age for half a century or more. But not all Bordeaux reds are so prestigious.

At ten times the size of Burgundy, there’s an ocean of Bordeaux beyond the famous names. Much is mediocre and uninteresting. But some is genuinely delicious, and careful shoppers can find great value.

This spring we discovered a delicious, well-priced St-Emilion Grand Cru. It’s humble, smooth, uncomplicated; and at $25 it’s priced to enjoy with your weeknight pizza.

Like most wines from Bordeaux’s Right Bank, this is 60% Merlot; (the rest is 25% Cab Sauvignon, and 15% Cab Franc). The 2015 growing season on the Right Bank was magnificent. Master of Wine James Lawther wrote recently of the 2015 Right Bank reds “I wouldn’t say it’s the greatest ever, but it’s a very, very good vintage.”

Notes of Merlot jump from the nose on this wine: think licorice, plum, leather, iodine. The mouth is clean, mid-weight, and very well balanced, with smooth tannins and notes of cherry jam and pepper.

Don’t limit yourself to Bordeaux only on special occasions. Cheval Blanc this is not; but for a Wednesday evening bottle you don’t have to think about much, look no further.

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Bouquey St-Emilion Grand Cru 2015
bottle price: $25

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Bold New 2015 Red Burgundy under $40

The wines of the Domaine des Varoilles are at the bold end of the Burgundy spectrum. All of their cuvées come from Gevrey-Chambertin, a village known for its robust, masculine wines. Where much red Burgundy tends towards subtleness and finesse, the Varoilles style is noticeably more intense.

We didn’t realize Varoilles even made a Bourgogne until it appeared on a price list this spring. We tasted the 2015 in April and were thrilled to discover it was right in line with the rest of the domaine’s wines — its density and richness calls to mind a village level Gevrey-Chambertin rather than regional level wine.

For those looking to sample the Varoilles style at a more reasonable price, here’s a surprise opportunity.

As with most of Burgundy, terroir explains everything. The vines for this Bourgogne are just over the border from Gevrey-Chambertin, in clay-rich soils producing rich, mouthfilling wine. Combine this with the 2015 vintage, considered among the best in a generation, and this wine is an impressive value.

The nose is big and spicy, with briary blackberry fruit, notes of woods, cinnamon, and a hint of ginger. The mouth is bold and smooth with a solid texture laid under intense masculine fruit.

If you’ve got room in your cellar (and budget) for some of Varoilles’s other 2015s, we recommend them. But their 2015 Bourgogne rouge requires no waiting – and, at under $8/glass, it’s a rare Burgundy value.

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Varoilles Bourgogne 2015
bottle price: $39

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Golden, Classic 2014 Premier Cru Chassagne-Montrachet

Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet produce the world’s finest dry white wines. In production for nearly two thousand years, the vineyards surrounding these villages produce wines of different characters — Puligny a bit more buttoned up, Chassagne a bit friendlier.

Today’s suggestion is classic Chassagne — rich, mouthfilling, and golden. It comes from Roger Belland, a fifth generation Burgundian winemaker. Belland’s excellent 2017 lineup is in our current July Futures issue, but we’ve still got a small stack of his beautiful 2014s.

First planted in 1421, the “Clos Pitois” is a monopole of the Belland family. Owning an entire vineyard is rare in Burgundy, and in keeping with Chassagne’s tradition of excellent Pinot Noir Belland continues to plant it half red and half white.

But today we’re focused on the white. With a few years in the bottle, the 2014 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er cru “Clos Pitois” blanc is everything Chassagne-Montrachet is supposed to be. Burghound found “excellent richness” and “full-bodied flavors” and suggested 2019 as the year to begin drinking.

The bottles we’ve opened of this recently have been stunners. The nose is explosive and opulent, with coconut, flowers, butter, and honeysuckle — your nose will pick them up while the glass is still several inches away. On the palate it is long, rich, and vibrant, with notes of sweet lemons, hazelnut, and toast.

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Belland Chassagne 1er “Pitois” blanc 2014
bottle price: $69

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Cool Refreshing Syrah for a Warm Summer Evening

The wines of Côte Rôtie have been celebrated for thousands of years. Made from pure Syrah at its northernmost growing limit, Côte Rôtie represents Syrah at its most refined. Our source for Côte Rôtie is the Domaine Bonnefond.

Vinous’s Josh Raynolds recently called Bonnefond’s wines “as graceful a group of wines that I’ve ever sampled.” Their flagship Côte Rôties come in three cuvées, all of which we strongly recommend — their refined, classy and downright delicious.

But if you’re interested in sampling the Bonnefond style with less commitment, the domaine also produces one of our favorite IGP Syrahs, made just outside the Côte Rôtie appellation. It’s as complex and polished as any $25 bottle we can think of.

Bonnefond’s regional level Syrah requires neither investment nor patience. At once dark, intense, and lively, it shows the inky, meaty characteristics of Syrah, but with unusual lift and grace.

The 2017 is among our favorite vintages they’ve made of this wine. The nose is spiced and expressive, with notes of blackberries, tapenade, black pepper, and game. The mouth is beautifully balanced — at 12.5% alcohol it’s smooth and long, with dense meaty notes joining plum fruits and graceful minerality.

With its fresh fruit and peppery mouthfeel this is excellent food wine — lamb and duck are particularly nice matches. But accompaniment isn’t required — pour yourself a slightly cooled glass of this after work on a weekday evening your mood will reset with ease.

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Bonnefond Syrah 2017
bottle price: $25

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White Bordeaux: Crisp, Refreshing, Affordable

For most people French Sauvignon blanc means Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé. But the grape also thrives in Bordeaux. In the Loire the grape is exuberant and fruit forward; Sauvignon blanc from Bordeaux isn’t unfriendly, just a bit less outgoing.

In Bordeaux, Sauvignon tends more towards grapefruit zest than pulp, showing less fruit and more skin. It’s a more dignified, less obvious take on Sauvignon than that of Sancerre — think Chablis rather than Chassagne. We love both. For a glass on its own, we might choose Sancerre; but when served with food, the better choice is often white Bordeaux.

One of our favorites in the white Bordeaux category is the Lafont-Menaut blanc. It’s pure Sauvignon raised in used oak barrels, which add a very subtle hint of muted spice and help round out the mouth. But it’s the lively fruit that drives this wine. Grapefruit is still the dominant note here, blended with notes of anise, grapeskin, honey, straw, and pear.

The 2017 Lafont-Menaut blanc arrived recently and it’s a perfect summertime glass of white. It’s lovely on its own, but food is a welcome companion for this wine. We like this with with moules marinieres, but it’s even sturdy enough to stand up to Moules Chorizo, a delicious dish from a few kilometers to the south over the Pyrenees.

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Lafont-Menaut Graves blanc 2017
bottle price: $22

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Delightful Summertime Red Burgundy

The town of Maragnes is an underrated source for red Burgundy. Located at the very southern end of the Côte d’Or, it’s often left off regional maps, and its reputation is for rusticity over refinement.

But chosen carefully, Maranges can offer excellent value for red Burgundy drinkers. The wines never reach the complexity of Vosne or Chambolle, but can offer a less subtle alternative at far better prices. Today’s Maranges is a perfect example: a cheerful, approachable red Burgundy with unusual class for its level.

Belland’s lineup of delicious 2017s is in the July Futures issue, out now. But the 2016s are already in stock, and they’re better than ever.

Roger Belland is an excellent source for easy drinking red Burgundy. The domaine uses a long, very cool fermentation to retain the fruit in their wines. Today’s Maranges is from a south-facing vineyard and a vintage with excellent ripeness — it’s lively, round, and, as Belland puts it, “very gourmand.”

In the nose there’s intense, juicy, bursting cranberry fruit, with notes of honey and tulips. The mouth is pleasant and punchy with young, approachable tannins, no raspiness, and a clean refreshing finish. Burghound found it “very round” with “nicely voluminous flavors” and “pliant tannins.”

Think of this as somewhere between a Burgundy and a Beaujolais — the refinement of a Pinot Noir, matched with jolliness and joie de vivre of a Gamay.

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Belland Maranges 1er “Fussière” 2016
bottle price: $35

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Shimmering White Burgundy in its Purest Form

Of all the white Burgundy we import, none is a purer expression of Chardonnay than Nicolas Maillet’s classic Maconnais cuvées. They’re cool, round, unadulterated Chardonnay with excellent balance and no oak. If the Côte d’Or offers Burgundies of pedigree and refinement, then the Maconnais offers Burgundies of vibrancy and joy.

Maillet takes this idea one step further with biodynamics, vinifying his wines with only indigenous yeasts and a slow, months-long fermentation. The resulting wines show extraordinary complexity and purity. Fruit and flowers dominate the palate, with gorgeous texture and long, supple mouthfeels. Maillet’s methods may be slightly unorthodox, but his results speak for themselves.

The 2016 Macon-Verzé is bursting with life and energy, from a vintage with near perfect fruit/acid balance. The nose is elaborately complex, with a range of notes from white flowers and green tea to tangerine and apricot. There’s zero oak, allowing the clear golden fruit to shine through. The mouth is classic Maillet — rich and long and pure, but with striking freshness and a beautiful baked lemon core.

So complete is the palate of this wine that it requires no accompaniment from food — it’s lush and delightful by itself. But if hungry guests become unavoidable, we suggest cow’s milk cheeses like Comté or Beaufort, or perhaps a bowl of steamed mussels.

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Maillet Macon-Verzé 2016
bottle price: $28

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[ADVANCE ORDER] Magnificent New 93-point Cornas: “Beguiling” & “Splendid”

Cornas is a tiny appellation. It covers 145 hectares (compared with Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s 3,000+), and is home to fewer than 50 vignerons. The name comes from the Celtic word for “burnt earth,” and it’s an appropriate moniker: Cornas is pure Syrah like the rest of the Northern Rhône, but the feel is of something farther to the South.

The Domaine Dumien-Serrette is relatively new to the Ansonia portfolio, but hardly new to Cornas — records show Dumiens living there in 1515. Our allocation from this grower last year was so small that it sold out entirely in Futures, and we weren’t able to offer any of their delicious 2016 Cornas from inventory.

TheOur allocation has grown only slightly this year, and we’ve added two additional cuvées (one old-vine cuvée, one Vin de Pays). All three will appear in next Sunday’s July Futures release, but we’re opening up the bidding early for this one.

Fifth generation winemaker Nicolas Serrette farms a miniscule 1.8 hectares, producing only about 500 cases a year. Simon Field MW of Berry Brothers in London writes of their wine’s’ “granitic splendor” and “beguiling floral elegance which sets them apart.” Their 80 year old vines produce intense, teeth-staining Syrah, with extraordinary depth but remarkable freshness.

The 2017 Cornas “Patou” is magnificent — a combination of inky black flavors with unusually refined floral finesse. The nose is deep and rich, showing cherries, cocoa, anise, and pepper. On the palate it’s very fine and silky, with intense mouthfeel and notes of cherry jam, violets, and olive. The Wine Advocate awarded 93 points, finding it “intense, with an attractive dusty texture of chalk dust, charcoal and crushed stone.” It will need a year or two to show its special character, but your patience will be amply rewarded.

Like many of the best wines we import, this is as scarce as it is delicious: we’ve got fewer than 12 cases to our name. Orders will be first come first served; if there’s any left by Sunday we’ll include it in the July Futures.

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Dumien-Serrette Cornas Patou 2017

Ansonia Retail: $660
July Futures: $495/case

To order this wine, email Tom

AVAILABLE BY THE CASE AND HALF-CASE

 

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Golden, Exquisite $25 White Burgundy

For a Burgundy collector, the sub-$30 Bourgogne is an elusive. Bourgogne-level wines of both colors from famous names now push past $50 per bottle. Modern winemaking and excellent recent vintages, mean many of these wines are worth it – but they’re a bit more of an investment than they used to be.

Gérard Thomas’s Bourgogne blanc remains among the mainstays of our Burgundy collection. And at $28 the terrific 2017 Bourgogne still makes it in under $30. But we recently brought in a few cases of the 2014 Bourgogne in our offsite warehouse, and last night opened a bottle to check in.

Given the time that Bourgogne-level wine is rarely afforded, this wine has blossomed into an exquisite white Burgundy, easily worthy of a $30+ price tag. At $25, it’s a screaming bargain.

Thomas’s 2014s arrived a few years ago with beautiful textures and no small amount of acidity. That freshness has sustained this wine over the last four years, and today it’s punching far above its weight. The nose shows notes of golden straw, with hazelnut, lemon peel, and time-worn mahogany. The mouth has excellent freshness, and shows round dried fruits, a firm core, and a pleasant finish.

White Burgundy often benefits from a few years in the bottle, but ageworthy cuvées are often pricey. Here’s a $25 Bourgogne with the complexity of village-level White Burgundy. We didn’t intend to age this wine an extra few years, but we’re pleased to share this happy accident with you.

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Thomas Bourgogne blanc 2014
bottle price: $25

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Crisp, Zippy Muscadet: the Perfect Summer White under $4/glass

For white wines, it doesn’t get much drier than Muscadet. Grown near the mouth of the Loire River, Muscadet is at once brisk and hearty — the essence of the windswept Atlantic coast. When the weather turns hot we can’t think of much else in our glasses.

It’s also affordable and abundant. Wine writer Lettie Teague calls it “one of the world’s best, if most obscure, bargains,” saying “a glass of $8 Muscadet will always be a better wine than an $8 glass of something else.” And one of our everyday favorites is the Cuvée Deux Roches from Martin-Luneau.

And because you’ll be serving it in a backyard instead of a bistro, your glass won’t even break $4.

The Muscadet region’s new “cru communal” appellations require aging 24-30 months on lees, and Martin-Luneau farms grapes in both Gorges and Clisson. Today’s wine “Deux Roches” comes from a blend of both appellations (hence “two rocks”) — the blend bears neither name, but the wine’s quality speaks for itself.

Their 2015 Deux Roches cuvée is bright and crisp, with lime rind and melon in the nose, and zippy, refreshing acidity in the mouth. There’s an intense dryness and liveliness that’s the perfect antidote to a muggy summer evening.

Pair this with anything from the sea, most perfectly, oysters. But all it really requires is a few hours in a good fridge and a couple glasses.

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Martin-Luneau Muscadet “Deux Roches” 2015
bottle price: $18

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“Outstanding” Six-Year-Old Nuits-St-Georges: Cassis, Plum, Spice

If Vosne-Romanée embodies Burgundian sophistication, then neighbor Nuits-St-Georges has the humbler charm of a country gentleman. Spread across five miles of varied terroir, the wines of Nuits-St-Georges range from spiced and elegant to meaty and rich. Wines from plots near the Vosne border can borrow a bit of spice and silk from their neighbor.

Today’s wine is from Michel Gros, a master winemaker from Vosne-Romanée. Gros makes two Nuits-St-Georges cuvées — a richer one from the south of town, and a more refined one from near the Vosne border. Today’s cuvée is from the Vosne side, and combines some of the elements of both towns in a single wine.

The 2013 vintage in Burgundy was a difficult one — wet and cool, with a late harvest and tricky growing conditions. It’s not what they call a “grand millesime,” but now after a half-decade in bottle the 2013s have begun to come into their own. Their acidity has integrated beautifully into the core material, and today they are complex, delightful red Burgundies.

Gros’s Nuits-St-Georges 2013 is has Gros’s signature style, with an enticing, silky bouquet of redcurrants and licorice. In the mouth it’s meaty and dense, showing cassis, toast, plum, and just a hint of spice. Burghound awarded 91 points, calling it “outstanding,” “sauvage” and “very Nuits,” and finding “excellent richness and volume.”

Today, after just 20 minutes in a carafe or decanter, this wine will transport you to the Burgundy of centuries ago — think woven tapestries, roasted meats, and ancient stone chateaux. Speaking of roasted meats, this bottle matches perfectly with a steak.

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Gros Nuits-St-Georges 2013
bottle price: $65

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Chillable Summertime $19 Red from “Winemaker of the Year”

Even in our portfolio of low-profile winemakers, Jean-Marc Monnet is under the radar. We visit him every year, and we still have trouble remembering all the turns to find his domaine. He has no website, his house is unmarked, and there’s one tiny road sign.

Jean-Marc himself is as understated as his winery — gentle and soft spoken, he offhandedly mentioned during our visit this spring that the prestigious Guide Hachette had named him Winemaker of the Year. “For the Beaujolais?” we asked, “that’s great!” Nope, he smiled humbly, for all of France.

Though we were certainly impressed, we weren’t shocked. Monnet makes delicious red Beaujolais at remarkably low pricepoints. Served a bit cool, they are the perfect summer red.

Chiroubles (she-roo-bluh) is usually on the more floral, lightweight end of the Beaujolais spectrum. Monnet’s 2017 Chiroubles is characteristically gorgeous in the nose, but in the mouth it’s far more substantial. The nose shows intense perfume of violets, graphite, honey, earth, and wild cherries. The mouth is punchy and vibrant, with bursting tannins and cool refreshing notes of cranberries and woods.

A glass of this at the right temperature is as refreshing as a white or a rosé. We recommend serving it a bit warmer than white, but cooler than room temperature. Serve it with cheese on crackers, on its own as a cocktail red, or with a weeknight roast chicken.

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Monnet Chiroubles 2017
bottle price: $19

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Sophisticated, Refined New Sparkling Blanc de Blancs under $30.

For centuries Champagne has been a symbol of refinement and class. It’s sophistication in a glass, the pick of high rollers from Gatsby to Churchill. And for the most serious aficionados, Blanc de Blancs is the best of the best. Made from only white grapes, it’s Champagne at its most elegant.

But a Blanc de Blancs needn’t cost you three figures. For those in search of refined bubbles at a more affordable price, Maison Picamelot Crémant “Reipes” fits the bill beautifully. This is as good as non-Champagne bubbles get. The Wine Advocate’s resident Champagne expert William Kelley calls Picamelot’s wines “elegant,” “excellent,” and “superb.”

“Reipes” is Burgundian Blanc de Blancs that’s subtle, elegant, and classy.

Louis Picamelot was among the first crémant producers in Rully, a town now known for its sparkling wines. They make several excellent cuvées, most of them blends of Burgundy’s four grapes: Chardonnay, Aligoté, Pinot Noir, and Gamay.

But for “Les Reipes,” (pronounced “ley REP”) the recipe is simple — all Chardonnay from a single terroir. It’s dry and very fine, with bright clean notes of brioche, almonds, and lightly buttered toast. The mouth is crisp and complex, with notes of lemon, minerals, and woods.

Serve this at your next cocktail party beside a triple creme cheese like Brillat-Savarin. Or pour it at a summer wedding — your guests will toast you with enthusiasm.

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Picamelot Crémant “Reipes” NV
bottle price: $29

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A Surprise in Sancerre: Delightful Loire Valley Pinot Noir

“Oak is good… but wine is better.” That’s how one of our vignerons answered a question a few years ago about how he uses oak. We know what he means, and we still see too many winemakers fall into the trap of overoaking.

Today’s cuvée is a red Sancerre that spends a year in oak barrels (none new), called “Esprit de la Garenne.” We were skeptical — the Pinot Noir fruit in Garenne’s unoaked Sancerre rouge is so pure and refreshing that we assumed oak would ruin it. But they’ve managed to weave spice into the fruit beautifully, and we couldn’t pass it up.

It’s not red Burgundy; it’s not even traditional red Sancerre. But one thing’s for sure: it’s simply delicious.

Garenne makes less than 200 cases of this wine per year, and the current release 2016 is drinking beautifully. The nose shows cinnamon, cloves, rose petals, and intense cherry liqueur. The oak comes across as spice and smoothness. The mouth is punchy and silky with well built tannins that have weathered their time in barrel beautifully.

We taste a lot of wine, particularly Pinot Noir — but even we can be surprised from time to time. This is a surprisingly attractive Pinot Noir with nice depth and a summer weight. Serve it alongside Garenne’s white Sancerre with cheese, crackers, and a bit of charcuterie.

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Garenne Sancerre rouge “Esprit” 2016
bottle price: $29

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