Author: Thomas Wilcox

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Sophisticated New $25 Bordeaux: 2016 Left-Bank Cru Bourgeois

Burgundy and Bordeaux are the two giants French wine. In nearly every aspect — style, tradition, grape varietal, scale — they are opposites. As a small père et fils enterprise, Ansonia’s model fits far better with Burgundy, and we work with more than four Burgundy sources for every one in Bordeaux.

But the wines of Bordeaux continue to intrigue us, and we’re always on the hunt for a Burgundy-scale producer from the southwestern coast. And this spring we discovered a gem — rich, smooth, sophisticated red Bordeaux that’s also a startling bargain. We’re thrilled to introduce the 2016 Haut Médoc from Château Moulin-de-Blanchon.

Burgundy will always have our heart — but when then Bordelais turn out $25 wines at this quality, it become hard to ignore.

Moulin-de-Blanchon comes from the same winemakers who make our popular St-Estèphe “Fleuron de Liot.” It’s less highly classified than Fleuron, but it’s far more approachable young. Next to our other two delicious $25 red Bordeaux (2015 Grand Ormeau, 2015 Marchesseau), Moulin-de-Blanchon is classier and more serious — think an a cozy oak-paneled steak house rather than a bustling outdoor bistro.

Made from 50/50 Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2016 Moulin de Blanchon is remarkably drinkable today. The nose shows raspberry jam, black pepper, fresh leather, and forest. The mouth is smooth and rich, with velvety tannins that are enticingly approachable already. The palate is long and inky with fresh fruits and delicate chalky finish.

Sear some steaks and open a bottle of this for guests — they’ll swear you paid twice as much.

 

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Moulin de Blanchon Haut-Médoc 2016
bottle price: $25

 

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[ADVANCE ORDER] “Top Value” 2016 Red Burgundy from Michel Gros. $25

Our final Futures issue of the year comes out next week. It includes some of our most popular winemakers — Goubert, Boyer-Martenot, Desvignes, and more — but one favorite in particular: the Domaine Michel Gros. His entire lineup of 2016s will be available next Sunday, but today we’re focusing on one wine that is always in short supply.

The 2015 vintage was a hard act to follow, but Gros has a stellar lineup in 2016 as well. We were amazed at the clarity and consistent quality after such a difficult growing season. Gros himself, comparing the two vintages, called the 2016s “arguably classier, as the tannins are definitely finer.” Allen Meadows (Burghound) agreed: “Whether they are as good as his first-rate 2015s remains to be seen but if they’re not, it won’t be by much.”

And so with that in mind we’ll begin with Gros’s simplest wine — and the one that nearly always sells out through Futures: Bourgogne rouge 2016.

Great winemakers make excellent wines from even the humblest terroir. Gros is famous for his fine, high-end red Burgundies, and we can’t recommend them enough. But for everyday enjoyment, Gros’s simpler wines show the class of much fancier bottles.

His 2016 Bourgogne is refined, juicy, toasty, and polished. There’s far more complexity here than most reds at the Bourgogne level. Look for silky tannins, notes of raspberry and plum, and an earthy, complex palate. Burghound included Gros’s 2016 Bourgogne as one of the “top value wines of the vintage,” calling it “naturally vibrant” and noting its “sneaky long finale.”

We expect Gros’s 2016s to make lots of friends over the next few years. But this one, scheduled to arrive in late November, should be a treat by the holiday season. For a Burgundy lover, this is about as good a wine as $25 will ever buy.

 

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Michel Gros Bourgogne 2016

Ansonia Retail: $420
Futures price : $295/case

 

Email Tom to reserve this wine.



AVAILABLE BY THE CASE AND HALF-CASE
NOTE: This is an advance order, we anticipate a December arrival.

 

 

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Intense, Extraordinary New 2015 Red Burgundy; 91 points, $25

We often joke that inhabitants of the Beaujolais consider themselves Burgundian, but that the rest of Burgundy isn’t quite as sure. And while differences between the two halves abound — grape varietal, soil type, landscape, etc. — they share a tradition and style as well.

We call today’s wine “Red Burgundy” intentionally. The grape may be gamay and the zip code may be Juliénas, but this wine exhibits many of the characteristics of our favorite Pinot Noirs. It’s a combination of old vines (planted in the 1940s), expert craftsmanship, and Burgundian elevage. At the price, this could easily become your new house red Burgundy.

The Domaine Perrachon has made wine in Juliénas since the 1870s. Today we’re enthusiastically suggesting their 2015 Juliénas “Clos des Chers.” Made from south facing vines and raised in large 500L barrels, it marries the dark intensity of old-vine gamay with a bit of polish from further north. Or as one taster put it at our warehouse last weekend, “there’s a lot of wine in that glass.”

This is as serious and sophisticated a Beaujolais as we have ever seen. The nose is inky and dense, with dark blue fruits, violets, and pleasant spices like nutmeg and pepper. The mouth is very fine and intense, with beautiful texture, sturdy fruit, and notes of baked blueberries and roses. Burghound called it “exceptionally pretty,” “rich,” and “caressing,” predicting “it could easily enjoyed now [but] there is plenty of upside development potential.”

We’re hard pressed to find a better value in Burgundy today. It’s not from a fancy town or a “noble” grape, but this is true red Burgundy at a remarkably friendly price.

 

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Perrachon Juliénas “Clos des Chers” 2015
bottle price: $25

 

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“Exceptionally Rich” Premier Cru 2015 Red Burgundy, 90 points

The 2015 vintage in Red Burgundy has been called one of the best in a generation. Ideal growing conditions produced perfectly ripe fruit, resulting in wines that are full bodied, deeply colored, and simply delicious.

Many of the wines will require aging to reach their potential, but not all of them. Roger Belland in Santenay makes wines for the nearer term. Belland’s reds are drinkable young every year, and in a vintage like 2015, they’re unusually delightful.

Roger Belland and his daughter Julie are 5th and 6th generation winemakers in Santenay, at the southern end of the Côte d’Or. Their 2015 Santenay 1er cru “Beauregard” shows everything that is great about this vintage: perfectly rounded tannins, abundant ripe fruit, and a mouthfilling, sturdy finish.

Wine Critic Allen Meadows (Burghound) awarded this wine 90 points, citing “exceptionally rich flavors,” “liqueur-like aromas of plum and earth,” and a “delicious, sappy, and palate-coating finish.” We agree, finding notes of currants and minerals, with a particularly complex and silky mouthfeel that is both lively and long.

There are certainly more age-worthy red Burgundies from this legendary vintage. But for a reasonably-priced cuvée to enjoy this fall, we can’t think of a better choice than the 2015 Beauregard.

 

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Belland Santenay 1er “Beauregard” 2015
bottle price: $35

 

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Cool, Everyday Syrah-Blend from the Languedoc. $16

For the careful shopper, the Languedoc can be an abundant resource. Long deserving its reputation for mediocrity, the region has only recently become a source of value. 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.

The region’s best bargain may come from the Clos Bagatelle. This centuries-old domaine hails from the ancient town of St. Chinian, set high in the rock-strewn hills of the central Languedoc. Bagatelle grows syrah, carignan, and cinsault in a rocky schist soil that provides balance and minerality.

Bagatelle’s Cuvée Tradition 2016 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.

This is a well-priced, crowd pleasing red — it’s the house red for several of our friends. As the weather cools, this is a perfect everyday red to have around to match with autumn dishes. Pair with steak and other burgers from the grill, or a weeknight stew.

 

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Bagatelle Tradition 2017
bottle price: $16

 

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“Outstanding” 91-point Six-Year-Old Premier Cru Red Burgundy.

In our fast-paced and impatient world, cellaring wine has become rare. Not all wines are meant to age, and indeed the wine world’s style continues to shift toward early maturity. But for wine that is built to be cellared, the transformation by bottle aging is nothing short of magic.

Today we’re suggesting 2012 Morey-St-Denis 1er cru “Millandes” from Jean-Louis Amiot — it’s proof that ageworthy wine doesn’t have to cost hundreds of dollars. Located about ten yards from the famous Grand Cru Clos de la Roche, Millandes is a premier cru that always punches above its weight, but that also needs a few years to reach its potential.

Take a fine premier cru from an excellent vintage and add six years of patience, and you’ve got something special.

This lot of 2012 Millandes comes with impeccable provenance — it just arrived last week from Morey-St-Denis, having spent the last six years in the cellar where it was bottled. When he tasted it back in 2015, Burghound gave 91 points and called it “outstanding” and “lovely,” finding it “supple and round but well detailed.”

We think he’d be even more enthusiastic now. Today it’s just magnificent — the nose is woodsy and perfumed, with cool cherry fruit and lovely notes of anise and cinnamon. The mouth is perfectly balanced, with reserved tannins underlying a round, elegant, mouthfilling palate showing notes of blackberry pie and autumn leaves.

Serve this with pan seared duck breasts and roasted potatoes. Some things are worth waiting for, and with this one the wait is already over.

 

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Amiot Morey-St-Denis 1er “Millandes” 2012
bottle price: $75

 

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Intense, Delicious, Gulpable New Gamay. $18

The Gamay grape has had a turbulent history. In 1395 Duke Philip the Bold concluded Gamay was “evil and disloyal,” and banished it from the northern half of Burgundy. For the past six centuries it has found refuge in Beaujolais, where it produces mostly simple reds — fruit-forward and inexpensive.

A few years ago we happened across a small-scale, undiscovered Beaujolais producer named Jean-Marc Monnet. He has no road sign, no website, and no other American importer. But his classic Beaujolais cuvées are as intense and vibrant as any we’ve had.

Forget everything you know about Beaujolais (particularly nouveau), this is intense, delicious, inky red wine — think the fruit profile of a Pinot Noir, but the weight of a Northern Rhone Syrah.

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.

This is a perfect candidate for your autumn house red — smooth and delightful enough to serve on its own, but with character enough to match food. It’s a dense, juicy, affordable red to match the cooling days and lengthening nights. Skip the Nouveau — this is twice the wine and still doesn’t break $20/bot.

 

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Monnet Chiroubles 2017
bottle price: $18

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Pure, Honest, Magnificent 2016 Old-Vine Chablis

The Domaine Jean Collet in Chablis had a tough 2016. Mother Nature threw just about everything at them — hail, frost, mildew, grape maladies, sunburnt fruit, and more. The domaine lost about 60% of the crop, but the fruit that survived was superb.

Collet’s 2016s are magnificent. Young winemaker Romain Collet managed to turn in an exceptional lineup of wines amidst an abundance of challenges. Everything from his Grand Crus to Premier Crus to today’s classic old-vine Chablis are just excellent.

We enthusiastically recommend his whole 2016 collection, but we’re focused on his simplest today.

 

 

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 eight decades. With each passing year their grapes lose volume but gain intensity and depth.

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’re still turning out work this good when we’re 86 years old…

 

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Collet Chablis VV 2016

bottle price: $29

 

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Rich, Silky New Châteauneuf-du-Pape: Autumn Arrives

The weather has finally turned colder here in Boston. And though we enjoy the rosés and Muscadets of summer, we’re excited for the contents of our glasses to turn darker and richer.

No wine fits better the cooling weather than Châteauneuf-du-Pape. For us the name conjures a hearty meal and roaring fireplace. And while we may still be a few weeks away from fireplace weather, you’ll want Châteauneuf-du-Pape around when it arrives.

We have several excellent options from the famous appellation, and we’re excited to add a new one today.

The appellation of Châteauneuf is only about 12 square miles, but it makes some of the world’s most sought after wine. Christophe Mestre is a small production winemaker who flies under the radar of most of the wine world, but recently his talent and terroir have begun to bring him acclaim. We think his 2016 is among the best he’s produced.

Fans of the appellation used to paying well over $50 for bigger names should take note — this is a rich, classic, mouthfilling Chateauneuf-du-Pape with a remarkably low price tag. The nose is explosive, with a wide range of notes from violets and pan drippings to strawberry jam and lavender. The mouth is smooth and soft and rich, with a dark red complexion and silky tannins.

This is a rich, round, welcoming Southern red to match those stews you’ll start cooking soon. And at the price you can open a bottle for the weeknight leftovers as well.

 

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Mestre Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2016

bottle price: $34

 

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Overperforming New 2015 Red Burgundy: 92-point Almost Grand Cru

In Burgundy as in real estate, location is everything. Today’s wine comes from a vineyard classified Premier Cru but surrounded by five Grand Crus. It sits along the famous stretch of Grand Crus between Morey-St-Denis and Gevrey-Chambertin, and many believe its premier cru classification has as much to do with centuries-ago politics as with terroir.

But whether it’s a secret would-be Grand Cru, or just a perfectly positioned Premier Cru, one thing is settled — the “Combottes” vineyard turns out magnificent wine. The Domaine Pierre Amiot is based in Morey-St-Denis, but makes a few hundred cases each year from this plot just over the border in Gevrey.

 

 

Today we’re offering the Combottes from 2015, a vintage considered among the best in a generation. The wine is young but already exceptional, and built to last. The nose is dark and sweetly floral, with notes of spice, plum, and earth. The mouth is dense and sappy with a rich, mouthfilling concentration. Burghound awarded 92 points, calling it “restrained,” “refined” and “sleek.”

Most red Burgundy improves with age — Combottes today is twice as delicious as it was when it arrived in the spring. It’s built to go another 10-15 years if desired. But life is short, and when a wine tastes this good this young, no one (except perhaps your future self) will fault you for opening it early.

 

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Amiot Gevrey-Chambertin 1er “Combottes” 2015

bottle price: $92

 

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Small-Batch Grower Champagne, back in stock!

Pascal Bardoux is among the newer additions to our portfolio, but he is already a favorite among our readers. His small-batch Champagnes are distinctive, delicious, complex, and comparative bargains. Much of the mass-market Champagne distributed in the US between $75 and $100 a bottle; Bardoux’s small-batch Brut Traditionnel doesn’t even crack $50. It’s twice the wine at half the price.

Monsieur Bardoux is a fifth generation Champagne maker who more resembles a professor. His quiet, thoughtful approach to his wine is a stark departure from the glossy brochures and fancy tasting rooms common in Champagne. But Bardoux’s humble style belies the extraordinary intricacy and elegance of his wines.

This is Champagne as it was meant to be — wine first, bubbles second.

 

 

After a summer of waiting, Bardoux’s Brut Traditionnel is finally back in stock. It’s his non-vintage cuvée, and an excellent entree to the collection. A blend of 60% Pinot Meunier, 30% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Noir, this wine has the complexity and depth to match the finest bottles from Burgundy or Bordeaux. The nose shows plum and lemon and buttered biscuits; the mouth is dry, elegant, and smooth, with notes of apple and toast.

We can’t recommend this wine highly enough. For those new to Champagne, this wine will convert you with ease, and at less than $10/glass it won’t blow your budget. For those with a more Churchillian perspective on bubbles, this is as delicious and complex as any non-vintage grower Champagne we’ve had, and it’s impossible to match for value.

 

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Bardoux Champagne Brut NV

bottle price: $49

 

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Bargain Bubbles: Sparkling Burgundy under $25

Credit for the discovery of sparkling wine is a matter of dispute. The monks of Limoux in the South of France claim 1531 as the date of genesis; the Champenois, with their stories of widows and Benedictine monks, have certainly won the publicity war; and even the Brits, who invented glass thick enough to contain the pressure, stake a claim.

But whomever you credit with its creation or taming, the world has become quite fond of bubbles over the past few centuries. We’re excited to have favorites from our Champagne producer Pascal Bardoux in the current September Futures notes; but until they arrive, we’ll continue to enjoy the delicious crémants from the Maison Picamelot.

Picamelot’s “Les Terroirs” combines three grapes from three corners of Burgundy — Pinot Noir from the Côte de Nuits, Chardonnay from the Côte de Beaune, and Aligoté from the Côte Chalonnaise. After its first fermentation, the wine ages on its lees for over a year, gaining complexity and richness. The result is a delicious wine that’s as honest a representation of Burgundy as any still wine.

In the glass (we suggest skipping the flute), “les Terroirs” is bright and lively, with nice dryness and pleasant, delicate mouthfeel — an extraordinarily versatile food-pairing wine. Over the last two weeks in France we’ve gotten used to beginning meals out with a kir petillant (crémant with a dash of crème de cassis). We’re likely to carry this aperitif tradition back home, and we suspect you might enjoy it too.

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Picamelot Crémant “Terroirs” Brut NV

bottle price: $22

 

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“Sleek and Lush:” New 2015 Red Burgundy from Michel Gros

We usually go to the Domaine Pierre Amiot for our Morey-St-Denis. Amiot has fantastic properties around the town, and when the vintage and maturity line up they can be exceptionally fine. But today’s suggestion comes from Amiot’s childhood friend and schoolmate, Michel Gros.

Gros’s plot in Morey-St-Denis is tiny but about as well located as a village plot can be: the vineyard directly borders three Grand Crus: Clos de Tart, Clos des Lambrays, and Bonnes-Mares. Gros’s produces fewer than 1000 bottles of the wine annually, but they are always beautiful.

Gros’s style is a bit out of the ordinary today — he’s an interventionist winemaker in an era when the trend is toward organic and biodynamic styles. But such is his talent that each cuvée comes out a perfectly crafted representation of its terroir. Gros’s wines may not match the “natural” style in vogue today, but they’re undeniably the work of a master.

And in 2015, they’re simply extraordinary. Gros’s 2015 Morey-St-Denis shows the perfectly ripe wild cherry fruit in all of Gros’s cuvées, but with an extra dose of stoniness. In the mouth it’s long and elegant, with a velvety texture that’s smooth and restrained. Burghound called it “sleek yet lush” with “terrific tension.”

Morey-St-Denis isn’t the flashiest town, and Gros’s approach is traditional. But one whiff of this wine and you’ll ignore everything but the contents of your glass.

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Michel Gros Morey-St-Denis 2015

bottle price: $69

 

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Got tomatoes? You’ll need a bottle of this.

We spent the last two weeks in “la France Profonde” (deep France), retracing our family’s visit here 20 years ago. Particularly here in the countryside, the French eat more seasonally than we do back home, and we cooked according to what we found in the market. Among many highlights – peaches, fresh chèvre, figs, squash, and more – were the tomatoes.

Perfectly in-season tomatoes are a reminder of why the food is in fact a fruit. We ate most raw, but managed to enjoy a few in a pasta sauce; and though it may seem heresy given our location, the bottle best matched with the pasta was our sample of Labirinto sent from Poggerino in Chianti.

The 2017 we sampled will arrive during the winter, but the 2016 is delicious, and, more importantly, in stock in Newton.

Poggerino’s Labirinto would qualify to be labeled Chianti Classico, but years ago the winemaker decided to bottle wine from the younger vines under a separate label. The 2016 Labirinto offers many of the same pleasures as Poggerino’s excellent Chianti Classico, but with less tannin and for a couple fewer bucks.

In the nose it shows violets, cherries, cassis and some earth. The mouth is intense and energetic — the tannins are young but juicy, and the mouthfeel is bold and refreshing. Look for sour cherry jam and minerals.

If there are any tomato sauces in your summer/fall plans, a bottle of Poggerino will be about as essential as Parmesan. (Well, almost.)

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Poggerino Labirinto 2016

bottle price: $19

 

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Minor-League Pomerol: Juicy 2015 Right Bank Bordeaux. $25

The monks and farmers of France have spent about a thousand years identifying the grape varietals that best fit their lands. Most grape-place pairings were settled centuries ago, and now the happy marriages — Syrah in the Northern Rhône, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Burgundy, Sauvignon Blanc in Sancerre — produce many of the world’s finest expressions of each varietal.

And so it is with Merlot and Bordeaux. Sideways notwithstanding, Merlot has always played a starring role in the finest wines of Bordeaux, particularly in the Right Bank’s famous towns of Pomerol and St-Emilion. The combination of limestone and clay soils, excellent drainage, and early ripening makes Merlot grown there unique and delicious.

Today’s wine is from Lalande-de-Pomerol, a sort of minor-league appellation to Pomerol’s big league name. It offers near-term drinking at a fraction of the cost of Pomerol, and benefited greatly from the magnificent 2015 growing season. 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.”

The 2015 Grand Ormeau Lalande de Pomerol is dark, juicy, and very mouthfilling. Look for notes of licorice, tobacco, plums, and cinnamon. The mouth is smooth, ripe, and velvety, perfect for a well crusted steak from a cast iron pan. Or if you’re an autumn griller, pair this with a burger and football on a Sunday afternoon.

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Grand Ormeau Lalande-de-Pomerol 2015

bottle price: $25

 

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