Author: Thomas Wilcox

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Gold in a Glass: Extraordinary “Beguiling” Old-Vine Meursault

With chilly, drizzly weather settling into Boston this week, our first suggestions for wine are usually red. Recently arrived reds from Goubert are approachable and affordable, and were a hit at yesterday’s depot tasting. But if your menu or your guests require something white, look no further than today’s cozy Meursault.

Though it has no Grand Cru, the wines of Meursault are some of the most sought after in the world. They inhabit the decadent, opulent end of the white Burgundy spectrum, drawing on clay-heavy soils to produce muscular, mouthfilling white wines. Today’s wine takes this theme one step further, drawing on 90+ year old vines for extra concentration and depth.

Planted in 1924 by Vincent Boyer’s great grandmother Lucie, the “Ormeau” vineyard is named for the elm trees that once shared the clay-rich ground. This is classic, mouthfilling Meursault – showing peaches and citrus, with pear and a faint nuttiness in the nose. All of Boyer’s wines are rich, elegant, and complex, but “Ormeau” is among the most classically Meursault in the lineup.

Burghound calls this “beguiling,” “attractive,” and “very Meursault.” We’ve set aside a few bottles of this to serve next week as our guests arrive for Christmas dinner. There’s no wrong time to drink Meursault, but a chilly winter’s evening seems particularly right.

 

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Boyer-Martent Meursault “Ormeau” 2016
bottle price: $69

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Everyday White Burgundy from a Master of Meursault. $22

Chardonnay is responsible for all of Burgundy’s finest white wines. But 10% of white wine vineyards in Burgundy are Aligoté, a less celebrated grape that produces simple, refreshing wines. Aligoté is seldom magnificent, but in the hands of the right winemaker it can be delicious.

Boyer-Martenot’s Aligoté is unlike any other we’ve had, with a rich mouthfeel and unusually complex bouquet. Vincent Boyer, a highly skilled craftsman of rich, elegant Meursault, has managed to apply a bit of his magic to this grape. Forget what you know about Aligoté — Boyer’s is real white Burgundy.

Drawing from vines with an average age of over 40 years, Boyer’s Aligoté is smoother and rounder than any we’ve had. The secret is his use of 5- and 7-year-old barrels to age the wine — barrels too old to impart much oak flavor, but which aid in microoxygenation and add softness and depth.

Boyer’s Aligoté from his stellar 2017 lineup has just arrived in the warehouse, and it may be his best yet. The nose shows wild honey and herbs, with white flowers and classic green apple. The mouth is lively but smooth, with a dry, floral richness that’s nearly unheard of for Aligoté.

For readers interested in making kir, we have an exceptional crème de cassis source — a glass of this wine joined by a splash of cassis will be a fantastic match. But, for once, the cassis isn’t mandatory — this is a complex, pleasant glass of white Burgundy on its own.

 

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Boyer-Martent Aligoté 2017
bottle price: $22

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Outstanding New 2015 Gigondas from Goubert. $28

For several decades the Domaine les Goubert has produced some of the most popular wines in our portfolio. Grown in the warm Provençal sunshine around Gigondas, they’re smooth, accessible, welcoming red wines perfect for a cozy evening by the fire.

In recent years they’ve unmistakably increased in precision and polish, no doubt a result of winemaker Florence Cartier’s attention to detail. We sampled four of the just-arrived cuvées last night side by side — Côtes du Rhône, Sablet, Beaumes de Venise, and Gigondas — and they’re outstanding at every level.

All four are available now, and we’ll be writing more them in the coming weeks. But we’re starting with the old favorite and their flagship — Gigondas.

2015 was a magnificent year in Gigondas. Josh Raynolds of Vinous writes that the vintage “produced one of the most consistently excellent sets of Gigondas that I’ve ever had the chance to taste,” noting the wines’ “distinct power and depth.” Goubert’s 2015 Gigondas is no exception.

The nose is packed with dense red fruits, spice, violets, and warm earth. The mouth is bold and intense, showing a richness reminiscent of nearby Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Notes of plum, wild cherries, and chocolate dominate the palate, which finishes long and sophisticated and with what Raynolds calls “very good, spicy tenacity.”

We ran out of most of our Goubert wines last month, and it’s a relief to have them back in stock. When wine is this rich, this tasty, and this affordable, it can be hard to open anything else.

 

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Goubert Gigondas 2015
bottle price: $28

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Mystery Wine: Iconic 2010 Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Today’s wine comes from one of the most famous names in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. We imported their wines for our Futures group for decades, but their national importer kicked up a fuss about us a few years ago. So to avoid conflict we’ve taken them out of our main sales channels.

But we still have some stock from an earlier vintage in our warehouse, so (inspired by a west-coast wineseller who does this from time to time) we’re offering the wine without releasing its name. Here’s what we can tell you:


This is a legendary source. Jancis Robinson says “I love this producer, which follows the Clos des Papes model of … not wasting any wine on a special cuvée.” Their standard is as high as any domaine we work with — in 2002 when flooding made for a difficult vintage, they declassified their entire crop and sold it all in bulk. Year in and year out this domaine turns out exceptional wine.

Their 2010 is an exceptional vintage. We’ve had many vintages from this winery, but 2010 had the lowest yields in the history of the domaine. The wine closed down in its early years and we decided to hold it rather than sell it too soon. But it has begun to emerge from its adolescent hibernation — today it’s rich and bold, and with intense and beautiful structure we recommend softening with a bit of time in a decanter. If you’ve got room and patience, we expect the wine to improve for another decade at least.


We’re not the only fans. We try not to rely too much on critical scores and reviews, but with a mystery wine they’re a useful barometer. Robert Parker awarded this wine 96 points, finding “a sweet bouquet of black olives, incense, blackberries, mulberries, black cherries and lavender,” and finding it “mouth-coating, saturated, and dense.” The Wine Spectator also gave 96 points, stating that it “should cellar wonderfully.” Josh Raynolds of Vinous gave 94 points, finding it “Juicy and energetic, with superb finishing focus and floral-driven persistence. Impeccably balanced, with the depth to age effortlessly.”

In conclusion: We won’t tell you the name of this wine (at least not on our website — guesses by email will be entertained). But we can tell you that it’s of exceptional quality, from an iconic estate, with 8 years already under its belt. Even without the name, we’re pretty certain you will find this an interesting opportunity.

Quantities limited, first come, first served.

 

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[Mystery] Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2010
bottle price: $65

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Electric New Sancerre: “Like Biting into a Stone.” $35

The soils of Sancerre are famous for their flint. This unusual mineral gives the region’s wines notes of smokiness and stones. The minerality acts as a perfect foil for Sauvignon Blanc’s lush grapefruit notes, and Sancerre has always been among the world’s most popular wines.

Our new Sancerre producer, the Domaine de la Garenne, makes three excellent cuvées: a fruit-forward Sancerre from a blend of soil types, an intense and refreshing Sancerre “Bouffants” from limestone-heavy soils, and today’s vibrant new Sancerre “Infidèle” from soils full of classic flint.

If you like your Sauvignon Blancs zippy, dry, and mineral, it doesn’t get more exciting than this.

On Saturday at our Holiday warehouse tasting in Newton we opened the Infidèle to universal acclaim. Comments included: “I really don’t like Sauvignon Blanc, but this is delicious;” “It’s like biting into a stone…in a good way;” and “Most exciting white I’ve had from Ansonia all year.”

In the nose Infidèle is delicate and lovely — a combination of dry grapefruit, straw, and a hint of gunflint smokiness. But in the mouth it’s outstanding, packed full of flinty minerals, notes of chalk, grapefruit and lime rind, and smooth, tension-filled texture.

Garenne only makes 200 cases of this every year, and we’ve got far fewer than that. But this isn’t wine you’ll forget about soon.

 

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Garenne Sancerre “Infidèle” 2016
bottle price: $35

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Drink-Now 7-year-old Premier Cru Red Burgundy: a Clos de Tart Neighbor

Morey-St-Denis is a tiny town. Home to only 680 people, its half-square-mile of vineyards produces a wide array of wines, ranging from simple Bourgogne to famous Grand Cru. We’ve found much to like across this small terroir, particularly in the premier crus from the Domaine Pierre Amiot. Today’s offer is for Amiot’s excellent 2011 premier cru from “Ruchots.”

The Ruchots vineyard lies a mere 10 feet from the Clos de Tart, an iconic Grand Cru vineyard in production for nearly a thousand years. While you wouldn’t mistake one wine for the other, it’s easy to see why most consider Ruchots the best premier cru in the town. It’s a wine of unusual depth and intensity for its class.

Clos de Tart deserves its praise and acclaim, but at $250 a bottle it’s nice to have a more affordable neighbor at the ready. For those in search of a special red Burgundy from an exceptional location, we offer “Ruchots.”

From an acre of vines, the Amiot family makes just 200 cases of this wine per year. Their vines, planted in the 1950s, produce concentrated, intense red Burgundy. Allen Meadows (Burghound) awarded 90 points to the Ruchots 2011, calling it “rich and fleshy.”

We opened this on Thursday night (as our Instagram followers may have seen) with steak-frites and cauliflower, and it was startlingly good. The fruit in the nose has softened, and now shares the stage with notes of woods, mushrooms, and spice. In the mouth it’s exceptional, showing unmistakable premier cru intensity, and a long, beautifully textured finish.

This wine is enough to prove that Morey-St-Denis is more than just a stop between Chambolle-Musigny and Gevrey-Chambertin. This certainly requires no further aging, but should hold up for another year or two if needed. From a small, well-located vineyard in an overlooked town, is nothing short of a well-aged gem.

Less than three cases available; first come, first served.

 

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Amiot Morey-St-Denis 1er cru “Ruchots” 2011
bottle price: $85

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Honey, Flowers, and Green Tea: White Crozes-Hermitage Returns

For many years at the start of every tasting, Rhône winemaker Denis Basset would give us small taste of his only white. “Just to set the palate,” he’d explain, before continuing on to his rich, syrah-based reds. The white was always lovely — floral and fresh, beautifully expressive, and a perfect way to start a tasting. And every year, when we asked how much we could buy, he’d smile and shake his head. (Loyal local restaurants were to blame).

Two years ago, enfin, we were able to purchase some. It mostly disappeared through Futures, and since then we’ve been disappointing customers who have been asking for more. We’re excited to report that this year we planned a bit better, and reserved some in advance. It’s just arrived in the warehouse, and it’s as lovely as we remember.

Denis Basset runs the Domaine Saint-Clair, which he started several years ago after spending the first decade of his working life in the family’s flower business. He has rapidly gained confidence and acclaim; both Decanter and the Guide Hachette have listed him in a dynamic new generation of Crozes-Hermitage winemakers.

Basset’s white is a Rousanne-Marsanne blend (70/30), in the style of a classic northern Rhône. The nose is soft and enveloping, with tropical notes of mango, pineapple, and green tea. The mouth is rich and round, but well balanced, showing nectarine and honey notes. There’s so much exotic fruit in the nose you almost expect this to be sweet, but the mouth finishes cool and soft and dry.

This is a perfect winter white wine, with bright citrus to match rich foods, but a cozy, mouthcoating softness that makes it hard to put down. Serve some with a salty triple cream cheese and crusty bread.

 

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Saint-Clair Crozes-Hermitage blanc 2016
bottle price: $25

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Five Vintages of “Simply Terrific” Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru: 2005-2015

No town is more celebrated for its wines than Vosne-Romanée. Home to some of the world’s finest and most sought-after bottles, Vosne is undoubtedly the most famous Pinot Noir village on earth. Michel Gros is a lifelong resident, and his family has made wine there for centuries.

Gros farms vines across the tiny appellation, and but one of his best plots is the premier cru “Aux Brûlées.” Located just 10 feet from the famous “Richebourg” Grand Cru, it’s as well placed as premier cru vineyards get. And as you might expect it turns out extraordinary wine year in and year out.

 

Vosne-Romanée is a tiny appellation, covering only half of a square mile. Founded in the 6th Century, the town has been famous for its wines for almost as long. The Gros Vosne-Romanée 1er cru Aux Brûlées perfectly marries the depth and richness of high-level red Burgundy with the silky elegance found only in Vosne-Romanée.

We’re excited to offer five excellent vintages of this wine, all in very small quantities: 2015, 2012, 2010, 2009, and 2005. Below are Burghound scores for each Aux Brûlées available, as well as general notes on the vintage. (And don’t forget our other 2005s from Michel Gros offered last week!)

 

Aux Brûlées 2015
“Extremely fine.” — Jancis Robinson
“The greatest vintage since the legendary 2005.” — Burghound (93)
Warm, welcoming tannins, mouthfilling texture, ripe and full.
$165    Add to Cart (750ml) >
$295    Add to Cart (1.5L) >

 

Aux Brûlées 2012
“A very fine to excellent vintage.” — Burghound (93)
Cool tannins, dense, distilled texture, dark berry fruits; drinking well now.
$135    Add to Cart (750ml) >
$245   Add to Cart (1.5L) >

 

Aux Brûlées 2010
“Very good quality.” — Jancis Robinson
“Exciting and ultra-classic vintage of refinement, balance.” — Burghound (93)
Excellent terroir transparency, sophisticated wines with clarity and poise.
$175/bot    Add to Cart >

 

Aux Brûlées 2009
“Excellent vintage of opulence, charm, and seduction.” — Burghound (92)
Cozy, accessible, smooth, easy drinking; velvety tannins.
$175/bot    Add to Cart >

 

Aux Brûlées 2005
“Revered, and rightly so.” — Jancis Robinson
“One of the greatest vintages in the history of modern Burgundy.” — Burghound (92)
Sturdy, regal, polished, complex, exquisite; built to last.
$185/bot    Add to Cart >

 

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Exceptional Grower Champagne: Twice the Wine at Half the Price

Champagne is a complicated place. Since its early days the region has been inseparably linked to a sense of glamour and “le marketing.” It can be easy to lose track of quality and distinctiveness amid Champagne’s glossy promotional haze.

But Pascal Bardoux, our tiny grower Champagne producer, cuts through the noise. His small-batch Champagnes are quietly exceptional — his tasting room is his small untidy office, where we taste slowly and thoughtfully from an old beat-up leather sofa.

And his wines, humble and delicious, are comparative bargains. Much mass-market Champagne that gets to the US fetches between $75 and $100 a bottle; Bardoux’s small-batch Brut Traditionnel doesn’t even crack $50 — twice the wine at half the price.

Bardoux’s Brut Traditionnel is 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, chalk, lime zest, 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 $49/bot it won’t blow your budget. It makes a lovely gift this time of year, and your recipient will never know what you paid.

 

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Bardoux Champagne Brut NV
bottle price: $49

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No-Oak Premier Cru Chablis: Humbly Delicious

Chablis is a singular place. Its combination of deep stony soils and cool climate exists nowhere else on earth. These factors produce a unique wine — mineral and crisp, pure and clean. Our goal as importers is to find wines that reflect the place from which they come, and there is no better place to find such wines than Chablis.

The traditional interpretation of Chablis shows little or no oak. In recent years, some vignerons have begun to oak their wines more aggressively. 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, elegant, unoaked Chardonnay. Gautheron allows the stony soil to show through as delicate minerality. One taste and we think you’ll agree: a wine this good doesn’t need any help.

 

 

We’ve just restocked on the 2016 Vaucoupin. It shows remarkable richness for a wine without oak — purity and elegance that is exceptional. The briny freshness of oysters (or a lemony-prepared fish) is a perfect foil for the brisk energy of the Vaucoupin.

After the excellent but unusually soft 2015 vintage, Gautheron’s 2016s are a return to his regular form. 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. We served this yesterday at a holiday party, and it performed beautifully — it matched a wide range of cheeses and was enjoyable on its own: humbly delicious.

 

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Gautheron Chablis 1er “Vaucoupin” 2016
bottle price: $32

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Special Offering: 2005 Red Burgundies from Michel Gros

No, that’s not a vintage typo in the subject line. We’ve just called up our small collection of 2005 Gros Burgundies from our offsite warehouse. Purchased back in 2007, and they’ve rested quietly under temperature control for over a decade. Today we’re bringing them out of their slumber to pass them along to you.

The 2005 vintage was by all accounts near-perfect. Allen Meadows (Burghound) called it “one of the greatest vintages in the history of modern Burgundy.” Jancis Robinson MW called it a “glorious” and “rightly revered” vintage; Jasper Morris MW called it “the most uniformly successful vintage I have seen in my career.”

As happens with most great vintages, the 2005s went into hibernation after bottling — over the past decade they’ve shown their intensity and class, but have been missing the richness and complexity you’d expect. They’re just now beginning to edge into their drinking window, and so we’ve decided to let our customers direct their final acts — we think they’ll continue to improve for another decade or more, but the rest is up to you.

Today we’re releasing three 2005 village wines from Michel Gros — two cuvées from Nuits-St-Georges, and one from Vosne-Romanée.

Michel’s Nuits-St-Georges “Les Chaliots” is from a vineyard on the southern end of the town, not far from the famous “Les St-Georges” vineyard. This is classic Nuits, with rich meatiness, bold intensity, and dark blackberry fruits. Look for cassis, cinnamon, mushrooms, and leather.

The other Nuits-St-Georges cuvée is a blend of four plots near the border with Vosne-Romanée, and this cuvée combines aspects of both villages. There’s the traditional intensity of Nuits-St-Georges, but with an increased layer of Vosne spice and silk. Look for dark berries, earth, pine, and toast.

And finally, the Vosne-Romanée, from Michel’s home town. This is the most elegant of the three, showing redder fruits and a longer, silkier finish. Vosne is Burgundy at its most refined, and Michel’s never disappoints. Look for violets, smoke, dried roses, and velvet.

As you might expect, these are all available in small quantities. We’ll accept orders as first come, first served until we run out.

 

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Gros Nuits-St-Georges “Chaliots” 2005
bottle price: $125

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Gros Nuits-St-Georges 2005
bottle price: $125

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Gros Vosne-Romanée 2005
bottle price: $135

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A Symphony of Spice: Exquisite 6-Year-Old Côte Rôtie

We raided our offsite warehouse a few weeks ago, and have brought some older gems with a bit of bottle age. Stay tuned over the next month for a series of throwback wines (including some really exciting old Burgundies this Friday). Today’s pick should hardly be considered old, but it’s in a lovely place.

Bonnefond’s Côte Rôtie from 2012 has added sophistication and complexity in the six years since its harvest. The fruit has become less juicy and more refined, and the nose has added depth and spice. Six years on, this has plenty of future; but it’s remarkable what a little cellaring can do.

Writing about this wine back in February 2015, Josh Raynolds of Vinous found “spice-accented aromas of cherry compote,” “real vivacity” and “resonating spiciness.” He awarded 91 points, and we’re confident if he tasted it today he’d be even more enthusiastic.

We tasted it yesterday (just to check in) and were highly impressed. In the nose it’s almost Burgundian, showing a perfumed mixture dried roses, cherries, tree bark, violets, and deep purple fruit. The mouth is savory and elegant, full of spices like cloves and anise, the finish is sleek and subtle.

Patience among wine drinkers (and merchants) is rare these days, and this is proof that even a few years of bottle aging can do wonderful things. Less than two cases are available.

 

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Bonnefond Côte Rôtie 2012
bottle price: $65

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Rich, Exciting New Loire Cabernet Francs from Saumur-Champigny

The Loire Valley is an exciting place these days. The two new sources we discovered this spring have already gained fans among our readers — the Sancerres of Domaine de la Garenne, and the Chenin Blancs of Nicolas Paget. Today we’re excited to introduce a third — the Domaine des Sanzay in Saumur-Champigny.

Winemakers Celine and Didier Sanzay are fifth generation growers in Saumur Champigny. Their wines pure Cabernet Franc, and fit modern Loire style — small batch, organic, limited oak, concerned with balance and freshness rather than extraction and muscle. They use all wild yeasts, neither fine nor filter, and produce complex, natural expressions of the charming central Loire.

 

 

We’re starting with two of Sanzay’s reds, both intense, clean, and highly expressive Cabernet Francs. The first is the 2017 Saumur-Champigny, which shows a lovely balance between fruit and earth. The notes are rustic — violets, tobacco, cassis, and herbs — but with a sleek and lively mouthfeel. The papery tannins give it a gentle backbone, supporting the fruit in style.

The second is Sanzay’s old vine cuvée, the 2016 Saumur-Champigny Vieilles Vignes, from vines aged 50-110 years. This cuvée is denser and more refined, and the extra nine months’ élevage in oak barrels (all used, none new) has given it a smooth, velvety texture. The notes are more spiced and intense, and the finish much longer. We expect this to improve for 3-5 years, though it’s already very enjoyable.

These are interesting, expertly-made wines with a lot to say. Both substantially outperform their prices, and are bright, crackling alternatives to your everyday, catch-all Rhône red. Give them a try — we doubt you’ll be disappointed, and we guarantee you won’t be bored.

 

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Sanzay Saumur-Champigny 2017
bottle price: $19

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Sanzay Saumur-Champigny VV 2016
bottle price: $25

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Pouilly-Fumé Returns: New Crisp Sauvignon Blanc. $19

Sauvignon Blanc has seen a recent surge in popularity. It’s hard to find a wine list these days without examples from New Zealand, California and Washington. But the original source for Sauvignon Blanc is France’s Loire Valley.

The twin villages of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé are the home towns of Sauvignon blanc. Here the grape takes on a distinctly mineral and citrus character. As the name suggests, the wines of Pouilly-Fumé also feature notes of smoke and gunflint, a result of the soils’ high flint content.

Our producer here is Frederic Michot, a small family vigneron with no other US importer and excellent wines. Both of his two excellent 2017 cuvées have just arrived in our warehouse.

Michot’s 2017 Pouilly-Fumé is crisp and delicious — the nose is bright and expressive, with ripe grapefruit, honey, and lime. The mouth is full and very lively. There’s no oak at all, and the palate sings with zippy fruit and minerals. The palate is midweight and very clean, with a dry, slightly smoky finish.

This is pure, unoaked, refreshing Sauvignon Blanc — perfect as an aperitif on its own, or to pair with a table of appetizers at your next holiday party. We enjoyed some last night with Ottolenghi’s Leek Fritters, and the match was superb. If you’re short on time or turmeric, try some crusty bread with a Loire-style chèvre.

 

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Michot Pouilly-Fumé 2017
bottle price: $19

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