Author: Thomas Wilcox

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No-Nonsense Sauvignon Blanc: Crisp, Refreshing Pouilly-Fumé. $22

Winemaker Frederic Michot is as brisk and energetic as his wines. He talks (and drives) fast, and sports the same no-nonsense attitude found in a glass of his Pouilly-Fumé: pure Sauvignon blanc, no oak, clean and crisp.

Michot’s side of the river may be less famous than his neighbor Sancerre, but he isn’t willing to concede it any advantage. His wines are exceptional Sauvignon blancs, full of precision, focus, clean dry fruit, and beautiful tension.

Sancerre deserves its fame and acclaim; but Pouilly-Fumé is its scrappy underdog cousin, with just as much to offer, and at a better price.

Michot’s Pouilly-Fumé Vieilles Vignes has become a frequent presence on our summertime dinner table. It’s refreshing, unoaked, mouthfilling and utterly delicious. His 2017 old vine cuvée is a delight, with lots of depth and bursting freshness. With summer around the corner this is a perfect everyday glass of white.

The nose shows mango, grapefruit rind, and straw; the mouth shows ripe grapefruit, lime rind, and honey. The wine is at once mouthfilling and electric, with the persistence of richness and freshness found in finest Sancerre.

It’s perfect for seafood: grilled shrimp, pan seared scallops, broiled haddock, steamed Maine lobster, etc. Or if fruits de mer aren’t your thing, try a glass with goat cheese on a crusty piece of French bread.

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Michot Pouilly-Fumé VV 2017
bottle price: $22

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2015 Red Burgundy from a Master of Vosne-Romanée. $35

Winemakers here in Burgundy are breathing a bit easier these days. Last week’s damaging frosts notwithstanding, cellars here are fuller than we’ve seen them in some time. In fact there’s even talk of the 2018 vintage (currently in barrel) as a “grand millesime.”

But no one claims anything is quite as impressive as the magnificent 2015s, one of the best vintages in a generation. Everyone made good wine in 2015 — and the greatest winemakers, well, their results were extraordinary.

Michel Gros has many accolades to his name. He’s on Master of Wine Clive Coates’s list of the 17 top domaines in Burgundy, alongside Lafarge, Ramonet, DRC, Leroy, and de Vogüé. In person Gros is humble, shy, and soft-spoken — a brilliant winemaker, happiest in the fields among his vines.

Gros’s village, premier cru, and grand crus are extraordinary, and we have a few of them from 2015 left. But for more regular enjoyment, Gros’s simpler wines show the refinement and class of much fancier bottles — and particularly in 2015, they punch well above their weight.

The 2015 HCDN rouge from Gros has the refinement and complexity you’d expect from a $50 bottle. The nose is is ripe, toasty, and elegant. Look for notes of violets and earth, and a surprisingly polished and long mouthfeel. The Guide Hachette called it “elegant and fine.” We found plum, raspberry, cloves, and spice. For a Burgundy lover, this is about as good a wine as $35 will ever buy

 

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Gros HCDN red 2015
bottle price: $35

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Precision and Minerality: the Perfect $25 White Burgundy

Yesterday morning we drove up to Chablis to visit Cyril Gautheron. He had been up since 2am guarding his vineyards against frost, but somehow managed a warm handshake and a smile for our 9:30 appointment.

Gautheron approaches his winemaking with fanatical precision. He farms over 65 different plots of vines across the Chablis appellation, and vinifies each in its own separate tank. We tasted only about 15; the night before Cyril had done them all.

The variations between each tank are subtle but distinct, and Cyril completes his final act of blending masterfully. The results are perfect Chablis cuvées, each different, and each marrying classic minerality with ripe fruit and vibrant texture.

The Gautherons have made wine in Chablis for two centuries, but we can’t imagine their wines ever being quite this good. The 2017s combines intense fruit, refreshing minerality, and a lively, dry energy. They’re a plunge in a chilly ocean, and then a dry breeze as the sun warms you back up.

The 2017 Vieilles Vignes is bursting and delicious — it combines chalk and lemon in the nose, with bright clear notes and a touch of herbs. The mouth is precise, elegant, and pure, with notes of lime rind, saline, and dry Chardonnay fruit.

Cyril has guided the his vines through frost, hail, flowering and harvest; he’s blended them into an exquisitely balanced cuvée. We’ve found them and brought them to a warehouse in Boston. All that’s left to do is pull the cork…

 

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Gautheron Chablis VV 2017
bottle price: $25

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“One of the Best St-Aubins.” Period.

We’ve opened a lot of white Burgundy over the past two weeks, and we can confirm St-Aubin remains one of the best values out there. From a forgotten valley wedged between two superstar towns, the wines of St-Aubin can be every bit as good as those from Chassagne and Puligny.

We’ve written recently about Gérard Thomas’s excellent Bourgogne and St-Aubin from 2017; today we’re suggesting their Premier Cru. From a beautiful plot overlooking the hill of Montrachet, the “Murgers des Dents de Chiens” is only a few hundred yards from Montrachet itself.

St-Aubin is no longer quite the secret it once was, but it’s still the most overperforming wine in Burgundy.

Thomas’s St-Aubin 1er cru 2017 is exquisite — even in a year that produced gorgeous, shimmering whites from all over Burgundy, Thomas’s 2017s stand out. The texture is rich and intense, with excellent balance and beautiful minerality. The oak is perfectly integrated into the wine, with notes of yellow fruits, pears, and spice.

Jancis Robinson called this wine “radiant” with “apple fruit on the palate” and “lovely smoky oak notes on the finish.” She concluded: “bold, expressive, lengthy and expansive. One of the best St-Aubins.” (Pretty hard to improve on that, so we won’t.)

 

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Thomas St-Aubin 1er cru
“Murgers des Dents de Chien” 2017
bottle price: $42

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Springtime Supply Cases: $250/case, Free Shipping

Spring is in full swing in Burgundy, even though here that means a range from below freezing at night to nearly 70 during the day. But wherever you are, and whatever the weather, it’s bound to warm up soon.

​So we’ve collected three supply cases: white, red, and white-red-rosé mix. All are $250/case, and all ship for free (anywhere in the US). These won’t be the fanciest wines in your cellar, but they’re crisp, refreshing, and just what you’ll need for the coming months.

Springtime Whites: $250/case 

Gautheron Petit Chablis 2017
classic, refreshing, unoaked chardonnay; notes of lemon rind and stones

Gross Riesling 2017
new bone-dry riesling from Alsace; notes of flowers, granite, and melon

Michot Pouilly-Fumé VV 2017
dry, refreshing, tension-filled sauvignon blanc from Loire; notes of grapefruit and gunflint

$250/case + FREE US SHIPPING

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Springtime Reds: $250/case 

Souverain Séguret 2017
juicy, organic blend from the southern Rhône; notes of lavender, berries, and cool earth

Bonnefond Syrah 2016
lightweight syrah from the northern Rhône; notes of black pepper, blackberries, and cloves

Monnet Chiroubles 2017
juicy, refreshing Gamay with a crackling mouthfeel; notes of graphite, currants, and cherry

$250/case + FREE US SHIPPING

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Springtime Mix: $250/case 

Goubert Rosé de Flo 2017
dry, smooth, refreshing Provençal rosé: notes of strawberries, stones, and lavender

Gross Riesling 2017
new bone-dry riesling from Alsace; notes of flowers, granite, and melon

Bonnefond Syrah 2016
lightweight syrah from the northern Rhône; notes of black pepper, blackberries, and cloves

$250/case + FREE US SHIPPING

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Blackberry, Lavender, and a Vibrant Connection to the Natural World

Last week winemaker Eric Chauvin took us out into his vines for our tasting. He believes fervently in organic winemaking, and wanted us to taste his wine en plein air, amid the rich earth from which they spring.

The combination was magic — Chauvin’s wines pulsate with life and energy, a result of his low-intervention style and careful organic viticulture. Tasting them outside brought out their vibrancy, connecting us to the millenia of wines made from the very same earth.

These aren’t the fanciest or the most ageworthy wines in our portfolio. But it’s hard to think of any that are more alive.

We discovered Eric Chauvin’s wine three years ago in a bistro in Séguret. It took a few days to track him down — his Domaine le Souverain has no website, no road sign, and he didn’t answer our first few calls. But after finally connecting we realized quickly what a find he was.

Chauvin’s wines are intense and beautifully balanced Rhône blends that drink more like a Gigondas or Vacqueyras than the Côtes-du-Rhône pricing suggests. His 2017 Séguret is just lovely — it shows a bright nose of blackberry and lavender, with a cool earthiness that fans of the Mas Foulaquier will immediately recognize. The mouth is beautifully balanced, with softened but present tannins, clean dark fruit, and a faint smokiness in the nose.

Whether you enjoy this wine on a patio, in a garden, or simply in a seat by an open window, it will connect you profoundly with the world around you.

 

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Souverain Séguret 2017
bottle price: $19

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Gorgeous, Intense, “Velvety” Gevrey-Chambertin

We spent yesterday afternoon tasting the 2017s at the Domaine des Varoilles. Winemaker Gilbert Hammel is a softspoken man making red Burgundies that are anything but. Gevrey-Chambertin is typically a bold, masculine wine, and the Varoilles cuvées are even moreso.

His “Clos du Meix des Ouches” is a village level cuvée that drinks more like a premier cru. It’s surrounded by an old wall, which blocks the wind and traps warmth, making its wines particularly round and ripe.

The 2017s need six months; the 2015s need six years. But the 2016s are in a lovely spot.

This is about as bold and intense as red Burgundy gets. The nose is beautiful and enticing, showing dark cassis fruits, pansies, browned butter cookies and dry spice. The palate is very intense and mouthfilling, with explosively rich cherry fruits bolstered by punchy and delightfully chewable tannins.

Jancis Robinson found it “velvety and sweet-fruited,” “generous and rounded.” Burghound awarded 90 points, calling it “exceptionally rich” and finding “plum, cassis, and black cherry.” If your idea of Burgundy is light and ethereal, this will expand your view.

 

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Varoilles Gevrey-Chambertin
“Meix des Ouches” 2016
bottle price: $75

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Nectar of the Northern Rhône: Extraordinary 94-point Condrieu

We spent yesterday tasting in the Northern Rhône Valley. From 9am through 5:30pm, we tasted dozens of meaty, intense, sinewy Syrahs, from appellations like Cornas, St-Joseph, Côte Rôtie, and Crozes Hermitage. They were chewy, delicious, and exhausting.

After a day of teeth-staining reds, our final appointment finished with a golden, shimmering white wine: Condrieu from the Domaine Bonnefond. This wine is always terrific and often extraordinary — yesterday’s 2018 was like a breath of fresh, golden air.

The 2018 Condrieu will be in the 2019 July Futures along with the rest of Bonnefond’s excellent lineup of reds. But a few cases of their 2016 remain in the depot in Boston.

Vinous’s Josh Raynolds put it best when he wrote, “Bonnefond has made plenty of excellent Condrieus over the years but this one [the 2016] is at another level.” He awarded 94 points, calling it “Sexy… juicy, densely packed and seamless… showing superb delineation and powerful thrust.”

We agree — the 2016 is simply superb. The nose is extraordinarily complex and perfumed, with notes ranging from gardenia, herb honey, apricot, green tea, and dried mango. The mouth is smooth and rich with notes of peach and pear, and a beautiful grape-skin briskness that balances the mouthcoating texture.

Bonnefond’s wines are always excellent, and they somehow keep getting better. But the 2016 Condrieu is, as they say here, spéciale.

 

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Bonnefond Condrieu 2016
bottle price: $56

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