Author: Thomas Wilcox

Posted on by

2015 Pommard: “Highly Seductive,” “Utterly Delicious”

The towns of Volnay and Pommard are the two finest red wine towns in Burgundy’s Côte de Beaune. Hugh Johnson describes Volnay as “fragrant and ethereal,” Pommard as “dark” and “potent.” Together they’re a perfect example of the power of Burgundian terroir: they share a border and the towns themselves are less than a mile apart, but their identifying characteristics are nearly opposite.

Fall is certainly Pommard season, and with even cooler weather on the way, a smooth, velvety Pommard will be as useful as a wool hat. Roger Belland’s Pommard always drinks well early — the fruits are smooth and full, his vines are 55 years old, and Belland’s style is one of ripe freshness — but in the 2015 vintage, it’s even more delicious than usual.

Many of our winemakers put the 2015 vintage on par with the exceptional vintages of 2005 and 2010. Indeed there are fantastic red Burgundies to be had at every level. This wine is an excellent representative of the vintage — loads of perfectly ripe fruit, cool sturdy tannins, and a balanced, mouth filling palate. Burghound found “fine volume,” and a “balanced finish,” calling it “highly seductive,” and “utterly delicious.”

It’s his last comment that might sum this wine up best — this is smooth, rich, delicious wine that’s easy to like and hard to put down. Pommards age very well, but Belland’s 2015 Pommard is delicious today. The nose is deep and perfumed, with plum, wild cherries, and cinnamon. The palate is rich and mouthfiling, with ripe, punchy tannins and notes of pan drippings, strawberry jam, and faint anise. Pair this with a hearty pasta cacio e pepe or roast short ribs.

 

____________________________

Belland Pommard 2015

Ansonia Retail: $62
2+ bottle price : $55/bot

 

Add to Cart



FREE EAST COAST SHIPPING ON ANY 12 BOTTLES

 

 

Posted on by

2015 Saint Estèphe: Exceptional Small Batch Left-Bank Bordeaux. $32

We don’t import much Bordeaux. We’ve always taken more readily to the scale and culture of Burgundy, where the estates are much smaller and the atmosphere less formal. But it’s no secret that Bordeaux makes some extraordinary wines, and we like having some in our portfolio.

We’ve added four new Bordeaux chateaux to our lineup in the last year or so, from both right and left banks and with a wide range of prices. None has been a better find than the tiny 1.5 acre plot in Saint-Estèphe called Fleuron de Liot. From a small winery the Negrier family turns out an exceptional red Bordeaux, equal parts Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

 

 

Saint-Estèphe’s clay-rich soils make it perfect for Merlot, and this wine showcases the richness and complexity possible from the grape. At under $35/bot, precise timing isn’t crucial for a satisfying return on investment — but this wine is delicious now and will be even better in five years.

The 2015 has just arrived, and it’s a worthy successor to the popular 2014. Today this wine is inky and dark, with plum and black cherries in the nose. The mouth is dense and full, with solid ripe tannins and low oak, notes of woods and licorice, and a long, velvety texture. The tannins are rich, dense and supple, rather than harsh or dry.

One thing common to Bordeaux and Burgundy is their ability to gain complexity with age. For this wine at least, the choice is yours. Every bottle we open seems to get better, but then every bottle we open is one fewer in the cellar. Whichever you choose, we’re willing to bet you will wish you had more.

 

____________________________

Fleuron de Liot Saint-Estèphe 2015

Ansonia Retail: $38
6+ bottle price : $32/bot

 

Add to Cart



FREE EAST COAST SHIPPING ON ANY 12 BOTTLES

 

 

Posted on by

Magnum Sale!

It’s hard to justify opening a magnum for a small dinner with a friend or two. But if your guest list numbers more than eight — particularly if they’re the jovial type — you’ll probably need an extra bottle of everything anyway. With less than a month until Thanksgiving and the holidays close behind, entertaining season is upon us. Today we’ll offer a simple suggestion to dress up your holiday dinner table: large format bottles.

There’s just something more festive about serving wine from magnums — perhaps it’s the need for a group to justify pulling the cork. It’s also true that wine often ages better in magnums, where the air-to-wine ratio is lower than a regular bottle. But whether you plan to age them or not, it’s hard to deny they’re simply more fun to enjoy.

We’ve collected 16 magnums, from Burgundy, the Rhône, and the Languedoc. If there’s a party or a family gathering in your future, consider one of these to make it a bit more festive.

 

________________________

October 25-28  |  free shipping for 3+ magnums

________________________


R  H  Ô  N  E

________________________

B   U   R   G   U   N   D   Y

________________________

L A N G U E D O C   &   I T A L Y

 

Posted on by

New Grand Cru White Burgundy: “Chablis at its very, very finest.”

Of the 12,000 acres of vineyards planted in Chablis, only 250 (2%) qualify as Grand Cru. This highest tier includes seven distinct vineyards, each famous in its own right. But among the seven, the Grand Cru “Les Clos” is generally considered the finest. As Master of Wine Clive Coates puts it, Les Clos is “Chablis at its very, very finest… combining depth, intensity, and great elegance.”

As you can imagine, there’s not much of Les Clos to go around. So we were surprised and delighted two years ago when one of our Chablis sources, the Domaine Jean Collet, told us that a tiny plot of 65-year-old vines (less than half and acre — enough for about 1,000 bottles) has found its way into the family lineup. Our delight at the new addition was surpassed only by the contents of the glass.

 

 

One whiff of the Collet’s Les Clos, and you’ll understand the hype — it’s among the finest wines we’ve tasted from Collet’s already impressive lineup. The nose shows exquisite lemon, pear, and mineral aromas, and follows with an extraordinarily long, rich, tension-filled palate. It’s hard to imagine more concentration or density in white wine, particularly one with a nearly imperceptible use of oak.

Romain Collet has expertly balanced Chablis’s signature minerality with a richness and intensity that calls to mind Corton-Charlemagne or Montrachet. Allen Meadows (Burghound) awarded 92 points, finding “white orchard fruit,” and a mouthfeel “textured, dense and powerful.”

Les Clos is famously long lived wine, with aging potential stretching out a decade or more; and the longer you can keep your hands off of it, the better it will be. We opened a bottle recently, we’d suggest decanting it (yes, decanting), for a half-hour or so before serving, at least for the next 6-8 months. Give it a year, and you’ll wish you had bought more; but even in its youth, Les Clos is unmistakably in a class of its own.

 

____________________________

Collet Chablis Grand Cru “Les Clos” 2015

Ansonia Retail: $80
2+ bottle price : $69/bot

 

Add to Cart



FREE EAST COAST SHIPPING ON ANY 12 BOTTLES

 

 

Posted on by

Rich, Mouthfilling Chianti Classico: Pure, Cozy Sangiovese. $25

Rich.  Grape varietals often get their names from a visible aspect of their fruit. The name Sauvignon blanc comes from sauvage (“wild”) because its leaves look like those of wild grape vines. Pinot Gris refers to the blue-gray (gris) color of its grapes. But our favorite varietal (etymologically speaking) has to be Sangiovese — a wine so inky and black that it is named for the “blood of Jove.”

With chilly weather outside we can hardly think of a cozier wine than Sangiovese. Our source for this grape is the Fattoria Poggerino, a small winery in the hills of Tuscany producing rich, balanced reds. Today we’re releasing our final few cases of their excellent 2012 Chianti Classico; five years on from the harvest this wine is a refined, nuanced glass of red.

 

 

Roses and smoke.  Poggerino’s 2012 Chianti Classico is among the best we can remember. Jancis Robinson called the 2012 “mouthfilling yet poised,” and “savory yet perfumed,” with “wonderful balance.” We found the signature roasted cherries and smoke in the nose, with chocolate, beef, and rose petals in the mouth. The mouthfeel is sturdy and dense, with young but juicy tannins and lots of energy.

The exceptional balance that impressed Jancis Robinson makes this wine an easy food pairing — a rich tomato sauce on pasta is a near perfect match. With a few years in the bottle, this has rounded into a beautifully elegant wine. It’s certainly among the best $25 bottles in our cellar.

 

____________________________

Poggerino Chianti Classico 2012

Ansonia Retail: $30
6+ bottle price : $25/bot

 

Add to Cart



FREE EAST COAST SHIPPING ON ANY 12 BOTTLES

 

 

Posted on by

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 trying something new for Ansonia: we’re selling a 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. It has just begun to emerge from its adolescent hibernation, and by this Christmas it will be rich and bold, with plenty of tannin left that you can soften with a bit of time in a decanter. That said, 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 7 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.

 

____________________________

[Mystery] 2010 Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Ansonia Retail: $82
2+ bottle price : $65/bot

 

Add to Cart



FREE EAST COAST SHIPPING ON ANY 12 BOTTLES

 

 

Posted on by

“Bold” New Red Burgundy: 100-year-old Vines, 93 points, $25.

Beaujolais is the source of plenty of uninteresting wine. Fully a third of the region’s production is the Beaujolais Nouveau, a cheap insipid red rushed to market a month after harvest. But the rest of the region contains many undervalued wines, some in the same class of top wines from the north of Burgundy.

No Beaujolais source has more impressed us than Laurent Perrachon.” From meticulously cultivated old vines and careful use of oak, Perrachon creates remarkably delicious and refined red Burgundies. We’re not the only ones to notice; the domaine is among the only Beaujolais producers reviewed (and praised) by both Josh Raynolds (Vinous) and Allen Meadows (Burghound).

These are honest, complex, delicious red Burgundies; they just happen to be made from Gamay.

 

 

We recently wrote about Perrachon’s terrific 2015 Moulin-a-Vent; today we’re suggesting Perrachon’s 2015 Juliénas “Vignes Centenaires,” a wine made from vines planted more than a century ago. Perfectly extracted and carefully aged in oak barrels, this wine shows a dark, brooding nose of anise and blackberries. Burghound was effusive, awarding 93 points, finding “dark berry,” “spice” and “incense,” calling it “delicious, velvety and caressing.”

If you like Beaujolais for its fruity, carefree character, this might not be your cup of tea. Perrachon’s 2015 Juliénas is dense, rich, and exceptionally long, with far more stuffing than you find in most $30 Pinots from Santenay or Maranges. The tannins are juicy and silky but sturdy, meaning this should develop easily for another 5+ years.

This wine’s best days are certainly in front of it. But with a hearty meal, a carafe, and a few enthusiastic friends, this bottle is a stunner. Bring a few bottles to Thanksgiving next month, and no one will guess it’s Gamay.

____________________________

Perrachon Juliénas “Vignes Centenaires” 2015

Ansonia Retail: $30
6+ bottle price : $25/bot

 

Add to Cart



FREE EAST COAST SHIPPING ON ANY 12 BOTTLES

 

 

Posted on by

[Advance Order] 2015 Red Burgundy from Michel Gros, At Last

The first inquiries about the 2015 Michel Gros lineup started coming in more than a year ago. Our best-known producer; the vintage of a generation; “just want to make sure I don’t miss it.” Back in April, our barrel tastings confirmed 2015’s considerable hype — an excellent vintage, from top to bottom.

And then last month, as Wilcox père joined the harvest team chez Gros, just-bottled 2015s opened at every dinner provided the final confirmation. These are magnificent wines by a legendary producer from what may be the best vintage in decades.

We’re excited, enfin, to offer the entire 14-wine lineup of 2015s from Michel Gros in our final Futures brochure of the year — October Futures comes out next Sunday. But we’re opening up the bidding for 2015s early on a wine in perennial short supply: Michel’s Bourgogne.

 

 

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

Like the rest of the 2015s, Gros Bourgogne 2015 is ripe, juicy, toasty, and elegant. There’s far more refinement here than most reds at the Bourgogne level. Look for silky tannins, notes of raspberry and plum, and an earthy, complex palate. Burghound (Allen Meadows) listed Gros’s 2015 Bourgogne as one of the “top value wines of the vintage,” calling it “fine” and “sleek” with a “delicious finish.”

We expect Michel’s the rest of 2015s to drink well for decades to come. 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.

 

____________________________

Michel Gros Bourgogne 2015

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

 

Email Tom to reserve this wine.



AVAILABLE BY THE CASE AND HALF-CASE

 

 

Posted on by

Rich, Rugged New Southern Rhône Red. $16

Easy.  Some wines we import are meant for grand occasions. These are the famous wines of Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Champagne, bottles to pull from the back of the cellar when the moment is significant. Special moments call for special wines to match.

Today’s offer is not that sort of wine. The Sablet from the Domaine les Goubert fits best in an unexceptional moment — something to reach for after a long day of work, or a cozy companion for that new season on Netflix. It hits a sweet spot between balance, versatility and price. It is a wine you don’t need to think hard about to enjoy.

 

 

By-the-glass.  Goubert’s Sablet is the house red for many of our readers and friends. It’s a Côtes du Rhône Villages, a notch up from Côtes du Rhône — it’s hearty and full of flavor, but nicely polished and without anything out of place. The 2016 is cool and refreshing — at 13.5% alcohol it’s nicely balanced, showing dark raspberry fruits, hints of leather and tobacco, and a round smooth finish.

Food isn’t necessary with Sablet — it’s a perfect by-the-glass wine that drinks well right out of the bottle — but it also pairs easily with something from the kitchen. We serve the Sablet with everything from spicy garlic pasta (cool the wine a bit before serving), to a hearty soup with a crusty piece of bread.

Goubert’s Sablet won’t win prizes for profundity or longevity, but it’s among the most popular wines we’ve ever imported. Save the $200 Grand Crus for anniversaries and birthdays — Goubert’s Sablet will fit just about everywhere else.

 

____________________________

Goubert Sablet 2016

Ansonia Retail: $20
6+ bottle price : $16/bot

 

Add to Cart



FREE EAST COAST SHIPPING ON ANY 12 BOTTLES

 

 

Posted on by

White Burgundy in its Purest Form: 2015 Macon-Villages, $22

The famous white wines of Burgundy nearly all spend some time oak. The barrels help develop the wines’ palates, adding a roundness through micro-oxygenation. And while they’re typically less heavily oaked than many New World wines, the toasty, woodsy notes are an important part of the great white Burgundies of Chassagne, Puligny, and Meursault.

But not all white Burgundies are oaked. The most famous vat-raised chardonnays of France come from Chablis, where the wines boast a stony crispness. But the other excellent source for unoaked Burgundian Chardonnay is the Maconnais, about an hour south of Beaune, in what the French call “la France Profonde” (deep France).

And it’s here that we find today’s wine — Nicolas Maillet’s pure, explosive, nectar-like white Macon-Villages.

 

 

Nicolas Maillet is a passionate young winemaker in the heart of the Maconnais. His wines are as pure an expression of the Chardonnay grape as we know, with no oak to obscure the gorgeous fruit. They have the clarity of fine Chablis with the weight and roundness of a Côte d’Or Chardonnay.

The nose of the 2015 Maillet Macon Villages is expressive and beautiful. Look for spring flowers and honeysuckle, with faint notes of dried straw. In the mouth it’s a classic Macon — rich and full with bright floral notes, beautiful acidity, and lots of depth. Maillet draws upon biodynamics to elevate the complexity, and his wines are a true symphony of nature in the glass.

For white Burgundy fans, this is a remarkable value — far more complexity than the price tag suggests.

 

____________________________

Maillet Macon-Villages 2015

Ansonia Retail: $26
6+ bottle price : $22/bot

 

Add to Cart



FREE EAST COAST SHIPPING ON ANY 12 BOTTLES

 

 

Posted on by

Two Mixed Cases: 2015 Red Burgundies (up to $120 off)

The 2015 red Burgundies have been great successes. Warm weather, small berries, and low yields made for a vintage that many critics have called one of the best in decades.

_________________________________

Drink-Now 2015 Red Burgundies ($295)

The simpler 2015s have already begun to drink well — their ripe, juicy fruit and pleasant youthful energy means they’re a delight today. Our first mixed case today is of those: early-drinking 2015 charmers.

Perrachon Moulin-a-Vent 2015:  This dense, earthy, inky gamay drinks more like a Syrah than a Pinot Noir. It’s dense and full, with violets, toast and minerals.

Bourée Bourgogne 2015:  Bourée’s rustic style plays nicely against 2015s ripe juicy fruit. Look for notes of wild cherries, earth, and wood.

Belland Santenay 1er cru 2015:  Santenay isn’t known for its elegance, but this wine is a step up in smoothness from the rest. Look for silky tannins and bright raspberry fruit.

Monnet Chiroubles 2015:  This pure gamay comes from the prettiest of the Beaujolais crus — it’s elegant and floral. Look for roses, stones, and strawberries.

____________________________

Drink-Now 2015s

Ansonia Retail: $348
sampler price : $295/case

 

Add to Cart



FREE EAST COAST SHIPPING

 

_________________________________

Age-Worthy 2015 Red Burgundies ($675)

The fancier 2015s are dense and tannic today, signaling excellent aging potential, but needing time to reach maturity. For those with patience and a cellar, we expect them to reward investment handsomely. So our second sampler is of age-worthy 2015s for your cellar.

Amiot Gevrey-Chambertin 2015:  Amiot is known for their Morey-St-Denis, but they also farm about an acre of village-level Gevrey-Chambertin. The 2015 is sturdy and tannic, and will reward mid-term aging (3-5 years).

Belland Pommard 2015:  Roger Belland’s Pommard is dense and juicy in a normal year — in 2015 is explosive. Look for loads of pure ripe fruit that should drink beautifully in 2-3 years.

Boyer-Martenot Auxey-Duresses 2015:  Boyer-Martenot is far more famous for their white wines from Meursault, but their reds are very fine and expertly made. The 2015 is very finely knit together, and give a few years will show minerals and exquisite red fruit.

Prunier Volnay 1er cru “Caillerets” 2015:  Volnay has no Grand Crus, and Caillerets is generally considered the town’s finest vineyard. The 2015 from Prunier is velvety and concentrated — after 4-6 years it should be spectacular, showing earth, mushrooms, and smoke.

 

____________________________

Age-Worthy 2015s

Ansonia Retail: $795
sampler price : $675/case

 

Add to Cart



FREE EAST COAST SHIPPING

 

Posted on by

Masterful New 2014 Red Burgundy from Michel Gros.

Michel Gros is the most recognizable producer in our portfolio. His wines are elegant and precise, often showing smoky or toasty qualities, and always silky and beautiful. A few years ago Clive Coates MW listed Michel Gros in the top 17 domaines in all of Burgundy — a list that included Romanée-Conti, Leroy, and Comte Lafon — and highlighted the “nobility and elegance” of his wines.

Some of the domaine’s cuvées require both investment and patience, but not all of them. Gros makes a handful of wines from less famous zip codes — their vines receive the same care, with juice vinified in the same manner. These “petits vins” aren’t as complex or long-lived as his Clos Vougeot, but they offer a chance to sample the brilliance of the domaine at a more affordable price.

 

 

The Fontaine-Saint-Martin vineyard is named for a nearby Cistercian abbey that dates to 1127. The hillside of vines was in production for centuries; more recently Michel and his father have had vines there for 40 years. Michel used to blend the wine from this plot into his Hautes-Côtes de Nuits, but in 2014 he determined the terroir was sufficiently distinctive to merit its own cuvée.

The Fontaine Saint Martin is indeed special — its soils are the same mix of marl, clay, and limestone found on the Hill of Corton. The nose is unusually dark and enticing — look for black raspberry, violets, and a whisper of menthol. The mouth is crisp, full and lively, with Gros’s signature notes of toast, cassis and dried roses. The Wine Advocate found an “engaging bouquet” and “great tension,” awarding 91 points and announcing: “An excellent wine, an excellent debut.”

If you don’t already know them, we highly recommend trying Michel’s fancier wines some day — they can be truly extraordinary. But in the meantime, here’s a chance to get to know Gros at a friendlier price.

 

____________________________

Michel Gros Fontaine-St-Martin 2014

Ansonia Retail: $45
3+ bottle price : $39/bot

 

Add to Cart



FREE EAST COAST SHIPPING ON ANY 12 BOTTLES

 

 

Posted on by

By-the-Glass Côtes-du-Rhône: the Perfect Everyday Red. $15

For a crowd-pleasing red, it’s hard to beat Côtes du Rhône. Guests with New World leanings will appreciate the richness and full flavor. Those with Old World inclinations will appreciate the balance and traditional style. It’s a wine nearly everyone will enjoy without too much thought.

Most Rhône Valley vignerons make a Côtes du Rhône alongside their other wines, and the Domaine les Goubert is no exception. Well known for their Gigondas and Gigondas “Cuvée Florence,” Goubert’s star continues to rise as the family’s 30-something daughter Florence Cartier takes over more winemaking responsibilities.

Goubert’s wine has always been good, but with Florence at the helm it seems to get better every year.

 

 

We think a Côtes du Rhône should be three things: inexpensive, dark, and well balanced. Goubert’s Côtes du Rhône fits this description nicely. It’s relatively low in alcohol, which keeps it fresh and lively on the palate. The blend of six grapes — Terret Noir, Picpoul, and Vaccarèse join the familiar Grenache, Syrah, and Carignan — forms a rich, hearty, dark wine. And finally, a Côtes du Rhône should be inexpensive enough to pull out at a moment’s notice: at $15/bot, this is a wine to enjoy without planning.

It’s a by-the-glass wine for your kitchen, something to enjoy during the preparation and enjoyment of a meal. Goubert’s Côtes du Rhône is very expressive, showing dark wild cherries, raspberries, and a hint of minerality. The mouth is both jammy and refreshing, with notes of white pepper, licorice, and plums.

Serve this with anything from hamburgers to our favorite pasta: oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, and ample grated parmesan.

 

____________________________

Goubert Côtes-du-Rhône 2016

Ansonia Retail: $19
6+ bottle price : $15/bot

 

Add to Cart



FREE EAST COAST SHIPPING ON ANY 12 BOTTLES

 

 

Posted on by

Real, Serious, Elegant 2015 Beaujolais: 92 points, $22

For many, “serious Beaujolais” is an oxymoron. The region still suffers from its bacchanal, nouveau image — a triumph of marketing and little else. But there’s some truly exciting wine being made in Beaujolais these days.

Take the Domaine Perrachon, a multi-generational domaine in Juliénas. Though their wines are from gamay, their style is refined and polished, and their cuvées easily rival the density and complexity of a top Bourgogne rouge. We’re excited to release a brand new wine to the portfolio, Perrachon’s 2015 Moulin-a-Vent “Terres Roses.”

This wine grabbed our attention back in April, even in a 16 wine tasting on a rainy Wednesday afternoon. Upon returning to our computers we discovered we weren’t the only ones enthusiastic about it. Burghound and Vinous, both highly selective reviewers that don’t spend much time in the Beaujolais, found this cuvée excellent, awarding it 91 and 92 points respectively.

 

 

Moulin-a-Vent is known as the “King of the Beaujolais Cru,” and classically makes the densest and longest lived wines. This dense cuvée is no exception, though it with a carafe and some time it’s delicious today as well.

The nose is floral, very precise, and deep, showing violets, raspberries, and cherry jam. The mouth is delightful — dense and inky but with fine papery tannins and a clean, sturdy finish. Burghound liked the wine’s “detail and punch” and an “intense and dusty finish.” Josh Raynolds of Vinous found it “fleshy but energetic,” calling the finish “sappy, long, and juicy.”

2015 red Burgundies are easy to like no matter where they’re from — nearly all are dense, ripe, and approachable. Not all of them are this polished, nor are they this affordable. It may be Gamay, and it may technically be from Beaujolais, but don’t let the old prejudice fool you — this is excellent red Burgundy at an unusually good price.

 

____________________________

Perrachon Moulin-a-Vent “Terres Roses” 2015

Ansonia Retail: $26
6+ bottle price : $22/bot

 

Add to Cart



FREE EAST COAST SHIPPING ON ANY 12 BOTTLES

 

 

Posted on by

Exceptional New 91-Point Châteauneuf-du-Pape. $32

Châteauneuf-du-Pape is among the world’s great wines. Made famous by French Popes more than seven centuries ago, the area boasts a long winemaking history. Today the small appellation (only about 12 square miles) makes some of the world’s most sought-after wine.

Last spring we came upon a gem in this well-trodden appellation. Christophe Mestre is a young winemaker from an old Chateauneuf family, whose talent and terroir have already begun to bring him acclaim. Last year we brought in his delicious 2013 Châteauneuf red — today we’re excited to release the even more exciting 2012.

 

 

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. It opens beautifully over half an hour in a glass.

We feel lucky to have discovered Mestre as early as we did. Small production and limited US distribution have kept him under the radar of most of the wine world — but we don’t expect this to last. Vinous’s Josh Raynolds awarded this wine 91 points, calling it “suave and silky,” with “seamless red berry liqueur and licorice” flavors “enlivened by a zesty mineral flourish.” Raynolds highlights the wine’s energy, something we find particularly attractive in rich, southern reds.

With a chill in the evening air these days, we can’t think of a better wine for your autumn collection than this silky, delicious Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

 

____________________________

Mestre Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2012

Ansonia Retail: $38
6+ bottle price : $32/bot

 

Add to Cart



FREE EAST COAST SHIPPING ON ANY 12 BOTTLES