Independence Day Samplers
Author: Thomas Wilcox
Refreshing, Exuberant Crémant d’Alsace.
Alsace is a land of contradiction. Wedged between France and Germany, this charming region changed hands four times between 1918 and 1945. Its inhabitants tend to identify as Alsatian rather than either French or German, and today Alsace incorporates the best traditions – cultural, culinary, oenological – of both nations.
We’ve written recently about Francis Muré’s refreshing Rosé and dry Riesling. Today we suggest his excellent dry Crémant d’Alsace — just as delicious but twice as festive. It’s a delightful summer drink — a perfect way to start a meal or a cocktail party.
Muré’s Crémant d’Alsace is bright and dry but has more fruit than most crémant we offer from Burgundy. It’s 100% Pinot Blanc and aged on the lees for two years. The gentle mousse of bubbles lends a refreshing energy to an exuberant, fruit-forward palate. We suggest welcoming guests to the next dinner party in your backyard with a glass of this, perhaps with a splash of crème de cassis (try ours here) to make a kir.
But our favorite pairing for Muré’s Crémant echoes the Alsatian spirit of harmonious contrast: triple cream cheese like as Brillat-Savarin or Delice de Bourgogne. Let the cheese come to room temperature and slather a generous portion onto a piece of crusty fresh bread. The combination of tiny bubbles and creamy cheese is delightful.
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Muré Crémant d’Alsace
bottle price : $22
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Grand Cru Mazis-Chambertin’s Neighbor: “Rich and Velvety” Premier Cru
Gevrey-Chambertin is known for its bold, powerful red Burgundies. Located at the northern end of the Côte d’Or, Gevrey’s wines are at the masculine end of the Burgundy spectrum. Pinot Noir never makes wines as big and extracted as those from the south of France — but for Burgundy, Gevrey is about as bold as it gets.
The Guide Hachette calls Gérard Quivy “undoubtedly one of the reference points in the appellation.” Quivy himself is soft spoken, thoughtful, and meticulously dressed; and his wines reflect his understated style — they combine the intensity and muscle of Gevrey with an enticing sophistication. Today we’re suggesting his premier cru Gevrey-Chambertin from the “Corbeaux” vineyard.
Quivy’s Corbeaux vines are exceptionally well located, just 5 feet from the legendary Grand Cru Mazis-Chambertin (see photo). They’re also nearing 70 years old, and their fruit is rich and concentrated every year. The only catch is that Quivy owns less than half an acre, which produces about 60 cases per year.
The 2014 Corbeaux is seductive and elegant. The Guide Hachette found “licorice” and “toast,” calling it “ample, rich” and “velvety.” To this we’d add delicious sappy notes of cassis and gingerbread. This wine has the intensity and seriousness of Gevrey, wrapped in an unusually sleek and polished core.
Drink this late in the evening, with steaks and roasted potatoes.
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Quivy Gevrey-Chambertin 1er “Corbeaux” 2014
bottle price : $79
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Bone Dry, Refreshing Alsatian Riesling. $19
Most Americans avoid Riesling. We can’t really blame them — much of the Riesling on the market is mass produced, sugary, and uninteresting. But to ignore the grape entirely is to miss out on beautiful, dry, affordable whites.
Francis Muré’s Riesling has always been our favorite of his wines. Grown on the sunny hillsides of Alsace, the wine is lively, dry, floral, and refreshing. It’s a chorus of summer happiness in a glass.
Muré’s 2015 Riesling is the perfect cocktail party white. As a standalone quaffer it’s complex, dry, fruit forward, and smooth; with food it’s lively and bright, with clean, unoaked fruit and a delicious roundness. Serve it with spicy appetizers and your guests won’t soon forget the pairing.
We’re sad that Francis Muré retires this year, and we don’t know yet what we’ll be drinking in its place in 2019. But for this year we’ll live in the moment, enjoying this humble, lovely, joyful wine that has been such good company for the last 20 years.
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Muré Riesling 2015
Regular price: $24
Ansonia retail : $19/bot
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Wild Cherries and Violets: Summery Natural Red $25
“Natural” wines are hard to get right, but when they’re good they can be extraordinary. Mas Foulaquier’s cuvées are exceptional — clean and well formed, marrying ripe fruit with earthy notes from their rugged terroir.
Their philosophy is simple: as little intervention as possible between vineyard and bottle. Their vineyards are “Demeter” certified, and in the cellar the winemakers use only ambient yeasts, avoid fining and filtering, and minimal sulfites added only at bottling.
Foulaquier’s wines are always best enjoyed outside, free to commune with the natural world from which they spring.
Our newest cuvée from Foulaquier is a delightful 50/50 blend of Grenache and Syrah. Orphée is cool and fresh in the nose, showing berries, bay leaf, violets, and earth. The mouth is dark and beautifully textured, with softened tannins and notes of cassis, roses, and spice.
On a summer afternoon this is easy to like and hard to put down. Serve it at a cocktail party on a backyard patio or roofdeck. Close your eyes and plunge your nose into the glass. It’s a wine full of life, and it might just make you feel the same.
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Foulaquier Orphée 2015
Ansonia Retail: $30
6+ bottle price : $25/bot
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The Perfect Summer White Burgundy. $25
There’s no wine we reach for more often in the summer than Chablis. It combines intense fruit, refreshing minerality, and a lively, dry energy. It’s a plunge in a chilly ocean, and then a dry breeze as the sun warms you back up.
We’ve got three wines from the Domaine Gautheron in stock; the entry level (Petit Chablis) and premier cru (Vaucoupin) are both delicious and bargains for their level. But Gautheron’s Chablis Vieilles Vignes may be our favorite — a marriage of energy, intensity, and finesse.
The Gautherons have made wine in Chablis for two centuries, but we can’t imagine them ever being as good as they are today. Cyril Gautheron is a passionate young winemaker, crafting meticulously balanced wines that hit every note on pitch.
The 2016 Vieilles Vignes 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.
Summer’s just not summer without a cool glass of Chablis in your hand.
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Gautheron Chablis Vieilles Vignes 2016
Ansonia Retail: $30
6+ bottle price : $25/bot
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72-Hour Father’s Day Sale
We’re both fathers these days here at Ansonia Wines, so we’re looking forward to opening a nice bottle or two next weekend. In case your father (or your kids) still need a present, we’ve put together a dozen gift ideas.
- they’re all 15% off
- there’s no minimum purchase
- every bottle ships for free next week in the Eastern half of the US — we can even send it right to your dad
(Also — for any self-gifting fathers or non-fathers out there looking for a bargain on a nice bottle or two — no judgment.)
Use the code PERE at checkout for 15% off and free shipping. Sale ends Sunday at midnight.
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1. Boyer-Martenot Meursault 1er cru “Charmes” 2015
$94 $82 (-15%) = $69.70
Rich, mouthfilling, classic Meursault from an early drinking year. This is fleshy and smooth, showing notes of citrus, mango, white flowers, and straw.
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2. Boyer-Martenot Meursault 1er cru “Perrières” 2016
$150 $135 (-15%) = $114.75
From Meursault’s finest vineyard, this remarkably concentrated wine. The mouth is long and intense, with enough acidity from the vintage to carry it forward 5-8 years if desired.
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3. Bonnefond Côte Rôtie “Roziers” 2015
$84 $72 (-15%) = $61.20
Elegant, inky, concentrated Northern Rhône syrah from an exceptional year. From a plot right next to the lengedary La Landonne vineyard, this is a great candidate for cellaring.
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4. Bonnefond Côte Rôtie “Rochains” 2015
$84 $72 (-15%) = $61.20
This is rich, bold, masculine Côte Rôtie, showing notes of licorice, leather, black pepper, and beautiful blackberry fruit. This should cellar well for at least 15 years if desired.
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5. Quivy Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 2014
$160 $139 (-15%) = $118.15
Quivy’s old-vine Charmes-Chambertin is his finest wine — elegant, smooth, and smoky, with unusual finesse for a Grand Cru. Serve over the next 10 years.
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6. Quivy Gevrey-Chambertin “En Champs” 2014
$56 $48 (-15%) = $40.80
Quivy’s village level “En Champs” comes from 70+ year old vines. The flavors are intense and distilled, with an elegant, sinewy texture that goes beautifully with food.
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7. Ravaut Corton-Bressandes Grand Cru 2014
$98 $85 (-15%) = $72.25
Ravaut’s plot on the famous hill of Corton turns out remarkable wines every year. The tannins are fine and perfectly formed — this will handsomely reward another 3-5 years of cellaring, and could easily go 10 if needed.
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8. Ravaut Corton-Bressandes Grand Cru 2012
$98 $85 (-15%) = $72.25
Ravaut’s plot on the famous hill of Corton turns out remarkable wines every year. 2012 was a very low yield year, producing unusual concentration in the wines. With a decanter this is lovely today.
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9. Varoilles Gevrey-Chambertin “Meix des Ouches” 2014
$72 $64 (-15%) = $54.40
The Varoilles style is bold and concentrated, with rich mouthfeels and long, ripe finishes. This monopole village plot drinks more like a premier cru, with a juicy mouthfeel and intense dark fruit. Drink now and for a decade.
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10. Varoilles Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 2014
$170 $145 (-15%) = $123.25
Varoilles’s Grand Cru plot is exceptionally well located, just a few yards from the famous “Mazoyeres” sector of Chambertin. It’s enormous wine — long, elegant, intense, and refined. Cellar for 5 years, drink for another 15.
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11. Amiot Morey-St-Denis 1er cru “Ruchots” 2014
$84 $78 (-15%) = $66.30
Morey-St-Denis’s finest vineyard is Ruchots, located across the street from the legendary Clos de Tart. Amiot’s 2014 Ruchots is a delight, with a woodsy, toasty nose, and perfectly balanced palate. Drink now – 2024.
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12. Amiot Gevrey-Chambertin 1er cru “Combottes” 2014
$102 $88 (-15%) = $74.80
Surrounded on all sides by Grand Cru vineyards, Combottes is intense, sappy, and seductive. With dark briary fruit and hints of gingerbread and smoke, this wine never fails to impress. Drink now (decant) – 2028.
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“Sleek” and “Gorgeous” New 2015 Red Burgundy
The 2015 red Burgundies are a delight: they’re popular, delicious, and built to last. We’ve stocked up on as many as our shelves can handle, and hope to have them around to offer for some time to come.
After months of waiting, we recently received our 2015s from the Domaine des Varoilles in Gevrey-Chambertin. Our newest red Burgundy source has already found many friends among our readers. The Domaine’s intense, concentrated style marries perfectly with their classic Gevrey terroir.
The 2015 vintage produced excellent wines at every level — you don’t have to buy Grand Cru to experience its greatness. For proof of this, look no further than Varoilles’s exceptional village level Gevrey-Chambertin “Clos du Meix des Ouches” 2015.
The “Clos du Meix des Ouches” is a small monopole at the edge of the town. It’s surrounded by an old wall, which blocks the wind and traps warmth, making its wines particularly round. Today the nose is floral and nicely balanced, with a mixture of violets, pan drippings, ginger, soy, and cherries. The mouth shows perfectly ripened tannins and a long, vibrant finish — we expect it to improve for another decade or two.
Jancis Robinson found it “rather gorgeous,” finding it has “already lots of pleasure but with the tannins to keep it in shape.” Burghound found it “solidly concentrated” and “sleekly textured,” predicting “this attractive effort should drink relatively well early.”
If you have the cellar space and the patience to age this, you might call us up in a decade and thank us. But open a bottle today and it’ll be awfully hard not to drink the rest sooner.
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Varoilles Gevrey-Chambertin “Meix des Ouches” 2015
Ansonia Retail: $90
2+ bottle price : $75/bot
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Three New White Burgundy Samplers
Burgundies have been the world’s most sought after white wines for centuries. The region produces an enormous range of wines, from everyday Petit Chablis to the extraordinary whites of Montrachet and its neighbors. In the glass White Burgundies among the most popular wines we know, a perfect balance between fruit, minerals, freshness and weight. We’ve collected three new samplers at three price points, designed to match any occasion.
White Burgundies #1
Ravaut Aligoté 2016: crisp, refreshing, precise and delicate
Maillet Macon-Villages 2015: smooth, unoaked, floral and honeyed
Gautheron Petit Chablis 2017: dry, minerally, refreshing and lively
Retail: $304, four of each
White Burgundies #2
Gros Fontaine-St-Martin blanc 2015: smooth, mouthfilling, tropical, toasty
Gautheron Chablis 1er “Vaucoupin” 2016: complex, unoaked, precise, balanced
Boyer-Martenot Meursault “Fernand Boyer” 2015: smooth, straw, nutty, floral
Retail: $536, four of each
White Burgundies #3
Boyer-Martenot Meursault “Narvaux” 2015: golden, rich, mouthfilling, tense
Boyer-Martenot Puligny-Montrachet 2015: graceful, precise, mineral, floral
Collet Chablis Grand Cru “Valmur” 2012: intense, elegant, gardenia, stones
Retail: $796, four of each
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The Perfect Summer Grilling Red: New Côtes du Rhône. $16
We think grilling reds should to be three things: fruit forward, chillable, and inexpensive. Smoke flavor from the grill works well with a juicy foil. Cooked foods on a hot day pair with something a bit cool. And because grilling often means a crowd, we like to have something affordable around in quantity.
Our favorite grilling wine of the moment is the Coulange Mistral 2016. It’s a Côtes du Rhône-Villages with unusual depth — hearty, mouthfilling, and juicy, it’s a perfect red for a summer crowd. It’s hardly the most complex wine in our cellar, but sometimes the perfect wine is the simplest.
Winemaker Christelle Coulange returned to the family property after oenology school and began to make and bottle her own wine. In only a decade she has made quite a name for herself. Her wines win medals nearly every year — today’s 2016 the silver at the Gilbert & Gaillard International Concours.
The 2016 Mistral is delightful, an unoaked blend of 80% grenache and 20% syrah. It’s more substantial than the 2015, with fuller fruit and a deeper palate. The nose shows violets, wild cherry jam, and garrigue (Provençal underbrush), with woodsy and briary notes as it develops in the glass. The mouth is dense and smooth, with a rich, vibrant mouthfeel, and smooth tannins.
Serve this a bit cool with burgers or steaks or vegetables from your grill — it’s hard to imagine a better match.
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Coulange Mistral 2016
Ansonia Retail: $20
6+ bottle price : $16/bot
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Golden, Exceptional 2016 White Burgundy: “Baby Corton-Charlemagne.”
Corton-Charlemagne is one of the world’s great white wines. The large hill just north of Beaune has produced fine and long-lived white Burgundies for over a thousand years. As you might expect from such storied Grand Cru terroir, the wines don’t come cheap.
But about 30 yards off the northern end of Corton-Charlemagne lies a special plot of vines owned by the Ravaut family. Though the classification is village — two steps below Grand Cru — the wine shows a richness far above its lineage. It produces only about 100 cases a year.
This was the wine that brought us to the Domaine Ravaut; and while their Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru itself is delightful, their Ladoix blanc affords similar richness at a steep discount.
Though overshadowed by hype surrounding the 2015 vintage, 2016 was another excellent year in Burgundy. The whites in particular show an exceptional balance between ripe, mouthcoating fruit and pitch-perfect tension.
Ravaut’s 2016 Ladoix “Hautes Mourottes” is quietly exceptional wine. The town is mostly unknown, and the village classification modest. But it’s rare to find a wine that so perfectly matches perfume and tension and grace. The nose shows gardenia, mango, sweet lemon, and honey; the mouth is rich and spiced, with white pepper and herbs, and beautiful citrus freshness.
This wine requires nothing but a big glass and moment of pause — it’s a symphony of flavor in the glass.
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Ravaut Ladoix “Hautes Mourottes” 2016
Ansonia Retail: $74
2+ bottle price : $65/bot
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Two New Dry, Refreshing Rieslings under $26
Ask a group of sommeliers to name their favorite wine region and most will say Burgundy. But ask them to pick a single favorite grape varietal, and we’d put some money on Riesling. Aside from its excellent food friendliness, Riesling communicates terroir with as much honesty and precision as any other grape.
We’re excited to introduce two new Rieslings today, both from our newest winemaker, the Weingut Salomon-Undhof. Based in Austria’s northeastern corner, the Salomon family has farmed vines since 1792, and the country’s preeminent wine guide calls them a “figurehead of Austrian wine history.”
Grüner Veltliner may be the classic grape from Austria (and indeed Salomon’s is excellent), but we’re just as excited about these two new Rieslings.
The first is a classic — the 2016 Terrassen Riesling is bright and dry and crisp. The nose shows green apple and notes of stones and grape skins. The mouth is light and refreshing, with pleasant dry fruit and excellent freshness. For a summer fish from the grill or a stir fry with some spice, this will pair with ease.
The second Riesling is a bit more serious: Salomon’s 2015 Undhof Kögl Riesling Erste Lage is more substantial. It’s still quite dry in the mouth but with volume and richness usually found in far more expensive wines. This shows the refined side of Riesling, with a floral nose of gardenia and straw, and an intense stony mouth with an exceptionally long finish. This will pair beautifully with scallops or even a creamy pasta dish — there’s enough acidity to match up to food, but a dense complexity that might steal the show from whatever you’re cooking.
With summer heat settling in, we think both are candidates for your go-to summer white. They’ll match just about anything you can throw at them.
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Dry, Refreshing Alsatian White: the Perfect Aperitif. $18
Most wines taste better with food, and some require it. But other wines are complete glasses on their own. One of our favorites in the “aperitif” category is the Auxerrois (OH-sehr-WAH) from our friends at the Domaine Mersiol in Alsace. Whether you’re welcoming guests to a dinner party, or looking for something refreshing on a summer afternoon, this is the perfect standalone glass of white.
Mersiol’s wines embody the Alsace’s signature blend of fruit, flowers, and freshness. Christophe Mersiol attributes the exceptional purity in his wines to an unwavering commitment to organic agriculture. Auxerrois is a variation on a Pinot Blanc, and his displays a perfect balance between round, mouthfilling fruit, and stony, crystalline freshness.
We think the secret to Auxerrois’s appeal is the ratio of fruit to acidity to alcohol. Like Pinot Gris, Auxerrois is a grape with a high potential for viscosity — in the wrong hands it can turn flat. But Mersiol’s Auxerrois is 13% alcohol and shows beautiful peach and apricot fruit cut by a brisk lemon freshness. The result is a straightforward, utterly drinkable wine.
Auxerrois needs no accompaniment — think of it as great background music, rather than a concert in its own right. But if you’re hungry and an open bottle appears in your kitchen, consider grilled chicken, goat cheese, or a simple salad. It’s simple, refreshing, affordable, just in time for summer.
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Mersiol Auxerrois 2016
Ansonia Retail: $22
6+ bottle price : $18/bot
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Elegant, Unadulterated Syrah from the Natural World.
Winemaking has seen significant improvement over the last century. New treatments and measurements have given winemakers far more control over their craft. “Poor vintages” are now less common, but in the cheap many wines give up true expression for homogeneity.
The winemakers at the Mas Foulaquier have a more traditional approach. Their pesticide-free vineyards are archetypes of polyculture, with wildflowers and insects at home amid the rows of vines. From these vibrant vineyards the winemakers obtain the central elements of the winemaking process — untreated grapes from the vines, and wild yeasts from the skins and ambient air.
This is winemaking in its purest, most original form, and the results are wines of remarkable complexity and grace.
Winemaking without much vineyard treatment or controlled yeast strains is not easy, and the results can be variable. But the winemakers at Foulaquier are deeply dedicated to their craft and their wines are proof that hard work and care pay off. These are some of the finest biodynamic wines we import.
Today we’re suggesting their new “Calades,” a syrah-dominant wine of a beautiful dark, inky hue. The nose is classic French syrah, showing black pepper, blackberry, and dark chocolate. But in the mouth this is unmistakably Foulaquier — a symphony of cool, earthy, jammy notes like plum and lavender — at once mouthfilling and balanced. It’s a marriage of the Languedoc’s ruggedly beautiful landscape with Foulaquier’s silky elegance and rustic earthiness.
This is living wine; we like to serve it outside, in the natural environment from which it comes. Find a sunny spot with a gentle breeze, plunge your nose into Calades’s extraordinary complexity, and you’ll feel as at home in the world as ever.
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Foulaquier Calades 2015
Ansonia Retail: $38
3+ bottle price : $32/bot
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“Outstanding” 93-point Vosne-Romanée 1er cru from 2015
Michel Gros is as much a part of Vosne-Romanée as its pointed steeple, its ancient vineyards, and its narrow crooked streets. He is a lifelong resident of the town, as were his father and grandfather before him — his mother was even mayor. The Gros family name has been synonymous with Vosne-Romanee for centuries.
Gros’s most famous vineyard is the premier cru monopole “Clos des Réas,” the only one in the appellation. It is a magnificent property, stretching over 2 hectares, and turning out wines described by critics as “supremely elegant,” “opulent” and “genius.”
Réas is good every year, but in 2015 — one of the best vintages in a generation — it’s magnificent.
Just about everything went right in 2015 for winemakers in Burgundy. The summer was warm and dry, with rain and wind at just the right moments. At harvest, Gros described his fruit as “super clean” with “virtually no sorting.” Everything we’ve had from Gros in 2015 has been outstanding (see full list here).
But even within a special collection, the Réas stands out. The nose is dark and sophisticated, with dried roses and cassis joining violets and toast. The mouth is smooth and very long, with velvety texture and perfectly integrated tannin. Allen Meadows (Burghound) awarded 93 points, calling it “sleek, delicious, focused and beautifully well-balanced” and naming it one of his “particularly outstanding” wines of the vintage.
Réas is the wine we get out for special family occasions. It’s elegant, luxurious, and perfectly balanced — everything you want from a top red Burgundy. This is hardly everyday wine, but some days are special.
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Gros Vosne-Romanée 1er cru “Clos des Réas” 2015
Suggested Retail: $180
offer price : $159/bot
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