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Summer in a Glass: Unpretentious, Thirst-Quenching Alsatian Rosé

Rosé should be easy — a simple wine for an uncomplicated moment. Some rosés go well with food, and our options this year from Malmont and Goubert are both refreshing and delicious. But today’s rosé is best on its own, as a pleasant aperitif on a patio or roof deck.

Francis Muré retires this year, so this is his final vintage of rosé. But he’s saved the best for last — we think it’s the best he’s made. From 100% Pinot Noir grown in Alsace, this wine is everything we look for in a rosé: dry, clean, refreshing, straightforward, and inexpensive.

 

 

The 2017 Pinot Noir Rosé is very pale — we’ve had a few whites with more color — but it’s far more complex than the hue implies. The nose is bright and floral, with lime zest, straw, and strawberries. The mouth is entirely dry, with a lively, crisp mouthfeel and delicious clean finish full of flowers, lemon, and stone.

This is Muré at his finest — humble, unpretentious, beautiful wine with surprising complexity and perfect balance. On a hot summer day it’s as refreshing as a cool dip in the ocean.

 

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Muré Rosé 2017

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6+ bottle price : $18/bot

 

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Introducing: Dry, Crisp, Refreshing Austrian Grüner-Veltliner. $22

And now for something a bit different. Today we introduce a new winemaker, a new country, and a new grape varietal. Isaiah Wyner, our Newton Depot manager, spent some of last summer researching and visiting wineries in Austria, and found some promising leads. Today we’re releasing the first.

There’s been much change over the last 30 years in Austrian winemaking, but that’s not to say that everything is new. The Salomon-Undhof estate dates to 1792, and their terraced vines overlooking the Danube have long been an excellent source. The country’s preeminent wine guide calls them a “figurehead of Austrian wine history.” Their style is what you’d expect from 225 years of history — clean, polished, and refined.

“Austrian wine” is nearly synonymous with Grüner-Veltliner, and indeed today’s wine is from this classic grape.

 

 

Salomon’s 2017 Grüner-Veltliner “Wieden” is a traditional, delicious interpretation of the grape. The nose shows lime rind, cucumber, and minerals; the mouth is pretty and brisk, with balanced acidity and notes of white flowers, apple, and peach. It’s a classic Gruner — unoaked, expressive and floral, but with a zippy, refreshing mouthfeel.

With the hot days of summer ahead, this wine needs no accompaniment — a cool glass on a muggy evening will improve your mood like little else. But for food, pick something with a bit of richness — the freshness of the wine cuts perfectly through veal schnitzel or creamy pasta.

 

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Salomon-Undhof Grüner-Veltliner “Wieden” 2017

Ansonia Retail: $26
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Inky, Rich, and Refined: New 2015 Northern Rhône Syrah from St-Joseph

Most wines taste the way they appear. Light-colored wines tend to have light body, and dark, opaque wines are big and mouth filling. Our favorite exception to the rule is Northern Rhône Syrah: inky black wine with intense flavor but astonishing finesse.

The appellation Saint-Joseph occupies most of the region between Côte Rôtie to the north and Hermitage to the south. Saint-Joseph produces dense, dark syrah like its famous neighbors, but with a touch less extraction and an earlier drinking window. And while some Côte Rôtie and Hermitage can exceed $250/bottle, there’s value to be found in Saint Joseph.

 

 

Denis Basset is a young winemaker based in Crozes-Hermitage, recently cited by Decanter and the Guide Hachette in the dynamic new generation of Crozes-Hermitage winemakers. His plot in Saint-Joseph covers less than an acre, and bears the name Abimes de l’Enfer (the “Abyss of Hell”) for its vertiginous slope.

Basset calls it his garden: a minuscule plot producing only 200 cases per year. It’s always one of our favorite wines from him, but in the near-perfect 2015 vintage it’s nothing short of extraordinary. The nose shows spices, violets and intense black pepper; the mouth shows blackberry jam with notes of roasted meat, licorice, and toast. The flavors are intense and distilled, a wine of remarkable complexity packaged into a sleek, sophisticated core. At only 13% alcohol it’s mouthfilling and chewy, but without an ounce of heaviness.

Visitors to the Newton Depot last weekend loved this wine on its own, but it’s unquestionably best with food. Serve this alongside a roasted spring lamb with rosemary and mint, or something smoky from the grill.

 

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Saint Clair St-Joseph 2015

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

 

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Unoaked and Elegant: 2016 Premier Cru White Burgundy

Chablis is a singular place. Its combination of deep stony soils (see photo) and cool climate exists nowhere else on earth. These factors produce a similarly 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, particularly among their higher-end cuvées. 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 Chardonnay. Gautheron keeps his entirely unoaked, allowing the stony soil to show through as delicate minerality. One taste and we think you’ll agree: the wine doesn’t lack anything.

 

 

The new 2016 Vaucoupin has just arrived in our warehouse. 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. Put alongside a plate of fruits de mer or a simply grilled fish, and you’ll know that summer has indeed arrived.

 

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Gautheron Chablis 1er “Vaucoupin” 2016

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Summer Supply Cases: $250/case

We tend to drink simply in the summer. Some summer moments call for grand bottles — weddings, graduations, etc. But when we think of “summer wine,” it’s something refreshing, uncomplicated, and inexpensive.

So we’ve collected four Summer Supply Cases — one white, one red, one rosé, and one mix of three — and discounted them all to $250 (East Coast shipping included). They’re easy-drinking wines with dry refreshing palates — they don’t require contemplation, only a few glasses and a couple of friends.

 

Summer Supply Case: White ($250)
4 of each wine
Martin-Luneau Clisson 2014: very dry, mineral white from Loire Valley
Gautheron Petit Chablis 2016: unoaked, dry white Burgundy, 100% chardonnay
Mersiol Auxerrois 2016: dry, floral white from Alsace, similar to Pinot Blanc

 

Summer Supply Case: Red ($250)
4 of each wine
Coulange Mistral 2016: bright, fruit forward, refreshing Côtes du Rhône
Bonnefond Syrah 2016: lightweight, peppery, earthy Northern Rhône Syrah
Foulaquier Orphée 2015: earthy, organic, very expressive Grenache/Syrah blend

 

Summer Supply Case: Rosé ($250)
4 of each wine
Muré Rosé 2017: dry, floral Pinot Noir rosé from the Alsace
Goubert Rosé de Flo 2017: cool, refreshing Provencal blend of Grenache and Syrah
Malmont Séguret Rosé 2017: complex, dry, perfectly-balanced Grenache/Syrah blend

 

Summer Supply Case: Mix ($250)
4 of each wine
Coulange Mistral 2016: bright, fruit forward, refreshing Côtes du Rhône
Malmont Séguret Rosé 2017: complex, dry, perfectly-balanced Grenache/Syrah blend
Gautheron Petit Chablis 2016: unoaked, dry white Burgundy, 100% chardonnay

 

Browse all of our Spring/Summer Favorites

 

 

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Thirst-Quenching New Provençal Rosé.

We’d bet that many readers have garages bigger than the Domaine Malmont’s winemaking space. We work with some small-production winemakers, but even by our standards Malmont’s winery is tiny. The space attached to winemaker Nicolas Haeni’s house in Séguret looks more like a large tool shed than a winemaking operation.

But from this tiny place Nicolas crafts some of the most exciting wines in our portfolio. Last year for the first time he allocated us a small amount of his excellent rosé, and it quickly became a favorite among our readers. This year’s allocation isn’t any bigger, but the quality is even better.

 

 

Malmont’s vines are high in the hills to the east of Séguret, a series of terraced vineyards that he farms with minimal intervention. His winemaking is similarly restrained, where he uses only ambient wild yeasts, and allows the fermentation to proceed at its own pace. The result is honest wines full of precision and complexity.

Malmont’s 2017 rosé is a blend of Grenache and Syrah (75/25) and a blend of direct pressing and saigné (85/15). The nose shows light strawberries, lemon rind, tangerine, and minerals. The mouth is perfectly balanced, totally dry with excellent freshness and pleasant notes of herbs, lavender, and honey. It’s effortlessly drinkable — a refreshing glass that will transport you to Provence with one sip.

We can’t think of a better match for a sweltering day like today.

 

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Malmont Rosé 2017

Ansonia Retail: $28
6+ bottle price : $24/bot

 

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Dry, Refreshing New Muscadet: Pears, Dried Flowers, and Salt Air. $22

Perched where the Loire river meets the windswept Atlantic coast, Muscadet has long been a source for a classic, dry white wine. Served by the carafe in the oyster bars of Paris and London for decades, it’s refreshing, abundant, and inexpensive — a perfect glass to wash down a plate of crustaceans.

In recent years Muscadet has undergone a reinvention of sorts with the elevation of three of the region’s best towns to a new “Cru Communal” status. Today’s wine comes from Clisson, one of the leaders in the new wave of Musacdet. Combining excellent terroir with extended years on the lees, this wine is an unusually complex take on a classic.

 

 

Last month winemaker Christophe Martin walked us through his vineyards, explaining the intricacies of each terroir. For anyone that still thinks of Muscadet as high volume plonk, a visit with Christophe (or a taste of his wine) will dispel the idea. These are carefully crafted, intense, delicious expressions of a limited terroir. A bottle of Muscadet may cost a buck or two more than it used to, but the jump in quality is several times.

Martin-Luneau’s 2014 Clisson has just arrived in our warehouse, and it’s delightful. It’s a marriage of the brisk, refreshing essence of the sea with the delicate herbal and fruit flavors of western France. The nose is clean and pure, showing dried flowers, melons, and lemon. The mouth is smooth and very dry, with notes of stones, salt air, and apple skins.

Oysters are the longstanding pairing of choice with Muscadet, and the thick savoriness in this wine is an exceptional foil for the fresh brininess of an oyster. The winemakers themselves recommend serving this with a simple moules marinières, made with shallots, parsley, thyme, butter and, of course, Muscadet. With summer heat on the way, this is dry, tasty, and perfectly refreshing.

 

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Martin-Luneau Muscadet “Clisson” 2014

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

 

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Crisp, Refreshing, No-Oak White Burgundy. $22

“Oaked” or “unoaked” sounds like a yes-no question, but it really is a range. Most of the wines we import spend some time in oak, but the strength of its influence depends on the age and size of the barrel, the chauffe (how heavily the inside is charred), and time in the barrel.

With this wine, it’s simple: no oak at all. This classic, stony, energetic chablis is all freshness, minerality, and pure fruit. The Domaine Gautheron is a small, family-owned property, and we love their precise style. You could eat off the floor there, and the rigorous cleanliness extends to their wines as well.

 

 

Cyril Gautheron is a rising star in Chablis. The Gautheron Family has made wine here for 200 years, but Cyril has taken the reins with great passion and has won critical acclaim from wine writers around the world. The Domaine’s style is classique — little to no oak, bright notes of lemon and apple, and steely fresh minerality.

Gautheron’s Petit Chablis 2016 has just arrived, and it’s the perfect summer white. Look for notes of stones, lemon zest, and flowers, with brisk minerality and smooth, clean finish. For summer heat, this is a refreshing, crowd-pleasing white wine. For anything from the sea — steamed lobster, raw oysters, grilled swordfish — it’s a must have.

 

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Gautheron Petit Chablis 2016

Ansonia Retail: $26
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At last: Crisp, Dry Provençal Rosé. $19

Rosé’s popularity shows no signs of ebbing. We generally steer clear of winemaking fads, but even for us traditionalists it’s hard to deny the tastiness of cool rosé under a warm sun. Our criteria for rosé are threefold: dry, inexpensive, and refreshing.

The provencal-style rosé from the Domaine les Goubert hits all three perfectly. Grown across the sun-drenched plain just east of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Goubert’s rosé is dry and delicious. If there’s a beach or a roof deck or a backyard patio in your future this summer, this is almost as necessary as sunscreen.

 

 

Rosé de Flo is the project of the Cartier family’s thirtysomething daughter Florence, who is now handling much of the winemaking at Goubert. Her rosé is 100% saigné (literally, “bled”) meaning it’s made entirely from juice that runs off from grapes resting in the tank. This makes for a more subtle, elegant style, with increased floral notes and a crisper, less mouthfilling palate.

The 2017 Rosé de Flo is a blend of grenache, syrah, and mourvèdre — Florence traded Brun Argenté for Syrah this year, and the result is a fruitier, slightly clearer complexion. The nose shows red fruits like strawberry and raspberry, and the mouth is refreshing and brisk — look for notes of grapefruit zest and citrus.

Bone dry, with 13% alcohol and a delicate acidity, this wine is dangerously easy to sip. Open one with a salad, or goat cheese and tapenade on crusty bread, and you’ll be transported to Provence.

 

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Goubert Rosé de Flo 2017

Ansonia Retail: $24
6+ bottle price : $19/bot

 

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Summery Syrah: Crisp, Refreshing Northern Rhone Red. $25

In much of the world, Syrah is a powerful grape that produces soft wines with jammy fruit and low tannin. But in Northern Rhône Valley, the grape takes on an entirely different style. Grown at its northern ripening limit, Syrah finds a more elegant and balanced expression on the steep banks of the Rhône River south of Lyon.

Many wines from the Northern Rhône require patience and investment. (If that’s your interest, don’t miss our new Cornas producer in the current May Futures.) Our source for Côte Rôtie, the Domaine Bonnefond, also makes classic, delicious wines that age beautifully.

But for readers with nearer term thirsts, Bonnefond’s Syrah is an exceptional value. It requires no patience at all, and at $25 only modest investment. It’s cool, crisp, and perfectly balanced — just the ticket for a summery red.

 

 

Robert Parker calls the Bonnefond Domaine “among the finest in the appellation,” and Vinous’s Josh Raynolds describes Bonnefond’s style as “extroverted” and “refined.” We have long marveled at their ability to achieve wines that are at once dark, intense, and lively. They have all the dark, meaty characteristics of Syrah, but with unusual lift and grace.

The 2016 Syrah “Sensation du Nord” from Bonnefond is, as one taster at the warehouse recently put it, “highly drinkable.” The nose is spiced and expressive, with notes of blackberries, tapenade, black pepper, and game. The mouth is beautifully balanced — at 12.5% alcohol it’s elegant and long, with dense plum fruits and graceful minerality.

With its fresh fruit and peppery mouthfeel this is excellent food wine — lamb and duck are particularly nice matches. But accompaniment isn’t required — an after-work glass of this on a weekday evening will reset your mood with ease.

 

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Bonnefond Syrah 2016

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

 

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2015 Premier Cru Red Burgundy: “Elegant, Intense, and Vibrant”

The 2015 red Burgundies are nothing short of a sensation. After months of hype and a frenzy of enthusiasm upon release, they’ve lived up to nearly all of their acclaim. With sturdy tannins suggesting long and happy lives, the wines also offer near-term hedonistic delight — the best are juicy, lively, and, as the French say, gouleyant (gulpable).

No domaine’s wines better capture the tension between ageworthiness and drinkability than those of Roger Belland. The house style is always fruit forward — ripe, punchy, juicy mouthfeels are consistent from one year to another. But even for Belland, their 2015s offer unusually pleasant early drinking.

In our fast-paced world, cellaring wine has become increasingly rare. But with Belland’s wines, there’s no wrong answer — they are delicious now, and will be even more so in 5 years.

 

 

Master of Wine Clive Coates called Roger Belland “one of the best sources in the village” of Santenay. Though it’s often an afterthought on Côte d’Or maps, Belland’s wines are proof that Santenay can be classic, majestic red Burgundy.

Belland’s finest premier cru Santenay is from the “la Comme” vineyard, just on the northern border with Chassagne-Montrachet. This is Santenay at its most elegant, combining the silky precision of a Volnay with the vibrant character of red Chassagne — think minerals, dried cherries, plum, and herbs. Burghound awarded 91 points, finding it “elegant” and “harmonious,” with “pretty floral nuance,” and “delicious, intense and vibrant flavors.”

Belland’s wines are so drinkable from the start that they’re hard to age — our last bottle, opened 4-5 years after harvest, is often the best of the batch. If you’ve got the cellar space, put down half a case and drink the other six this year. Life is short, after all.

 

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Belland Santenay 1er cru “Comme” 2015

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3+ bottle price : $42/bot

 

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Juicy, Refreshing Loire Valley Red for Summer. $22

Summer’s arrival means more rosé and white in our glasses. But sometimes a meal or a houseguest or a whim requires red — and in those circumstances we like to have something straightforward, affordable and refreshing. Pinot Noir is an easy choice, but for something a bit different we often turn to the Loire.

They call the Loire Valley the Garden of France. Its lush rolling hillsides produce nearly every type of wine, from dry to sweet, light to dark, and white to red to sparkling to rosé. One of region’s most distinctive styles is an unoaked, juicy Cabernet Franc from the central Loire Valley.

Our Chinon is a delicious old-vine organic Cab Franc from an up and coming new winemaker named Fabien Demois.

Demois’s style is perfect for the warm weather. His 2015 is unoaked, dense, and juicy — it’s full of fruit and concentration, and with a few years in the bottle has added delicious complexity. We hesitate to add it to the “summery reds” category — it’s far more interesting than the light, simple reds widely available.

Today it shows notes of dark chocolate, cool ripe berries, graphite, and a hint of smokiness. The mouthfeel is lively, complex, and croquant (“crackling”), a testament to the increased freshness we often find in organically grown wines. Serve this slightly cool on a picnic or a patio.

 

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Demois Chinon VV 2015

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“Rich, Intense, and Delicious:” Opulent Old-Vine Meursault

The wines of Meursault may be popular today, but it’s hard to describe them as a passing fad. The monks of Citeaux first planted vines there in 1098, and over the last nine centuries the village has proudly earned its glowing reputation. Though it has no Grand Cru vineyards, Meursault’s wines are among the most sought after in the world.

We began buying from Vincent Boyer more than a decade ago, and since then the international wine press has widely acclaimed him as a rising star. This year we allocated some of his Meursault “Narvaux,” a village level white considered among Meursault’s finest. Boyer coaxes his 70 year old Chardonnay vines into perfect expressions of this extraordinary terroir.

With old vines, a master winemaker, and exceptional terroir, this is not a wine to miss.

 

 

Meursault is about decadence, opulence, and style, and Narvaux embodies all of these. The vineyard perches just above Meursault’s premier crus and borders the famous Genevrières. Boyer’s 2015 “Narvaux” is a classic, with wonderful mouthfilling intensity drawn from the richness and density of the fruit. The nose is lovely and generous, showing white flowers, hazelnut, and apricot. The mouth is full but tense, showing pear and white flowers, with a long, vibrant finish.

Wine critic Allen Meadows (Burghound) called the 2015 “lovely,” “elegant,” and “beautifully nuanced” in the nose, and “rich, intense and delicious” in the mouth. In short, this is golden, classic, mouthfilling white Burgundy from a master winemaker — serve it in large Burgundy glasses, and marvel at nine centuries of human progress.

 

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Boyer-Martenot Meursault “Narvaux” 2015

Ansonia Retail: $62
3+ bottle price : $54/bot

 

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Advance Order: At Last, Cornas.

For years we’ve searched for a Cornas producer to add to our portfolio. The appellation is tiny (only 145 hectares, compared with Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s 3,133) and a wave of popularity in recent years has made it difficult to get an appointment. But luck was on our side last week, and we’re excited to report that we’ve found not one Cornas source but two.

The name Cornas (pronounce the “s”) comes from the Celtic word for “burnt earth,” and it’s an appropriate name. Though only nine miles south of the famous Hill of Hermitage, Cornas is so much sunnier that its grapes often ripen two weeks earlier. The wine is pure syrah like the rest of the Northern Rhône, but the feel is of something from further South.

 

 

For years Cornas’s reputation has been for richness and ruggedness. The first quality remains true: these are inky black wines made from hard granite soil. They’re bold and chewy, bursting with character and able to age for decades.

But “ruggedness” needs some revision. A younger generation at both domaines has brought modern winemaking to the ancient vineyards, and the results are more refined than ever before. Cornas hasn’t given up its untamed spirit, but the new wave of winemakers has bought it nicer clothes and taught it some manners.

 

 

DOMAINE DUMIEN-SERRETTE
With fewer than 50 growers, there aren’t any real unknowns in Cornas. Our first winemaker, Dumien Serrette, is the lesser known of the two, though they’re hardly newcomers — records show Dumiens living there in 1515. We’re pleased to offer a very small allocation of their 2016 Cornas.

Dumien-Serrette’s Cornas is magnificent — a combination of inky black flavors with unusually refined floral finesse. The nose is deep and rich, showing cherries, cocoa, anise, and pepper. On the palate it’s very fine and silky, with intense, distilled tannic structure and notes of cherry jam, violets, and olive.

 


DOMAINE DU TUNNEL

The Domaine du Tunnel is far more recent than Dumien-Serrette, but already better known. Often cited as one of the best sources in the town, Tunnel’s wines lived up to their considerable hype. Named for an old railway tunnel that now houses the domaine’s exquisitely designed cuverie, these wines are a highlight of any Cornas collector’s cellar.

Tunnel’s 2016 Cornas is classic and excellent. The nose shows inky, woodsy flavors — violets and blackberry mix with underbrush and mushrooms. The fruit is clean, and dense and pure and the finish unimaginably long. Josh Raynolds of Vinous awarded 92 points, finding “fine-grained tannins,” and “sharply focused black and blue fruit flavors.”

 

 

We were thrilled to discover both of these producers last week, and we’re excited to share them with you. If any allocation remains, both producers will be featured in next Sunday’s May Futures Issue, but we’re opening up the bidding early on these two wines. They’re available in our usual case and half-case lots, as well as a special 6-bottle sampler, 3 bottles of each wine. Orders are first come first served — click below to reserve by email.

 

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Dumien-Serrette Cornas 2016
Domaine du Tunnel Cornas 2016

Ansonia Retail: $750/case
Futures price : $575/case

Available by the case and half-case

 

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Cornas Sampler, 3 of each wine

Ansonia Retail: $375
Futures price : $295

 

Email Tom to place an order.