Author: Thomas Wilcox

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Exquisite 95-Point 2015 Côte Rôtie: Old Vines, Legendary Terroir, “Superb”

Christophe Bonnefond is a quiet man. Our tastings with him each year are pleasant and friendly, but he’s not what you’d call a “talker”. He’s happy to answer questions, but rarely volunteers information, preferring to let his wines speak for themselves.

His wines are anything but quiet. They’re dense, concentrated, and immaculately crafted — pure syrah in its most powerful and impressive form. Bonnefond’s finest two parcels are located on either side of “La Landonne,” the legendary vineyard on the famous slopes of the Côte Rôtie.

Today we’re suggesting Bonnefond’s 2015 Côte Rôtie “Les Rochains.” It’s a magnificent wine — an extraordinary vintage, 50-75 year old vines, and an intense winemaker style. This is Northern Rhône syrah at its finest — inky black fruits, a lingering mouthfeel, and all at 13% alcohol.

 

 

Bonnefond’s Côte Rôties age marvelously — we’ve had them 10 and 15 years out and they’re simply delicious. Today this wine shows red cherries, licorice, black pepper, cloves, and leather — in a decade or two it will add earthy, woodsy notes along with iodine, soy, and dried flowers.

Vinous’s Josh Raynolds called this “densely packed yet elegant,” a phrase we think perfectly distills the wine’s essence. He awarded 93-95 points, finding the nose “expansive,” and “exotically perfumed” with “black and blue fruits, violet, woodsmoke and olive.”

Put this in the back of our cellar and you’ll call us in 15 years to ask why you didn’t buy more. Open one today with a decanter, and you’ll call us next week to see how much we have left.

 

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Bonnefond Côte Rôtie “Les Rochains” 2015

Ansonia Retail: $84
2+ bottle price : $72/bot

 

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The Perfect Everyday Côtes-du-Rhône. $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 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. Six grapes — Terret Noir, Picpoul, and Vaccarèse with the familiar Grenache, Syrah, and Carignan — form a 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.

 

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Goubert Côtes-du-Rhône 2016

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

 

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The Best Value in White Burgundy.

We find some of our favorite values in towns just off the beaten path. The neighbor villages of Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet are the world’s best known sources for fine white wine. But just two miles to the west lies the often-overlooked town of Saint-Aubin, which turns out to be an exceptional source for value in white Burgundy.

The Thomas family has an intimate knowledge of the terroir of St-Aubin, where they’ve lived and made wine for over 70 years. Together with his two daughters, Gérard makes understated, highly affordable wines that are consistently delicious. They’re usually too drinkable to last very long in our cellars, but we managed to forget about a few cases of the 2013. It’s just beautiful today.

 

 

The 2013 St-Aubin “Champ Tirant” is a pure expression of a single terroir. A few years in the bottle has given it an impressive grace and poise. The nose shows delicate yellow fruits and muted toasty notes like baked lemon and almond. The mouth retains enough freshness to help pair it beautifully with food, but enough richness and stuffing to make it drink like a far pricier wine.

Food pairings for white Burgundy are easy. According to Sommelier Rajat Parr, who calls St-Aubin a source “for some of the best-value Chardonnay in the world,” white Burgundy pairs best “with oilier and meatier poached fish like halibut, salmon, monkfish, cod and grouper.” Monkfish is a particular favorite at our house, particularly Thomas Keller’s Roasted Monkfish with butter and rosemary.

We also love this with whole roasted chicken. Cook the bird with rosemary, lemon, and garlic, and enjoy the smells from the kitchen as they meld into the aromas from the glass.

 

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Thomas St-Aubin 2013

Ansonia Retail: $36
6+ bottle price : $32/bot

 

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New St-Emilion Grand Cru Classé: Bold, Assertive, Delicious.

Named for an 8th century Breton hermit monk, the medieval town of St-Emilion has long been a center for winemaking. Viticulture there dates to at least 275 AD, when Roman soldiers cleared the local forest and replaced it with vines.

Today Saint-Emilion and its neighbor Pomerol dominate the right bank of Bordeaux’s bifurcated winegrowing region. The wines here are Merlot-based, often blended with Cabernet Franc. The pace and scale of the right bank resembles Burgundy more than the large producers of Bordeaux’s left bank, and some generous Saint-Emilion makes a great addition to our Burgundy-dominated cellars.

 

 

For many years now our source for classic Saint-Emilion has been the Chateaux Destieux and Montlisse, the projects of biopharma-exec-turned-winemaker Christian Dauriac. Montlisse, a Grand Cru, is a delicious wine at an approachable price. (See Montlisse 2014.) But for special occasions, the Grand Cru Classé Destieux is a noticeable and impressive step up.

The 2014 Destieux is bold and rich — it’s not a wine you forget about while drinking. Decanter Magazine found “Dense, ripe plummy fruit. Slightly jammy aspect. Long and firmly structured.” We found notes of plums, cedar, licorice and leather. Decant an hour or so before serving, and pair it with a rich stew or a fine cut of beef. Subtle this is not; delicious it is.

 

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Destieux Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé 2014

Ansonia Retail: $72
2+ bottle price : $64/bot

 

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New Gevrey-Chambertin Monopole: “Lavishly Rich,” “Suave,” and “Velvety”

Most things in Burgundy are old. Ancient walls and Roman paths wind across the landscape of vines; houses built a hundred years ago are considered new. And the people of the region have practiced viticulture here since long before it was called Burgundy.

Even by Burgundian standards, the Domaine des Varoilles is old. The domaine’s vineyards date to the 1100s, with further mentions in local records from 1272, 1319, and 1329. It’s under recent ownership — that of Swiss national Gilbert Hammel since 1990 — that the domaine’s star has really risen.

The domaine’s vines are nearly all in Gevrey-Chambertin, a town known for the densest, meatiest wines in Burgundy. And the Varoilles style features relatively late harvests, ripe fruits, and plenty of extraction. The resulting wines are rich, seductive, and awfully easy to enjoy.

 

 

Last month we wrote about Varoilles Premier Cru Gevrey-Chambertin “Clos des Varoilles” from 2012 — an intense, meaty Gevrey-Chambertin with excellent aging potential. Today’s wine is a 2014 from their village level vineyard monopole “Clos du Meix des Ouches.” The walls of the clos and its clay-rich soils combine to make an unusually rich village level-wine.

Burghound loved the domaine’s 2014s, calling this cuvée “lavishly rich,” and “velvety,” with “excellent volume” and predicting it would “drink well young.” Today the 2014 Gevrey has an exceptional nose — there’s mocha, raspberry, gingerbread, and cinnamon. The mouth is pleasant and dark, with clean tannins that soften after an hour or so in a glass or decanter.

With their centuries of history Varoilles can hardly be called a discovery. But it’s wines like this that make us excited to have them in our portfolio.

 

 

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Varoilles Gevrey-Chambertin “Clos du Meix des Ouches” 2014

Ansonia Retail: $72
2+ bottle price : $64/bot

 

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Crisp, Refreshing Aligoté: Your New Everyday White Burgundy. $19

In Burgundy, nearly all white wines are pure Chardonnay. The primary exception to the rule is Aligoté, a less prestigious varietal that nonetheless accounts for over 10% of white vines in Burgundy. It’s a traditional Burgundian grape that makes simple, refreshing wines meant for enjoying, not contemplating.

If grown in a poor location, Aligoté can turn out thin wines with lots of acidity and little else. But in the right soils and in the hands of capable winemakers, the result can be really quite interesting. Many readers have recently enjoyed the Aligoté from Boyer-Martenot in Meursault — so much, in fact, that we’re out. (See January Futures for the Boyer’s 2016 Aligoté.) But in the meantime we’re excited to introduce a second — the 2015 Aligoté from the Domaine Ravaut.

 

 

The Ravaut’s Aligoté succeeds for three reasons. First: location. Grown just north of the famous Hill of Corton, their plot boasts well situated soils rich with clay and limestone. Second: malolactic fermentation. This secondary fermentation helps round out the sometimes sharp edges of the grape. Third: lees contact. Ravaut’s Aligoté spends a year on the lees before bottling, adding depth and complexity.

Ravaut’s 2015 Aligoté closely resembles a Chardonnay in the nose — think green apple, lemon peel, honey, and grass. The mouth is bright and crisp, like a Chardonnay from an energetic year. Look for notes of grapefruit, lime, and chalk in the mouth. It’s a great candidate for the traditional pairing with Crème de Cassis (called a Kir), but the liqueur isn’t a must for this wine.

Don’t get us wrong — Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru this is not. It’s not even Ravaut’s Ladoix blanc. But for a refreshing, inexpensive, well-made wine you can reach for at any time, consider the new Aligoté.

 

 

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Ravaut Aligoté 2015

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

 

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Rich, Lively, and Smooth: New Côtes du Rhône from a Rising Star.

Côtes-du-Rhônes are a dime a dozen these days. From bistro chalkboards in Paris to Whole Foods to the drugstore checkout counter, it’s one of the most recognizable brands in the wine world. And as you might expect, not all Côtes-du-Rhônes are created equal.

Among our very favorites is the Domaine Malmont’s version from Séguret. Malmont’s Côtes-du-Rhône is unique and delicious — richer and far more interesting than the vast majority of other bottles in its category. It owes its distinctiveness to an unusually high percentage of syrah (60%), which contributes dark berry and black pepper notes, and keeps the wine lively and fresh.

Where many Côtes du Rhônes are flat and full of overripe fruit, Malmont’s is cool and crisp, with pleasant tannins and a long, balanced finish. It’s a few bucks more than the mass-market version, but the quality is easily twice as good.

 

 

Malmont is the project of Nicolas Haeni, a young Swiss winemaker who founded the domaine nearly a decade ago. His grapes grow on terraced vineyards in the hills above Séguret, and his wines already have wide acclaim from the international wine press. The his 2016 Côtes du Rhône is excellent — Haeni calls it a “baby Séguret,” referring to its similarity to his fancier cuvée.

Though it’s not raised in oak, there’s a pleasant note of toastiness in this wine. Look for notes of plum jam, lavender and thyme, presented with a round but lively mouthfeel. The ubiquity of Côtes du Rhône means it’s also a crowd pleaser, particularly on a snowy evening in January. This develops nicely over an hour in the glass, and even stretches nicely from one day to the next.

Côtes du Rhônes aren’t meant to be overthought, but this one provides far more complexity than the usual.

 

 

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Malmont Côtes du Rhône 2016

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

 

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Juicy, Bursting, Gulpable 2015 Red Burgundy. $28

Many of our winemakers are multi-generational. Some stretch back for centuries, others are more recent père et fils (or fille) operations. At their best they maintain a family’s hard won knowledge of its land.

We’re always slightly apprehensive when a new generation takes over. Some try too hard to make their mark early, changing styles and abandoning longtime traditions. But at many domaines the younger generation arrives with modern techniques and a new energy.

Gautier Desvignes is in the latter category. In a few short years he’s transformed his quaint family domaine from traditional rustic Givry into some of the most popular wines in our cellar. The 2015s in particular are refined, complex, and simply delightful.

 

 

In 2015 Gautier split his plot of village level Givry into two cuvées. We released the first last month — the “Meix au Roy” — a rugged, mouthfilling, lively Pinot Noir. For the second cuvée, Gautier removed some leaves from the vines over the summer, allowing the sun to raise the phenolic ripeness of the grapes.

The result is an extra-ripe cuvée, with juicy fruit and smooth, velvety texture. It’s riper and fuller than the Meix, with punchier tannin and a longer finish. This is Burgundy at it’s juiciest — with the sun soaked exuberance of Beaujolais and the dark fruit of the Côte d’Or.

Fair warning — once open, particularly in a crowd, this wine evaporates promptly.

 

 

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Desvignes Givry “Champ la Dame” 2015

Ansonia Retail: $34
6+ bottle price : $28/bot

 

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Luxurious 2014 Old-Vine Pouilly-Fuissé.

Pouilly-Fuissé produces southern Burgundy’s finest wines. Grown an hour to the south of the Côte d’Or in the Maconnais, the wines of Pouilly-Fuissé show Chardonnay’s soft and opulent side. When carelessly made, Pouilly-Fuissé can be heavy and flat; but from a careful producer it can be a revelation.

If you’ve had Nicolas Maillet’s Macon Villages or Macon Verzé, you won’t be surprised to hear that his Pouilly-Fuissé is a delight. Sporting the same astonishing purity and complexity as his unoaked cuvées, Maillet’s Pouilly-Fuissé adds careful notes of oak and toast to the elegant Chardonnay fruit. His organically farmed vines there average 75 years old, resulting in exceptional density and richness.

 

 

This wine is a beautiful example of careful use of oak. The nose shows white flowers and attractive, bright yellow fruit. The mouth perfectly balances richness from old vines and barrel with a chalky minerality and bright Chardonnay freshness. It’s extremely long in the mouth, showing opulent depth and luxurious richness.

The wines of our now-retired Pouilly-Fuissé producer Michel Forest used to fool people into thinking they were premier cru Chassagne-Montrachet (at a blind tasting by sommeliers at a 3-star Michelin, no less). We put Maillet’s Pouilly-Fuissé in the same class. For a wintry white Burgundy with richness and depth, this wine is hard to beat.

 

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Maillet Pouilly-Fuissé 2014

Ansonia Retail: $40
6+ bottle price : $34/bot

 

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2015 Chambolle Musigny: Sophisticated, Graceful, “Utterly Delicious”

Winemaking can be an unglamourous business. Behind the romance of the craft lies months of labor-intensive farming: flat tractor tires, vine maladies, hand pruning, bookkeeping, equipment cleaning, etc. Even for those in the trade, it can be easy to forget the work that goes into every bottle of wine.

Perhaps no wine more acutely displays the gap between backbreaking work and ethereal elegance than Chambolle Musigny. Put your nose in a glass of Chambolle and your mind slips away from the earth where it was made — Rajat Parr calls it “the ideal expression of Pinot Noir.”

Michel Gros’s plots of Chambolle are the village level, but the wine they produce is no ordinary village Burgundy. The majority comes from a clay-rich plot neighboring the famous “Musigny” Grand Cru vineyard, and the wine shows exceptional depth.

 

 

Gros’s 2015 Chambolle, like nearly everything else from 2015, is a delight. Today the vintage offers easy, approachable, hedonistic pleasure — the wines awfully hard to put down once tasted. And yet behind the youthful fruits lie firm tannins, sure to carry these wines for a decades and more.

Today look for notes of plum, licorice, cherry and stones; the mouth is dense and firm but with velvety texture and a clean, very precise finish. Burghound calls this wine “elegant” and “utterly delicious,” noting its “lovely minerality and energy,” and concluding “this is an excellent Chambolle villages.”

So complete and polished is Gros’s Chambolle that it’s easy to imagine it springing forth from the ground fully formed. But whether you recall the mud and sweat and stone in each bottle or allow the wine to carry you above its earthbound creation, we doubt you’ll be disappointed.

 

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Gros Chambolle Musigny 2015

Ansonia Retail: $102
2+ bottle price : $88/bot

 

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[Futures Teaser] 2014 Chianti Classico under $20, “Lithe” and “Beguiling”

French wines have long been the focus of Ansonia’s portfolio. Of the 45 or so winemakers we work with, about half are from Burgundy, and all but a few are French. This isn’t to say that these are the only places to find excellent wine, only that we’ve chosen depth over width in our portfolio.

Our longtime exception to this rule is the Fattoria Poggerino. Were we to drop them in the name of coherence, there would be a revolt among our readers. Poggerino is as beloved to longtime Ansonia customers as any of our French winemakers. Withl remarkably reasonable prices and consistent high quality they have earned their place as the outlier in the lineup.

As usual, the entire Poggerino lineup will appear in next Sunday’s January Futures release. But we’re singling one of our favorites out today to review in a bit more detail.

 

 

The Fattoria Poggerino sits in Radda-in-Chianti, a charming Tuscan hilltown about halfway between Siena and Florence. Poggerino’s reds are pure Sangiovese, and their regular cuvée Chianti Classico strikes a beautiful balance between a deep enticing nose and a sturdy, classic mouthfeel.

The 2014 is beautiful, with strawberry jam and anise on the nose, and cherries and roses in the mouth. The texture is firm and long, with excellent aging potential; but the wine opens nicely in a glass or carafe. Jancis Robinson found it “beguiling, pure, and lithe,” also noting its “long and fragrant” mouthfeel.

We think this is among the finer vintages of Chianti Classico Poggerino has made — as the vines age, the wines gain depth and polish with every vintage. As longtime Ansonia readers know, January is the only opportunity each year to purchase Poggerino through Futures. If you’ve got Poggerino in your cellar already, this vintage is an excellent one. And if you’re new to the wine, Futures offers a discounted way to try it out.

 

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Poggerino Chianti Classico 2014

Ansonia Retail: $360
Futures price : $235/case

 

Email Tom to reserve this wine.


This wine is part of the upcoming January Futures issue, which will be released Sunday 1/14. We expect the wines to arrive in March.

 

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“High Performing” 2015 Red Burgundy from Michel Gros under $40.

Michel Gros appears on most lists of Burgundy’s finest winemakers. His style is smooth and elegant, with warm, enticing notes of toast, red berries, and a silky texture. Gros’s village level and premier cru wines can be truly extraordinary, but they require (and reward) investment and patience.

Not all of Michel’s wines hail from such exalted zip codes. Gros makes several “petits vins,” which aren’t as complex or long-lived, but offer a chance to sample his brilliance at a more affordable price.

In 2015, a vintage considered among the best in decades, these petits vins are unusually fine. We’ve already sold through our entire allocation of one, but we’re excited to release another. Today’s suggestion is the 2015 “Fontaine St-Martin,” an Hautes-Côtes de Nuits that we think easily competes with village level red Burgundies.

 

 

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, and Michel has made wine there for over 40 years. The Fontaine St-Martin plot is indeed special — soil samples revealed the parcel contains the same mix of marl, clay, and limestone found on the Hill of Corton

The 2015 Fontaine-St-Martin punches far above its weight. It’s more impressive than anything we’ve had from the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits, with extremely dense tannins, dark blue fruit, and floral notes of violets and roses. Burghound named this one of the “Top value wines in 2015” for the entire region. Master of Wine Sarah Marsh called it “high performing” and predicted it should age beautifully.

This is a special plot of red Burgundy from a master winemaker in a legendary vintage — all for the price of a business lunch.

 

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Gros Fontaine-St-Martin 2015

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

 

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Wintry Mix, meet Wintry Mixed Case.

Some winter we’re having so far here on the East Coast. Warm hats and snow shovels are probably your most useful tools these days — but after the cleanup is done, we highly recommend a glass of something smooth and rich.

So along with Wednesday’s Gigondas, here are four ideas to restock that “Wintry red” corner of your wine cabinet. Two are from iconic towns in Bordeaux: St-Emilion on the right bank, and St-Estèphe on the left. And two are from the Rhône Valley, one from the north and one from the south.

The snow’s awfully pretty to stroll through, but when you’ve finished digging yourself out, you’ll want a glass of one of these.

 

 

Fleuron de Liot St-Estèphe 2015 ($38)
Merlot-Cabernet blend from a tiny plot on the left bank. Cedar, plums, graphite, woods.

Saint-Clair Crozes-Hermitage “Fleur Enchantée” 2015 ($30)
Pure old-vine Syrah from an exceptional vintage. Blackberries, cloves, bacon, violets.

Montlisse St-Emilion Grand Cru ($38)
Smooth, velvety, classic Merlot-based wine from the right bank. Raspberry jam, forest floor.

Maucoil “Cuvée 1895” 2015 ($30)
Rich, round, pure Grenache from 122 year old vines. Strawberries, earth, lavender, garrigue.

 

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Wintry Mixed Case

Ansonia Retail: $408
sampler price : $345/bot

 

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Rich, Mouthfilling, “Seamless” 91-pt Gigondas for Chilly Winter Evening.

As frigid air welcomes us into 2018, we find ourselves reaching for something rich and smooth to fill our wine glasses. In much of the world, a “rich” wine comes with a heavy dose of alcohol and little character. We prefer something with a bit more balance — dense and mouthfilling, but with carefully ripened fruit and modest alcohol.

For many this brings Châteauneuf-du-Pape to mind, and we too love wine from that storied appellation. But when the need is for something perhaps a bit less exalted, Gigondas provides a more-than-worthy alternative.

The best Gigondas shares many of the same rich, dark qualities that draw collectors to its illustrious neighbor, but the former offers with a far friendlier price tag. Indeed, today’s wine comes in well under $30, and we’ve yet to meet someone who doesn’t enjoy it.

 

 

For many years our pick from Gigondas (as well as Robert Parker’s and Jancis Robinson’s) has been the Domaine les Goubert. The always-excellent wines are even more refined since the family’s daughter Florence took over the winemaking a few years ago. Their 2014 Gigondas is as good as any vintage in recent memory.

Vinous’s Josh Raynolds was effusive about the 2014, awarding 91 points and calling it “supple and seamless,” and remarking how the fruits “caress the palate.” His comment about the wine’s weight — “concentrated but lively as well” — is particularly perceptive. We found dense, silky notes of plum, lavender, and dried raspberries. The mouth is clean and smooth, managing somehow to achieve richness and lift at the same time.

Frightful though the weather may be, this should keep you cozy and warm. Pair it with beef stew or lamb, and you’ll forget even to check the thermometer.

 

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Goubert Gigondas 2014

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

 

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Exquisite Small-Batch Grower Champagne

We first met Pascal Bardoux less than two years ago, but he is already a favorite among our readers. His small-batch Champagnes are distinctive, delicious, complex, and comparative bargains. Much of the mass-market Champagne distributed in the US between $75 and $100 a bottle; Bardoux’s small-batch Brut Traditionnel doesn’t even crack $50. It’s twice the wine at half the price.

Monsieur Bardoux is a fifth generation Champagne maker who more resembles a professor. His quiet, thoughtful approach to his wine is a stark departure from the glossy brochures and fancy tasting rooms common in Champagne. But Bardoux’s humble style belies the extraordinary intricacy and elegance of his wines.

This is Champagne as it was meant to be — wine first, bubbles second.

 

 

Bardoux’s Brut Traditionnel is his non-vintage cuvée, and an excellent entree to the collection. A blend of 60% Pinot Meunier, 30% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Noir, this wine has the complexity and depth to match the finest bottles from Burgundy or Bordeaux. This year’s Traditionnel contains wine mostly from 2012, and we found it even better than last year’s. The nose shows plum and lemon and buttered biscuits; the mouth is dry, elegant, and smooth, with notes of apple and toast.

We can’t recommend this wine highly enough. For those new to Champagne, this wine will convert you with ease, and at $48/bot it won’t blow your budget. For those with a more Churchillian perspective on bubbles, this is as delicious and complex as any non-vintage grower Champagne we’ve had, and it’s impossible to match for value.

 

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Bardoux Champagne Traditionnel NV

Ansonia Retail: $56
3+ bottle price : $48/bot

 

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