Author: Thomas Wilcox

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Juicy, Refreshing New 2015 Red Burgundy: Earth and Cassis

The Domaine Ravaut is the ultimate local wine source. For 120 years the family has cultivated a loyal clientele of friends, neighbors, and workers at the stone quarry in the hamlet of Ladoix. Though they have expanded their reach in recent years, they still sell more than half of their wine to folks who walk in the front door.

Today the winemaker is Vincent Ravaut, a friendly, thirtysomething son who has mastered cellar work. His diligence and careful attention during vinification and ageing results in wines of perfect balance. We’re just now beginning to enjoy his 2015 reds, and they’re just as good as you’d imagine.

 

 

Today’s Ravaut wine is their Côte de Nuits Villages, from vines near the border with the Côte de Beaune. The 2015 is succulent and juicy, with bursting tannins and dark, pure fruit. Think the joie-de-vivre of a Cru Beaujolais with the refinement and class of Pinot Noir. Jancis Robinson agreed, finding it “robust” with a “fine, chalky texture” and “excellent freshness.”

Like most of the 2015 red Burgundies, this is a delightful, refreshing glass on its own. The nose shows raspberry jam, graphite, and cassis — it’s a seductive and utterly pleasant bouquet. But the ripe tannins are an excellent match for food, with notes of plum and earth on a persistent, lively finish.

Serve this with a roast chicken on a Sunday afternoon.

 

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Ravaut Côte de Nuits-Villages 2015

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

 

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Extraordinary New Vintage Grower Champagne.

Pascal Bardoux is a quiet, pensive winemaker. In Champagne, land of glitzy tasting rooms and glossy brochures, his humble demeanor and unassuming style distinguish him. Our tastings together are long and measured — each wine has time to develop in the glass, and a discussion follows involving precise references to rare fruits and other scents.

And Bardoux’s wines reward contemplation — they’re exceptionally complex and fine. The subtleties of Champagne can fall victim to its glamor and festive uses, but given time and attention, they can be as elegant as the finest wines of Burgundy and Bordeaux.

Bardoux lost 45% of his crop in 2010 to weather conditions, but the quality of what remained (a mere 300 cases worth) was exceptional. We’re excited today to release Bardoux’s 2010 Vintage Champagne — it’s the finest wine we’ve had from him, and, he believes, among the best he’s ever made.

 

 

Bardoux’s 2010 Champagne Millesimé is his first 100% blanc de blancs. It’s 100% chardonnay, and comes with an impressive collection of accolades. The Guide Hachette awarded a Coup de Coeur, finding it “rich, silky, and fresh.” It also won gold at the prestigious Effervescents du Monde competition, where it placed 8th in a field of 548 sparkling wines.

More than any other Bardoux wine, this cuvée distinguishes Champagne as head and shoulders above other sparkling wine. The nose shows anise, pomegranate and cream, with a subtle toastiness that’s both charming and serious. The mouth is smooth and long, with very fine bubbles, and notes of quince, grape skins, peach and plums.

This would elevate any event, from a grand Christmas dinner to a classy New Year’s party. Serve it with something creamy — a beurre blanc or veal medallions in cream — and you’ll get a glimpse of heaven.

 

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Bardoux Champange Millésimé 2010

Ansonia Retail: $84
3+ bottle price : $75/bot

 

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Rich, Affordable Grenache: the Perfect Cocktail Party Red.

The Holidays are a time to gather family and friends, reflect on the year gone by, and maybe open that special bottle you’ve been saving. This week we’ve highlighted some ideas for that celebratory bottle, from Vosne-Romanée to Grand Crus Burgundies to samplers in our 2017 Gift Guide.

But it’s also a season for holiday parties, where the need is more for hearty quantity than for perfectly-aged trophy bottles. For that need, we submit a recent favorite in the “everyday red” category: Bagatelle’s Colline d’Assignan 2015. It’s a smooth, straightforward, well balanced wine — one you don’t have to think hard about to enjoy.

Grown in Southern France’s Languedoc region, Bagatelle’s reds avoid that region’s trap of flatness and over-ripeness. By picking early enough, the winemakers here retain good structure and balancing acidity. Most of the domaine’s other wines are majority Sryah, and this one is Grenache-dominant for a redder, smoother feel.

At 13.5% alcohol, this is a perfect holiday cocktail party wine — it’s dense enough to stand up to cheese and crackers, but well balanced so as not to exhaust your guests’ palates or tolerances. Look for dark red berry fruit, a softened but lively mouthfeel, and a smooth, dry finish.

The Holidays are a great excuse to open that special bottle you’ve been saving. But when that thirsty nephew comes to visit, you’ll want this to help defend your cellar.

 

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Bagatelle St-Chinian “Colline” 2015

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

 

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Curated Six: the Grand Crus of Burgundy

In Burgundy, “Grand Cru” is as good as it gets. Grand Cru vineyards represent the top 1.3% of wines in the region, and while the other 98.7% of Burgundian wine can be excellent, there’s nothing quite like Grand Cru. It’s the finest Burgundy has to offer, served to kings and emperors for over a thousand years.

Grand Cru doesn’t come cheap, and we never have much. But special occasions call for special wines, and we like to have them around just in case. Here’s a collection of six Grand Crus, two whites and four reds — all from Grand Cru vineyards of Burgundy. They’ll make a lovely addition to your cellar, or unusually nice gifts for six of your closest friends or family members.

 

 

Ravaut Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2013 ($98)
Now the nose shows baked apples, juniper, and honey. The mouth is dense, spiced, rich, and impossibly long. As it ages, look for truffle, mushroom, and woodsy notes.

Collet Chablis Grand Cru “les Clos” 2015 ($80)
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.

Amiot Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2012 ($130)
Fine and quite dense — very dark berry fruit mixes with gingerbread and toast in the nose; and the mouth is long and concentrated, with good density and structure.

Quivy Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru 2013 ($160)
The Guide Hachette calls Quivy “undoubtedly one of the reference points in the appellation.” His Charmes Chambertin is his most elegant wine, showing a silky mouthfeel, baking spices, chocolate, violets, and earth.

Ravaut Corton-Bressandes Grand Cru 2014 ($98)
The nose is deep and woodsy, showing charcoal and cherry jam. The mouth is rich, dense, fine, and very smooth — you can almost taste the tiny, concentrated fruits packed into each sip.

Gros Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru 2013 ($175)
Put simply, this is the finest wine from our finest winemaker. From an enormous Grand Cru of variable quality, Michel’s plot is in the Grand Maupertuis neighborhood, considered the best in the vineyard. Burghound gave 94 points, finding “outstanding richness, volume and concentration.”

 

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Mixed Half-Case: Grand Cru Six Pack

Ansonia Retail: $741
sampler price : $645/half-case

 

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Crisp, Honest, Unoaked New Chablis. $25

The Burgundies of the Côte d’Or may be Chardonnay’s most refined expression, but its purest expression comes from the hillsides of Chablis. With no oak to compete with the fruit, this is Chardonnay showing only its essential elements.

It takes a talented winemaker to craft this unadorned version of the grape, and Romain Collet is just that. He became the principal winemaker at his family’s domaine a few years ago, and we (and the international wine press) have noticed an increase in wines that truly delight. “Oaky wines can be good,” he likes to say, “but they’re not Chablis.”

Collet’s 2016 crop was 75% below normal, a result of catastrophic frosts and hails. But while there isn’t much to go around, the quality of his 2016s is unusually good. His 2016 village level Chablis is easy, uncomplicated wine — bright and crisp, with clean ripe fruit and a smooth mouthfeel. Ripe meyer lemon notes accompany the tense mineral core to produce a beautifully balanced wine, noticeably more complex than most at its level.

Pairing this wine is easy — with no oak this matches up with anything from sushi to roast chicken to goat cheese on crackers. If it were summer we’d point you towards raw oysters. But with winter here and the holidays around the corner, try the charmingly out of date Oysters Rockefeller — a decadent December treat.

 

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Collet Chablis 2016

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6+ bottle price : $25/bot

 

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Magnificent Five Year Vosne-Romanée 1er cru: “Elegant,” “Opulent,” “Genius”

Michel Gros is as much a part of Vosne-Romanée as its pointed steeple, the ancient vineyards, and the 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.

Their 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.” It has long been a favorite of ours, and we recently acquired a few cases of the excellent 2012.

For Burgundian grace and prestige, not much matches this wine.

 

 

The 2012 vintage was very small in Burgundy. A cold, wet spring led to reduced yields, resulting in very concentrated wines. Wine writers anticipate long lives for these dense wines, but we’ve found they’ve already begun to show well. With an hour in a decanter and beside a choice cut of meat, the 2012s just sing these days.

Allen Meadows (Burghound) found the 2012 Réas has “exceptionally good richness…that completely coats the palate.” He called it an “opulent effort,” predicting it would be “approachable young if desired.” And though he noted Michel’s usually modesty on the subject of his own wines, Meadows called the 2012s “among the best I have seen from him.”

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. It’s not exactly at weeknight pricing, but special moments call for special wines. With the holidays approaching, we’re confident you can find an excuse to enjoy this exceptional wine.

 

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Michel Gros Vosne-Romanée 1er cru “Clos des Réas” 2012

Ansonia Retail: $150
1+ bottle price : $124/bot

 

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Rich, Dense, Extraordinary 2015 Crozes-Hermitage.

The finest Northern Rhône Syrahs are a study in finesse and subtlety. Their brilliance comes from the marriage of a dark, rich southern grape varietal with a cooler northern climate. Particularly in 2015, the wines show an exquisite balance between an inky meatiness and a brisk fruitiness.

We’ve yet to have a bad 2015 Northern Rhône Syrah, but even in a crowded field, Denis Basset’s old-vine Crozes-Hermitage “Fleur Enchanté” is a favorite. The Guide Hachette calls Basset’s wines “a model of balance and finesse;” we call them complex and delicious. With winter on the way, this bold, cozy wine will fit perfectly on a frigid evening.

 

 

The 2015 Fleur Enchantée shows dark blackberry and cassis fruit in the nose, with violet and cloves alongside. The mouth is remarkably dense and fine, with a balanced mouthfeel and an extremely long finish that shows peppercorn, plum, and wild cherry jam. From nearly 50 year old syrah vines and aged carefully for a year and a half before bottling, this is an extraordinarily mouthfilling Syrah.

It’d be an impressive wine at $40/bot, and no one would be disappointed. At $25, it has to be among the best buys in the lineup. If you’re a fan of Northern Rhône syrahs, you already know to expect great things from this wine. If you’re new to the region, 2015 is a great place to start.

 

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Saint-Clair Crozes-Hermitage “Fleur Enchantée” 2015

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Perfectly Aged 6-Year-Old Red Bordeaux. $25

Well aged wine is hard to come by these days. Today’s consumers often drink wines too early, or avoid age-worthy bottles all together. So whenever we can, we look for opportunities to import wines that are near their optimal drinking window.

Today’s wine isn’t one of the great wines of the world, and it isn’t even all that old. But it’s well made and from excellent terroir. It needed a few years to knit together, and now with six years under its belt it’s perfectly ready. It’s a rarity today: impeccably aged, perfectly mature red Bordeaux for under $30.

 

 

Lalande-de-Pomerol is a quiet neighbor of the famous town of Pomerol, home to some of the world’s most expensive wine. Our new producer here is the Domaine du Grand Ormeau — their Lalande de Pomerol is 80% Merlot, and 10% each of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. You won’t mistake this wine for Petrus, but you won’t mistake the price either.

The 2011 from Grande Ormeau is beautiful wine, aged in the cellar where it was bottled until this spring. The nose is soft and welcoming with notes of berry jam and forest floor. The mouth is smooth and lively, with perfectly softened tannins producing a sophisticated, serious but accessible mouthfeel.

With six years since the harvest, the oak of this wine has integrated seamlessly, and the tannins have reached perfect maturity. If there’s meat on your menu this holiday season — steak or lamb or even veal — consider serving this. Your guests will think you paid much more for it.

 

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Grand Ormeau Lalande-de-Pomerol 2011

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

 

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Dark, Refreshing New Côtes du Rhône: Lavender, Earth, and Plums. $19

Cotes-du-Rhône is one of the most recognizable brands in wine. From wine bars around the world to your local corner wine shop, there’s no shortage of Côtes du Rhône around. And such ubiquity can make it hard for wines to stand out.

We’ve long enjoyed the Côtes-du-Rhônes from Goubert, Malmont (coming back soon) and Coulange, but we’re excited to add a new one. Today’s is the 2014 Côtes du Rhône-Villages from the Château Maucoil, an estate at the northwestern end of Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

Our main criteria for Côtes du Rhône are threefold: it should be rich, inexpensive, and refreshing. The first two are easier to achieve, but the third can be tricky. And it’s exactly for its refreshing, perfectly balanced mouthfeel that we decided to add this wine to our lineup.

 

 

Maucoil’s 2014 Côtes du Rhône Village is a delightful blend of 50% Grenache, and 25% each of Carignan and Syrah. The nose is dark and earthy, with notes of licorice, leather and plums. In the mouth is dark and rich but strikingly lively — after a midweight palate of cherry jam and lavender, it finishes clean and very fresh.

This is a food Côtes-du-Rhône, perfect for cheese and crackers at your holiday party. (In fact if you’re dying for some and are within FedEx’s two-day range from Boston, we can ship you some for Thanksgiving.) For a rich Southern red that won’t tire your palate, look no further.

 

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Maucoil Côtes du Rhône-Villages 2014

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

 

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New 2015 Red Bordeaux: Rich, Smooth, “Beguiling.” $25

The 2015 growing season brought warm weather to nearly every region in France. The wines from Burgundy and the Northern Rhône are some of the finest in a generation. Those from the Southern Rhône are dense, very rich, and easy to enjoy. And the 2015 reds from Bordeaux are some of the smoothest and roundest in years.

The 2015 Bordeaux reds are not without structure, but the examples we’ve seen — particularly from the left bank — are soft and lush, with ripe fruit and a beguiling mouthfeel. We’ve just received the 2015 Lafont-Menaut from Pessac Leognan, and it’s delightful. We can’t say for certain how it will age, but open a bottle today and we’ll be surprised if you have any left in a year.

 

 

Lafont-Menaut is the second property from the owners of the prestigious Chateau Carbonnieux, a legendary Graves estate. The Perrins farm their less famous terroirs with the same care as Carbonnieux, and the Lafont-Menaut rouge is among the most consistent wines we import.

The 2015 is a smooth, bold, drink-now red Bordeaux — perfect for your guest with a taste for richer reds. Decanter’s Jane Anson called the 2015 “lovely” with a “gentle floral-edged minerality.” We found it chocolaty and chalky, with notes of dried roses, plums, toast, earth, and spice.

Many wines from Bordeaux require one mortgage to purchase the wine and another to build a cellar for decades of storage. The 2015 Lafont-Menaut requires neither — it’s a drink-now red Bordeaux for less than price of a fancy corkscrew.

 

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Lafont-Menaut Pessac-Leognan rouge 2015

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6+ bottle price : $25/bot

 

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Rich, Muscular New $25 Gamay: “Delicious and Refreshing.”

Beaujolais has always had a turbulent relationship with the rest of Burgundy. To many in the Côte d’Or, the Beaujolais represents overmarketed and undercrafted wine. But in recent years the Beaujolais has undergone a renaissance, as the prominence of Nouveau recedes and more vignerons make ageworthy wine.

Among our favorite serious Beaujolais sources is Laurent Perrachon, a multigenerational domaine working very old vines with meticulous care. Perrachon has more fans than just us — the domaine regularly receives top notes from Jancis Robinson, Josh Raynolds (Vinous), and Allen Meadows (Burghound).

 

 

Jancis Robinson calls Moulin-a-Vent the “most highly rated of all the Beaujolais crus,” and after a sip of today’s wine it’s not hard to see why. Perrachon’s Moulin-a-Vent “Les Burdelines” is as dense and bold as any Beaujolais we’ve tasted. As with Perrachon’s other wines, this bears more resemblance in mouthfeel to a Northern Rhône Syrah than a Pinot from Burgundy.

Today’s release is of the 2014 Burdelines, a wine Burghound awarded 90 points and called “delicious and refreshing.” Perrachon keeps this wine in oak for a bit longer to help it knit together, and so the current release is a year behind their other wines. The last few bottles of last year’s 2013 Burdelines were some of the most enjoyable Beaujolais we’ve ever had, and we expect the 2014 to age with similar verve.

Today, however, the 2014 “Burdelines” needs a half an hour in a carafe, a hearty meal (such as Thanksgiving), and a rowdy group of friends. Look for anise, cherry, black pepper, and stones on the nose, with a dense, chewy mouthfeel and notes of briary cassis and black raspberry. This isn’t a Beaujolais you’ll forget about soon — it may be only twice the price of the Nouveau, but it’s easily ten times the wine.

 

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Perrachon Moulin-a-Vent “Burdelines” 2014

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

 

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White Burgundy in Perfect Balance: Ravaut’s $25 Bourgogne Returns.

Round. Burgundy is where Chardonnay finds its finest expression. In cold climates, the grape can be acidic and thin; in hot climates, it runs the risk of high alcohol and over extraction. But in Burgundy, Chardonnay has the potential to strike its most elegant balance between soft, mouthfilling fruit, and crisp, refreshing acidity.

No one walks this line between fullness and crispness better than the Domaine Ravaut. The Ravaut family’s whites include some of the best we know, including an extraordinary, age-worthy Grand Cru Corton-Charlemagne. But today’s offer is for their simplest — a Bourgogne blanc that combines the golden texture of elegant Chardonnay with a vibrant line of freshness.

 

 

Pears.  The Ravaut Family is a low-profile domaine in an often-forgotten town. They continue to sell most of their wine to loyal customers who visit their front door, and during our tastings their cellars are often crowded with visitors from Paris and elsewhere in France. The Ravauts fly mostly below the radar of the international wine press, and we feel lucky to have found them.

From a ripe, early drinking year, the Ravaut Bourgogne Blanc is an effortlessly drinkable glass of wine. The nose is expressive and attractive, showing pear and coconut, with a hint of lemon peel. The mouth is round and soft, with notes of almond and toast balanced by green apple freshness. There’s more chalky length than you’d expect from a wine of this level.

This is a perfect autumn-weight white Burgundy — lively and energetic, but full of rich mouthfilling fruit that coats the palate in style.

 

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Ravaut Bourgogne blanc 2015

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

 

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Mixed Case: Gros/Amiot Sampler

The best known domaines in our portfolio are two sources of classic Red Burgundy: the Domaine Michel Gros and the Domaine Pierre Amiot. Their wineries are just three miles apart, and they both farm plots along the world’s most famous stretch of vines. Winemakers Michel Gros and Jean-Louis Amiot were even grade school friends.

Their styles are slightly different — Gros’s wines tend more towards elegance, Amiot’s towards richness — but they represent some of the finest red Burgundies in our portfolio. We have collected four of our favorites, from four different towns and vintages. These are pure, masterfully made Pinot Noir from some of the most talented winemakers in Burgundy.

 

 

GROS Nuits-St-Georges 2012
The nose is expressive and silky, showing roasted cherries, earth, and toast. There’s still some round tannin in this wine, which should carry it easily for several more years. But the bottles we opened earlier this week were elegant and delicious immediately.

AMIOT Morey-St-Denis 1er cru “Charmes” 2014
The Charmes nose is bright and delicate, with fine mineral notes joining roses. It’s lively and expressive, more pretty and nuanced than rich and mouthfilling. Serve now with food or a decanter; in 5 years it’ll be even more charming.

GROS Vosne-Romanée 2014
Michel’s Vosne-Romanée is impossibly elegant. Showing classic violets and spice, the nose is enticing and seductive, with a long, perfectly crafted mouthfeel. As it opens up in the glass, notes of mushrooms, licorice, and cassis join the spice.

AMIOT Gevrey-Chambertin 1er “Combottes” 2014
From a premier cru vineyard surrounded by five grand crus, Combottes shows unusual depth and intensity. The nose is beautifully dark and floral nose, with notes of spice and mushrooms. The mouth is intense and rich, showing cassis, dark cherries and earth.

 

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Mixed Case: Gros/Amiot Sampler

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sampler price : $795/case

 

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90-point Premier Cru Volnay: Velvet and Silk in a Glass.

The wines of Burgundy are not known for their weight. Their grape is Pinot Noir, a delicate, thin-skinned grape that is relatively light in color. The region is relatively northern, and it’s often a struggle for the grapes to ripen fully.

But what they lack in weight, they more than make up in elegance. The reds of Burgundy are unmatched in their ability to convey complexity, subtlety, and grace. In the Côte de Nuits it’s hard to pick a favorite town, but in the Côte de Beaune one name stands above the rest.

Volnay embodies the velvety silkiness of red Burgundy as well as any town in the region. Our producer here is the Domaine Roger Belland, who marries Volnay’s elegance with the domaine’s approachable style. The result is exceptionally fine red Burgundy, that’s also drinkable young.

 

 

Master of Wine Jasper Morris highlights three premier crus as the finest vineyards in the town: Caillerets, Champans, and Santenots. (Texts from 1855 and 1920 single out the same three.) And so from a town with no Grand Crus, these wines are as good as Volnay gets. This Volnay is from the premier cru Santenots vineyard, right along the border with Meursault.

Belland’s 2014 Volnay-Santenots is seriously good wine. The nose shows plum, blackberry and spice; the mouth is tense and full, with fine tannins, and a savory, gamey finish. Burghound awarded 90 points, finding “really lovely detail,” “discreet floral aromas,” and “generous medium weight flavors.” This is richer than much Volnay, but doesn’t lack at all for subtlety and refinement.

Picture an old stone chateau on a hillside in Burgundy, on a drafty winter evening a century ago. There’s a crackling fireplace, flickering candles, and a hearty meat on the table — this Volnay is the wine in the glass.

 

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Belland Volnay 1er cru “Santenots” 2014

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2+ bottle price : $59/bot

 

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2015 Crozes-Hermitage Returns: “The Best in 55 Years.”

Much has been written about the 2015 vintage in Burgundy, one of the best in a generation. But the vintage also brought impressive wines from elsewhere in France. In particular, the syrah-based wines of the Northern Rhône had a banner year in 2015. Master of Wine Jancis Robinson in a recent article proclaimed them “the best in 55 years.”

We don’t open 1962 Hermitage very often, so we’ll have to take her word for it. But we can say that they’re extraordinary wines — inky, dark, and mouthfilling but with exceptional balance and refined tannins. We sold out of this wine quickly back in August, but we’ve just restocked — and today it’s drinking better than ever.

 

 

The Northern Rhone is a geographic and stylistic halfway point between Burgundy and the South. The reds of the region combine Burgundy’s tradition of elegant, unblended wines with the South’s darker, richer grape varietals. The result is a marriage of Northern refinement and sun-baked Southern richness.

Denis Basset is a young winemaker who is passionate and very talented — the latest issue of the Guide Hachette featured two of his four wines, an impressive feat for a winemaker whose first vintage was only five years ago. His 2015 Crozes-Hermitage is a triumph — impossibly intense and concentrated, but at 13.5% alcohol a balanced and refreshing glass as well.

This wine has many happy years ahead of it, but with a decanter and a sturdy meal alongside, it’s a delight today. The color is a inky black-purple, with a savory nose showing cloves, blackberries and violets. The mouth is astonishingly dense, with young but polished tannins, and classic notes of plum and black pepper. We might not see another vintage like this until 2072.

 

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Saint Clair Crozes-Hermitage “Etincelle” 2015

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6+ bottle price : $22/bot

 

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