Author: Thomas Wilcox

Posted on by

Smooth New Grenache Blend: Berries and Lavender. $16

Barbecue.  For most people, the summer is rosé and white wine season. We’re thrilled to help in both categories (look for the Goubert Rosé release on Friday), but for something smoky off the grill, or for a cool midsummer evening, it’s helpful to have some red around.

Some of our favorite affordable reds from the last few years are from the Clos Bagatelle in St-Chinian. 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. They’re perfect everyday sippers for the summer.

Uncomplicated.  For several years we’ve stocked Bagatelle’s two syrah-based wines, “Tradition” and “Veillée d’Automne.” Today we’re excited to introduce a third. The “Colline d’Assignan” is majority grenache, though there’s also syrah and carignan. The large proportion of grenache means the fruits are redder and smoother than those of Bagatelle’s other cuvées, but we’re confident anyone who liked the other two will enjoy this one as well.

The 2015 Colline d’Assignan doesn’t require a lot of thought or contemplation — it’s simple, well-made, and remarkably easy to drink. The nose is very expressive, with red berry fruits and hints of black pepper and lavender. In the mouth it’s smooth and full, with a clean finish giving notes of the woodsy local underbrush known as garrigue. We like to serve it slightly cool.

This won’t be the fanciest wine you have this summer. But for an outdoor barbeque or even a glass after a long day of work, it’s hard to imagine a better match.

________________________

BAGATELLE “St-Chinian” Colline 2015
Ansonia Retail: $20
6+ bottle price: $16/bot

_
AVAILABLE IN    6-    AND   12-  BOTTLE LOTS

_

 

Email Tom to place an order.
or call Tom: (617) 249-3657

 

_
_

_____________________________

Sign up to receive these posts in your inbox:

_

_____________________________

 

Terms of sale. Ansonia Wines MA sells wine to individual consumers who are 21 or more years of age, for personal consumption and not for resale.  All sales are completed and title passes to purchasers in Massachusetts.  Ansonia Wines MA arranges for shipping on behalf of its customers upon request and where applicable laws permit.

Posted on by

Mixed Case: Loire Valley Sampler

The Loire Valley is a pastoral land of magnificent chateaux and humble goat cheese makers. The range of wines across its 250 mile expanse is just as dramatic: sparkling and still, dry and sweet, and everything from almost-clear Muscadet to deep purple Chinon. There’s a wine here for almost every taste.

For this case we’ve collected three wines from all across the region. From the west, a Muscadet — grown where the Loire Valley meets the windswept Atlantic coast. From the east, a pure Sauvignon Blanc from Pouilly-Fumé. And from the middle, a delightful unoaked Cabernet Franc with pure fruit and refreshing minerality.

MARTIN-LUNEAU Muscadet Gorges 13
This very dry wine is made from the Melon de Bourgogne grape — it’s unoaked and raised on the lees for several years, giving it both a smooth richness and an exceptional liveliness. Pair this with oysters and you’ll be in heaven.

MICHOT Pouilly-Fumé 2015
This pure Sauvignon Blanc comes from a town across the river from Sancerre. Raised in stainless steel, this refreshing wine shows notes of honeysuckle, grapefruit, flint, and minerals. Pair this with any fish or shellfish.

DEMOIS Chinon VV 2014
This is pure Cabernet Franc from the central Loire Valley. It’s unoaked and from old vines, giving it a freshness and density that pairs beautifully with food. Look for notes of cranberries and graphite, and pair with fresh chèvre.

________________________

 

_

LOIRE VALLEY SAMPLER

4x   Martin-Luneau Muscader “Gorges” 13:   $24
4x   Michot Pouilly-Fumé 2015:   $20
4x   Demois Chinon Vieilles Vignes 2014:   $24


Ansonia Retail: $272
offer price: $235/case

free East Coast shipping    |    save $37

_ 

Email Tom to place an order.

_
–
– _

_____________________________

Sign up to receive these posts in your inbox:

_.

_____________________________

Terms of sale. Ansonia Wines MA sells wine to individual consumers who are 21 or more years of age, for personal consumption and not for resale.  All sales are completed and title passes to purchasers in Massachusetts.  Ansonia Wines MA arranges for shipping on behalf of its customers upon request and where applicable laws permit.

Posted on by

Elegant, Unoaked Chardonnay: Premier Cru Chablis. $25

Unique.  Chablis is a singular place. Its combination of deep stony soils 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.

Cyril Gautheron is a rising star here. The Gautheron Family has made wine in Chablis for 200 years, but Cyril has taken the reins with an unusual passion. Our visits with him regularly run late as he explains the intricacies of his family’s property, and shows us unblended lots from dozens of plots.

Today’s wine, the Chablis 1er cru “Vaucoupin” is pure, elegant Chardonnay. In an era where many Chablis vignerons add oak to their 1er crus, Gautheron keeps his entirely unoaked, allowing the stony soil to show through as delicate minerality.

Flint.  Yesterday we opened the newest vintage of Vaucoupin, and it’s simply a delight. We served it alongside a few dozen oysters, and it reminded us why the pairing is so famous. The Vaucoupin has 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.

The Vaucoupin 2015 is rounder than much Chablis — the old vines, premier cru classification, and sunny vintage create a wine that drinks really nicely on its own. But make no mistake: this is crisp, lively, and fresh. Cyril has managed to keep an impressive amount of acidity. The nose shows lemon rind and salt air; the mouth is smooth and full but with a crisp line of refreshing minerality.

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.

________________________

GAUTHERON Chablis 1er cru “Vaucoupin” 2015
Ansonia Retail: $30
6+ bottle price: $25/bot

_
AVAILABLE IN    6-    AND   12-  BOTTLE LOTS

_

 

Email Tom to place an order.
or call Tom: (617) 249-3657

 

_
_

_____________________________

Sign up to receive these posts in your inbox:

_

_____________________________

 

Terms of sale. Ansonia Wines MA sells wine to individual consumers who are 21 or more years of age, for personal consumption and not for resale.  All sales are completed and title passes to purchasers in Massachusetts.  Ansonia Wines MA arranges for shipping on behalf of its customers upon request and where applicable laws permit.

Posted on by

“Beguiling” 93-point Premier Cru Red Burgundy: “Utterly Delicious”

Almost Grand Cru.  In Burgundy as in real estate, location is everything. Today’s wine comes from a vineyard classified Premier Cru but surrounded by five Grand Crus. It sits along the famous stretch of Grand Crus between Morey-St-Denis and Gevrey-Chambertin, and many believe its classification has as much to do with centuries-ago politics as with terroir.

But whether it’s a secret would-be Grand Cru, or just a perfectly positioned Premier Cru, one thing is settled — the “Combottes” vineyard turns out magnificent wine. The Domaine Pierre Amiot is based in Morey-St-Denis, but makes a few hundred cases each year from this plot just over the border in Gevrey.

 

Impeccable.  Today we’re offering the Combottes from 2014, an excellent year in which Amiot excelled. The wine is young but already exceptional — the nose is dark and sweetly floral, with notes of spice, plum, and earth. The mouth is dense and sappy with an rich, mouthfilling concentration. Burghound awarded 91-93 points, finding “utterly delicious flavors,” and an “impeccably well-balanced finish.”

Most red Burgundy improves with age — Combottes today is twice as delicious as it was when it arrived last year, and given another few years it will likely show even better. But life is short, and when a wine tastes this good this young, no one will fault you for opening it early.

________________________

AMIOT Gevrey-Chambertin 1er cru “Combottes” 2014
Ansonia Retail: $102
2+ bottle price: $88/bot

_
AVAILABLE IN    2-    3-    6-    AND   12-  BOTTLE LOTS

_

 

Email Tom to place an order.
or call Tom: (617) 249-3657

 

_
_

_____________________________

Sign up to receive these posts in your inbox:

_

_____________________________

 

Terms of sale. Ansonia Wines MA sells wine to individual consumers who are 21 or more years of age, for personal consumption and not for resale.  All sales are completed and title passes to purchasers in Massachusetts.  Ansonia Wines MA arranges for shipping on behalf of its customers upon request and where applicable laws permit.

Posted on by

Melon and Salt Air: Crisp, Refreshing New Muscadet. $19

Dry.  Value is subjective when it comes to wine. A $60 bottle of Burgundy might seem a steal to some, an extravagance to others. But nearly everyone agrees that Muscadet is just about the best bargain going.

Muscadet is a crisp, precise, dry white wine that is the essence of freshness. It’s also abundant and inexpensive. Made from the Melon de Bourgogne grape, the best examples are raised “sur lie” (on the lees) to add complexity. 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.

Fresh.  Today’s wine comes from one of these three leaders in the new wave of Muscadet. Martin-Luneau is a family domaine farming old vines on the plains south of Nantes. Today we’re pleased to release the 2013 Gorges Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine. Combining exceptional terroir with extended years on the lees, this is an unusually complex take on a classic.

The 2013 Gorges is the perfect antidote to summer heat. It’s pure and clean, showing melon, dried spring flowers, and lemon zest. The mouth is smooth and very dry, with notes of salt air, stones, and green apple skins. It’s refreshing and full of energy.

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. Moules Marinières is the choice of the winemakers, and as you might expect, the match is magnificent.

________________________

MARTIN-LUNEAU Muscadet “Gorges” 2013
Ansonia Retail: $24
6+ bottle price: $19/bot

_
AVAILABLE IN    6-    AND   12-  BOTTLE LOTS

_

 

Email Tom to place an order.
or call Tom: (617) 249-3657

 

_
_

_____________________________

Sign up to receive these posts in your inbox:

_

_____________________________

 

Terms of sale. Ansonia Wines MA sells wine to individual consumers who are 21 or more years of age, for personal consumption and not for resale.  All sales are completed and title passes to purchasers in Massachusetts.  Ansonia Wines MA arranges for shipping on behalf of its customers upon request and where applicable laws permit.

Posted on by

An Old Favorite Côtes-du-Rhône Returns. $14.95

Drinkable.  Côtes du Rhône is one of the world’s most widely recognizable wine brands. There’s a wide range of styles out there, and we have favorites in many camps. For rustic and rugged we like the Domaine les Goubert. For refined and serious, we like the Domaine Malmont. But for easygoing, fruit-forward, and effortlessly drinkable, it’s hard to beat the Domaine Coulange.

Coulange’s Côtes du Rhône is named “Mistral” for the strong northwesterly wind that blows into Provence. The wind is a blessing to winemakers, drying their grapes and keeping their vineyards healthy. We’re excited to have this old favorite back in stock after a few months, just in time for summer enjoyment.

 

Smooth.  Winemaker Christelle Coulange returned to the family property after oenology school, and began to make and bottle her own wine (previously the family sold in bulk). In only a decade she has made quite a name for herself. She seems to win gold or silver at the Côtes du Rhône tastings every year — the 2015 offered today took the gold at the Gilbert & Gaillard International Concours in 2016.

The 2015 Mistral is delightful, an unoaked blend of 80% grenache and 20% syrah. 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, very smooth tannins and a clean finish. It’s not serious or complex, but for a weekday evening it’s everything you need.

________________________

COULANGE Côtes du Rhône “Mistral” 2015
Ansonia Retail: $18
6+ bottle price: $14.95/bot

_
AVAILABLE IN    6-    AND   12-  BOTTLE LOTS

_

 

Email Tom to place an order.
or call Tom: (617) 249-3657

 

_
_

_____________________________

Sign up to receive these posts in your inbox:

_

_____________________________

 

Terms of sale. Ansonia Wines MA sells wine to individual consumers who are 21 or more years of age, for personal consumption and not for resale.  All sales are completed and title passes to purchasers in Massachusetts.  Ansonia Wines MA arranges for shipping on behalf of its customers upon request and where applicable laws permit.

Posted on by

Peach, Hazelnut, and White Flowers: New 2015 Meursault

Class.  If you ever need to convert someone to white Burgundy, pour them a glass of Meursault. Made from pure Chardonnay and grown in soils balanced between marl and chalk, Meursault is some of most opulent white wine in the world. Chardonnay can make rich, mouthfilling wines in most locations — but those from Meursault also contain elegance, minerality, and balance.

The town’s low water table means the vines reach deep into the earth for water, pulling minerals and nutrients from deep root systems. The chalk and other minerals in the soil bring a freshness and balancing minerality to the best Meursault. We meet plenty of people who tell us they don’t like Chardonnay, particularly when raised in oak — but we have yet to find someone who doesn’t enjoy Meursault.

Masterful.  We used to describe Vincent Boyer as a young, up and coming winemaker in Meursault. But at this point he has definitely arrived. It’s hard to imagine how Boyer’s wines could get any better, but every year we visit — even through the last several difficult vintages — his quality seems to improve.

This year we’re excited to introduce a new wine — the Cuvée Fernand Boyer. It’s a blend of four village-level plots in Meursault, and named for Vincent’s grandfather, the founder of the domaine. Like all of Vincent’s wines, it’s exceptionally well made; but because it’s from several plots it offers a slightly friendlier price tag.

The 2015 “Fernand Boyer” is classic Meursault. The nose shows stone fruits like white peaches and nectarines, and a lovely balance between tropical and citrus notes. The oak influence is very light, and in this ripe year Vincent has let the pure fruit and beautiful white flowers shine through. The mouth is rich and smooth but full of energy, with a long, smooth finish. Shellfish or pork tenderloin would match this nicely, but all it really requires is a glass.

________________________

BOYER-MARTENOT Meursault “Fernand Boyer” 2015
Ansonia Retail: $56
3+ bottle price: $49/bot

_
AVAILABLE IN   3-     6-    AND   12-  BOTTLE LOTS

_

 

Email Tom to place an order.
or call Tom: (617) 249-3657

 

_
_

_____________________________

Sign up to receive these posts in your inbox:

_

_____________________________

 

Terms of sale. Ansonia Wines MA sells wine to individual consumers who are 21 or more years of age, for personal consumption and not for resale.  All sales are completed and title passes to purchasers in Massachusetts.  Ansonia Wines MA arranges for shipping on behalf of its customers upon request and where applicable laws permit.

Posted on by

The World’s Finest Expression of Syrah: 92 Point Côte Rôtie

Balance. At a glance, Côte Rôtie might seem the last place in the world to grow vines. The steep slopes reach 60 degrees in places, and so all field work — planting, pruning, treating, harvesting — must be done entirely by hand. And yet the citizens of this land have tended vines here since Roman times. What makes them continue to work this land?

Pour yourself a glass of Côte Rôtie and your questions will evaporate. Syrah from Côte Rôtie is unlike any other, at once dense and balanced, inky and crisp, mouthfilling and fresh. Christophe Bonnefond and his brother Patrick produce small batch wines of pure, concentrated syrah. Josh Raynolds calls their style “extroverted,” “friendly,” and “refined.”

Ink-like.  The Bonnefonds produce exceptional red wines, with notes of dark fruits and spice. They are rich without being heavy – only 13% alcohol – and there’s an attractive liveliness often lacking in Syrah from the Southern Hemisphere. Bonnefond wines will age with no trouble for ten or more years. Their 2014s are delightful — last month we restocked their extraordinary luxury cuvée “Côte Rozier,” today we’re releasing their more readily approachable “Colline de Couzou.”

The nose on the 2014 is perfumed but serious, with toasted dark red fruits, spices like clove and lavender, and notes of dried violets. In the mouth the tannins are punchy, with fruit notes of cherry and blackberry jam, alongside black pepper and licorice. Josh Raynolds of Vinous awarded 92 points, finding “sappy black and blue fruit flavors and a jolt of peppery spices.”

We wouldn’t be the first to volunteer to work the vertiginous “fields” of Bonnefond’s vineyards, but we’re certainly glad someone does.

________________________

BONNEFOND Côte Rôtie 2014
Ansonia Retail: $54
3+ bottle price: $45/bot

_
AVAILABLE IN   3-     6-    AND   12-  BOTTLE LOTS

_

 

Email Tom to place an order.
or call Tom: (617) 249-3657

 

_
_

_____________________________

Sign up to receive these posts in your inbox:

_

_____________________________

 

Terms of sale. Ansonia Wines MA sells wine to individual consumers who are 21 or more years of age, for personal consumption and not for resale.  All sales are completed and title passes to purchasers in Massachusetts.  Ansonia Wines MA arranges for shipping on behalf of its customers upon request and where applicable laws permit.

Posted on by

Crisp, Thirst-Quenching Pinot Noir Rosé. $16

Crisp.  Francis Muré lives in a charming Alsatian hill town. His farmhouse nestles on vine-covered slopes near stone streets lined with colorful flower boxes. It’s idyllic, quaint, and picturesque, like something from a fairy tale.

Muré’s wines are a perfect representation of their pastoral origin. Today we’re suggesting his rosé, an uncomplicated, refreshing, delightful glass of wine — perfect for the summer heat arriving this week. We can’t all live in such a beautiful place as the Alsace, but a glass of this rosé will transport you there, at least for a moment.

Summertime.  Muré splits the fruit from his Pinot Noir harvest into two wines: the bright, summer-weight red Pinot Noir, and this rosé. Where the notes in the red are mostly wild cherries, the rosé is more floral, and the fruit is closer to strawberry.

Our requirements for rosé are low alcohol, good acidity, and an affordable price. Muré’s Rosé clocks in at 12.5%, and has a lovely, elegant balance. The cool, ripe fruits round out beautifully in the mouth, but the gentle acidity keeps it lively and fresh. The nose shows fresh herbs, wild strawberries, and dandelions. The mouth is cool and crisp, showing strawberry preserves and bright spring flowers.

For the heat arriving this week, Mure’s Rosé is as useful as an umbrella in April. Take a glass outside to your back yard, patio, or roof deck — you might even get some gardening done.

________________________

MURÉ Rosé 2015
Ansonia Retail: $20
6+ bottle price: $16/bot

_
AVAILABLE IN    6-    AND   12-  BOTTLE LOTS

_

 

Email Tom to place an order.
or call Tom: (617) 249-3657

 

_
_

_____________________________

Sign up to receive these posts in your inbox:

_

_____________________________

 

Terms of sale. Ansonia Wines MA sells wine to individual consumers who are 21 or more years of age, for personal consumption and not for resale.  All sales are completed and title passes to purchasers in Massachusetts.  Ansonia Wines MA arranges for shipping on behalf of its customers upon request and where applicable laws permit.

Posted on by

Mixed Case: Everyday Red Burgundies

It’s getting harder to find bargains in Burgundy. Demand continues to increase, and the small supply is even smaller after a string of difficult years in the vines. At many domaines, the least available cuvées are at the Bourgogne level.

But we do our best to find and stock Burgundies for everyday drinking. Though the region produces some of the most expensive and ageworthy wines in the world, it’s also home to excellent petits vins. We’ve collected four of our favorite reds, all designed for weeknight enjoyment.

Desvignes Givry 1er cru 2014
Located in the Côte Chalonnaise, just south of the more famous Côte d’Or, Givry produces a more rugged, lively version of Pinot Noir. Desvignes 1er cru Givry is delicious, showing a rich, ripe mouthfeel, excellent energy, and notes of cherries, toast, and earth.

Monnet Juliénas VV 2015
Though we’ll admit this Burgundy isn’t Pinot Noir (it’s Gamay), we include it here because it’s richer and finer than many Bourgogne-level pinots we’ve had. The wine is inky dark and smooth with cool, refreshing fruit, and notes of cranberries, graphite, and underbrush.

Ravaut Côte de Nuits Villages 2014
This wine is made from several plots in the Côte de Nuits, and shows the cool berry fruit for which the northern half of the Côte d’Or is known. The nose shows cassis jam, and the mouth has cool, crackling tannins; Jancis Robinson found it “succulent with a lovely, fresh, juicy finish.”

Bouree Bourgogne 2015
This Bourgogne comes from Pierre Bourée, an old school producer in Gevrey-Chambertin. The wine is dark and brooding in the nose, with raspberries and stewed cherries. In the mouth it’s perfectly ripe, with juicy tannins, great length, and a clean, delicious finish.

________________________

 

_

EVERYDAY RED BURGUNDIES

3x   Desvignes Givry 1er 2014:   $30
3x   Monnet Juliénas Vieilles Vignes 2015:   $20
3x   Ravaut Côte de Nuits-Villages 2014:   $36
3x   Bourée Bourgogne 2015:   $30


Ansonia Retail: $348
offer price: $285/case

free East Coast shipping    |    save $63

_ 

Email Tom to place an order.

_
–
– _

_____________________________

Sign up to receive these posts in your inbox:

_.

_____________________________

Terms of sale. Ansonia Wines MA sells wine to individual consumers who are 21 or more years of age, for personal consumption and not for resale.  All sales are completed and title passes to purchasers in Massachusetts.  Ansonia Wines MA arranges for shipping on behalf of its customers upon request and where applicable laws permit.

Posted on by

“Rustic and Elegant:” Inky Syrah, Wild Yeasts, and the Ancient Craft of Winemaking.

Natural.  Winemaking began in the Languedoc around 125 BC, and over the last two millennia, little has changed in the basic chemistry. Though the past century has seen the advent of new chemicals and measurements, winemaking is still the combination of grapes, yeast, and time.

The winemakers at the Mas Foulaquier return to this simple alchemy. Their pesticide-free vineyards are archetypes of polyculture, with wildflowers and insects at home amid the rows of vines. And it’s from these vibrant vineyards that the winemakers obtain both 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.

 

En Plein Air.  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 the hard work and care pay off. These are some of the finest and most consistent biodynamic wines we import.

Today we’re releasing the 2014 “ Calades,” a syrah-based wine of a beautiful dark, inky hue. In the nose this wine could almost be mistaken for a Northern Rhône Syrah, showing the grape’s signature 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 carefully balanced.

This wine perfectly captures the northern Languedoc’s ruggedly beautiful landscape, a blend of silky elegance and rustic earthiness. Wherever you are, open this outside if you can — take a sip, close your eyes, and reconnect with the natural world.

________________________

FOULAQUIER Calades 2014
Ansonia Retail: $30
6+ bottle price: $25/bot

_
AVAILABLE IN    6-    AND   12-  BOTTLE LOTS

_

 

Email Tom to place an order.
or call Tom: (617) 249-3657

 

_
_

_____________________________

Sign up to receive these posts in your inbox:

_

_____________________________

 

Terms of sale. Ansonia Wines MA sells wine to individual consumers who are 21 or more years of age, for personal consumption and not for resale.  All sales are completed and title passes to purchasers in Massachusetts.  Ansonia Wines MA arranges for shipping on behalf of its customers upon request and where applicable laws permit.

Posted on by

Elegant, Vibrant, and Intense: Golden 2014 Puligny-Montrachet

Elegance. “Puligny-Montrachet is where Burgundian Chardonnay is at its most complete,” writes Clive Coates MW. The tiny town, covering over less than one square mile, has made highly sought-after wine for nearly a thousand years. Today many consider it, as Coates puts it, “the greatest white wine commune on earth.”

What makes this tiny corner of Burgundy so special? On the ground, it’s a combination of soil content (limestone, clay, and other minerals), slope, and exposition. Nearly every white Burgundy from the 2014 vintage has impressed us — the year produced wines with a perfect balance of richness and acidity — but the 2014s from Puligny-Montrachet are nothing short of exceptional.

 

Famous.  Vincent Boyer is a young winemaker who has gained wide critical acclaim in recent years. His remarkable skill and excellent terroir hide behind his shy and humble personality. Boyer’s domaine and most of his vines are in Meursault, but today we’re offering his village-level 2014 Puligny-Montrachet, from the Reuchaux vineyard. It’s a winemaking success as great as any Vincent has achieved.

The 2014 Puligny-Montrachet Reuchaux is elegance personified — the nose is very expressive, showing lime rind, chalk dust, white flowers, herbs and lemon. The mouth is concentrated and rich, but beautifully vibrant and very long, with an exceptional balance of fleshiness and mineral freshness. Look for notes of peach, spring flowers, straw, and white pepper. Burghound was similarly enthusiastic, awarding 90 points, and citing “generous flavors,” “excellent intensity,” and calling it a “very fine Puligny villages.”

Puligny’s freshness makes it an excellent food wine, and this will add unrivaled elegance to your dish of veal, chicken, or fish. Vincent himself likes scallops with his Puligny — this three-ingredient preparation is one of our favorites. It’s an extraordinary wine from an exceptional year.

________________________

BOYER-MARTENOT Puligny-Montrachet “Reuchaux” 2014
Ansonia Retail: $68
3+ bottle price: $59/bot

_
AVAILABLE IN   3-    6-    AND   12-  BOTTLE LOTS

_

 

Email Tom to place an order.
or call Tom: (617) 249-3657

 

_
_

_____________________________

Sign up to receive these posts in your inbox:

_

_____________________________

 

Terms of sale. Ansonia Wines MA sells wine to individual consumers who are 21 or more years of age, for personal consumption and not for resale.  All sales are completed and title passes to purchasers in Massachusetts.  Ansonia Wines MA arranges for shipping on behalf of its customers upon request and where applicable laws permit.

Posted on by

“Exceptionally Rich” 2015 Premier Cru Red Burgundy, 90 points.

Perfection.  The 2015 vintage in Red Burgundy has been called one of the best in decades. Ideal growing conditions produced perfectly ripe fruit, resulting in wines that are full bodied, deeply colored, and simply delicious. We tasted over a hundred during our tasting trip last month, and the vintage is undoubtedly one of the best we’ve seen.

Many of the wines, however, will require aging to reach their potential. Ripe, sturdy tannins should carry these wines well into the future, and some of the finest cuvées will seem young for several years to come.

But not all of them. Winemakers like Roger Belland in Santenay make wines for the much shorter term. They’re drinkable young every year, and in a vintage like 2015, they are already delightful. If you’re eager to get your hands on this legendary vintage, but don’t have the patience or cellar space to hang on to them, today’s wine is for you.

Drink-Now.  Roger Belland and his daughter Julie are 5th and 6th generation winemakers in Santenay, at the southern end of the Côte d’Or. They have avoided pesticides for decades, and create ripe, delicious wines year in and year out. Their 2015 Santenay 1er cru “Beauregard” shows everything that is great about this vintage: perfectly rounded tannins, abundant ripe fruit, and a mouthfilling, sturdy finish. It’s further evidence that the 2015 vintage added its prestige to wines at every level.

Wine Critic Allen Meadows (Burghound) awarded this wine 90 points, citing “exceptionally rich flavors,” “liqueur-like aromas of plum and earth,” and a “delicious, sappy, and palate-coating finish.” We agree, finding notes of currants and minerals, with a particularly complex and silky mouthfeel that is both lively and long.

There are certainly more age-worthy red Burgundies from the 2015 vintage. But right now, you can enjoy an expertly made red Burgundy from an exceptionally fine vintage — and one that doesn’t require a cellar.

________________________

BELLAND Santenay 1er cru red 2015
Ansonia Retail: $42
3+ bottle price : $35/bot

_
AVAILABLE IN    3-    6-   AND  12-   BOTTLE LOTS

 

 

Email Tom to place an order.
or call Tom: (617) 249-3657

 

_
_

_____________________________

Sign up to receive these posts in your inbox:

_.

_____________________________

Terms of sale. Ansonia Wines MA sells wine to individual consumers who are 21 or more years of age, for personal consumption and not for resale.  All sales are completed and title passes to purchasers in Massachusetts.  Ansonia Wines MA arranges for shipping on behalf of its customers upon request and where applicable laws permit.

Posted on by

May Futures: Introduction

It’s always a pleasure to arrive in France for a tasting trip. We do so often enough now that we know which way to go for the luggage, where to grab a quick coffee, and whether we need to hustle for the TGV when the plane is late. (Making the TGV was a near thing this time thanks to a late flight out of Boston, and we were pretty relieved to see the bags spill onto the belt. The next three trains south were all booked up, and had we missed ours the whole schedule would have been thrown out of whack).

Rolling south on the train to Avignon is a preview of sorts. We push through early gray Paris skies and the vast agricultural plain south of the city; then through the familiar rolling hills of Burgundy with its mosaic of stone hedgerows and tile roofs; then we turn past Lyon into the Rhône valley and the eventual bright sun of Provence. It’s an outline of the days to come, when we retrace our route back north, sampling what France offers in each of its winegrowing regions.

There’s always a mix of the familiar and the new. By now we have a list of places we like to eat (and to avoid eating), and for many visits the routine is easy and the welcome warm. But for every trip we also have a list of possibilities accumulated since the last trip. And every vintage offers something new, as we learn the particularities of the past growing season and taste its impact on the wine.

We much enjoy the restaurants, assuring ourselves (and the IRS, if it asks) that we must eat well to stay in touch with the cuisine for which our wines are made. In that respect, France mixes the traditional and the new. There is something to the claim that France has lost its place at the forefront of the world’s cuisine. The old regional favorites still dominate the menus in many places, and while we love those dishes (foie gras being among our mandatory opening tastes), we find the most inventive and interesting dishes in non-traditional places. These days we’re more likely to consult Le Fooding than Le Michelin.

But traditional or experimental, the French both respect and enjoy the central place that food and wine have in the culture. As Americans, our instinct is to grab a sandwich jambon-gruyere for lunch and head to the afternoon’s business without much fuss; but more often now we accept the midday pause and simply order the plat du jour, which always comes with a bit of ceremony, plus a salad, a dessert, and a coffee. The evening meal, even more of an event, allows careful pairings of food and wine and a greater appreciation for their place in everyday life. We’re too American to do this the year round, but the rhythm of life in France provides much enjoyment for a couple of weeks. And, of course, we find wines to get excited about.

The May Futures include the wines of the Domaine Pierre Amiot, our first offering of Côte de Nuits reds from the superb 2015 vintage — something everyone is rightly excited about. There are summer favorites from the Alsace; wines in both colors from the upper Loire, and some very attractive wines from the Southern Rhône. Finally, there are three new wines from Bordeaux. In short, there is something for everyone.

Read the rest of the May Futures brochure here.