Author: Thomas Wilcox

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Almost Red Burgundy: Trousseau from the Jura

Wild.  The Jura region is only an hour east of Burgundy, but the feel is totally different. The gently sloping hills of Burgundy turn to craggy outcroppings, the forests become denser, and the accent turns faintly Swiss. The whole region feels a bit less tamed than its famous neighbor, and the wines follow suit.

In June we visited the Jura for the first time in years, and tasted with a handful of winemakers. Our favorite was Hervé Ligier, a small, traditional family winery growing the classic grapes of the region: Chardonnay, Savagnin, Poulsard, and, today’s varietal, Trousseau. Ligier’s whites sold out entirely through our Futures program, but after tasting his reds again over the weekend, we’re thrilled to have them in stock as well.

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Rugged.  If you’ve never heard of Trousseau, you’re not alone — there’s only about 425 acres (0.66) square miles planted in all of France, nearly all in the Jura. It’s a bit like Pinot Noir in fruit and feel, but trades Burgundian Pinot’s silkiness for the Jura’s rustic, animale spirit. It feels darker and more southern than Pinot, but at 12.5% shows the balance and freshness of true red Burgundy.

In the nose, the 2015 Ligier Trousseau shows raspberry and briary red fruits. The mouth is brisk and clean, but full of woodsy richness and rustic character. If you’re in the market for an everyday red Burgundy, but are up for trying something slightly different, consider the Trousseau. Try this with hearty skirt steak or charcuterie — it’ll bring a bit of the rugged Jura home to your table.

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LIGIER Trousseau 2015
Ansonia Retail: $20
case, half-case price: $16/bot

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AVAILABLE IN   6-   AND  12-   BOTTLE LOTS

 

 

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

 

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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.

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Golden, Wintery New White Burgundy from Michel Gros

New Cuvée.  Here in the US, we’re wary of monopolies. But in Burgundy, at least in the winemaking world, they’re championed. A mônopole is the unusual circumstance where one vigneron owns an entire vineyard. After centuries of splitting holdings among inheriting sons, a single-owner vineyard is rare.

Michel Gros’s most famous mônopole is his Clos des Réas, an extraordinary premier cru vineyard in Vosne-Romanée. But as of last year Gros has a second: this mônopole, called the Fontaine Saint Martin, is in the hills to the west of Vosne, in a beautiful, rugged region called the Hautes-Côtes de Nuits. And it’s from this plot that Gros crafts his only white.

With so many excellent reds, we sometimes wonder why Gros bothers with a white at all. But one taste of this wine will settle the question.

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Ancient.  The Fontaine-Saint-Martin vineyard is named for an ancient Cistercian abbey nearby dating to 1127. The hillside of vines has been in production for centuries, and tended by Michel and his father before him for the last 40 years. Gros blended the wine from this plot into his regular Hautes-Côtes de Nuits blanc until the 2014 vintage, when he determined the terroir was sufficiently different to merit its own cuvée.

The Fontaine Saint Martin is indeed special — its soil is the same mix of marl, clay, and limestone found on the Hill of Corton. The wine may not match the richness or longevity of a Corton-Charlemagne, but it’s smooth floral quality will call to mind the famous Grand Cru. Michel happened to pick an excellent year to isolate this cuvée — the 2014 vintage was a gift to white Burgundy growers, producing wines with exceptional balance.

Decanter Magazine awarded the 2014 Fontaine-St-Martin blanc 90 points and called it “superb wine;” after the bottle we opened last night we can’t disagree. The nose is smooth and silky, showing orchard fruit, pear, and white flowers. The mouth is rich and long, but bolstered by beautiful acidity and crisp minerality. Serve it with chicken in cream sauce, or, at Michel’s suggestion, snails in garlic and butter.

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GROS Fontaine-Saint-Martin blanc 2014
Ansonia Retail: $40
case, half-case price: $34/bot

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AVAILABLE IN   6-   AND  12-   BOTTLE LOTS

 

 

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

 

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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.

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Sparkling Burgundian Rosé, and Other Ideas for Valentine’s Day.

Bubbles.  The French drink much more sparkling wine than we do. Chez nous, we’ve been trying our best to imitate them — serving sparkling wines at the beginning of a dinner, paired with creamy dish, or just as an after-work aperitif. But if you need a celebration to pop a cork, there’s no shortage of them over the next few weeks.

For February festivities, we submit the Crémant Rosé from Burgundy’s Maison Picamelot, the clear winner as the prettiest bottle in our cellar. For Valentine’s Day this is an obvious match. For Mardi Gras, this colorful and celebratory bottle should fit right in. And if it’s Presidents Day you’ve been waiting for 11 months to celebrate, we’ll remind you that first few presidents were serious collectors of French wine.

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Roses.  Happily, the contents of a bottle of Picamelot’s Crémant Rosé are every bit as attractive as the appearance. Made entirely from Pinot Noir, this shows a lovely balance of fruit and floral notes, with good fresh acidity. The wine is perfectly dry, but has a pleasant creaminess alongside notes of strawberry, herbs, and lemon.

Serve this in a white wine glass (skip the flute), and pair it with anything from beignets to chocolate covered strawberries. And if there are a few bottles left over after this month’s festivities, try pairing this with a regular meal you might serve with white wine. The winemakers at Picamelot suggest asian foods, or something else with some spice.

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PICAMELOT Crémant Rosé NV
Ansonia Retail: $24
case, half-case price: $18/bot

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AVAILABLE IN    6-   AND  12-   BOTTLE LOTS

 

 

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

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OTHER IDEAS FOR SAINT-VALENTIN


BARDOUX Champagne Rosé
$45/bot — post here

PERRACHON Saint-Amour 2015
$19.95/bot — post here

Kir Pair: Bourguignon: $59
Boyer Aligoté + Crème de Cassis
free East Coast shipping

Kir Pair: Almost Royale: $59
Picamelot Crémant + Crème de Cassis
free East Coast shipping

Kir Pair: Royale: $89
Bardoux Champagne + Crème de Cassis
free East Coast shipping

 

 

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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.

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Nectar of the Northern Rhône: New 2015 Condrieu

Go North.  Most grapes reach their finest expression at their northern ripening limit. The Pinot Noir of Burgundy; the Riesling of Germany’s Mosel Valley; the Chardonnay of Chablis; the Syrahs of the Northern Rhone — many of the greatest wines in the world hail from their grape’s northernmost ripening latitude. To that list we add today’s wine made from pure Viognier: Condrieu.

Viognier is a hard grape to get right. Its juice is naturally very viscous, and because it’s often grown in warm climates the resulting wine can lack in freshness and energy. But in Condrieu, where Viognier grows on the steep hillsides of the Northern Rhône Valley just south of Lyon, the grape takes on an elegance and weightlessness that’s impossible elsewhere.

For viognier, there’s Condrieu and then there’s everything else.

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Effusive.  Stephane Montez is a passionate, driven young winemaker whose wines are pure, clean expressions of their terroir. His Condrieu is extraordinary — you can smell the aromas at several feet away from the glass. It’s floral and expressive, showing notes of gardenia, mango and apricot. The mouth is round and soft but not at all flat, and showing very little oak. Look for honeysuckle, green tea, and peach.

Condrieu is all about aromatics, and we recommend pouring this into the biggest Burgundy balloon glass you have. The wine needs no accompaniment, and indeed, sitting with a glass of Condrieu on a winter’s evening is one of life’s great vinous pleasures. But should hunger arise, fresh to slightly aged goat cheese on crackers is an excellent match.

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MONTEZ Condrieu 2015
Ansonia Retail: $56
quarter-case price: $48/bot

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AVAILABLE IN   3-   6-   AND  12-   BOTTLE LOTS

 

 

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

 

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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.

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Charming New 2015 Gamay. $19.95

Saint-Valentin.  In France, Saint-Amour is known as the most “romantic” of the Beaujolais Crus. Located at the northern end of the Beaujolais region, it’s neither the richest nor the most tannic wine of the region. But the wines from this Cru possess a silky, enchanting quality. Whether it’s the amorous name or the smooth berry fruit, there’s always something charming about Saint-Amour.

Today’s Saint Amour is from the famous 2015 vintage, among the best in a generation in Burgundy. A warm dry summer resulted in near-perfect conditions for winemaking, and the results in the Beaujolais (what’s left of them) speak for themselves. If you don’t have something planned for Valentine’s day in a few weeks, consider picking up a few of these.

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Fruit.  We discovered Laurent Perrachon last summer, and have blown through our stock nearly everything we bought from him since. (We held onto the Saint-Amour for a February release.) Perrachon is one of very few Beaujolais winemakers to be featured in both Burghound’s (Allen Meadows) newsletter and Antonio Galloni’s Vinous, and most of his wines score in the 90s in both publications.

The soils in Saint Amour are full of schist and limestone, which make for wines with soft, floral character, balanced by an energetic minerality. Perrachon’s 2015 Saint Amour shows beautiful raspberry and cassis fruit in the nose, with bright red flowers and a pleasant chalky minerality. The mouth is crisp and juicy, with a smooth palate and a refreshing, fruit-laden finish.

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PERRACHON Saint-Amour 2015
Ansonia Retail: $24
case, half-case price: $19.95/bot

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AVAILABLE IN   6-   AND  12-   BOTTLE LOTS

 

 

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

 

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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.

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Juicy, Refreshing New Red Burgundy: Raspberry, Graphite, Cassis

Fruit.  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 thee hamlet of Ladoix. Though they have expanded their reach in recent years, they still sell more than half of their wine to clients 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 extraordinary freshness. Particularly in a year like 2014, the Ravaut reds are among the most juicy, pleasant, and refreshing pinots in our cellar.

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Succulent.  Today’s Ravaut wine is their Côte de Nuits Villages, from vines near the border with the Côte de Beaune. Ravaut’s 2014s have remarkably pure, dark red fruit — at their best they are fruit-forward, floral, lively Pinot Noirs with round, approachable tannins. Jancis Robinson agreed, finding this wine “succulent with a lovely fresh, juicy finish.”

The CDNV 2014 is a wine to enjoy now with food, and in a year on its own. The nose shows raspberry jam, graphite, and cassis — it’s a seductive and utterly pleasant bouquet. The nose shows 2014’s cool, juicy, crackling tannins — punchy and bright on the palate, with enough fruit stuffing behind it to keep it perfectly weighted.

Serve this with roast chicken on a Sunday afternoon — you won’t even have to move to Ladoix to get some.

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RAVAUT Côte de Nuits-Villages 2014
Ansonia Retail: $36
case, half-case price: $29/bot

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AVAILABLE IN   6-   AND  12-   BOTTLE LOTS

 

 

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

 

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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.

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Mixed Case: Affordable Burgundies

Burgundy isn’t known for its inexpensive wines. A limited growing area and perpetually high demand make it hard to find bottles below $30. For most wine drinkers Burgundies are special occasion wines — elegant and ageworthy, but too pricey for a Wednesday.

We do our best to find affordable options from Burgundy, and we’ve collected four of our favorites into this case. The reds display the bright, earthy, Burgundian side of Pinot Noir.
The whites represent both ends of the white Burgundy spectrum — crisp and unoaked vs rich and smooth.

We think everyone should be able to enjoy Burgundy on a regular basis — this case should help do so without breaking the bank.

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Ravaut Bourgogne blanc 2015
Ravaut’s entry level white Burgundy is the richest and fullest we have. Their subtle use of oak melts beautifully into the baked lemon and mango core.

Prunier Bourgogne rouge 2014
Michel Prunier’s Bourgogne is simple, clean, bright, and delicious. Look for notes of cherry jam and dried roses in the nose, with a lively, pleasant, effortlessly drinkable mouth.

Gautheron Petit Chablis 2015
This unoaked Chardonnay perfectly reflects the mineral freshness and stoniness found only in Chablis. Look for notes of lemon rind, crushed shells, saline, and herbs.

Desvignes Givry 2014
Grown south of Burgundy’s famous Côte d’Or, this Givry is packed with rugged red fruit. Look for notes of black cherry and graphite, with round, juicy tannins.

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AFFORDABLE BURGUNDIES

3x   Ravaut Bourgogne blanc 15:   $29
3x   Prunier Bourgogne rouge 14:   $26
3x   Gautheron Petit Chablis 15: $20
3x  Desvignes Givry 14:   $26


Ansonia Retail: $303
offer price: $250/case

free East Coast shipping    |    save $53

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Email Tom to place an order.

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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.

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Almost Meursault: White Burgundy from a Forgotten Valley.

Rue Less Traveled. Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, and Chassagne-Montrachet get most of the white Burgundy press. But surrounding towns can offer excellent value. Many whites from St-Aubin and Santenay punch way above their weight, as does today’s white Burgundy from Auxey-Duresses.

Auxey-Duresses is often overlooked, a town set in the crook of a bucolic valley just west of Meursault. Master of Wine Clive Coates calls Michel Prunier “certainly the best grower” in the town, though Monsieur Prunier himself is humble, welcoming, and kind. At barely 5 feet tall, he perfectly fits the charming, small-town Burgundian feel of the region.

For white Burgundy fans in search of a drink-now bottle, this is unusually pretty and well priced wine.

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Exquisite.  Prunier’s 2014 Auxey-Duresses will remind you more than a little of Meursault. The nose is explosive and gorgeous — honeysuckle, elderflower, and mango burst from an effusive bouquet. The mouth is just as rich as the nose, with a pleasant chalky minerality and lemon acidity to balance. Between the candied lemon rind nose and smooth, low-oak mouth, this is about as accessible as white Burgundy gets.

This is perfect for an after-work glass of white — round and complex but beautifully balanced, and not demanding of undivided attention. In the kitchen, pair this with something citrusy — the richness in the glass will balance out the lemon. Tuna or swordfish garnished with lemon work well, as does Mark Bittman’s scallops with basil and lemon.

Sometimes a particularly grand moment calls for a white Burgundy from the Big Three (or even Grand Cru Chablis). But for Burgundy lovers with a nose for value, we can’t recommend this enough.

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PRUNIER Auxey-Duresses 2014
Ansonia Retail: $38
half-case price: $32/bot

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AVAILABLE IN   6-   AND  12-   BOTTLE LOTS

 

 

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

 

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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.

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“Terrific Power:” 2014 Grand Cru White Burgundy, 93 points

At last.  After a string of difficult years between 2010 and 2013, Burgundy collectors are rejoicing. Two magnificent vintages — 2014 in whites, and 2015 in reds — are being heralded as some of the finest in decades. The 2015 reds are just coming to market (see our current January Futures), but today we’re releasing a gem from 2014.

The Domaine Collet’s star has risen since young winemaker Romain took over a few years ago. Today’s wine is the family’s finest — the Grand Cru “Valmur.” Grand Cru white Burgundy can run quickly past $100 a bottle, and often costs several times that. But Chablis is still a source for value in white Burgundy, and today’s offer is a perfect example.

This is the highest rung of white Burgundy, from a spectacular vintage. It’s still not quite an everyday price, but if you’ve ever wondered what Grand Cru tastes like, here’s a great chance.

Intense.  Collet’s 2014 Grand Cru Valmur is massive. Romain has expertly balanced Chablis’s signature minerality with a richness and intensity that calls to mind Corton-Charlemagne or Montrachet. Allen Meadows (Burghound), who renewed reviewing Collet recently after he perceived an improvement in quality, awarded 93 points, finding the 2014 Valmur “beautifully persistent,” with “large-scaled flavors” and “terrific power.”

This is exceptionally powerful wine. The nose shows gardenia, green tea, and baked lemon flavors, with a bright chalky stoniness that enhances the fruit. The mouth is simply packed with flavor — it’s bold and rich, but vibrant in texture. It should match beautifully with seafood and shellfish, particularly in butter or cream; but for now it’s almost meal in itself.

This will develop beautifully for several years — indeed well-aged Chablis can be a complex gustatory delight. But pour some into a glass today — we recommend a large Burgundy balloon to let it develop — and with one sniff you’ll understand what all the fuss is about.

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COLLET Chablis Grand Cru “Valmur” 2014
Ansonia Retail: $70
quarter-case price: $59/bot

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AVAILABLE IN  3-   6-   AND  12-   BOTTLE LOTS

 

 

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

 

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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.

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The World’s Finest Pinot Noir: “Supremely Elegant” Vosne-Romanée

History.  Michel Gros is as much a part of Vosne-Romanée as the 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’ve recently acquired a few cases of the excellent 2012.

For Burgundian grace and prestige, there’s not a whole lot that matches this wine.

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Magnificent.  The 2012 vintage was extremely small in Burgundy. A cold, wet spring led to reduced yields, resulting in very concentrated wines. Most wine writers anticipate long lives for these dense, concentrated wines, but we’ve found they’ve already begun to show their colors. Particularly 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 had “exceptionally good richness…that completely coats the palate,” a result of the low-yield, dense vintage. 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 occasions in our family. 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. We think it’s healthy to have at least a handful of special occasions each year; and whatever that means for you, Réas will provide a perfect companion.

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GROS Vosne-Romanée 1er cru “Clos des Réas” 2012
Ansonia Retail: $130
2-bottle price: $115/bot
half-case price: $105/bot

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AVAILABLE IN  2-  AND 6-   BOTTLE LOTS

 

 

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

 

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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.