Author: Thomas Wilcox

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Mixed Case: Gros/Amiot Red Burgundy 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.

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GROS Nuits-St-Georges 2009
The nose is dark and woodsy, showing roasted wild cherries and earth. There’s plenty of round tannin left in this wine, which should carry it easily for several more years. But with a carafe and a half hour, this is elegant and delicious today.

AMIOT Morey-St-Denis 1er “Charmes” 2010
This wine shows a warm, agreeable earthiness, with smoke and toasted red fruit in the nose. In the mouth you’ll find cool dense tannins characteristic of this small but very fine vintage.

GROS Vosne-Romanée 2011
The nose shows the unique, extraordinary spice and floral notes specific to the hallowed town. The mouth is dense and pure, with beautifully silky tannins that show the elegance possible from a perfect marriage of grape and place.

AMIOT Gevrey-Chambertin 1er “Combottes” 2013
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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GROS/AMIOT SAMPLER

3x   GROS Nuits-St-Georges 2009:   $72
3x   AMIOT MSD 1er “Charmes” 2010:   $72
3x  GROS Vosne-Romanée 2011:   $74
3x   AMIOT Gevrey 1er “Combottes” 2013:   $95

Ansonia Retail: $939
offer price: $795/case

free East Coast shipping   |   save $144

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HALF CASE ALSO AVAILABLE
(2x Nuits, 2x MSD, 1x Vosne, 1x Gevrey)
offer price: $397.5/half-case

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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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An Exceptional Discovery from the Rhône Valley. $14.95

Something New.  During our trips to France, we like to eat at restaurants with good local wine lists. It’s a great way to broaden our regional palates, and sometimes we even discover a new wine for our portfolio. At dinner on a Séguret terrace this June we had the nicest surprise discovery in red Rhône wine that we’ve had in years.

It took a few days to track down Eric Chauvin after that dinner — his Domaine Souverain has neither an entry sign nor a website. But through several phone calls and a bit of luck, we managed to pick up samples, just to confirm that our enthusiasm wasn’t jetlag-induced. A second taste reinforced our initial impression; and when the price list arrived, we were happier yet.

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Diamond in the Rough.  The Domaine Souverain is a small-scale organic source in Séguret with no other US importer. Eric Chauvin is as humble as his wines are delicious, and we’re thrilled to have stumbled upon such a source for underpriced Rhône wine. This drinks far more like a Gigondas or Vacqueyras than its Côtes-du-Rhône pricing suggests — before we got the price list we expected to offer it as an excellent and well-priced $25 red Rhône.

Souverain’s Séguret 2014 shows a bright nose of blackberry and lavender, with a cool earthiness that fans of the Mas Foulaquier will immediately recognize. The mouth is beautifully balanced, with softened but present tannins, clean dark fruit, and a faint smokiness in the nose. This is lively, delicious, highly drinkable wine, with a perfect balance for an autumn meal.

Serve this wine as we enjoyed it on the terrace in Séguret, a bit cool, and enjoy watching it open as it comes up to the ambient temperature. If you have friends along, be prepared to open a second bottle.

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SOUVERAIN Séguret 2014
Ansonia Retail: $19
case, half-case: $14.95/bot

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AVAILABLE IN   6-    AND   12-  BOTTLE LOTS

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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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Advance Order: Pure Grenache from 120-Year-Old Vines.

Almost CDP.  The year is 1895. The United States number 44, and Grover Cleveland is president. Babe Ruth and Jack Dempsey are born, and inventor George Selden receives a patent for the automobile. And cross the ocean in France (then a six-day crossing by boat), a vineyard of grenache is planted just outside Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

Those vines (most of them, at least) are still alive and producing fruit from huge, gnarled, bush-like branches. Having outlasted phylloxera and several world wars, their yield is diminished but the quality of their grapes is better than ever.

We’re excited to return the “Cuvée 1895” to our lineup. Next week’s October Futures release will include three wines from the ancient Chateau Maucoil, including a red and a white Chateauneuf du Pape, but we’re opening up the bidding early on this one.

 

Methusalean.  The Chateau Maucoil is built on the site of an ancient spring, once popular among Roman soldiers traveling along the nearby Via Agrippa. The spring is still active today, and while the vines for this cuvée aren’t quite from the Roman era, they’re older than nearly everything else growing in the area.

The vines for “1895” lie just feet outside the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation border drawn in 1937. The wine they produce doesn’t match the complexity or longevity of a Châteauneuf-du-Pape, but it’s likely to be the richest and densest Côtes-du-Rhône Villages cuvée you’ve ever had.

The nose of the 2014 “1895” is dark and beautiful, showing ripe cherry and raspberry notes with dried fruits and leather. The mouth is full of classic grenache spice, wild cherries, and a hint of sweet licorice. This wine will arrive in the states with the rest of the October Futures, likely the first few weeks of November. It should be right at home on a Thanksgiving table, and if there’s any left over, it’d pair nicely with a roast lamb at Christmas.

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MAUCOIL “Cuvée 1895” 2014
Ansonia Retail: $360
Futures Price: $250/case    ($20.83/bot)

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AVAILABLE BY THE CASE AND HALF-CASE

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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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Pure Sangiovese, from the Real Chianti. $15

Dried Roses.  Like Chablis, the Chianti name has had a rough time of it over the years. A straw-covered “fiasco” bottle with candle wax dripping down its sides still jumps to the minds of most consumers, and for a long time Chianti’s former reputation as cheap wine of low quality was well deserved.

But the quality of wine made in Chianti has improved in the last three decades as much as any wine in the world. Today the percentage of white grapes allowed is only 2 – down from 30 in the mid 1980s – and the best producers add none at all. Our source here is the Fattoria Poggerino, where winemaker Piero Lanza makes Chianti Classicos from pure, perfectly ripened Sangiovese.

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Classic.  Nestled in the most charming hills of Tuscany, Poggerino is located in Radda-in-Chianti, one of the four towns included in the region’s original limits set in 1761 by Cosimo III de Medici. Poggerino’s Sangiovese vines could all be classified as Chainti Classico, but Piero reserves the fruit from the “younger” vines (35 years old) for his simpler cuvée, Il Labirinto.

The name Sangiovese refers to its inky color – the name translates to “blood of Jove” – and this dense, tannic grape can produce powerful wine with beautiful floral aromas. The Labirinto 2014 is delicious — the nose is very ripe and juicy, with plum and sweet cherry notes. The mouth is young, earthy, and vibrant, with sturdy tannins under a smooth patina of fruit jam.

This is lively and pleasantly drinkable on its own, but like most wines, it’s best enjoyed with the other fruits of its home terroir. Try a homemade pizza (good recipe for the dough here) or a pasta with a tomato based sauce.

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POGGERINO Labirinto 2014
Ansonia Retail: $19
case, half-case: $15/bot

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AVAILABLE IN   6-    AND   12-  BOTTLE LOTS

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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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Elegant New Red Burgundy

Approachable.  Burgundy can be a difficult region for budding wine enthusiasts. Confusing classifications, high entry fees, and finicky grapes can make it a tough region to crack. But to those looking for a good place to start, we can think of no better one than the Domaine Roger Belland.

Belland’s wines are, put simply, highly drinkable. His whites are rich and fresh, his reds are juicy and pleasant. They can be complex and ageworthy, but are always approachable and delicious in their youth. Last week we released Belland’s Santenay 1er cru blanc, a mouthfilling, lively white Burgundy with exceptional balance. Today we’re releasing its twin in red.

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Jubliant.  Belland’s Santenay 1er cru Beauregard rouge from 2014 is a delight. The nose is classic Belland, with bright red fruits, spring flowers, and intense berries. The mouth is punchy and dense, with attractive, juicy tannins and palate bursting with raspberry and wild cherries. This opens beautifully over an hour or two, and was already wowing visitors to our warehouse tasting two weeks ago.

This is unpretentious, classic red Burgundy — a wine that requires neither patience nor a second mortgage. For Burgundy lovers, this is a silky, elegant, fruit forward red that won’t break the bank. For those looking to begin exploring this legendary region, here’s a great place to start the trip.

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BELLAND Santenay 1er “Beauregard” rouge 2014
Retail Price: $40
quarter-case: $35/bot

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AVAILABLE IN   3-    6-    AND   12-  BOTTLE LOTS

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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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Iconic Old-Vine Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Old School.  The organic wine movement is alive and well in France. Every year we see more producers transitioning to organic winemaking, or at least making steps in that direction. Some have been at it longer than others, but no one boasts a longer history than our newest source in Châteauneuf-du-Pape: the domaine Pierre André — organic for 35 years, and biodynamic for 24.

The Andrés’ long experience with low-intervention winemaking is evident. They own neither a destemmer nor a filter, and believe in painstaking and meticulous vineyard work. “Wines are made first in the fields,” Jacqueline André explained to us in June. “No matter how good a chef you are, if your ingredients aren’t perfect, there’s only so much you can do.”

The final element that makes André’s wines so exceptional is the age of their vines. The domaine’s vines average more than 75 years old, and yield wines with remarkable density. One particular plot of mourvèdre — planted in the sandy soils next to the famous Rayas — contains vines over 140 years old.

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Polished.  Like many of the best small-scale Chateauneuf-du-Pape domaines, André makes only two wines — a white and a red. With no luxury cuvée or reserve bottling, all of their finest grapes go into every bottle. We’re excited to release our first André wine today — the 2012 Châteauneuf-du-Pape rouge.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape is always a long-lived wine, but André’s 2012 rouge is a treat even now. The nose shows stone fruit jam, with browned butter, lavender, and cedar. The mouth shows prune and black raspberry, with intense licorice and wild cherry on the very long finish. The wine is classically rich and long, but expertly balanced with a cool earthiness that keeps it fresh.

Decant this for a half hour, or keep it in your cellar for a half-decade. Either way, this is magnificent wine, made with precision, history, and care.

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ANDRÉ Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2012
Retail Price: $60
quarter-case: $48/bot

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AVAILABLE IN   3-    6-    AND   12-  BOTTLE LOTS

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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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New Crisp Sauvignon Blanc. $16

Discovery.  Sauvignon Blanc has seen a surge in popularity in recent decades. It’s hard to find a wine list these days without examples from New Zealand, California and Washington. But the original source for Sauvignon Blanc is France’s Loire Valley, where the grape (known there simply as “Sauvignon”) has been grown since the 1700s.

The twin villages of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé are the hometowns of Sauvignon. Here the grape takes on a distinctly mineral and citrus character. As the name suggests, the wines of Pouilly-Fumé also feature notes of smoke and gunflint, a result of the soils’ high flint content.

Last summer we discovered a terrific new winemaker in Pouilly-Fumé — a small scale family vigneron with no US importer and excellent wines. His two 2015 cuvées have just arrived in our warehouse, and we’re excited to introduce the first today.

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Dry and fresh.  Many readers are familiar with Frederic Michot’s old-vine cuvée from 2014 — we ran out twice last year, and it continues to drink well today. Today’s wine is from his younger vines, but has added richness from the ripe 2015 vintage. The nose is fresh and expressive, showing honey and ripe grapefruit and lime. The mouth is brisk with a midweight palate and a dry smoky finish.

This is pure, unoaked, refreshing Sauvignon Blanc — perfect as an aperitif or next to a plate of fish. This should be a welcome opener for houseguests from now through Thanksgiving dinner. Or if you’re hungry, try roasting a branzino or other small fish whole — season it with lemon and rosemary, roast it for 15 minutes, and serve it next to a glass of this Pouilly-Fumé. It’s a match made in Mediterranean heaven.

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MICHOT Pouilly-Fumé 2015
Ansonia Retail: $20
case, half-case: $16/bot

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AVAILABLE IN   6-    AND   12-  BOTTLE LOTS

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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: Autumn Sampler

Autumn has begun to make its entrance. The days may still be warm and long, and for some there may be baseball left to play. But as the harvest begins once again in France, and the most precocious leaves catch fire, the season’s change is undeniable.

For us, that new chill in the evening air means a shift in the style of the wine in our glasses. We’ve put together a mixed case to lead us into fall — two whites with dense mouthfeel and rich, floral bouquets; and two reds with baked dark fruits and a cool earthy freshness. These are fresh enough to serve at an outdoor lunch, and rich enough to match a cool evening.

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GOUBERT Gigondas 2012
We’ve been enjoying this Gigondas since the early 1990s, and we haven’t seen a bad vintage yet. But the 2012 is nothing short of exceptional. The nose shows bright red flowers and dark rich fruit, hitting high notes and low notes simultaneously in a harmony unusual even for the Cartier family. The mouth is sturdy and meaty, with cool dark tannins and impressive length.

MAILLET Macon-Verzé 2014
The is among the best Maillet has made, from an exceptional vintage. The nose is remarkably complex, with a range of notes from white flowers and green tea to tangerine and apricot. The mouth is classic Maillet — rich and long and pure, but with striking freshness and a beautiful baked lemon core.

BAGATELLE Veillée d’Automne 2013
The Clos Bagatelle is a centuries old domaine that makes delicious, refreshing syrah-based reds. The “Veillée d’Automne,” is majority syrah but also includes carignan and cinsault. The nose shows plums and dark fruits; the mouth is chewy and dense, with a hint of toast and a crisp mineral line that balances the ripe fruit.

MICHOT Pouilly-Fumé VV 2014
This year’s Guide Hachette called Michot’s 2014 Pouilly-Fumé “powerful; at once unctuous, fresh, and persistent…remarkable in its intensity and harmony.” We agree, and are happy to report that it’s drinking beautifully. The nose shows grapefruit rind, mango, and wild herb honey. The mouth is rich and concentrated, with grapefruit and lime rind freshness.

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MIXED CASE: AUTUMN SAMPLER

3x   GOUBERT Gigondas 12:   $30
3x   MAILLET Macon-Verzé 14:   $30
3x  BAGATELLE Veillée d’Automne 13:   $24
3x   MICHOT Pouilly-Fumé VV 14:   $24

Ansonia Retail: $324
mixed case price: $269/case

free East Coast shipping   |   save $55

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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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New Premier Cru White Burgundy: Golden and Powerful

Hidden.  Much of the white Burgundy we import comes from the three usual suspects — Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, and Chassagne-Montrachet. These classic wines usually start at around $60 a bottle, and while they’re delicious (see current Futures), we try to find a wide range of character and price. Some of our favorites come from the towns just over the border from these three.

Located on Chassagne-Montrachet’s southern border, Santenay produces well-priced white wines with some of the richness of its northerly neighbors. Our source here is Roger Belland, a domaine Clive Coates calls “one of the best sources in Santenay.” The Bellands have used no herbicides for more than 20 years, and their wines are all careful, pure expressions of their origin.

It’s not a flashy domaine — there’s a small sign next to the door on the street, and you have to enter their cellar before seeing any of their many winemaking awards. But the quality is excellent, and the value is nearly impossible to match.

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Richness.  The 2014s from Belland have just arrived in the warehouse, and so far they have lived up to the considerable hype surrounding the vintage. Belland’s 2014 Santenay 1er cru “Beauregard” blanc is a powerful white Burgundy, with the density and fullness you’d expect from Chassagne. The nose shows pretty white flowers, honey, lime, and autumn apples. The mouth is explosively rich, with a golden fleshiness, very subtle use of oak, and an electric tension that keeps the wine on the palate for an impressively long finish.

This mouthfilling wine is nearly a meal in itself. But for pairing, we’d serve this beside a roast chicken with lemon, rosemary, and garlic on a Sunday afternoon. A friendly warning, though: if the bottle is opened when the chicken goes into the oven, you may need a second by the time it’s done.

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BELLAND Santenay 1er “Beauregard” blanc 14
Ansonia Retail: $42
case, half-case: $36/bot

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AVAILABLE IN   6-    AND   12-  BOTTLE LOTS

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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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New, Small-Batch, Classic Saint-Estèphe. $29

A find.  Burgundy and Bordeaux are the two giants of French wine. In nearly every aspect — style, tradition, grape varietal, scale — they are opposites. Ansonia’s scale fits far better into Burgundy than Bordeaux; but the wines of Bordeaux continue to intrigue us, and we’re always on the hunt for something new there.

This summer we were excited to discover a property in St-Estèphe called the “Fleuron de Liot.” A small-scale family domaine farms this tiny 1.5 acre plot of equal parts Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. They don’t make much of it, and it has never been exported to the US. We don’t claim long experience in Bordeaux, but we have no doubt that this is an exceptionally well-made wine that’s also a bargain.

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Left Bank.  The catch with much of Bordeaux is its need for cellaring, but this wine provides a bit of wiggle room for two reasons. First, the price: at under $30/bot, precise timing isn’t crucial for a satisfying return on investment — this is delicious now and will be even better in five years. Second, vintage: Bordeaux-philes consider 2014 the finest vintage since 2010. Particularly in the Haut Medoc towns of Paulliac and St-Estèphe, the year produced ripe, forward wines that will drink well without lengthy cellaring.

Today this wine is inky and dark, with plum and dark cherries in the nose. The mouth is dense and full, with solid ripe tannins and low oak, notes of cedar and licorice, and a long, velvety texture. The tannins are rich, dense and supple, rather than harsh or dry. We expect the wine to improve for another 5-7 years.

Should you need a bottle for a steak in your near future, decant this for 4-5 hours (yes hours) and it will make lots of friends. Five years from now (if you have any left) this should be a beautiful, mature, classic Left Bank Bordeaux — and we bet you’ll wish you had more of it.

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FLEURON DE LIOT Saint-Estèphe 2014
Ansonia Retail: $35
case, half-case: $29/bot

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AVAILABLE IN   6-    AND   12-  BOTTLE LOTS

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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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Dazzling, Pure, Unoaked White Burgundy. $25

Complexity.  Nicolas Maillet is our favorite new source for chardonnay from southern Burgundy. His wines are classic examples of white Maconnais — cool, round chardonnay with excellent balance and little or no oak. If the Côte d’Or is home to Burgundies of pedigree and refinement, then the Maconnais is home to Burgundies of vibrancy and joy.

Maillet takes this idea one step further, using biodynamic viticulture; vinifying his wines with indigenous yeasts and a slow, months-long fermentation. The result is wine of remarkable complexity and purity. Maillet is a man full of passion — for his vineyards, for his rootstocks, for biodynamics, and for the purity of his harvest. And he manages to translate all of this energy into truly impressive wines.

Passion.  Maillet doesn’t lack confidence in his techniques, and after a sip of his wine, you won’t either. His 2014 Macon-Verzé is among the best he’s made, from an exceptional vintage. The nose is astonishingly complex, with a range of notes from white flowers and green tea to tangerine and apricot. The mouth is classic Maillet — rich and long and pure, but with striking freshness and a beautiful baked lemon core.

Vinous writer Stephen Tanzer highlighted this wine’s perfect balance, calling it “densely packed, juicy and concentrated, with attractive sucrocité leavened by brisk acidity.” With no oak to overshadow the wine’s clarity, this is Maconnais at its best, showing beautiful, unadulterated ripe chardonnay fruit.

So complete is the palate of this wine that it requires no accompaniment from food — it’s lush and delightful on its own. But should hunger or houseguests force your hand, we suggest cow’s milk cheeses like Comté or Beaufort, or bowl of steamed mussels.

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MAILLET Macon-Verzé 2014
Ansonia Retail: $30
case, half-case: $25/bot

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AVAILABLE IN   6-    AND   12-  BOTTLE LOTS

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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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Extraordinary New 90-Point Châteauneuf-du-Pape. $29

Discovery.  Châteauneuf-du-Pape is one of the world’s great wines. Made famous by French Popes over seven centuries ago, the area is rich in winemaking history. Today the appellation (which covers only about 12 square miles), makes some of the most sought-after wine in the world.

In June we went searching for a new source in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and stumbled upon a gem. Christophe Mestre is a young winemaker from an old Chateauneuf family, whose talent and terroir have already begun to bring him acclaim. We’re thrilled to introduce Mestre to our list today with this simply delicious 2013 Chateauneuf red.

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Rich and rare.  Fans of this appellation take note — this is a rich, classic, mouthfilling Chateauneuf-du-Pape with an astonishingly low price tag. The nose is explosive, with a wide range of notes from pan drippings and sage to strawberry jam, wild raspberry, and lavender. The mouth is smooth and soft and rich, with a dark red complexion and sun-baked, silky tannins. It opens beautifully over a half hour in a glass.

We feel lucky to have discovered Mestre as early as we did. Small production and limited US distribution have kept him under the radar of most of the wine world — but we don’t expect this to last. Vinous’s Josh Raynolds awarded this wine 90 points, pointing out its “very good focus,” calling the palate “sweet and seamless,” and highlighting notes of “cherry compote,” “raspberry” and “anise.”

With a chill in the evening air these days, we can’t think of a better wine for your autumn collection than this silky, delicious Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

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MESTRE Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2013
Ansonia Retail: $35
case, half-case: $29/bot

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AVAILABLE IN   6-    AND   12-  BOTTLE LOTS

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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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Dense, Elegant Grand Cru Red Burgundy.

Classic.  The Grand Cru of Corton is massive. Stretching across a prominent hill just north of Beaune, the vineyard covers 236 acres, just 40 less than the entire appellation of Morey-St-Denis. The terroirs vary widely across the giant vineyard, and so it’s further divided into dozens of smaller “climats.” The finest of these are the three farthest north in the middle of the slope: Bressandes, Clos du Roi, and Renardes.

The humble family domaine of Gaston and Pierre Ravaut has made wine from the hill of Corton for generations. Longtime local customers account for the majority of their business, and there’s barely a sign on the front door. The Ravauts make excellent whites and reds from the towns surrounding the hill, but the jewel of their collection is their plot of Grand Cru Corton-Bressandes.

Concentrated.  Today’s offer is for the Ravaut’s Corton-Bressandes Grand Cru from 2012. The 2012 vintage brought headaches in the vines for most of the year, but a pleasant month of September saved the crop. (Here’s hoping history repeats.) The 2012s, when you can find them, have turned out remarkably well — the reduced yields let to tiny quantities of dense concentrated wine, and Ravaut’s Corton 2012 is a perfect example.

Today this wine shows the classic notes of a young Grand Cru Burgundy — 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. This is mouthfilling, intense Pinot Noir that nonetheless retains the silky delicacy found only in Burgundy.

Open today, this wine should decant for an hour or so. But for those with a bit of patience, a Burgundy habit, and some cellar space, this is an enticing wine that should be stunning in a few years.

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RAVAUT Corton-Bressandes Grand Cru 2012
Ansonia Retail: $100
quater-case: $85/bot

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AVAILABLE IN   3-   6-    AND   12-  BOTTLE LOTS

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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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White Crozes-Hermitage is back.

“Épuisé.”  At the start of every tasting, Rhône winemaker Denis Basset gives us small taste of white. “Just to set the palate,” he explains, before continuing on to his rich, syrah-based reds. The white is always lovely — floral and fresh, beautifully expressive, and a perfect way to start a tasting. And every year, when we ask how much we can buy, he smiles and shakes his head. (Loyal local restaurants are to blame).

This year, finalement, we were able to purchase some. Alas, after it was released in April our readers found it as lovely as we did, and we sold out of our entire stock in a day or so. We quickly wrote Denis, and after a bit of hand wringing he managed to find us a few more cases. For those of you who were lucky enough to grab some this spring, the wine needs no introduction. For those who were shut out, here’s your chance to see what all the fuss was about.

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Exotic.  Denis Basset runs the Domaine Saint-Clair, which he started several years ago after spending the first decade of his working life in the family’s flower business. He has rapidly gained confidence and acclaim; both Decanter and the Guide Hachette have listed him in a dynamic new generation of Crozes-Hermitage winemakers.

Basset’s white is a Rousanne-Marsanne blend (70/30), in the style of a classic northern Rhône. The nose is soft and enveloping, with tropical notes of mango, pineapple, and green tea. The mouth is rich and round, but well balanced, showing nectarine and honey notes. There’s so much exotic fruit in the nose you almost expect this to be sweet, but the mouth finishes cool and soft and dry.

This is a lovely glass for the fall — with bright citrus to match a late summer dinner, but a mouthcoating softness that will carry you into autumn.

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SAINT CLAIR Crozes-Hermitage blanc 2014
Ansonia Retail: $26
offer price: $22/bot

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AVAILABLE IN   6-    AND   12-  BOTTLE LOTS

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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.