The Jura region has an untamed feel to it. Lying only an hour east of Burgundy, it’s a wilder, craggier landscape, producing unusual wines to match. We love its most famous product — the sherry-like oxidized Vin Jaune — but concede it’s not to everyone’s taste.
In a warming world perennially in search of freshness, Chablis is often the answer. Even amid recent scorching dry summers, many winemakers were able to channel the stony precision of Chablis into beautifully balanced wines.
When Burgundy’s leading critic singles you out as one of a “leading light” in the region, you could argue that you’d made it. But Gautier Desvignes – who in just eight short years has taken his humble family domaine from ordinary to outperforming – is not one to rest on his laurels. Each year we visit he has a new series of vineyard and cellar improvements to share and explain. In the words of Aaron Burr, “the man is non-stop.”
The Syrahs of the Northern Rhône are known for their intense color and soaring aromatics. Some wines even rival their Burgundian neighbors to the north in terms of elegance and subtlety. Though recent hot vintages have delivered a bit more meat on the bones than a decade ago, the most successful cuvées retain their classic northern complexity.
Burgundies are not getting any cheaper. With limited supply and ever-increasing demand, good values are harder and harder to find. But one Burgundian town that continues to deliver far more than people expect is St-Aubin. And we’re not the only ones to notice.
The Domaine les Goubert is among the domaines we’ve worked with the longest. Over more than two decades their consistency has remained unshakable – good vintage and difficult, up year and down, Goubert’s delicious, well-priced Gigondas cuvées are like trusty old friends.
Roger Belland is best known for his beautiful, golden premier cru Clos Pitois from Chassagne-Montrachet. It’s rich, elegant, and everything you want in a top class white Burgundy. When we want to really impress someone with a Chardonnay, we often reach for the Pitois blanc.
We suppose it’s a good thing when in the opening paragraph of this fall’s article on “Insider’s Burgundy,” the Wine Advocate’s William Kelley mentions Gautier Desvignes by name as a face of a “new generation of quality-conscious producers” in the Côte Chalonnaise. We’re thrilled to see Gautier receive the recognition he deserves, even if it […]
The Northern Rhône represents (for now) the northern limit of where Syrah can ripen fully. As with many grapes, the area of northernmost range produces the most elegant and delicate expression of the grape – think South African Shiraz, now picture its opposite.
Sancerre has no premier or grand cru classifications — all 6400 acres are under the same appellation. But, as you might expect, not all of Sancerre’s terroirs are created equal. Among the most famous is the steep slopes of the Monts Damnées (damned mountains).
Aligoté is having a moment in Burgundy. Vignerons have grown the grape here for centuries, but for most of that time it’s been considered an afterthought – a high-acid grape producing humble, refreshing, unserious wines.
Winemaker Philippe Cheron doesn’t exactly look the part. His unkempt hair, bent spectacles, and meandering monologues call to mind an absent-minded professor of literature who hasn’t been outside in a while. But beneath the surface is a master winemaker with an extraordinary collection of vineyards comprising one of Burgundy’s most exciting new domaines.
Some wines from Bordeaux are about subtlety and finesse — but Chateau Destieux is not usually one of them. Destieux is the marriage of superb, ancient terroir with sleek, modern winemaking: old-school flavor in a bold, hedonistic, downright tasty package.
We’ve imported Chablis from the Domaine Gautheron for nearly a decade. Winemaker Cyril Gautheron’s precise, elegant, well-priced white Burgundies have become a staple at our warehouse tastings, our kitchen table, and the cellars of many of our readers. Jasper Morris MW is also a fan, writing recently, “I must say that Cyril Gautheron’s wines are climbing up my table of Chablis producers.”
Wine writer Lettie Teauge once described Sancerre as a wine that delivers “pleasure not profundity.” We think this is an excellent description – sometimes a moment calls for a grand, majestic wine, but other times all you need is something crisp, refreshing, and reliable.