Frosts are often the first challenge of a vigneron’s year. Unusually warm springs mean budbreak arrives earlier, and the vines now at risk for overnight frosts for months. Particularly in Chablis, an hour north of the rest of Burgundy, crop loss from frost damage has become a way of life.
In recent years the profile of Chablis has changed a bit. Most cuvées still show the terroir’s classic stony, mineral intensity; but warm summers have added a bit of extra flesh to the wines. Our favorites still taste like Chablis, but are often a bit easier to approach young or on their own.
Champagne is one of the most dynamic winegrowing regions in France today. Interest has moved away from the unvarying products from the big houses, and towards small grower producers who follow terroir and vintage variations to craft wines of character and complexity. Prices have also risen less steeply than in Burgundy and Bordeaux, and Champagnes today often provide exceptional value.
The Hautes-Côtes de Nuits are a patchwork of vineyards in the hills just west of the famous Côte d’Or. The land is 100 meters higher and the grapes ripens about a week later. With rising temperatures and earlier harvests, this delay has become a real advantage, and the wines from the Hautes-Côtes get better each year.
Nicolas Paget continues to produce excellent, dry, delicious Chenin Blanc from his organically farmed vineyard in the central Loire Valley. The Loire is an epicenter of natural winemaking in France, and Paget’s style is restrained, clean, and vibrant. We find chenin blanc marries particularly well with the earthy complexity that comes from organic farming, and Paget’s wines are obvious successes.
The Northern Rhône Valley is best known for its syrahs from Côte Rôtie, Hermitage, and Cornas – magnificent wines that require diligent cellaring. In their youth they can be finicky and underwhelming, but given time they’re some of the most impressive and complex red wines made anywhere in the world. For those with a dearth of cellar space or patience (no shame) but a taste for Northern syrah, we submit Crozes-Hermitage.
If, as the saying goes, for wine collectors “all roads lead to Burgundy,” then among Burgundy lovers “all roads lead to Vosne-Romanée.” No where else in the region – or for that matter the world – does one find so perfect a combination of limestone, marl and clay. Vosne is Pinot Noir’s ideal environment, and its expressions of the grape are unmatched.
Though it has no Grand Cru vineyards, Meursault’s white Burgundies are some of the most sought after in the world. Classical Meursault is opulent, almost decadent white Burgundy, but always with enough lift and tension to keep it balanced and graceful.
For centuries the Ravaut family has made traditional red and white Burgundies from their small domaine just north of Beaune. Their little-known hamlet of Ladoix sits at the junction between the Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits. It’s one of the corners of Burgundy where winemakers will somewhat sheepishly admit that, aside from frosts and hailstorms (a big aside), climate change has improved their wines.
Biodynamic and organic agriculture is everywhere in France these days. Nearly every one of our producers is certified or in conversion, and even few those who aren’t use the lunar calendar to schedule dates for racking and bottling. It’s an encouraging trend: better soils, better environment, and better wines.
The red wines of the Loire Valley always play second fiddle to the region’s whites. But it’s a mistake to ignore them – they’re well balanced, low-alcohol, usually organic, and often exceptional values. Our favorites these days are the unblended, unoaked Cabernet Francs from the central Loire.
On Wednesday we visited Gautier Desvignes, the humble, friendly, thirtysomething winemaker who has transformed his modest family domaine into a top name in the region. William Kelley writes that Desvignes is “one of the leading lights in the Côte Chalonnaise,” and we wholeheartedly agree. His care and precision in the vineyards and the cellar was on display this week, and the results speak for themselves.
We tasted yesterday at the Domaine Gautheron in Chablis. A winemaker’s first task these days – in Burgundy, but particularly in Chablis – is to achieve freshness, and there’s nobody we know better than Cyril. Jasper Morris agrees, writing “Cyril Gautheron is a superb producer making wines in a crisp cool classically Chablis style, which is now really quite hard to achieve in these warmer seasons.”
On Monday we tasted with Pierre Gros, winemaker at the domaine Michel Gros in Vosne-Romanée. The baton has passed gradually and smoothly at this domaine, and while his father Michel and his 45 years of experience are always available, Pierre has unmistakably taken the reins. Neal Martin writes “I detect a change in tack rather than charting a totally different course,” and we tend to agree. If his first few vintages at the helm are any indication, the future at Gros may be even brighter than the past.
Chambolle Musigny’s three most famous terroirs are the Grand Crus Musigny and Bonnes-Mares, and Premier Cru Amoureuses. All three fetch prices north of $500/bot (some well into four figures), and are among Burgundy’s most iconic and long lived wines.