The vignerons of Champagne grow Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. Blanc de Noirs cuvées are blends using the two Pinot varietals, whose skins are dark but whose juice is clear – Blanc de blancs cuvées come from Chardonnay.
The 2017 vintage in red Burgundy continues to impress. No one considers it a “great vintage” (stay tuned for 2019), but its accessibility and seductive texture makes it delightful early. The tannins are appealingly soft and the acidities relatively low — it’s an approachable, early-drinking vintage that’s providing much enjoyment already. Or as Burghound puts it: “user-friendly.”
Sauvignon Blanc is among the world’s most popular white grapes, planted everywhere from New Zealand to California to Chile. But the original source for Sauvignon Blanc is France’s Loire Valley.
Some wines just hit a sweet spot between price and quality. All the way back to our brick and mortar days in Dupont Circle in Washington DC, the Goubert Sablet has been among the best sellers in our lineup. When we left it off our order last year, we had half a dozen customers write in to express concern.
Vincent Boyer is among the most talented of our winemakers, and his family owns some the Côte d’Or’s finest white wine terroir. With his increasing recognition and impressive critical scores, you might expect him to be content with the renown he has achieved. But Vincent is an innovator.
The 2018 vintage was a hot one across France, and in Burgundy it produced bold wines with broad shoulders and impressive density. The wines may be light on Burgundy’s signature elegance and precision, but they more than make up for it with gusto and pluck.
We’re big fans of “pantry pasta.” You know the type — al dente spaghetti, parmesan, garlic, olive oil, butter, and some combination of pepper flakes, anchovy, lemon, etc. Sometimes we love spending hours in the kitchen working on a multistep gustatory masterpiece — other times, we make this.
Winemaker Caroline Lestimé is a remarkable talent. For over thirty years she has steered her family’s prestigious winery Domaine Jean-Noël Gagnard to new heights. She strikes a delicate balance between tradition and innovation, converting to organic viticulture a decade ago, but continuing to produce rich, classic cuvées from Chassagne-Montrachet.
The Domaine les Goubert is among the most consistent winemakers in our portfolio. No matter the vintage – warm or cool, sunny or wet, easy or difficult — the Goubert wines are reliably outstanding. The winemakers allow the vintage to influence the character of the wine, but never the quality.
The Domaine Michel Gros is best known for its magnificent red Burgundies from famous towns in the Côte de Nuits. But for decades the domaine has also farmed a wide swath of vines in the hills to the west of “la Côte.” The neighborhood isn’t quite as posh and the terroir not quite as perfect, but the “Hautes-Côtes,” as they’re called, have long provided excellent value.
Some of the wines in our portfolio are “high-maintenance.” Pricey Burgundies require patience, timing, careful food pairing, and decanting to realize their potential. In the right context, they’re extraordinary — but to a more casual drinker, they might be described as “fussy.”
French wines have long been the focus of the Ansonia portfolio. Of the 45 winemakers we work with, about half are from Burgundy, and all but a few are French. Our longtime exception to this rule is the Fattoria Poggerino.
Riesling still has an image problem. Among sommeliers and wine professionals, the grape is lauded for its value, its ability to communicate terroir, and its ability to age. But many wine drinkers still associate it with a sweet, insipid style of wine with little balance and no complexity.
Gautier Desvignes took over his family domaine just a few years ago, but his arrival is already having an impact. He’s rebuilt his winery, replanted with new clones, and tightened up the fermenting and bottling regime. In the last two years Vinous and the Wine Advocate have arrived, calling his wines “superb,” “succulent,” and one of the region’s “five emerging talents to watch.”
France’s Southern Rhône valley produces rich, smooth red blends. At one end of the spectrum there’s Châteauneuf-du-Pape, famous and long-lived; at the other there’s Côtes du Rhône, uncomplicated and inexpensive. Today’s wine is from the middle.