Transition to organics/biodynamics may be trendy in winemaking today, but it’s nothing new at the Domaine Pierre André in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Jacqueline André’s grandfather stopped using chemicals in his vines in 1963, and the domaine has been certified organic since 1980 – the first in the appellation.
If we were to sum up Thomas Morey’s wines in one word, it would be “precise.” Much like the man himself — wire rim glasses, serious demeanor, Zalto stemware in his tasting room — Morey’s wines offer crystalline elegance, with not one hair out of place. Each cuvée conveys its terroir with honesty and clarity.
Romain Collet took over his family’s fines in 2008, and has since made great strides. Having introduced organic farming, natural yeasts, and a lighter hand in the cellar, the Domaine Collet has regained its once lofty status among sources for high-end Chablis.
In a Beaune restaurant last spring we stumbled upon that most elusive of wine merchant targets: an unknown Burgundy domaine. Formed in 2002 with just 1.5 hectares of vines, the Domaine Bohrmann has no other importers, zero critical reviews, and a (very) hard-to-reach winemaker.
For years, Gigondas was a savvy wine collector’s secret: near-Châteauneuf-level complexity and richness, at a substantial discount. But even as its name has spread and prices have crept up, the price-value ratio in Gigondas remains unusually good. As Vinous’s Josh Raynolds put it after tasting several hundred cuvées this spring, “in the context of the world’s best wines, almost every Gigondas delivers solid and even remarkable value.”
Of the 12,000 acres of vineyards planted in Chablis, only 250 acres (2%) qualify as Grand Cru. And of these, most consider the “Les Clos” the finest. As Clive Coates MW puts it, Les Clos is “Chablis at its very, very finest.”
Michel Gros is a quiet, humble vigneron whose wines are world famous. Having directed every vintage at his family’s winery for 45 years, his knowledge of Burgundian terroir is deep and intimate. His relatively interventionist style stands out today amid today’s laissez-faire winemaking, but his skill in the vines and cellar is unparalleled, and the results are consistently superb.
Harvest began in much of Burgundy last week, the earliest in a century. It’s a good reminder that even with all the advancements in measurement and technology, winemakers remain subject to the whim of Mother Nature — if the grapes are ripe a month ahead of normal, the picking must start.
Sisters Dany and Carol Chastan make exquisite Rhône cuvées using old-school techniques. ambient yeasts, no oak (not even foudres), 100% whole cluster, no fining or filtering. It sounds like a recipe for a big rustic wine, but the Chastan sisters somehow managed to produce wines of superb texture and subtlety.
Cyril Gautheron is a 6th generation winemaker who approaches his winemaking with fanatical precision. He farms over 65 different plots of vines across the Chablis appellation, and vinifies each in its own separate tank. His obsession results in perfectly-calibrated cuvées.
Romain Collet’s lineup of 2018 Chablis is delicious. From their simple Vieilles Vignes to the magnificent Grand Cru Les Clos, Romain Collet handled the warm vintage with expert control, finding perfect balance and freshness in every cuvée.
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.
Pouilly-Fuissé was once the darling of American wine drinkers — fun to pronounce, rich and voluptuous in texture. Popularity bred overproduction, and quality suffered in the 80s. But in the last few decades local winemakers have begun to reclaim the wine, and today Jasper Morris calls it “the most dynamic white wine appellation in Burgundy.”
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.
Gautier Desvignes is a rising star among Burgundian winemakers. Vinous’s Neal Martin recently found Gautier’s wines “really quite superb.” And the Wine Advocate’s William Kelley calls the domaine “very much a Côte Chalonnaise address to watch,” and advises that “importers looking for a potential future star should beat a path to his door.”