Winemaker Nicolas Haeni’s secret to success comes down to one thing: elevation. The Malmont vineyards are perched high in the hills above Séguret, where cooler air and slower ripening grapes are the key to balance. As the rest of the Southern Rhône struggles to keep their reds below 15% alcohol, the Malmont cuvées boast exquisite and enviable freshness.
The Salomon-Undhof estate dates to 1792, and their terraced vines overlooking the Danube have long been an excellent source. The country’s preeminent wine guide calls them a “figurehead of Austrian wine history.” Their style is what you’d expect from 225 years of history — clean, polished, and refined.
Picamelot is among Burgundy’s finest crémant houses. The Wine Advocate’s resident Champagne expert William Kelley writes that “Picamelot produces some of the best sparkling wines in Burgundy,” and calls their wines “elegant,” “excellent,” and “superb.”
We love our Sancerre producer, Domaine de la Garenne. Their three Sancerre blanc cuvées are delightful: the crisp and fruity Sancerre 2019, the stony Sancerre “Bouffants” 2019, and the bracing, intense Sancerre “Infidèle.” They’re all Sauvignon Blanc at their most vibrant and delicious.
We’re really excited about the 2018 Chablis lineup from Jean Collet in the May Futures. 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.
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 fall, we had half a dozen customers write in to express concern.
We’re calling it — it’s now rosé season. Sure it might be 50 degrees and rainy next week, but throw on a pair of sunglasses and a short sleeve shirt and just pretend. Summer has to get here some day. This year we’ve got three exciting exciting rosés — all 2019s and just arrived. (And […]
Bordeaux is home to many of the most famous and expensive wines in the world. But it’s a huge region, and also produces wines that dramatically overperform their pricetag. One of our favorite places to find value in Bordeaux is at the Cru Bourgeois level.
Earlier this week we tasted through Pierre Amiot’s lineup of 2018s. The new vintage is excellent — full, ripe, and lush, but with bold foundation and plenty of material. The Amiots sent along bottles of 2017 to taste side by side, and the comparison was fascinating.
Christophe Mersiol’s wines embody the Alsace’s signature blend of fruit, flowers, and freshness. He attributes the exceptional purity in his wines to organic agriculture. They’re humble, well priced, and just delicious.
We’ve gathered the Ansonia team in Maine this week to taste through nearly 100 wines for the next two Futures issues. (We know, we know — someone’s gotta do it.) By this point in the year we usually have a good feel for the vintage, having spent a week tasting in Burgundy — but our cancelled trip means we’ve had to wait for samples to arrive from France.
Our Burgundy focus means we write a lot about subtlety: the nuances of terroir, the intricacies of weather patterns, etc. But sometimes we like to drink wine that’s a bit simpler — not boring or one-dimensional, just uncomplicated enjoyment.
For many years our pick from Gigondas (as well as Robert Parker’s and Jancis Robinson’s) has been the Domaine les Goubert. The always-excellent wines are even more refined since the family’s daughter Florence took over the winemaking a few years ago.
There’s something about drinking wine outside that makes it come alive. And between a tardy spring and current restraints on outdoor activity, we find ourselves savoring the hours en plein air even more. A glass of something tasty at just the right temperature is the perfect ideal to a spring afternoon.
Roger Belland and his daughter Julie are 5th and 6th generation winemakers in Santenay, at the southern end of the Côte d’Or. The domaine’s wines are so approachable young that they’re often not given the chance to age – today’s is an argument for patience.