Romain Collet is one of the most exciting talents in our portfolio. He’s the energetic and innovative grandson of Jean Collet, the domaine’s founder. He experiments with all of today’s means of elevage, so a visitor to the cellars now walks past not only stainless steel tanks and large oak foudres, but also cement eggs, clay amphoras, and barrels of all sizes, from traditional Burgundian to demi-muids holding 400 or 500 liters.
The 2022 red Burgundies are shaping up to be an extraordinary vintage. Expectations were high from the start: “beautiful and bountiful… very good wines and plenty of them” wrote Jasper Morris. William Kelley called them on release “succulent, suave and charming.” The last year of tasting them in our homes and at the warehouse has confirmed – this is an all around terrific vintage.
Amid a trend of rising prices across Burgundy, Chablis has maintained its place as a consistent source of value. Even Grand Crus from top tier producers still rarely break the $100/bottle mark. Of the forty premier cru vineyards across the appellation of Chablis, Montée de Tonnerre is undisputedly the finest and most prestigious. As wine writer Rajat Parr puts it, Montée de Tonnerre “produces at Grand Cru status, but still goes for Premier Cru prices.”
We’re delighted to welcome Christian Clerget back into the Ansonia portfolio. Thirtysomething Justine Clerget (Christian’s daughter) is now in charge, and has brought renewed energy, refined techniques, and a passion for organic viticulture. The Clerget wines were always classical, terroir-transparent, old school red Burgundy; Justine has maintained this spirit but added polish and class.
Sofie Bohrmann summed up the 2022 growing season with one word: “parfait.” After the catastrophic 2021 vintage, in which some of her parcels lost over 90% of their crop, 2022 provided clean, healthy grapes, and plenty of them. It was hot and dry as it always is these days, but rain fell at exactly the right time – a bit of good luck after a season of bad.
The wines of Margaux are some of the most celebrated in Bordeaux, admired for their unique blend of finesse and power. The soils are light and thin, full of gravel, sand and limestone, and the resulting wines combine Left-Bank muscle with an exquisite finesse and perfume.
The Loire Valley continues to be the epicenter of modern of French winemaking. As other regions struggle with unusually warm summers, the Loire has become a reliable place for freshness and balance, a result of a cooler climate and a dedicated organic viticulture.
In his book “The New French Wine” Jon Bonné writes that Jacqueline André’s wines “are about old-fashioned subtlety,” crediting her with “quietly upholding the extraordinary quality of her family’s domaine.” André is fully worthy of this praise, and it’s never been clearer than today.
Sablet is a classic Southern Rhône town. Its 9th century streets are home to just 1400 residents, a couple of boulangeries, and a handful of restaurants and wineries. Winemaker Eric Chauvin is a Sablet native (also a volunteer firefighter), and it’s also the location of his tiny excellent Domaine le Souverain. His organic, balanced, extremely well-priced red Rhônes have become an everyday delight for many readers.
Cyril Gautheron makes a wide range of wines from his family domaine in Chablis. They’re all from the same grape of course (Chardonnay), and all from the same town (Chablis). But the range from Petit Chablis up to Grand Cru covers an enormous range of terroir and expression. Each is carefully and beautifully crafted, leading Jasper Morris MW to call him “a superb producer.”
Yesterday we spent a delightful afternoon tasting and sharing lunch at the Fattoria Poggerino in Tuscany. It’s been years since we last visited, and it was wonderful to walk among the sangiovese vines again. Piero Lanza is a gifted winemaker who has turned his humble property into what top wine writers consider a reference point for Chianti Classico.
Many famous chateaux in Bordeaux produce a “second wine,” a bottling of juice from younger vines or less favored corners of the vineyard. The quality of this cuvée varies greatly depending on chateau and vintage, but at its best it can be an early maturing wine with excellent pricing, and a careful consumer can find tremendous value.
Vincent Boyer now works with his sister Sylvie, and together they share the viticulture (mostly her) and winemaking (mostly him). They’ve nearly completed their conversion to organic farming, and their always excellent wines have become even better in recent years. They raised prices after their catastrophic 2021 vintage where they lost 90% in some plots from frost, but actually lowered them this year given the healthier crop.
Organic viticulture is the future of winemaking — the majority of our winemakers are organic or in conversion. But at some domaines, it’s also the past. The Domaine du Joncuas in Gigondas turned 100 years old a few years ago, and they’ve practiced organic winemaking, as they put it, “depuis toujours” (“since forever”). Writer Jon Bonné cites them as a benchmark producer for the region, and labels them “essential defenders of grenache’s good name.”
No winemaker we work with has captured more readers’ attention in the last few years than Pierre Vessigaud. We get emails with comments like “the wines are so alive,” and “as good as Meursault but half the price.” We’re not surprised – we find ourselves reaching for Vessigaud’s wines more often every month.