On Monday we tasted with Pierre Gros, now firmly ensconced as principal winemaker at his father’s eponymous Domaine Michel Gros. Though he’s only just returned to this jewel of a domaine in Vosne-Romané, he’s already proving himself as a talented vigneron. We tasted his extraordinary 2022s from barrel Monday, certainly his finest vintage to date, with soaring critical scores to match.
Over the weekend we drove from Beaune up to Chablis to taste with our producers there. If you’ve read our recent notes on Cyril Gautheron’s 2022s you’ll know we were blown away by his entire lineup – Saturday’s tasting confirmed our initial impressions. We’ve added a few more cuvées to our shopping cart, and can’t wait to share them with you later this spring. (If you missed them in the March Futures that closed yesterday, let us know and we’ll try to squeeze you in.)
Yesterday afternoon we tasted with Lea Bonnefond, the 26 year old force her family domaine in Côte Rôtie. She’s friendly and quiet, and while her father and uncle are still very much involved, the transition to Léa will be steady and smooth. In a terrific Decanter profile last week, Matt Walls MW calls her wines “triumphant” and considers them “up there with names like M Chapoutier, E Guigal, Domaine de Monteillet and Stéphane Ogier.”
Yesterday we finally met the Negrier family, winemakers at Fleuron de Liot. They’re a Burgundy-sized estate in St-Estèphe on Bordeaux’s left bank. Henri Negrier created the domaine from scratch with his wife two decades ago – a remarkable feat in a land of giant chateaux passed down through families for centuries.
Grown near the mouth of the Loire River, Muscadet is at once brisk and hearty — the essence of the windswept Atlantic coast. Wine writer Lettie Teague calls it “one of the world’s best, if most obscure, bargains,” saying “a glass of $8 Muscadet will always be a better wine than an $8 glass of something else.” (Today’s, at $3.80/glass, less than half that.)
Many readers are very familiar with Poggerino’s excellent Chianti Classico cuvées, a favorite of writers in Vinous, the Wine Advocate, and more. (Indeed, don’t tell our French producers, but they’re some of the most popular wines we import.) This year winemaker Piero Lanza reintroduced his “Labirinto” cuvée, a simple, easy-going red from young vines.
We generally prefer our Cabernet Franc unoaked and pure, but there are a few cuvées we’ve found whose density and complexity is worthy of oak treatment. Chief among them is Domaine des Sanzay’s Saumur-Champigny rouge “Beauregard.” We’re delight to have the terrific 2020 in stock today.
The winemakers of Chablis have felt the effects of climate change more than most. They’re particularly susceptible to damaging spring frosts, and recent warm dry summers have produced wines that sometimes obscure the signature piercing minerality of classical Chablis. But one silver lining has been the rising quality of regional-level wines.
The 2021 vintage was a curveball in Burgundy. The growing season was considerably cooler and wetter than the recent spate of record-setting hot and dry summers. The 2021 red Burgundies are somewhat of a throwback – beautiful clarity, with a refreshing, subtle touch that calls to mind the Pinots of a decade ago.
Sancerre has no premier or grand cru classifications, but among its most famous vineyards is the steep slopes of the Monts Damnées (damned mountains). The Domaine de la Garenne, our Sancerre source, farms a special plot along the same slope as Mont Damnées called “Les Bouffants.” It’s a single, limestone-heavy terroir which Garenne vinifies and bottles separately.
Last week we sat down to taste samples of Cyril’s 2022s and were entirely blown away – the only difficulty was eliminating any of them. As Morris points out, they walk the line perfectly between the fleshy fruit of modern Chablis and the brisk, vibrant zip of old. Cyril is rarely one to doubt himself – Morris calls him “a bundle of energy, full of theories, questioning received wisdom” – but with wines like these there’s little to doubt.
The Syrahs of the Northern Rhône are known for their intense color and soaring aromatics. Some wines even rival their Burgundian neighbors to the north in elegance and subtlety. Though recent hot vintages have delivered a bit more meat on the bones than a decade ago, the most successful cuvées retain their classic northern complexity.
Wine writer Rajat Parr describes St. Aubin as the “insider’s white Burgundy.” Wedged in a valley between Chassagne and Puligny, this town produces white Burgundy with hints of Montrachet’s golden richness, but a less stratospheric price tag. St-Aubin has become rarer and pricier like everything else in Burgundy, but it’s still far more affordable than its famous neighbors.
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, in particular the twin villages of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé.
The 2021 Red Burgundies have a reputation as inconsistent and tricky, but someone forgot to tell Gautier Desvignes. Burgundy’s leading wine critic William Kelley calls him “a leading light in the Côte Chalonnaise,” and he’s navigated an extremely difficult vintage with skill and precision. His lineup of 2021 Givrys is outstanding top to bottom – they’re not just good “for the vintage,’ they’re objectively delicious on their own.