The Northern Rhône is a tiny region. With just ten thousand acres of vines, it’s one sixteenth the size of the Southern Rhône Valley. And yet it’s home to the world’s finest expressions of Syrah. Iconic and ageworthy wines from Hermitage, Côte Rôtie and Cornas get much of the attention, but the lesser-known appellation of Crozes-Hermitage provides tremendous value.
Arnaud Baillot is an exciting new producer in Burgundy. He started just 10 years ago as a micro-negociant, purchasing grapes and making tiny batches from small plots. In the last decade he has acquired 10 hectares of vines around the Côte d’Or, farming organically and crafting beautiful, understated modern Burgundy.
Chenin blanc has an enormous range of expression. It can be anywhere from very dry to very sweet depending on vintage, terroir, and winemaker. Our favorite expression is bone chenin blanc – at its best the grape delivers exquisite balance of orchard and stone fruit, fine minerality, and carefully channeled energy.
It’s hard to call any place in Burgundy’s Côte de Nuits “overlooked,” but Morey-Saint-Denis has always been a bit of an underdog. It’s a tiny place — about a mile from end to end, and home to fewer than 700 people — and sits between two larger and more famous neighbors. But it’s an impressive town in its own right, worthy of attention and respect.
More than anywhere else in Burgundy, winemakers in Chablis have felt the impact of recent warm vintages. Earlier harvests and more sun exposure have meant riper grapes and wines with fleshier, richer textures. This style of Chablis can support more oaking, and some winemakers have begun to increase the exposure to oak barrels.
Champagne has a reputation as refined, elegant, and delicate. While this reputation fits much of the wine from the heart of the Champagne region, today’s wine is another story. Domaine Jacques Robin is a small grower producer in the Côtes des Bar, a satellite sub-region of Champagne an hour to the south.
The “Michel” of Gros fame is now fully retired – or, at least, as fully retired as a winemaker can be with 45 vintages under his belt, a house nearby, and his name on the label. His son Pierre has taken the reins, representing, in Neal Martin’s words, “a change in tack rather than charting a totally different course.” Like many of his peer group Pierre has moved the domaine toward organics, and if his first few vintages at the helm are any indication, the future at Gros may be even brighter than the past.
The Maconnais has long been one of our favorite sources for white Burgundy. This southern sub-region produces wines with an often friendlier character than those of the famous Côte d’Or to the north. Maconnais whites typically have low or no oak, they’re more affordable, and require less cellaring.
Arnaud Baillot is a bit of an anomaly in Burgundy – he has no family connection to wine or the region, and has only been making wine for six years. His wife Laure is of a storied Burgundian family (Hudelot-Noëllat), but they have short winemaking experience and almost zero reviews. We met him in a […]
The pursuit of freshness is a perennial struggle for white Burgundy vignerons these days. They’ve adapted to warmer, drier summers by delaying pruning, harvesting earlier, and tweaking their cellar work. But Chardonnay loves the sun, and inattentive growers can end up with overripe, high alcohol wines.
The Northern Rhône represents (for now) the northern limit of where Syrah can ripen fully. As with many grapes, the area of northernmost range produces the most elegant and delicate expression of the grape – think South African Shiraz, now picture its opposite.
The 2022 red Burgundies are quickly becoming one our favorite vintages. From the warmest, driest year in recent memory, winemakers managed to craft vibrant and beautifully balanced wines, sporting low alcohol and classic Burgundian finesse. They’re modern in their sunny polish, but traditional in their middleweight, elegant textures. If this is the future of Burgundy, sign us up.
Pierre Vessigaud is our newest white Burgundy source, and he’s among our most exciting finds in years. A committed, Demeter certified biodynamic vigneron (the highest organic classification), Vessigaud’s wines are extraordinary in their complexity and sophistication. He’s brand new to our portfolio, but his wines have already stolen the show at several Depot tastings.
We love discovering new wines and domaines – exciting new sources full of energy and innovation. But sometimes we open a bottle that reminds us of just how good some of the wines already in our cellar are. This week we enjoyed a bottle of Goubert’s Gigondas “Cuvée Florence,” and it was simply outstanding.
Chablis continues to be an excellent source for well-priced everyday white Burgundy – weeknight bottles that are crisp, useful, and delicious. But high-end Chablis can be extraordinary. Cuvées from Chablis’s seven famous Grand Crus show a depth and power that’s remarkable for a white wine.