Weather plays a crucial role in the character of a wine. Recent years in Burgundy have provided no shortage of challenges — from hail to frost to mildew and more. Luckily there are also some bright spots — the 2015 vintage provided both quantity and quality. Nearly every wine drinks better than its label: simple table wines drink like village-level Burgundies, and village wines resemble premier crus.
Prices in Bordeaux have never been higher. Due to increasing global demand, particularly from Asia, it is harder and harder to find values in the region. In search of high quality wines that also offer good value, we often consider second wines of famous vineyards or secondary properties from famous winemakers.
We often preach the value of well-aged wines. Under the right conditions, time has a magical effect on a bottle of wine. Usually it’s red wines (or sometimes whites) that are ageworthy, but we often forget the third category: Champagne.
The first inquiries about the 2015 Michel Gros lineup started coming in more than a year ago. Our best-known producer; the vintage of a generation; “just want to make sure I don’t miss it.” Back in April, our barrel tastings confirmed 2015’s considerable hype — magnificent wines by a legendary producer from what may be the best vintage in decades.
There’s no better wine for wintery weather than one made in a sunny spot. The rich wines of the Southern Rhône valley spend the summer soaking in the clear Provençal sun — they’re a perfect match for cold weather. Châteauneuf-du-Pape gets most of the attention in the Rhône, but if you know where to look, there are delicious and affordable wines across the valley.
The Côte d’Or is home to nearly all of Burgundy’s most famous wines. As monks learned centuries ago, the region’s combination of soil, exposition, slope, and weather makes it a near-perfect place to grow Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. But it’s a mistake to ignore the rest of Burgundy. It may be more difficult to produce […]
Sometimes the most impressive wines come from the most unassuming of winemakers. We see our fair share of egocentric vignerons, but often the most talented winemakers are the quietest.
There has been no shortage of ink spilled on the 2015 red Burgundies. Decanter says it is “extraordinary…the red wines are truly great.” Stephen Tanzer of Vinous calls it “one of the half-dozen top vintages for red Burgundy of the past generation.” Burghound concludes: “a genuinely great vintage.” And so on. We’re often skeptical of […]
Wine classification changes dramatically from one region to another. The Old World tends to identify wines by place, while the New World tends to use grape varietal. It seems a minor shift, but it has important implications for the way people perceive wines.
The wines of Meursault may be popular today, but it’s hard to describe them as a passing fad. The monks of Citeaux first planted vines there in 1098, and over the last nine centuries the village has proudly earned its glowing reputation.Though it has no Grand Cru vineyards, Meursault’s wines are among the most sought after in the world.
The Domaine Ravaut is the ultimate local wine source. For 120 years the family has cultivated a loyal clientele of friends, neighbors, and workers at the stone quarry in the hamlet of Ladoix. Though they have expanded their reach in recent years, they still sell more than half of their wine to folks who walk in the front door.
Pascal Bardoux is a quiet, pensive winemaker. In Champagne, land of glitzy tasting rooms and glossy brochures, his humble demeanor and unassuming style distinguish him. Our tastings together are long and measured — each wine has time to develop in the glass, and a discussion follows involving precise references to rare fruits and other scents.
The Holidays are a time to gather family and friends, reflect on the year gone by, and maybe open that special bottle you’ve been saving. This week we’ve highlighted some ideas for that celebratory bottle, from Vosne-Romanée to Grand Crus Burgundies to samplers in our 2017 Gift Guide.
In Burgundy, “Grand Cru” is as good as it gets. Grand Cru vineyards represent the top 1.3% of wines in the region, and while the other 98.7% of Burgundian wine can be excellent, there’s nothing quite like Grand Cru. It’s the finest Burgundy has to offer, served to kings and emperors for over a thousand years.
The Burgundies of the Côte d’Or may be Chardonnay’s most refined expression, but its purest expression comes from the hillsides of Chablis. With no oak to compete with the fruit, this is Chardonnay showing only its essential elements. It takes a talented winemaker to craft this unadorned version of the grape, and Romain Collet is […]