We first met Pascal Bardoux less than two years ago, but he is already a favorite among our readers. His small-batch Champagnes are distinctive, delicious, complex, and comparative bargains. With much of the mass-market Champagne distributed in the US between $75 and $100 a bottle, Bardoux’s $45 small-batch Brut Traditionnel is twice the wine at half the price.
“If gold were a flavor,” Matt Kramer once wrote, “it would taste like Meursault.” Though it has no Grand Cru vineyards, Meursault’s wines are among the most sought after in the world. The name recalls white Burgundies of decadence, opulence, and style.
For the careful shopper, the Languedoc can be an abundant resource. Long deserving its reputation for mediocrity, the region has only recently become a source of value. There’s still plenty of bad wine made in the vast region, but if you make good choices, $13 will take you farther here than just about anywhere else.
VIDEO UPDATE: March 8, 2017
COLLET Chablis 1er cru 2015
GROS Fontaine-St-Martin red 2014
BAGATELLE Tradition 2014
BOYER-MARTENOT Meursault 2014
Michel Gros is perhaps the most recognizable producer in our portfolio. His wines are all elegant and precise, often showing smoky or toasty qualities, and always silky and beautiful. A few years ago Clive Coates MW listed Michel Gros in the top 17 domaines in all of Burgundy — a list that included Romanée-Conti, Leroy, and Comtes Lafon — and highlighted the “nobility and elegance” of his wines.
Chablis remains one of the best bargains in the wine world. Forever playing second fiddle to the rest of Burgundy, the brand suffered damage from the jug-wine “California Chablis,” and has yet to recover fully. The wines themselves, however, have never been better.
The impossibly steep hillsides of the Côte Rôtie seem like the last place in the world to grow vines. With slopes reaching 60 degrees in places, all field work — planting, pruning, treating, harvesting — must be done entirely by hand. Every time we visit we wonder aloud what on earth would drive people to plant vines here.
Ever since one half of the Ansonia team relocated to the coast of Maine, our collective fish and shellfish consumption has risen rapidly. With fresh catches rolling in daily, it’s hard to avoid the stuff — and who would want to? Of course our white wine consumption has spiked as well, and we keep a handful of favorites at the ready for when the oysters or haddock in the local market looks particularly good.
We’ve been on the hunt for a nice Aligoté for years. Forever in the shadow of the finest Chardonnays in the world, Burgundy’s “other white grape” is neither profound nor expensive. Most of our searches have yielded disappointments: wines with too much acid, too little body, or both.
VIDEO UPDATE: March 1, 2017
PRUNIER Bourgogne 2014
BOYER-MARTENOT Aligoté 2015
MIXED CASE: White Wines for Fish
BONNEFOND Côte Rôtie “Rozier” 2014
It’s hard to find inexpensive wine in Burgundy. Demand is high — the world has celebrated the wines of Burgundy for over a thousand years, and its popularity continues to increase. Supply is low — Burgundy contributes only about 1.5 million hectolitres a year, compared with 6 million in Bordeaux and nearly 12 million in the Languedoc.
After more than a decade of tasting across Burgundy, we feel we know the area pretty well. But the region still holds surprises, and perhaps none as exciting as the Ladoix Blanc from the Domaine Ravaut. It was this wine, described by wine writer Bill Nanson as a “baby Corton-Charlemagne,” that first drew us to the Ravaut domaine about five years ago.
Nicolas Maillet might be our favorite new source for White Burgundy. His wines are classic examples of the best white Maconnais — cool, round chardonnay with excellent balance and little or no oak. If the Côte d’Or offers Burgundies of pedigree and refinement, then the Maconnais offers Burgundies of vibrancy and joy.
Burgundy may be the heart of our portfolio, but that doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy wines from the other “B.” Bordeaux is different from Burgundy in just about every way — scale, grapes, style, history, culture — but the wines can be just as delicious. Particularly when there’s a well-browned steak around, it’s hard to beat a classic Bordeaux.
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, affordable wines across the valley.