The Hill of Corton lies just north of Beaune, an important landmark (both visual and vinous) at the midway point of Burgundy’s Côte d’Or. The enormous Grand Cru vineyard on its slopes covers 236 acres, only slightly smaller than the entire appellation of Morey-St-Denis.
The 2005 vintage was about as close to perfect as Burgundy gets. Allen Meadows (Burghound) called it “one of the greatest vintages in the history of modern Burgundy.” Jancis Robinson MW called it a “glorious” and “ revered” vintage; Jasper Morris MW called it “the most uniformly successful vintage I have seen in my career.”
Sofie Bohrmann’s 2018 Bourgogne blanc has been a hit. We increased our order twice over the summer, and now that the wine is here and on readers’ kitchen tables the reviews are pouring in: gorgeous fruit, beautiful tension, remarkable texture and purity for a wine under $40.
The white Burgundies of the Maconnais are some of our favorite expressions of Chardonnay. Grown in a region known as “la France Profonde” (“deep France”), the best cuvées are unoaked, mouthfilling, vibrant, and crisp.
Winemaker Thomas Morey is as much a part of Chassagne-Montrachet as the bell tower or the fields of vines -- his family has lived in the village since 1643. His father Bernard’s wines were considered a reference point for the town, and Thomas’s reputation has grown steadily since he started his domaine in 2007.
The Domaine Ravaut is an old-school Burgundy domaine. Family-run for centuries, they sell much of their wine to local clientele and restaurants, and make delicious, well-priced cuvées (white and red) from humble appellations. The Wine Advocate’s William Kelley recently made his inaugural visit, reporting that he “found plenty to admire,” and calling the 2018 reds lineup “hearty, characterful wines with…
It’s said you can judge a domaine by its simplest wine. Making great wine from a Grand Cru vineyard certainly takes talent, but the raw materials provide a considerable head start. As one vigneron put it to us once, “with the Grand Crus, we just get out of the way.”
Gautier Desvignes took over his family domaine just a few years ago, but his arrival is already having an impact. He’s rebuilt his winery, replanted with new clones, and tightened up the fermenting and bottling regime. In the last two years Vinous and the Wine Advocate have arrived, calling his wines “superb,” “succulent,” and one of the region’s “five emerging…
We’re often apprehensive when a new generation takes over a domaine. Young winemakers often implement needed modernization, but sometimes get caught chasing trendiness. No winemaker in our portfolio has more expertly balanced these impulses than Gautier Desvignes.
After years of searching, we at last found a source for Chambolle-Musigny last spring. With a stellar reputation and miniscule size, it hasn’t been easy to find a domaine without existing importing relationships. But this spring we finally stumbled upon the Domaine Boursot, a humble family of winemakers right in the heart of Chambolle.
We work with many winemakers with low profiles, but Jean-Marc Monnet might be the least visible. He has no roadside, no website, no employees, and no other American importer. Jean-Marc himself is as humble as his winery is hidden, but the wines themselves are a wholly different story.
The Domaine Ravaut is the ultimate local wine source. For over a century the Ravaut family has cultivated a loyal clientele of friends, neighbors, and local workers -- our tasting visits are frequently interrupted by neighbors stocking up their cellars. The domaine continues to sell nearly half its wine to folks who walk in their front door.
When we shape our portfolio, we look for wines that “punch above their weight.” These are wines that exceed expectations based on the price tag and the name on the label. For overperforming white Burgundies, many of our favorites come from the towns of St-Aubin and Santenay.
The Perrachon family has made wine in Juliénas since the 1870s. Perrachon makes the most complex and sophisticated Beaujolais reds we’ve had. Raised carefully in oak barrels, their pure Gamay wines compete with entry level Burgundy Pinots on complexity and value.
The wine writers’ notes on 2018 reds are full of qualified enthusiasm. The best are said to be ripe, rich, mouthfilling, bold, and delicious -- Vinous’s Neal Martin found “a sense of nascent joie-de-vivre” across the vintage. But wines picked too late can be overripe -- “very ripe wines of highly variable quality,” concluded Allen Meadows (Burghound).