Category: Goubert

As some of you noticed, we underbought rosé this year. Our entire summer’s worth sold out in 15 days, and by June 1 there wasn’t a drop of pink in the entire warehouse. Turns out all those people sitting at home got thirsty when the weather warmed up!

With most socializing happening outdoors these days, we’re getting lots of requests for wines suited for a patio or a picnic. We ran out of most of our everyday wines back when everyone was busy stocking up on pasta and purell. But we’ve just restocked, and none is more welcome than today’s Côtes du Rhône.

Some wines just hit a sweet spot between price and quality. All the way back to our brick and mortar days in Dupont Circle in Washington DC, the Goubert Sablet has been among the best sellers in our lineup. When we left it off our order last fall, we had half a dozen customers write in to express concern.

For many years our pick from Gigondas (as well as Robert Parker’s and Jancis Robinson’s) has been the Domaine les Goubert. The always-excellent wines are even more refined since the family’s daughter Florence took over the winemaking a few years ago.

Most of us are getting better acquainted with our pantry these days, stocking up on pasta, canned goods, toilet paper, and other necessities. We won’t go as far as to claim that wine belongs on an “essentials” list, but we’ll put it in the category of “strongly prefer not to go without.”

Rosé may be in vogue of late, but its origins are actually quite old. The people of Provence have made rosé since 6th Century BC, when Phonecean ships brought vines across the Mediterranean. Today Provence remains one of the world’s centers of rosé production.

We’re making our way up the Rhône River this week -- tonight we’re in Tain l’Hermitage, the southern gateway to the Northern Rhône Valley. (Follow our video blog: FB, IG, YT.) Today we visited one of the original members of the Ansonia portfolio, the Domaine les Goubert in Gigondas.

In most cellars, Côtes du Rhône is the workhorse wine. Hosting thirsty guests? Go with a Côtes du Rhône. Pairing anything from salad to stew to soup to sirloin? Côtes du Rhône fits the bill. The best examples are crowd-pleasing, inexpensive, and full of character.

For several decades the Domaine les Goubert has produced some of the most popular wines in our portfolio. Grown in the warm Provençal sunshine around Gigondas, they’re smooth, accessible, welcoming red wines perfect for a cozy evening by the fire.

There’s perhaps no cozier wine than a red from the Southern Rhône Valley. The most famous is Châteauneuf-du-Pape, but many rich, excellent reds hail from the surrounding towns as well. At their best they provide similar depth and complexity but far better pricing.

Rosé’s popularity shows no signs of ebbing. We generally steer clear of winemaking fads, but even for us traditionalists it’s hard to deny the tastiness of cool rosé under a warm sun. Our criteria for rosé are threefold: dry, inexpensive, and refreshing.

For a crowd-pleasing red, it’s hard to beat Côtes du Rhône. Guests with New World leanings will appreciate the richness and full flavor. Those with Old World inclinations will appreciate the balance and style. It’s a wine nearly everyone will enjoy without too much thought.

As frigid air welcomes us into 2018, we find ourselves reaching for something rich and smooth to fill our wine glasses. In much of the world, a “rich” wine comes with a heavy dose of alcohol and little character. We prefer something with a bit more balance — dense and mouthfilling, but with carefully ripened […]