On Wednesday we spent the day tasting in along the sleep slopes of the Northern Rhône Valley. Beginning in Crozes-Hermitage in the south, we crossed the river to Cornas, and then worked our way up through Saint-Joseph and Condrieu before arriving in the northernmost appellation, Côte Rôtie.
Winemaker Frederic Michot is as brisk and energetic as his wines: pure Sauvignon blanc, no oak, clean and crisp. Michot’s side of the river may be less famous than his neighbor Sancerre, but he isn’t willing to concede it any advantage. His wines are exceptional Sauvignon blancs, full of precision, focus, clean dry fruit, and beautiful tension.
France’s Jura region sits only 50 miles east of Burgundy, but in winemaking terms it’s a world away. The Jura is best known for its light reds and idiosyncratic whites, many of which are purposefully oxidized before bottling. We find these unusual white wines delicious, but admit they’re not to everyone’s taste.
Chenin blanc has an enormous range of expression. It can be anywhere from bone dry to very sweet depending on vintage, terroir, and winemaker. Vouvray is the original source for Chenin Blanc, but the surrounding towns in the central Loire Valley produce excellent examples as well.
Vines have covered the steep hillsides of the Rhône river for over 2000 years. Sprouting from vertiginous granite slopes, gnarled syrah vines bake in the summer sun and produce intense, concentrated juice that becomes deep and unmistakable red wine. Much like white Burgundy’s signature “weight without heaviness,” the reds of the Northern Rhône are at […]
Our newest Champagne source is the Domaine Jacques Robin. They’re a small family outfit located in the Côtes des Bar, a sub-region of Champagne located near Chablis and known for its Pinot Noir-heavy cuvées. It’s an up-and-coming region these days, and one taste of this wine will explain why.
We happened across Sassi by chance – a friend brought a bottle of the 2016 Riserva to a dinner, and it outshone everything else on the table. After finding no local importer, we made contact with the winery and asked them to send us samples of their current releases. Since their arrival these Barbarescos have […]
Thomas Morey is a winemaker at the top of his game. After splitting his father’s vines with his brother Vincent in 2007, Thomas has carefully charted his own course, establishing himself as a leading producer in Chassagne-Montrachet. His style is low-oak, precise, and immaculate – each element in perfect harmony, not a leaf out of […]
Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet produce the world’s finest dry white wines. In production for nearly two thousand years, the vineyards surrounding these villages produce wines of different characters -- Puligny a bit more serious, Chassagne a bit friendlier.
Poggerino is often cited as a reference point for Chianti Classico. Vinous writes of their Poggerino’s “remarkable purity and nuance,” and Rajat Parr calls their wines “excellent” and “some of the purest expressions of the grape in Italy.”
Wine writer Lettie Teauge once described Sancerre as a wine that delivers “pleasure not profundity.” We think this is an excellent description – sometimes a moment calls for a grand, majestic wine, but other times all you need is something crisp, refreshing, and reliable.
Hot, dry growing seasons are now the norm in Burgundy. Twenty years ago these vintages would have been unusual – a challenging outlier requiring some careful adjustments in the cellar. But as warm, sunny conditions have become the new normal, both growers and vines have begun to adapt more permanently.
Like just about every other wine in France, the Syrahs of the Northern Rhône have gotten riper and more lush in the last few years. A series of scorching hot growing seasons mean that the wines have begun to feel a bit more Southern. Don’t get us wrong, they’re delicious – indeed some of the best we’ve had – but…
Saint-Estèphe is one of the primary appellations in Bordeaux’s Left Bank. Known for its clay-gravel soils, the wines of Saint-Estèphe are bold and impressive, with lots of concentration. These are assertive wines that often require substantial cellaring to unwind their potential.
The style of winemaking in Chablis is somewhat in flux these days. Recent hot summers in Chablis have meant a departure from the stony, crystalline expression of old. These richer, rounder wines can handle more oak, and some winemakers have extended their elevage, creating wines with richness and complexity to rival those of the Côte d’Or.