Thanksgiving is one of our favorite holidays -- a celebration of family, feasting, and maybe some football. We’ve got lots of suggestions for wine on your Thanksgiving dinner table, in our nine mixed cases and November Notebook. But this year we’ll be adding another, more traditional beverage to our table: crisp, refreshing, Breton cider.
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Extraordinary White Burgundy: “Baby Corton-Charlemagne.”
White Burgundy is one world’s greatest gustatory inventions. Rarely does the marriage of winemaker, grape, and land create the perfection possible here. Many of the finest wines we’ve ever tasted -- of any color or origin -- have been Chardonnays from the golden hillsides of Burgundy.
Mixed Case: Châteauneuf-du-Pape Sampler
Châteauneuf-du-Pape is the perfect cold weather wine. Made famous by French popes in the 14th century, and then again by Robert Parker in the 1980s, the area is rich with winemaking history. Today the appellation, which covers only about 12 square miles, produces some of the most sought after wine in the world.
Côte-Rôtie: Syrah for a Winter’s Evening.
From the rock-covered fields of Châteauneuf-du-Pape to the mold- and hail-prone slopes of Burgundy, the French plant vines in the most unusual places. And no location makes a vigneron’s life more complicated than the strikingly steep slopes of Côte Rôtie. Here all vineyard work must be done by hand, as tractors and machinery would tip over.
Mixed Case: Weeknight White Burgundy
We think white Burgundy is the purest expression of the Chardonnay grape. It drinks well on its own, and reaches magnificent heights with food; but prices often restrict white Burgundies to special occasions. We try hard to find examples that are priced to enjoy on a weeknight.
Exciting New Old-Vine Pouilly-Fumé.
It was a cool and dewy morning in the Loire Valley when we visited the Domaine Frederic Michot back in June. We had little more to go on than a brief note in a French wine guide promising a small scale, excellent Pouilly-Fumé. The rutted tracks in the ridges above the hamlet led to a modest house with a small…
Blueberry Jam and Wild Thyme. $25
As the world’s climate warms, the world’s wines have warmed as well. With grapes able to ripen in ever more locations, an “international” style has emerged: very ripe fruit, soft tannins, new oak, and high alcohol. They’re the drugstore paperbacks of the wine world -- fast and easy, but not particularly distinctive or interesting.
Mixed Case: an Autumn Collection
With September weather finally in the air these days, we welcome the signs of autumn: yellow schoolbuses, wool sweaters, and the return of football. As cooler days turn to even chillier nights, our palates turn towards denser, more full-bodied reds, and white with some depth and roundness.
Mixed Case: Michel Gros Red Burgundies
Michel Gros is perhaps the most recognizable producer in our portfolio, and his wines are well deserving of their praise. Gros makes wines from four villages along the Côte de Nuits: Nuits-St-Georges, Morey-St-Denis, Chambolle Musigny, and his home town Vosne-Romanée.
The September Notebook
Our latest in a series of monthly publications featuring recipes, stories, wines back on sale, customer recommendations, discounted mixed cases, and more.
Futures: the September Issue
The September Futures Issue features seven produces from three regions. Five of the winemakers in this issue are from Burgundy, where we visit sources in Meursault, Morey-St-Denis, Gevrey-Chambertin, and Chablis. Other wines inlcluded come from Chinon and Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
$20 White Burgundy: a Safe Investment
After watching a rough day on Wall Street, we’re in the mood for something safe. While sure bets are as rare in the wine world as they are in the equity markets, this wine is about as close as it gets. (We’re thankful Burgundy isn’t listed on the commodity exchanges.)
Rosé Sale this Saturday: Newton Depot
Mix and Match on All Rosés. 15% off any 6, 25% off 12 or more bottles
Value in Saint-Emilion: 2010 Chateau Montlisse
Prices in Bordeaux have never been higher, fed by increasing global demand, particularly from China. We’re always looking for value in Bordeaux, and we often find it in second wines of famous vineyards, or secondary properties from famous winemakers. These wines command much more reasonable prices, but are still the products of masterful winemakers and excellent terroir.
A Delicious Experiment in the Rhône. $25
There’s a sense of ancient history in the south of France. Roman-era towns and crumbling ruins dot the countryside -- even the modern highways follow the ancient “Via Agrippa” of the Romans. Winemaking here is just as old, and archeologists have found presses dating back to 400 BC.