Final Pickup Hours: Tuesday 11/23, 5-6:30pm
Shipping Order Deadline: Sunday 11/21
_______________________________
Samplers
Filters Sort results
Reset Apply
 | Pierre Gros (Michel's son) now steers this iconic estate in Vosne-Romanée, after his father… More (+) Pierre Gros (Michel's son) now steers this iconic estate in Vosne-Romanée, after his father ran it for 45 years. Neal Martin writes “I detect a change in tack rather than charting a totally different course.” Like many of his peer group Pierre has moved the domaine toward organics, and if his first few vintages at the helm are any indication, the future at Gros may be even brighter than the past.
The regular Hautes Côtes red cuvée is very nice in 2022, garnering a designation from Allen Meadows (Burghound) for wines he judges to be “particularly outstanding for their respective appellations.” Vinous’s Neal Martin found it “particularly aromatic” and praised its “sweet entry” and “gentle grip.” Less (-) Free US Shipping | |
 | Tucked into a sleepy hamlet just over the western ridge of the Côte de… More (+) Tucked into a sleepy hamlet just over the western ridge of the Côte de Nuits lies the Ferme Fruirouge. The Olivier family has made cremes here for nine generations, and the farm itself dates back four centuries. Today they raise their fruits organically and biodynamically, and their crèmes are the cleanest, purest, most intense extraction of fruit we’ve ever seen. The hints of cassis we often describe in pinot noir are maximized here, and the taste is an extraordinary distillation of fruit.
We add a splash of crème de cassis to a glass of Picamelot crémant for a delicious, attractive, effortless (and cheap) aperitif – a “kir bourguignon” if you will. Other ideas include a traditional kir (cassis and aligoté), communard (cassis and pinot noir), or cassis drizzled on crepes. (You can add it to champagne too, of course, though we think the cassis is flavorful enough that the trade up from crémant generally isn’t worth it.) Less (-) Free US Shipping | |
 | A humble thirtysomething winemaker with a near limitless attention to detail, Gautier landed at… More (+) A humble thirtysomething winemaker with a near limitless attention to detail, Gautier landed at his family’s domaine a decade ago, and has since transformed it into one of the region’s superstars. We find ourselves saying this almost every year, but his 2023s are the best he’s made – ripe and sleek with perfect extraction and maturity, vibrant textures, and elegant, lifting finishes. Gautier called them “digeste” (roughly, “digestible”), which is an excellent characterization.
Gautier’s 2023 Givry “Champ la Dame” is excellent. The nose shows violets and spruce, with perfectly rounded tannins and a welcoming finish. The tannins are chalky and fine but almost disappear by the end of the palate. Some years this wine finishes a bit rustic for the first month or so; the 2023 will require no patience at all, and will be hard to put down. Serve with chicken from the grill later this summer. Less (-) Free US Shipping | |
 | Sebastien Giroux is a quiet and meticulous winemaker making superb wines of understatement and… More (+) Sebastien Giroux is a quiet and meticulous winemaker making superb wines of understatement and precision. If some Maconnais whites can verge into overripeness in warm years, Sebastien’s are entirely devoid of heaviness. His careful winemaking – low sulfur, minimal oak, extremely long elevage – results in minimalist wines of precision and grace. Think Thomas Morey Puligny an hour south.
The Pouilly-Fuissé Vieilles Vignes 2022 is outstanding. It’s entirely barrel raised, from vines planted mostly in the 1940s. They’re at 250m altitude, so offer intensity from their age but fineness from their elevation. South facing and just next to the premier cru “Vers Cras,” this is a special plot of vines, and so is the wine it produces. The nose is gorgeous and deep, with floral intensity and savory spice. The mouth continues the theme with and adds a dollop of ripe yellow fruit and a burst of acidity. This is a delicious mouthful, and if it said premier cru on the label, nobody would raise an eyebrow. Less (-) Free US Shipping | |
 | Sébastien Dupré and Guillaume Goujon’s superb cuvées of Beaujolais from the 2022 vintage are… More (+) Sébastien Dupré and Guillaume Goujon’s superb cuvées of Beaujolais from the 2022 vintage are like no other Beaujolais you have tasted, unless you were lucky enough to taste the same wines from 2020. Pavé is a smaller parcel than Héronde, but in 2022 the wine is just as successful. Its interplay of red and black berry fruit, minerals, and earth well justifies the presence of a musical score on its label. The many elements play against each other across a broad, persistent palate. Elevage for this wine was mostly en cuve, with a small part in demi-muids, so there is barely any sense of oak.
Overall, there is a lacy character to the tannins and a glass of this wine will pair beautifully with many fine dishes. Look for notes of peony, chalk and wild cherries. Suckling’s reviewer writes: “A hypnotically beautiful Cote-de-Brouilly. Mouth-filling red and black berries are almost perfectly interwoven with concentrated fine tannins on the medium-bodied palate. Expands dramatically in the extremely long finish without losing its delicacy or precision. And even these words don’t quite grasp what makes this wine so great.” Less (-) Free US Shipping | |
 | Sébastien Dupré and Guillaume Goujon’s superb cuvées of Beaujolais from the 2022 vintage are… More (+) Sébastien Dupré and Guillaume Goujon’s superb cuvées of Beaujolais from the 2022 vintage are like no other Beaujolais you have tasted, unless you were lucky enough to taste the same wines from 2020. They offer a beautiful combination of density, complexity and persistence that more resembles the reds of the Côte d’Or more than any other wines made from Gamay. The growing season 2022 was exceptionally hot and dry, but their vines did not suffer excessive heat stress, and they were able to bring in grapes with full phenolic ripeness but potential alcohol in the range of only 12.5% to 13%.
Héronde is their largest parcel, on the slope just below the winery, where the dense grass growing between the rows reminds us that theirs is organic viticulture. Elevage was ⅓ in cement vats, ⅓ in demi-muids (500L barrels), and ⅓ in barrique (225L barrels). Sebastien explained to us that it is a delicate business to use barrels to raise Gamay, and that they employ them to enrobe the tannins, not to add to their prominence. In the glass, Heronde 2022 is indeed a serious wine, and already particularly attractive. Floral notes of violets mingle with the ripe fruit, and the wine fills the mouth despite its relatively low alcohol. Less (-) Free US Shipping | |
 | Pierre Gros has now produced more excellent wine than can be chalked up to… More (+) Pierre Gros has now produced more excellent wine than can be chalked up to beginner’s luck. His father Michel is never far away with ready counsel and advice, but this is Pierre’s ship now, and he’s steering it beautifully. Like many of his peer group Pierre has moved the domaine toward organics, and his wines are clean and pure – they sport the same polish as his fathers’ with perhaps a bit more concentration of fruit and slightly longer finishes.
Gros’s Bourgogne Côte d’Or comes from vines just outside his hometown – in this case Vosne-Romanée. It’s middleweight and pretty, with red currants and violets in the nose; the mouth has mild tannins and a pleasant earthy and floral finish. Burghound found it “quite aromatically pretty,” with a mouthfeel that’s “supple, succulent, and round.” It drinks effortlessly from the start, and however much we set aside for ourselves, we always wish it were more.
Less (-) Free US Shipping | |
 | Arnaud Baillot is a bit of an anomaly in Burgundy, a new arrival with… More (+) Arnaud Baillot is a bit of an anomaly in Burgundy, a new arrival with little winemaking experience and no family history. He started just 10 years ago as a micro-negociant, purchasing grapes and making tiny batches from small plots. In the last decade he has acquired 10 hectares of vines around the Côte d’Or, farming organically and crafting beautiful, understated modern Burgundy. Vinous’s Neal Martin describes Baillot’s wines as “excellent,” “impressive,” and “lovely and energetic.”Baillot’s Bourgogne rouge Côte d’Or comes from vines in Volnay and Pommard, and it’s half-destemmed and clocks in at a fresh 12.5% abv. The nose is delicate and clean with notes of strawberry and a bit of spice. The mouth is lightweight and vibrant with a pretty stoniness among the red fruits. Neal Martin found “red cherries…quite vivid and bright” with a palate that’s “medium-bodied with crunchy red fruit…it works well.” Less (-) Free US Shipping |
_______________________________
Thanksgiving Whites
––– Stony –––
––– Smooth –––
––– Sophisticated –––
_______________________________
Thanksgiving Reds
––– Bright –––
––– Bold –––
––– Beaujolais –––
_______________________________
Thanksgiving Bubbles
––– Crémant –––
––– Champagne –––
––– Cider –––