Red Burgundy Verticals
Drinking multiple vintages of the same wine is an excellent way to get to know a wine. In Burgundy, vintages play an important role in the character of a wine, and tasting the same wine in vertical be an educational (and delicious) experience.
Of course there are two vintage variables with every bottle: the time elapsed from the harvest year, and the patterns of that particular vintage itself. In other words, it’s impossible simultaneously to drink two wines at the same age from different vintages. But in our eyes that only adds another variable of intrigue.
So we’ve collected some red Burgundy vertical trios — the same wine in 3 vintages. Quantities are limited.
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 | Auslese is a late harvest wine made only… (+) Auslese is a late harvest wine made only in years with excellent quality grapes. Dahm's 2005 Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Auslese is sweet but beautifully balanced. With 68 grams per liter of residual sugar, it’s far less sweet than Sauternes (80-120 g/L) or Eiswein (160-220 g/L). We think this makes an excellent choice to serve with dessert, rather than in place of it. Look for notes of flowers, apple tart, dried oranges, and a hint of petrol. The mouth is mid-sweet with nice minerality, soft acid, and a clean finish that’s not cloying or heavy. (-) Free East Coast Shipping | $35 | |
 | Like their neighbor Jacqueline André in Chateauneuf du… (+) Like their neighbor Jacqueline André in Chateauneuf du Pape, sisters Dany and Carol Chastan have run their family domaine for decades according to organic and biodynamic principles. The wines are all beautifully made, with minimal manipulation and no pretense. They practice old school winemaking — 100% whole clusters, ambient yeasts, no fining or filtering.
The Clos du Joncuas 2018 is very impressive. The nose mixes floral notes of violets with strawberry jam. In the mouth there is plenty of body, but the fine-grained tannins stay in the background while the wine coats the palate. There is very good length and an excellent finish. (-) Free East Coast Shipping | $35 | |
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 | Formerly known as the Domaine Mersiol, Domaine Charles… (+) Formerly known as the Domaine Mersiol, Domaine Charles Frey is a terrific biodynamic source in Dambach-la-Ville in the heart of the Alsace.
If you like fruit for dessert, consider offering it to your guests in liquid form. We have always been fans of sweet wine, and late harvest Alsatian wines offer a particularly nice choice in the category. The 2018 Gewurztraminer “Vendanges Tardive” offers its distinctive spicy fruit in an unctuous form, rich and sweet but with plenty of supporting acidity. A glass of this and a few bites of a shortbread cookie will be all you need for a satisfying finish to a fine meal. (-) Free East Coast Shipping | $35 | |
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 | His newest cuvée is a village level Chablis… (+) His newest cuvée is a village level Chablis called “Valée de Valvan.” It’s from vines that have achieved their years-long EU organic certification, perched on a hillside facing his “Montmains” plot.
Jasper Morris MW found it “generous yet classic…good stuff;” Neal Martin of Vinous writes “palate is well balanced with commendable weight and fruit concentration…focused.” We loved the notes of pear and lemon zest, mixing with oyster shells and limestone.
With a 100% stainless steel elevage and 12.5% alcohol, this is vibrant, pure, exquisite everyday Chablis. Serve with anything and nothing.
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 | Christophe farms plots more than a dozen plots… (+) Christophe farms plots more than a dozen plots around the appellation, blending Mourvèdre, Grenache, Syrah, and a touch of Cinsault. The elevage is 18 months, mostly in foudres and large oak, with some in cement eggs and vats. The resulting wine is accessible, crowd pleasing, and the perfect bottle to welcome fall.
The 2022 vintage is particularly attractive. It offers an expressive nose of youthful fruit with attractive floral notes. It’s rich and supple of course, but with noticeable freshness that prevents heaviness and keeps it juicy. The bigger the glass you have, the more you’ll appreciate the nose. Serve with an autumn stew. (-) Free East Coast Shipping | $35 | |
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 | When we visited last spring, Negrier told us… (+)
When we visited last spring, Negrier told us that 2022 was unequivocally the best vintage in the domaine’s 30 year history. He attributes this partly to the very dry growing season, which also featured damaging hail early, at the cost of 40% of the crop. The result: tiny grapes and highly concentrated must.
Indeed, the Fleuron de Liot 2022 – a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon – is utterly delicious and should age very well. Right now this well-balanced wine is inky and dark, showing black cherry and cassis fruit. There is excellent density: the fine tannins coat the mouth and persist on the palate.
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 | Nicolas is a bear of a man who… (+) Nicolas is a bear of a man who has embraced organic farming and biodynamic winemaking with discipline and enthusiasm. Maillet relies on indigenous yeasts for spontaneous fermentation, and never rushes the process, allowing it to proceed for months if the slow fermentation in his cool cuverie so requires.
The Macon-Verzé 2022 is rich and beautiful, with noticeably ample gras and roundness alongside excellent acidity. Neal Martin called it “lovely” and awarded it 90 points, praising its “crisp nose of lemon rind and crushed stone.” He found the palate ”medium bodied with pretty white and yellow fruit.” This wine should stand up well to the more robust flavors of butter-basted fish or roast chicken. (-) Free East Coast Shipping | $35 | |
 | Dennis Basset is a talented organic winemaker crafting… (+) Dennis Basset is a talented organic winemaker crafting beautifully balanced pure-Syrah wines that require far less cellaring to reach maturity than the famous appellations of the Northern Rhône. Basset’s wines improve for years, but they’re delicious just about from the moment the arrive.
Denis farms just over a hectare of old vines in St-Joseph, which produce rich, intense, very elegant syrah. The nose is deep and dark with notes of cloves, violets, and intense black pepper; the mouth is full and inky but with excellent tension and notes of roasted meat and licorice. At 13.5% alcohol this is classic Northern Rhône Syrah – dark and brooding but with tremendous lift and elegance. (-) Free East Coast Shipping | $35 | |
 | For decades our source here has been the… (+) For decades our source here has been the Domaine Gérard Thomas, a traditional, family run white Burgundy source with a small collection of excellent terroirs. Their St-Aubins are wonderful, and extremely well-priced, but the best value is the humble Bourgogne blanc. And in 2023, a vintage with terrific ripeness and beautiful acidity, Thomas’s wines shine.
Thomas’s 2023 Bourgogne Côte d’Or is fresh and delightful – the nose shows meyer lemon and stones, and the mouth is a balance between ripe fruit and mouthwatering freshness. A muted note of wood joins the fruit, and the weight is perfect, with length that tastes more like a village-level wine. (-) Free East Coast Shipping | $35 | |
 | As Master of Wine Jasper Morris wrote recently:… (+) As Master of Wine Jasper Morris wrote recently: “Cyril Gautheron is a superb producer making wines in a crisp cool classically Chablis style, which is now really quite hard to achieve in these warmer seasons.” We thought it unlikely that Cyril would have followed his extraordinary 2022s with another vintage like it, but the 2023s are every bit as good, and in some cases even better.
Chablis “Cuvée Emeraude” 2023 is purely in the classic style: entirely vat-raised, steely, and bursting with energy — the sort of wine that inspired the classic pairing of Chablis with oysters. Its fruit is pure, clean lemon and lime. The Kimmeridgian limestone soils in which the 30-40 year old vines grow deliver a mineral line to complement the fruit and add a finish of mouth watering salinity. (-) Free East Coast Shipping | $35 | |
 | As Master of Wine Jasper Morris wrote recently:… (+) As Master of Wine Jasper Morris wrote recently: “Cyril Gautheron is a superb producer making wines in a crisp cool classically Chablis style, which is now really quite hard to achieve in these warmer seasons.” We thought it unlikely that Cyril would have followed his extraordinary 2022s with another vintage like it, but the 2023s are every bit as good, and in some cases even better.
Gautheron’s Chablis “Vieilles Vignes” 2023 offers smoother edges. It comes from old vines, and it’s raised two-thirds in stainless steel and one-third in barrels. This wine is made to be slightly richer and rounder than their Emeraude cuvée, with a discreet hint of oak that rounds out the minerality without obscuring it. It succeeds beautifully, delivering an elegant wine that also has good supporting acidity. (-) Free East Coast Shipping | $35 | |
 | Sébastien Dupré and Guillaume Goujon’s superb cuvées of… (+) 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%.
Cuvée 6-3-1 is a blend of their three plots, readily drinkable but deceptively sophisticated. We loved its expressive nose of dark, ripe fruit – violets and cassis, with a croquant (crackling) texture. Kenna Wells, the Wine Advocate’s reviewer, found “a packed palate with notes of stewed cherries complemented by spice, white pepper, and charred wood.” James Suckling praised its “striking elegance” and “fine tannins,” and we agree with the critics that the wine is far more than a summer sipper. It will grace your table all year round. (-) Free East Coast Shipping | $35 | |
 | Beaujolais blanc is offered by some but not… (+) Beaujolais blanc is offered by some but not all winemakers in the region. Dupré-Goujon bought some Chardonnay vines in 2019, and in the last few years has made a beaujolais blanc that is strikingly good. Raised half in tank and half in wood, the Clos des Muriers 2023 has beautiful balance: just a touch of oak, good freshness and an attractive weight. Suckling’s reviewer effuses: “Not only is this the first great chardonnay from Beaujolais we’ve encountered, but it is also an incredibly joyful expression of the grape, brimming with stone-fruit, lemon-curd and white-flower aromas. The super-elegant, medium-bodied palate has breathtaking purity and precision. Great energy in the very long, chalky finish.”
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 | Florence Cartier’s flagship wine is of course from… (+) Florence Cartier’s flagship wine is of course from Gigondas, home to her family domaine and most of their vines. Her 2021 Gigondas is a story of both vintage and varietal – as in the north, the growing season was cooler and wetter than is typical, and there’s more lift and delicacy than usual in this cuvée. The rainy spring also meant a poor flowering for grenache and syrah, and so Mouvrèdre plays an unusually central role in this year’s blend, adding charming, rugged savory notes of garrigue and leather to the lush fruit. With less extraction it’s also more pleasant young, and we expect this to be delightful from the start. Look for notes of cassis, blackberry and dried roses, and enjoy the delicacy of a low-alcohol (13.5%) southern Rhône red. (-) Free East Coast Shipping | $35 | |
 | The 2022 red Burgundies are deep and concentrated… (+) The 2022 red Burgundies are deep and concentrated, a product of the hottest and driest year on record. And yet they are astonishingly well balanced and sport fine detail and low alcohol. It’s a look (perhaps) at the Burgundy of the future: ripe, lush fruit and dark color, but with delicate balance and lovely tension.
Gautier’s village-level 2022 Givry “Champ la Dame” is a punchy, characterful, flat out delicious red Burgundy. It bursts with dark Pinot fruit, friendly tannins, and a sturdy core. This wouldn’t be out of place in the Côte d’Or, and with a humble appellation like Givry on the label, it provides tremendous value. (-) Free East Coast Shipping | $36 | |
 | Pierre Gros (Michel's son) now steers this iconic… (+) 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.
Gros’s Bourgogne Côte d’Or comes from vines just outside his hometown. 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. This year Burghound found “good vibrancy and detail,” and Neal Martin called it “quite fleshy and dense.” It drinks effortlessly from the start, and however much we set aside for ourselves, we always wish it were more. (-) Free East Coast Shipping | $36 | |
| Lots of Chateauneuf-du-Pape is built for the long… (+) Lots of Chateauneuf-du-Pape is built for the long haul, and somewhat inaccessible young – not Mestre’s. It’s middleweight and delicious with gorgeous young fruit and friendly tannins. It ages for 5-8 years with ease, but drinks well from the moment it is in the bottle. The 2023 Châteauneuf-du-Pape is terrific – 50% grenache, 25% mourvèdre, 20% syrah, and 5% cinsault. The nose is focused and beautiful, with lovely deep sappy fruit bursting from the glass.
Grenache makes up only half this wine, but it’s the star of the show this year – luxurious red fruit of wild cherries, raspberries and hints of provencal thyme combine to make an explosive and seductive palate.
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 | Charles Frey (formerly Mersiol) is a terrific Demeter-certified… (+) Charles Frey (formerly Mersiol) is a terrific Demeter-certified biodynamic source in Alsace. The family has made wine in Dambach-la-Ville since 1709, and today makes excellent wines of many colors. The Frey Gewurztraminer Vendanges Tardive (late harvest) 2017 offers a beautiful floral bouquet of apricot, peach, and mandarin orange.
In the mouth it is sweet, but the sugar levels are on the order of fifty grams — about half the level of many other dessert wines. What is more, the underlying acidity prevents any cloying sweetness. Get this out at the end of a fine meal and it will surprise and delight your guests. (-) Free East Coast Shipping | $38 | |
 | The Marsanne varietal produces rich, exotic, tropical notes… (+) The Marsanne varietal produces rich, exotic, tropical notes of pears and peaches; the Roussanne brings freshness, savoriness, and a crisp minerality to the blend. Together they are an expressive, generous, captivating combination.
The first thing we look for in a white Rhône blend is freshness – without it the wines easily slip into flatness – and indeed today’s wine is expertly balanced. The nose is bright and clean with citrus, pear, melon, and no toast. The palate is juicy and mouthwatering, with orchard fruit, straw and nectarine.
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 | For his 2021 Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons, Romain… (+) For his 2021 Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons, Romain uses an elevage of ⅓ barrels, ⅓ foudre, and ⅓ stainless tank, and it suits the vineyard very well. The vines here are between 55 and 60 years old, and they produce a nicely balanced wine, with good concentration and well-supported ripeness.
Jasper Morris found the bouquet “both stylish and typical, stones with lemon zest.” Burghound praised its “cool and airy aromas,” its “intense and attractively sleek” flavors, and its “lovely minerality.” The Burgundy pricing bubble still hasn’t floated to Chablis, and we think this is tremendously polished sub-$40 white Burgundy. Enjoy this all fall and into cocktail party season.
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 | “Beautiful and bountiful,” writes Jasper Morris of the… (+) “Beautiful and bountiful,” writes Jasper Morris of the 2022 red Burgundies; “very good wines and plenty of them.” William Kelley calls them “succulent, suave and charming”, “offering excellence in both colors and in a wide variety of styles.” Roger Belland's reds are entirely classic, with ripe modern fruit but traditional, low-alcohol textures.
His Maranges premier cru “Fussiere” is excellent in 2022, with a very attractive texture. It has plenty of substance, with pleasantly ripe tannins and good dark fruit. The fruits are plum and cherry, with a youthful, friendly texture – bring this along to a summer picnic. (-) Free East Coast Shipping | $38 | |
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 | Arnaud Baillot is a bit of an anomaly… (+) Arnaud Baillot is a bit of an anomaly in Burgundy – he has no family connection to wine or the region, and has only been making wine for six years. His wife Laure is of a storied Burgundian family (Hudelot-Noëllat), but they have short winemaking experience and almost zero reviews. And since a hidden gem is the perpetual pursuit of all importers, we squeezed an appointment in late in the afternoon of our final tasting day this spring -- we're certainly glad we did.
This cuvée is lively, tasty, and eager to be drunk. The strawberry/cherry fruit is perfectly extracted, giving floral notes of violets and roses. It’s fully destemmed, from vines near Pommard and Volnay, and shows persistence and depth without sacrificing elegance. At just 10% new oak, this is a lithe, modern red Burgundy bursting with vibrancy and real style. In short, we think Baillot has the makings of a star (-) Free East Coast Shipping | $38 | |
 | The Boyers use an extended two-year elevage in… (+) The Boyers use an extended two-year elevage in oak barrels and then concrete eggs, and the resulting wines are sleek and full, steering well clear of the traps of overoaking and heaviness. Boyer’s Bourgogne Côte d’Or comes from vines near his hometown of Meursault, and even this humble cuvée shows a glimmer of that golden Meursault character.
The resulting wine is the best value Bourgogne blanc in our cellar – and with this year’s pricing it might be the best value too. Burghound found the nose “elegant” and “exuberantly fresh,” with “delicious and equally vibrant flavors” in the mouth. The nose opens with citrus and white flowers, and the mouth is full of concentrated fruit and tension. An exceptionally successful white Burgundy, and at the price, an excellent value.
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 | Sofie Bohrmann is a first generation winemaker from… (+) Sofie Bohrmann is a first generation winemaker from Belgium – hardly a recipe for success in the insular world of Burgundian vignerons where most inherit vines, and people even from the Maconnais (an hour south) are considered out of towners. And yet she’s cracked into the elite world of Côte d’Or winemaking. She’s a real winemaking talent, of course, but we’re betting her charming smile and disarmingly friendly demeanor go a long way. Her style is clear and juicy – the wines are packed with flavor, limited oak, and flat-out delicious textures.
Bohrmann’s Bourgogne Côte d’Or Blanc “Les Belles Goutes” is a core presence in many of our customer’s cellars, priced for regular drinking but showing the fine quality of Chardonnay from the Côte d’Or. The vines are from Meursault, and some of the storied village’s opulence seems to find its way into the glass. With alcohol at 13% in the 2023 vintage, the wine is generous, and its rich lemon curd fruit benefits from just the right amount of oak. It’s an excellent house Bourgogne blanc, and one that matches with everything and nothing. (-) Free East Coast Shipping | $38 | |
 | The 2018 Grüner Veltliner “Lindberg” contains all the beautiful dry… (+) The 2018 Grüner Veltliner “Lindberg” contains all the beautiful dry material of the Watchberg, but with an added splash of fruit. The nose has the elegance and fruit-earth balance of a fine white Burgundy, no doubt a testament to the vineyard’s 70 year old vines. There’s a tad of residual sugar in this wine — the fermentation stopped with 8 grams left, and the winemakers elected to bottle according to Nature’s apparent wishes — but the acidity and minerality handle the sweetness well, and we thought the wine in perfect balance.
The Wine Advocate awarded 91 points, finding “remarkable purity and elegance,” alongside “crystalline acidity and lingering salinity.” (-) Free East Coast Shipping | $39 | |
 | The Domaine Gross is our new producer from… (+) The Domaine Gross is our new producer from the Alsace. Though the domaine is generations old, Vincent Gross of the latest generation has brought it to the cutting edge of modern winemaking. They farm organically, follow the principles of biodynamics, and make expressive, terrific wine.
Their dry Grand Cru Muscat is seriously good -- far better and more interesting than most versions of the grape. The grapes were pressed very slowly, allowing for intense extraction from the extended skin contact. Muscat has a unique aromatic profile, but the nose of this wine is particularly complex, with ripe muscat fruit mingling with a definite mineral line. (-) Free East Coast Shipping | $39 | |
 | The Gerard Thomas 2021s show neither the concentration… (+) The Gerard Thomas 2021s show neither the concentration nor the ripeness of the last three scorching years, but instead carry a daintiness and precision that some (including us) find a welcome relief.
The village level St-Aubin Champ Tirant is more earthy and savory than the Bourgogne, with less cream in the nose – it’s long in the mouth, with an easygoing mouthfeel and fresh finish. Jancis Robinson’s reviewer found “rich, broad fruit with precise, sculpted purity and freshness,” and “well-judged oak.”
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 | Sebastien Giroux is a terrific young winemaker farming… (+) Sebastien Giroux is a terrific young winemaker farming just six hectares of vines in and around Pouilly-Fuissé. Giroux’s disciplined organic winemaking results in extraordinary wines – William Kelley describes them as “supple, pure and charming.” Everything in our first importation sold out in months.
Giroux's Pouilly-Fuissé “Vieilles Vignes” 2020 was raised entirely in oak barrels and bottled at the end of 2022. It is mouthfilling wine, another notch up in intensity and depth. Kelley gave it 93 points, calling it “ample and satiny, with lively acids and a vibrant, fleshy profile.” (-) Free East Coast Shipping | $39 | |
 | Nicolas Ragot is our newest Côte Chalonnaise source… (+) Nicolas Ragot is our newest Côte Chalonnaise source, and one of the leading producers in Givry. He makes ample use of amphoras, which give his wines an appealing patina and exquisite freshness. William Kelley calls his reds “supple and flavorful,” Jancis Robinson writes of their “purity” and “classiness,” and Neal Martin of Vinous finds them “caressing,” “fleshy,” and “excellent.”
Ragot’s village-level 2022 Givry Vieilles Vignes comes from a small plot with an average vine age of 50 years. Ragot uses 20% whole clusters, and the density of the old vine fruit is apparent. This is a beautiful introduction to the Ragot style: a deeply perfumed and spiced nose, with perfectly coated tannins and excellent freshness. (-) Free East Coast Shipping | $39 | |
 | The blanc de blancs Crémant Jean-Baptiste Chautard, named for the Founder… (+) The blanc de blancs Crémant Jean-Baptiste Chautard, named for the Founder, is the Maison Picamelot’s flagship wine. The current offering is from the 2016 harvest and a part spends time in oak barrels. With seven years on the lees it has developed plenty of complexity. The fruit recalls pear and apricot, and there are notes of brioche and oak alongside.
We cellar some of this wine in the bottle and recently have opened strikingly good bottles from the harvests of 2012 and 2015. During warehouse tastings last fall we put the 2015 up against some true Champagne – the Chautard more than acquitted itself (at half the price) and to some tasters won outright. (-) Free East Coast Shipping | $39 | |
 | While the market continues to bid up the… (+) While the market continues to bid up the price of Burgundy, the Domaine Michel Gros offers a refuge with its lineup of four excellent regional red wines, which are both delicious and capable of pleasing for many years.
Hautes Côtes “Au Vallon” faces directly south and so ripens a bit more readily than the regular cuvée. The 2021 Vallon will require less patience than the regular bottling, offering both dark and red fruits along with notes of spice and violets. It’s a wine of medium weight with good precision that should drink well immediately. (-) Free East Coast Shipping | $39 | |
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 | Pierre Gros (Michel's son) now steers this iconic… (+) 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.” (-) Free East Coast Shipping | $39 | |
 | Tucked into a sleepy hamlet just over the… (+) 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.) (-) Free East Coast Shipping | $39 | |
| A humble thirtysomething winemaker with a near limitless… (+) 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. (-) Free East Coast Shipping | $39 | |
 | Gautier Desvignes has also turned into a serious… (+) Gautier Desvignes has also turned into a serious white Burgundy producer as well. William Kelley describes his chardonnays as “chiseled,” “crisp,” and “vibrant,” and we’ve begun to enjoy them more frequently in recent years. His just-arrived 2023s are accessible, delicious, and under $8/glass. Think of this as a more floral Chablis, or a racier Pouilly-Fuissé.
The 2023 Desvignes Givry “En Cheneves” is carefree and delicious, with low oak and a vibrant, fresh mouthfeel. From a north facing vineyard that’s well positioned to weather today’s hot, dry summers, this is an overperforming spot in a town on the rise. It’s more polished than most wine of this level, but doesn’t take itself too seriously. Look for notes of white flowers and apple skins, and serve with a simple creamy pasta. (-) Free East Coast Shipping | $39 | |
 | Sebastien Giroux is a quiet and meticulous winemaker… (+) 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. (-) Free East Coast Shipping | $39 | |
 | Sébastien Dupré and Guillaume Goujon’s superb cuvées of… (+) 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.” (-) Free East Coast Shipping | $39 | |
 | Sébastien Dupré and Guillaume Goujon’s superb cuvées of… (+) 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. (-) Free East Coast Shipping | $39 | |
 | The 2018 Forces Tellurique Viré-Clessé features clean, pure… (+) The 2018 Forces Tellurique Viré-Clessé features clean, pure, lemony fruit, along with remarkable freshness and energy from such a sunny vintage. On the palate it’s unctuous and smooth with a long finish that would outlast many a Meursault. The nose bursts with yellow orchard fruit and notes of tangerine and honey. Reviewing the 2018 under its primary label, Kelley awarded 93 points, finding notes of “honeycomb, orange oil, and elderflowers,” calling it “layered and succulent… with a charming core of fruit and a saline finish.”
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 | Of the 2020 Jasper Morris MW writes: “… (+) Of the 2020 Jasper Morris MW writes: “ This has a most beautiful bouquet, just the right degree of ripeness, the lightest of peaches but no honeysuckle. Just the right acidity too, drink this unsparingly across the summer months." 5/5 Stars (-) Free East Coast Shipping | $42 | |
 | Romain Collet took over as principal winemaker not… (+) Romain Collet took over as principal winemaker not long ago, and he has transformed the winemaking. He is both a very talented winemaker and an innovator — for proof one need only walk through the cellar, where the stainless steel tanks and large foudres are now joined by cement eggs, demi-muids, and most recently, amphorae.
Forêts 1er cru is particularly elegant in the 2020 vintage. This lieu dit is actually at the top part of Montmains, and the farming has been certified organic there since 2018. Its élevage is more complicated, with 90% raised in cement eggs (whose shape fosters natural circulation of the lees over the lunar cycles). The last 10% is raised in Burgundy-sized barrels, bringing a soupçon of oak into the mix. The result is extra refinement and complexity, the sort of hard-to-explain quality that will cause a taster to add an asterisk to the margin of his tasting note.
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 | The Chastan family has been making wine in… (+) The Chastan family has been making wine in the same style for two generations. They were among the earliest in the region to farm organically (they were certified in 1980!), and their winemaking is simple and straightforward. Vinification for all the wines is cement vats, followed by an elevage in either vats or neutral oak foudres. The wines are neither fined nor filtered.
The Clos du Joncuas Gigondas 2019 has more structure and more prominent tannins than the 2020, but it is also very round, and also eminently drinkable already. There’s a bit more minerality mixed in with the ripe fruit here, and the wine may have a longer drinking window; but both wines are generous and fleshy, and will be easy to match with food. (-) Free East Coast Shipping | $42 |