Author: Thomas Wilcox

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Red Burgundy under $30 from a Master Winemaker.

The best values in Burgundy are often the simplest wines from top producers. Most vignerons make their Bourgogne-level wines with the same care and precision as their top cuvées, and the cost remains a fraction of the famous names.

Rising demand and fixed supply has pushed many Bourgogne rouges from top domaines past $30 and even up into the $40s. But Jean-Louis Amiot has kept his Bourgogne more affordable. Our allocation is fewer than a dozen cases every year, but in 2016 we managed to snag a few more.

This is delicious, complex red Burgundy from a top producer — it just happens to be at an everyday price.

 

 

Morey-St-Denis is tiny — the population is less than 700 — and its vineyards cover less than half a square mile. Amiot is among the best known names in town, and his wines are excellent year in and year out. Everyone made excellent wine in 2015, but Amiot really showed his talent as a winemaker in 2016.

We retasted some 2016 on Saturday at the Domaine with Jean-Louis, and confirmed our notes from earlier this year — his 2016s are dense and full of pleasant fruit. The Bourgogne shows dark red tannins that are fresh and cool, with briary notes of raspberry, licorice, and minerals.

The 2016 Bourgogne is not as big or long as his village and 1er cru cuvées, but it’s the unmistakable combination of an expert winemaker with excellent terroir. And at less than $30 it will be one of the top value Burgundies in your cellar.

 


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Amiot Bourgogne rouge 2016

bottle price : $28

 

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Extraordinary, “Silky” 2010 Vintage Champagne, the Last Few Cases

Pascal Bardoux’s Traditionnel and Rosé Champagnes will be featured in this Sunday’s September Futures notes, but not his Vintage cuvée. Bardoux skips years he thinks don’t deserve the “Millesimé” label, and 2011 didn’t meet his lofty standards.

We tried to purchase more of his exceptional 2010 Millesimé cuvée, but there’s none left to buy. After sustaining a 45% loss to his 2010 crop from bad weather and winning several awards from renowned journals, we’re left with only our current warehouse stock.

But we can’t say we’re surprised — the 2010 Blanc de Blancs is extraordinary wine. Bardoux produced only 300 cases, and when a wine is this good we’re rarely the only ones to notice.

 

 

Bardoux’s 2010 Champagne Millesimé is his first 100% blanc de blancs. It’s all chardonnay, and comes with an impressive collection of accolades. The Guide Hachette awarded a Coup de Coeur, finding it “rich, silky, and fresh.” It also won gold at the prestigious Effervescents du Monde competition, where it placed 8th in a field of 548 sparkling wines.

More than any other Bardoux wine, this cuvée distinguishes Champagne as head and shoulders above other sparkling wine. The nose shows anise, pomegranate and cream, with a subtle toastiness that’s both charming and serious. The mouth is smooth and long, with very fine bubbles, and notes of quince, grape skins, peach and plums.

Bardoux’s Traditionnel and Rosé are delicious, and at under $45/bot in Futures they’re a steal. But when the moment calls for something unusually special, try one of the last few of these 2010s — whomever you’re sharing it with will thank you.

 


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Bardoux Champagne Millesimé 2010

bottle price : $75

 

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The Essence of Freshness: Crisp, Dry Muscadet

We’re in France for the next few weeks, revisiting some highlights from the family’s year long sojourn here twenty years ago. We have begun as we did in 1998, with a visit to the Brittany coast, and we write you today from St. Malo, an old fortress town on the English channel.

We’re surrounded here by boats, seagulls and salty air, and so oysters and other fruits-de-mer are never far from our mind. How the oysters of France rank next to our own from Harpswell Sound is a matter of debate, but one thing isn’t: they both pair terrifically with Muscadet.

 

 

Martin-Luneau is a family domaine farming old vines on the plains south of Nantes. Today we’re suggesting their 2014 Gorges Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine. This wine has the “Cru” designation, combining exceptional terroir with extended years on the lees. The result is an unusually complex take on a classic.

This Gorges matches perfectly with cold oysters, summer heat, or both. It’s pure and clean, showing melon, dried spring flowers, and lemon zest. The mouth is smooth and very dry, with notes of salt air, stones, and green apple skins. It’s refreshing and full of energy.

Our family is a bit older and bigger than it was two decades ago (we’ve added a wife and a third generation, and tripled our eligible drivers) — but French food pairing traditions have barely budged. And with a pairing like oysters and Muscadet, why would they?

 


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Martin-Luneau Muscadet “Gorges” 2014 

bottle price : $22

 

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“Excellent” 2015 Red Burgundy: Smooth and Woodsy. $28

The Domaine Ravaut is the ultimate local wine source. For 120 years the family has cultivated a loyal clientele of friends, neighbors, and workers at the stone quarry in the hamlet of Ladoix. Though they have expanded their reach in recent years, they still sell more than half of their wine to folks who walk in the front door.

The winemaker today is Vincent Ravaut, a friendly, thirtysomething son who has mastered cellar work. His diligence and careful attention during vinification and aging results in wines of perfect balance. Ravaut’s 2015s have all the clean precision we’ve come to appreciate, plus unusually complex and ripe fruit.

Today we’re suggesting Ravaut’s 2015 Côte de Nuits Villages, from vines near the border with the Côte de Beaune. The 2015 is succulent and juicy, with bursting tannins and dark, pure fruit. Think the joie-de-vivre of a Cru Beaujolais with the refinement and class of Pinot Noir. Jancis Robinson agreed, finding it “robust” with a “fine, chalky texture” and “excellent freshness.”

Like most of the 2015 red Burgundies, this is a delightful, refreshing glass on its own. The nose shows raspberry jam, graphite, and cassis — it’s a seductive and utterly pleasant bouquet. But the ripe tannins are an excellent match for food, with notes of plum and earth on a persistent, lively finish. Serve this with a roast chicken on a Sunday afternoon.

 


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Ravaut Côte de Nuits Villages 2015

bottle price : $28

 

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Rich, Muscular $25 Gamay: “Refined, Delicious, and Refreshing”

The Beaujolais has always had a turbulent relationship with the rest of Burgundy. To many in the Côte d’Or, Beaujolais represents overmarketed and undercrafted wine. But in recent years the Beaujolais has undergone a renaissance, as the prominence of Nouveau recedes and more vignerons make ageworthy wine.

Among our favorite serious Beaujolais sources is Laurent Perrachon, a family domaine working very old vines with meticulous care. Perrachon has plenty of fans — the domaine regularly receives top notes from Jancis Robinson, Josh Raynolds (Vinous), and Allen Meadows (Burghound).

Jancis Robinson calls Moulin-a-Vent the “most highly rated of all the Beaujolais crus,” and after a sip of today’s wine it’s not hard to see why. Perrachon’s Moulin-a-Vent “Les Burdelines” is as dense and bold as any Beaujolais we’ve tasted. As with Perrachon’s other wines, this bears more resemblance in mouthfeel to a Northern Rhône Syrah than a Pinot from Burgundy.

A generation ago the words “refined” and “Beaujolais” were rarely found in the same sentence, but it’s a good word to describe Perrachon’s 2014 Burdelines. Burghound awarded 90 points, finding “detail, verve, and refinement,” and calling it “delicious and refreshing.”

Perrachon keeps this wine in oak for a bit longer to help it knit together, and the extra few months of rest works wonders. There’s a smoothness and elegance that’s unusual for Gamay. The oak adds a faint note of toast, but more serves to soften the edges and round the palate.

With an hour in a carafe, this wine will happily accompany a hearty meal and a rowdy group of friends. Look for anise, cherry, black pepper, and stones on the nose, with a dense, chewy mouthfeel and notes of briary cassis and black raspberry. This isn’t a Beaujolais you’ll forget about soon — twice the price of the Nouveau, but it’s easily ten times the wine.


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Perrachon Moulin-a-Vent “Burdelines” 2014

bottle price : $25

 

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Not Your Average Côtes du Rhône.

Côtes-du-Rhônes are a dime a dozen these days, from bistro chalkboards in Paris to your local drugstore checkout counter. And as you might expect, not all Côtes-du-Rhônes are created equal. Among our very favorites is the Domaine Malmont’s version from Séguret.

Malmont’s Côtes-du-Rhône is unique and delicious — richer and far more interesting than the vast majority of other bottles in its category. It owes its distinctiveness to an unusually high percentage of syrah (60%), which contributes dark berry and black pepper notes, and keeps the wine lively and fresh.

It’s a few bucks more than the mass-market version, but the quality is many times better.

 

 

Malmont is the project of Nicolas Haeni, a young Swiss winemaker who founded the domaine nearly a decade ago. His grapes grow on terraced vineyards in the hills above Séguret, and his wines already have wide acclaim from the international wine press.

Though it’s not raised in oak, there’s a pleasant note of toastiness in this wine. Look for notes of plum jam, lavender and thyme, presented with a round but lively mouthfeel. The ubiquity of Côtes du Rhône means it’s also a crowd pleaser, a sure hit at a late summer cocktail party. Let this develop over an hour in a glass, and leave the Kirkland brand behind.


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Malmont Côtes-du-Rhône 2016

bottle price : $24

 

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Juicy, Bursting, Gulpable 2015 Red Burgundy under $30

Many of our winemakers are multi-generational. Some stretch back for centuries, others are more recent père et fils (or fille) operations. At their best they maintain a family’s hard won knowledge of its land.

We’re always slightly apprehensive when a new generation takes over. Some try too hard to make their mark early, changing styles and abandoning longtime traditions. But at many domaines the younger generation arrives with modern techniques and a new energy.

Gautier Desvignes is in the latter category. In a few short years he’s transformed his quaint family domaine from traditional rustic Givry into some of the most popular wines in our cellar. The 2015s in particular are refined, complex, and simply delightful.

 

 

In 2015 Gautier split his plot of village level Givry into two cuvées. The original “Meix au Roy” is classic Givry — rugged, mouthfilling, lively Pinot Noir. For the second cuvée, Gautier removed some leaves from the vines over the summer, allowing the sun to raise the phenolic ripeness of the grapes.

The result is an extra-ripe cuvée, with juicy fruit and smooth, velvety texture. It’s riper and fuller than the Meix, with punchier tannin and a longer finish. This is Burgundy at it’s juiciest — with the sun soaked exuberance of Beaujolais and the dark fruit of the Côte d’Or.

Fair warning — once open, particularly in a crowd, this wine evaporates promptly.


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Desvignes Givry “Champ la Dame” 2015

bottle price : $28

 

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Grand Cru White Burgundy: “Chablis at its very, very finest.”

Of the seven Chablis vineyards classified as Grand Cru, most consider Les Clos to be the finest. Taken as a share of the region’s production, Les Clos accounts for only 0.6%. But as Master of Wine and Burgundy expert Clive Coates says, it is “Chablis at its very, very finest.”

We’re big fans of Chablis, and there’s much to like in the other 99.4% of wines grown there. But Les Clos is something special, a wine to open when the moment is just right. Romain Collet leases a tiny 0.4 acre plot of 65-year old vines, and from it produces one of our favorite wines in his lineup.

 

 

One whiff of the Collet’s Les Clos, and you’ll understand the hype. The nose shows exquisite lemon, pear, and mineral aromas, and follows with an extraordinarily long, rich, tension-filled palate. It’s hard to imagine more concentration or density in white wine, particularly one with a nearly imperceptible use of oak.

Romain Collet has expertly balanced Chablis’s signature minerality with a richness and intensity that calls to mind Corton-Charlemagne or Montrachet. Allen Meadows (Burghound) awarded 92 points, finding “white orchard fruit,” and a mouthfeel “textured, dense and powerful.”

Les Clos is famously long lived wine, with aging potential stretching out a decade or more; and the longer you can keep your hands off of it, the better it will be. We opened a bottle recently, and we’d suggest decanting it (yes, decanting), for a half-hour or so before serving. Give it a year, and you’ll wish you had bought more; but even in its youth, Les Clos is unmistakably in a class of its own.


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Collet Chablis Grand Cru “Les Clos” 2015

bottle price : $69

 

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Intense, Smooth, and Woodsy: Overperforming Premier Cru Red Burgundy

Thomas Morey is a master of Chassagne-Montrachet. His properties are among the finest in the town, including magnificent white Burgundies at village, Premier Cru and Grand Cru levels. We’ve been thrilled to welcome his 2016 Chassagne-Montrachet and 2016 Chassagne 1er cru “Embrazées” to our lineup.

But Morey also makes wine from neighboring Santenay, including a red premier cru that blew us away this spring. Most Côte de Beaune reds feature bright red fruits at the forefront of their palates, but Morey’s Santenay 1er cru “Grand Clos Roussot” is a dead ringer for a Côte de Nuits red.

Morey’s vines in this plot are over 40 years old, and produce small, perfectly ripe berries year in and year out. This results in an intense, sappy wine with dark flavor, dark color, and a smooth, concentrated mouthfeel. We were amazed at how rich and masculine the flavor was, particularly so far from the soils of the Côte de Nuits.

The nose is dark and woodsy, showing intense black raspberry and licorice. The mouth is intense but smooth and long, with gingerbread, spice, and blackberry jam. Tasted blind we’d put this somewhere in southern Nuits-St-Georges or northern Gevrey Chambertin.

This wine serves as a reminder not to ignore the reds of the Côte de Beaune. With exceptional terroir and expert winemaking, they can be astonishingly good.

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Morey Santenay 1er cru “Grand Clos Roussot” 2016

bottle price : $52

 

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Sophisticated, Refined New Blanc de Blancs. $29

For centuries Champagne has been a symbol of refinement and class. It’s sophistication in a glass, the pick of high rollers from Gatsby to Churchill. And for the most serious aficionados, Blanc de Blancs is the best of the best. Made from only white grapes, it’s Champagne at its most elegant.

Champagne producer Pascal Bardoux chose the exceptional 2010 vintage to craft his first Blanc de Blancs, and for those with a taste for the real stuff, we think it’s worth every penny. But for those in search of refined bubbles at a more affordable price, our newest crémant from Picamelot in Burgundy should fit the bill nicely.

Picamelot’s “Les Reipes” is a Burgundian Blanc de Blancs that’s subtle, elegant, and classy.

Louis Picamelot was among the first crémant producers in Rully, a town now known for its sparkling wines. They make several excellent cuvées, most of them blends of Burgundy’s four grapes: Chardonnay, Aligoté, Pinot Noir, and Gamay.

But for “Les Reipes,” the recipe is simple — all Chardonnay from a single terroir. It’s dry and very fine, with bright clean notes of brioche, almonds, and lightly buttered toast. The mouth is crisp and complex, with notes of lemon, minerals, and woods.

Serve this at your next cocktail party beside creamy cheese, summer vegetables, or in an unusually good kir royale.

 

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Picamelot Crémant “Reipes” NV

bottle price : $29

 

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Extraordinary New Cornas from a Superstar Winemaker.

Cornas is a tiny appellation. Its 145 hectares (compare to Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s 3,133) are at the southern end of the Northern Rhône. The name Cornas comes from the Celtic word for “burnt earth,” and its grapes often ripen two weeks earlier than the rest of the region.

For years Cornas’s reputation has been for richness and ruggedness. The first quality remains true: these are inky, chewy wines made from hard granite soil. But “ruggedness” needs some revision. A younger generation has brought modern winemaking to the ancient vineyards, and the results are more refined than ever before.

Cornas hasn’t given up its untamed spirit, but the new wave of winemakers has bought it nicer clothes and taught it some manners. And none more famous than the Domaine du Tunnel.

 

 

The Domaine du Tunnel is often cited as one of the best sources in the town. Named for an old railway tunnel that now houses the domaine’s exquisitely designed cuverie, these wines are a highlight of any Cornas collector’s cellar. It took us years to secure an allocation here, and the wines themselves have lived up to every bit of hype.

Tunnel’s 2016 Cornas is classic and excellent. The nose shows inky, woodsy flavors — violets and blackberry mix with underbrush and mushrooms. The fruit is clean, and dense and pure and the finish unimaginably long. Josh Raynolds of Vinous awarded 92 points, finding “fine-grained tannins,” and “sharply focused black and blue fruit flavors.”

This should age easily for a few decades. With a decanter and a few hours it’s magnificent today.

 

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Tunnel Cornas 2016

bottle price : $59

 

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“Luscious” New Austrian White: 91 points, $25

Grüner Veltliner is generally simple and delicious — refreshing, uncomplicated wine that’s neither expensive nor serious. For those interested in that style, our excellent 2017 Grüner “Wieden” is a steal on this month’s 25% off shelf for under $15/bot. But today’s Grüner is different.

Both come from Salomon-Undhof, a winemaker that Austria’s preeminent wine guide calls a “figurehead of Austrian wine history.” Their estate dates to 1792, and their terraced vines overlooking the Danube have long been an excellent source.

We were skeptical at first about an atypical Grüner, but this wine quickly won us over.

 

 

The 2015 Wachtberg Gruner Veltliner Erste Lage is raised briefly in barrel, giving the wine a rounder, more complex mouthfeel. From the Wachtberg vineyard, this is a more concentrated expression of terroir, with a fine minerality and more intense flavors. Think Grüner Veltliner with a new suit on ready for an evening out.

The nose shows melon and grapefruit, with earthiness and pleasant dry apple notes in the mouth. Vinous’s David Schildknecht gave this 91 points, noting its “polished, expansive yet in no way heavy palate” and “lusciously lingering finish.” This is an overperforming, complex, delicious wine for an unusually good price.

 

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Salomon-Undhof Gruner Veltliner “Wachtberg” 2015

bottle price : $25

 

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Late Summer Sampler: $195

We’re not sure what the temperature is where you live, but chez nous it’s hot and humid. Across the pond the Burgundians are sweating it out too, with temperatures in Beaune reaching 100 degrees this week. Wherever you are, we hope you have air conditioning and a fridge full of something chilled.

On that note, we’ve collected a new sampler of cool wines for hot weather — two whites and two reds, all dry and crisp. If it’s too hot to think much about your wine this week, try these four — they’re simple, refreshing, and inexpensive. Serve them chilled and remember that the heat won’t last forever.

 

 

Martin-Luneau Muscadet “Deux Roches” 2012
Dry, crisp, and very refreshing. Grown near the mouth of the Loire River. Drink well chilled with cheese and crackers.

Paget Chenin “Melodie” 2017
Dry, floral, and lively. Grown near Vouvray; notes of pear and minerals. Drink well chilled with appetizers or a salad.

Souverain Merlot 2017
Juicy, fruit-forward, bursting. Grown in the Rhône valley; an organic, fruit-forward take on the grape. Drink cool with grilled anything.

Perrachon Beaujolais-Villages 2017
Crackling, gulpable, juicy. Grown in the Beaujolais (not Nouveau); notes of graphite and berries. Drink cool with goat cheese and charcuterie.

 

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Mixed Case: Late Summer Sampler
(3 of each wine)

case price : $195

 

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Brilliant New 2016 Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru

The villages of Puligny and Chassagne sit side by side, sources for the world’s finest white wine. The famous vineyard of Montrachet straddles their border, and while both towns produce extraordinary Grand Crus from their respective halves, as you leave Montrachet in either direction the styles diverge.

Chassagne-Montrachet is known for opulence and richness, wines of grandeur and glamour. Puligny-Montrachet is known for precision and elegance, wines of intensity and finesse. Today’s wine is a premier cru from Chassagne, but in style it borrows much from Puligny.

 

 

Thomas Morey is as much a part of Chassagne as the bell tower or the fields of vines — his family has lived in the village since 1643. His father Bernard’s wines were considered a reference point for the town, and Thomas’s reputation has grown steadily since he started his domaine in 2007.

His style is one of precision and intensity (hence the Puligny comparison, though don’t tell him we said so). His judicious use of oak and careful vinification mean that his wines are more sophisticated and less showy than much Chassagne. But their smoothness and ease of enjoyment reveal their true origin.

Morey’s 2016 Chassagne Montrachet 1er cru Embrazées is exquisite. The name Embrazées roughly translates to “aglow” or “aflame,” and the wine indeed glows with intensity and a smooth sophistication. Look for notes of peach, hazelnut, and lemon — serve with lobster and butter.

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Morey Chassagne-Montrachet
1er cru “Embrazées” 2016

bottle price : $85

 

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New “Seductive” 2015 Red Bordeaux. $25

The 2015 vintage produced exceptional red wines throughout France. We’ve most recently highlighted some of our favorite examples from Burgundy and the Rhône. But the vintage was just as successful in Bordeaux.

Particularly on Bordeaux’s Right Bank, the results have been stunning. Master of Wine James Lawther found 2015 Right Bank reds “excellent” and “seductive,” explaining “I wouldn’t say it’s the greatest ever, but it’s a very, very good vintage.”

 

 

Today we’re introducing the first of two 2015 Lalande-de-Pomerols just in to our cellar: the Chateau de Marchesseau. It’s a 70/30 blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, grown just outside the famous appellation of Pomerol. The neighborhood has perfect clay/gravel soil for Merlot, producing the ripe, intense, velvety tannins for which the grape is known.

The 2015 Marchesseau shows plum and hints of licorice and spice. The mouth is rich and intense, but full of juicy, bursting tannins. Decant this and it drinks like a far fancier wine. It’s classic Bordeaux from an outstanding vintage, at a weeknight price.

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Marchesseau Lalande de Pomerol 2015

bottle price : $25

 

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