Artisan French Wines
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Today’s wine comes from one of the most famous names in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. We imported their wines for our Futures group for decades, but their national importer kicked up a fuss about us a few years ago. So to avoid conflict we’ve taken them out of our main sales channels.
Beaujolais is the source of plenty of uninteresting wine. Fully a third of the region’s production is the Beaujolais Nouveau, a cheap insipid red rushed to market a month after harvest. But the rest of the region contains many undervalued wines, some in the same class of top wines from the north of Burgundy.
The first inquiries about the 2015 Michel Gros lineup started coming in more than a year ago. Our best-known producer; the vintage of a generation; “just want to make sure I don’t miss it.” Back in April, our barrel tastings confirmed 2015’s considerable hype — an excellent vintage, from top to bottom.
Some wines we import are meant for grand occasions. These are the famous wines of Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Champagne, bottles to pull from the back of the cellar when the moment is significant. Special moments call for special wines to match.
The famous white wines of Burgundy nearly all spend some time oak. The barrels help develop the wines’ palates, adding a roundness through micro-oxygenation. And while they’re typically less heavily oaked than many New World wines, the toasty, woodsy notes are an important part of the great white Burgundies of Chassagne, Puligny, and Meursault.
The 2015 red Burgundies have been great successes. Warm weather, small berries, and low yields made for a vintage that many critics have called one of the best in decades.
Michel Gros is the most recognizable producer in our portfolio. His wines are elegant and precise, often showing smoky or toasty qualities, and always silky and beautiful. A few years ago Clive Coates MW listed Michel Gros in the top 17 domaines in all of Burgundy — a list that included Romanée-Conti, Leroy, and Comte Lafon — and highlighted the “nobility and elegance” of his wines.
For a crowd-pleasing red, it’s hard to beat Côtes du Rhône. Guests with New World leanings will appreciate the richness and full flavor. Those with Old World inclinations will appreciate the balance and traditional style. It’s a wine nearly everyone will enjoy without too much thought.
For many, “serious Beaujolais” is an oxymoron. The region still suffers from its bacchanal, nouveau image — a triumph of marketing and little else. But there’s some truly exciting wine being made in Beaujolais these days. Take the Domaine Perrachon, a multi-generational domaine in Juliénas. Though their wines are from gamay, their style is refined and polished, and their cuvées easily rival the density and complexity of a top Bourgogne rouge.
Châteauneuf-du-Pape is among the world’s great wines. Made famous by French Popes more than seven centuries ago, the area boasts a long winemaking history. Today the small appellation (only about 12 square miles) makes some of the world’s most sought-after wine.
From our deck above Harpswell Sound we can watch the turn from Summer to Fall. Morning still carries the throaty rumble of lobster boat engines, but there are fewer traps and fewer boats now. Last evening half a dozen seals returned to the rocks beyond our dock; soon they’ll move south and stay there until […]
Chablis continues to be one of the best bargains in the wine world. Though the past few years have brought devastating frosts and hailstorms to the region and the available quantities have plummeted, winemakers have only gently raised prices. Where village level white Burgundies from the Côte d’Or quickly push past $50, fine Premier Cru Chablis can still be had for under $40.
Jean-Marc Monnet is one of those winemakers an importer dreams about finding: no website, no press reviews, no American importer, not even a road sign. Located in Juliénas in the Beaujolais, Monnet’s wines are pure gamay — clean, juicy, and bursting. They’re vibrant expressions of the lush rolling hills from which they come.
Oysters are a common sight at French markets. Huitres are a natural pairing for wine, in both the gustatory and philosophical senses. Just like wine, they’re an expression of terroir (or merrior, if you like) whose character changes with their origin. And in matters gustatory, well, it’s a match made in heaven.
The Domaine Jean-Noël Gagnard is part of the old guard of Chassagne Montrachet. For decades they’ve been among the most recognizable names in white Burgundy, synonymous with class and elegance. Master of Wine Jasper Morris writes that Gagnard’s wines “truly reflect their terroirs and combine intensity and richness with elegance and balance.”