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 their tiny hamlet of Ladoix. Today winemaker Vincent Ravaut still sells over half their wine to folks who walk in the front door.
These days cellaring wine has become a rarity. Not all wines are meant to age, and indeed the wine world’s style continues to shift toward early maturity. But for wine that rewards patience, the transformation of bottle aging is nothing short of magic.
Of all the white Burgundy we import, none is a purer expression of Chardonnay than Nicolas Maillet’s classic Maconnais cuvées. If the Côte d’Or offers Burgundies of pedigree and refinement, then the Maconnais offers Burgundies of vibrancy and joy.
Vignerons: From meticulously cultivated old vines and with careful use of oak, the Perrachon creates remarkably delicious and refined cuvées. Perrachon’s reds are honest, complex, delicious red Burgundies; they just happen to be made from Gamay. Appellation: Beaujolais is best known for the Beaujolais Nouveau, a cheap insipid red rushed to market a month after […]
Each town in Burgundy produces wines of a distinct character. Some are dark and brooding, others are lightweight and ethereal – but the boldest and most intense is Gevrey-Chambertin.
Chablis is a singular place. Its combination of deep stony soils and cool climate exists nowhere else on earth. These factors produce a similarly unique wine — mineral and crisp, pure and clean.
The town of Morey-St-Denis exemplifies the small scale of Burgundian winemaking. Wedged between two more famous neighbors, this village of 680 people has a vineyard surface of under 4 tenths of a square mile. It’s delicate, delicious, classic red Burgundy -- there just isn’t much of it to go around.
We work with many winemakers with low profiles, but Jean-Marc Monnet might be the least visible. He has no roadside, no website, and no other American importer. We’ve gotten lost trying to find his domaine two years in a row. Jean-Marc himself is as humble as his winery is hidden, but the wines themselves are a wholly different story.
The wines of Chablis are known for their limited oak, piercing minerality, and crystalline elegance. Our favorites are often mid-range bottles that combine everyday pricing and with great energy and beautiful precision.
Perched on a gently-sloping hill twenty minutes south of Beaune lie white Burgundy’s three gems: Chassagne-Montrachet, Puligny-Montrachet, and Meursault. The precise mixture of clay and limestone beneath these three neighbors is uniquely and perfectly suited to Chardonnay.
From meticulously cultivated old vines and careful use of oak, the Perrachon creates remarkably delicious and refined red Burgundies. The domaine is among the only Beaujolais producers reviewed (and praised) by both Josh Raynolds (Vinous) and Allen Meadows (Burghound). Perrachon’s reds are honest, complex, delicious red Burgundies; they just happen to be made from Gamay.
Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet produce the world’s finest dry white wines. In production for nearly two thousand years, the vineyards surrounding these villages produce wines of different characters -- Puligny a bit more serious, Chassagne a bit friendlier.
Our final Futures issue of the year comes out next week. It includes some of our most popular winemakers -- Goubert, Boyer-Martenot, Desvignes, and more -- but one favorite in particular: the Domaine Michel Gros. His entire lineup of 2017s will be available next Sunday, but today we’re focusing on one wine that is always in short supply.
Chambolle Musigny is best known for its three famous terroirs: the Grand Crus Musigny and Bonnes-Mares, and Premier Cru Amoureuses. These three wines fetch prices north of $400/bot, and are among the jewels of many serious collectors’ cellars.
Meursault is one of Burgundy’s largest appellations. Though it has no Grand Crus, its wines are among the most respected and sought-after in the world. With chalky soils and a low water table, Meursault produces prototypical white Burgundy: golden, rich, and perfect balance between roundness and mineral tension.