Articles

2023 was a complicated vintage in the Loire Valley with periods of high heat and heavy rainfall making things difficult for the winemakers. Weather during flowering was excellent however, bringing the potential for good quantities, and weather at the end of September into October was sunny and dry bringing ripeness and balance to the Cabernet Franc grapes of Chinon and Bourgueil. Tasted before bottling,...

Some truly exciting Chenin Blanc's have just arrived, from established domains that practice impecccable Biodynamic and organic farming and natural vinifications, creating white wines at the highest levels of quality from superb limestone/clay/silex terroirs. These are indeed three of the world's greatest producers of Chenin Blanc! Domaine Bellivière  Eric and Christine Nicolas, wih their son Clement, make some of the worlds most elegant Chenin...

We're ecstatic to have the elegant, complex and amazingly delicious Poirés and Cidre from Jerome Forget back in the store - with the new added attraction of his superb Apéritif de Poire "Pyrus!" Ferme de L'Yonnière is just south of Domfront in Brittany, east of Mont Saint-Michel and has about 15 hectares of pasture, apple trees and ancient high-branched pear trees. This tiny region...

The Caslot family of Domaine de la Chevalerie, like the Baudrys in Chinon or the Gonons in Saint-Joseph, possesses the skill, intelligence, committment and just plain magic that captures their beautiful terroir and great farming in the bottle for our enjoyment. "Wine has no value unless it is shared" is the Caslot's motto and we couldn't agree more - it gives us great pleasure...

We'll keep today's offer short and sweet: here are two delicious Corsican reds! As we slowly repopulate our shelves and make sure the obscure grapes and regions of the wine world are represented again at Chambers Street, it seemed only right to put some Corsican wines on the shelf (to be fair, Corsica is not really that obscure, but it is often forgotten when...

4/3/24 - We will admit that the title of this newsletter could be misleading, since Kenny is not wearing any hats in the photo from his recent visit to Chambers Street, but we can explain! The hats he wears are in the form of several wine labels that he has developed since his first adventures in winemaking over 20 years ago. From his humble...

Before moving to our new digs at 79 Chambers Street, our last staff tasting at 148 Chambers Street was with Luigi Tecce, the charismatic winemaker from Campania (who until this release bottled his wines under the Taurasi DOCG). I had very little experience with the wines, aside from seeing them on the shelf on and off over the last 23 years, and I will...

4/1/24 - Over the years, the natural wine world has been developing a thirst for wines from the Auvergne, a rural region nestled in the center of France, with Clermont-Ferrand as its major city. The area is known to most French people as a great region for camping, and cheese. Indeed, the mountain ranges, and over 300 dormant Volcanos provide the setting for plenty...

3/31/24 - The pundits on the vintages, and I've added some notes: 1960: Ratti, Annata Non Buona; Wasserman 0. The decade starts with a fizzle. I remind you of the sentimental value of old wine for birth year and anniversary celebrations, alla my own year of 1956, which was decidedly Non Buono (for wine), but is nonetheless a pleasure to drink. I don’t recall...

3/18/24 - We introduce Schonhals, a new and exciting estate from the Rheinhessen! I had the pleasure of visiting them back in April of 2023 when I went to the VDP wine fair in Mainz and visited a couple of other nearby wineries in the Rhinehessen, Rheingau and Nahe. Eben (Lillie) had met them before at several organic/biodynamic wine fairs in France and we...

3/16/24 -   This weekend we feature new arrivals from two producers whose wines we haven't seen in a little while. Philippe Delmée is one of our favorite under-the-radar producers in the Loire Valley, humble and stoic, and a very skilled winemaker, he works with Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Franc, Grolleau, Pineau D'Aunis, and some other local varieties. His reds have always been vibrant, zingy,...

3/5/24 - We are very proud to feature a new selection of the extraordinary organic Champagnes of André Beaufort! Last fall's shipment sold-out almost immediately, so we're very happy to have a small additional allocation of vintage wines dating back to 1997, as well as the current non-vintage releases from Ambonnay (Grand Cru) and Polisy. This is a unique opportunity to obtain ten to...

1/28/24 - Nuria Renom is one of the most exciting and impassioned winemakers to recently emerge out of the dynamic natural wine scene in Catalunya, Spain. A whirlwind visit to the states last month left every single industry professional and wine enthusiast with a great impression of Nuria's capability to be an uplifting clown and a very serious and focused winemaker. She is engaged,...

1/26/24 - Many years ago, the first Dive Bouteille wine fair took place in 1999 in a cellar of Catherine and Pierre Breton. From what I can tell, there may have been two Americans there: our own David Lillie, and legendary wine importer, Joe Dressner. Jenny Lefcourt can't remember if she was at the first or second Dive, so there is a chance there...

1/19/24 - Domaine de Montille is an estate that we have come to count on for elegant and impeccably balanced Burgundies. Certified organic and practicing Biodynamic, their wines reflect their careful approach in the vineyards. New oak is used sparingly and always from barrels with light toast, slow lees aging is preferred over excessive lees stirring, and the wines always display suave structure and length....