Arena, Antoine 2004 Patrimonio Carco

Coudert (Clos de la Roilette) 2011 Fleurie Cuvée Tardive

It's hard to follow the sensational 2010 cuvèe Tardive, but Alain has certainly made the best of this quite good vintage. The aromas are high-toned and very pretty, showing good acidity. The palate is quite dense with black fruits, licorice, earth and spice. The finish is very long, with ample acidity. More enjoyable now than the 2010, this should really sing within a few years and age well for ten years and more.

Coudert (Clos de la Roilette) 2011 Fleurie Cuvée Tardive 1.5 L

Coudert (Clos de la Roilette) 2011 Fleurie Cuvée Tardive 3 L

Coudert (Clos de la Roilette) 2017 Fleurie Cuvée Tardive 1.5 L

Bois de Boursan 2006 Châteauneuf-du-Pape .375 ml

Bois de Boursan 2006 Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Bois de Boursan 2007 Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Although winemaker Jean-Paul Versino is now making a separate "modern" cuvee, this is his Tradition — an old-fashioned Chateauneuf that even in 2007 is structued and complex with the ability to age nicely for 15 to 20 years. 65% Grenache, 15 % Syrah, 15% Mourvedre, 5% "various".

Bois de Boursan 2009 Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Bois de Boursan 2010 Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Bois de Boursan 2011 Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Bois de Boursan 2012 Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Bois de Boursan 2013 Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Bois de Boursan 2014 Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Bois de Boursan 2015 Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Duclaux, Benjamin et David 2012 Cote Rotie Maison Rouge

Duclaux, Benjamin et David 2015 Cote Rotie La Germine

Gaillard, Pierre 2015 Cote Rotie Rose Pourpre

Jamet 2015 Côte Rôtie Fructus Voluptas

Ogier 2012 Côte Rôtie Mon Village

Oratoire St. Martin 2005 Cairanne Haut Coustias

Paris, Vincent 2015 Cornas Granit 60

The Paris Cornas "Granit 60" is from 100 year-old vines in "Les Mazards," 65 year-old vines in "Patou" and 24 year-old vines in "Sauman." The grapes are partially de-stemmed then undergo a 2-3 week vinification with wild yeasts. The wine ages in two to ten year-old barrels and is bottled un-filtered. About 400 to 500 cases are produced.

Pichat 2012 Côte Rôtie Champon's

Pichat 2013 Côte Rôtie Grandes Places

Pichon, Christophe 2015 Côte Rôtie Promesse

Pradeaux 2003 Bandol 375ml

Pradeaux 2004 Bandol 1.5 L

St Cosme 1999 Cote Rotie

St Cosme 2005 Cote Rotie

Clos Rougeard 2006 Saumur-Champigny Le Bourg

Crochet, Lucien 2018 Sancerre Pinot Noir Rosé

Foreau (Domaine du Clos Naudin) 2015 Vouvray Sec

Huet 2003 Vouvray Clos du Bourg Moelleux 1er Trie

Dom Perignon 2004 Champagne

Coudert (Clos de la Roilette) 2009 Fleurie Cuvée Tardive 1.5 L

Coudert (Clos de la Roilette) 2010 Fleurie Clos de la Roilette

After last year's rather full-bodied Roilette, the 2010 is a return to the grippy and mineral house style.  Coudert's wines have racy acidity that will keep them fresh for years to come, but today there is still plenty of crushed berry fruit and stoniness to enjoy now. JR

Coudert (Clos de la Roilette) 2010 Fleurie Griffe du Marquis

Alain Coudert's homage to his father Fernand is a superb Fleurie that will need three to five years in the cellar and should drink beautifully over the next ten to fifteen years or more. This is the same juice as the great 2010 Cuvée Tardive, aged in two to six year-old barriques and recently bottled.

Coudert (Clos de la Roilette) 2011 Fleurie Clos de la Roilette

Alain Coudert has again in 2011 produced beautiful wines at the Clos de la Roilette. A bit softer and fuller-bodied than the lean 2010, this wine has lovely black and red fruit aromas with hints of earth and spice. The palate is full but structured, certainly lower in acidity that the 2010, but quite long and earthy and promising at least mid-term aging. In other words another delicious wine from Alain, and a great value, that will drink well now and over the next 6 to 8 years. Bravo!

Coudert (Clos de la Roilette) 2012 Fleurie Cuvée Tardive

From eighty year-old vines on clay and granite soil. By "Tardive," Alain Coudert implies that one should wait for this wine to mature, in this case probably about 5 to 7 years, although those unable to wait will certainly enjoy drinking it now. Deep aromas of meaty blackberry and strawberry confit, violets and mint. Intense palate of berry liqueur, plum, stone and earth with fabulous length and firm, even slightly bitter acids. Earthy fruit coats the palate in the finish — ripe but balanced at 13% alcohol. This will be a great mature wine, perhaps best between 2020 — 2025. We're opening this up for case sales, so don't delay as there is no additional inventory in France.

Coudert (Clos de la Roilette) 2012 Fleurie Cuvée Tardive 3 L

Coudert (Clos de la Roilette) 2017 Fleurie Cuvée Tardive

From eighty year-old vines on clay and granite soil in Alain Coudert's beautiful Clos de la Roliette, just over the border from Moulin-a-Vent. By "Tardive," Alain Coudert implies that one should wait for this wine to mature, and we can certainly see this 2017 improving with a few years in the bottle. The nose is full of bright notes of raspberry, tart plum, rhubarb, beetroot, and a hint of fennel. The palate reveals beautiful earthy and mineral notes, with soft, ripe tannins backed by good acidity. Hints of violets, dark cherries, cracked black pepper and smoke round out the layered palate. The wine feels quite compact at the moment, and will definately continue to improve in the bottle, but if one is tempted to drink now (and why not?!), it could use a good decant. Oskar Kostecki

Descombes, Georges 2006 Morgon Vieilles Vignes

Lapierre 2012 Morgon

Lapierre 2013 Morgon

Bagnol 2015 Cassis Rose 1.5L

Bois de Boursan 2009 Châteauneuf-du-Pape 1.5 L

Brunel - Les Cailloux 2005 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Centenaire 1.5 L

Clusel-Roch 2010 Côte-Rôtie Viallière 1.5L

Gaillard, Pierre 2005 Cote Rotie Rozier

Garon 2015 Côte-Rôtie Les Triotes

Levet 2003 Côte-Rôtie La Chavaroche

Levet 2005 Côte-Rôtie La Chavaroche

Deep red/black color with garnet edge. Upon opening, the aromas are immediately intense and complex with bright cherry/blackberry fruit, blood orange, smoke, musk, stone , tea and brown spice. Really lovely. The palate is structured but beginning to soften, with prune, earth, tea and blackberry with lifting citrus and menthol. Finishes with perfect acidity and good length. This is a beautiful Cote-Rotie just beginning to sing, drink now and until 2024.

Levet 2006 Côte-Rôtie La Chavaroche

Levet 2007 Côte-Rôtie La Chavaroche

Levet 2016 Côte-Rôtie

Paris, Vincent 2008 Cornas La Geynale

Pradeaux 2004 Bandol

Pradeaux 2004 Bandol Longue Garde

Pradeaux 2015 Bandol Rosé 1.5 L

Pradeaux 2017 Bandol Rosé

A blend of Mourvedre and Cinsault, the 2017 Chateau Pradeaux is a punchy, complex, and layered example of Bandol Rosé. The nose offers beguiling aromas of watermelon, blood orange, and pink grapefruit peel with hints of garrigue. The rich, earthy palate displays a salty mineral character vying for attention with flavors of cut melon, nectarine, and roasted peaches. The finish is long, supple, and detailed. And while we may think of rosé's pleasures as fleeting, this will age beautifully in the mid-term as it gains even more complexity with time in the bottle. John McIlwain

Rostaing 2012 Côte Rôtie Landonne

Texier 2009 Brezeme Pergaud Vieille Serine

Vieux Telegraphe 2006 Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau

Baudry 2016 Chinon Le Clos Guillot

Le Clos Guillot is a beautiful southeast-facing vineyard, just east of the town of Chinon, above the Clos de l'Olive and adjacent to Le Chêne Vert. The upper slope of the parcel is clay over limestone (the lower part has sand and gravel over the rock, which permits a tiny  production from franc de pied vines) and the vines are young, planted from 1993 to 2000. Fermentation in wooden cuves, 12 months of aging in two to five year-old barrels (most purchased in Burgundy and untreated with sulfur), 9 additional months in unlined cement vats. We have been buying this wine since its first production in 2000 – it's one of the most elegant and Burgundian of Chinons. In the low-yielding 2016 vintage Le Clos Guillot is particularly elegant and age-worthy, showing floral aromas of Italian plum, black cherry and blackberry. The palate is perfectly balanced, dense and deep but not fat with elegant chalky black fruit and mineral flavors that continue in the very long finish. A bottle opened a day before showed more complex, floral aromas, but a tighter palate - of course this wine can be enjoyed young but peak drinking will be 2027 - 2045+.  Given the reasonable price, this belongs in your cellar! (Normal case discounts apply) Another Bravo! to Matthieu and Bernard Baudry... David Lillie

Baudry 2017 Chinon Les Grézeaux

One of the great red wines of the Loire Valley, the Baudry Chinon Les Grézeaux is from a unique parcel of old vines near the bottom of the slope in Sonnay (near Cravant-les-Coteaux) on a bed of gravel over a base of clay, sand and limestone. (Harvested by hand, fermented with wild yeasts and aged in 3 to 5 year-old casks.) Les Grézeaux always has an elegant silky texture and wonderful freshness, combined with the ability to age beautifully in good vintages. While not as big as 2015 and 2016, the 2017s at Baudry have wonderful purity and freshness in a medium-bodied frame that accentuates the beauty of the fruit and the underlying minerality. The 2017 Les Grézeaux has lovely raspberry and strawberry fruit with earth, musk and spice. Pretty floral red fruits on the palate with vibrant acidity framed by flavors of graphite and stone. Becomes deeper and velvety with a few days open — really a lovely blend of fruit and terroir with nice balance. Enjoy it now or in 10 to 15 years...DL

Breton, Catherine et Pierre 1994 Bourgueil Les Perrières

Breton, Catherine et Pierre 2005 Bourgueil Clos Sénéchal

Clos Rougeard 2006 Saumur-Champigny Les Poyeux

Cotat, François 2011 Sancerre Cuvee Paul

Dagueneau 2006 Blanc Fumé de Pouilly Silex 1.5L

Huet 1989 Vouvray Haut Lieu Sec

Huet 1997 Vouvray Le Mont Moelleux 1er Trie

Huet 2007 Vouvray Le Mont Sec

Huet 2007 Vouvray Le Haut-Lieu Demi-Sec

Luneau-Papin 2004 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Le L D'Or

Pépière (Marc Ollivier) 2004 Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine Clos des Briords

Pépière (Marc Ollivier) 2005 Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine Clos des Briords

Pépière (Marc Ollivier) 2005 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Granite de Clisson

A dozen growers in the Muscadet who have vines on the granit of the Massive Armoricain have created the Granite de Clisson label to create a "Grand Cru" of Muscadet. This is Marc Ollivier's first release from this group, which comes from a 1.2 hectare (2 acre) parcel of vines 60 to 90 years old at the Domaine Pépière. The grapes were hand-harvested, (as always for Marc) and fermented with wild yeasts; the wine was aged on the lees for 24 months. The wine is currently quite austere, with subtle hints of exotic fruits, fennel and flowers, the palate is mineral, almost salty, and quite intense. Drink now with a grilled sole or wait a few months for it to open up, after which it should develop nicely for another 15 to 20 years. DL

Pépière (Marc Ollivier) 2005 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Granite de Clisson 1.5 L

Pepiere 2007 Muscadet Sevre et Maine Granite de Clisson

Marc recently released the 2007 Granite de Clisson, and although the vintage was more difficult than 2005, giving yields of only 20 hl/ha and a moderate 12.2 degrees alcohol, the elegance, balance and depth of this wine are simply astounding. In a recent conversation, Marc expressed his preference for the 2007, citing the better “fraicheur” and higher acidity. The last six months of sur-lie aging were essential and “vachement interessant” he said, as the warmer temperatures in the cellar over the spring and summer helped liberate material and complexity from the lees.The wine is beginning to open up slightly showing intense aromatics of lemon oil, menthol and fennel with a dense and stony mid-palate. Marc is uncertain if it will age as well as his Clos des Briords, although a similar wine made by his neighbor Michel Bregeon is at its’ best between 20 and 25 years of age. Don't hesitate to enjoy this wine young however — two bottles recently consumed at my house were perfect accompaniments to full-flavored dishes with scallops and flounder. Following this wine’s development will be fascinating — this gives us old folks an inexpensive and delicious reason to stay around!

Pepiere 2007 Muscadet Sevre et Maine Granite de Clisson 3 L

Pepiere 2007 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Granite de Clisson 1.5L

Pepiere 2009 Muscadet Sevre et Maine Clos des Briords 1.5L

Pepiere 2009 Muscadet Sevre et Maine Clisson 3 L

Pépière 2010 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Clisson

This is one of the greatest wines ever produced at Domaine de la Pépière, which can be enjoyed now for it's magnificent stony elegance or can be cellared for 20 to 30 years to enjoy at maturity. From 50 to 110 year-old vines on a lower slope at Pepiere, carefully hand-harvested, with only a partial clarification, then aged on the lees for 24 months. The resulting wine is dense and stony with hints of citrus, white fruits and anise, with fabulous length. A super value and one of the greatest whites of the Loire — congratulations to Marc and Rémy!

Pépière 2010 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine "4"

The 2010 Cuvée Quatre is two-thirds from very old vines on granite of Chateau Thébaud and one-third from vines on the less porous granite of Clisson and was bottled at 12.5% alcohol in November of 2014 after 48 months on the lees. Tasted in February of 2014 the wine showed superb aromas of yellow and white fruits with bitter stone flavors and fabulous length. Tasted on arrival in NY, the wine shows a more secondary mid-palate with earth, mushroom, almond and dried pear with classic aromas of dried herbs, citrus peel and stone. This will age beautifully and meanwhile drink happily with full-flavored oysters, halibut and swordfish. (A year later, November 2015, the wine has tightened up a bit and is showing even better, with a density and structure for long aging. This should be very interesting in 15 years...)

Pépière 2012 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Clisson

 Beginning in 2005, Marc Ollivier has produced this cuvée from a small parcel of 50 to 110 year-old vines within the Pepiere vineyard. Originally called "Granite de Clisson" after the unique bedrock in the vineyard, Marc has changed the name to "Clisson" to agree with the new INAO Cru Communal classification. The granite is covered with gravel and clay with large stones, ensuring good drainage and deep penetration by the roots into the fissures in the bedrock, bringing the mineral elements indispensable to this wine. The 2012 Clisson, kept on the lees for 24 months, is a gorgeous wine that seems perfectly balanced at 13% alcohol, with very firm acidity, intense aromatics and terrific density on the palate. The wine is a bit closed due to the recent bottling (November 2014) compared with our tasting from vat last February, but still shows sharp floral aromas with white fruits, dried herbs, lemon and stone. Dense pear, apple, citrus, stone, mushroom and anise coat the palate with high viscosity and very firm acids with fabulous length of citrus, white fruits and saline minerals. Beautiful now in its youthful intensity, best at 10 to 20 years of age - bravo, again, to Marc and Rémi!