Peybonhomme 2019 Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux Le Blanc Bonhomme

(Wine arrives Jan 25, please allow 3 to 5 days before pick-up or shipping) This is the tenth vintage of the Hubert family's "Blanc Bonhomme"which seems to get better every year. The vines are now 15 years old, 50% Sauvignon Blanc and 50% Semillon,  certified organic and Biodynamic. The grapes are hand-harvested in the early morning, pressed gently, fermented with native yeasts and the wine is aged partly in new oak, mostly in cement vats. Only about 650 cases are made. The 2019 shows elegant pear, lemon, herbal and dried flower aromas, with pear, citrus and chalky mineral flavors on the palate. This shows the ripeness of the 2019 vintage, but with good freshness, and it really shows the terroir with crisp acidity, lovely white fruit, a hint of pineapple and oak and stony flavors in the finish. Really a lovely, balanced and food-friendly wine - serve with anything from oysters to grilled fish to roast chicken.

Peybonhomme 2019 Premières Côte de Blaye Cru Bourgeois

Biodynamic farming, native yeasts, wild fermentations, good value –all phrases not typically associated with Bordeaux. Yet, each year the Hubert family provides us with just that in their staple cuvee from the Côte de Blaye. The Cru Bourgeois is a blend of mostly Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and a bit of Malbec. Generously aromatic  owing to the rich clay soils in which it is grown, the 2019 offers crushed violets, cassis, and rhubarb on the nose. The palate shows the warm vintage with finesse. Cascades of ripe red fruit, black currant, and spice, with supple tannins and an undercurrent of chalky minerality. This is a great addition to the dinner table alongside grilled meat or sipped on its own.

Peybonhomme 2019 Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux Quintessence

The Hubert family are owners of Chateau Peybonhomme-les-Tours in Blaye and Chateau La Grolet in Bourg. The farming here is among the best in Bordeaux, certified organic and biodynamic. The vineyards are a fantastic oasis of greenery compared to the rest of Bordeaux, and are located on slopes of clay over limestone giving the wines good concentration and firm minerality. The Quintessence of Peybonhomme is a selection of the best juice from tastings each year and is primarily Merlot with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Malbec, a portion of which is aged in new oak. The 2019 is a beautiful and lively Bordeaux showing deep aromas of ripe cassis, blackberry, black cherry, cocoa, spice and earth. The palate is supple and ripe, lifted by cool acidity, with complex black fruits, earth and mineral flavors with a long finish. The wine broadens and gains complexity with time open so decant if possible. A versatile food wine, this beautifully balanced Bordeaux will accompany anything from roast chicken to pork dishes to steak. Put a few in your cellar for a mature experience, best 2025 to 2035+.

Grolet 2019 Côtes de Bourg "Origines"

 Chateau La Grolet has been certified organic and Biodynamic since 2000. Double Guyot pruning, spontaneous winter grass cover. Soil tillage during the spring, every other row ploughed. Treatments combining small quantities of Bordeaux mixture with herbal teas such as horsetail or nettle. The blend is 70% Merlot, 15% Cabernet-Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet-Franc, 5% Malbec.  The Hubert family's great farming creates this sensational value Bordeaux which is truly a subtle, complex and profound wine. When young, it is dominated by red and black fruit aromas, then as the years pass, cocoa and mild tobacco notes combine with hints of spice and earth. Can be drunk young but is also a very good wine for laying down, recommended cellaring time: 5 - 10 years.

Coquelet 2019 Morgon Côte de Py

 Damien Coquelet, working in the same stlye as his step-father Georges Descombes, has once again created some beautifully old-fashioned Beaujolais in 2019. The Morgon Cote de Py shows lovely aromas of raspberry, strawberry, citrus and rose, very pretty and bright. The palate shows a bit more stucture and darker fruit than the Damien's Chiroubles and is particularly sapid in the ripe 2019 vintage, with deep strawberry fruit, a bit of citrus and a more earthy character. The finish is refreshing and long with juicy berry fruit and firm acidity. Serve quite cool with chicken and white meats, grilled foods and charcuterie. Lovely wine.

Coquelet 2019 Chiroubles

 The step-son of Georges Descombes, Damien has worked alongside him since early childhood. L earning everything from Descombes in the vines and shared cellar has instilled the same values in Damien's work ethic: organic viticulture, hand harvesting, native yeasts, zero intervention in the cellar and little if any sulfur at bottling.The 2019 Chiroubles is a particularly pretty, old fashioned Beaujolais, showing  gorgeous aromas of raspberry and rose with spice and citrus notes. The palate shows sappy raspberry fruit, really lovely, ripe and persistent but light and balanced with refreshing acidity. There is nice length of earthy berry fruit in the long finish. Serve cool with chicken and white meats, and anything grilled... Lovely wine!

Mas des Chimères 2020 VdP Coteaux du Salagou Oeillade

(Wine arrives Jan 25, please allow 3 to 5 days before pick-up or shipping) The Mas des Chimeres "Oeillade" is made from an old variety of Cinsault grown in the Coteaux du Salagou where the soil's deep red color is due to its high content of iron. Blocks of basalt (black stone) are present from ancient volcanic eruptions.  The wine retains a light and refreshing character, showing lovely plum and blackberry aromas with spice, earth and citrus. The palate is round and supple with ripe berry fruits, but bright and fresh, with nice length of pure sappy fruit. This is quite delicious and a bargain at the price - serve cool with charcuterie, pork and chicken dishes and mild cheeses. David Lillie

Mas des Chimères 2019 VdP des Terrasses de Larzac Nuit Grave

Guilhelm Dardé's Mas des Chimères received organic certification in 2008. The estate is tucked away in the Coteaux-du-Languedoc by the Lac du Salagou, the vines grow on a variety of terroir: clay, schist and granite soils form terraces on the arid, red slopes of basaltic slate colored by iron. Due to the austere dryness in both soil and climate, the yields in this area are low and the wines are typically concentrated. The cuvée Nuit Grave is a blend of 50% Syrah, 20% Grenache, 22% Mourvèdre, 8 % Counoise. The vines are around 40 years in age, planted on iron-rich, red clay soils on the basalt plateau.  This is a gorgeous wine of complexity and structure. A dark black/red robe in the glass, followed by a nose of brown spice, blackberry, ripe plum and cassis with citrus and violetnotes.  On the palate, the wine has a velvety roundness backed with grainy notes of terroir, with cinnamon, black cherry, blackberry and savory spice with nice freshness. An outstanding pairing with rack of lamb, tagine, cassoulet or standing rib roast. Cellaring for 8 to 10 years is also recommended.

What better in front of a roaring fire—alright, a clanking Brooklyn radiator—on a downright polar January eve than a warming red from the Languedoc? The Mas Des Chimières Terrasses du Larzac fits the bill. The 2019 Nuit Grave comprised of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, and Cinsault has a black ruby, just shy of inky robe. The nose is circumspect upon opening revealing more tar and tobacco than fruit, but a quit decant and warming from cellar temperature reveals aromas of violet, peppercorn, black cherry stone, with a dusty anisette wisp in the background, underlain with a dark loamy note. The palate is similarly reticent, but warms to reveal Italian plum, graphite, and game flavors astride an obsidian dark stony foundation girded by firm—not rustic—tannins and a bright flash of acidity on the persistent and lip smacking finish. This has real flair and though young shows great potential for mid-term aging (7-12 years). Quite tasty with spicy maple-lacquered Rohan duck breast, roasted Japanese sweet potato, and braised broccoli.  John McIlwain