Cartier 2018 Saint-Emilion Chateau Cartier

The second label to Chateau Fonroque,  the Chateau Cartier sees none of the estate's Cabernet Franc. The Merlot that goes into this wine comes from under the limestone plateau of St.-Emilion, picked from biodynamically farmed vines on the limestone-clay and silty clay soils of the slopes and bottom-slopes.  All fruit is picked by hand. The wine was fermented naturally and aged in a mixture of 75% barrel and 25% concrete vats. A very impressive partner to Fonroque, mimicking the minerally character that the estate is known for.  The nose delivers scents of dark flowers and rich baked fruit - strawberry, cherry, blueberry. The palate shows deep red and black cherry and plum, with accents of warm cedar and herbs. There is great minerality, which lends the wine a structure of supreme freshness, but a textural softness making the wine quite delicious now in the sunny 2018 vintage. Great wine. David Hatzopoulos

Finot, Thomas 2020 Coteaux Grésivaudan (Isère) Verdesse (Sec)

According to the hefty Wine Grapes book (Robinson/Harding/Vouillamoz), there were a total of about 2 hectares (5 acres) of Verdesse in the world as of 2008. Thomas Finot now says there is about 3-4 hectares total. Thomas started with an old plantation of about 2 ares (200 square meters, or .05 acres) and now has about 1.5 hectares, mostly of younger vines he planted. Verdesse is a grape that, according to Thomas, is green for a long time, and typically ripens late, gaining a golden and amber color at the "very last moment."The color is a glimmering yellow, with dashes of green. The nose is warm, with a little smoke, grilled yellow apricot, and crumbled Provencal herbs. The palate here is beyond lovely - one where the flavors and the structure of the wine cannot be separated. When the wine hits the tongue, there is a literal second where it is light and simple, but it immediately grows. A rich and tender palate with lemons, orange zest, apricot, and minerals. Long finish, ends with herbs and green tea.

Chevalerie 2015 Bourgueil Peu Muleau

(Arrives 5/9) Peu Muleau is located on the upper part of the hill in Bourgueil, just below the forest, on Cenozoic eolian sands with iron, clay and altered limestone tuffeau. The vines are around 35 years old, and farmed biodynamically. The maceration lasts less than 20 days. Aging is done in a mix of tank and large used barrels with less and less oak. This is the earliest drinking single-vineyard cuvée, always on the raspberry and wild violet with very supple tannins, but you can keep it up to 10 years without a problem. Peu Muleau is always more linear than Les Galichets - it does not have the same clay-gravel flesh, dancing on its feet with great elegance. The 2015 shows a bright red color and aromas that are more earth than fruit with subtle raspberry, strawberry, citrus and spice. The palate is a lovely blend of earth and red fruits, fairly tight but quite elegant with firm acidity and mineral flavors blending with raspberry and violet in the finish. Warning - not a fruit bomb and best suited to those who like some rocks in their wine. Best to decant or cellar 3 - 5 years.  David Lillie 

Chevalerie 2015 Bourgueil Les Galichets

The Chevalerie "Galichets" vineyard is on mid-slope Turonian limestone with clay and alluvial sand and gravel topsoil, rich in silex; the vines average about 60 years of age - similar to the "Chevalerie" parcel but a bit lower on the slope, giving a wine that is more open and easy for early drinking.  The 2015 vintage is excellent, with a bit more ripeness and lower acidity than 2014, while retaining the core of minerals and acidity always found in the Chevalerie wines. The aromas of black raspberry and blackberry fruit are ripe and floral. The palate is dense and silky, very mineral with ripe red and black fruits and a clean vibrant finish. Still quite youthful, but drinking beautifully now.  David Lillie

Straka 2020 Burgenland Blaufrankisch 'Greenschist'

A delightful Blaufrankisch from Sud Burgenland near the border with Hungary. The 2020 vintage manages a fine balancing act between savory and plummy notes but will also be able to age gracefully due to the higher acid and the mineral notes imparted by the green schist soil type. An ideal red that can pair with a wide variety of foods!  -Giselle Hamburg

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.

Chateau Fonroque 2016 Grand Cru Classe Saint-Emilion

 The 2016 Chateau Fonroque is the last vintage made by Alain Moueix before he sold the estate, though he continues to consult in the vineyard and winery. Organic certification obtained in 2006, biodynamic certification obtained in 2008. The ultimate blend is 90% Merlot, with 10% Cabernet Franc , mostly from the limestone-heavy plateau and high slopes - together creating a sturdy, powerful St.-Emilion of great strength and elegance. Wine was fermented naturally in concrete, and aged in a mix of barrique, with 30% being new. Wonderfully plummy nose, red cherry, raspberry syrup, hints of graphite, cocoa, black licorice, very ripe dark, dank roses and violets. The palate is cool and mineral, with strawberry, plum, blackberry, blueberries, herbs, with a hint of bell pepper. Long finish, high acid, tannin on the gums and middle of the tongue - with airy, lingering flavors of freshly cracked black pepper and graphite. Scrumptious wine. I've enjoyed every bottle I've opened. David Hatzopoulos

Les Hauts de Canon La Gaffeliere 2018 Saint Emilion

Second label of the great Saint Emilion, Chateau Canon-la-Gaffeliere, Lest Hauts de Canon-la-Gaffeliere is a beautiful wine in it's own right, a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2018 is supple and ripe with gorgeous red and black fruits, drinking beautifully now and over the next five to ten years.

Canon La Gaffeliere 2014 Saint Emilon

Located on the pied de côte (foot of the slope) south of the medieval village of Saint-Émilion, Château Canon La Gaffelière's terroir consists of clay-limestone and clay-sand soil that is very permeable and particularly efficient at retaining heat. The choice of grape varieties is rather atypical for the appellation in light of the soil: 50 % Merlot, 40 % Cabernet Franc, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon.  The Cabernets ripen early and remarkably well on Canon La Gaffelière's warm soil, adding power and aromatic complexity to Merlot's opulence to create wines of natural elegance and finesse. This is one of the best wines of the 2014 vintage in Bordeaux, "powerful yet impeccably refined" says Vinous - drinking beautifully now and will cellar for twenty more years.

Mazeyres 2019 Pomerol Seuil de Mazeyres

This Biodynamically farmed  wine is 73.1% Merlot, 24.3% Cabernet Franc and 2.6% Petit Verdot. Pretty garnet color. The nose is elegant with a lovey complexity of sour cherries and sweet spices. The attack is supple, unctuous and fruity. The wine develops with soft tannins, a touch of velvet and a beautiful freshness. The finish offers a nice return of black fruits and a touch of light toasted oak.  Aging is half in one-year old barrels and half in vats giving a wine that is meant to be enjoyed young, but that will cellar nicely for ten to fifteen years. This is a beautiful young Pomerol and an excellent value!

Chateau Micalet 2020 Haut Medoc

Chateau Micalet, with a few hectares in the commune of Lamarque was classified "Cru Artisan" by Feret in 1893.  Acquired by the Fedieu family in 1972 the estate was enlarged slightly, never using herbicides, and with a new generation the conversion to organic agriculture was started in 2006. The estate now has 10 hectares on deep beds of gravel, planted at 8,000 pieds/hectare; the normal blend is 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot -  and 7% Petit Verdot,  a grape the Fedieus feel is particularly important. The grapes are harvested by hand and undergo a 3 to 4 week fermentation, the wine ages in barrique, 30% new. The nose on the Haut Medoc has dark plummy fruit, with hints of vanilla and baking spice. Young leather notes and dark gravel tones as well. A little floral with dark violets and roses. The palate has lush black cherry. Graphite and iron on the tongue give an earthy glimmer. Medium acid and soft tannin, but great density at its core. Drink up! David Hatzopoulos

Chateau Meyre 2018 Haut-Medoc Cru Bourgeois

(Arrives Monday, 11/21) "Situated in the heart of the Medoc region, between the terroirs of Moulis and Margaux, our estate is listed since 1876 among the very first wines of Avensan, certified organic since 2011. The Chateau Meyre Haut-Medoc is the result of  subtle blending: 44% of Merlot, 40% of Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% of Petit Verdot and 5% of Cabernet Franc. With a ruby color,  Château Meyre offers a beautiful aromatic complexity of berries, plums, tobacco and vegetal notes. On the palate, the supple, ripe texture reveals complex red and black fruits, with earth and spice notes followed by  beautiful length. This is a lovely Haut-Medoc for current drinking or for 8 to 10 yeaars of cellaring."

Suduiraut 2005 Sauternes 375 ml (Arrives 11/21)

(Arrives Monday, 11/21) Château Suduiraut, Premier Cru Classé in 1855, is one of the great historic vineyards of Sauternes. A rigorous selection in the vineyard and in the cellars ensures the production of Château Suduiraut's wines, which are the accomplished expression of this exceptional terroir. Château Suduiraut 2005, draped in its intense golden robes, expresses on the nose all the richness of the vintage with intensity and freshness, combining honey, cinnamon, white pepper, and vanilla with mango, yellow peach, passion fruit and candied pineapple. The initial taste is generous, blossoming into an impressive sweetness backed by a firmness and acidity to ensure the balance. Reveals intense fruit flavours with hints of marzipan, raisins and spices from the oak barrels. The smooth, pure finish leaves lingering notes of spices, candied fruit and a beautiful minerality. We rank it among the outstanding successes of the property with the 2001, 1967, 1947 and even 1928 !

Finot, Thomas 2020 Coteaux Grésivaudan Étraire la Dhuy

Étraire de la Dhuy is a rare grape from the Vallé du Grésivaudan in the Isère, with only about 6 hectares currently in production. The 2020 Finot Étraire de la Dhuy is from a parcel of 70 year-old massale selection vines, with some new plantation, only 60 btls were available for the US.  AKA Étraire de l'Aduï. According to Wine Grapes "DNA parentage analysis suggests a parent-offspring relationship between Étraire de l'Aduï and Persan. Indeed, both varieties belong to the Sérine ampelographic group."

Finot, Thomas 2019 Coteaux Grésivaudan (Isere) Persan

Thomas Finot produces this wine from Persan, a rare grape variety indigenous to the Isère, from a blend of massale selection old and young vines. Thomas has made his name in celebrating and resurrecting these local rarities. The high altitude, alpine climate lends this wine a beautiful acidic structure, and imbues it with notes of mint and alpine herbs. The 2019 Persan shows a medium red/garnet color and slight reduction, followed by peppery red currant and blackberry fruit, earthy and bright. The palate shows firm earthy acidity with vibrant red currant, cranberry and raspberry fruit, very mineral, with tart, earthy berry fuits in the long firm finish. Serve with a stew, tagine or terrine of pork or game bird. Cellaring of 5 to 10 years, or a long decant, is recommended.

Finot, Thomas 2020 VDF (Isère) Jacquere/Verdesse Macération

Like a walk through the forests of the French alps, this years Maceration,  which is apparently mostly Verdesse , is a veritable explosion of pine cones , tangerine & Melon de Cavaillon with supple acidity, velvety tannins whilst sporting a pale coppper hue. This is a stunner of a skin contact wine that truly demonstrates it's home terroir and cepage:  it's irrevocable sense of place puta it on par with other transportative wines such as Monastero Suore Cistercensi - Coenobium. As they call it in Italy, un Vino da Meditazione!  Giselle Hamburg

Finot, Thomas 2020 Crozes-Hermitage Classique

Thomas Finot, who is resurrecting forgotten vineyards and varieties in the Isère, is also making brilliant wines from his tiny family vineyard in Crozes-Hermitage. He has 1.8 hectare of old vines in Larnage on a hillside with granite and limestone subsoils under interesting topsoils of white clay (kaolin). The 2020 Crôzes Classique is a very elegant Syrah showing aromas of blackberry and blueberry liqueur, violet and citrus with a hint of game, quite pretty. The palate is supple and nicely balanced with very pure black fruits, a chalky mineral character and a long clean finish. As with the Cuvee Claude, this shows a more pure black fruit side of Syrah. It's elegant and delicious and a great value!

Finot, Thomas 2019 Crozes-Hermitage Cuvée Claude

Thomas Finot, who is resurrecting forgotten vineyards and varieties in the Isère, is also making brilliant wines from his tiny family vineyard in Crozes-Hermitage. He has 1.8 hectare of old Syrah vines in Larnage on a hillside with granite and limestone subsoils under interesting soils of white clay (kaolin). It's a great terroir, and the Cuvée Claude, homage to Thomas' uncle, is a superb, somewhat atypical Crozes. The 2019 Cuvee Claude shows a deep black/red color and elegant aromas of black cherry and blackberry with hints of pepper and oak. The palate is well structured with firm tannins under elegant red and black fruits, mint, citrus, earth and mineral flavors. Please give this serious Crôzes-Hermitage a long decant, or open the night before if drinking now. This will really sing after some time in the cellar, best 2025 - 2035.

Finot, Thomas 2020 Crozes-Hermitage Blanc

Thomas Finot, who is making fascinating wines in the Coteaux Grésivaudan in the Isère, makes a tiny quantity of Crôzes-Hermitage Blanc and Rouge.  This beautiful Crôzes Blanc is from 100% Marsanne grown on the family's 1.8 hectare parcel of old vines in Larnage on a hillside with granite and limestone subsoils under interesting soils of white clay (kaolin). It's a great terroir for Marsanne giving a wine that is ripe and concentrated but with a fabulous underlying stone and smoky character.  The wine shows a bright gold color with aromas of floral yellow fruits and almond. The palate is a fascinating blend of buttery apricot and citrus flavors with smoky stone and minerals, finishing with stone fruits and citrus lingering on the palate. Lovely wine and a great food pairing with full-flavored fish and poultry dishes, Asian cuisine.

Chevalerie 2015 Bourgueil Bretêche

Bretêche  is their easternmost vineyard, a rented plot on the border of Ingrandes-de-Touraine - (Domaine de la Chevalerie is  the only estate claiming this vineyard name). On the southwestern exposed upper part of the mid-slope, the vines are planted on a meter-deep heavier clay with high mica content above the Turonian yellow tuffeau. The vines, biodynamically farmed are between 25 to 55 years old. 2015 was an easier, more mastered vintage for the Caslot siblings, as the growing season was never extreme, and the harvests were peaceful. A little more concentrated than the 2014, especially in acidity, this a great vintage for the Domaine! Bretêche 15 is still a baby! Purple in the glass, the wine as usual has more freshness, tension and a little austerity. This is even more apparent here. The nose is a little restrained, showing progressively a lot of black and red currant and cranberry, hibiscus tea and black cardamon. In the palate, it is a superbly balanced wine, with some chiseled tannins enhanced by the lingering acidity. There is less flesh than other cuvées, and the texture is sleeker  but absolutely charming and vibrant - and could please any Burgundy lover. You will pick up more herbal notes in the palate : tobacco, beet juice, pink peppercorn. A great bottle to keep 10 years and plus, as it is built to age!  To serve it now, decant it a good hour at least or enjoy it over multiple days. 100% Cabernet Franc. Pascaline Lepeltier 

Weiser-Künstler 2021 Mosel Riesling Feinherb

This delicious feinherb comes from both old and younger vines mostly from Wolfer Sonnenlay and surrounding parcels. A touch spritzig upon opening, the freshness is delicate on the nose, being both fruity and floral. In 2021, it plays with the idea of residual sugar, giving a slight burst of fruit on the attack, and then finishes with stones and wonderfully intense acid! The finish is focused and clean. A fantastic introduction to the 2021 vintage. 

Lauer, Peter 2022 Saar Ayler Kupp Riesling 'Senior'

Lauer ‘Senior’ is Florian’s nod to making a style of wine his grandfather (Peter Lauer Sr.) would enjoy. His aim is to make a feinherb, wine for the table from 70-year-old, ungrafted vines on the Kupp.Just a bit drier than Feinherb and a shade sweeter than trocken, Lauer ‘Senior’ offers a fine entry in the the Lauer lineup with just a bit more sap and substance than the delicious Barrel X. Per Vom Boden: "In 2021 this wine has 13.7g/l of RS, 8.5g/l of acidity and a moderate 11.5% alcohol."

Enderle and Moll 2020 Baden Pinot Noir Basis

Sven Enderle and Florian Moll work their two hectares of vines organically with biodynamic treatments— a rare occurrence in their region, where quality often takes a backseat to quantity. The Basis is their entry-level Pinot, from 30-year-old vines on sandstone, limestone and loess. For a "basic" wine, it's pretty impressive in 2020, with some power and maturity, generous fruit and good balance/acidity. No need to wait on this one, but there's a sense that it should be really integrated and quite elegant in a few years.  -Eben // Our friend, and importer, Stephen from Vom Boden writes: "A wild, earthy and crushed berry nose; a kitchen pantry of cooking spices. Crushed dark berry fruit, edged by a delicate bright lemon citrus that gives definition and lift. Crush-able. "

Tement 2019 Sudsteiermark Ehrenhausen Korallenkalk

From the landmark producer who put southern Styria on the map (figuratively) down by the border with Slovenia. The vineyards in Ehrenhausen are characterized by  coralline limestone (korallenkark)soil that contains fossilized seashells, called muschelkalk in German.  After natural fermentation, the wine is aged for 18 months on the lees in big, neutral oak casks and stainless steel tanks. It's bottled unfiltered -  Bowler Wine. The nose explodes with herbaceous aromas of cut grass and wet white stones. The palate is extremely mineral with great length and concentration. For lovers of Sancerre , Pouilly Fume and briny oysters. Giselle Hamburg