Billaud, Samuel 2018 Chablis

Billaud, Samuel 2018 Chablis 1er Cru Montmains

Billaud, Samuel 2018 Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons Vieilles Vignes

Brocard, Julien 2018 Chablis La Boissonneuse

La Boissonneuse vineyard makes up the bulk of Julien Brocard's holdings, at 11 of his 18 total hectares. This cuvée is sourced from 30-year-old biodynamically farmed vines, fermented with native yeasts, and aged in large foudre.

Champs de l'Abbaye 2019 Bourgogne Blanc Chardonnay

The Hasard’s Bourgogne Blanc is made from hand-harvested and certified organic Chardonnay grown on a limestone/clay parcel in Aluze, next to Mercurey. The native-yeast fermentation lasts 10 months in barrel and only minimal SO2 is added at bottling. The 2019 is more fruit-forward on the nose, with aromas of dried mango, pear followed by ripe yellow fruits and river rocks. The palate is mineral, saline, and layered with notes of dried apricot, fennel, white flowers, and stone on a very generous finish. An excellent value white Burgundy that would pair well with oysters, cheeses, or roast chicken with herbs.

Chandon de Briailles 2017 Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru Île des Vergelesses "La Vie Est Belle"

Dangin, Bruno NV Crémant de Bourgogne Blanc de Noirs

What a difference 2 kilometers makes! Bruno Dangin's Crémant de Bourgogne is made from 100% Pinot Noir from organically farmed vines in Molesme, located just beneath the southern border of Champagne's Aube.The limestone rich soils are the same as those of their pricier neighbor to the north.  Boasting a fine bead and soft mousse and aromas of red fruits and autolyse, one would be hard pressed to spot the difference. The palate offers great depth, pure pinot fruit, and a suave, layered, persistent finish. This is a great value in bubbles and will grace the holiday table nicely. John McIlwain

Domaine des Croix 2018 Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru

This is undoubtedly one of the the great white wine vineyards anywhere in the world. "Charlemagne" faces south and west as it wraps around the far side of the hill. The steep slopes and thin soils lead to powerful wines with lots of dry extract and a sense of chalk like few others. The des Croix bottling comes from two parcels of quite old and low-yielding vines, producing just three barrels. In recent vintages David has switched to larger barrels for aging this and is leaving the wine in wood longer, rather than moving it into steel after twelve months as has become fashionable. This is not to develop oak flavor but simply because he feels the longer steel aging has a tendency to constrict the wine before it is really ready. Sam Ehrlich

Domaine Leflaive 2018 Mâcon-Verzé 'Les Chenes'

Domane de l'Enclos 2018 Petit Chablis

Historically, Petit Chablis was often sneered at as something that rarely resembled Chablis. However, the leaps and bounds that have been made in the vineyards and the cellar mean that the overall quality of this humble appellation has grown exponentially in recent years. This is certainly the case at Domaine de L'Enclos. The estate is young but the Bouchard brothers have years of experience producing serious Chablis from organically farmed vineyards. The warm 2018 vintage produced especially excellent Petit Chablis. The nose and palate are redolent with lemon, pear, white peach and the minerality that makes Chablis unmistakable even within Burgundy. There is more weight than one might find in cooler vintages and leaves you with a general sense of satisfaction. This is very nice and a tremendous value. Sam Ehrlich

Génot-Boulanger 2018 Puligny-Montrachet Les Nosroyes

This is very high-quality village Puligny! "Nosroyes" sits just below Premier Cru "Perrieres," and there is lots of limestone in the soil. The nose shows some of the same green apple notes as the Meursault but with an added element of white floral character, somewhere between lily and honeysuckle. In the mouth there is more apple, as well as Meyer lemon and a bare touch of wood spice and cool minerality. Again the overall impression here is one of understatement and finesse rather than power. Very good wine.  Sam Ehrlich

Guillemot-Michel 2018 Viré-Clessé Une Bulle

The Guillemot-Michel "Une Bulle" comes from a tiny parcel of old vines on limestone with red clay, high in iron. The wine is a Pet-Nat (Methode Ancestrale) that is bottled after a short period of fermentation, leaving enough sugar in the wine for the fermentation to continue and create the desired bubbles. The wine is aged in bottle on the lees for around 18 months, then riddled and disgorged and re-bottled with a bit more "Une Bulle."  The result is a very delicious aged Pet-Nat showing honeyed aromas of pear and white peach with hints of almond, marzipan and brioche. On the palate the mousse is soft and creamy with flavors of peach and quince  with lime-flower and minerals and a long finish of white fruits, citrus peel and firm acidity. This is a delightful wine to sip by itself or pair with mild cheeses, patés and terrines, fruit desserts..  David Lillie

Guillemot-Michel 2018 Viré-Clessé Quintaine

We're extremely happy to have the wines of Guillemot-Michel back at Chambers Street! Along with Jean and Gautier Thevenet, and Julien Guillot at Vignes du Maynes, they are making white Burgundies with more depth and minerality than anything comparably priced in the Cote D'Or. The 2018 Quintaine is a gorgeous white Burgundy, showing a brilliant pale gold color and complex aromas of poached pear, almond, candied lemon, kiwi, stone and lime-flower, elegant and quite beautiful. The palate is round and dense, a bit riper than the 2017, with firm acidity, showing cool stone fruits and citrus with caramel, stone and mineral flavors. The finish is long and very mineral, with chalky white fruits lingering on the palate. This is a young wine, give it some time in a carafe if possible. (At a recent tasting, the 1989 and 1990 were showing beautifully, so put a few in the cellar!) Beautiful wine - congratulations to Pierrette, Marc, Sophie and son-in-law Gautier!

Guillemot-Michel 2018 Viré-Clessé Retour a la Terre

Created in 2017, this cuvee is issued from grapes in the "Champ-Rond" vineyard, vinified in amphora of 800 liters. The 65 year-old vines are grafted on "Riparia Gloire de Montpellier" an old root-stock obtained in 1880, giving very low yields with magnificent small grapes, of a deep gold color. The 2018 Retour a la Terre presents the exotic notes typical of the domaine with an extra dimension of expression due to the respiration of the amphora. The small grapes of "Champ-Rond" ripen beautifully without a high degree of alcohol -  they are picked on the last day of the harvest, and the elevage in amphora gives the wine a great purity. Tasted at the domaine in January 2020, the wine showed elegant floral, white fruit, apricot, lemon and stone aromas. The palate was round, dense and silky with fabulous length. This is a superb white Burgundy that is delicious now and will cellar beatifully for fifteen to twenty years. Highly recommended!  David Lillie

Jacqueson, Paul et Marie 2019 Rully Blanc 1er Cru Grésigny

Lamy, Hubert 2016 Chassagne Montrachet Concis du Champ

When I speak with Burgundy growers about their peers and whose work they admire and find inspiration in, the name Olivier Lamy comes up almost without exception. A relentless innovator and workaholic, Olivier makes remarkable wines. He has pioneered a number of viticultural techniques in Burgundy over the last twenty years, including experimenting with high-density planting (up 40,000 vines per hectare) and the adopting of a pruning model traditionally used in the Loire Valley (designed to reduce the amount of scar tissue on the vine and better protect it from wood diseases). While best known for Saint Aubin, he makes lovely Chassagne-Montrachet and Santenay as well. Concis du Champs is a parcel at the bottom end of the slope, with more clay, from 15-year old vines and aged in 600-liter barrels, virtually none of them new. From the very small but brilliant 2016 vintage. 

Leflaive 2017 Chevalier-Montrachet Grand Cru

Marcel Couturier 2017 Saint Véran La Cour des Bois

Morey-Blanc 2017 St. Aubin 1er Cru

Morey-Blanc 2018 Saint Romain Sous le Chateau

Rateau 2018 Beaune 1er Cru Les Coucherias

Beaune 1er Cru "Les Coucherias" is high on the slope on the site of an old quarry and much of the sub-soil is limestone tailings, permitting root penetration and drainage, with a topsoil of mixed clay and limestone "marnes blanches." In biodynamic agriculture since 1979, the vineyard is a south-facing semi-circle—a very warm spot.The 2018 has a bright bronze/gold color and lovley aromas or ripe white peach and pear with exotic citrus and herbal notes. The ripe, deep palate palate shows stone,  apricot, pear and almond flavors with lovely density and a firm core of minerality that lingers in the very long finish. Delicious now, showing the lush fruit of 2018, it should cellar beautifully as well. David Lillie

Rateau 2019 Côte de Beaune La Grande Chatelaine

About a kilometer or two northwest of the Beaune 1er Crus, La Grande Chatelaine is a cooler site on the Montagne de Beaune with soils comprised of gravel and clay over limestone. Stone fruit and pear skin, white flowers and wet stone on the nose. Bright and fresh aromatically. The mid-weight palate is racy but full and dense due to the low yields  of 2019,  with fresh orchard fruit and lemon oil flavors, dancing astride sapid herbal notes with a clinging stoniness on the long, mouthwatering, expansive finish. Serve wth seared scallops, halibut or other full-flavored fish. This is lovely ripe and vibrant Chardonnay from a unique vineyard site - drink over the next 5 to 8 years.

Roally (Gautier Thevenet) 2018 Roally Vire Clesse

Domaine de Roally is one of the great estates of the Macon. The original owner/grower was Henri Goyard, who made old-fashioned Chardonnays with a bit of residual sugar, from his superb organically-tended estate on a limestone ridge overlooking the Saone Valley. Discovered by Joe Dressner in 1987, we made a number of visits there until Goyard's retirement in 2000. Sometimes the juice would still be fermenting after 18 months in tank, and a 1989 tasted in 1999 was simply sensational. Gautier Thevenet of the Domaine Bongran took over in 2000 and has happily kept up the quality and style of Goyard. The 2018 is a beautiful wine with aromas of lemon oil, mango, white fruits, spice and honey - really complex and elegant. Lush white fruits on the palate with citrus and minerals. Fabulous length of saline acids, stone and ripe fruit. Superb for current drinking, this should age beautifully for ten to fifteen years. Bravo to Gautier Thevenet! David Lillie

Rollin 2017 Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru 1.5L

 The Rollin family has been making and bottling wines from Pernand and Aloxe since the mid-1950s and today are one of the best addresses in either commune. These are old-school wines made with a minimum of fuss - treating the vines only when absolutely necessary, hand-harvesting, fermenting only with native yeasts and without slavishly relying on new oak for flavor or richness. Their Charlemagne is a true Charlemagne, with vines on both the Aloxe and Pernand sides. This is notable because the two produce wines of such different character, with the south-facing Aloxe parcels contributing richness and the cooler Pernand side adding tension and freshness but each one delivering the intense chalk character  that distinguishes Corton-Charlemagne.

Sainte Barbe 2017 Viré-Clessé La Perrière

 Jean-Marie Chaland owns two estates in Viré (Macon), Domaine Sainte Barbe and Domaine des Chazelles, both certified organic since 2006. The Sainte Barbe "la Perriere" is made from 35 year-old grapes from a half-hectare parcel near Viré on clay/limestone soils, never treated with herbicides. The grapes are hand-harvested and vinified with wild yeasts, the wine ages for 18 months, half in barrel, have in cuve inox. The 2017 shows pretty aromas of pear, apricot, lime flower and stone. There is nice richness on the palate, which is supple and elegant with chalky white fruits, a bit of nectarine, verbena and a hint of oak, with firm acidity, silky fruit and mineral notes in the long finish. This is a stylish white Burgundy that will accompany  any full-flavored fish dish, chicken in sauce and mild cheeses, and it will age nicely for 5 to 8 years.