Great Values from Jane et Sylvain in Gevrey-Chambertin and Roland Pignard in Morgon!
4/24/19 -
Jane et Sylvain Raphanau (their estate is simply called "Jane et Sylvain") produce tiny quantities of lovely terroir-expressive wines on their four hectares in and around Gevrey, certified organic since 2003. They take great pride in the quality of their vineyard work and the purity of their wines, which are produced with minimal SO2, and which show an old-fashioned earthy character sadly lacking from most modern Burgundies. The first stop in our winter "tour de France" was their cosy kitchen where we tasted their 2017s - arriving this week are the Bourgogne Passetoutgrain and Bourgogne Rouge, both of which are particularly delicious in this vintage. The 2017 Passetoutgrain is 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Gamay, showing very perfumed aromas and ripe, lovely fruit on the palate - it's a sensational value in Burgundy that will pair beautifully, served cool, with with chicken and lighter meat dishes. Produced from 20 to 30 year-old Pinot Noir vines that have alway been organically farmed, the 2017 Bourgogne Rouge is an outstanding Pinot at a very modest price that will drink beautifully over the next five years - try it this spring and summer with grilled chicken, pork and lamb.
The estates 2016s arriving in this shipment are superb wines that will need more aging than the 2017s that will be released next year. The Côtes-de Nuits Villages, from the Lieu dit "Queue de Hareng," the Gevrey-Chambertin, mostly from old vines in "En Pallud" (below 1er Cru les Corbeaux) and the Gevrey 1er Cru "Fonteny" (their parcel directly abuts Ruchottes) are all great choices for cellaring and offer excellent value. This low-yielding vintage, with small berries, gave dense, well-structured wines that are elegant and long - please give them five to ten years in the cellar if possible!
A few days later we arrived in the Beaujolais and were able to retaste the remaining inventory at Domaine Pignard with Roland and Joëlle. The Pignards have retired and are happy to have found a capable young vigneronne to take over, working the vines with the same Biodynamic methods. We'll be taking their remaining inventory over the next few years - in the shipment arriving this week, we are happy to offer more of their lovely 2014 Regnié - it's still a young wine, subtle and very pretty, that will be opening nicely over the next three to five years. 2016 was a pariculary great vintage chez Pignard, with the wines showing beautful dense fruit, firm acidities and fabulous terroir expression. These are big wines, drinking beautifully now, that will soften and gain complexity over the next five to eight years.
All wines arrive Friday 4/26. Enjoy!
