New Arrivals/Returning Favorites - 2025 #1: France
1/25/2025
An abundance, a surfeit, a profusion, a plethora of delicious wines from France have just hit the warehouse, all from organic or biodynamic farming, both new arrivals and returning favorites!
Let's start off with some of the very best Gigondas, from the Chastan sisters, Dany and Carole, at the Clos du Joncuas: the well-structured, extraordinary 2016, the deep and delicious 2019 and the more forward and ready-to-drink 2022. Not to mention their great 2022 Vacqueyras (an amazing value) and the 2023 Seguret Blanc.
Next up are the outstanding high-elevation Roussillon wines of Eric Laguerre - the granite soils bring beautiful structure to these complex and vibrant wines. The 2022 Le Ciste Blanc and Le Ciste Rouge are back - sensational wines and among the greatest values in the store!
We're very proud to present new arrivals from Pierre and Chantal Frick in Alsace. Pioneers of organic and Biodynamic agriculture and among the first producers of natural, zero-sulfur wines, the Fricks continue to experiment, creating new and wonderful skin-contact and orange wines, many of which are offered today, along with a few mature wines from their cellar! (Pierre Frick, pictured above)
[Jerome Forget of the Ferme de L'Yonnière]
Chateau La Grave Figeac, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru - Owners Laurent and Caroline Clauzel converted the estate to organic farming over many years achieving organic certification in 2012 and Biodynamic certification began in 2021. The estate is beautifully situated at the border of Pomerol, it's neighbors being Cheval Blanc and Figeac in Saint-Emilion and La Conseillante in Pomerol. The wines are balanced, never over-extracted or over-oaked, with very pretty aromas and great terroir expression. Fermentations are with wild yeasts, sulfur use is minimal (only after the malo) and aging is in barrique, amphora and foudre - "what we search for above all is balance and elegance'" says M. Clauzel.
A small allocation from Domaine des Marnes Blanches - Pauline and Géraud Fromont named their winery after the white marl soils in Cesancy, the village in the Sud Revermont where they purchased their first plot of vines in 2006. It is here that Jura's white wines are in their glory, with beloved producers like Labet, Buronfosse, and Ganevat producing some of the area's top wines. Today the couple has a combined 10 hectares of vines that are up to 100-years-old, planted in the neighboring villages of Vincelles and Sainte-Agnès, where the concentration of fossil-rich limestone is much higher. These are some of the most delightful wines of the Jura, of course quantities are tiny…
Ferme de L'Yonnière is just south of Domfront in Brittany, east of Mont Saint-Michel, and has about 15 hectares of pasture and fruit trees. This tiny region of tall old trees (Poiré Domfront) is producing pear ciders that are truly unique in the world and that are sensationally delicious! They have the qualities of complex, refreshing sparkling wines and are great food pairings with a wide variety of cuisines, especially shellfish, seafood and cheeses. Representing only about 1% of Normandy's cider production, Poiré Domfront - and particularly these from Jérome Forget - belong in your fridge and on your table on a regular basis!
(And we've added a few favorites that will soon disappear!)
