Articles

7/17/2008 - It's officially a no-brainer. The Luneau-Papin Gros Plant will be in my fridge all summer and should be in yours. In Nantes the grape of choice is Melon de Bourgogne which is the principal grape in Muscdet, but there is also another grape that does not get as much attention. That is Gros Plant or Folle Blance depending who you are talking...

7/15/2008 - (Stefan Steinmetz) This year one of the major changes at Chambers Street Wines is that we have started working with the fabulous portfolio of Mosel Wine Merchant. These producers make some of the most natural wine in Germany and have been a welcome addition to the German selection. I am sure you are all familiar with Clemens Busch, Knebel and Steinmetz. Well...

7/9/2008 - When David was at the Salon in the Loire last winter he tasted with a producer named Stephane Guion who has been organic since 1965. It's a 6.8 hectare estate in Bourgueil that is harvested by hand, with no herbicides or pesticides used. The Cuvèe Prestige (1,200 cases made) comes from vines from 40 to 80 years old, giving yields of 35...

7/7/2008 - (The Hermannshohle vineyard) Many German wine lovers are familiar with the scared terroir that is Hermannshohle, and thus of course with its top interpreter, Helmut Donnhoff. It is like the relationship between Musigny and Comte de Vogue. When you think of Musigny you think of Comte de Vogue and when you think of Hermannshohle you think of Helmut Donnhoff. The vineyard is...

6/25/2008 - So the 2007 Rudi Wiest offer went out and I was mildly surprised that not much Von Hovel and F. Weins-Prum sold, considering that those were the BEST values in the room. In this slightly depressed economy, and the terrible dollar/euro thing, I was extra surprised these wines did not sell as well as they should have. So I need to prime...

6/23/2008 -  Old Cot vines, before pruning, at CRB Scattered across Europe one finds a few truly magical vineyards and the talented winemakers there who create artisanal wines with no connection to the commerciality and mediocrity of international-style winemaking. One such place is the Clos Roche Blanche, perched on a beautiful hillside above the Cher River in Touraine and the winemakers are Catherine Roussel,...

5/29/2008 - The Gonon cellar Jean and Pierre Gonon work 5.5 acres of Syrah, at Tournon, Mauves and old vines from Trollat at St Jean de Muzols. The white, 80% Marsanne and 20% Roussanne, is on the Coteaux des Oliviers and was planted in 1958 and 1974. They pick as late as possible and ferment with wild yeasts. Pigeage is mostly by foot. Aging...

5/22/2008 - The amount of high quality wine coming out of Germany right now is at an all time high especially considering that Germany only produces 1% of all the wine in the world. I still have not tasted every great producer . . .yet. So every now and then a producer will pop up on my radar and now that producer is A.J....

5/20/2008 - Jacques Puffeney is one of the most revered winemakers in the Jura and for good reason. He makes many different wines are they are all of extremely high quality. From Pinot Noir to Trousseau to Poulsard and to blends of all three these are exciting, terroir-focused and ageable wines that have zero manipulation. Honest wines as we like to call them. The...

5/17/2008 - The chatter has started and 2007 is turning out to be a spectacular vintage for Germany. I barrel tasted at a few estates in February (Knebel, Heger, Schnaittman & Van Volxem) and I was very excited as to what I tasted, even if the wines were in an infantile form. They are clear as a summer day with an azure blue sky...

5/16/2008 - Finding traditional Barolo for under $60 is impossible. Under $50 you need to be dreaming. Under $40 you need to slap yourself silly to make sure you have not traveled back in time to 1985 when wine prices were sane. Due to an inventory glitch in our uptown warehouse, we have 19 cases of two great Baroli - - and we are...

5/9/2008 - (The Conterno Cellar) I can only be talking about Giacomo Conterno's Barbera d'Alba from the Cascina Francia Vineyard. Almost every producer of Barolo and Barbaresco attempts to make a serious Barbera. Barbera actually takes to oak very well, better than most varietals, but most of them are oaked to death and are stripped of their character.  Thank goodness that is not the...

5/6/2008 - (Werner Nakel's tasting room in the Ahr - - - an old Roman Ruin) Spatburgunder is hotter than ever and the great ones that have been hoarded in Germany by top restaurants and collectors are finally arriving on our shores. Why is that? Because more and more American tasters are going there and tasting these spectacular wines. At Chambers Street Wines, Lyle,...

4/21/2008 - (Lyle and Marchel Richaud in Deauville) I will admit I am a Grenache hater as the grape, in my mind, when not cared for, makes hot, alcoholic wines that have stewed fruit and a general lack of focus. Most normal cuvèes of Chateauneuf are middling at best because the producers are putting all of their resources into luxury cuveè that few can...

4/11/2008 - For the last 20 years, Catherine and Pierre Breton have making some of the most elegant and age-worthy reds of the Loire Valley. So I was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the 2005 Bourgueil Les Perrières, as everything they have made in 2005 has been nothing short of brilliant. I opened a bottle on a Monday, and I will confess, this thing...