Articles

[Chisa Bize.  (Courtesy of Grand Cru Selections)] We at Chambers Street have always been soft targets when it comes to the wines of Domaine Simon Bize in Savigny-Les-Beaune. Over the course of several generations, they have produced some of the truly definitive wines of Savigny-les-Beaune - soulful, full of pure fruit and minerality. I count amongst my formative wine memories a number of Bize...

7/22/2020 More and more we are hearing interest from our community in "natural wines" and wines without the addition of sulfur. Though the term "natural wine" is still largely up for debate, generally it is accepted that the wine should have very low to no amounts of added SO2. Sulfur dioxide is a naturally occurring by-product of fermention, thus a wine with no added...

[Sven Enderle (Left) and Florian Moll (Right) - Photo courtesy J. Ritchie/ Vom Boden] "I'm a free man and I do what I want to do, and so we are a free winery." - Sven EnderleI think this is a very apt summary of the work of Enderle & Moll; founded on a collective opposition to the commercial winemaking practices of the Baden region....

(NOTE: Now a laureate of “Un des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France - Sommellerie” and Best French Sommelier, Chambers Street Wines is extremely proud to present this article by our good friend and neighbor at Racines NY, Pascaline Lepeltier. In 2014, Pascaline passed the Master Sommelier Diploma, and in 2018, she won 2 more major titles in her homeland: shemelier 2018. In January 2019, the...

[In the vineyards of Guímaro. The slopes of Ribeira Sacra are no joke! (Photo courtesy Jose Pastor Selections)] The Atlantic-inflected white and red wines of the Spanish northwest are special and unique. In all of the wines we are offering today, there's a lift and sense of freshness that distinguishes them from wines of other regions, and a seam of minerality that connects them...

1/23/2020 In the vines at Sant'Or (courtesy Aris Soultanos, Eklektikon) I have been fascinated with the wines of Greece this year. The Greek mainland and the Greek isles have an incredibly long and storied viticultural history, with a multitude of indigenous grape varieties, varied traditional methods of production, and a staggering number of individual microclimates and terroirs. Wine is made throughout the majority of...

[Of all the bright young growers in Champagne, perhaps one of the most compelling is Aurelien Suenen of Cramant] There's a great deal to admire in the Champagnes and ethic of Aurelien Suenen. His wines combine beautiful fruit with a frank minerality in a graceful way. This results from conscientious farming (Suenen has been in transition to organic certification since 2009) and deft work...

11/5/2019 Map from "Barolo MGA Vol. 1" by Alessandro Masnaghetti “The vineyards of Brunate are divided by the administrative boundary which separates the townships of Barolo and La Morra. A border which has no particular effect from the viticultural and oenological point of view, given that the MGA [ie: the vineyard of Brunate] extends over one sole slope characterized by an exposure which is...

10/14/2019 Cellar at Domaine Stéphane Magnien For many years we have been working with Domaine Stéphane Magnien (not to be confused with Michel or Frédéric), a small domaine in Morey-Saint-Denis that makes superb, subtle, and old-fashioned wines of terroir from their 4.5 hectares. The domain is proud to say that for four generations they have not used herbicides, using plowing by horse and tractor...

There’s a vinicultural revival going on across the sprawling Douro Valley. Younger winemakers are taking charge of their families’ estates or bringing their own independent projects to fruition. A new generation is making wine unlike the Portuguese table wine we’ve come to know, particularly in the Douro Valley, the oldest demarcated appellation in Western Europe. Eponymous with Port wine, the Douro Valley has been...

[Luigi Tecce pouring his wines. (photo from the PortoVino website)] From John Gilman's View from the Cellar #63: "Luigi Tecce is clearly amongst the very finest, if not the finest, winemakers in Taurasi today and he will be a superstar in the very near future...the Bruno Giacosa of the region." I've heard similar superlatives from many people I respect in the industry, including the...

2/14/2019 - I've never much understood the concept of "smoothness". The things I put in my mouth for pleasure, I want them to be exciting, expressive and soulful. I'm not necessarily always looking for higher proof, but I am always looking for an experience. In this regard, I am most fortunate to have Jamaican rum in my life, particularly the amazing juice coming from Hampden...

While it is unlike us to associate certain wines with certain seasons, the chill of winter simply requires a degree of decadence that I can only find in the savory and sumptuous white wine from the Jura. Perhaps I am biased, but when the cold wind is at one's cheeks, who can deny the revitalizing effects of a hearty sous-voile? Further, few vignerons craft...

11/7/18 - The first time I met Benoit Courault, my hair was wild and desheveled and someone mistook me for him at a wine fair in France. We both had a laugh and I proceeded to taste and chat with him about his wines, vineyards, and philosophy. This was around the same time that I was discovering how remarkable Chenin Blanc on Schiste (schist terroir) can...

Early this year, at the tail end of a trip visiting vineyards and attending wine tastings in France, I took two days to visit Portugal. I had already heard many great things about Lisbon, and had always been fascinated and intrigued by the wines of a tiny region called Colares, so I headed to Lisbon and then drove west through the enchanting castle town...