Articles

9/16/21 - Over the last two weeks, we've received a treasure trove of wines from a few of our favorite Alsace producers, and it seemed like a good moment to roll them all into an email! New vintages from Jean-Pierre Rietsch are here, returning favorites from Chantal and Pierre Frick just landed, including some back-vintage wines from 2000, and a new shipment from Florian...

9/7/21 - Few estates gave all of us at CSW greater pleasure last year than the 2018s from Domaine Tripoz. Despite the intense warmth of the vintage, they made wines that felt fresh, racy and expressive, and that easily outstripped their relatively modest price. We were powerless against them and  when I finished my very last bottle of Mâcon-Loché just a few weeks ago,...

8/23/21 - In France's Haut-Savoie, a short distance from Lac Léman and a half an hour drive from Geneva's city center in neighboring Switzerland, Dominique Lucas grows many different varieties of grapes, Alpine-originals and not. There is no argument, however, that this winemaker's most sought after bottlings come from his parcels of organically and biodynamically farmed Chasselas, a grape found in France and throughout Europe, but used most seriously in the production of Swiss wines. Wine-Searcher.com...

8/20/21 - I believe the first time I met Philippe Brand was at an outdoor wine tasting under a massive circus tent, in the Ardeche, about 4 or 5 years ago. He was manning his "stand," (a used wine barrel) wearing his trademark Kangol hat, as many curious Ardechois locals and winemakers from elsewhere in France walked slowly by and stopped to peek at...

8/12/21 - On Monday, we featured the innovative Antoine Depierre, of Domaine Mayoussier, who is planting international grapes, like Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah, in the southern part of the Isère near the national park of Vercors. There couldn't be a starker contrast between Antoine and the winemaker we're featuring today, the prolific Nicolas Gonin, who is at the north of the Isère, relatively close to...

8/10/21 - There aren’t many winemakers in the Isère who sell their bottles internationally. And the most well known producers that do are focused on reviving and promoting the historically important grapes of the region, like Verdesse and Persan. However, the geographical isolation of vineyards and wineries have allowed innovative thinkers like Antoine Depierre to plant vines that aren’t thought of (or officially recognized)...

8/7/21 - “The discovery of a profound terroir, of a brilliant winery, always leaves me paralyzed yet euphoric, in the manner I imagine a spiritual revelation would affect the faithful.” - Becky Wasserman, upon meeting Patrick Charlin and tasting his Altesse from Montagnieu in Bugey. Read the whole text here, it’s definitely worthwhile. Patrick Charlin, the Altesse master of Montagnieu, in his green, green...

8/4/21 - New releases from 2018 - 2020 have just arrived from La Ferme de la Sansonnière. Of course we were not able to taste the wines in France as we normally do each winter, but the wines have been extraordinary over the past few years. Our allocation is quite a bit smaller this year, no further inventory is available. (Wines arrive Friday 8/6)...

7/22/21 - Although the estate is quite young in terms of Champagne houses, Pascal Doquet produces wines we consider modern classics. In the few years the wines have been available under his own name, we’ve been bowled over by their beauty and terroir expression. Based in Vertus, Pascal has worked the family’s Doquet-Jeanmaire estate as chef de cave since 1995 and in 2004 acquired...

7/20/21 - Relatively unknown in the US, recommended to us by our friend Pascaline Lepeltier, the Sancerres of Vincent Gaudry are certainly among the finest in the appellation and we are proud to offer superb new arrivals from the 2018 and 2019 vintages. Based in the village of Grand Chambre near Sury-en-Vaux, the domain was established by Vincent's grandfather with only a few hectares...

7/14/21 - La Marca was started in 2007 by Daniela Quaresima, Beatrice Bonci, and her brother Alessandro. Artists and musicians with some winemaking experience, they thought that producing their own wine would provide a bridge between art and wine, but as Alessandro says, with a laugh, “we quickly found that we were stuck in the vines, that the wine demanded total dedication, and that...

7/12/21 - "We are replanting here, all the historically forgotten grape varieties of Bordeaux, in a biodynamic approach, respectful of the terroir"  - so says the front page of the Chateau Cazebonne website, and indeed the project began in 2016. A collaboration between winelover Jean-Baptiste Dusquesne and winemaker David Poutays, this important Graves estate in Saint-Pierre de Mons extends over 40 hectares, principally on...

7/11/21 - I was contemplating a single sentence newsletter for today’s offer: “Sub-$30 Trousseau and Poulsard from the Jura’s Domaine Pierre Richard!” What else do you need to know? That both were bottled without added SO2? That the Richard family started cultivating vines in the commune of Le Vernois in 1919? That the estate is in official organic conversion with Ecocert, which they’ll achieve...

7/10/21 - I have been itching to feature Domaine Blard & Fils since being introduced to the estate in February by Roland Benedetti of Living Wines. I offered 12 bottles of Domaine Blard & Fils' 'Micraster' as an interesting addition to a Jacquère-heavy newsletter focused on the wines of Domaine des Côtes Rousses, but I was late to the game and couldn't secure anything...

7/8/21 - Mondeuse, Mondeuse, Mondeuse… These days, I’m finding it hard to resist the low-alcohol red wines made from this staple grape of the Savoie. I featured the Bruno Lupin 2019 Mondeuse a few weeks ago, from vines around 70 years old and aged in ex-DRC barrels. It weighs in at 12% ABV. Today, I’m looking at the Silice Rouge 2020, 100% Mondeuse, from...