Articles

7/1/21 - According to our friend Wink Lorch, author of Wines of the French Alps, Jérémy Decoster of Les Cortis took what he learned working at the hallowed Domaine de Moor in Chablis and applied it to his own estate years later in Bugey. He and his wife, Isabelle, started the business in 2016 with the idea that their low-intervention wines would "sell locally,"...

6/21/21 - Mark my words, I will be drinking tons of Bordeaux this summer. Week after week, I’m being introduced to amazing bottles from all over the region. Even during the recent days of high-80 temps in New York City, the good ones are just as enjoyable as they’d be if it were 30 degrees cooler outside. Don’t miss delicious bottles because you think you...

6/16/21 - Though the temperature may have fluctuated a bit in the last few days, it's clear that summer is upon us. My summer plans this year are uncomplicated. I intend to overstay my welcome in the backyards of those friends who possess them, to fall asleep on the lawns of various local parks, and most crucially, I am going to consume as many...

6/13/21 - We're very happy to have a new shipment from Gilles Bonnefoy of  "Les Vins de la Madone" in the Côtes du Forez! We sometimes use the word "vibrant' when discussing the fruit and mineral flavors of wines from the Loire Valley and that is certainly the case with "Les Vins de la Madone," from Biodynamic farming on the estate's high-altitude parcels of...

6/7/21 - The other night we opened up a sample of the multi-vintage, multi-grape bottling from Broc Cellars, 'Got Grapes'. What we expected to be a rather straightforward 'glou-glou' chillable red, stole our attention for over an hour! We were each so taken by its sheer deliciousness, that it reminded us that a wine need not be overly complex to be captivating. Every time I...

5/28/21 - “Every region needs an Yves,” writes Wink Lorch, a friend of Chambers and the author of the priceless book, Wines of the French Alps. In her section dedicated to the winemaker, Yves Duport, Wink tells her audience to “expect the unexpected” when tasting his wines from Southern Bugey - and so that is what I did. Today, I have a new favorite...

5/20/21 - Sancerre is one of those French appellations, like Chablis, that sells by itself - easy to pronounce (unlike Bourgueil) and reliably inoffensive, even poorly made wines sell like crazy in restaurants and growers have little incentive to work well in the vines and more naturally in the cellar. Happily there are a few producers who proudly work differently, producing distinctive wines of...

5/17/21 - I have been looking forward to the arrival of the 2019 Burgundy vintage. The best wines in 2018 were produced by growers who kept careful watch on rising sugars and falling acids and picked early enough to maintain balance without making wines that toppled over. In 2019, it seems there were no such concerns. Over the course of many Zoom calls with...

5/10/21 - Joseph Dorbon makes wine in the small town of Vadans, a 10 minute drive from Arbois. The village has only 300 residents. He works his land following organic methods, plowing once a year by horse. All fruit is hand picked. Fermentation is natural and without temperature control. His cellar, dug into the village’s yellow marl soil, dates from the 1500s. His wines...

5/1/21 - If you’re any sort of habitué of Chambers Street Wines, there are certain growers' tastings (remember tastings?) that one should never miss, not only for the wines, but for the chance to meet some truly delightful, dedicated people. One grower who comes to mind is the charming, quick-to-smile Gernot Kollman from the revitalized Immich-Batterieberg. Dating from 1425 and owned by the Immich...

4/21/21 - From my early days working at Chambers Street Wines, I will never forget being drawn to a particular bottle in the Italian section, with a grotesque devilish creature holding a pitchfork and a bottle of wine. It stood out amongst the otherwise "classic" labels, and the allure around the wine only grew when I learned about the magical area in the north...

4/18/21 - For once, I am happy to say, I agree with the pundits: At this early stage 2016 is holding to its promise as an exceptional vintage. Claudio Boggione has definitely hit the mark with his beautifully balanced and expressive Brunate. If this serves as an introduction to Boggione then the re-print below of our earlier article about his Brunate should be of...

4/19/21 - Though I spent some time working in Gevrey-Chambertin, I never had the opportunity to taste at Domaine Sylvie Esmonin. I've always wanted to - she has a reputation among her peers and consumers alike as thoughtful and warm and who enjoys talking about her wines. I met her only briefly when an enormous truck that was supposed to be delivering bottles to her...

4/12/21 - Massimo Marchiori and Antonella Gerosa, Italian architects by training, began making wine and recovering old vineyards in the Massís de Bonastre in 2000. Since then, Partida Creus (named for the ancient crosses that marked the boundary lines between vineyard parcels) has become one of the most sought-after and celebrated natural wineries in Catalonia and in Spain. Focusing on single-varietal bottling of indigenous...

4/8/21 - Rioja is many things. Probably the best-known wine region in Spain, it has a storied viticultural history, with the modern era of wine-making dating back to the 1850s. For most of that time, Tempranillo has been at the center of this story, and grand bodegas in the towns of Haro and Logroño have produced wines in a specific style that showed the...