Articles

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...

4/5/21 - Being introduced to a new Burgundy producer is always interesting. After all, the region is not getting any bigger. There is only so much land available and prices have become prohibitive. But Burgundy's allure is hard to resist and aspiring young winemakers seem to keep finding ways to work. In recent years there has been an explosion in the number of tiny...

4/1/21 - I strongly suggest drinking the two wines from today’s offer side-by-side. Both are Altesse (Roussette to some) from one of Savoie’s most prolific winemakers. Bruno Lupin has deep roots in Frangy and he arguably produces the village’s (dare I say Savoie’s?) best, electrifyingly refined whites. Those two words, “electrifyingly refined,” might seem to contradict each other… but not here. Labeled under the...

3/15/21 - Clos Puy Arnaud is located near the town of Belvès-de-Castillon, which is perched along a large plateau of limestone - a geological formation similar to the neighboring long stretch of elevated limestone belonging to the St.-Emilion AOC. Thierry Valette purchased the estate in 1999 after selling his shares in Chateau Pavie. Valette is a staunch supporter of biodynamic farming, and his fields...

3/11/21 - It is so easy to put your nose into Jacquère from a recently opened bottle, or take a sip three seconds after you pull it from the fridge, and assume that the wine will be pleasant, but rather neutral for the entirety of its life. Lean and bracing, but not particularly complex. This isn't a PSA, but I do have to include...