Articles

11/4/19 - We can’t help but think of the Jura as the days get colder. From this tiny region, earthy Vin Jaune and punchy, brandy-enhanced Macvin are two specialties; but it's the dry, fresh ouillé styles of many whites and reds, along with the bubbly Cremant du Jura, that have brought it increased attention in the modern market. Today we’re highlighting a few truly...

10/31/19 - At Chambers Street Wines we are blessed to work with an array of dedicated and talented growers. Careful work in the vines (mostly organic or biodynamic) and cellar (mostly non-interventionist) produce wines that, in addition to being delicious, seem to offer deeper dimensions of terroir expression than other wines of their appellation. That they are able to do this regularly, often transcending...

10/30/19 - Lately at Chambers, we’ve been working hard at promoting the beautiful table wines of Portugal. This week, we’re focusing on the Bairrada DOC, a mid-size growing region of about 20,000 hectares of vines, situated between the mountainous Dão region and the Atlantic; bordered by the Vouga River in the north and the Mondego River in the south. The presence of the coastline gives this region its special...

10/28/19 - My first experience with Maître de Chai was at an overwhelmingly large walk-around tasting, where their wines' precision and expressiveness made me take notice. After having the pleasure of meeting the winemakers, Marty Winters and Alex Pitt, I knew I had to champion their cause. Established in 2012, their mission was to create wines that showcased a sense of place and challenge...

10/12/19 - 'Tis the season for new arrivals - you'll see a fantastic array of new wines and returning favorites over the next few months and we'll begin with France, before the October 18th tariffs go into effect. Realistically, we have many shipments that will beat the deadline, and our NY importer friends have good levels of current stock, but some French wines will...

10/1/19 - The Ignios Orígenes wines are striking and intensely memorable expressions of the terroir and indigenous grapes of Tenerife. These wines are smoky, mineral, and salty - seemingly capable of transporting the taster to the volcanic island from which they come. For me, these are some of the most exciting wines from the Canary Islands, and among the best examples of what winemakers...

9/28/19 - With Climate Week focusing our attention on the crisis of global warming, we have been slightly encouraged that the potential role of agriculture in sequestering carbon is being discussed more seriously in the scientific and farming communities, and has even been mentioned by politicians here and abroad. The basic idea is that regenerative agriculture, one aspect of which is "no-till farming" which...

9/26/19 - Benoît Marguet is one of our favorite Champagne producers for many reasons. First, it's fascinating to see someone's wines improve with every vintage as his dedication to biodynamics bears fruit. Second, while some vignerons embrace biodynamics to improve their wines, one gets the sense Benoît believes that embracing biodynamics improves his life, while the farming and wines follow suit. Blessed with old...

9/25/19 - Swick wines are officially back in stock! I am new to Joe Swick's wines, but I can already see why they have such a big following. These wines are fresh, unique, and fun to drink. I had the pleasure of meeting Joe on his recent visit to New York and was taken both with his commitment to organic and dry farming, and...

9/24/19 - Cava and Spanish Sparkling wine in general is going through some changes. Earlier this year, nine of the most respected members of the D.O. left Cava to form a separate category, Corpinnat, with stricter rules and ambitions for a higher quality of Spanish sparkling wine from Penedes (this follows the departure of Raventós í Blanc in 2012 – more on Raventós and...

9/19/19 - As the buyer for New World wines at Chambers Street, I am having a wonderful time discovering the talented winemakers of the Americas and beyond. Reading Jon Bonné's The New California has given me a greater appreciation for the work being done on the West Coast to challenge the idea that the only wines to be found there are big, overripe, and...

9/16/19 - The last time I passed through Burgundy, I had a very interesting conversation with the wine director of La Dilletante, my favorite wine bar/restaurant in Beaune. We were talking about the hype and attention around "natural wines," and his worry that people were clumping very disparate things into a somewhat polarizing genre. To him, there were three different categories of natural wines:...

8/28/19 - The Cavalieri del Tartufo – the “Knights of the Truffle” - is a society based in Piedmont, dedicated to the preservation of the traditional food and wine of the region. Those things are so popular now that it’s a little hard to believe that they were ever threatened, but in the 1960s they were rapidly disappearing, and the diligent work of the...

8/28/19 - Under the best of circumstances, organic and biodynamic viticulture is never easy. When you combine that with a marginal climate like that in Chablis the level of difficulty only increases. This is why we have such admiration for father and son vignerons Gérard and Lilian Duplessis. In an area known for industrial farming, the Duplessis family makes a beautiful array of terroir-specific...

8/26/19 - We eagerly await each year's release of Gonzalez Byass' Tio Pepe en Rama as it is one of our favorite fino sherries, and an exceptional value for the complexity it always offers. This year marks the tenth release of this wine, for which the head winemaker Antonio Flores selected 67 casks across 22 soleras. Richard Hemming MW (in jancisrobinson.com) describes the 2019...