Articles

 6/15/13 -   We have praised the work of Juan Antonio Ponce many times over the years. The accomplishments of this talented young grower from Spain's central-eastern Manchuela region are well documented: certified oenologist by age 17; rigorous advocate of biodynamic farming and natural winemaking; and, perhaps most important, dedicated champion of the historically humble Bobal grape. Like other rustic, high-yielding varieties, Bobal has...

6/13/13 - (Nicola Paone, 1947)   To make a long story shorter: we discovered that the restaurant (now closed) on E. 34th St called Nicola Paone had a fantastic wine cellar. The eponymous owner was a chart-topping singer, hugely popular with Italian-Americans; musically he might be best remembered for his number-one song, “Blah, Blah, Blah” (1958). The restaurant opened in 1959 and was an...

6/11/13 -  (Many thanks to Wink Lorch for the use of her picture of the waterfall in the beautiful town of Baumes-les-Messieurs...) A week or so ago I was helping a local (Chambers Street Wines) customer pick out a six bottle gift for an out-of-state loved one, when he turned to me and asked, out of the blue “so what’s up with the Jura?”...

5/30/13 - (The tiny cellar at Chateau Planquette)   Early in last winter's trip to France, Eben and I left our lovely biodynamic friends the Huberts in Bourg and Blaye and ventured across the Gironde to the grand chateaux of the Haut-Médoc and their neatly herbicided vineyards. Pressing north through the rain and sleet past Saint-Éstephe, the castles and vineyards gave way to farms...

5/28/13 - (in the early 1900s, André Roux of Clos Cibonne helped classify the Crus of the Var...) Last summer we took a break from the rigorous business of drinking the local Rosés of the Gard département to drive deep into Provence to Clos Cibonne. Curious to know who and what terroir produces these wines, the intrepid tasters of Chambers Street Wines traveled to...

5/15/13 - 2011 in the Mosel is a loud, ripe vintage, and it wasn't easy for producers to craft silky, restrained and, above all, mineral-driven wines. Two growers on the Mittelmosel fought against the odds to create delicate, contemplative, nuanced wines, and we'd like to sing their praises lest they be drowned out in a vintage in which many are shouting. Perhaps because we...

5/13/13 - (Niichiro Marumoto harvesting rice) This Wednesday (May 15), we will be happy to welcome Niichiro Marumoto to Chambers St. Wines for a special in-store saké tasting from 6 – 8 pm. Marumoto-san represents the sixth generation of brewers at the historic Marumoto Brewery in south-western Japan and has been instrumental in guiding the estate towards organic certification.Our friend Midori from Joto Saké...

5/11/13 - Many glowing things have been written about Raphaël Bérèche: “rising star”; “one of the best young Champagne growers”, etc… and many superlatives used to describe his wines. Our own Champagne selection tells of a great affection for this Domaine’s wines. Bérèche gives us tasty Brut Reserve, and Bérèche’s Extra Brut Reserve, which receives an extra year of aging sur lie, is an...

4/30/13 - (Old vines at Domaine Chamonard)   Joseph Chamonard was one of the first growers in Morgon to adopt the ideas of Jules Chauvet and quietly made some of the greatest Beaujolais on his small estate. His daughter Genevieve and her husband Jean-Claude Chanudet took over the estate in 1990 and have continued to make small quantities of superb Morgon. Not as well...

4/26/13 -   The outstanding crop of 2012 rosés trickling in from California is a source of great pleasure and excitement.  Selecting the most interesting American wines has never been so challenging and fun, as wines of great quality continue to emerge from respected regions as well as previously-unknown pockets of vines. The wines we offer today are unique and delicious, each one expressive...

4/22/13 - (Didier in the cellar. Photo: Bert Celce/Wineterroirs.com) Meeting the Pinon family back in 1981 was a wonderful experience (we drank the 1959 Moelleux!) which led to our long association with Francois and his beautiful wines. HIs organic vineyard work and thoughtful vinifications produce some of the finest wines in Vouvray. Every year at this time, Francois sends us a little bit of...

4/17/13 - (The Schodener Herrenberg (center) as viewed from the Saarfeilser) We've been reading for years about the wines of Manfred and Claudia Loch, primarily in David Schildknecht's glowing reviews that consistently end with some variation on the phrase "sadly, Loch's wines continue to have no U.S. importer". Finally, the wines are here and we're thrilled to be the first to offer these intricate,...

4/15/13 -   In my early years in wine retail, I sold vast quantities of "brand-name" Champagnes, but I really didn't understand the phenomenon. They mostly tasted like bad wine with bubbles - with some lovely exceptions, of course. Fortunately we now have a choice of superb estate-bottled wines, from properties that work well in the vineyards and with minimal intervention in the cellar,...

4/7/13 - (Wink Lorch and Stéphane Tissot.) It’s a rare occurrence that we ask you, dear customer, to direct the energy of your wallet to something other than the bottles that grace our shelves. We are doing so today in the interest of friendship, scholarship, and the overall understanding and promotion of the wines of the Jura. I had the great privilege to meet...

4/4/13 -   Mencía first gained respect as a gateway to Spanish wine for lovers of young, juicy, high-acid reds. This offering highlights the deeper, more sumptuous side of Mencía, exemplified by the stunning single vineyard bottlings from Guímaro. The Amandi subzone of Galicia's Ribeira Sacra is home to precipitous, south-facing slate slopes, where Pedro Rodriguez and his parents farm 8 hectares organically. Prior...