Articles

9/13/2008 -

8/19/2008 - Champagne Tarlant has a long history as a grower-producer - for 12 generations the Tarlant family has been cultivating wine grapes, and making Champagne for 5 of those starting in 1911. Their 13 hectares are concentrated around Oeuilly and Boursault and Celles le Conde, and are cultivated according to organic methods, with the purpose of sustaining the health and biodiversity and of...

8/16/2008 - (Chateau de Coulaine, rebuilt in the 15th century) During our recent trip to the Loire Valley we were fortunate to taste with Pascale and Etienne de Bonaventure of Chateau Coulaine. Situated in Veron, terroir praised by Rabelais, the estate has been producing wine since 1300. Etienne and Pascale took over the wine-making in 1988, enlarged the property, converted it to organic viticulture,...

7/28/2008 - (Bockenau - where Tim Frohlich lives and makes wine) Lots of exciting stuff in German land. I am leaving for Germany on Sunday to visit a number of estates in the Mosel and Nahe including Haag, Donnhoff, Schaefer, Knebel and Prum and to say the least I am very excited. When I get back those lovely Rudi Wiest imported German wines will...

7/25/2008 - (Robinot at La Dive Bouteille 2008 in Deauville) Jean-Pierre Robinot was a wine writer (Le Rouge et le Blanc) and wine-bar owner in Paris before returning to his native village, near Tours, where he acquired a dozen hectares in Jasnières and Coteaux du Loir. His passion is natural wine-making - he farms organically and vinifies with minimal sulphur and his yields are limited...

7/22/2008 - Franconia is one of the most beautiful wine regions in all of Germany, if not all of the world. The main grape varieties are Sylvaner, Riesling, Schuerebe and sometimes oddities like Huxelrebe and even Chardonnay. The traditional bottle of the region is called the Bocksbeutel which has a very unique shape. It is shaped almost like a large fancy perfume bottle and...

7/21/2008 - In Chablis the estates of Raveneau and Dauvissat tower over all other producers. They make classically structured Chablis with the ability to age for up to twenty plus years. Acoording to his comments in Burghound, Vincent Dauvissat says his 2006's remind him of his 1989's, but better. Anybody who has had Les Clos or Preuses from 1989 can attest to the profundity...

7/17/2008 - It's officially a no-brainer. The Luneau-Papin Gros Plant will be in my fridge all summer and should be in yours. In Nantes the grape of choice is Melon de Bourgogne which is the principal grape in Muscdet, but there is also another grape that does not get as much attention. That is Gros Plant or Folle Blance depending who you are talking...

7/15/2008 - (Stefan Steinmetz) This year one of the major changes at Chambers Street Wines is that we have started working with the fabulous portfolio of Mosel Wine Merchant. These producers make some of the most natural wine in Germany and have been a welcome addition to the German selection. I am sure you are all familiar with Clemens Busch, Knebel and Steinmetz. Well...

7/9/2008 - When David was at the Salon in the Loire last winter he tasted with a producer named Stephane Guion who has been organic since 1965. It's a 6.8 hectare estate in Bourgueil that is harvested by hand, with no herbicides or pesticides used. The Cuvèe Prestige (1,200 cases made) comes from vines from 40 to 80 years old, giving yields of 35...

7/7/2008 - (The Hermannshohle vineyard) Many German wine lovers are familiar with the scared terroir that is Hermannshohle, and thus of course with its top interpreter, Helmut Donnhoff. It is like the relationship between Musigny and Comte de Vogue. When you think of Musigny you think of Comte de Vogue and when you think of Hermannshohle you think of Helmut Donnhoff. The vineyard is...

6/25/2008 - So the 2007 Rudi Wiest offer went out and I was mildly surprised that not much Von Hovel and F. Weins-Prum sold, considering that those were the BEST values in the room. In this slightly depressed economy, and the terrible dollar/euro thing, I was extra surprised these wines did not sell as well as they should have. So I need to prime...

6/23/2008 -  Old Cot vines, before pruning, at CRB Scattered across Europe one finds a few truly magical vineyards and the talented winemakers there who create artisanal wines with no connection to the commerciality and mediocrity of international-style winemaking. One such place is the Clos Roche Blanche, perched on a beautiful hillside above the Cher River in Touraine and the winemakers are Catherine Roussel,...

5/29/2008 - The Gonon cellar Jean and Pierre Gonon work 5.5 acres of Syrah, at Tournon, Mauves and old vines from Trollat at St Jean de Muzols. The white, 80% Marsanne and 20% Roussanne, is on the Coteaux des Oliviers and was planted in 1958 and 1974. They pick as late as possible and ferment with wild yeasts. Pigeage is mostly by foot. Aging...

5/22/2008 - The amount of high quality wine coming out of Germany right now is at an all time high especially considering that Germany only produces 1% of all the wine in the world. I still have not tasted every great producer . . .yet. So every now and then a producer will pop up on my radar and now that producer is A.J....