Articles

2/5/2008 - In Germany last summer I had a lovely visit at the Wittman Estate in Rheinhessen and tasted many wines. I wanted to buy all of them but Jamie and David might not have been too happy with that, so I decided on the 2006 Gruner-Silvaner as it was absolutely delicious (there is very little high-quality Silvaner in the market, although there should...

2/3/2008 - (Marc Olivier) Recent tastings, with Marc Ollivier at Domain de la Pepiere and Pierre Luneau-Papin, show a vintage of crisp, balanced wines with bright acidity, lovely subtle fruit and great finishing minerality. Older wines once again demonstated the great ageability of these outstanding wines, with the 1996 Clos des Briords (from Pepiere) and the 1995 Luneau-Papin being particularly outstanding! In 2007, yields...

2/2/2008 - Domaine Colotte is one of a handful of new estates that has stormed on the scene in recent days; the 2005s confirm the quality of the wines. Phillipe Colotte is a tall quiet man with the same vibe as Gary Copper, except without the movie star credentials. He made very good 2004's but the 2005's are where he really shined. He has...

1/21/2008 - There seems to be a tendency in the wine world for people to dismiss wines that don't "blow you away." It really is a silly concept if you think about it. Wine is a beverage that is meant to go with food first and foremost. Most "food" wines as people call them, sometimes in a derogatory fashion, will never blow you away...

12/19/2007 - (Catherine and Didier) Why, may you ask, are we interrupting our shamefully self-promoting awards season? That's an easy one. To give another award, of course. This award was not planned but just kind of happened. The award that goes to the Best Wine I Tasted While Doing The CSW Awards and it is the 2006 Clos Roche Blanche Gamay. This has always...

9/12/2023 (Alain Coudert) Alain Coudert's "Clos de la Roilette" Fleurie and Fleurie "Cuvée Tardive" have been great favorites of ours since the late 1980's when we purchased from Alain's jovial father Fernand. The 2022s have just arrived and we're happy to report that the mid-summer heat was followed by enough rain in August to bring in healthy fruit, producing wines that are ripe and...

12/17/2007 - This has been an incredible year at the east coast Nebbiolo headquarters AKA Chambers Street Wines. More old vintage Nebbiolo has probably passed through these doors than young vintage Nebbiolo. But also wonderful Barbera, Dolcetto, Ruche and Grignolino have passed through these doors.Well enough of this somewhat rambling non-sequential introduction and onto the awards! The first award goes to the best Current...

12/14/2007 - The first award goes to the best Old Vintage Muscadet and that has to be the 1989 Luneau-Papin "L" d'Or. "L" d'Or is easily the most ageworthy cuvèe from Pierre Luneau. As he always has a nice stash of older wine there is always a re-release lurking around. The 1989 is drinking beautifully now. Big and fat, like this cuvèe always is...

12/13/2007 - We are not really known as a California wine store but we do pay attention to up and coming producers who are making wines in the way we like them. Which is with natural yeasts, low amounts of new oak and minimal spoofilation. So with that intro, here are the first ever annual Chambers Street California Wine awards. The first award goes...

11/29/2007 - What a year for Burgundy! With the great 2005 vintage upon us there have been a feast of fantastic vinous delights that have passed through CSW this year. With so many wines to choose that we have in stock and others that are long sold out this was extremely tough to come up with but we did it to the best of...

11/26/2007 - Welcome to the annual CSW awards season. There have been so many great wines that have come and gone this year we are feeling a bit contemplative and want to memorialize them somehow, and, of course, sell more wine-so here is the first of many e-mails about the most rewarding wines of the year that deserve an award. The first award goes...

11/17/2007 - So the new vintage of Breton Bourgeuil Clos Sénéchal dropped today and I opened one up instantly. This was some seriously deep purple liquid. Almost black. I knew there was going to be a serious amount of fruit and structure. Well this had structure and fruit for days. Amazingly nose of mashed flowers, herbal notes, cassis, loam, cherry, mint, old wood, cinnamon...

11/12/2007 - After the rousing success of our last e-mail celebrating the unique wines of Gorrondona we wanted to find something even more exotic and that is actually pretty easy in the portfolio of Andre Tamers. Andre is part of the new breed of Spanish importer that is more in line with a Joe Dressner or a Neal Rosenthal than an Eric Solomon or...

11/9/2007 - We have patiently been awaiting this bottling to arrive as it is the last released 2005 of the vintage. Well it was worth the wait. It came in on Friday and I quickly purchased a bottle as I have been waiting for this day for months. As soon as I poured this wine I knew it was something special. Deep aromas of...

11/6/2007 - With the increasing modernization of Spanish wine it is becoming quite difficult to find authentic expressions of Spanish terroir through indigenous varietals. A Grenache, Syrah, Cabernet blend juiced up on Taransaud oak from the licorella of Priorat does not cut it. Well thank goodness that there are people out there like us who want to see Spain reach its full potential and...