Articles

3/31/12 -     The story of Colares is not an easy one to tell without getting at least a little sentimental.  Even our own unflappable jefe, David Lillie, gets a glimmer in his eye when recalling his days as a Portuguese wine buyer, the chance to meet the Colares legend Paolo da Silva, and to drink his Colares Chita wines from the 70’s. ...

3/28/12 - Jan Gross. Photo courtesy of Lars Carlberg No, it's not that Schaefer, nor is there any relation to Willi's legendary property in Graach an der Mosel.  Karl Schaefer is a 175-year old estate in the Pfalz that has been absent from the US for decades, and we're excited to introduce them to you as a Chambers St. Wines exclusive.  The estate has...

3/18/12 - We've been waiting for months to get the chance to send this offer, and the moment is finally here! With as much fanfare as a simple email can muster, we're happy to announce the arrival of the 2010s from Hofgut Falkenstein, one of Germany's great maverick estates. Erich Weber, the proprietor and winemaker, crafts wines that are unlike any others, not just...

3/13/12 - Although the Varnelli distillery is famous throughout Italy, the spirits have only recently become readily available in the United States.  Varnelli is located in the inland Muccia commune of the Marche, bordered by Umbria to the West and the Sibillini mountains to the Southeast.  It was in these rugged mountains that, in 1868, Girolamo Varnelli began tasting and distilling the herbal concoction...

3/11/12 - I must admit to being somewhat underwhelmed by the 2010 Loire whites upon first tasting them in January and February of 2011, as some of the wines from the central and eastern Loire seemed a little austere, especially after the ripe and powerful 2009s. In Muscadet, however, it was obvious that 2010 would be a terrific vintage - perfectly balanced and showing...

3/07/12 - (The Tondonia Vineyard in the Winter of 2005) Many excellent sources have written exquisitely about the greatness of Lopez de Heredia's wines; let us attempt to add our voice to theirs.  Lovers of Rioja are increasingly drawn to the timelessness of Lopez's Tondonia, Bosconia, Gravonia, in part because of continuous and much deserved attention; in part because of the high quality and...

2/21/12 - (Cellar-Aged Sausages and Barrels at Cotar) In the store we recently had a tasting of wines from east and west of the Italian/Slovenian border.  On the Italian side we tasted two of our favorite Fruilian producers: Josko Gravner and Stanko Radikon.  The wines were fascinating, and upheld their reputation as pillars of the orange wine community.   We also sampled wines from Cotar,...

2/18/12 - Last year at Le Vin en Tete in Paris, we were lucky to find the delicious Menu Pineau "Haut Plessis" from Christophe Foucher's Domaine La Lunotte. Foucher’s vineyards are located on the southern bank of the Cher River, near St. Aignan, just a few miles from our friends at Clos Roche Blanche. Foucher farms seven distinct plots planted to Sauvignon Blanc, Menu...

2/16/12 - For the second year in a row, the distribution of Jean Foillard's beautiful Morgon Cote de Py has been, well, irregular. We apologize for any panic we may have caused among Beaujolais lovers by our initial two case inventory - we have received a second delivery and can now offer this great wine in case quantities, even though our allocation remains well below...

2/7/12 - It has been said many times that Priorat is an extraordinary terroir. You may have heard of the brown schist soils the locals call Llicorella, the steep terrain, and the intense Mediterranean sun that hastily nurtures the low yielding old Garnacha and Carinyena vines. Look back to the 12th century when the Carthusian monastery of Scala Dei first planted vines here and...

1/30/12 - In a region where 15% alcohol is the norm, we consider a wine like Broc Cellars’ “Cuvée 12.5” (a reference to the alcohol content) a relief and a joy to drink. The first time we tasted the wine at CSW several members of staff raised their eyebrows and smacked their lips. Here was a Rhône-varietal red wine with cheeky acidity, vibrant fruit,...

1/16/12 - Bruchladdich is an old name on the legendary whisky producing island of Islay.  It was founded in 1881, but has since closed and re-opened four times.  The current ownership took over in 2000; they seek nothing short of a revolution in Single Malt Scotch, and have both the means and minds to do it.  Wine industry veteran Mark Reynier and Islay legend...

1/02/12 - (Patrick Bringer shows us his very small cellar) From an tiny village in northern France, this pair of wines, a Bourgogne Blanc and a Bourgogne Rouge, offers an irresistible melding of the known and the new. Complex, accessible, and charming, the wines have a certain classic elegance, a compelling delicacy, an ability to be enjoyable now, yet worthy of a few years...

12/6/11 - Calvados represents Normandy’s version of a brandy.  Since it is historically too cold to ripen grapes along the English Channel, Calvados is made from apple and pear cider, unlike grape-based Cognac and Armagnac.  What Normandy lacks in viticulture, it more than makes up for in rich farmland, producing apples, pears, cows, and cheese.  The orchards have symbiotic relationships with the cows whereby...

12/3/11 - My ex and I used to leave our house in the center of the Loire Valley and drive about 3 kilometres to visit a winemaker in Les Montilles (also home to the Puzelats, but sadly we didn’t know them back then). He sold decent Sauvignon Blanc, and better Cab Franc to consumers in bulk - bring your own container - or in...