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2022 Pépière "Briords Vieilles Vignes" and More Mid-Summer Muscadet!
7/10/2023 [The Pépière team in 2018 with the youthful Gwénaëlle Croix and Rémi Branger] The Domaine de la Pépière "Briords Vielles Vignes" is one of the greatest values in white wine to be found anywhere in the world offering elegance, complexity, great terroir expression and sensational food pairing with just about anything from the sea, not to mention quiches, salads, mild cheeses and much... -
Natural Wines from Julien Guillot at the Clos des Vignes du Maynes, 2018 - 2021!
[Dégusté à la veugle or Sors ton Anecdote!] With vineyards dating back to 910 AD that have been farmed organically since the 1950s, and three generations of experience vinifying without additives, Julien Guillot is producing some of the most unique and delicious natural wines of France! Included in today's email are the principal bottlings from the Clos des Vignes du Maynes as well as... -
2021 Marsannays from Domaine Bart (and 2022 Rosé)!
Domaine Bart, Marsannay: Since the 2007 vintage, Chambers Street has been offering the delicious Marsannays (and occasionally the Bonnes Mares and Clos de Beze) from the Bart family estate, currently run by Pierre and his uncle Martin. Our visits have always been a fascinating lesson in vineyard sites and we're happy to be offering 2021s from four different parcels as well as the "Les... -
A Tiny New Offering from Sandlands
[Very old vines] It's always exciting to get a new drop from one of our favorite California producers and old-vine aficionados Sandlands, if a little bittersweet in that there just never seems to be much wine to go around. The spring release of 2021s is here and while the quantities are miniscule, the wines are as always bursting with energy and big on personality. Sandlands... -
Raúl Pérez - Rarities and "Core Classics"
5/19/2023 [Raul outside his new winery, Winter 2023] A couple of weeks ago, the legendary Raúl Pérez was in town and I had the chance to taste some rarities and "core classics" with him at the Skurnik Wines office. It was the best and also the most comprehensive tasting I've had with him, and though many of the wines were not available yet in... -
Domaine Lienhardt - A Small Offering of 2021s
I do not have many friends in Burgundy, mostly acquaintances. Visits I've made over the years were primarily to older winemakers, who were always friendly and down to earth, but due to the generally succinct nature of Burgundy visits (taste, talk about vintage, handshake), there has not always been a lot of time to develop deeper relationships. This all changed when I met Antoine... -
Bodega Akutain - One of Rioja's Best Kept Secrets
3/8/2023 [Jon Peñagaricano points out the Akutain barrel in Haro town square (Photo: Jose Pastor Selections)] Rioja is many things. Probably the best-known wine region in Spain, it has a storied viticultural history, with the modern era of wine-making dating back to the 1850s. For most of that time, Tempranillo has been at the center of this story, and grand bodegas in the towns... -
The Cosmic Champagnes (and Coteaux Champenois) of Benoit Marguet
3/3/2023 It may just be me but most of my favorite things in life are generally attainable. My favorite foods are foods that I can eat from time to time, my favorite cocktail is one that I can actually order at any self respecting bar. All this is to say that Selosse may be exquisite, but my favorite Champagne is Marguet. Though I am by no... -
Belluard Eponyme
2/22/2023 There may be a tendency to romanticize the idea of the winemaker. We imagine men and women at one with nature, the vineyard, and the wildlife around them, tending to the vines and reaping the harvest to then press Mother Nature's bounty into juice that will transform into this exquisite and thought provoking, emotional liquid. Unfortunately it's not always easy for our winemaker friends. Decades ago,... -
New Arrivals from La Ferme de la Sansonnière!
12/17/2022 (Sansonnière wines at a tasting in 2020) Mark Angeli of the Ferme de la Sansonnière is a paysan-vigneron, and an ecological activist. If one character can embody the wine revolution that is happening in the Loire, and more specifically in Anjou, he is without a doubt a serious contender. And his wines are also snapped up all around the world, true unicorns -... -
Armand Heitz - Headed Straight to the Top
12/2/2022 [Armand Heitz in Pommard (Courtesy of T. Edward Wines)] Talk to any serious Burgundy grower these days about what is on their mind and you will likely hear the same refrain. How does the region preserve the delicacy and balance of its wines in the face of an increasingly warm and volatile climate? They are tackling the problem head-on, adjusting long-accepted attitudes towards... -
What Yonne Star Rises: Raphaëlle Guyot's Stirring Burgundies
[Raphaëlle Guyot and her recent Chardonnay planting in 'Les Robinettes'] Since I started working at Chambers Street Wines in 2020, I have not been so excited for a boat to come in as I am for that which recently arrived bearing the wines of Raphaëlle Guyot, on offer today. At risk of sounding like a broken record, the past decade has been a remarkable... -
Raj Parr and Phelan Farm
A few months back a sales rep stopped in to taste us on a bottle that set us hard on our backsides - a blend of Mencia, Trousseau and Palomino grown deep in San Luis Obispo in California. The wine was brilliant - pure and juicy and seemingly weightless. I'd never have seen this one coming but when the wine's origins were explained, everything... -
2021s from Matassa!
[View from the Romanissa vineyard (@tomlubbe)] I can't remember the first time I met Tom Lubbe, but I will never forget him! Anyone who knows Tom will certainly understand why. He's witty, intelligent, sarcastic, thoughtful, and warm-hearted, and meeting him leaves an impression. He also happens to be a darn good winemaker! I do recall that I was in the Loire Valley when I... -
The Wines of Romain le Bars
Years ago, back in the late 2000's, wines from a relatively unknown estate, L'Anglore, began making the rounds in Paris, and by 2010, were imported into New York by our own David Lillie and friend Phillipe “Fifi” Essome. Made by a humble beekeeper and grape-grower named Eric Pfifferling, who had been selling to the local co-op in Tavel/Lirac area until 2002, these wines had...