Articles

7/30/12 - (Rich but very rocky soil in the vines at Calabretta) One of the charms of our time on Etna this April was that each of our winery visits was very different, ranging from the super-clean, laboratory-like cantina at Cornelissen, to the funky but very cool operation at Calabretta. They’ve very cleverly figured-out how to make due in tight quarters – the place...

7/28/12 - We are perennially obsessed with Champagne. We love it in all styles and from all sub-regions, and we constantly find ourselves wondering how we can further provoke a similar love amongst our customers. Of course we acknowledge that a bottle of Champagne is a commitment; this is a category in which “intro” level wines begin in the mid-$30 range. We suspect that...

7/24/12 - The brilliant, highly-opinionated and sometimes hilarious Eric Texier is making some of the finest wines in the Rhône Valley. Carefully sourcing grapes from old vines in great sites, his non-interventionist winemaking is producing elegant, balanced, never over-extracted wines that are a joy to drink. His highly anticipated 2010 Domaine de Pergault St-Julien en St-Alban Vieille Serine has just arrived at Chambers Street!...

7/18/12 -   ​Chambers Street Wines is proud to represent this great estate, whose vineyards have been in production since their original plantation by the monks of Cluny in 910 AD. The estate's vines have never been treated with modern herbicides, pesticides or chemical fertilizers as Pierre Guillot began organic agriculture immediately upon purchasing the property in 1954. The estate's 7 hectares are oriented...

 7/16/12 -  (Nusserhof from the air) Nusserhof is an unusual place; originally in the country, the town of Bolzano* has grown around the property, with eminent domain nibbling at the edges; most recently it was proposed to re-route the railway to bisect what’s left of the property but that threat seems to have been beaten back. Inside the walls Nusserhof is a kind of...

7/10/12 -   Ottaviano Lambruschi makes renowned Vermentino near the Cinqueterre in Liguria. Very little comes to the US – there is only one importer (located in California), and almost all of the wine goes to restaurants; we seem to be the only retailer in the US offering the wine. Lambruschi is also one of the only producers bottling Vermentino from two different vineyards...

7/6/12 -   At the end of May I had the privilege of traveling to Germany to meet with some of our favorite growers and to taste the new vintage. While there were some pretty interesting discoveries (more about those later), I came away more excited than ever about what's happening along the Rhine and its famous tributaries, largely due to the influence of...

7/1/12 -   (Against a backdrop of limestone and clay, Pascal Clairet wears a statement we can support.) Had there been doubt in my mind that a recently tasted lineup of wines from Domaine de Tournelle was truly outstanding, it dissolved when one of my employers exclaimed of the 2006 Ploussard de Monteiller “this makes me want to drink wine.” The praise simply doesn’t...

6/28/12 - (A foggy view of Guardiola, Mt Etna) This is the first in a short series of emails about wine from Mt Etna. We’ve now been to Sicily five times, and we launch into our Sicily spiel whenever anyone in earshot says they’re wondering about where to go on vacation - at this point the Sicilian Tourist Board should really consider putting us...

6/26/12- With an unusual proportion of old vines and new energy devoted to maintaining them, Castille-La Mancha is where some of the most exciting winemaking is happening in Spain today. Earlier this May a colleague and I ventured east of Madrid to go see the vinicultor at the forefront of the movement toward natural, non-interventionist winemaking in the region: Juan Antonio Ponce of Manchuela....

6/23/12 - Some Burgundy tasters are comparing 2010 to 1978 – historically one of the great vintages, with beautiful and graceful wines of exceptional balance. The wines are transparent, which means they really show off the distinguishing characteristics of the different villages and the vineyards within. 2010 is the vintage of the millerandage, or "shot berries" a rare occurrence caused by the weather during...

6/20/12 -   Summer is here and for us this means it's time to stock the refrigerator with white Burgundy. Let us draw your attention to the Summer Solstice, the day all of our Druid friends have been waiting for, the longest day of the year. For us this means an additional, languorous stretch of daylight in which to relax over a leisurely meal...

6/18/12 -   Italy, as a whole, provides the largest spectrum of wine styles, grapes, and traditions in Europe.  France may have been the first to itemize their terriors by the Appellation Origine Controlee system, but Italy has an equally rich vinous history represented by the country’s staggering amount of native varieties.  One of Italy’s most fascinating wines is grown tucked away in the...

6/14/12 -   Some of my fondest memories in wine involve drinking mature Beaujolais with Fernand Coudert and his son Alain at Clos de la Roilette, in their combination bar and cellar.  Following the progress of this fine estate has been a great pleasure over the last 20+ years, especially as Alain has continued, perhaps even improved on, the great work of his father....

6/12/12 -    You may have noticed that we very rarely use outside sources for notes about wine; our egos are so gigantic that we think our own opinions count for more. At any rate, if you’ve bought from us based on something you’ve read here, at least you know who to blame! However, even gigantic egos have their fragile aspects, and it’s always...