Articles

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 -...

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...

[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...

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...

[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...

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...

6/13/2022 [Gilles Lafouge in the new cellar] While value is relative in the ever more expensive world of Burgundy, perhaps no grower offers as much value as Gilles Lafouge. The wines are precise, honest and satisfying at prices that allow for (nearly) everyday drinking as well as cellaring beautifully. John Gilman's excellent View From the Cellar concurs:     Not surprisingly, for folks who...

[Christine and Gerard Villet in the vineyards.] About 8 years ago, I visited the Christine and Gerard Villet in Arbois for the first time. We met at the Foire Eco Bio in Colmar, which I believe is still the largest organic fair in Western Europe, complete with composting toilets, cheese, beer, clothes, spices, wines, bike powered concerts - literally every organic thing you could...

[A man and his vines: Olivier Lejeune (Courtesy of Grand Cru Selections)] A few weeks back my colleague David Hatzopoulos and I were tasting with a sales rep some wines that we had been allocated but unable to try on our own. As we finished up, he asked us if we would like to taste a Loire wine that he was very fond of,...

[Got this Trousseau in 750 ml... and half a dozen in magnum! Yes please!!] One of the best wines I drank in 2020 was from Alice & Olivier De Moor, the world famous winegrowing couple in Chablis - but this bottle wasn't an ethereal, limestone-edged Chardonnay. The 2016 Melting Potes VDF was a blend of Clairette and Grenache Blanc from the Languedoc and Viognier from the Ardèche. After losing most...

For many years, the annual arrival of the Daterra Viticultores wines has been celebrated by the staff at Chambers Street. Enthusiastic hand sells always follow, and soon the small allocation we receive dwindles down to a bottle or two. Before starting to write this piece about the wines, I found myself wondering why we never wrote a newsletter about this project, and the inspired...

[La Cuvée 910 - Abbaye de Cluny]   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. And he is doing so with a refreshing lack of pretension - "I want to make wines for...

Over the years, the natural wine world has been developing a thirst for wines from the Auvergne, a rural region nestled in the center of France, with Clermont-Ferrand as its major city. The area is known to most French people as a great region for camping, and cheese. Indeed, the mountain ranges, and over 300 dormant Volcanos provide the setting for plenty a scenic...

[Flavien Nowack with author and Champagne lover, Yoko.] Though it’s a bit of a truism at this point, for a region dominated by big houses and co-operatives, the grower revolution in Champagne over the last 20-30 years is still remarkable as the new generation(s) continue to improve and refine viticulture, explore individual terroirs, and expand on the possibilities of the wines. The forebear of...

5/31/2021 Gilles Lafouge is the sixth generation at this 10 hectare estate in Auxey-Duresses. The domain includes excellent premier cru vineyards with old vines in Auxey-Duresses as well as small parcels in neighboring Meursault and an old-vine plot in Pommard 1er Cru Les Chanlins. There is good vineyard work here with plowing and organic composts, vinifications are with wild yeasts and the wines age...