Articles

2/18/2010 - With all the hype about the 2007 vintage in Chateauneuf-du-Pape, we forget that many estates made great, and more balanced wines in 2006. Principally among these was the Armenier sister's Domaine de Marcoux. We have been fortunate enough to obtain a good supply of the Marcoux CDP Rouge 2006 (and a little bit of their unique Blanc from 2007) at close-out prices...

12/4/2009 - At the lounges where I'm a regular, I prefer a seat at the bar that’s just left of center directly in front of the bartender’s main station – there I get to observe the successive creation of each cocktail: spirits queued up, measured pours, cracked eggs, mists, precise-stern shakes, and the long metered stir held in perfect time while conversing with a...

10/15/2009 - (Strangenberg) Chambers Street is very proud to feature the great Alsatian wines of these three wonderful producers - at prices that are somewhat miraculous given the amazing quality of the wines! We have always loved the wines of Pierre and Chantal Frick. They've been organic since 1970 and Biodynamic since 1981 and have been leaders of the natural wine movement in France....

10/12/2009 - (Ducroux's biodynamic vineyards in Regnié - Photo: D. Lillie) We were happy to see yesterday's article by Eric Asimov in The New York Times extolling the virtues of Cru Beaujolais ("Beaujolais Shows Its Complex Side" 08/05/2009.) We at Chambers Street have always been huge fans of Beaujolais despite the lack of respect this region receives in the US, and even in France. Gamay...

10/8/2009 - On a day that’s closing in on 90 degrees it will seem counter-intuitive to try to sell you Cote Rotie… but here’s the story: In 2001 drinks giant Diageo (by my understanding the largest seller of alcoholic beverages in the world) acquired the venerable US import company called Chateau & Estates when they bought Seagrams. American wine lovers know C&E as the...

10/6/2009 - Fall is an ideal time for wine lovers to take a fresh look at Grenache, a grape known and loved for yielding wines with robust fruit, abundant spice, and plush texture. These are the succulent and often sweet flavors of fruit- ripened in southern climates- that initially caused many of us to become besotted by wine. To palates that have been bathed...

10/3/2009 - We have received our yearly supply of the D. Ventura wines. They are amongst our favorite tipples from Spain for their vivid fruit and earth flavors and their clear concise representations of the visually striking Ribeira Sacra terrain. The D. Ventura wines avoid the pitfalls that seem to trip-up many of the young winemakers in Spain today. The male chest thumping of...

10/2/2009 - (Domaine Ducroux in Thulon, Photo: David Lillie) Exciting news for Natural Wine lovers - we've received our allocation for the year of Christian Ducroux's 2008 Regnie Sans Souffre! (And a little of the regular cuvèe as well) Ducroux is a master of natural wine-making - his vineyards have been organic (now certified Biodynamic by Demeter) since 1985 giving the grapes the nutrients...

9/21/2009 - (Sebastiano Sella finds his childhood height on a wall of markings dating back to the mid-1800s, photo: Jamie Wolff) To hear the tales you might not think that our wine trips abroad are a lot of work, but come along sometime and you’ll see what I mean. Nonetheless, almost all winery visits are a pleasure, even allowing for poor communication (generally the...

7/20/2009 - The appelation Saint-Joseph, which extends for 40 miles along the west bank of the Rhône near Tournon, contains a wide variety of soils and micro-climates which has made consumers wary, and yet the best sites, which rival those of Cornas, Hermitage and Cote Rotie, produce consistently exciting wines. Quoting Livingstone-Learmonth's excellent book The Wines of the Northern Rhône "Syrah and granite is a good...

7/14/2009 - Chambers Street Wines is one of the country's leading retailers of organic, biodynamic and "natural" wines. Over the last twenty years there has been a growing movement towards organic agriculture and more natural styles of winemaking in reaction to the international tendency to view wine as a product that can be manipulated by a variety of chemical and physical means in order to appeal to certain...

7/10/2009 - At this time of year I love to add ice-cold cocktails to my arsenal of refreshments.  A key ingredient in many cocktails is the often over-looked Vermouth.    Luckily for enthusiasts there is a recent movement to revisit some of the great vermouth houses of old. Vermouth is an herb-infused and fortified wine that has enjoyed a long history, most famously in...

7/6/2009 - For 12 days in the first part of June, I had the great fortune to travel with the esteemed importer of Spanish wines Andre Tamers of De Maison Selections.  Again – as I was last year after returning from Sherry country - my head is permanently stuck in Spain-land. Thanks to the extreme hospitality and generosity of the producers, I don't think...

5/11/2009 - We have just received the 2007 Chablis "Rosette" and Chablis "Bel Air et Clardy" from Alice and Olivier De Moor, now imported by Louis/Dressner Selections. These are brilliant wines of terroir, made in an uncompromising style to preserve the complexity and character of the grape and the soil. Unlike the overcropped, machine-harvested, over-sulfured and often over-oaked Chablis one encounters so frequently, the...

5/8/2009 - One of my most profound and enjoyable wine visits was our recent trip to the cave of Jean and Pierre Gonon in Mauves, Saint Joseph. Although we have been importing the Gonons wines since the 2004 vintage, and communicating frequently, we had not had the chance to visit their cellar and taste with them. Jean Gonon greeted us warmly and generously opened...