Articles

3/30/2022 Oliver Horiot and Denyse Louis of LDM in the vines. (Photo courtesy of LDM and John Kafarski.) The center of gravity in Champagne skews decidedly northward. Montagne de Reims, La Valée de Marne and Côte des Blancs are spoken of more frequently and likely more glowingly, than Sézanne, Montgueux, and Côtes de Bar/Aube. But there’s serious terroir in those hills and valleys of...

[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,...

3/7/2022 The "Grand Pin" lieu-dit in Pignan We were very excited a few years ago to discover the beautiful Châteauneuf-du-Papes of Chapelle Saint-Theodoric, a project by importer Peter Weygandt with winemaker Baptiste Grangeon of Domaine du Christia. The wines are aromatically complex and lovely, not heavy or over-extracted with fabulous density and length on the palate but with lightness and elegance in a Burgundan style...

2/16/2022 Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Clos Saint Jacques (Courtesy of Louis/Dressner Selections). Though I spent some time working in Gevrey-Chambertin, I never had the opportunity to taste at Domaine Sylvie Esmonin. I've always wanted to - she has a reputation among her peers and consumers alike as thoughtful and warm and who enjoys talking about her wines. I met her only briefly when an enormous truck...

[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...

10/21/2021 - Nicole with a beautiful Jura white (producer site) If you look at the center of the emblem above, fixed inside that red star, you'll see "VG." Victor Gros bought Domaine de Montbourgeau in 1920, according to the producer's website, and in 1956, his son, Jean, took over. It was Jean and his daughter, Nicole Deriaux, who created the domaine as we know it today....

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...

8/6/2021 [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...

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...

A little over two years ago, in the Spring of 2019, I had the great pleasure of attending a lunch with Marc Hochar from Chateau Musar, Lebanon's most recognized and historic winery. I accepted the invitation because I knew the opportunity was rare to learn about the winery from one of the descendants of the founder, Gaston Hochar, and because I had only pulled...

5/11/2021 [Clos du Bourg Moelleux] Although we have not been to France to taste the 2020 vintage Vouvrays from Huet, reports in the various wine media have been very enthusiastic. The climate was of course, unusual, with a warm wet winter leading to early bud break and the threat of frost. Happily, unlike the disasters in France last month, frost damage in 2020 was...

One of the most memorable wines I had last year was a 2009 Moric Blaufränkisch from Roland Velich. Mind you, this was the "entry level" wine, not the Reserve, or one of the top tier single vineyard bottlings from old vines in the Lutzmannsburg or Neckenmarkt vineyards. There was baking spice, and dark blue fruit on the nose, with layers of perfumed red fruit...

[Parcela Camiño Novo, Amandi, Ribeira Sacra (Photo courtesy Jose Pastor Selections)] The wines from Envínate don't need much introduction. Roberto Santana, Alfonso Torrente, Laura Ramos, and José Martínez are making some of the most sought after and exciting wines in Spain, from organically farmed vineyards in Galicia, Castilla-La Mancha, and the Canary Islands. Today's offer is for wines, mainly from single vineyards, from Tenerife...