New Generation Vignerons are Champagne’s Future: Davy Dosnon, in Previously Marginalized Côte des Bar, is Turning Exquisite Wines Into Lusty, Bold-Flavored Champagne + Vézelay, Burgundy’s Newest Appellation, is Poised for Discovery Domaine Saint Madeleine 2022 Wines (5-Bottle Sampler Pack $199)

Ponce de León went to Florida in search of the Fountain of Youth and came up empty. Perhaps he’d have been better off focusing his sights on the Côte des Bar, where a new generation of cellar masters are currently…

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Posted on 2024.09.05 in France, Wine-Aid Packages, Champagne  |  Read more...

 

Guerrilla Producers Explore The Balance Between Vine and Land in The Splendid Isolation of The Ardèche Region in Southeastern France – Eleven Wines From Four Vignerons ($379)

It is said that there are wines to be drunk sitting down and there are wines to be drunk standing up. The former category includes blockbusters whose names we proudly drop and whose price may at times outstrip quality but…

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Posted on 2024.08.22 in France, Wine-Aid Packages  |  Read more...

 

A Wine Worth Waiting For: Revisiting 2018 Red Bordeaux from Domaines Jean-Michel Cazes Trio of Northern Haut-Médoc Châteaux. A New Generation Taking the Helm Make Their Mark. + With Emphasis on Balance the Châteaux’s 2019 Fresh Second Wines are Imminently Drinkable. (2018 & 2019 5-Bottle Pack $388) + An Evening with Pierre-Louis Araud, Château Lynch-Bages Detroit, Sunday August 25th (Limited. Inquire.)

If Hell made wine, it might turn out to be pretty good. Having been described as ‘hellish’ by renowned critic James Suckling, Bordeaux’s 2018 growing season is succinctly summarized by Barons de Rothschild CEO Saskia de Rothschild: “It was an…

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Posted on 2024.08.15 in Pauillac, Saint-Estephe, Haut-Médoc, France, Bordeaux, Wine-Aid Packages  |  Read more...

 

Loire Reds Like it Hot: Cabernet-Franc in Touraine Benefits from Climate Change, Producing Lusty, Bold-Flavored Wines. A Baker’s Dozen for $397.

Grape vines are the canary in the coal mine. Particularly sensitive to temperature and rainfall flux—hence the clichéd ‘good vintage’ vs. ‘poor vintage’—vines are among the most effective agricultural tools we have to gauge the effect that climate change is…

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Posted on 2024.08.08 in Chinon, Touraine, Bourgueil, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, France, Wine-Aid Packages  |  Read more...

 

New Energy in the Less Familiar Territory of Touraine in The Heart of The Loire Valley; A Place Where Talented Artisanal Vignerons are Introducing Changes and Reinvention. Two Packs: Red Touraine 11-Bottle Pack ($369) & White Touraine 12-Bottle Pack ($369)

Touraine may not grab the vinous headlines of, say, Sancerre or Vouvray, but in ways it is the aesthetic paradigm for the region: Made of castles and gardens and vineyards lining the capricious and majestic Loire from Anjou in the…

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Posted on 2024.07.25 in Touraine, Coteaux-du-Loir, Cheverny, Coteaux-du-Loir, Cour-Cheverny, Touraine Azay-le-Rideau, France, Wine-Aid Packages, Loire  |  Read more...

 

A Veritable Revolution in Sancerre: Stéphane Riffault is Creating Wines of Texture, That are Singular, and True to Themselves. (Seven-Bottle Pack $299: Two Red and Five White)

A communion with the soil is the most important relationship a winemaker will ever forge, and nowhere is this demonstrated more reliably than in Sancerre, where three distinct soil types produce a split-personality of wine characteristics. This may be something…

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Posted on 2024.07.20 in Sancerre, Rosé de Loire, France, Wine-Aid Packages, Loire  |  Read more...

 

The French Climate Divide: 2023 Rosés Show The Difference Between Warm-Climate (Mediterranean) and Cool-Climate (Oceanic) Fruit. Ten Types, Spanning the Two, by Seventeen Producers. A Dozen Rosés $349 – A Holiday Sampler.

Two things that France and the United States share: A red, white and blue flag and a passion for rosé. So, while we’re celebrating both on the Fourth of July, we’ll take the opportunity to offer a springboard to this…

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Posted on 2024.07.05 in Menetou-Salon, Santenay, Chinon, Sancerre, Côte-de-Provence, Côtes-du-Rhône, Rosé de Loire, Anjou, cassis, Bandol, France, Beaujolais, Wine-Aid Packages, Loire, Southern Rhone  |  Read more...

 

Mining the Minerality in Riesling: Dry Alsatian Wines Demonstrate Transparency and Express the Distinctive Character of Vineyards in Which the Grapes are Grown. Twenty-One Wines by Ten Outstanding Producers.

There’s no reason why the term ‘minerality’ should be controversial in wine descriptions, but since it is, maybe it’s better to think of it like Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart did pornography: “I may not be able to define it,…

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Posted on 2024.06.27 in France, Wine-Aid Packages, Alsace, Costers del Segre  |  Read more...

 

Hard Cidre is Built for The Heat: Light-bodied, Agile, Versatile and Low in Alcohol, Whether Sparkling or Still. 6-Bottle Pack for $129 (750 ml) ‘Amour’ – By the Dozen $99 (330-ml Bottles)

According to the ‘superstore’ timetable, once the Fourth of July is in the can, it’s time for us to start buying Halloween decorations. While we prefer to avoid feeding the retail rascal before its time, there is one beverage typically…

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Posted on 2024.06.26 in Cidre, France, Wine-Aid Packages  |  Read more...

 

Bloomsday Commemoration (June 16) – Jurassic Odyssey: Chablis Elevates Terroir to Its Most Precise Expression. Exploring Grand Crus and Premier Crus Over Three Vintages, in Three Sampling Packages.

2024 marks the hundred-and-second anniversary of the release of James Joyce’s modernist masterpiece ‘Ulysses,’ and a few venerable souls who purchased a copy on the day it came out are still trying to wade through it. Not everyone agrees on…

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Posted on 2024.06.15 in Chablis, France, Wine-Aid Packages  |  Read more...

 

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