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Posted on 2023.10.01 in France, The Champagne Society, Champagne  |  Read more...

Burgundy’s Rustic Wine Belt New Found Opportunities: Changing Climate Advantages Lesser Known Regions; Ambitious Producers Elevate The Wines To New Heights (Auxey-Duresses, 6-Bottle Pack $399) (Monthélie, 5-Bottle Pack $279) (Saint-Romain, 3-Bottle Pack $159)

Climate change gets a lot of ink in this newsletter, and there’s a reason for it: Consistently elevated temperatures and unpredictably violent weather is having a profound effect on some of the world’s most celebrated wine regions, and the new…

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Posted on 2023.09.27 in Côte de Beaune, Monthélie, Auxey-Duresses, Saint-Romain, France, Burgundy, Wine-Aid Packages  |  Read more...

The High Priestess of Biodynamics: Françoise Bedel, a Passionate Advocate of The Practice, Unlocks Meunier’s Potential in Champagne’s Rot and Frost Prone Western Fringe (4-Bottle Pack $399)

In a small estate that is closer to Paris than to Reims, Françoise Bedel has managed a remarkable feat: She has turned an acute family illness into a paradigm shift for much of the Champagne region. From the village of…

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

Saint-Julien Channels Pauillac: In Search of Purity, Precision and an Assertive Style, Bordeaux’s Château Ducru-Beaucaillou Achieves All in Their 300th Vintage Release, 2019 (3-Bottle Package $393)

Join Us for Saturday Sips Come as you are; come any time that’s convenient for you during our business hours to sample from this week’s selections. Our staff will be on hand to discuss nuances of the wines, the terroirs…

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Posted on 2023.09.08 in Pauillac, Saint Julien, France, Bordeaux, Wine-Aid Packages  |  Read more...

Fanfare For The Uncommon Grape: Visionary Spanish Producers Explore The Capabilities of 23 Heritage Varieties’ and Demonstrate Their Potential For Complexity. A Dozen: 7 Red, 4 White & 1 Rosé $296

The wine world’s equivalent to the dinosaur-destroying Chicxulub meteor is a microscopic louse called phylloxera. By the end of the nineteenth century, the bug had killed most of the vines in Europe, and when they were replanted (often using louse-resistant…

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Posted on in La Tierra de Castilla, France, Spain DO, Penedes, Wine-Aid Packages, Catalunya, Cava, Arribes, Tierra de Leon, Ribeiro, Ribeira Sacra  |  Read more...

If It’s Still Champagne, Is It Still Champagne? Terroir-Focus, Climate Change and Rise of New-Wave Producers Ignite Excitement For Still Winemaking in Champagne. + Champagne Clandestin ‘Elegant Champagne With a Burgundian Accent.’

If it’s still Champagne, is it still Champagne? If the label says ‘Coteaux Champenois’, it most certainly is. This AOP, dedicated entirely to non-effervescent wine from Champagne, may be red, white or rosé, although the lion’s share is red—Bouzy rouge…

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Posted on 2023.08.19 in Coteaux Champenois, France, Champagne  |  Read more...

Cabernet vs Merlot: Varietal Character is Important, Of Course, But Affected by Vine’s Soil and Climate as Manifest in 13 Appellations Spanning Bordeaux Left & Right Banks (Left-Bank 7-Bottle Package $329) (Right-Bank 6-Bottle Package $269)

Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are the horse and carriage of the wine world—the sizzling synergetic symbol of Bordeaux where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The two grapes are half-siblings who share a common parent, Cabernet…

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Posted on 2023.08.10 in Graves, Saint-Emilion, Pomerol, Haut-Médoc, Listrac-Médoc, Moulis-en-Médoc, Pauillac, Fronsac, Saint-Estephe, Côtes de Bordeaux, Saint Julien, Margaux, Pessac-Léognan, France, Bordeaux, Wine-Aid Packages  |  Read more...

Appraising The Mâconnais: A Quartet of Elite Producers Show What Southern Burgundy is Capable of, and Deliver Cut and Tension in Warm Vintages. Four White Packages By Four Growers

The Mâconnais is sprawling (the largest white wine producing region in Burgundy); the Mâconnais is inclusive (red, white and rosé wines may all wear the Mâcon label); the Mâconnais is ancient (Mâcon was a major crossroads in Roman times, where…

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Posted on 2023.08.03 in Mâconnais, France, Wine-Aid Packages  |  Read more...

The Champagne Society August 2023 Selection: Champagne Pascal Lejeune

Champagne Pascal Lejeune’s Terroir Fundamentals Preserving a Place’s Details and a Vine’s Finger Print in a Single Premier Cru Village The Coteaux Sud d’Épernay Premier Cru Pierry In Two Bottles ($97) Champagne Pascal Lejeune ‘N°4 – OXYMORE’  Blanc de Noirs…