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...

 

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Finds Its Balance: Two Domaines Show The Craveable Attraction of The Wine’s Combined Intellectual and Hedonistic Elements

Gifts Fit For A Great Father’s Day Fathers come in all stripes and strengths, of course, and so no wine can serve as a ‘one-size-fits-all.’  But if ever a wine comes close, it’s Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Or, for our purposes, Châteauneuf-du-Papa. Like…

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Posted on 2024.06.10 in Lirac, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, France, Wine-Aid Packages, Southern Rhone  |  Read more...

 

Rosés Deserve To Live A Little: 2021 Rosés in Full Bloom, Show Character And Dimensions With Two Years of Maturity … 13-Bottle Pack $299 (Limited)

Any remaining stigma attached to rosé remains within the dark soul of the stigmatized; those of us on the right side of wine appreciation understand that rosé is enjoying the fruits—quite literally—of its historical labor. This is especially true in…

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Posted on 2024.03.22 in Terrasses du Larzac, Gigondas, Côte-de-Provence, Rosé de Loire, Anjou, cassis, Bandol, Luberon, Ventoux, Bordeaux, France, Wine-Aid Packages, Languedoc-Roussillon, Loire, Provence, Southern Rhone  |  Read more...

 

Isabel Ferrando’s Châteauneuf-du-Pape Old-Vine Grenache Is “The Heart Of Our Vineyards And The Soul Of Our Wine” (6-Bottle Assortment $329) + Recent Arrival Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vintage 2021, Seven Wines

To Blend or Not to Blend The magic of the blend is the keystone in Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s rock-solid reputation; fifteen varieties are legally permitted in the appellation, and the proportion of each used in the final cuvée is a reflection of…

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Posted on 2024.01.20 in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, France, Wine-Aid Packages, Southern Rhone  |  Read more...

 

A Southern Rhône With Substance, But No Pretense: Lirac, a Stone’s Skip Across The Water From Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Emerges From Its Neighbor’s Shadows. A Dozen Lyrical Liracs From Eight Growers For $299

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

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Posted on 2023.07.29 in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Lirac, France, Wine-Aid Packages, Southern Rhone  |  Read more...

 

Que Será, Syrah in Northern Rhône by Johann Michel in Cornas & Saint-Joseph (4-Bottle Pack $299) + Southern Rhône’s Grenache in Châteauneuf-du-Pape by Grenachiste Isabel Ferrando (4-Bottle Pack, $324)

The faces of Rhône wear many expressions, and no one makes a firmer imprint on the senses than the two dynamic winemakers represented in this week’s North/South Rhône package. Though frequently conflated under an all-encompassing carpet of ‘Rhône wines’, in…

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Posted on 2022.11.11 in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Côtes-du-Rhône, Saint-Joseph, Cornas, France, Wine-Aid Packages, Southern Rhone, Northern Rhone  |  Read more...

 

Bandol: The Aristocrat of Provence. Legacy Domaine de la Bégude with an Assorted Selection in 6-Bottle Package ($242) + Taming of the Bestial Bandol, Eight Seminal Producers + NEW ARRIVAL: The Combined Second White Wines of Twin Sisters Châteaux Haut-Brion & La Mission Haut Brion

Conventional wisdom has taught us that wine grapes fare best in places where nothing else will grow; rocky, water-starved soil on precipitous hillsides make vine roots work harder, ramifying and branching off in a search of nutrients and, in consequence,…

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Posted on 2022.10.27 in Bandol, Pessac-Léognan, Graves, France, Bordeaux, Wine-Aid Packages, Provence  |  Read more...

 

Southeast is Southeast, and Southwest is Southwest – Rosés From The Two Southern Opposite Ends of France: The Mediterranean Coast and The Atlantic Coast (A Baker’s Dozen $297)

“A rose is a rose is a rose” is a poetic riff about universal truth by Gertrude Stein, but add an accent aigu to the final ‘e’ and all bets are off. As a style of wine, rosé is as…

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Posted on 2022.08.05 in cassis, Corbières, Bandol, Luberon, Ventoux, Côtes-de-Gascone, Côtes-du-Lot, Tavel, Côtes-du-Rhône, France, Bordeaux, Wine-Aid Packages, Languedoc-Roussillon, Provence, Southern Rhone, South West  |  Read more...

 

2021 Underscored the Challenges Southern Rhône & Provence Producers are Facing Amidst Climatic Extremes, Yet These 9 Makers Produced Easily Drinkable, Unexpectedly Complex Dry Rosé (10-Bottle Pack $264) + (3-Bottle Pack $72)

We can all agree that rosé is ideal for warm weather, and we can probably also agree that climate change is leading to a bit too much warm weather. And that does not necessary lead to more rosé, since the…

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Posted on 2022.06.24 in Anjou, Sancerre, Gigondas, Tavel, Côte-de-Provence, Côtes-du-Rhône, Rosé de Loire, France, Wine-Aid Packages, Loire, Provence, Southern Rhone  |  Read more...

 

Quaffable Holiday Dozen. The Hedonistic Wines of The Southern Rhône’s Six Mighty Crus: Hunting Ground for Bounty (4 Reds & 2 Rosés in 12-Bottle Pack $299) + A Dozen of Reds for $150

‘More bang for the buck’ or ‘more bounce to the ounce’? —choose your idiom and see how well it applies in Southern Rhône. Two factors contribute to the ocean of wild, hedonistic and affordable wines from the ground floor of…

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Posted on 2022.05.26 in Lirac, Cairanne, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Tavel, Rasteau, Vacqueyras, France, Wine-Aid Packages, Southern Rhone  |  Read more...

 

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