Perhaps the only thing we love more than Burgundy Pinot Noir is Burgundy Pinot Noir blended with Gamay, a style of wine known as Passetoutgrains. The best examples combine the elegance and structure of Pinot Noir with the playful, juicy character of Gamay — truly the best of both worlds.
The tiny, high-altitude village of Radda has become a darling of Chianti drinkers. Their passion feels a little like the excitement Burgundy-lovers often express for Chambolle Musigny: “The wines are so aromatic!” “They’re minerally and terroir-focussed, but most of all, utterly delicious!”
With prices for great white Burgundy showing no signs of coming back to earth, what's a lover of tense, limestone-infused, elegantly reductive white wines to do? The Jura was the next logical stop, but the secret’s out, and many of the best wines are now simply impossible to find. And so, the hunt for minerality, electricity, and transparency leads us to new frontiers: the north-facing limestone slopes of the northern Rheinhessen, and to one of Germany’s most exciting young growers, Carsten Saalwächter.
López de Heredia is the greatest name in Rioja, known for its traditional practices, ancient cellars and the outstanding wines it produces. In a region like Rioja, long aging is understood to be part of the process — Crianzas, Reservas and Gran Reservas are all defined by the amount of time the wine spends aging first in barrel and then in bottle. López de Heredia takes this to the extreme, dismissing the legal requirements and adopting whatever processes will make for the highest quality wine.
The wines of Domaine de la Grand’Cour have long stood among the most soulful and expressive in Beaujolais. Since Jean-Louis Dutraive took over his family’s estate in Fleurie in 1989, he has served as a cornerstone of the region’s renaissance, helping to redefine what Beaujolais could be.
In the past 400 years, not much has changed at Château le Puy. They farm their limestone-and-clay terroir on a plateau just outside of Saint-Émilion without chemicals — just like in the 17th century.
They fastidiously tend their vines of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and a teensy bit of Sémillon (they’re certified biodynamic), harvesting everything by hand. Nothing is added during the winemaking process: they use only native yeasts, there is no chaptalization nor SO2 during fermentation, and the process is determined by the lunar cycle.
Here's something special — and a little bit off the beaten path: a beautiful, mineral-driven blend of Chardonnay and direct-press Nebbiolo, grown on limestone-rich soils in...Piedmont!
Of course, it’s not simply grown in Piedmont, it’s grown and made by the Roagna family. In the panoply of great Piedmont producers, Roagna indisputably belongs in the top tier.
Back-vintage cru Beaujolais are rare treasures. Most of the great wines get drunk young, simply because they’re so delicious in youth. And what little is cellared usually gets consumed by the smart folks who cellared them. We just don’t see them trading hands very often.
The Aglianico from the Monte Vulture in Basilicata is surely on anybody’s list of best sources of red wine values in the world. Here, you get incredible depth and character from high-altitude volcanic soils — and a quality level that equals what you would get from Piedmont or Tuscany at twice the price.
Bordeaux is where you’ll find some of the world’s most expensive and sought-after wines, but that doesn’t mean every wine coming from this historic region is expensive or needs to be treated with kid gloves. There are still plenty of small, family-run domaines putting out delicious, honestly made wines at incredibly reasonable prices.
Château Belregard-Figeac is one such estate, and a favorite source of Merlot-based wines from the village of Saint-Émilion. It's the kind of soulful, transparent, and utterly delicious Bordeaux that we dream about.
For Beaujolais lovers, few names can conjure as much excitement as Foillard. From peerless holdings in Morgon and Fleurie, the family produces what are arguably the best wines in the region. Foillard wines have incredible lift and elegance with gorgeous, layers of red fruits delivered with unmistakable energy and cut. Though irresistible in their youth, Foillard’s wines age incredibly well, gaining length and silkiness over the years.
How lucky are we to have crisp, refreshing Rieslings made right in our backyard? At their best, these wines are bursting with tropical fruit balanced by gorgeous crushed-rock notes and humming with acidity, and they can represent some of the most amazing values in American wine, period.
