Who's Peter Max? And why is his name on a South African Pinot Noir that enthralls anyone who tastes it?

It's actually two guys: Peter and Max are the names of the growers whose fruit went into the first vintage of this wine, a multi-vineyard blend that's meant to encapsulate everything good about South Africa's misty, cold Walker Bay region and its coastal neighbors. There's also Peter as in winemaker Peter-Allen Finlayson, who founded Crystallum in partnership with his brother Andrew.

When Rebecca Gibb, MW, tasted Joguet’s single vineyard 2019 Chinons she couldn’t help but wax poetic. They’re the kind of wines that do that to even the most technically adept tasters. They’re also wines that get high points and that can age for decades.

And yet, Chinon (generally) and Joguet (specifically) remain a bit of an insider’s wine. Charles Joguet may be one of the appellation’s benchmark producers, and an early proponent of both single vineyard Chinon as well as organic farming.

Artemis Karamolegos, born and raised on the island, is carrying on his family’s legacy at his eponymous winery. The focus is, without a doubt, Assyrtiko in all its glory and potential. Artemis owns some vineyards — most of which are over a hundred years old — and maintains good relationships with smaller growers.

Now, if you're new to these newsletters, you might not know what all the fuss is about. The TL;DR is that the Picq family is among Chablis' great producers -- but one that has no grand cru vineyards, no blockbuster collectibles, and that therefore has stayed outside the field of vision of international collectors. 

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.