Elegance is the name of the game here; Agrapart’s “7 Crus” has a fine mousse, a linear structure, and bright flavors of fresh apple and lemon, a hint of crisp pie crust and a dash of salt. Four Grand Cru terroirs, in one bottle? Sign us up!
A few weeks ago we wrote about Ciacci Piccolomini. Ciacci, you may recall if you read the article, was a pioneer in Castelnuovo dell’Abate, a village just to the southeast of the DOCG’s traditional home in Montalcino. So it was that in this corner of the DOCG a new style of Brunello developed. Poggio di Soto is the most famous example, with Ciacci di Piccolomini not far behind. And it is here that we find Uccelleria, a winery with vineyards just uphill from Ciacci, where the salt-of-the-earth Tuscan Andrea Cortonosi produces his flagship wine.
Since their founding in 1970, Ronchi di Cialla has numbered as one of Italy's most unique — and underrated — wine estates. Situated on a limestone-rich hillside, the Rapuzzi family make wines deeply rooted in local tradition. While many of their neighbors grow international varieties like Merlot and Chardonnay, the Rapuzzis have dedicated themselves from the start to to cultivating historic local varieties like Picolit, Refosco and Schioppettino.
Nobody makes a lot of Pelaverga and we rarely have much, if any, to offer. Our recent shipment comes from the Castello di Verduno, a property that was split from Burlotto in order to accommodate multiple heirs.
Sancerre is a famous enough name with such great terroir that, if you have good old family vineyards, you don't really have to do much to make wine that will sell. Uninspired work can make wines that are perfectly serviceable — if uninspired. There's always some grocery store or café that will gladly stock your wine.
Xarel-lo is the jewel of Catalonian wine culture. It’s emerged as one of Spain’s most fascinating grape varieties, producing wines with tons of fruit intensity and bold minerality. Once known as a blending grape in Cava, it is now responsible for some of the best white wines of the Iberian peninsula.
Some Beaujolais-Villages locales make wines that are light and easy-going, much like Beaujolais AOC. But others are up in the hills with mineral-rich soils, and make wines more like the Crus: pretty, with silky fruit and Gamay’s floral aromatics, but with more complexity, minerality, and depth.
Dominique Lucas is making perhaps the greatest Chasselas on the planet. Chasselas is a grape without much of a reputation — in the hands of less precise vignerons, it can make oily, unremarkable wines. But from Dominique’s winery, Les Vignes de Paradis, Chasselas is all about delicate texture and mineral rich dimensionality. These are show-stoppers to redefine the variety.
The sparkling wine we're offering today is mouthwateringly fresh with joyful, springing-from-the-glass dark fruit and just a touch of minerality as it finishes clean, crisp, and with satisfying length. It's a pure summer delight. What if we told you it's also made from Concord and Catawba?
We've been drinking the wines of Garaudet for many years, and have long admired them for their excellent value. But in our most recent tasting of the wines, something was different. And the difference was very positive.
How about a trio of naturally-farmed and extremely delicious Provençal wines from a trailblazing family that has been at the center of the natural wine movement for more than 30 years? What if we told you that the wines were the best they’ve ever been? Maybe it sounds too good to be true, but in the case of Domaine Henri Milan, we assure you, it is no dream.
Guillaume d’Angerville is famous for world class wines from Meursault and Volnay. But the Marquis d’Angerville is no one-trick pony. Several years ago he purchased land in the Jura, including some vines previously tended by revered Jura vigneron Jacques Puffeney. We’ve just received a shipment of wines from Domaine du Pelican, and they are as elegant, precise and delicious as ever.
