Newsletter
December 16, 2022 – January 17, 2023
Tuscan Prime
2016 Brunello di Montalcino (Podere Brizio)
Regular Price $59.99 – Sale Price $47.99 NET
Refined Napa Cab
2019 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (Auctioneer)
Regular Price $27.99 – Sale Price $21.99 NET
Michael Broadbent had a long and enviable career selling old wines for Christie’s in England and he also helped start the Napa Valley Wine Auction. His son followed him into the wine trade and produces this Napa Valley Cabernet in his honor. The 2019 is a smooth, elegant Cabernet with dark fruit, woodsy spice, and a balanced, dry finish.
Cool Brut Champagne
Extra Brut Ier Cru Champagne ‘Enfant de la Montagne’ (Bertrand-Delespierre)
Regular Price $39.99 – Sale Price $34.99 NET
While the big Champagne houses have been raising their prices and restricting purchases, we have been stocking up on more affordable grower Champagnes. One of our current favorites is Bertrand-Delespierre, whose Enfant de la Montagne is a skillful blend of wine from the 2016 vintage plus reserve wines, disgorged in January 2022. This produces an aged beauty with deep reserves of toasty, biscuity flavor.
Last Champ Nalot Before Exit
2020 Givry Ier Cru ‘Champ Nalot’ (Parize Père et Fils)
Regular Price $33.99 – Sale Price $27.99 NET
The Massachusetts importer for Parize was startled by the news that this family-run Burgundy estate had recently rented out their vineyards to others and had effectively retired. The Premier Cru Champ Nalot has long been our favorite wine from Parize and the 2020 is sadly the final vintage. This is a ripe year with generous fruit and full, round tannins.
Very Classy Mâcon
2018 Viré-Clessé ‘Cuvée E.J. Thevenet’ (Domaine de
la Bongran)
Regular Price $51.99 – Sale Price $41.99 NET
Long before the French wine authorities merged the villages of Viré and Clessé into a super Mâcon appellation, the Thevenet family were producing labor-intensive, long-lived Chardonnays with a touch of residual sugar. The 2018 Cuvée E.J. was produced from 65-year-old vines, took two years to ferment, and is deep, delicious, and complex. If you’re interested in an older vintage, we have a few magnums of the 2013 and 2015 vintages.
Les Olivets du Sabon
2020 Châteauneuf-du-Pape ‘Les Olivets’ (Roger Sabon)
Regular Price $44.99 – Sale Price $35.99 NET
The Sabon family name is legend in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. This month we have Roger Sabon’s delightfully full-bodied entry-level Les Olivets. The 2020 starts out with a strong earthy and minerally aroma leading to flavors of olive and leather, and finishes with tons of concentrated Provençal fruits and herbs. Great for rosemary and garlic roasted leg of lamb.
Classed Growth Bordeaux
2019 Haut-Médoc Cru Classé (Château Cantemerle)
Regular Price $44.99 – Sale Price $35.99 NET
For the most part, classed growth Bordeaux has been priced out of most wine
drinkers’ budgets. One that retains value and rewards aging is the long-time favorite Château Cantemerle. Their 2019 is delicious right now, with upfront ripe concentration of dark fruit merged with fine oak and refined tannins. This will also age well for at least a decade. Comes packaged in a traditional wooden box with six or twelve bottles.
Listed prices are honored through January 17th, 2023. We will not honor mistyped prices. Vol. 47, No. 1
The solar-retaining heat of the Rotliegenden soils helped bring the 2019 to an Auslese level of ripeness. The gorgeous nose is an infusion of ripe fruit and zesty minerals. The palate is rich in peach and mango fruit with flecks of pepper. Great on its own or combined with a cheese course.
Fabien Collonge works some of the highest and steepest vineyards in Beaujolais, all by hand. The result is a fresh and charming wine with ripe red fruit cut with a streak of graphite and a dusting of crushed violet petals. We were lucky enough to visit Fabien recently, and he shared a bottle of his 2015 which was still showing beautifully. This is a wine you could tuck away for a few years if you were so inclined. Try this with an arugula salad with goat cheese and roasted beets. 
As long as Bordeaux continues to produce a billion bottles of wine per year, there will always be value somewhere within their 37 appellations. But it still surprises us when we find a great value from the hyper-famous St. Émilion. The 2016 Billeron Bouquey delivers. It’s an excellent vintage, with round plummy fruit engulfed in ripe tannin. Plus, it’s absolutely ready to drink.
1992 Oppenheimer Sackträger Riesling Eiswein 
2008 Chinon ‘Les Picasses’ (Olga Raffault)
We are so lucky to get wine from the 3.5 hectare estate of Sanguineto. There is an energy and elegance to the wines made by Dora Forsoni. She does all the viticultural work, including working the soil and pruning and tying every vine. She’s also in her seventies. The estate also produces olives and has a large wheat field. Last month we featured the 2019 Vino Nobile, and this month we return to the 2020 Rosso di Montepulciano. This beautiful blend of the old local version of Sangiovese (Prugnolo Gentile) along with Canaiolo and Mammolo is drinking beautifully now. Have this with a platter of oven baked beans and some charcuterie for a real Tuscan treat.
Greek wines are garnering new and deserved attention. Old grape varieties are being treated with greater care by young vignerons. The Mavrodaphne grape is well-known for its sweet, fortified wines, but there are now excellent dry versions being made in the Peloponnese. Markogianni’s 2019 Triton is a bright, floral, earthy red with fine structure and a cool, foresty finish. Fantastic with lamb and beans.
The denominació of Montsant completely encircles that of the more pricey Priorat. Certainly Priorat is justly famous for their deep, complex wines, but Montsant delivers graceful wine of similar flavor on a smaller scale. Mas Donis’ 2018 is a packed and flavorful blend of old vine Garnacha and Syrah from a high elevation Catalan site. The wine is dark and structured, with veins of ripe fruit flavors, aromas of wild herbs, and a mouth-filling, lengthy finish. Great along with a robust winter pork pozole.
If the Maule family were following the Italian wine rules they would be in the denominazione of Gambellara. Instead, they chose to go the biodynamic route. The 2021 Masieri Bianco is made from the Garganega grape, grown in volcanic soils, spontaneously fermented, unfiltered, and with no added sulfites. For us this is as natural as natural wine gets. It’s also truly delicious, with crisp orchard fruit and minerally dryness. Have this with your favorite risotto.
2021 Mâcon-Villages ‘La Côte Blanche’ (Cave de Lugny)
2021 Vermentino di Sardegna ‘Aragosta’ (Cantina Santa Maria La Palma)
2020 Vino de la Tierra de Castilla Tempranillo