FRENCH WINE

BIODYNAMIC

Fermentation and aging is identical to the Fortune and Digoine except the wine stays in tank for 14-17 days during fermentation In general, this style of fermentation depends exclusively on the quality of the grapes that enters the cellar. The balance and vibrancy in these wines comes from the quality of the grapes, the level of maturity, their cleanliness, and the quality of the skin. If everything is in balance, the wines will express their village of origin to reveal their native terroir.

Anne Gros simply is one of the top winemakers in Burgundy today, which explains why her wines have inspired such a cult-like following. Importantly for us, Gros personifies the sort of winemaker with whom we have always sought to work: an artisan with a clear vision of her terroir and talents, and the grace to be humble despite the weight of Burgundian tradition and family history.

Subtle, harmonious - Burgundy from Domaine Anne Gros is intimately tied with the elegant and poised character of wines from Vosne-Romanée.

While each cru faithfully reflects its terroir, it is terroir as translated through Gros’ expert touch, offering richer aromatics, rounder curves, silkier tannins. The combination is irresistible, so much so that Gros’ very limited production is snapped up by global collectors faster and faster each vintage.

Anne Gros simply is one of the top winemakers in Burgundy today, which explains why her wines have inspired such a cult-like following. Importantly for us, Gros personifies the sort of winemaker with whom we have always sought to work: an artisan with a clear vision of her terroir and talents, and the grace to be humble despite the weight of Burgundian tradition and family history.

Anne Gros cares for her vineyards according to “lutte raisonée” principles, adhering to organic practices as much as possible depending on the conditions of the growing year. Grapes are always harvested by hand. Juice is fermented on indigenous yeasts in lined (enameled) cement tanks for the reds, and in stainless steel tanks for the whites. Wines are aged in barrel for approximately 16 months, with 80 percent new oak for grand cru wines, 50 percent for village wines and 30 percent for regional wines.

WINE ADVOCATE 91 POINTS - "Wafting from the glass with notes of rich dark fruits, baking chocolate, peonies, orange rind and rose, the 2018 Ladoix Les Briquottes is medium to full-bodied, with a pretty core of exquisitely perfumed fruit, powdery structuring tannins and a long, chalky and aromatic finish."

WINE ADVOCATE 93-95 POINTS: "Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Fonplegade strides confidently out of the glass with bold black cherries, warm plums and black raspberry scents plus hints of cedar chest, pencil shavings, lavender, garrigue and camphor. Full-bodied, rich and packed with expressive black fruits, it has a firm, velvety texture and just enough freshness, finishing long."

JEB DUNNUCK 93 POINTS - "A blend of 75% Grenache and 25% Mourvèdre, the 2018 Châteauneuf Du Pape Les Safres makes the most of this vintage and sports incredible elegance and finesse while still packing solid depth of fruit and concentration. Beautiful notes of kirsch, licorice, toasted spices, and flowery incense all flow to a medium to full-bodied 2018 that has polished tannins and a great finish. The balance, purity, and finesse here are top notch."

VINOUS 93-95 POINTS - "Deep bright-hued red. Sexy, spice-accented aromas of ripe red berries and potpourri are lent vivacity by a smoky mineral element. Sweet, palate-coating raspberry, cherry preserve, spicecake and floral pastille flavors show a suave blend of depth and energy. Displays fine delineation and finishes with superb clarity and emphatic, red-fruit-driven persistence. Raised for 17 months in large oak foudres."

La Roquète sits on prime real estate at the foot of the Piélong plateau, north of the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and adjacent to the western end of the famous Le Rayas vineyard. Galets roulés scatter the vineyard floor, but the primarily sandy soils impart great finesse to the wine. The Bruniers recommend drinking the white young for its freshness and elegance, but it can also evolve for several years if so desired.

Clos Saint Jean Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc is produced from equal parts Grenache Blanc, Roussanne and Clairette. The wine is aged in a combination of new, French oak barrels and vats. The production is quite small with than less than 350 cases made per year.

JEB DUNNUCK 93 POINTS - " Review: "The whites here continue to improve. The 2018 Châteauneuf Du Pape Blanc offers a rocking bouquet of key lime pie, tangerine, and ripe peach that gives way to a powerful, opulent, medium to full-bodied white that has tons of flesh and texture, beautiful balance, and a great finish. This is a white for the dinner table."

Beautiful crystalline dress, pale gold. The olfactory expression opens immediately on a succession of shades that are constantly renewed. First citrus fruits (orange peel and lemon), then summer fruits (white peach and pear) finally honey notes on a subtle background of peppermint... an excellent complexity that translates richness and elegance. The lively and very frank attack precedes the acidulous roundness of the summer fruits expressed by the nose which are mingled with the refreshing flavors of exotic fruits (lychee, mango). Then, in delicate harmony, the fat and smells of fresh almond and pear are revealed. The finish, based on a stony minerality, is prolonged on notes of very ripe lemon. This wine pairs beautifully with shellfish, seafood and goat cheeses.

Guillaume D'Angerville became obsessed with the Jura after a sommelier in Paris poured him a glass of Tissot Chardonnay blind and he was very impressed, believing that it was a Burgundy. This sent him off on a five year search to find a choice location in the Jura. He consulted with a well-known geologist to find ideal vineyards. In the end, he and Francois Duvivier purchased two domaines, one with well tended vines and another where the vineyards were in need of some rehabilitation. At Chateau Chavanes in Montigny-les-Arsures, they created a state of the art winery surrounded by 5 hectares of biodynamically farmed vines that had been impeccably replanted 10 years prior by former owner Francois de Chavanes. The domaine is supported by an additional 5 hectares of chemically-free vines formerly farmed by Jean-Marc Brignot at a site of high-quality geology and exposure. He named it Domaine du Pélican, a reference to the pelican on the crest of the city of Arbois. All of Pélican's wines are currently made in a topped up, non-oxidative style.

WINE SPECTATOR 90 POINTS - "There’s lovely ripeness at the center of this wine, a blend of pinot noir, trousseau and poulsard. It tastes of glistening red berries, the texture supple and the finish clean. But it takes a little while to get there, as the wine starts out with some funkiness, needing air to settle in. Give it an hour in a decanter to serve with roast squab."

VINOUS 94 POINTS: "Pale yellow. Displays ripe citrus and pit fruit scents that are accompanied by subtle honey and floral nuances. Silky and expansive on the palate, offering juicy tangerine, white peach and pear nectar flavors that are supported by an undercurrent of smoky minerality. The long, floral-driven finish shows fine definition and leaves behind twinges of tarragon and lemon balm."

Of the 8 hectares of old vines that Marie and François Giraud farm in Galimardes, a rocky and red clay soil on the road between the villages Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Sorgues, 1 hectare are white varieties - roughly equal parts Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Roussanne and Bourboulenc. Each variety is harvested exactly when it is ripe and is gently pressed into tank except the Roussanne which is fermented in French oak demi-muids. After 6 months of aging Marie assembles the final blend. Due to the age of the vines the exact blend changes from vintage to vintage as does the quantity of wine bottled." -Importer Note

WINE ADVOCATE 95 POINTS - "The 2018 Vouvray Le Mont Moelleux is clear, deep, pure and flinty on the intense but fine and coolish-mineral nose. Very distinctive! Lush and intense but also pure, vital and tensioned on the palate, this elegant and seductive Le Mont offers a straightforward drive and a highly complex and energetic finish with grip and great mineral tension. A gorgeous, crystalline, persistently salty and tightly woven Chenin with great complexity and energy. Very attractive already today!"

JAMES SUCKLING 93 POINTS - "This is always beautiful with dried strawberries, flowers and hints of rosebush. Medium-to full-bodied with a round yet poignant tannin background and fresh acidity. Lively Mercurey. Drink or hold."

Complex nose of tropical fruit and brioche. Mouth combining vivacity and smoothness with notes of citrus, tropical fruit and flowers with a very mineral finish. Pair with truffle brouillade, grilled fish with sauce, fish tagine, oysters au gratin, lobster, capon with cream and vin jaune, carpaccio of marinated fish.
Blend: 40% Clairette, 25% Grenache Blanc, 35% Roussanne

Petit Chemarin is one of Vincent’s top cuvées, from an exposed vineyard entirely composed of chalky, stony soil. Planted in 1968, the roots have dug down into the limestone, resulting in a wine of stunningly intense minerality. Fermentation takes place in a combination of predominantly old 600ltr oak barrels, with ageing on lees in tank before bottling.

François Crochet’s single-vineyard cru, Sancerre “Les Amoureuses” is called that because the vines grow on soils that have heavier clay content than his other parcels. “The one in love” is a reference to the clay in the vineyard sticking to the boots. The most powerful and generous wine within François’ range of white Sancerre—it’s a crowd pleaser. It’s fermented in stainless steel vats and aged in a large, twenty-liter old tronconic (vertical and slightly tapered at the top) French oak vat.

WINE ADVOCATE 94 POINTS - "Jean-Claude Bessin only makes 5,000 bottles of this old vine cuvée from a lieu-dit within the larger Fourchaume Premier Cru. Combining stainless steel and oaked components, it's rich, concentrated and appealingly honeyed, with subtle wood spices, a thread of minerality and a pure, focused, enticingly balance finish. These are never wines that have to try too hard."

CERTIFIED ORGANIC

Traditional, whole cluster fermentation lasts from 3-4 weeks
Aged for 6-9 months in used oak barrels
Sourced exclusively from the Les Charmes vineyard, the highest altitude lieu-dit in the appellatio