FRENCH WINE

WINE SPECTATOR 95 POINTS - "This offers a mix of red and black cherry paste flavors, infused with a range of bay leaf, savory, tobacco, olive and chalk notes. Shows a grippy feel through the finish, with the chalky minerality driving through. Best from 2022 through 2038."

#57 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2019

DECANTER 97 POINTS - "From lieux-dits Mazard and La Côte, 80% destemmed. Sun-warmed herbs accompany sand, lavender and raspberry on the nose. It has good aromatic freshness and definition, and the full-bodied palate is also clean, super-fresh and lively. It's dense and ripe, defined by serrated tannins, keen acidity and a mouth-coating character. This is full of character, a very classic expression of Cornas that's not massive, but is detailed, clear and sinewy with mineral hints. Seriously good this year."

JAMES SUCKLING 98-99 POINTS - "Plenty of sexy graphite and dark stony aromas cast across showy dark fruits seen here, all presented in a vibrant and seductive form. Plenty of spices and fragrant lift, too. The palate is astonishingly rich, layered and seamlessly complete. The tannins are dense, compressed and commanding, whereas the tension is entrancing. Flavors run from red to darker fruits. The finish is already long and majestic. Exceptional wine"

DECANTER 97 POINTS - "Low yields of just 27hl/ha this year due to coulure, instead of a more normal 37hl/ha - so there might be no 2017 Renaissance produced. A tasting of the main constituent parts from barrel suggests a potent, ripe, tannic style. The young Reynards is rich in fruit with good acidity, if high in alcohol; Sabarotte is resolutely Cornas: impenetrable, resinous, firm and saline; Petit Côte and La Côte are fleshy and rich; the older Reynards admirably complete, with a massive, ripe tannic load. Pierre compares it to the 2009, albeit more structured. You'll need to keep this for a while, but it will be rewarding when finally ready."

WINERY NOTES - Since the 2004 vintage, we have expanded our work with the Levet family to include a second bottling of Cote Rotie known as “Les Journaries”, a cuvée drawn from grapes harvested from old vines in the “La Landonne” lieu-dit. This wine is more subtle, more elegant and “quieter” if you will than the “Chavaroche”. At the same time, it is very much a Levet wine with a bouquet of violets, wild berries, a touch of animal and resinous-like tannins that speak of the inclusion of stems (a hallmark of the Levet tradition). The “Journaries” is approachable at an earlier stage than its companion “La Chavaroche” but, that being said, it is a wine that not only ages gracefully but almost requires a touch of patience. We now import approximately 1500 bottles plus magnums of this cuvée each vintage.

JEB DUNNUCK 92-94 POINTS: "One of the gems in the Northern Rhône lineup is the 2018 Côte Rôtie, which, as with all of Louis’ wines, wasn’t destemmed and was brought up in 30-40% new oak. Stunning aromatics of black raspberries, olive tapenade, ground pepper, violets, and assorted meat notes all flow to a medium to full-bodied, opulent, seamless Côte Rôtie that has a smoking good texture. Count me impressed."

"Opaque ruby. Deep-pitched black and blue fruit, floral pastille, olive and smoky mineral character on the nose. Sweet, spicy and penetrating on the palate, offering juicy blueberry and cherry cola flavors underscored by a peppery quality that adds back-end spiciness and cut. Youthfully firm tannins add shape to the finish, which hangs on with impressive, dark-berry-driven tenacity." VINOUS

Very dark. There is an aroma of stylish black berry fruit inside the bouquet, which has an oaked, grilled outer, black cherry, the fruit clear, some nutshells also. This is sleekly fruited, with crisp tannins, mineral, vin de terroir within the oak. There is a close link between nose and palate. It drives along on a smooth route, presents very fine juice. Graphite and close-knit juice appear on the finish. "It is square, runs straight down the line, has graphite, minerality.

JEB DUNNUCK 90-92 POINTS: "The largest production effort is the 2016 Saint Joseph Silice, which offers lots of blackberry jam, Asian spice, and peppered meat aromas and flavors. This ripe, sexy, beautifully textured 2016 is going to be another terrific value for the true wine lovers and drinkers out there. I continue to love the wines from the young Jerome Coursodon, who pulls from roughly 16 hectares of vines all in the southern part of Saint Joseph, mostly just outside the village of Mauves. The 2015s are monster, blockbuster styled efforts that I suspect won’t appeal to the traditionalists out there, but are singular wines. The 2016s are more elegant and finesse-driven, yet still pack in more sweet fruit than just about everyone else out there."

Rouchier is one of the smallest productions, he total vineyard area of the Domaine is only 1.5 hectares, worked solely by husband and wife team Christian and Martine. In the Heart of Saint Joseph, Rouchier produces two 100% Syrah Lieu-dits, Luc, a .5 hectare parcel planted in 1972 on clay on Schist soils. The other parcel, Chave, is a one-hectare plot planted in 1958 on granite. Both vineyards are organic, and like a handful of producers in the Rhone valley, Rouchier bottles their wines naturally with no sulfur added and is the first we have seen apply these principles to Saint Joseph. These are very pure and juicy bottlings of Syrah in Saint Joseph with the Chave shows more vineyard expression; both are serious. Rouchier has been polishing there wines creating fresh examples and leaning away from the ultra-rustic style that their first vintages saw.

WINE ADVOCATE 95+ POINTS - "The 2016 Cornas Confidence is the flagship cuvée of the estate and comes from the La Côte and Tézier lieux-dits in Cornas, both of which are shallow, granitic parcels. It's slightly tighter and more focused compared to the sexier Empreintes and has more cassis and blackberry fruits as well as lots of cedarwood, ground pepper, and earth-like aromatics. This full-bodied, concentrated 2016 has beautiful purity, a ripe, layered texture, and building tannins. It’s a serious 2016 to drink over the coming 10-15 years."

JAMES SUCKLING 94 POINTS: "Attractive peppery and spicy nose with an air of complexity and real interest. Plenty of stony aromas, violets and blackberries. The palate has a fluid, supple build with plush ripe dark plum and blackberry fruit flavors amid muscular but resolved tannins. Drink now."

WINE SPECTATOR 92 POINTS: "Lively raspberry and blackberry coulis flavors pump through, lined with a mouthwatering anise note. The finish is streaked with singed apple wood details, leaving an energetic feel. Very solid. Drink now through 2027. 2,940 cases made."

WINE SPECTATOR 94 POINTS - "On the darker side of the ledger, with currant and blackberry fruit laced with mesquite, bay leaf, iron and tobacco notes. A light smoldering charcoal hint through the finish melds with the fruit and other components. Best from 2020 through 2038. 83 cases made, 6 cases imported."

Francois Villard La Brocarde comes from vines planted on the Cote Blonde with up to 13% Viognier in the blend. The wine takes its name from the La Brocarde lieu-dit. The berries are whole cluster fermented and up to 30% of the grapes are destemmed. The wine is aged in between 80% new, French oak barrels to 100% new, oak, depending the character of the vintage. The wine spends close to 18 months in barrel before bottling. The production is quite small as only 100 cases are produced in an average year.

WINE SPECTATOR 91 POINTS: "Fresh and racy in feel, with dark cherry and black currant fruit laced with sage, anise and violet notes. A light iron hint adds cut on the finish. Drink now through 2023."

WINE SPECTATOR 92 POINTS - "A bright, fresh, mineral-driven style, with mouthwatering white pepper and rose petal notes gilding a core of damson plum and blood orange flavors. The long, sleek finish is mouthwatering. Drink now through 2030."

Paul Wasserman: “In cask this was all umami on the nose. Incredibly complex and compelling. The kind of nose so great you hate to move on to actually tasting the wine. Tapenade, green peppercorns, tarragon, Szechuan pepper, jus de viande. Like with the Crozes les Habrards, there is a lot of the color green. It actually reminded of a specific dish we make at the farm, the most umami dish we make, the one I have pregnant cravings for. It’s an Italian dish. Rabbit in a sauce that has anchovies, capers, and vinegar. Bottling has closed this up a little, and made it darker. It starts with griotte cherries, and the savory has moved from green to blue-black, to plums and vegemite. It is now closed on the palate too, but it is quiet rather than austere; it has the reserve of a truly great wine built for the ages. You definitely need to give this a two-hour decant to get it back to its life in cask. But it does go back there. Painfully slowly. La Force Tranquille. But when it finally cracks, the finish is superlative. Long, fresh, savory, complex. As the French say: PMG (pour ma gueule); or as the seagulls do: Mine!”

After winemaking in Australia, New Zealand and Burgundy — where he struck up an ongoing friendship with Ben Leroux at Comte Armand, Jean-Baptiste Souillard worked as an oenologue for Jean-Luc Colombo before starting his own micro-négoce in 2014. For JBS, freshness and digestibility are King. Mirroring the cellar, the winemaking is basic as. Natural ferments, with plenty of whole bunches, neutral oak (old barrique) and delicate extractions are the order of the day. Tasting through the 2016s —deliciously savoury, bunchy wines of complex fragrance and subtleness — it’s clear the Northern Rhône has an outstanding new talent in its midst (and he’s only getting started.

JEB DUNNUCK 96 - 99 POINTS - "I was able to taste the 2016 Hermitage from three separate tanks which are blended prior to bottling. All three samples showed brilliant purity of fruit, full body, a forward, seamless, elegant texture, and classic building minerality. This is haute couture at its finest and is pure class that could come from nowhere else. As with most 2016s, it's going to be relatively accessible in its youth, yet this is one Hermitage that's not going to hit maturity for another 8-10 years and will keep for three decades."

JAMES SUCKLING 98 POINTS - "A wealth of floras with spiced dark chocolate, peppery notes, graphite, dark stones and grilled meats. There’s a very concentrated core of red and black fruit on the palate, weighing deep into the middle with super fine yet strong tannins wrapping up the wine. There is also enduring red-fruit freshness emerging into the finish. This is a great Hermitage that will deliver incredible age potential and enjoy an esteemed life in bottle. Barrel sample."

WINE ADVOCATE 96 - 98 POINTS - "Still mostly in separate components, the 2016 Hermitage nevertheless looks sensational. Les Beaumes was very pretty and red fruited, with silky tannins (94 - 96). Le Méal was putting itself forward as plush and velvety, with flowers, crushed stone and ripe fruit (95 - 97). A combined sample of les Bessards and l'Hermite showed great, granite-derived structure allied to licorice and cassis."

VINOUS 96 - 98 POINTS - "Jean-Louis Chave showed me this unfinished wine in components. #1) Les Beaume: a gorgeous bouquet evokes red and blue fruit liqueur, incense, Asian spices and smoky minerals. Shows a very suave blend of depth and energy, silky texture and vibrant black raspberry and boysenberry flavors that spread out steadily on the back half. #2) Meal: much more firm and stern than the Les Beaume, showing bitter cherry, licorice and olive character and solid grip. Chewy and focused, but there's a core of appealingly sweet dark fruit as well. Opens up a bit with air, but this is solid and has a serious backbone. #3) Ermite: complex and intensely perfumed, displaying exotic floral and spice notes and powerful, alluringly sweet dark berry character. The floral quality dominates a very long, smooth finish where fine-grained tannins build slowly and in harmony with the dark fruit. #4) Bessards: Succulent and focused, displaying ripe dark fruit liqueur, spicecake and violet pastille qualities energized by vibrant spice and mineral flourishes. Sweet and densely packed yet animated, with superb clarity; a sexy cola nuance emerges on the back half. The mix of depth, power and energy here is textbook Chave, and this bottling will be a must-buy for those who can find and afford it."

A legendary wine from one of the original Rhône valley winemaking estates. The first Sorrel family vineyards were planted at the turn of the 20th century, predating WWI. Marc's son Guillaume now heads the estate, continuing to craft highly sought-after wines of grace and splendor.

VINOIS MEDIA 92 POINTS - "Smoke-and mineral-accented black and blue fruit preserve, licorice pastille and incense scents, plus a hint of musky earth in the background. Nicely concentrated, spice-laced black currant and bitter cherry flavors become sweeter and more energetic with air. Delivers solid punch but comes off graceful, finishing with very good persistence and dusty, slow-building tannins."