Category Archives: France – Burgundy

Château Thivin, Côte de Brouilly (Beaujolais, Burgundy, France) 2015

($28):  The wines from Côte de Brouilly, one of top-tier of the ten cru of Beaujolais, are not to be confused with those from Brouilly, another cru, but whose wines have less consistent quality.  Although Château Thivin, one of the region’s best producers, makes a range of wines from Côte de Brouilly depending on the position of the vines on the slope, this one is a blend from several sites. Read more

An Interesting Rarity from Burgundy

Geantet-Pansiot, Bourgogne Rouge, “Pinot Fin,” 2015 ($30 – 45):

Pinot Fin is a clone of Pinot Noir that produces smaller berries and thicker skin, according to the internationally acclaimed wine expert, Jancis Robinson.  It’s rarely grown in Burgundy today, because it’s a finicky grape to grown, even more troublesome than Pinot Noir, susceptible to many diseases that result in lower yields–meaning, more expensive wine. … Read more

Maison Joseph Drouhin, Mercurey (Burgundy, France) 2015

($23, Dreyfus, Ashby & Co.):  Mercurey, a small town in the Côte Chalonnaise in Southern Burgundy, is an especially good place to look for values in 2015.  The extra warmth of the vintage helped these less prestigious sites.  Compared to Drouhin’s Rully, from a neighboring village in the Côte Chalonnaise, this Mercurey has more earthiness accompanying its bright fruitiness. Read more

Awful Weather in Burgundy, But Some Awesome Wines from 2016

Usually it is perfect weather during the growing season that results in exceptional wines.  Think 2005, 2009 or 2015 in Burgundy.  Those “ideal weather” vintages produced excellent wines almost across the board.  In 2016, the capriciousness of Nature was apparent:  Hail ravaged some vineyards, destroying the entire crop, but leaving a neighboring vineyard untouched.  Read more

Domaine Christian Moreau, Chablis 1er Cru (Burgundy, France) Vaillon “Cuvée Guy Moreau” 2016

($75, Frederick Wildman And Sons Ltd):  Fabien Moreau, the current winemaker, says that this portion of their plot in the Vaillon vineyard was planted by his grandfather, Guy, 83 years ago and contain the oldest vines of their estate.  Located on the steepest part of the slope, the vines have excellent exposure and drainage. Read more

Château de Fleurie, Fleurie (Beaujolais, Burgundy, France) 2015

($21, David Bowler Wine):  Sensational is the word that comes to mind when describing the 2015 vintage in Beaujolais.  Of course, we are talking about the cru of Beaujolais, the ten villages within that region whose wines stand apart from the remainder of the region, which explains why the name of the cru alone — without the word Beaujolais — appears on the label. Read more

Domaine Louis Latour, Corton (Burgundy, France) Château Corton Grancey 2015

($132, Louis Latour USA):  Although Latour owns portions of Romanée St. Vivant and Chambertin, Grand Cru vineyards in the Côte de Nuits, I consider this Grand Cru from the Côte de Beaune to be their flagship red wine.  Latour has always felt that blending wines from different Grand Cru parcels on the Corton hill, a practice the Domaine de la Romanée Conti has embraced now that they have vineyards in Corton, produces the most compete expression of Corton.Read more

Didier Montchovet, Hautes Côtes de Beaune (Burgundy, France) 2014

($28, Jenny & François Selections):  Didier Montchovet tames the coarseness found in many wines from the “Hautes Côtes.”  In this Pinot Noir-based example, he has fashioned a charmingly rustic Burgundy than marries earthy and fruity qualities.  Montchovet must be talented, indeed, to produce a red like this from the Hautes Côtes in 2014, a difficult year for Pinot Noir in that appellation. Read more

Patrick Piuze, Chablis (Burgundy, France) “Coteau de Fontanay” 2016

($29, David Bowler Wine):  Though another one of Piuze’s village Chablis comes from Fontanay, not far from Fyé, it has a very different signature, showing there are dramatic differences between the communes than make up the greater Chablis appellation.  Piuze’s 2016 Coteau de Fontanay has a touch more ripeness and roundness than his Terroir de Fyé, while maintaining an underlying and balancing vivacity and edginess. Read more

Patrick Piuze, Chablis (Burgundy, France) “Terroir de Fyé” 2016

($29, David Bowler Wine):   There is a longstanding tradition of identifying vineyards when making Chablis Premier and Grand Cru.  Fewer producers do that with village wines, preferring to simply label the wine Chablis.  Piuze, who like many relatively new small négociants owns no vineyards, opting instead to buy grapes from local growers, is able to take an intermediate approach. Read more

Château des Jacques, Morgon (Burgundy, France) 2015

($28, Kobrand Wine & Spirits): Anyone who doubts that Beaujolais can excite needs to taste Château des Jacques’ 2015 trio of Morgon, Fleurie and Moulin-à-Vent, three of the 10 Beaujolais crus.  The crus are 10 villages in the northern part of the region whose bedrock is either pink granite or a blue-black volcanic stone and whose wines are so distinctive that only the name of the village, not Beaujolais, appears on the label. Read more