2021 French Wine

Organic/Bio Lower ABV What starts off as a round, almost creamy, mouth full of sweet and bitter orange, peach and lemon zest flavors get an electric jolt of energy on the finish that grips to squeeze out every last drop of this... Read More

In this very short harvest, there's a little more oak influence to Sylvain's village Puligny (not more new wood, but more second and third use barrels that needed to be kept full!). It just makes this lovely Chardonnay... Read More

In this very short harvest, there's a little more oak influence to Sylvain's village Puligny (not more new wood, but more second and third use barrels that needed to be kept full!). It just makes this lovely Chardonnay... Read More

Lower ABV After phylloxera, the vineyards here were abandoned and were gradually covered in trees until a storm blew through and uprooted them in 1973. Bordeaux legend Andre Lurton happened to walk through the destruction and... Read More

Organic/Bio Ok, technically this is “Bordeaux” but spiritually it’s Loire Valley glou glou wine – meaning wine to gulp with delight. From iron-red soils, it’s 90% Merlot plus Cabernet Sauvignon fermented... Read More

Organic/Bio Lower ABV Take the wild and delicious character of the Brana Ilori, source the grapes from older vines and age 30% in barrel and you get this – what Chablis would taste like if a bunch of Basque wine-people grew... Read More

Organic/Bio Lower ABV Everything about this wine is wild, starting with the wild, super steep, vineyards of Irouleguy in the French Pyrenees, where almost all the grapes are red. And where all the grapes died from phylloxera in... Read More

Organic/Bio Lower ABV It's not surprising that this racy Gamay comes from a former bicycle racer, Vincent Canard. After retiring from racing in 2015, Vincent joined his father, Marc, to take the old family domaine in Beaujolais... Read More

The cooler 2021 vintage and fresh blend of 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 15% Mourvedre and 5% Muscardin gives this elegant Chateauneuf a silky feel and impeccable balance to go with CdP’s traditional rich red fruit. Plenty fleshy... Read More

Organic/Bio Lower ABV The old vines planted by Amandine and Richard’s grandfather handled the tough 2021 season with aplomb. As usual, Montmains is the most open and generous of the Malandes 1er Crus with a touch of pear... Read More

Organic/Bio Just a really good, all-purpose, house red here with an easy-access screwtop closure and easy on the wallet savings price. The quality here is unsurprising, because the Jaume family consistently puts their name on... Read More

Organic/Bio Over the years, wine Robert Parker has called the Cotes du Rhone Champauvins a baby Chateauneuf du Pape, a poor person's Chateauneuf, and a serious effort that could easily be mistaken for a Chateauneuf du Pape.... Read More

Organic/Bio Lower ABV A natural crossing of Folle Blanche and Malbec, Jurancon is a traditional grape of Gaillac in the southwest of France. At Philemon, it’s bush-trained in the old style and gives the plush purple black... Read More

Organic/Bio What kind of wine does a top NYC sommelier create from old vines and one of the Southern Rhone’s most exciting hillside terroirs? If you’re Victor Taylor, former sommelier at The Quilted Giraffe and director... Read More

Lower ABV As Burghound says, “If you're unfamiliar with the Thibert wines you owe it to yourself to try one of two examples as the best are excellent.” Here’s the place to start with a wine that draws on... Read More

Lower ABV More or less wrapping around Pouilly Fuisse, Saint Veran is the southernmost extension of Burgundy – any further south and you’re in Beaujolais. The mixture of southerly warmth and clay-limestone soils gives... Read More

Lower ABV Altesse gets richer and rounder than the more common Jacquere grape in Savoie, but stays plenty fresh and vibrant in the cooler 2021 harvest. It’s steely in feel and delivers layered flavors of Honeycrisp apple,... Read More

Organic/Bio Lower ABV Jerome Seguin's 0.7 acre plot of Chambolle Musigny vines are just above the village chapel, an unfortunately prime location for the damage from 2021's April frosts. But the 40-50 year-old vines then... Read More

Organic/Bio Lower ABV Jeremie Huchet has emerged as one of Muscadet's young stars, and this single-vineyard, organically farmed, Melon de Bourgogne shows why. As Wine Advocate says in the 91 point review, aromas of crushed... Read More

Superb Cornas from a blend of vines high on the hill and 40 year-old plantings on the lower down, fully destemmed and aged in 2-4 year-old barrique. Concentrated fruit balanced by even more intense minerality with perfume that... Read More

Always a darker, richer, Pinot than you'd expect from Chassagne, the touch of extra freshness from 2021's cooler growing season makes this even harder to resist than usual. Black and red cherry fruit serve as the wine's... Read More

Organic/Bio Lower ABV Morgeot’s relatively heavy, warmer, soils helped mitigate 2021’s April frost damage and then drive lovely ripening in a cool, crisp, year. This opens with very pure, lifted, scents of crisp pear,... Read More

From arguably the finest red wine site in Chassagne and, unusually, from above the village where most 1er Cru sites feature Chardonnay instead of Pinot. Here the flatter terrain and walls of the clos have kept enough clay for... Read More

Organic/Bio Lower ABV Perched above the 1er Crus, this bowl-shaped sited was clobbered in the 2021 frosts. The tiny crop remaining gave beautiful Chassagne, with intense citrus and green orchard fruit, a double handful of crushed... Read More

Running up the lower slopes towards Corton Renardes, the 1er Cru Lolliers vineyard gives dark red fruit with plenty of structure and excellent cellar potential In 2021, Pascal’s rendition is a touch more fresh and bright... Read More