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

Lower ABV It’s so tempting to call this “baby Puligny Montrachet” that…well, what the heck. It’s baby Puligny Montrachet from a trio of vineyards that all abut the village AOC boundary. Like his... 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

The hills above Carcassonne enjoy full-on Languedoc sunshine and heat but also the kind of cool sea breezes that help shapes Bordeaux. The grapes are “Mediterranean” Grenache and Syrah and “Atlantic” Cabernet... 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

In a cooler vintage, this Chateauneuf classic still packs in plendy of rich, generous, red and black fruit to go with the savory garigue accents. Hard to resist now but improving for 10 years easily.

Thierry Sabon makes old-school wines, ones that emphasize the earthier, meatier, side of the Southern Rhone. Here his Grenache (65%), Syrah, Mouvedre and Cinsault red from the sandy soils of Lirac pumps out plenty of rich black... Read More

Organic/Bio Oh my goodness, is this a delicious drink. It's from France's deep South Rousillon, so you're forgiven for thinking it's going to taste thick, roasted and a bit hot. But not here where Joseph Paille... Read More

Lovely, vibrant, 1er Cru white Burgundy from a cool site in Saint Aubin, just behind Puligny-Montrachet. White peach, nectarine, toasted nut and light butter notes show on the nose with a push of chalky minerality, crisp citric... 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 A powerful blend of equal parts Syrah and Grenache from Lirac, just across the Rhone River to the south of Chateauneuf du Pape. There’s always plenty of rich fruit and gamey complexity here along with, in the... Read More

Rich raspberry and blueberry fruit with a touch of spice from judicious use of whole clusters and just a wee bit of French oak (15% of the cuvee aged in 2nd use barrels; the rest in concrete and steel). With air, a bit of tapenade... 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

Sisters Delphine, Roseline and Cendrine Faraud make just one wine, this ultra-traditional Gigondas from one vineyard of 40-70 year-old Grenache (about 75%), Syrah, Cinsault and Mourvedre. Plenty of Southern Rhone fruit here –... 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

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

Organic/Bio A stunning, bone dry, Riesling from the lower slopes of the Grand Cru Schlossberg honoring current owner Catherine Faller’s mother. Like Colette herself (at least the day I met her), this wine is both vigorous... Read More

Organic/Bio Tannat in the mountain vineyards of Madiran are typically inky, tannic, beasts. Christine Dupuy is doing something different with these own-rooted, very old, vines. There’s plenty of inky black color and deep,... 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 The difference between a really good “village” Gevrey (like Terroir du Domaine) and a true 1er Cru should be ripeness, concentration and power. Which is very much what you’ll find here,... Read More