Domaine Notre Dame des Pallieres 2018 Gigondas “Les Mourres” Domaine Notre Dame des Pallières is a very old family estate, whose name comes from a place of pilgrimage visited by the Provençal people in the middle ages who believed that the fountain on the property would protect them from the plague. Claude Roux and his cousin Jean-Pierre have so many generations of Gigondas winemaking experience in their family that they don’t know exactly how many of their relatives have been involved up to now – Antique writings suggest that this Domain existed in the 900’s. When asked about their methods Claude smiles and explains that they are simply following the traditional methods of the family members that came before them. This dense and naked example of Gigondas comes from vines in “Les Mourres” which are up to 105 years in age. It sees no new oak, which is interesting to note as most top bottlings from this region are sadly masked in the vanillin flavors you get from the use of fancy new barrels. We prefer old-vine Grenache it it’s raw/unadorned glory.  Enjoy this beautiful benchmark example of the Gigondas appellation.

Chateau Rozier 2016 Saint Emilion Grand Cru  The Saby family has been making wine in Bordeaux for nine uninterrupted generations now, led by heirs to the family passion Jean-Christophe and Jean-Phillippe Saby. Château Rozier is situated at the foot of the hillside of the same name, which pays homage to the abbot Rozier, who in 1760 wrote one of the first manuals on modern viticulture. We prefer Saint Emilion to domestic Merlot-driven offerings as wines here always carry bucketloads of detail compared to their California counterparts. This example  is a perennial favorite at Vino for good reason.  Deep purple color, the flavor lends a great freshness associated with red and black fruits, with a woody and slight vanilla edge. The tannin gives it a fleshy, smooth and delicious yet elegant taste. 80% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Franc, 2% Cabernet Sauvignon

Domaine Girault 2019 Sancerre Blanc “Le Vaillon des Demoiselles”  Frank Poot, our Europe-based buyer, went on somewhat of a buying spree in Sancerre this Fall once borders opened back up between Holland and France (he lives in Rotterdam). This familial producer in Bue was a highlight of his winery visits there. With restaurants closed (most Sancerre is sold through such channels), the buying opportunities were hot. Produced on all three of the region’s soil types, this is a gorgeous mineral-tinged Sauvignon with persistence and real “cut.” Keep your eye out for more 2019 vintage Loire wine and we recommend booking deep on anything of quality.

Bodega Santiago Ruiz 2019 Rias Baixas Blanco “Rosa Ruiz”  Most talk of Albariño wine inevitably leads back to talk of Bodega Santiago Ruiz and its founder, Mr. Santiago Ruiz, a man hailed as the “inventor” of Albariño wine.  Located in the district of O Rosal, this bodega is one of the leading producers in Rias Baixas. A stout defender of the quality of Galicia’s native grapes, Santiago Ruiz became an ambassador for Rias Baixas’ wines, traveling the length and breadth of Spain (mostly on foot), with the goal of heightening awareness of Rias Baixas among the most select restaurateurs and opinion leaders of the early 1980s.  Santiago was convinced that Albariño could give rise to some of the best white wines in the world, he succeeded in making his mark. This wine is named after Santiago’s daughter Rosa, who runs operations there to this day. The property’s top bottling, this comes from the oldest vines on the estate, all of which are trellised in the traditional (inefficient) pergola method. Textbook stuff, this is really fun to pair with bacon studded shellfish dishes as is common in Rosa’s home turf.

Tenuta di Sesta 2015 Brunello di Montalcino  Since 1995 this iconic Tuscan winery has been managed by Giovanni Ciacci along with his children Andrea and Francesca. Traditional vinification (huge neutral barrels) and natural vineyard work here means some of the most expressive Sangiovese Grosso you’ll put into your glass this year. 2015 was a very highly regarded vintage in the region (you ought to pull up the scores on this wine specifically if you are interested in such things), and 2015’s show beautifully right now as opposed to the still very tight/young 2016’s (another much gushed about vintage in Montalcino).

Champagne De Saint-Gall NV Brut “Selection”  Champagne De Saint Gall is the flagship label of Union Champagne, an Avize-Based “new-generation” cooperative on a meteoric rise to stardom. Historically most of the company’s wine has been sold to the region’s iconic houses to be blended into their top luxury brands, a practice which still accounts for a sizable proportion of Union Champagne’s business. As far as cooperatives go this is without question the wealthiest of its kind in the world let alone the wine trade, with a staggering 615 hectares of Grand Cru vineyard land, 615 hectares of Premier Cru vineyard land, and 135 hectares of “mere mortal” unclassified vineyard land. Union Champagne’s recent shift, a commitment to producing and selling finished wine on their own, is the most interesting thing to happen in Champagne during our twenty years of buying wines from this region. This, their flagship blend might just be the most delicious NV Brut on the market today.