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« Qui boit du Meursault ne vit ni ne meurt sot »

This play on words is the unofficial slogan of the village of Meursault and might be roughly translated as “A person full of Meursault is no fool at all”. A fitting phrase for today’s wine, the 2014 Patrick Javillier Meursault les Tillets, which you’d be a fool not to taste! 

The town of Meursault has been synonymous with rich, oak-driven white Burgundies since nearly the time of its first winegrowers, the Cistercian monks. Les Tillets, the vineyard name, hearkens back to the fragrant linden trees planted by these monks to surround the vines. 

Like the Cistercians, today’s winemaker, Patrick Javillier, mixes instinct and an innate respect for the land with years of intense study to practice his craft. With his winemaking father, Javillier spent his youth in the

In France, wine’s most dynamic successes are the result of tradition meeting innovation. This couldn’t be more clear than in Burgundy’s most recently created appellation—Viré-Clessé (veer-AY cluh-SAY). Often overshadowed by its more famous Mâcon neighbors of Pouilly-Fuissé and Saint-Véran, the area of Viré-Clessé, classified in 1999, has nonetheless been known by wine fans as a source of rich, great valued wines for centuries. 

The name of the village of Viré itself (or Viriaco as it was known) means “grape-growing” and has been producing wines since the ninth century. One thousand years later in 1868, Jules Guyot would be quoted as saying that Viré-Clessé wines are “always agreeable, always healthy, and what’s more, at more than reasonable prices”. If Monsieur Guyot were here to taste today’s wine, the

“If you can still find them, 2001 is a mythical vintage in many Spanish viticultural areas.”

Robert Parker wrote this over a decade ago and based on my recent tasting of Rotllan Torra’s 2001 Tirant, it still holds true.

According to the Catalunya website, Jordi Rotllan Torra and his family founded the Torroja del Priorat winery in the early ‘80s. Supposedly the small mountain village was a popular vacation destination for the wine distribution family from Penedes when Jordi was young. When they realized the amazing potential of the region, they purchased the vineyards and the facility built in the 17^th century by Carthusian monks of Scala Dei in a Renaissance style with Cistercian influences. “From the start it was designed as a cellar, with an enormous capacity of one million litres of wine.” Dug into the ground with stone and mortar, allowing for constant temperature and humidity

From picking fruit in Bordeaux during the 70s to producing music videos that earned him a Grammy nomination, Scott Palazzo clearly has the “midas touch”. He’s now the rock-and-roll winemaker who’s crafting world-class wines in Napa Valley. He produces three cuvees, all well-known among wine insiders, but probably not getting the notice that they merit! Thomas Keller, owner of The French Laundry, was so impressed by Palazzo’s wines that he asked Scott to create an exclusive wine to serve in all his restaurants.

Last night, I was happy to be pulling the cork on his 2010 Palazzo Wine Proprietary Red Right Bank. Predominately Merlot with a dollop of Cab Franc and Cab Sauv for good measure, this gem is just beginning to show its legs. It was dense and powerful, yet contained a silkiness that tamed its youthfulness. I shared it with a couple of close friends over

When I saw the 98 point score that James Suckling awarded the 2013 Le Pupille Saffredi, I knew I had to experience it for myself. My excitement led to an unexpected tasting with a few family members who shared my level of eagerness to try this well-known Super Tuscan.  As we were not planning to open the bottle that evening, we were not prepared to pair it with a fitting meal. Instead, the 2013 Le Pupille Saffredi was paired with laughs and conversation.

The nose was rich with dark fruits, leather, tobacco and spices. The 2013 Saffredi is full bodied with smooth yet firm tannins.  Dark cherry, pepper and licorice really stood out in the glass. It is delicious now, but will get better with time. 

The 2012 Saffredi was scored the perfect 100 points from Suckling. In July, 2016, the 2013 was upgraded from 96-Points to 98-Points. Suckling claimed that the 2013 is… “A slightly

The Lisini estate, situated on the southern side of Montalcino very near Sant’Angelo in Colle, dates back to the 16th century and some buildings are over 700 years old. To say that this is a property and family steeped in history and tradition would be an understatement! Their more recent past includes charter membership in the Brunello Consorzio, one of only 25 producers at the time, and the family matriarch, Elina is a past president. She was a fixture in Montalcino her entire life and with her family, was dedicated to the production of the highest quality Sangiovese Grosso.

Lisini is known to produce beautiful Brunellos even in difficult vintages, so what would they do in a stellar one? I could not wait to find out when I opened the first bottle from our cellar on a recent summer evening, including a variety of pizzas on our patio with family and friends. I wanted to give the wine plenty of time to open up and planned to decant but temptation took over – I did

In terms of Valpolicella, one tends to think of the wine as simple. That is until you talk about the Valpolicella that is produced by Dal Forno. His wines are anything but simple. Antonio Galloni even goes on to say that because “the Valpolicella is made from 100% dried fruit, it makes it more of a second wine of the flagship Amarone than a true Valpolicella.” 

Valpolicella wines have different distinctions and are usually produced with a blend of grapes, mainly being Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara. The regular DOC Valpolicella can be simple and thin, and really not be anything special. Then there is Valpolicella Ripasso, which uses the grape musts from the left over Amarone that fermented to add body. Besides Amarone, which dries out the grapes for at least 3 months to concentrate the sugars, there is Valpolicella Superiore which uses the same method just for a shorter amount of time. Dal Forno says their Valpolicella Superiore is dried for 1 and a half months

“What’s new & exciting at Sokolin?!”  Is a question I get asked quite frequently, so I thought I’d share with you what’s hot right now. The 2014 Burgs are just starting to roll in, and the White Burgs in particular happen to be the hot wines at the moment. One reason, obviously, is that we’re in prime time season for drinking white wines, but also because they’re ridiculously good. Antonio Galloni said they’re in “..the same quality league as 2012 and 2010”,  which were both knockout vintages for White Burgundy.

One of my favorite producers and also one that absolutely crushed it in the ’14 vintage was Henri Boillot. Henri is the fifth generation of the branch of the Boillot family, and they’ve been farming in Burgundy since 1885. The Domaine consists of 15 hectares split between

Featured Wine: 2014 Jean Paul Droin Chablis ‘Les Clos’

$69.99 – 95VM

In many circles, Burgundy is considered one of the most challenging regions to master by even the most proficient wine connoisseurs. When I came into the business I vividly remember my mentors telling me “don’t worry, one day Burgundy will just ‘click’ but until then, keep studying.” They were right and eventually it did “click” and now, like countless others, I am completely head over heels in love with Burgundy. My passion for Burgundy does not end with the wine itself, but extends to encompass all that goes into

Chablis is a wine for oysters…

…born from their shells

A well worded quote from Chablis: Bernard Ginestet’s Guide to the Vineyards of France, particularly in reference to the Grand Cru vineyards which are planted primarily on Kimmeridgean soil, a blend of limestone, clay and fossilized oyster shells. These soils of the Grand Cru slopes, along with a south-south-west exposure allowing for maximum sunshine in this northernmost “cool climate” region of Burgundy, allow for one of the purest and unique expressions of Chardonnay in the world. 

According to domain’s website, William Fevre descended from a family which lived in the Chablis region for two and a half centuries before officially declaring their first vintage in 1959. Since then, the domain has acquired more vineyards in Chablis with 15.2 of their 78 hectares classified as Grand Cru. 2.55 of those hectares come from two parcels of vines planted in the Grand Cru known as Les Preuses,