2019 Fabien Coche Bourgogne Cote D'Or Pinot Noir

2019 Fabien Coche Bourgogne Cote D’Or Pinot Noir

with No Comment $30-$40BurgandyFranceKevin VogtPinot Noir

FABIEN COCHE

BOURGOGNE COTE D’OR
2019 PINOT NOIR

2019 Fabien Coche Bourgogne Cote D'Or Pinot Noir
Fabien Coche is a fourth-generation winemaker with exceptional familial ties to the Côte d’Or, coming from one of Burgundy’s renowned winemaking families, Coche-Dury. Fabien took over his family’s Domaine in 2005 and has quickly become the Coche to keep an eye on with wines that are neither flashy nor dramatic but poised, powerful, and seductive.
 
The Pinot Noir for his Bourgogne Rouge comes from two parcels; One in Meursault and the other in Pommard, where roots have grown deep into the earth for the last 30 to 60 years, extracting the remarkable terroir. Fabien’s minimalistic approach focuses on expressing the site in each wine he creates without the use of pump-overs or punch-downs, ensuring a fruit purity that speaks of the terroir it was grown on, providing a sensation you won’t want to miss!
 
Our entire tasting panel wanted to buy a case for themselves after tasting this… 
 
FABIEN COCHE
BOURGOGNE COTE D’OR
2019 PINOT NOIR
 
Your Price: $39.99
 
 
“The 2019 Fabien Coche Bourgogne Côte d’Or Pinot Noir is everything you’re looking for in a Pinot Noir. This stunning wine has profound complexity opening with rose petals, cranberries, red cherries, wild strawberries, cloves, mushrooms, and forest floor. The wine has a silky mouthfeel on the palate with beautifully balanced fruity and savory flavors that gracefully linger on the finish.”
94 points
2016 Espirit De Fonrozay Bordeaux

2016 Espirit De Fonrozay Bordeaux

with No Comment $30 and underBordeauxBordeauxFranceKevin Vogt

ESPRIT DE FONROZAY

2016 BORDEAUX

2016 Espirit De Fonrozay Bordeaux
The Bordeaux AOC growing region in France does not allow irrigation, period, no exceptions. In 2016, the magic of Bordeaux proved itself again when not one drop of rain fell during the summer, yet the natural water-retaining qualities of the clay and limestone soils of the area fully sustained the vines. The 2016 vintage is considered one of the most outstanding vintages of Bordeaux, with Jeb Dunnuck rating it as “Extraordinary” and Wine Enthusiast asking, “Is 2016 the Perfect Bordeaux?”
 
The 2016 vintage of Espirit de Fonrozay is blended from select vineyard sites throughout Bordeaux, adding a mosaic of complexity to the vintage’s intensely concentrated flavors. Wines of this caliber often sell at triple-digit prices, but this wine has an “every night sipper” price that you shouldn’t miss.
 
ESPRIT DE FONROZAY
2016 BORDEAUX
 
Your Price: $16.99
 
 
“Warm and ripe, this wine is full of black fruits and rich tannins. It is structured but this foundation is already well integrated with the fruit. Spice and a touch of licorice indicate the wood aging and also the potential of this wine. Drink from 2021.” 
90 Points
2020 Domaines Ott By. Ott Provence Rose

2020 Domaines Ott By. Ott Provence Rose

with No Comment $30 and underFranceKevin VogtProvenceProvenceRosé

DOMAINES OTT

2020 BY. OTT
PROVENCE ROSÉ

2020 Domaines Ott By. Ott Provence Rose
A benchmark in style, Domaines Ott is one of the top rosé producers globally and acts as a reference standard in its category, setting the highest bar for quality. Provence, the oldest vineyard land in mainland France, has for the last 2600 years been primarily focused on crafting fruity, focused, dry rosés with a delicate color but a deep concentration of red fruit flavors and backbone of minerality.
 
Setting out to produce the finest examples of Provençal wines crafted from noble grape varieties, Marcel Ott discovered the Estate which would become Domains Ott in 1896. Today, cousins Christian and Jean-François Ott continue with the same dedication, creating classic and refreshing rosé blends, setting timeless precedence of quality. 
 
DOMAINES OTT
2020 BY. OTT
PROVENCE ROSÉ
 
Your Price: $27.99
 
 
“Plenty of sliced strawberries and peaches with citrus and perfume. Medium-bodied, showing lovely fruit and balance. Creamy finish. Drink and enjoy.”
91 Points
 
“Light orange-pink. Ripe pit fruits and red berries on the nose, along with a hint of smokiness. Juicy and open-knit, offering strawberry and nectarine flavors that show very good clarity and back-end cut. Finishes smooth and long, leaving a suggestion of pit fruits behind.”
90 Points
2019 Domaine Maison Cheverny Rogue Loire Valley

2019 Domaine Maison Cheverny Rogue Loire Valley

with No Comment $30 and underFranceKevin VogtLoire ValleyPinot Noir

DOMAINE MAISON

2019 CHEVERNY ROUGE
LOIRE VALLEY

2019 Domaine Maison Cheverny Rogue Loire Valley
Pinot Noir/Gamay blends from Cheverny offer remarkable value and are relished by the French locals because they possess vibrant red fruit, crisp acidy, palpable minerality, and energizing freshness. Burgundy and the Atlantic Ocean influence Cheverny, a small region in the Loire Valley with siliceous clay, limestone, and gravelly soils, well-suited for Burgundian grapes that produce supple fruit with gentle tannins and vibrant energy. Cheverny Reds are primarily Pinot Noir/Gamay blends, with up to 10% Cabernet Franc or Malbec, known locally as Côt.
 
Domaine Maison’s Cheverny Rouge is a classic representation, combining 60% Pinot Noir with 30% Gamay with 10% Côt, balancing bright, supple fruit, floral character, and minerality, with vibrant energy, depth, and focus. This bottling is very typical for what the French locals might drink at a local Bistro, great wine that is an exceptional value.
 
Located between two rivers, Loire and Cher, the Domain Maison’s plots consist of vines between 20 and 45-years-old, grown in clay-limestone and light gravel soils, that produce focused fruit with depth and a sense of place. The team fermented this wine in stainless steel to preserve the fruit’s natural essence, beautifully delivered into your glass.
 
DOMAINE MAISON
2019 CHEVERNY ROUGE
LOIRE VALLEY
 
 
 
“Red wines of the Loire Valley are known for their brightness and vivacity. Cheverny AOC, located within the Touraine district, is planted mainly with Pinot Noir. This blend in particular is comprised of 60 percent Pinot Noir, 30 percent Gamay, and 10 percent Côt, the local name for Malbec. The region’s fruit ripens beautifully leading to wines with juicy, red cherry and raspberry flavors with great depth and concentration. Sweet spice notes, such as cloves and cinnamon, add an additional layer of complexity to the wine followed by a lush and silky finish. The locals enjoy this easy-drinking wine just a tad below room temperature, making it a perfect wine for the summer. Even at a fantastic value, the most surprising aspect of this wine is how quickly you’ll need another glass.”
95 Points
2018 Galius Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Bordeaux

2018 Galius Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Bordeaux

with No Comment $30-$40BordeauxBordeauxFranceKevin Vogt

GALIUS

SAINT-EMILION GRAND CRU 
2018 BORDEAUX 

2018 Galius Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Bordeaux
Named for a Roman soldier that settled in Bordeaux after receiving land for military service, Galius lives up to its namesake delivering powerful favors with enchanting old-world complexity, depth, and minerality, balanced with military precision. The 2018 Galius commands an impenetrable presence on the palate and has “gorgeous fruit,” as noted by Decanter. At $32, the quality dominates. 
 
Farmed sustainably, with terroir on the front lines, Galius’s eleven hectares of half-century-year-old vines grown in clay-limestone soils produce fruit with intense minerality and penetrating focus. 
 
Fermented in stainless-steel tanks for freshness and polished with 15 months in oak, the blend is 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc. Merlot offers rich, supple approachability and the Cab Franc, contributes floral lift and heightened refinement.
 
GALIUS
SAINT-EMILION GRAND CRU 
2018 BORDEAUX
 
Your Price: $32
 
 
“Enchanting nose of sweet leather, ripe blue fruit and even honeyed flowers. Refined, plunging, gorgeous fruit on the palate…”
93 Points
2020 Maison Lispaul Sancerre Les Deux Rangs Loire Valley

2020 Maison Lispaul Sancerre Les Deux Rangs Loire Valley

with No Comment $30 and underFranceKevin VogtLoire ValleySancerre

MAISON LISPAUL

2020 SANCERRE
LES DEUX RANGS
LOIRE VALLEY

2020 Maison Lispaul Sancerre Les Deux Rangs Loire Valley
When it comes to refreshing wines with dynamic complexity, laser focus, and tantalizing acidity, Sancerre is unparalleled. They offer stratospherically high quality/value compared to neighboring Burgundy, where you could be paying several times the bottle price for wines of comparable quality. Shirley Gaucher’s 2020 Sancerre Les Deux Rangs is classically concentrated, refreshingly bright, and focused, offering tremendous value, immediately noticeable in your glass. 
 
Drawn from established thirty-year-old vines grown in classic clay and flint soils, Shirley Gaucher’s Sancerre is vinified in stainless steel tanks for eight months, preserving the wine’s natural freshness, keen acidity, and fruit purity. 
 
Made at Maison Lispaul, named for the winemaker’s two children Lison and Paul-Henri, which is a small family-run estate, with proprietor David Maudry coming from a family of vintners. Their Sancerre comes from a 15-hectare plot on the left bank of the Loire, chosen for its Southern exposure, silex (flint)-rich soils, and expressive fruit.
 
MAISON LISPAUL
2020 SANCERRE
LES DEUX RANGS
LOIRE VALLEY
 
Your Price: $28
 
 
“The Shirley Gaucher Sancerre Les Deux Rangs 2020 shimmers in the glass and begins with a beautiful combination of lively fruits and florals on the nose, including ripe pomelo, lime peel, white peach, and wild rose petals. It has a laser-like focus on the palate with grapefruit, Kiwi, and mandarins, along with a focused, penetrating, and vibrant finish.”
91 Points
2018 Nudant Jean-Rene Meursault White Burgundy

2018 Nudant Jean-Rene Meursault White Burgundy

with No Comment $70-$80BurgandyChardonnayFranceKevin Vogt

NUDANT JEAN-RENÉ

2018 MEURSAULT
WHITE BURGUNDY

2018 Nudant Jean-Rene Meursault White Burgundy
Embodying complete balance, determination, and a sense of place, Nudant Jean-René wines are crafted with conviction to produce wine at the highest level. Their 2018 Meursalt manifests the terroir of the .54 acre plot brilliantly, voiced with buttered pear, roasted hazelnut, subtle stone, and liquid mineral qualities. This wine celebrates Meursault, one of the oldest and most significant regions in the world producing Chardonnay, and at less than $80, this classic Meursault deserves a spot in your cellar. 
 
The Nudant’s organically farm sixteen hectares of vines across Côte de Beaune and the Côte de Nuits by hand, utilizing meticulous canopy management, assuring optimum flavor development. 
 
In the cellar, winemaker Jean-René Nudant scrupulously sorts and de-stems the Chardonnay berries, following traditional winemaking methods passed down through generations.
 
NUDANT JEAN-RENÉ
2018 MEURSAULT
WHITE BURGUNDY
 
Your Price: $79.99
 
 
“This gorgeous, opulent white burgundy begins with a compelling nose of poached buttered pears, toasted hazelnuts, and light florals. It is big and concentrated on the palate with honeyed figs, ripe quince, freshly shaved white truffles, lemon zest, and liquid minerals. The intriguing, powerful finish is very long, and it drinks incredibly well now and will continue to for the next decade or more.”
95 Points
2016 Chateau Haut-Beausejour Saint-Estephe Bordeaux

2016 Chateau Haut-Beausejour Saint-Estephe Bordeaux

with No Comment $30-$40BordeauxBordeauxFranceKevin Vogt

CHÂTEAU 

HAUT-BEAUSÉJOUR
SAINT-ESTÈPHE
2016 BORDEAUX

2016 Chateau Haut-Beausejour Saint-Estephe Bordeaux
Saint-Estèphe is the Northernmost sub-region of Medoc’s six communal appellations and produces sturdy, robust wines rich with old-world charisma, depth, and character. Château Haut-Beauséjour is a dark horse of the region, acquired by Louis Roederer in the 90s and crafted by Nicolas Glumineau, a graduate of the University of Bordeaux with a Master of Genetics applied to enology, who began his career at 1st growth producer’s Haut-Brion and Château Margaux. 
 
St. Estèphe’s proximity to both the Atlantic Ocean and the Gironde River create a temperate, maritime climate, combines with well-draining gravel over clay soils to produce powerful fruit with chiseled character. 
 
Calling on a more significant percentage of Merlot than other Châteaux in Saint-Estèphe at 62%, Nicolas completes the blend with Cabernet Sauvignon and a dash of Petit Verdot, creating a supple, fleshy aspect, balancing Saint-Estèphe Cabernet Sauvignon’s powerful tannins.
 
CHÂTEAU 
HAUT-BEAUSÉJOUR
SAINT-ESTÈPHE
2016 BORDEAUX
 
Your Price: $37.99
 
 
“A generous, dramatic but forthrightly tannic St.-Estèphe that has enough cassis fruit, smoke and minty freshness to easily carry this structure and still come off energetic at the long, refreshing finish. Drink or hold.”
92 Points
 
“Another Pichon Comtesse estate up in St-Estèphe with a lovely ripe fruit expression. There are some tight, austere tannins right now, and the wine is a little less immediately exuberant than some, but give it a few years in bottle to flesh out…”
90 Points
 
“The 2016 Haut-Beauséjour is a very pretty, expressive wine that isn’t trying to do too much or be something it is not. Supple, plump and juicy, it offers lovely depth and impeccable balance in an open, approachable style that will offer plenty of pleasure over the next 15-20 years, give or take.”
89-91 Points
2018 Saint-Galet Chateauneuf-Du-Pape

2018 Saint-Galet Chateauneuf-Du-Pape

with No Comment $30-$40Cotes du RhoneFranceKevin Vogt

SAINT-GALET 

CHATEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE
2018 VINTAGE

2018 Saint-Galet Chateauneuf-Du-Pape
Venerated for marrying power and grace, Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines are the pinnacle of the Southern Rhone Valley, envied for their fruit intensity and garrigue, a French term referring to a savory mix of lavender, juniper, thyme, rosemary, and sage. Their nobility, supreme quality, and scarcity result in prices that start around $50 and climb to over a thousand per bottle. How did we find one for $32? This wine is the direct result of France’s restaurant shutdowns, and fueled by a pause on tariffs, we seized this opportunity.  
 
Eric Bonnet blended this wine, and he is the winemaker at La Bastide Saint Dominique. This Saint-Galet Chateauneuf-du-Pape bursts with black raspberry, dark plum, and new leather, offering supreme balance, energy, and classic garrigue. 
 
Aged in a combination of stainless steel tanks and French oak to best highlight the fruit, this wine reflects the elegance of the 2018 vintage. The Wine Spectator’s Vintage report sights, “Reds are supple and velvety, low in acid, offering flattering, forward fruit.”
 
SAINT-GALET 
CHATEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE
2018 VINTAGE
 
Your Price: $32
 
 
“The nose has an alluring blend of pie cherries, savory fresh herbs, cold smoked meat, violets, and hints of spearmint. On the palate it is rich, supple, and penetrating with a complex blend of black raspberries, Burgundy plums, red currants, kitchen spices, crushed minerals, and a rustic elegance. The finish is smooth and supple, but with enough mouth-quenching acidity to keep it lively and long. I love wines like this because they are a wonderful break from my everyday routine.” 
93 Points
2018 Domaine Dominique Guyon Hautes Cotes De Nuits Les Dames De Vergy

2018 Domaine Dominique Guyon Hautes Cotes De Nuits Les Dames De Vergy

with No Comment $30-$40BurgandyFranceKevin VogtPinot Noir

DOMAINE DOMINIQUE GUYON 

2018 HAUTES COTES DE NUITS
LES DAMES DE VERGY

2018 Domaine Dominique Guyon Hautes Cotes De Nuits Les Dames De Vergy
Domaine Dominique Guyon (Domaine Antonin Guyon) is a family-owned producer in Burgundy with significant holdings in the Côte d’Or. Brothers Dominique and Michel Guyon lead the operation, and they’re meticulously hands-on, which is not replicable with larger producers and is palpable in the glass. Their 2018 Les Dames de Vergy Cotes de Nuits Red Burgundy has penetrating fruit, restrained with a high level of balance and place. At less than $40, this a joy to behold and a remarkable value.  
 
Dominique accumulated nearly 80 separate parcels in the hills above Nuits-Saint-Georges, in an area known for quality. He combined them into a single 22-hectare vineyard with South facing slopes and limestone, rock, and clay soils that produce a remarkable expression of Pinot Noir. 
 
The Guyon’s are just as meticulous in their winemaking as they are with farming. They sort the grapes by hand in the vineyard, aiming to get the fruit to the vat within just 30 minutes from picking. They age the wine in oak for just 12 months to preserve the natural essence of the fruit, and the results are brilliant. 
 
DOMAINE DOMINIQUE GUYON 
2018 HAUTES COTES DE NUITS
LES DAMES DE VERGY
 
Your Price: $36
 
 
“This rich, densely textured wine is impressively ripe. Its tannins are still young and will sustain further development. With plenty of red cherry fruitiness to balance the structure, it will age further. Drink from 2022.”
92 Points “Cellar Selection”