Those of us in the wine business, well, those of us who truly love wine anyway, make no pretense towards absolute impartiality when it comes to judging our favorites. We form deep emotional attachments to some wines and they become more like old...
Grapes: Muscat + Ugni Blanc
Region: Hautes-Alpes, France
Vintage: NVViticulture: Organic
Soils: Clay + Limestone
Vinification: Direct press, then fermented in tank. 2nd fermentation in bottle
Aging: 12...
Bochet-Lemoine is a small house based in the village of Cormoyeux, which is part of the 'Magic Triangle' with the villages of Romery and Fleurie la Riviere. Jacky Bochet has 8.5 Hectares of vines, most of which are in one contiguous plot on a south...
PRIMA Notes: Farming sustainably, with a push toward organic viticulture in the offing, his Chardonnay vineyards, ranging in age from 5 years to 80, thrive in the clay and limestone soil of the Maconnais, extracting great minerality and structure...
2019 Grand Veneur Cotes du Rhone 'Les Champauvins'
2022 was the year of the Cotes du Rhone at PRIMA! It seems like everything we tried from either 2018 or 2019 was either delicious, well-priced or both! It was really hard to pick a favorite...
Isabelle Garrault is well placed to create the perfect Sancerre. She’s the ninth generation Garrault to farm these vineyards which are now over 40 years old, and she displays a delicate touch with her fruit- hand harvesting her...
Poor Cahors. For years this southwestern French appellation has had to live down a reputation for rustic, tannic Malbec-based reds that often required decades to mature and, even then, you could never be sure what you were going to get when you opened it...
Wine Enthusiast: Firm and dry, this is a powerful wine dominated by tannins. However, intense black-fruit flavors are going to give the wine richness and density as it develops. Drink from 2021. 91 points
What do you do when your spouse insists on great White Burgundy but you’re too cheap to spend an arm and a leg to keep peace in the family? The obvious answer is to buy Macon Village and lie about the price. With a wine like the 2020...
2021 Peyrassol La Croix Rose, VDP
Beautiful pale pink in color, with distinct bluish hues. This expressive blend opens immediately with notes of small red fruits carried on a savory undertone of garrigue. There is a refreshing touch of...
Let’s face it, we’re going to roast this weekend. Might as well get used to the fact that the only outside entertaining we’re going to be doing will be either under a large shady umbrella or in a swimming pool. We want you...
Importer's Notes: The robe is golden for this champagne, adorned by fine and delicate bubbles. The nose is strong, dominated by hints of small black berries, and unravels its complexity bit by bit with black chocolate and silex rock aromas, topped...
80% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 5% Mourvèdre Lovers of the wines of the Rhone Valley may have noticed a certain homogenization creeping into their favorite tipples as the summers get progressively warmer and the grapes progressively riper. More and more...
Winery Notes: Blend : 40% Muscat, 40% Riesling, 20% Pinot Gris Softly light yellow glares the blend Alsace One 2017 in the glass. On the nose first of all fresh and mineral, light notes of fruity lychee, paired with exotic flavours. The...
Importer's Notes: Made from 45% Cinsault and 40% Mourvedre, with the balance split among Grenache and Carignan, a core of sappy, glycerol red-cherry fruit anchors a firm, punchy minerality, and the finish is remarkably persistent. The vineyards that...
Importer's Notes: Grolleau, a varietal native to Touraine, has played a major part only in Rosé d’Anjou in the past, as it is prone to very high yields. When yields are limited, however, and the vines are very old and cultivated 100...
PRIMA Notes: Sure, if you look, you can probably find a fair bit of 1996 Sauternes out there at auction or in the marketplace, but how many of them can boast of being in guaranteed-immaculate condition, freshly arrived from the actual cellar where...
PRIMA Notes: Joseph Cattin’s ‘Cuvee Tradition’ Pinot Noir. Cattin is the largest family-owned concern in Alsace. They been producing wines since 1720 and the current generation of Cattin here is its twelfth! Most of...
PRIMA Notes: Given the current environment, finding a juicy, well-made red that shows pride of place for under $40 is indeed cause for celebration, if not the purchase of at least a case! The producer is Frederic Magnien, the fifth generation...
Winery Notes: This cuvée is drawn from several parcels in Saint Aubin that comprise about 7/10 of a hectare. The vines are a mix of young (10 years) and old (40 years). Clay and limestone soils with a western exposure in the...
Winery Notes:
Visual: intense pink with almost purple carmine red tintsNose: marked by Pinot Noir, red fruit cake aromesPalate: tannins giving power, ripe grapes and impressions of fresh red fruit with a nice balanceAgeing potential: 2 to 3 yearsA...
PRIMA Notes: The Chamiot family has owned vineyards in Apremont for generations, and the young Romain has recently taken over from his grandparents to continue the family business. They farm seven hectares scattered among 30 parcels dotted...
Importer's Notes: Produced from equal parts of these varietals, the fruit for this wine comes from Chidaine’s estate-grown, bio-dynamically farmed vineyards located just north of the Cher river between the villages of Montrichard &...
PRIMA Notes: The Baldi Pain Extra Brut is a blend of 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay, aged in oak casks and finished with a very low dosage in order to let the fruit express its grandeur. Sourced from vines planted in 1965 and now farmed...
Importer's Notes: Among Lignier’s ever-impressive trio of Morey-Saint-Denis premier crus, “La Riotte” tends to be the most feminine, gentle, and lithe. Located on a gentle part of the slope at the foot of the grand cru...
Importer's Notes: The domaine consists of 3.5 hectares of vineyards, all of which are located within the boundaries of the town of Ampuis and are entitled to the Cote Rotie appellation. The vines are dispersed among six separate parcels:...
Wine Enthusiast 94 Points: This producer, with vineyards that are in the process of conversion to organic, has made a dense, richly structured wine. Generous black cherry fruits and ripe tannins promise plenty of aging. The property lies just up...
Wine Spectator: This is lively, with bright black cherry and blackberry coulis flavors racing along, lined with a fresh sanguine note and backed by a minerally edge on the finish. A flash of bay leaf in the background adds range. Drink now through 2030...
Importer's Notes:
A blend between a parcel from Beaumont-en-Véron with the alluvial soils of the left bank of the Vienne River, along with press wine from all the other cuvées of the domaine. Blend aims to highlight the harmony of...
Winery Notes: Our cuvée Sélection is the subtle marriage of several harvests of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grape varieties, from terroirs of Verzy and Sillery both classified Grand Cru. Fresh and balanced, this Champagne reveals...
Importer's Notes: Since the 2004 vintage, we have expanded our work with the Levet family to include a second bottling of Cote Rotie known as “Les Journaries”, a cuvée drawn from grapes harvested from old vines in the “La...
Robert Parker: The 2019 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Perrières is similarly promising, mingling aromas of wild berries and cassis with notions of licorice, dark chocolate and spices. Medium to full-bodied, bright and chalky, with a tightly...
Robert Parker: Bursting with aromas of rose petals, orange rind, sweet wild berries, spices and dark chocolate, the 2019 Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Chaignots is medium to full-bodied, lively and perfumed, with powdery tannins and a...
Importer's Notes: The Bellecroix vineyard grows down on the slope that ends at the town of Chagny. Chagny was besieged centuries ago by one of the many marauding bands of mercenaries that ran around Europe in the Middle Ages, and a battle took...
Importer's Notes: From various parcels in the northern part of the appellation known to produce more elegant wines and other parcels below Charmes Chambertin. 2/3 whole cluster, 14 months aging in barrique barrels (30% new), followed by 2...
Since the mid 1990s, the domaine has followed the principles of lutte raisonnée (reasoned fight) in its farming practices, plowing rather than spraying herbicides, forgoing the use of chemical fertilizers, and being conscientious in its...
Clos Saint Jacques’s 4.2 acres were planted in 1952 in a postage stamp of a vineyard that faces due east on a steep slope (this enclosed vineyard should not be confused with Rully’s larger Les Saint Jacques vineyard to the south). The wine is...