news: may 2013

recent arrivals: from the Rhône valley
— more super vintages: 2009, 2010, & 2011

Domaine Bressy-Masson:

Côtes du Rhône (from Rasteau) 2011 -- lovely big and juicy fruit throughout, with no cloying sweetness; very good concentration and drinking very well already -- delightful!

Rasteau: Cuvée La Souco d'Or 2010 -- another excellent vintage (low yields however) with very fine flowers & fruit on the nose that follow seamlessly onto the palate

Rasteau: Cuvée Paul Emile 2010 -- with a higher component of Syrah, this cuvée is always profound and satisfying – vrai Rasteau!

Domaine du Terme:

Côtes du Rhône (from Sablet/Gigondas) 2011 -- Just Released!!

Gigondas 2009 -- "Vivid ruby. Spicy, floral-accented aromas of raspberry, sassafras, lavender and allspice are enhanced by a subtle mineral overtone. Lively and precise, offering sweet red berry flavors and a nervy mineral spine. Shows noteworthy energy on the finish, leaving tangy red fruit and spice notes behind. 90-92 points" (Josh Reynolds -- Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar).  Just Released!!

More recent arrivals: from burgundy
— excellent 2011 pinot noir…

The truly excellent 2011 Pinot Noir 'Chanceroy' Vieilles Vignes
from Maison Mallard Gaulin -- tasting notes here...

yet More recent arrivals:
from muscadet — excellent 2010s

 2010 Chateau du Coing and Coing du Sevre Muscadets S&M sur lie
are both very fine exampes of Veronique's exceptional Muscadet.

If you think that these wines don't have intrinsic  interest -- read the note below from Irish food and drink writer John McKenna:

"You know, the great thing about food and wine is having your prejudices revealed as falsehoods. You get your mind changed about foods and wines because something arrives that is unmistakably good, that is unimpeachably fine.
So, Muscadet. It's a joke, right? Like Soave, and Lambrusco, and Blackberry 'phones, and Nokia's share price, and the Microsoft Surface. Mighty war horses that are now cart horses. Not worth opening unless someone has sent you a dozen oysters. There is much better stuff in the Loire valley, so don't waste time on these acidic fiascos.
And then, you actually open and taste some Chateau du Coing de St. Fiacre, and what you discover is a Muscadet that should carry the Pick Me! label. It's a pure revelation. It's fresh and full, like a good Muscadet sur lie should be, but there is much more to this wine that just fullness and freshness. It has a livid minerality that shows careful vineyard work and well as considerable vinification skills. Véronique Gunther-Chereau, the owner, is actually a pharmacist by training, but since 1990 she has run the estate and her wines have won deserved acclaim. Like the best Loire wines, you could actually tuck these away for several years and wait to see what delights a little maturity would bring to them, for they have the structure to age, despite the fact that everyone tells you that Muscadets should be drunk young. Certainly, the 2010 we have been enjoying is a coltish thing. But there is absolutely no chance we are going to put the 2010 Chateau du Coing away: too much pleasure in the bottle right now to do that."
15/03/2013

also in consignment:



Our first consignment order from Anne Gros and Jean-Paul Tollot:
2008 Les Fontanilles Minervois (RP: 92). Our tasters were wowed by the complexity and finess of this wine --  more here...