2022 French Wine

Natural From organically farmed vines growing in a forest clearing on the lower slopes of Mount Ventoux, this serves up easygoing flavors of cherry and raspberry with a dash of spice and savory underbrush and garrigue notes. It’s... Read More

It's said that 150 years before Dom Perignon started to try to get rid of accidental fizz in Champagne, the monks of Limoux outside of Carcassone were making bubble on purpose. Their successors certainly keep the party going... Read More

Lower ABV A tremendous Bourgogne Pinot Noir here with the richness of volume you’d expect in 2022 plus true elegance, finesse and structure to pair with food and reward time in cellar. No surprise to us that Burghound named... Read More

Organic/Bio Lower ABV Mersault’s Vincent Boyer and Languedoc’s Emmanuel Lucas de Bar created this project to make wine together in both regions. The fruit here is from just outside of Meursault near Volnay, is fully... Read More

Organic/Bio Vincent Boyer has moved his old family estate to organic farming and now gives his wines two years elevage – one in 5-8 year-old barrel and a second in concrete egg. This wine, from sites in lower Meursault,... Read More

A delightfully plump and easy Grenache/Syrah blend from this value-oriented Chateauneuf du Pape estate. Done all in tank, the fruit comes first here with enough earthy complexity to hold your interest. As Wine Spectator said of... Read More

I believe the technical tasting note for this wine, as approved by all the most serious wine writers, is: Hubba Hubba. There’s this thing white Burgundy winemakers do where they let the wine sit in the barrel on what’s... Read More

Organic/Bio Lower ABV They are one of the leading producers in all of Entre Deux Mers currently, and for good reason. With the idea of sustainability at the forefront, they have cultivated their grapes using conscientious farming... Read More

Topline: This is crazy delicious Pinot Noir and very fine red Burgundy that's seriously under-priced. Grab it before the market catches on. Caroline Fyot and Alexia Russo created this small estate in Mercurey in 2018 and make... Read More

When you hear Chateauneuf is 100% Grenache from 100+ year-old vines in a warm vintage, you can be pretty sure the wine is “big.” But here it’s also a “chiseled, intensely perfumed Châteauneuf-du-Pape... Read More

White Lirac must be, by law, a blend so the label says there’s 1% Grenache Blanc. But it’s really 100% Clairette from vines that survived the phylloxera epidemic of the 1860s and ‘70s here in the southern Rhone... Read More

Until 1920, the wines here were labeled “près Saint Emilion” reflecting the way the soils of its next-door neighbor continue into Castillon. And this blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc aged in old oak... Read More

One of the finest values in the shop, this is “the black wine” of Cahors at its most friendly and fun-loving. Around 85% Malbec and 15% Merlot given 18 months in concrete, it’s loaded with juicy black cherry,... Read More

An excellent take on old-fashioned Bordeaux, clean and fresh like a modern wine but also stylishly austere and restrained. The 30-50 year old Merlot (80%) and Cabernet Franc (20%) vines are mainly on clay/limestone soils but with... Read More

A classic “burger Bordeaux” built to make everyday sipping just a touch more special. It’s around 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet and delivers classic Bordeaux aromas and flavors of black and redcurrant fruit with... Read More

Ignore the label - this is actually Ch Canon Chaigneau Cuvee 8A packaged with a different label because the importer didn't like the real bottle shape! While this is 96% Merlot plus Cab Franc, there's nothing plummy going... Read More

Two great Burgundy winemakers partner down in Minervois to create fascinating wines with the gutsy intensity of the south and just a touch of Burgundian elegance and flair. This is their 100% Syrah cuvee from vines they planted... Read More

Organic/Bio This is sunshine in a bottle and for winemakers in Burgundy, 2022 came as “a year of relief,” or at least according to the Berthelemot family. There is a freshness about this wine that just makes you get... Read More

Organic Julien Bertrand farms vines in 6 of the 12 Beaujolais Crus, and here he captures the essence of the most famous of those: Moulin-a-Vent. Dark, gripping, not at all plush, this is traditional Beaujolais with whole clusters... Read More

Organic/Bio Charbonniere always does a great job of balancing southern Rhone richness with drinkability. This blends 70% Grenache, 15% Syrah, and 15% Mourvèdre done in large cask, steel and barrique and pumps out plenty... Read More

Chateauneuf du Pape, the greatest red of France’s Southern Rhone Valley, can be a bit TOO “great” – too rich, too alcoholic and too expensive. Not here, where a gutsy 50/50 blend of Grenache and Syrah delivers... Read More

From a tiny, half-acre, plot of Chardonnay in the Beaune 1er Reversees 1er Cru just up the hill to the west of Beaune, this is the only white wine bottled from this mainly red wine vineyard. Farming here is certified organic and... Read More

Organic/Bio Gigondas is always based on Grenache – here around 70% - with that grape’s big fruit and fleshy texture given structure and savory shadings by additions of Syrah (here 20%), Cinsault (here 10%) and other... Read More

Hard to believe Cru Beaujolais can be less expensive than most Village wines, but here we are. From the pink granite soils of Regnie in the far west of Beaujolais, this is supposed to be a light, easy, wine. But from 50 year-old... Read More

Lower ABV It’s always tempting to refer to Sauvignon Blanc from the eastern Loire Valley as coming from “near Sancerre” to take advantage of that brand. And Menetou-Salon really is not far from Sancerre, just... Read More