2023 French Wine

France Côtes Catalanes in Rousillon has a lot in common with Spain. Including the grape the Spanish call Cariñena and the French Carignan. This is full of rich, dark, blueberry/blackberry cobbler fruit with a nice... Read More

Smells great, tastes even better, crazy good price for high quality white Burgundy. That’s really what you need to know here, but we’ll try to give you a little more. It’s from vineyards on the Puligny border... Read More

From the finest slice of Puligny's large Folatieres 1er Cru, on the steepest sloped section of the vineyard where the soils are stony and pour and the exposure almost due south. You'll taste the sunshine here in richly... Read More

I certainly didn’t expect to write this, but Sylvain Bzikot’s 2023 village Puligny Montrachet is even better than his outstanding 2022 edition. It’s from several plots of vines above the village of Puligny including... Read More

As always, extremely limited. As Vinous says in the 94 point review, it's soft, seamless and exceptionally beautiful. White flowers, mint, chalk, lemon oil and marzipan are all finely sculpted. This is an especially taut,... Read More

From the south of France, this is easy-drinking Pinot Noir that will satisfy at table as well as just sipping with a crowd. Dark black and Bing cherry fruit show on the nose and palate with a fine juiciness that lifts the flavor... Read More

Lower ABV Ch Marie du Fou wines showcase the traditions of the Mourat family and the tiny region of Fiefs Vendeens at the end of the Loire River as it flows into the Atlantic Ocean. A blend of Pinot Noir, Cabernets Franc and Sauvignon... Read More

Organic/Bio Lower ABV The 3HA plot of 50 year-old vines across from Mont de Milieu was meant to be a test for the winery’s conversion to organic farming. But the wine was so good that today it’s bottled on its own.... Read More

Lower ABV I certainly wouldn’t try to tell the 2023 Chauveau Pouilly Fume La Charmette apart from a $40+ Sancerre when tasting blind. Not surprising: its from the same Sauvignon Blanc grapes, Kimmeridgian marl and limestone... Read More

Organic/Bio Only 1er Cru for white since 2001, Sous Fretille is on the limestone rich and south-facing lower slopes of a hill next to Corton. Made all in barrel (25% new), it’s a lovely, almost delicate, expression of white... Read More

Lower ABV Francis Boudin captures the essence of the sunny Fourchaume vineyard here in a rich and nicely fresh, no-oak, Chablis. The wine smells and feels nicely concentrated and deep with green orchard fruit, fresh citrus and... Read More

Organic/Bio Lower ABV Jeremie Huchet is making some of the most exciting wines in the western Loire region of Muscadet, including this generous example from vineyards on a hill overlooking the Maine River. It’s from organically... Read More

Lower ABV Melon de Bourgogne grown on schist soils gives more cut, energy and freshness than pure limestone, and schist around 15 inches under the top-soil is the secret to this delicious seafood and sipping white. Green apple,... Read More

Organic/Bio The kind of wine we often call “cheerful.” There’s plenty of substance to the ripe red cherry and redcurrant fruit and a whiff of the wild herb and black olive notes the French call “garigue.”... Read More

Lower ABV Think of Coteaux du Giennois as the front door to Sancerre (technically the “back door” since it’s down river, but that doesn’t sound nearly as good!). The limestone soils here were given over... Read More

A stylish and focused Sancerre from vines growing in the limestone/gravel soils known as caillottes. After fermentation in tank, the wine ages in large acacia-wood barrels, gaining a bit of richness without wood notes. This feels... Read More

In the deep south of Languedoc, growers discovered that flooding their vineyards for 40 days in spring could kill the phylloxera louse, and that's how Ferrandiere still farms it's own-rooted vines just 12 miles from Carcassonne.... Read More

Lower ABV There's a lot going on here if you want to geek out and try to describe it, but the top -line is that it's really good Chenin with a touch of barrel that goes down almost too easily. The flavors of quince, apple,... Read More

From vines north of Sancerre, this is mostly Pinot Noir with a splash of Gamay and while calling it a charming Bistro Pinot is accurate, it undersells the quality here by a fair bit. The cherry and mulberry fruit flavors are dark... Read More

Frank Faugier is a little charismatic, definitely funny, and not terribly serious about anything other than making truly terrific Syrah in Crozes-Hermitage. He worked for Mars in Lyon for a while before coming back to his family's... Read More

Organic/Bio The vineyard’s very steep slope and poor soils want to give highly mineral and structured Chablis, while the root virus that impacts all plantings here naturally suppresses yields and gives deep concentration.... Read More

Organic/Bio The clonally diverse very old vines here are the pride of the estate and are providing cuttings for replanting other vineyards over the next decade or so. You can pretty much smell the vine age here in a nose that’s... Read More

Organic/Bio Lower ABV From the steep slopes of the wandering valley known as Vau de Vey. A wine of fine richness and volume with plenty of stony Chablis minerality and precision. It's delicious right now (although give it... Read More

Organic/Bio Lower ABV Not much to add to JancisRobinson.com's glowing 17.5/20 point rave: Certified organic. Fermented in barrel using their proprietary yeast made from their own vineyard. Full natural malo. The wine spends... Read More

Organic/Bio Lower ABV Malandes has two small plots of vines here, one facing south and planted in 1967 and the other more north and planted in 1987. The oak program at Malandes has been evolving looking to maximize the positive... Read More