Saturday, April 20, 2013

The Opposite of Insipid


One of the few things we have in common with Robert Parker is an appreciation for young wines (not usually the same ones). Whether it's the latest vintage of rosé, a brisk, fresh white wine, or a chilled red... the liveliness and fruitiness of a young wine made without chemical additives is captivating.

Which brings us to our take on Burgundy--the most legendary wine region in the world. Often we get more excited about drinking the bottles that don't need to be aged rather than the ones that should be aged for your children's children!

Follow our lead, throw off the caste system, and dive into Bourgogne a la Thirst. To illustrate, we're offering four different stylistic variants for under a hundred dollars altogether!

the Quasi-Structured:
Domaine Robert Chevillon's Nuits-Saint-Georges are justly famous for ageing well, so even their Passetoutgrains has a "structured" bent to its texture on the palate. If you let this Pinot Noir and Gamay blend breathe for half an hour, you'll find a wine that goes with food instead of showing off in front of it, with rhubarb and raspberry underlying the tannic structure that helps it marry so well with meats.



the Ethereal:
Fanny Sabre, acolyte of natural wine maven Philippe Pacalet, makes precise and brilliantly high-res wines in the Cote de Beaune. Her latest Bourgogne Rouge is perhaps the most soif-able (can we patent the term?) wine we've had yet. If you loved her Grand Ordinaire, you're going to become obsessed with the levity and synesthesia--a wine so vivid you can taste the aromas and smell the flavors directly.

the Nervy:

The kind of white Burgundy we look for is one that has tension without oaky interference. Domaine de la Cadette's Bourgogne Blanc is from vineyards just an hour south of Chablis. The higher latitude mixed with clay and limestone soil gives a wine that's got great Burgundian mouthfeel but with the energy of a more Northern wine.

the Classic:

Domaine Valette's natural Macon-Villages is a flashback to the kind of wine monks made centuries ago. The opposite of insipid, this brilliant, unfiltered white has beautiful minerality. Imagine if Marcel Lapierre (RIP) made a white Burgundy.

Chevillon Bourgogne Passetoutgrains 2010, $25
Fanny Sabre Bourgogne Rouge 2011, $23
Cadette Bourgogne Blanc 2011, $18
Valette Macon-Villages 2011, $24

Buy 6 and get 5% off, or mix up a case of 12 and save 10%!

Click here to order.

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