It's Not The "No Sulfur" Movement

It's not the "no sulfur" movement--we first fell for low-to-no sulfur wines from the Kermit Lynch portfolio when we were drinking them in Berkeley: Jean Foillard, Marcel Lapierre, etc. There's an incredible purity in a wine made without added sulphur. But used in miniscule quantities at bottling, it does little to no damage to the flavor of the wine, and helps to protect it.

When Kermit Lynch first began importing wine, he noticed that some of the wines he was receiving didn't taste the same as they did when he drank them in Europe. The wines were being cooked during transit. His innovation was shipping the wine in temperature-controlled containers and storing them in temperature-controlled warehouses, which now all of the importers we work with do as well. And it's why we keep our store cool year-round.

Which brings us to the delicious un-sulfured wines of Domaine Buronfosse in the Cotes du Jura, next-door neighbors to Jean-Francois Ganevat, and less than half the price. We can't stop drinking their Chardonnays, their Poulsard (their Cremant too, which is now sold out!), as they have a freshness that's really different from the oxidative Juras that many like but few actually drink.

Peggy & Jean-Pascal Buronfosse moved to La Combe de Rotalier in 1999 because they wanted to escape city life. They wanted to live in a bucolic setting where they could grow their own vegetables, raise chickens, rabbits, pigs. At first their dream was to have a mixed farm but viticulture gradually drew them in and they soon realized what they really wanted was to grow, raise and make for themselves what they wanted to eat AND drink. They gradually acquired a number of small parcels of vineyards. They studied on their own and through trial and error, as well as some guidance from Monsieur Ganevat, they found their way.

Come taste the Buronfosse Cotes du Jura wines with us tonight at Thirst as our dear friend Kreso brings it from 6 to 8 pm. You might like them so much you'll have wished you reserved a case of each...

Buronfosse Chardonnay Marcus, $18
Buronfosse Chardonnay Ammonites, $22
Buronfosse Cremant de Jura - already sold out!
Buronfosse Poulsard, $24 - almost sold out!

Click here to order some.

 

stay true, 

the Thirst people 

Amiot & Fils BGO Chardonnay 07 has Arrived!

The wines from our January trip to France begin to trickle in.

One of our missions is to educate people about the beauty of Chardonnay, white Burgundy in particular. Early on at Thirst I conducted a tasting called "Why Chardonnay Doesn't Suck!" The wines from Guy Amiot & Fils we have in the store demonstrate how much finesse and structure Chardonnay can have. Yes, there's a lot of sucky over-oaked Chards out there, but don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

(Fabrice Amiot is pictured along with Claude-Geoffrey Thivin from Chateau Thivin at a Kermit Lynch Winemakers tasting at the store last October. )

I adore the supple richness of Amiot's old vines Chassagne-Montrachet, but the price tag isn't for everyone. When we tasted the latest vintage of Amiot's BGO Chardonnay at their property, we immediately became excited at the thought of selling (& drinking) it for a measly twenty bucks. It's delightful--un-oaked, crisp, with hints of limestone--a great Spring/Summer quaffer. It'll be regularly stocked in our personal refrigerator and I suspect, once you try it, you'll do the same.