Charly-sur-Marne is closer to Paris than Reims, over the line in the Aisne, where Meunier is king. Baron-Fuente stacks its Quinconce en quinconce for seven years before disgorgement, and the Grande Reserve is 60% Meunier at a price that reads like a mistake.
Read MoreNo grape suits a holiday table like Pinot Meunier, and Jean-Baptiste Gilbert-Jacquesson has built four cuvees around it in the Marne. The 100% Meunier Tradition starts at $29.99; the Prestige draws on a solera running back to the 2000s.
Read MoreThe Hugot family planted vines in Champagne in 1660 and waited 261 years to put their name on a bottle. Damien is the 25th generation, farming 20 acres of Grand Cru Chardonnay in Chouilly and Cramant, with a 2016 mono cru to finish.
Read MoreTwo vintages into a Direct Import relationship with one of the great singular producers of Crozes-Hermitage, organic since 2007. Keith Mabry on five wines: the estate Crozes, the 60-year-old vines behind Le Rouvre, a new Blanc, the first St-Joseph Yann Chave has ever made, and the Hermitage.
Read MoreLéon de Pins grew up at Château de Montfaucon. Roc des Pins is his own project, and the first two wines are deliberately contrarian: a Tavel dark enough to pass for a light red, and a Cinsault bottled on its own rather than hidden in a blend.
Read MoreKeith Mabry has been buying Château de Montfaucon for more than two decades. The estate is now fully organic, the range runs from the returning $15.99 La Côte to the late-released 2020 Baron Louis, and Léon de Pins has a project of his own.
Read MoreNew Zealand Riesling, Australian Chardonnay, and Chilean Sauvignon Blanc from the region's most marginal vineyards, where cooler growing conditions trade power for freshness and precision. Rachael Ryan shares nine selections from Marlborough, Central Otago, Gippsland, Tasmania, the Yarra Valley, and Chile's Maule Valley.
Read MoreRachael Ryan on what ties New Zealand Pinot Noir together—a crystalline purity, cool-climate acidity, and a restraint that recalls Burgundy—across 12 wines from Ata Rangi in Martinborough, Fromm in Marlborough, and Valli's three Central Otago sub-regions.
Read MoreWith warm weather still ahead, nothing refreshes like Champagne. Our shelves run the range — from the casual Maison 76 Côte des Blancs Grand Cru to the mineral-driven 2017 Launois "Helia" Grand Cru Brut to the brioche richness of 2014 Taittinger "Comtes de Champagne" — plus the sub-$30 Baron-Fuenté "Grande Réserve" Brut, real Champagne at generic-sparkling-wine pricing. For special occasions or your cellar, we've got Krug and Cristal too. Late-summer meals are made for Champagne — the right bottle turns dinner into an occasion. A toast to you!
Read MoreFrom a $19.99 Mâcon-Fuissé to Le Montrachet itself: K&L Burgundy buyer Alex Pross presents six white Burgundy producers to buy right now — Decanter's Best in Show value from Château Vitallis, 2024 Billaud Chablis, and fiercely allocated Morey, Colin, Lamy, and Sauzet.
Read MoreUnder the direction of Sabine Mollard, Domaine Marc Morey has quietly become one of Chassagne-Montrachet's finest producers. K&L Burgundy buyer Alex Pross on fresh allocations of the 2022 and 2023 vintages — understated, classic white Burgundy from $59.99 to Grand Cru Bâtard-Montrachet.
Read MoreDecanter awarded the 2024 Château Vitallis Pouilly-Fuissé 1er Cru "Pouilly" 97 points and Best in Show — and it costs $39.99. K&L Burgundy buyer Alex Pross on the best set of wines this direct-import Mâconnais estate has ever produced, priced $19.99–$39.99.
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