Bordeaux 2019 is a campaign for the history books, with en primeur happening mid-quarantine in the comfort of everyone’s own home instead of in Bordeaux. Luckily, the wines are very good and the prices are even better. The only downside, according to Clyde, is that we don’t have enough of it!
Read MoreNothing has quite the charm or depth of a Pinot Meunier-based Champagne done right. This past week Gary Westby drank and excellent bottle of the Mousse L'Or d'Eugene Perpetuelle Blanc de Noirs with pork rillettes as a little starter, and it certainly is one of the Meuniers that is done right.
Read MoreWe are in the middle of summer, the mercury is rising, and you want to grab that perfect bottle of rosé, but which one? Our Rhône and French Regional liaison at the Redwood City, Lauren Seward, is here to offer five glorious suggestions that should fit the bill perfectly.
Read MoreThe brilliance that is Laurent-Perrier's Rosé Champagne is well known to critics and collectors alike, but what is that makes this bottling so special? Gary Westby answers this very important question, while enjoying a perfect pairing of dim sum.
Read MoreOur Champagne Buyer, Gary Westy, is at it again, finding the perfect pairing for an extra special bottle of Champagne. The 2012 Jean-Jacques Lamoureux "Alexandrine" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne is sourced the same Kimmeridgian clay soils that are found in Chablis, and the similarities don’t stop there. If you love clean, expressive Champagnes with the perfect touch of minerality, then you’ll certainly want to read on.
Read MoreSometimes the parts are better than the sum… 2002 is not a favorite vintage for Clyde, with little faith in the Cabernet that came from the cooler/uneven temperatures that year. But in the 2002 Coufran, a Merlot-dominant blend, he’s found a diamond in the rough.
Read MoreWe are excited to now have the inaugural release of reds from Domaine des Carlines, a Direct Import Jura producer whose whites we’ve loved since their first vintage in 2015. They’re a young domaine but the two at the helm, Patrick and Sophie, have been in the wine business their whole lives. The wines are very special, and we’re going to drink them all summer long.
Read MoreOur Champagne Buyer, Gary Westby, had the good fortune to taste the 2010 vintage of Dom Pérignon Brut. “How was it,” you ask? In a word, amazing. Simply put, this is Champagne at its very best. Read on for Gary’s first impressions on this singular bottle of Champagne.
Read MoreIn our next Club Francais, we’ll be featuring the 2000 de Viaud from Lalande de Pomerol, so Clyde took the occasion to revisit a bottle of the 2003 from the estate. This was a controversial vintage in Bordeaux—a warm year with some hits and some misses—so I was curious how the wine would taste 17 years down the line. But Clyde lives by the credo of finding the best wines in under-rated vintages for the best values, and he’s king at picking out the good ones.
Read MoreAll the chips were stacked against Bordeaux being able to pull off an En Primeur campaign. If prices were less than astounding,there would have been no chance to even get off the starting block. Then Pontet-Canet got a potential 100-point review from Wine Advocate, dropped their price by 30%…
Read MoreJust in time for the 4th: our Domestic Newsletter! Domestic Buyers Ryan Woodhouse and Kaj Stromer talk old vines, new wines, and the bounty of good juice that lies in between.
Read MoreThe 2019 vintage from one of our favorite Minervois producers has just hit the shelves. If you’re looking from sunshine from the South of France, look no further than the Chapelle en Rosé and the Petite Saint Jacques. Owner Graham Nutter took some time to show us the historic chapel on his property and his organic vineyards.
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