Welcome to the October 2019
Cellar Book
There are wineries which have been driven by craft, tradition, and just deliciousness for years, decades, and in some instances centuries. These wineries are the pinnacles of fine wine. This is our list of the producers we feel are worthy of collecting, worthy of drinking, and worthy of a bit more reading. Our cellar book is here for you to learn, drool, and of course shop. Cheers.
Table of Contents
Krug
Among sommeliers, no Grande Marque garners as much love and respect as Krug. The style at this relatively small house is broad and oftentimes fashionably oxidative, influenced by aging in oak barrels rather than steel tanks. Even though this often makes the wines more approachable and delicious in youth, even the house classic Grande Cuvée gains from a few years of cellaring, and oftentimes a decades-old bottle of Krug has been the “wine of the night” even among stellar companions.
Pierre Péters
One of the original grower champagne houses. Rodolphe, the current proprietor, continues the legacy of making some of the greatest blanc de blancs champagne created in the area. Central to the Domaine is the outstanding Chétillons vineyard in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. The Péters estate has become synonymous with this vineyard, or perhaps it’s the other way around. In youth, the wines here are piercing with finesse. After a few years of maturity, they blossom out, showing layers of minerality and subtle spice.
Domaine Dujac
It's easy to forget that Domaine Dujac was founded by the now-iconic Jacques Seysses in the late 1960s. It feels like a benchmark that has always been there. The number of winemakers in the region and around the world who model their philosophy on Dujac is impressive. The quality here speaks for itself. Dujac sits at the top of the hierarchy of producers in Burgundy. The Domaine is most commonly associated with the grand crus of Clos de la Roche and Clos Saint-Denis but their plethora of premiers cru and village wines are all worth collecting and drinking as often as humanly possible.
Comtes Lafon
Dominique Lafon took over this already storied family Domaine in 1985 and has realized the potential of an extraordinary portfolio of vineyards. The white wines here truly number among the greatest in Burgundy, while the reds are fantastic values, comparatively, and still somehow flying under the radar. The vineyards, centered around Meursault (Comtes Lafon is the only property to own vineyards in all premiers crus of the village) are cultivated along with biodynamic principles since 1989. The wines here have taken a turn for a leaner, more elegant style lately, and the results are magnificent.
Domaine Marquis d'Angerville
Volnay is an enigmatic place. It is nestled between villages that make mostly white wines — or robust, hefty reds. But here, perhaps the most elegant and subtle wines in all of Burgundy are made. That reputation owes a lot to the d’Angerville estate, a fixture of the highest quality Volnay for over two centuries. Guillaume d’Angerville, the current proprietor, took over the estate in 2003, after his father Jacques’ death. He continues the philosophy of low intervention, letting the vineyards express themselves without getting in the way. The result is an exceptional lineup that ranges from the delicious Bourgognes to the singular premiers crus, with Fremiets typically being polished and joyful... Champans, curvier and denser... Taillepieds, structured — and for the lover of a classic, nervous Burgundy. The top of the hierarchy is Clos des Ducs, a mythical vineyard and a wine that deserves a few years of cellaring to really blossom out. Few wines in Burgundy can match its beautiful perfume once matured. And forget what you know about Volnays being light, soft wines for easy drinking – almost none have a track record of being age-worthy like the Clos des Ducs.
Roumier
Founded in 1924 and independently bottling since 1945, Domaine Georges Roumier has steadily built an astonishing reputation and its wines are among the most sought after in Burgundy. There is a substantial, earthy and cerebral quality to the wines across the portfolio, expressed nowhere more profoundly than in the Bonnes Mares, top of its class by a mile. With age, an incredible underlying elegance and beauty emerge.
Comtes Lafon
Dominique Lafon took over this already storied family Domaine in 1985 and has realized the potential of an extraordinary portfolio of vineyards. The white wines here truly number among the greatest in Burgundy, while the reds are fantastic values, comparatively, and still somehow flying under the radar. The vineyards, centered around Meursault (Comtes Lafon is the only property to own vineyards in all premiers crus of the village) are cultivated along with biodynamic principles since 1989. The wines here have taken a turn for a leaner, more elegant style lately, and the results are magnificent.
Auguste Clape
J.L. Chave
The Chave family is nothing short of royalty in the world of wine. The current Jean-Louis is the 16th generation in father-son succession who have tended vines in St. Joseph and the fabled hill of Hermitage, possibly the birthplace and arguably the pinnacle of the Syrah grape. While several producers now separate out their various plots in Hermitage (perhaps a nod to the more marketing-savvy neighbors in Côte-Rôtie), Chave is all about the art of blending together these components into a whole that is greater than the sum of the parts. The results is a wine that captures the soul of the Hermitage, structured and full, with hauntingly wild and floral aromas. In a handful of vintages, there is another label, Cuvée Cathelin. It’s not intended to be a prestige-cuvée, but rather a way for Jean-Louis to express a specific nature of a vintage that may not work in the Hermitage. Worthy of special mention is the wines from St. Joseph, not to be looked down upon as secondary. Remember that this is the ancestral home of the family, and Jean-Louis has been dedicating all his resources to re-establishing the terraced vineyards here. We will wish we had held on to more of these wines soon.
T. Allemand
One could argue that the Thiérry Allemand turned the tide for Cornas. His tireless, and many years of thankless work to resuscitate vineyards that were abandoned or deemed too hard to work for the money the négociants were willing to pay for the grapes did not go unnoticed for long, and slowly a cult-like following was built. Cornas’ start grew alongside Thiérry’s. There are two wines, Chaillot and Reynard (sold to him by mentor Noël Verset), although the distinction isn’t necessarily always along the lines of terroir. The vines for Reynard are older, and the wine tends to have a brighter, more floral streak alongside the classic black olive, brambly fruit and smoke notes. In a handful of vintages there is also a tiny quantity of Sans Soufre wine, just labeled Cornas, a wine of mythical status.
Domaine Tempier
Tempier is about old wine. BIG bottles of old wine. Domaine Tempier lies in the small region of Provence in the south of France, right on the Mediterranean –– known for their Bandol Rouge, made with mostly Mourvèdre... these are intense, age-worthy wines.
Valentini
Valentini is one of the most singular wines in the world, not only for how it tastes but in what it represents. It is one of the pinnacles of Italian wine, despite being from a region whose reputation for creating great wines is as good as Guy Fieri's reputation for opening outstanding restaurants. The wine is weird, impossible to find and proving to be timeless. For years, Valentini had produced wine in a mythic way, never speaking about their winemaking in detail. For this reason, no other producer has been able to emulate their style. Their lineup includes: Trebbiano, Cerasuolo, and Montepulciano.
Cerbaiona
Cerbaiona, one of the greatest estates in Tuscany, is tiny but mighty: The wines are a top-tier example of traditional Brunello and very small production makes them highly sought after. Diego Molinari, a retired pilot, purchased the estate in the late ‘70s to pursue his dream of winemaking and it’s easy to see why he was attracted to the region — the fruit strikes a perfect balance between the warm ripeness common in the south AND the structure associated with the north. The straightforward process at Cerbaiona uses the traditional techniques of the region. Nothing is taken away and nothing is added. Wine critic Antonio Galloni once said, “If forced to drink only one wine from Montalcino, I might very well choose Diego Molinari’s sumptuous Brunello.”
Montevertine
“Le Pergole Torte” the top wine from Montevertine is both cellar worthy if you’re into that but also one of the easier drinking Tuscan reds. In contrast to the perception of Tuscan wines being big and boozy, this wine is elegant and refreshing. Their focus is on Sangiovese, the grape of Chianti and Brunello. Based in the town of Radda, they have become the benchmark for a style of Chianti which is tart, savory, and essential with a big bowl of pasta.
Soldera
Soldera was a confident, respected, and very talented winemaker. His style of Brunello endured the hype of an era in Montalcino which was chasing the flavors of California. Today, Brunello is returning back to being identified as elegant, long-lived, and wine of quality rather than brand. Soldera always stood for that. He made wines that are ready to drink young as juicy, tart and with some pasta. They have also proven to age as well as any other iconic region too. The older wines become very elegant, light, and earthy.
G.B. Burlotto
Cappellano
Teobaldo Cappellano is one of the most influential figures in the history of Italian wine. Although by no means outside of Barolo is his name a household one, he carved the path for what’s today’s traditional and also natural wine movement in Italy. In the 1980s and 90s as Barolo was gaining international success, many producers began to change their style in an effort to receive high scores and high prices. Reluctant to bend to fads, Cappellano championed traditional winemaking, was an early adopter of organic farming, only used native yeasts, and made decisions based on curiosity and craft rather than economics. Today, under the leadership of Augusto Cappellano, the winery makes two Barolos. “Rupestris” which is from the historic vineyards and the ultra-rare “Piè Franco” which is from vines planted on original rootstock. Both are long-lived, funky, and prove that Teobaldo was ahead of his time.
Rioja
Producers like C.V.N.E (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España), López de Heredia and La Rioja Alta are some of the most traditional + age-worthy wines in the world. All based in Rioja, Spains most deserving fine wine region, these are earthy, fresh, and distinctive. Although we’re psyched about some of the new wines coming out of Spain today, these old school producers can’t be overlooked.
Keller
It’s far to say that German wine is paradoxical. Most of its production is at worst, loathed, at best, ignored. At the same time there is no doubt among wine lovers that the best wines, usually Riesling-based whites, are truly world class, and perhaps even the best and most ageworthy white wines in the world - certainly when factoring value-for-money and consistency into the evaluation. But the top-lists have been pretty static and highly focused on producers of classic off-dry and sweet wines, primarily in the Mosel valley. Enter Klaus-Peter and Julia Keller, who have single handedly done more to change that perception in the global wine market in the recent years and paved the way for leagues of ambitious young german wine producers. While Keller does make sweet wine, and do grow other things than Riesling (all worth room in your drinking habits), the dry single vineyard Rieslings are where all the hype is. These reach these shores in minute quantities, and no-one gets full cases of any single wine. These are beautiful and intense wines, sculptured around piercing acidity with layers of hauntingly complex aromatics wreathed around it. We joke that people still need converting to drink Riesling (it’s not a joke at all in fact), and if there is any producer to bring the skeptics around, Keller is it.