2006 Plageoles Duras
France's Wild, Wild (South)West
Obscurity has its Privileges: VALUE!

"A mind-challenging exercise in aroma and flavor archaeology, rather than ... simple hedonistic appeal."
-Andrew Jefford, The New France

If we were to pick one French region that has yet to be really discovered in this age of wine geekery, blogs, and the near-immediate flow of information, it would be France's Southwest.

We're talking about the region just north of Spain and inland from the Atlantic coast; here resides a forgotten tapestry of vineyards, a wild west of indigenous grapes that are, for all intents and purposes, battling extinction. Gaillac is the western most region here and it represents the obscurest of the obscure, with grapes such as Duras, Prunelart, Mauzac, Ondenc and Len de l'El.

So I started out with every intention of writing the piece on Keller to end all pieces on Keller.

Truth be told, I had spent quite a few days writing. I’d even bothered Klaus-Peter Keller with a bunch of questions (and, of all the nerve, while he was harvesting his Pinot Noir). It was going ok I’d say – not A+ but solid B. Then Joe reminded me that John Gilman had written a piece on Weingut Keller last year in his newsletter View from the Cellar. I had totally forgotten.

I think I was on page five by the time I realized this was the piece on Keller to end all pieces on Keller and I was wasting my damn time.

2008 Keller Riesling Kirchspiel GG
This is a serious question: Is anyone making a better dry Riesling in Germany?

"If I had to choose one wine to show how great dry German Riesling can be I would choose a Keller Riesling. Those wines are the German Montrachets."
- Jancis Robinson, MW

Keller's "Grand Cru" Rieslings are larger-than-life wines of incredible density and power; they are thoroughbreds.

Yet what no one does better than Keller is to shape this considerable intensity into a form that is elegant, finessed - beautiful. Yes, a Keller GG is incredibly concentrated, lavish with detailed fruit, yet the minerality, the clarity, the form is what makes these wines unforgettable.

Trimbach's Clos St. Hune is the oft-used comparison, though I rather prefer to think of a comet, brazen, yet with that beautifully elegant lingering tail...

In July we offered Keller's quiet cult Riesling, the Von der Fels. Today we step up to the impossible-to-find "Grand Crus," with a focus on what we consider the greatest value in Keller's formidable arsenal of Grosses Gewächs vineyards: The Westhofener Kirchspiel at only $58.78.

Domaine Michel Lafarge
The Grace of Volnay
Clos des Chenes - Chateau des Ducs - Caillerets

"For an example of the finest red Burgundy that is fragrant and feminine, yet intense and long-lasting, you need look no further than the wines of Domaine Michel Lafarge."
- Clive Coates

Volnay is one of our favorite villages in Burgundy.

There is little pomp and circumstance in Volnay; it is a small, serious town and in nearly every house there seems to be a winemaker, and nearly every winemaker is in their vineyards, a lot.

The village can be overlooked because it is not huddled among the more celebrated haunts of the Côte de Nuits (Gevrey-Chambertin, Chambolle-Musigny, Vosne-Romanée), and is without its own Grand Cru site(s) with which to concoct a "Grander" village name (Volnay-Clos-des-Chênes-Caillerets anyone?). Yet for these very same reasons, Volnay is rife with great wines that are great values.

Today's offer is a labor of love, a small offering of one of Volnay's finest - Domaine Michel Lafarge - from top vintages, at incredibly sharp prices. See below for the full list with reviews.

A trip to Italy’s Valle d’Aosta region can be disorienting. You’re surrounded by snow capped mountains, conversation often begins in Italian and then, quickly moves to French. The tap water puts pricey bottled water to shame.

Magic Mountain: Wine on a Wire
Anselmet's Affordable Valle d'Aosta Masterpieces
2008 Petit Rouge - 2007 Torrette

Directions: Combine 1 part Cru Beaujolais with 1 part Pinot Noir. Add dash of Cornas (Cote-Rotie will also do) and pinch of minerals. Mix well and serve w/ a rush of brisk Alpine morning air.

Now you're getting a sense of these wines!

If flat fertile valleys produce the lauded and aggressive alpha male "big dogs" of the wine world, mountain wines have a unique character. Like the vertical, thin-air landscapes from which they come, mountain wines are more flower than fruit, more mineral than earth. Where the flatlanders have girth and size, mountain wines are nimble, tense. They are - god bless 'em - muscle, tendon, vital organs and little else.

For the curious, for the value seeker, for the palate in search of a wine with that rare combination of personality and deliciousness without the "big dog" tariff - mountain wines are very interesting indeed.

07 Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Kabinett #3
Scharzhofberger Super Saar Special @ $39.99

"This particular Kabinett had just been bottled prior to my visit, and it would not surprise me if I have slightly underrated it."
- John Gilman, View from the Cellar

Wouldn't surprise me either. Frankly, I'd say Gilman has most certainly underrated this wine, which is only natural.

Try looking at a tiny seed and judging the character of the oak tree that will emerge, 10, 20, 30+ years down the road. Not an easy science.

Evaluating an Egon Müller of any Prädikat in its youth is very difficult; assessing one that's just made the rude and brutal passage from barrel to bottle is damn close to impossible. Nearly always the journey will have put the wine in a cranky, awkward frame of being.

1er Cru Clos des Ducs - 1er Cru Champans

The 2006s are gaining in weight and presence without losing that ethereal, glorious purity. These are stunning wines AND stunning values.

Today, a quick follow-up *only* for those of you who supported Angerville in the past: Magnums of Angerville’s 2006 1er Cru Clos des Ducs and 1er Cru Champans.

Grand Cru DRY Riesling from Fritz Haag
2008 Fritz Haag Juffer-Sonnenuhr GG
The First Ever Haag Grosses Gewachs!

When an estate with the prestige of Fritz Haag puts their reputation on the line by crafting a "Grand Cru" dry Riesling from their greatest vineyard site, you pay close attention.

If the Fritz Haag estate is famous, worldwide, for their angelically sweet Kabinetts, Spätlesen and Auslesen, it's time to reconsider the possibilities at this estate.

Yes, Fritz Haag has a dry side.

And it's a very impressive (and important) side of the estate. While I had the wine twice in Germany this spring (and was very impressed), it is now, with 6+ months of bottle age, a wine of superb focus and balance. I took a bottle up to Vermont for this past Labor Day Weekend and to be perfectly blunt: It's a stunning dry Riesling, with incredibly vivid and present flavors matched to a flawless, delicate frame. Just awesome aromatics, acidity and minerality.

MADCrush
Special Encore Presentation
THURSDAY - SEPTEMBER 17TH
6:00 - 10:30 pm

@ the Museum of Arts and Design
Crush pairs wines to dishes from NYCs top chefs!

Next Thursday evening, we're excited to revive our MADCrush "pop-up" wine bar for a special encore presentation. The full details (along with some surprises) to come, but we have confirmed that Daniel Boulud's rising star chef, Damian Sansonetti, Executive Chef of Bar Boulud, will be in house!

Please join us as we continue to showcase our award-winning selections, as well as some of our favorite 'off the beaten path' favorites by the taste, glass, and bottle in recyclable govino glasses.

Our selections are chosen specifically to accompany menus of small plates from a roster of New York’s best chefs. Past chefs have included Mark Ladner of Del Posto, Scott Conant of Scarpetta, George Mendes of Aldea, and Cesare Casella of Salumeria Rossi.