Natural Wines
Organic. Biodynamic. Sustainable. The term Natural Wine has become important over the last few years but is a term routed in history. Many fine wine producers farm using non-interventionist winemaking and farm the way our ancestors did. We want to showcase that Natural Wines can be the best fine wine in the world.
Mas de Gourgonnier 2009
Region: Provence, France
Organic. From France's great 2009 vintage, the new release of Mas de Gourgonnier is a Provenceal classic. Mostly a 50/50 blend of Carignan and Grenache, the wine always contains variable amounts of Cabernet Sauvigon and Syrah. A wonderfully complex nose of fresh plums, sandalwood, ginger, cinnamon, lavender, and a hint of game leads to a medium-bodied, finely tanninc wine. Flavors of red raspberry, juniper and cassis get complexity from notes of smoke and roasted meat. A fine complement to any meal, this will drink well now and for another 5+ years.
$1999
Domaine de la Pepiere Muscadet Sevre et Maine Clos des Briords Cuvee Vieilles Vignes 2010
Region: Loire Valley, France
Organic. Beautiful and intense. While not a heavy weight for Muscadet, it has percision, length, and intensity. Minerals, wet stones, fresh cut lemons, soft orchard fruits, seashell, and biscuts. Plenty of verve and tension.
$17.99
Chateau Guiraud Sauternes 2005
Region: Sauternes, France
Organic. "Delivers lots of botrytis spice, with lemon tart and cooked apple. Full-bodied, with loads of cream and vanilla and an intense tropical fruit and honey aftertaste. Long and viscous, with a layered and beautiful spicy finish. Hard not to drink it now. Best after 2014." 97 Points, JS, The Wine Spectator.
$3999
Domaine des Baumard Savennieres 2008
Region: Loire Valley, France
Sustainable. "Baumard's "regular" (a.k.a. Clos St.-Yves) 2008 Savennieres bursts from the glass in an exuberant bouquet of buddleia and apple blossom; quince and intimations of wet stone. This transcends the poise and clarity exhibited by several immediately preceding Clos du Papillon bottlings and suggests that - chronologically speaking - we have moved up into a new echelon of expressiveness. The bitter, piquant notes of toasted nut, quinine, white pepper, and fruit pit here are extremely subtle and integrated into a matrix of lusciously juicy pear, white peach, and quince. A salvia-inducing salinity and scallop-like sweetness ally themselves to the stony mineral elements in this wine's long finishing colloquy with flowers and fruits, and there is a levity and refreshment - a sheer drinkability - that I have not noticed in previous Baumard Savennieres - particularly pre-2007. Yet there is still ample sense of glycerin-richness and subtle oiliness. The combination of roughly a half percent less alcohol and more expressive acidity renders this drier-tasting than its 2006 and 2007 counterparts. Florent Baumard admits that a lesser percentage of his 2008s went through malo-lactic transformation than in most vintages, though I did not have chance to check precise analytical data on that. This sensational value is a delight to drink now. Whether it will "suffer" on that account a reduced "life span" must remain to be seen, although if anything my intuition is that this will be lovely for a decade, but that you would be foolish to deprive yourself of its short-term pleasure." 92 Points, David Schildknecht, The Wine Advocate
$2499
