2023 Domaine Jean Foillard - Beaujolais Villages (750ml)
750ml | SKU 102258 |
29 Available
Every so often, I take a sip of a “humble” regional wine that makes me question everything. With a glass of this in hand, I think to myself, who cares about grand cru Burgundy? Or, why would I ever drink anything else? Or, surely this is the bottle I’d choose to fill my cooler with if I were stranded on a desert island.
When I’m able to think rationally again, of course I’d pounce on a bottle of Taupenot-Merme’s grand cru Corton Rognet or the Perret family’s majestic Condrieu I write about in this month’s newsletter. And variety is everything, so I wouldn’t fill my island cooler with just Jean Foillard’s Beaujolais-Villages. But this kind of red makes you suspend reason for a moment and devote yourself to it, at least while the wine’s still in your glass.
After all, Beaujolais-Villages has no business being this good, but Jean Foillard is an extraordinary vigneron. A decade or so ago, Jean made Beaujolais Nouveau that he would expedite to us each November to meet the deadline of the worldwide Nouveau celebration. That Nouveau was outstanding and he didn’t need to change anything, but he had an epiphany that only the most ambitious sort of grower has: the grapes he was using were of high enough quality to make a cuvée with more depth and complexity, so he proposed taking his time to produce a Beaujolais-Villages instead of a hurried Nouveau.
Blending grapes from high-elevation, granite-heavy terroirs barely outside the region’s crus, and with a patient élevage that’s very close to that of his world-class Morgons, this wine is silky and seductive, with notes of rose petals, red fruit, pomegranate, and stones. With just the right amount of tannin and acidity, and lots of class, it is perfect for all occasions.
—Tom Wolf (Kermit Lynch)
$31.99
2025 Domaine Manoir du Carra - Beaujolais Nouveau (750ml)
750ml | SKU 102675 |
1 Available
Average age of the vines: 30 years old (between 20 and 60 years old). Skin contact maceration: between 2 and 5 days depending on the parcels.
Beaujolais-Nouveau has been very popular with almost every Thanksgiving dish - from turkey to ham, green beans to mashed potatoes, and gravy to cranberry sauce.
The Beaujolais Villages Nouveau is deeper red, with flavors reminiscent of strawberries and roses, plus a mineral component. Fragrant and medium bodied; refreshing with a tart finish. Beaujolais Villages Nouveau is meant to be consumed young, within 5-7 months.
Beaujolais Nouveau originated about a century ago as a 'vin de l'année' - a cheap and cheerful drink produced by locals to celebrate the end of the harvest season. The Beaujolais AOC was established in 1937, and after WWII, the wine was sold outside of the area. By the 1970's, Beaujolais Nouveau day was a national event.
he region of Beaujolais is 34 miles long from north to south, and 7 to 9 miles wide. There are nearly 4,000 grape growers who make their living in this picturesque region just north of France's third largest city, Lyon.
The Gamay grapes that go into Beaujolais Nouveau are handpicked, as are all the grapes in the Beaujolais. Beaujolais & Champagne are the only vineyards where hand harvesting is mandatory. Gamay (Gamay noir Jus Blanc) is the only grape permitted for Beaujolais.
Beaujolais Nouveau cannot be made from grapes grown in the 10 crus (great growths) of Beaujolais; only from grapes coming from the appellations of Beaujolais and Beaujolais-Villages. Approximately 1/3 of the entire crop of the Beaujolais region is sold as Beaujolais Nouveau.
Nouveau is made with carbonic maceration, or whole-berry fermentation. This technique preserves the fresh, fruity quality of the grapes without extracting bitter tannins from the grape skins.
-Importer notes (Kysela)
$15.99
2022 Domaine Tempier - Mourvedre Blend Bandol Rouge Lulu et Lucien (750ml)
750ml | SKU 100433 |
28 Available
$59.99
2023 Domino de Pingus - PSI Ribera del Duero (750ml)
750ml | SKU 102994 |
12 Available
93-94
VM
Tasted just before bottling, so a sample of the final blend, the 2023 PSI is juicy, ripe and approachable. It is a little showier and headier, despite having similar alcohol to the bottled 2022 (perhaps a tad higher, but not quite reaching 14%), and it fe...
$44.99
2019 Donnafugata - Terre Siciliane Rosso IGT Tancredi
750ml | SKU 97364 |
6 Available
92
JS
Black berries and dark leather with some crushed slate and blue fruits on the nose. Some dark mushrooms. It’s full-bodied and chewy with lots of toasted oak. Rich and flavorful but remains linear and fresh. Drink after 2025.
$42.99
2021 Douloufakis - Liatiko Crete Dafnios (750ml)
750ml | SKU 101099 |
20 Available
16.5
JR
12 months in big old barrels. Bricky mid red. Senescent fruit and sweet chestnuts. Really sweet tertiary aroma of umami-laced, spicy red fruit. Firmly but smoothly textured. Complex, layered and leathery. Chewy, honest, so full of flavour.
$16.99
2018 Dow's - LBV Port (750ml)
750ml | SKU 100074 |
7 Available
93
WS
2024 Wine Spectator Top 100 wine #26
$27.99
2020 Duca di Salaparuta - Sicilia IGT Duca Enrico 200th Anniversary (750ml)
750ml | SKU 101378 |
6 Available
$77.99
2024 Dupeuble - Beaujolais (750ml)
750ml | SKU 102832 |
22 Available
Avec toutes mes amitiés Beaujolaises, “with all my Beaujolais friendship,” is how Ghislaine Dupeuble signs her emails. That detail succinctly summarizes her warmth and the essence of her family’s wines, which exude just what her signature suggests. Domaine Dupeuble is our most southern Beaujolais producer, situated in the hamlet of Le Breuil, just northwest of the food capital of Lyon. This part of the region boasts such dramatic landscapes and striking terroir that just a few years ago UNESCO declared the area a Geopark—worthy of protection for its spectacular geology. Here, Gamay grows on granite, schist, and pierres dorées, golden limestone that offers a privileged terrain for grapevines to dig deep in a way that’s wildly different from plantings in the sandier soil surrounding Villié-Morgon.
Dupeuble’s rouge is thirst-quenching and tangy with loads of violet and réglisse, aromas you might expect from fruit that grows so close to the Rhône. Enjoy it with anything from grilled sausages to homemade pizzas, herby rice and beans, or late-summer tomato salads. One glass of this simply made and easy-drinking Beaujolais will provide centuries’ worth of tradition, generosity, paysan culture, and friendship.
—Jane Augustine (Kermit Lynch)
$19.99
2022 Einaudi - Dolcetto di Dogliani (750ml)
750ml | SKU 102266 |
12 Available
92
JS
Attractive aromas of violets, raspberries and strawberries. It’s bright and fruity, with a medium body, powdery tannins and lively acidity. Deliciously pure and transparent dolcetto. Drink now.
$18.99
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