2022 Domaine des Closiers Les CoudraiesAhh do you remember the glory, the beauty, the deliciousness of Clos Rougeard? Probably not. And here is why: Clos Rougeard is and was a property in Samur Champigny, France making Cabernet Franc. When I first started selling their wines, they were between $19 and $29 dollars a bottle. When I stopped selling it (only because I couldnt get it), their Cabernet Francs were around $300 a bottle. Case in point I had some on the shelf at the Brady Street

is exactly what happened to my first bottle

with complicating notes of honey

toasted bread

Mateus Nicolau de Almeida and Eduardo Lopes began a garage winery in the tiny village of Muxagata

oily texture

The vineyard was planted in 1910 and has never been replanted

A gently unruly Marche white that leans into texture and refreshment rather than polish

This blend of 50% Sauvignon Blanc and 50% Semillon aged in one-year-old Sauternes barrels (the estate also makes a fantastic Sauternes—see below)

they’re so good that they just might send you on a lifetime side-quest to find and drink more

The aromatics persist

This in turn became the label of storied Beychevelle

balanced between limestone