France

• Alsace
• Bergerac
• Bordeaux
  • Barsac
  • Bordeaux Supérieur
  • Margaux
  • Graves
  • Haut-Medoc
  • Listrac
  • Pauillac
  • Pomerol
  • Saint Emilion
  • Saint Estephe
  • Saint Julian
  • Sauternes
• Burgundy
  • Beaujolais
  • Bourgogne
  • Chablis
  • Côte de Nuits
  • Mercurey
• Cahors
• Champagne
• Cognac
• Corsica
• Gascony
• Jura
  • Arbois
• Languedoc-Roussillon
  • Minervois
• Loire Valley
  • Bourgueil
  • Jasnières
  • Muscadet
  • Mont Louis
  • Sancerre
  • Saumur
  • Savennières
  • Touraine
  • Vouvray
• Rhone (Rhône)
  • Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  • Cornas
  • Crozes-Hermitage
  • Gigondas
  • Hermitage
  • Lirac
  • Saint Joseph
• Provence
  • Bandol
• Savoie
• Tavel

Dampt provides some real values in Chablis.  Green/gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose has gun powder and green apples.  Maybe a touch of chalk.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, nice lemon citrus with a bit of an herbal streak (lemon verbena?).  Good finish.  This has some depth and complexity but will need some cellaring to really bring that out.  Drink over the next eight to  twelve years.  Drinks nicely on its own and will work with lighter foods or seafood.  A nice wine with Lobster.  

Fevre is possibly the best Chablis producer that is still (almost) affordable, so it was great to try this 1er Cru.  Yellow/gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose is tight but opened with a bit of air to show hay, green apples, slight wax and slight chalk.  Medium to full bodied.  Crisp acidity.  On the palate, green apples, limes and slight peach with a bit of gun powder.  Long finish.  Still on the young side, this should drink well for the next eight to twelve years.  It is nice on its own and would be perfect with oysters.

Green/gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose has green apples, slight peach with a bit of gun powder.  Medium bodied. Good balance.  On the palate, green apples with some minerality.  Good finish.  This is drinking well now and should continue for the next five to eight years.  It is nice on its own and also very food friendly.  It would go nicely with smoked Salmon.  

This is a sparkling Rosé from Burgundy made from Pinot Noir grapes.  JCB stands for Jean-Charles Boisset who was born in 1969.  The label states this wine is "Flamboyant-Vibrant-Sensual."  Salmon colored with lots of tiny bubbles, clear and bright.  The nose has cranberries, pomegranate, and a bit of a schmaltz (chicken fat) note.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, cherries, some cranberries and a slight bitter cherry note.  Good finish.  This is drinking well on its own but would be better with food.  It would be a nice match with grilled Salmon.  Drink over the next couple of years.  

Bichot is a producer who makes great wines in all price ranges.  This is a lovely sparkling wine from Burgundy. It is a 60/40 blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.  Light golden in color with a nice mousse of tiny bubbles.  Clear and Bright.  The nose is toasty with red apples and slight grapefruit.  Medium bodied.  Good balance.  On the palate, this is refreshing with flavors of red apples and slight lemon.  Good finish.  This is nice on its own and also very food friendly.  This would be a nice wine with fried Calamari.  Drink over the next couple of years.  

Summertime is always a great time for rosé, but of course, all year long is even better. Rosé should always be low alcohol with light, bright fruit, and a wine that works with a variety of foods, and should be a wine that is not overly complicated. Côte Mas, which I have reviewed for several vintages, is a consistently good, inexpensive rosé that works well pretty much whenever. This iteration is comprised of mainly Grenache with Cinsault and Syrah. It offers bright strawberry, cranberry and pomegranate, light rhubarb and fresh cherry.

This is 100% Cabernet Franc aged for a year in Amphorae and bottled with a very non-traditional label.  Purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cherries and some black cherries, with dust, tobacco, and leather.  Medium to full bodied.  Light to medium tannins.  Good balance.  On the palate, this has some depth.  Flavors of black cherries, tobacco, cherries, spice and char.  Good finish.  This seems to be just getting to peak but should drink well for another ten years.  Better with food, this went well with Vegan Sausages but real sausages would work, too.  

This is 80% Mourvedre with the rest made up of Syrah and grenache.  Garnet in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has plums, some black cherries, spices, and anise.  Medium to full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Good balance.  On the palate, t plums with spices and some black cherries.  This is drinking quite nicely on its own but would be better with food.  This would work well with beef stew.  Drink over the next ten years.  

This winery makes some of the best values in France.  They tend to make big, fruity wines more akin to California than France.  In fact, blind, I thought this was Santa Barbara Grenache.

This is Cabernet Franc from the Loire Valley in France.  It is from the wineries youngest vines and aged in concrete.  Ruby  in color with some purple and blue hues, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is sweaty/dusty with cherries and strawberries and a bit of black pepper.  Medium tannins.  Tart acidity.  On the palate, cherries with a touch of strawberries.  A streak of heat on the finish.  This is nice on its own but really needs some food.  It would be nice with some fatty meats, say a Lamb Stew. Drink over the next five to eight years.