The story of André Robert Champagne goes back five generations, rooted in the chalk-rich, grand cru soils of Le Mesnil sur Oger. The Robert family are a true grower-producer team dedicated to the elegant and expressive character of pure Mesnil Champagne.
The Sorrel family first set root in Hermitage in 1893, when estate founder Félix Alexandre Sorrel purchased land in ‘Les Bessards.’ Today the family’s third generation–indeed, three Sorrel brothers (Jacques, Jean-Michel and Bruno)–today tend the family’s few acres of land, crafting but a handful of bottles each vintage.
There is something particularly special about a winemaker who lives, literally, among his vines. In the heart of ‘Côte Rozier,’ at the very top of the hill overlooking the northern Rhône town of Ampuis, you’ll find the humble yet rising-star estate of Christophe Billon.
Christine and Fabrice Vigot since the late 1990s have worked side by side, crafting wines in very small quantities from choice parcels (just under six acres) in Vosne, Gevrey-Chambertin and Nuits-Saint-Georges, in addition to some well-placed Bourgogne vineyards that could outshine many a premier cru in a blind tasting.
Winemaker Éric Louis can follow his roots in Sancerre as far back as 1860, when his great-grandmother Pauline was an early pioneer by tending vines and bottling her own wines. Sauvignon Blanc has remained the family’s passion, with hillside vineyards to the southeast of Sancerre in Vinon.
While so much of Bordeaux is dominated by grand estates that demand equally grand prices, we cherish small estates that build on the traditions of the region, artisans who strive for wines that reflect the best of Bordeaux: rich ripe fruit, silky tannins, soulful spice.
Winemaker Sylvain Gauthier is one artisan who already has found more than solid footing here in the Saint-Joseph appellation. He started his micro-domaine in 2007, the name “pierres séches” inspired by the many hand-built stone walls that support vineyard terraces in the region.
The village of Chitry is starting to make waves among the somm and restaurant set, as a source of top-notch Burgundian Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and the name on everyone’s lips is Olivier Morin. His are wines that transcend appellation with their resonant flavors and stunning complexity, and what’s more, they offer outstanding value.
With Richard Petit’s attention to detail in the fields and Véronique Bajan’s tasting prowess in the cellar, the small-batch, grand cru wines of Petit & Bajan are very much the voice of Champagne’s new generation. Like their neighbor and mentor in Avize, Anselme Selosse, Richard and Véronique start by harvesting perfectly ripe grapes. At every step in the winemaking process, no detail is too small to be further perfected.