The Sancerre appellation is vast and variable. It produces everything from light, grassy bistro wines to serious, structured whites. Like Burgundy, where some villages and sites are clearly superior to others. And in Sancerre, the tiny hamlet of Chavignol is universally recognized as one of the best of all.
Visiting Domaine du Jaugaret is like stepping into a time machine. While neighbors like Ducru-Beaucaillou and Léoville-Poyferré operate out of gleaming, architect-designed facilities that resemble luxury hotels, Jaugaret remains a "dungeon." The cellar is small, dim, and lined with black mold; filled with ancient barrels and rusted iron tools. It hasn't changed much since the Fillastre family began making wine here in 1654.
The wines we write about almost every year. Giuseppi Quintarelli was one of the greats of Italian winemaking. He was an incredible steward of Veneto's ancient traditions; his Amarones are as old school as you can get. But he was also a forward thinking iconoclast, whose Cabernet-based Alzero is one of Italy’s greatest and most expensive IGTs.
In the Vallée de la Marne, the river cuts a deep dividing line. On the Right Bank (Fleury-la-Rivière), the soils are clay-heavy and cold, producing Pinot Meunier with bite and tension. On the Left Bank (Mardeuil), the slopes face north, offering a different kind of mineral austerity. For generations, these two sides were separate worlds—until Philippe Gamet (from the Left Bank) married Fabienne Heucq (from the Right Bank).
If you know the town of Imola, you likely know it for one thing: speed. This is the home of the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, the legendary Formula 1 circuit where engines scream at 15,000 RPM and history is measured in milliseconds.
But just a few kilometers away from that asphalt temple of velocity, the Navacchia family at Tre Monti is practicing the exact opposite philosophy.
Our newsletter is about wine adventuring—taking you on journeys both far and wide to discover the world's most compelling bottles. We've explored remote hillsides in Sicily, scaled the steep terraces of the Mosel, and ventured into forgotten corners of France. But we have never gone so far (Down Under excepted)—and never gone so far back in time—as in today's story.
You might think that Dominique Lafon needs no introduction. After all, he’s been the steward of his family’s Domaine des Comte Lafon since 1983, and built it into one of White Burgundy’s super-elite producers – only Coche, Domaine Leflaive and the like are peers. And when he bought vineyards in the Maconnais and started his Heritiers du Comte Lafon line there, he sparked a whole movement into the region by top producers – including Domaine Leflaive.
Marie-Lise & Thomas Batardiere are not household names. How could they be? Thomas only farms 3.5 hectares of vines in total! That doesn’t leave much wine to ship to magazines and critics to ask for reviews.
And they don’t need to. Because while they are resolutely under-the-radar, they are also one of the most whispered about producers in the Loire.
When wine lovers think Nebbiolo, they think Piedmont—Barolo, Barbaresco, and the rolling hills of the Langhe. More adventurous wine lovers are also aware of the more mountainous Nebbiolo that is proven north of this region in what is known as the Alto Piemonte. But adventurers can go in another direction instead to find Nebbiolo: towards Lombardy's alpine terrain.
Some wines feel like they slow the clock. López de Heredia was built on that idea. María José López de Heredia often says she wishes she could “freeze time,” and you taste that wish in every bottle: not nostalgia, but the patience to let wine become itself at its own pace.
The French don't have Burning Man. They have La Dive Bouteille. And for France’s nuttiest natural wine fans – and their international comrades in arms – that’s even better. But best of all for us: the driving force behind that fair, Sylvie Augerau, is also a winemaker extraordinaire, and we have a tiny little drop of her wines to share today.
