In a fair world, Nicole Deriaux's sparkling wine would be discussed in the same breath as the great grower Champagnes. But in the real world, her address is the Jura rather than the Marne, which happily keeps her remarkable Crémant an under-the-radar gem at a fraction of the price. She produces it from her own vines in the tiny village of l'Étoile, a place whose name literally translates to "the star." Local legend says the village earned this title either from the five hills that surround it, or the tiny, star-shaped marine fossils scattered throughout its vineyards.

In the historic town of Nizza Monferrato, Antica Casa Vinicola Scarpa has long stood as a bastion of unyielding tradition. While many producers in the region spent the 1990s and 2000s chasing darker colors and softer tannins through the use of new French barriques and other techniques, Scarpa refused to change. Walking into their cellar feels like stepping back in time; it is a place where large, neutral oak casks dominate and where patience is the primary tool of the winemaker. This steadfast dedication has preserved the style of Piedmontese wine that we admire most: nervy, elegant, and built for the long haul.

Sometimes we forget that before the judgement of Paris, before the cult Cabernets of Napa, and before the modern California wine boom, there was Hanzell. Founded in 1953 by Ambassador James Zellerbach after a transformative stint in Europe, this estate was built with a singular, audacious goal: to produce Burgundian-style wines on the slopes of Sonoma that could rival the finest Grand Crus of the Côte d'Or. Walking through the vineyard today, you are walking through living history, past the oldest continuously producing Chardonnay vines in the Western Hemisphere.

If you drive a few minutes west of Givry into the rolling hills of the Côte Chalonnaise, you’ll find yourself in the tiny, sleepy village of Jambles. This is the home of Domaine Danjean-Berthoux, a family estate now in its fourth generation that quietly produces some of the most over-performing white Burgundy in our cellars. While their neighbors in the Côte de Beaune are grappling with global fame and the soaring prices that come with it, Pascal Danjean and his son Charles-Antoine are still working their steep, limestone slopes with the focused, unhurried intensity of true artisans.

Josep Grau spent nearly twenty years in the high-frequency world of Barcelona finance before he realized he was looking for something that numbers couldn't provide. In 2003, he walked away from the spreadsheets to find a different kind of precision in the rugged hills of Montsant. If you met him today, you might still see the former accountant in his neatly pressed shirts, but his hands are now firmly in the dirt of his organic vineyards. He didn't come to the Langhe-like hills of Catalunya to make "big" wines; he came to find the silence and transparency he felt was missing from city life.

In the tightly knit world of Cornas, the name Verset carries a weight almost heavier than the granite soils themselves. For decades, Noël Verset was the benchmark, the genius who put this rugged appellation on the map. When he retired in 2006, it felt like the end of an era, but the vines—and the lineage—did not simply disappear. This brings us to A&E Verset, a domaine run by Emmanuelle Verset, the daughter of Alain and the grand-niece of the legendary Noël. While the name draws you in, it is the wine in the glass that keeps you there, proving that this is not just a case of resting on genealogical laurels.

We previously described Peter Lauer's Barrel X as a pantry staple—something you should just have on hand for daily life. But life does not end with staples. While the Barrel X is designed for easy, uncomplicated refreshment, Lauer’s Fass series specific bottlings represent the serious, granular study of the Saar valley’s terroir. 

There is a famous quote from Robert Parker that has followed this estate for decades. He famously declared that if he were forced to drink only one Brunello di Montalcino for the rest of his life, it would be Pertimali. This was always a somewhat shocking admission, because Parker built his reputation on loving massive, modern, oak-driven wines. Pertimali, run by the Sassetti family, is none of those things. It is a staunch, unwavering traditionalist.

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).