Jean-Marie Guffens is one of France’s most revered wine makers. Though best known for his brilliant wines from the Mâcon, the wines from his southern Estate should not be overlooked! Nor should remarkable his Barsacs, where Château Closiot has quickly become a regional benchmark (at very fair prices). But that’s a discussion for another day. Château des Tourettes is Guffens’ Domaine in the Luberon—a stretch of magnificent, hilly vineyards between Avignon and Aix-en-Provence.

“The key to these wines’ success is that they don’t hammer you over the head with the philosophy behind them, expressing their variety of lieux-dits with style and, prosaically, sheer deliciousness. Readers should seek out the superb single-site offerings from Saint-Véran or their Pouilly-Vinzelles, the last vintage before Premier Cru will be attached to its name.” Neal Martin, Vinous

Chermette’s 2024 Griottes is a punchy crowd-pleaser with loads of crunchy blueberry fruit and exuberant cherrystone tang. This is just the kind of Beaujolais the late Marcelle Lapierre referred to when he said, “Ça se boit sous la douche.” (It’s a wine you can drink under the shower.)

Matthieu Baudry continues to find new ways to progress his family Domaine and grow Cabernet Franc with ever more finesse. Sure, the father’s wines and choice of vineyards lit the torch—but the son’s progressive, outward-looking philosophy in the vineyard and cellar has taken everything to a new level. On top of an already impressive organic program, Baudry is now in his third year of biodynamic farming. Meanwhile, in the Domaine’s limestone-carved cellars, smaller oak vessels are making way for more large-format and concrete. The results are looking impressive indeed.

Aligoté’s fortunes have improved markedly since we began shipping this great-value Burgundy fifteen years ago. Yet here is a Burgundian Domaine where, unlike the Côte d’Or, Aligoté never fell out of fashion; even after phylloxera devastated the region, Guilhem Goisot’s ancestors replanted the variety on high, cool north-facing slopes located above the pretty Yonne town of Saint-Bris-le-Vineux. 

For all the riches it has to offer wine lovers, the alpine melting pot of Alto Adige remains a secret, guarded within Italy’s borders. Set amid the sawtooth limestone peaks of South Tyrol, this region’s wine culture has more in common with the neighbouring Austria and Germany than the rest of Italy.