2024 Chablis, Famille Gueguen
Céline and Frédéric Gueguen each spent fifteen years working for large Chablis estates before deciding they'd rather answer to no one but their own vines. In January 2013 they struck out on their own from Préhy, a hamlet just four miles southwest of Chablis proper, building an estate that now spans 36 hectares across the Chablis and Auxerrois vineyards. This bottling comes off vines averaging forty to forty-five years old, rooted in the Kimmeridgian clay-limestone that gives the whole appellation its name — old enough to dig deep, still lively enough to sing in the glass.
The facts
100% Chardonnay, Kimmeridgian clay-limestone soils near Préhy
Vines averaging 40–45 years old; Double Guyot training, no herbicides
Machine-harvested and pressed; indigenous-yeast fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless steel
Aged 10 months in stainless steel — no oak
Organic-certified estate
Best served chilled
In the glass
Brilliant pale yellow in the glass, the 2024 opens with citrus and white melon, with white flowers drifting in behind. The ten months on the lees show up as texture more than flavor — there's a real sense of weight and roundness carrying the fruit, but it never loses the chalky, saline edge that makes Chablis Chablis. Racy without being austere. Pair with oysters or other raw shellfish, a simple grilled sole, or goat cheese on a warm day.
2023 Lugana “Le Fornaci,” Tommasi
Giacomo Tommasi bought his first hillside vineyard in Pedemonte, in the heart of Valpolicella Classico, back in 1902. More than a century later, the Tommasi name has become nearly synonymous with Amarone, but the family's ambitions didn't stop at their home turf: they now farm 100% estate-owned vineyards not just across Valpolicella but on the southern shores of Lake Garda, where Le Fornaci comes from. It's Tommasi's answer to a simple question — what happens when a family known for big, brooding reds turns its attention to a citrus-driven white?
The facts
100% Trebbiano di Lugana
Dense clay soils of Le Fornaci near Sirmione on Lake Garda, with sandy inland soils from San Martino
Temperature-controlled, skin-contact fermentation in stainless steel
Aged three months on the lees before bottling
12.5% ABV
Best served chilled
In the glass
Pale straw in the glass, the 2023 leads with citrus peel and orchard fruit, backed by a faint almond note that gives it more personality than the average Lugana. The palate is where the lees aging earns its keep: real structure and a rounded, almost creamy texture, all held together by vibrant acidity that keeps things from ever going soft. A cool, wet spring followed by a warm summer gave the vintage rich fruit without sacrificing freshness. Pair with grilled branzino, a plate of clams in white wine, or a simple risotto with lake fish.
2021 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Martis
Martis takes its name from Mars, the Roman god who watched over both war and agriculture — a fitting patron for a winery built entirely around Sonoma County's Alexander Valley farming community. The 2021 marks the inaugural vintage of the winery's flagship Cabernet Sauvignon, and it wasn't an entry made lightly: only the blocks delivering real depth and complexity made the cut, with fruit showing dark, brooding character blended alongside lots carrying sage, pepper, and garrigue notes, then laid down together in 100% American oak. The team kept its hands off as much as possible, aiming for a wine with full mouthfeel that still let the fruit lead.
The facts
91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Malbec, 3% Petite Sirah
Alexander Valley, Sonoma County; CSWA-certified sustainable
Aged in 100% American oak
14.3% ABV; DIAM Origine closure
Just 4,600 nine-liter cases produced
Best served at cool room temperature
In the glass
Deep garnet in the glass, this opens with jammy blackberry and black tea, with nutmeg and a streak of toasted coconut running underneath. The palate builds on that richness — caramel and a faint molasses note emerge as it opens, all wrapped around firm, well-structured tannin. A warm, even 2021 growing season gave the fruit real concentration going into the cellar, and it shows: this is a powerful, still-young wine built to reward some patience. Pair with a well-marbled ribeye, lamb chops off the grill, or aged cheddar.
2021 A.D. 1212, Decugnano dei Barbi
In 1212, two priests named Giovanni and Pietro were recorded tending vines for the church of Santa Maria di Decugnano, making wine for the clergy of Orvieto — the first written trace of the estate that still bears the name today. The property sat abandoned for years before Claudio Barbi, then just twenty-five, bought it in 1973 and rebuilt it into Decugnano dei Barbi. The winery's top red, first bottled in 1988 as simply “Il Rosso” and renamed A.D. 1212 in 2015, is the house's tribute to those two priests — its label even carries a hand and an eye, standing in for their imprint on the estate and the watchful presence they worked under.
The facts
Blend of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Montepulciano
Umbria Rosso IGT; marine, marl-and-clay soils rich in fossil shells
Fermented and macerated in stainless steel; roughly half the blend refined in French barriques for 12 months
15% ABV
Best served at cool cellar temperature
In the glass
Dark ruby with purple at the rim, the 2021 opens with ripe cherry and blackberry, joined by black pepper, dried herbs, and a lift of orange blossom that keeps the whole thing from feeling heavy-handed. The palate is generous and juicy, with fine-grained tannin and enough acid to keep the fruit honest through a long finish. This is a wine for the table, not the sipping chair: pair with a fat-marbled roast, braised short ribs, or anything involving game.