The Boisset Insider - March 2020
In This Issue:
► A Message To Our Trade Friends & Family
► Raymond’s Generations Wines Honor Family
► Oakville Wine Merchant
► French Buyer Voyage 2020
In The News:
► JCB One of Top Lots at 2020 Premiere Napa Valley Auction
► Accolades for Boisset Burgundies, Raymond and Buena Vista Roll In
► Boisset Partners with Liviri Vino for Sustainable Shipping Option
A Message To Our Trade Friends & Family
Click HERE to view a video message from Jean-Charles Boisset to our valued partners in trade.
Raymond’s Generations Wines Honor Family
During this time of staying home to prevent the spread of Covid-19, we are all spending much more time with our family, so we thought it appropriate to focus on Raymond’s flagship wine, Generations Cabernet Sauvignon. With roots in the earliest modern foundations of winegrowing in Napa, Raymond Vineyards honors the past, present and future with the five generations of family that has created its iconic reputation. A perennial favorite, the 2017 Generations Cabernet Sauvignon received 96 points from Jeb Dunnuck who noted this wine as “…a brilliant Cabernet Sauvignon that offers textbook blackcurrants, green tobacco, iron, and salty mineral aromas and flavors. Rich, full-bodied, nicely concentrated, and textured, it's a beautiful wine.” Contact your Boisset sales manager to secure your allocation of these limited-production wines.
Oakville Wine Merchant
While Oakville Wine Merchant’s physical doors are temporarily closed to guests, we have started daily online offers that enable customers to order the highly allocated, hard-to-find wines for home delivery. The “Rabbit Recommends” emails started last week and so far, have featured cult classics Screaming Eagle and Opus One as well as Boisset wines including 1881 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon and JCB No. 21 Crémant de Bourgogne. To receive these emails please sign up for the mailing list at the bottom of the Oakville Grocery website.
Another way to stay connected to the latest Boisset property is to view the video series featuring Wine Director Walter Hamlin talking about our wide-ranging wine offerings at Oakville Wine Merchant. Learn about the very special Napa Valley wines available in the Napa Tech machines as well as the various flight options, including the opportunity to taste four wines that scored a perfect 100 points. These videos are the perfect teaser to help plan your eventual visit to Oakville Wine Merchant, where you can find nearly 50 wines by the glass, by the taste or in half and full glasses.
French Buyer Voyage 2020
Welcome back to our Boisset Voyagers! Our top accounts just finished their whirlwind tour of our Boisset properties in France. These special guests had first access to the 2018 vintage of our Burgundy wines that are just becoming available for pre-sale in the U.S. as well as the latest vintages of wines across our French portfolio. The group met in Paris for a welcome dinner on a Bateau Mouche floating down the Seine. The next day they set off for Chablis to taste the northernmost Chardonnay in Burgundy made by J. Moreau & Fils before heading east to Domaine Maire & Fils in the Jura. In the Côte d’Or, the voyagers continued the private tours and tastings at Domaine de la Vougeraie, Jean-Claude Boisset, Bouchard Ainé & Fils and the Imaginarium where Boisset makes all of its sparkling wines. The journey south began with a visit to Chateau de Pieurreux in Brouilly where they tasted cru Beaujolais wines from Mommessin. In the Rhône, the team started with Louis Bernard in Gigondas before spending an afternoon in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Bonpas in Avignon. The final day was spent in Sête along the Mediterranean coast with wines from Fortant. We are grateful for our partners that joined us on the trip and are back in the U.S. with intimate knowledge and experiences about our French wines that will help build our French brands here.
In The News
JCB One of Top Lots at 2020 Premiere Napa Valley Auction
The JCB 2018 "Hedonistic" Cabernet was among the top grossing lots at this year’s Premiere Napa Valley auction, which raised $3.9 million to further its mission to promote, protect and enhance the Napa Valley. In addition, the lot was featured by Robb Report as one of “13 Standout Wines” from the annual auction that gives buyers the opportunity have unique wines for their retail stores, restaurants, hotels and country clubs that will not be found anywhere else.
Accolades for Boisset Burgundies, Raymond and Buena Vista Roll In
Wine & Spirits magazine included five Boisset wines from the 2017 vintage in the “Year’s Best White Burgundy” section of its March issue. From Domaine de la Vougeraie the Vougeot 1er Cru Monopole Les Clos Blanc de Vougeot received 94 points and the Vougeot Monopole Clos du Prieure was awarded 93 points. Our Chablis house J. Moreau & Fils was in the mix with 92 points for both the Grand Cru Blanchot and 1er Cru Montmains. Also included was Bouchard Aine & Fils Meursault 1er Cru Le Porusot, which scored 92 points. Wine Enthusiast included the 2016 Jean-Claude Boisset 2016 St. Aubin 1er Cru En Remilly, which it awarded 93 points and an “Editor’s Choice” designation, in its recent article “Hooray for Chardonnay: A Global Guide to the World’s Best Bottles” in the March issue.
On the domestic side, Wine & Spirits gave 91 points and “Best Buy” status to our 2017 Raymond Vineyards Napa Valley Reserve Chardonnay. With an SRP of $20, this wine is a crowd pleaser that W&S described as “It feels spicy and cool, built for a lemony roast chicken.” Raymond also captured a gold medal at the 2020 TEXSOM International Wine Awards with its flagship Cabernet, the 2017 vintage of Generations, a high-end bottle that sources the best of Napa Valley Cab. TEXSOM also recognized the superior quality of the 2016 Buena Vista Winery Chateau Buena Vista Cabernet Sauvignon, bestowing a gold medal upon that wine as well.