Sept 13, 2024 - EDD

FIVE PRODUCERS WE LOVE IN CHABLIS

Jason Jacobeit doesn’t simply like Chablis. “I love Chablis so unreservedly that impartiality approaches impossibility,” he writes. “This love pushes far beyond the limiting view of Chablis as crisp apéritif or partner with ‘light’ dishes. To me, that notion suggests that Chablis is the least understood of the world’s great wines.” He shares five producers who are carrying on classic—in the historic sense—Chablis (and you’ll be able to find bottles from most of them for under $100).

WALLA WALLA: THE NEXT WAVE

Syrahs from the Rocks District of the Walla Walla Valley “have an aromatic signature at once exotic and hauntingly savory,” Patrick Comiskey writes. “In fact aromatically these might be the wildest, most out there wines in the world for Rhône varieties.” Yet for years there was a disconnect between the nose and palate. But now a group of producers are creating wines that bridge that gap—wines that are “focused, precise, and restrained, while still being inimitably Rocks.”

THINGS ARE NOT GOING WELL FOR SCOTCH. HERE’S WHAT IT MEANS FOR DISTILLERS AND DRINKERS.

Susannah Skiver Barton has been pointing to warning signals of a scotch downturn for months. This week she reports on new data that confirms it. “The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) just released figures for the first half of 2024 and they are brutal: Exports have fallen 18 percent by value, a total that amounts to £2.1 billion ($2.76 billion) in lost sales. In volume terms, scotch was down by 10.2 percent, about 47 million cases.” Here’s what that all means for brands, buyers, and bargain-hunters.

STOP FREAKING OUT ABOUT WINE. LET’S JUST ENJOY IT.

There’s been a lot of hand wringing going on in the wine world of late. Jason Wilson can’t help but wonder: what if we just enjoyed having a drink? “For many Americans, wine tends to be something to stress about, to study, often to lose their minds over. People in Logroño, Spain have a much easier relationship with wine. Wine is not a status symbol. It’s not a topic you need to gain a certification in. It’s not a short-cut to adult sophistication. Wine is just something that’s made a few kilometers away. Wine is just something you drink.”

WINE STORIES WORTH READING FROM AROUND THE INTERNET

🎡  Things to do in Napa besides tasting wine.

❌  Dom Perignon cancels its 2023 vintage.  “[A]fter months of grape maturation in the vineyard, a full harvest, and primary fermentation in tank, cellar master Vincent Chaperon didn’t feel the wine met Dom Pérignon’s standards.” 

🪧  Burgundy is auctioning off hundreds of old vineyard signs.

🍓  “I suspect that most of the fruit salad of words that we wine writers use to describe our speciality mean nothing to most drinkers.” 

🧠  What will we drink in 2074? Scandinavian wine, Chinese wine, Aligoté, mocktails...

🇬🇧  The best new restaurants in London.

Find much more from the world of wine (and beyond) in our weekly Week in Wine column.

As always, thanks for reading! See you next week for much more.

Santé!

The NWR Editors

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