I really do drink a random amalgamation of French wines on the regular.
February weirdly felt half as long as January, despite being just as cold, snowy, and dystopian. It was an overwhelming month but at least it was filled with good food, great company and – for the most part – lovely wines. The weather started to turn warm after weeks of extreme cold and the sun began making a much welcome (albeit brief) appearance after 5 p.m. Here’s what I drank in February.
WINE #1: La Soif, Domaine Kientzler, Alsace 2021 (15/20, Astor Wines)
Where I had it: At home on a weeknight, paired with this edamame and quinoa salad recipe. Balance is everything, guys. Especially when all you want to do is scream into the void.
How much a bottle cost me (and would cost you): $18
OVERALL COMPOSITE SCORE: 15/20
- DRINKABILITY SCORE: 3/5 – I enjoyed this wine and would buy again, but it wasn’t my all time favorite. As the title might suggest, it is an easy-drinking and thirst-quenching wine. A unique blend of Auxerrois, Chasselas, Riesling, and Muscat, it’s probably better suited to a summer party or a beachside BBQ.
- PAIRABILITY SCORE: 4/5 – Great pairing with that edamame salad. The two complemented each other just right. The peanut sauce dressing we made felt like it was made to go with this wine. It gets a 4/5 because the acidities between the two didn’t quite line up but this one is a good save for complex salads.
- WALLET-ABILITY SCORE: 5/5 – For French wine under $20 in this day and age (and it’s NYC… on the eve of a new wave of tariffs…), you’d think you’ve have pretty limited or low-quality options on the table, but this does very well for itself. Alsace in general can be a great region to find affordable gems and this one was no different.
- THE X FACTOR SCORE: 3/5 – I visited Domaine Kientzler in 2022 (read more about it in my guide to Alsace here!) and absolutely loved my time there. It is a massively underrated domaine in Alsace. They are a fifth generation family-owned and certified organic estate with a yearly case output of only about 6,000. One of my favorite grand cru wines from Alsace to date comes from this producer (their Riesling Ostertag is phenomenal). While Kientzler isn’t as flashy as some of their neighbors, their brand new tasting room is stunning and the family is lovely. A must-visit if you’re in the region and one to watch for sure if you’re not!
WINE #2: Bourgogne Côte d’Or, Domaine Rossignol 2023 (16/20, Astor Wines)
Where I had it: Also at home, paired with popcorn after a long week (a non-traditional pairing, I know, but we all have our habits. Call me Olivia Pope.). The resistance needs snacks.
How much a bottle cost me (and would cost you): $31
OVERALL COMPOSITE SCORE: 16/20
- DRINKABILITY SCORE: 4/5 – Yum. This one is almost too delicious for a weeknight. Here I was thinking I’d just bought a decent regional Burgundy, when in fact I’d managed to snag an exceptional one. Layers of red fruit like raspberry, cherry, and even cranberry – intermingle with soft mushroom and crushed violet. I will definitely be returning to this wine.
- PAIRABILITY SCORE: 4/5 – Very food friendly, even for a non-conventional pairing such as my popcorn habit. There’s just something about the fruit in this that worked well with the salt in the corn. I’d love to revisit this with a mushroom pasta or for apéro with friends in the spring.
- WALLET-ABILITY SCORE: 5/5 – For such a high quality Burgundy, this price is kind of unbelievable. Sure, it’s just a regional red, but given the Rossignol name and the fact the grapes come from some fabulous plots in the Côte d’Or (hi, Volnay, sign me UP), don’t let the humble designation fool you. The high marks are well-deserved.
- THE X FACTOR SCORE: 3/5 – This duo gets points for being a small, family-owned winery that conducts all its harvesting by hand, but I wasn’t able to find much information about the environmental practices. I suspect lutte raisonnée but that’s just an inkling. Regardless, definitely a domaine to keep an eye on – and I need to try their Volnay and Monthélie!
WINE #3: La Source, Mas des Infermières Rouge, Luberon 2020 (13/20, Empire State of Wine)
Where I had it: Another wine enjoyed at home (if you live in the NYC area you know immediately why – the weather this month was so snowy and icy that nobody wanted to be outside!) with my husband after a long week. We were celebrating a small personal win and decided to open this bottle while watching the next season of Love is Blind. Good thing, too, because this season is impossibly slow and needs a good wine pairing so you’re distracted from how ridiculously lethargic the time goes. (Sorry not sorry but this season is weird!?)
How much a bottle cost me: $0. I received this wine as a sample a few years back. I’d forgotten about it for a moment but found it in the back of my wine fridge and figured I’d give it a pour. I typically tend to reject the “red wine is for cold weather” thinking but on this particular evening that was the only thing I could even think about drinking. Sometimes, you just need something that warms you up from the inside.
How much a bottle would cost you: $22. In the NYC / tri-state area, you can get it from Empire State of Wine, which is one of my favorite wine shops!
OVERALL COMPOSITE SCORE: 13/20
- DRINKABILITY SCORE: 4/5 – For a medium-bodied red from the southern Rhône, this is delightfully crushable. It’s the perfect midwinter glass to enjoy and disassociate with. La Source is satisfying, comforting, and makes you think that everything might just end up OK in the end. It made me dream of warm spring nights in Provence and the promise of a better world.
- PAIRABILITY SCORE: 3/5 – I snacked on this one with some roasted almonds, and while that pairing was so-so, I firmly believe that this wine is meant for a charcuterie board of some kind. I could see it pairing well with an olive tapenade, a warm baguette, and some roasted tomatoes, but I don’t think it could necessarily stand up to a heartier meal. Not a bad thing though!
- WALLET-ABILITY SCORE: 4/5 – This is a great deal. For a delicious, environmentally-friendly red that is sure to make both you and your friends happy, $22 is fantastic. The price doesn’t take itself too seriously and neither does the wine. It’s simple a great bottle to share and it’ll go down easy.
- THE X FACTOR SCORE: 2/5 – Like so many of you, I’m kind of over the whole “this celebrity realized that wine is cool so they decided to make their own!” trend. Feels like everything in the industry now – and all sorts of industries, really – is relying on pre-existing fame or stardom to get anywhere, which I find annoying and somewhat belittling to us regular folks. The domaine gets two points for being HVE certified as well as its additional “bee friendly” certification, which effectively promotes vegetal biodiversity on property to help sustain local bee populations. It’s on the right track – but a lot more can (and should) be done.
WINE #4: Les Cassagnes, Château La Nerthe, Côtes du Rhône Rosé 2023 (5/20)
Where I had it: Brought it to one of our favorite BYOB Mexican restaurants in the area, Tacoria. As a mostly vegetarian, I tend to enjoy rosé with my tacos as I find it typically pairs well with a little spice and awkward vegetables. Given its low score, I can’t recommend it, but the usual Côtes du Rhônes from this producer are available on wine.com if you’re curious.
How much a bottle cost me (and would cost you): $16
OVERALL COMPOSITE SCORE: 5/20 – This wine was unbelievably disappointing. In general, I tend to enjoy the wines from Château La Nerthe – they’ve made quite a name for themselves in the Rhône – but this one really just missed the mark.
- DRINKABILITY SCORE: 1/5 – Very fruit forward, but the larger problem here was that it has an overwhelming level of bitterness towards the end of the palate, which leaves you with an odd, sour taste in your mouth as you swallow it. It actually went so far as to upset my husband’s stomach for the rest of the night, and neither of us could go farther than drinking one glass. Ultimately it felt like this wine really lacked balance between fruit, acidity, and tertiary notes from the Rhône terroir. It really just overwhelms you with the worst notes from each.
- PAIRABILITY SCORE: 0/5 – That weird, bracing bitterness? Turns out it doesn’t go well with tacos of any kind, much less my favorite vegetarian option from Tacoria: Chipotle Charred Brussel Sprouts Tacos (it sounds weird but I promise it’s delicious). I couldn’t even finish the first glass because it really made my food unappetizing. That doesn’t happen often, thankfully, but this one just did not mix with food. Yikes.
- WALLET-ABILITY SCORE: 2/5 – It’s a great price overall, but obviously since it was not a great wine, it doesn’t get high marks here, either. At $16, it looks good on the shelf but if the juice ain’t worth the squeeze how does one justify spending a cent?
- THE X FACTOR SCORE: 2/5 – Say the name “La Nerthe” (with or without “château”) and the average wine lover would recognize that it’s one of the leading châteaux making Châteauneuf-du-Pape today. It has a 500+ year history, with exquisite grounds. For many, it is a bucket-list visit. It gets two points for its organic certification, but with a name this big in the region, I’d hope to see a bit more corporate social responsibility, too (in addition to making a solid CDR rosé that can actually pair well with a meal… oof).
WINE #5: Latitude, Larmandier-Bernier, Champagne (18/20, CoolVines)
Where I had it: I initially bought this wine for a content series I’m working on pairing food and wine, so I purchased it for the shoot, paired it with a stunning cut of Brillat-Savarin cheese (if you know you know…get your hands on this stuff if you can because it is WORTH. IT.), and then sipped on it through the week to keep my spirits up. As Napoleon once famously said, “In victory, you deserve champagne. In defeat, you need it.” A much better Napoleon quote than the one that other guy quoted this month.
How much a bottle cost me (and would cost you): $75. It’s grower champagne and it’s biodynamic, so there’s a price tag involved. But for me, this cost is worth it. I’d rather spend $75 on a really delectable bottle from Larmandier-Bernier than search for a bargain that I can’t guarantee will be good. This producer has, quite frankly, never disappointed me. I bought it on site at CoolVines on Grove but it’s not available online (sadly), otherwise I would have added a direct link. You can, however, purchase this from wine.com.
OVERALL COMPOSITE SCORE: 18/20 – This score makes it the best wine I drank this month by a few points. If you’ve tried anything from Larmandier-Bernier, you probably already know what I’m talking about. If not, read on and buy a bottle.
- DRINKABILITY SCORE: 5/5 – It’s just delicious. If it made sense for me to give this wine a 6/5 for this review, I would, but I’m committing to my system. Sometimes, I find myself taking a sip of a really incredible wine like this one and not quite finding the words to describe it. It’s one of those wines that makes you close your eyes, breathe deep, and just enjoy the moment as it’s happening. This goes beyond tasting notes, beyond a pairing, a crappy day, a fight you had with your significant other, or a whole slew of executive orders you can’t believe are being written. Latitude by Larmandier-Bernier is (perhaps shockingly?) not my favorite cuvée – I actually prefer the Longitude for its austerity and clean lines – but on this cold February evening, the round, supple mouthfeel of Latitude was everything I could have wanted and more.
- PAIRABILITY SCORE: 5/5 – This wine would be amazing with just about anything and it’s exemplary with Brillat-Savarin. I can see it going from apéro to dessert with ease.
- WALLET-ABILITY SCORE: 4/5 – $75 isn’t cheap for a bottle of wine, but let’s remember this is organic and biodynamic grower champagne from one of the region’s best. With that in mind, I’m giving it a 4/5 because it really, really is worth it (and honestly, it could probably retail for $100 given how incredible it is). It’s not a wine I’ll be able to buy all the time at that price but I would absolutely splurge on it for a milestone, a celebration, on a gathering with friends from out of town.
- THE X FACTOR SCORE: 4/5 – Larmandier-Bernier is a family-owned grower champagne estate that revolutionized the region in the 90s when they were among the first to even consider going biodynamic. When they did it exceptionally well, other houses followed suit, and now there is a large swath of both grower and industrial champagne producers that have joined the fray. It’s remarkable what they’ve done in only a couple of decades and it is this energy that the wine industry needs to forge a path toward a sustainable future.
WINE #6: L’attire Bouchon, Loire Propriétés, Bourgueil (18/20, Vin sur Vingt)
Where I had it: Vin sur Vingt NoMad, with my friend Angie after the launch event for one of my newest favorite cookbooks, Bohème Cooking: French Vegetarian Recipes. I’m planning on cooking through the book and doing a wine pairing series – that is, if I can pluck up the courage to really give the cooking a go. Cooking is not my strongest suit so I’ll have to do some real soul-searching to see if I trust myself with Carrie’s immaculate recipes.
How much a glass cost me: $16
How much a bottle would cost you: $19. You can buy it in NYC from Vin sur Vingt’s Le French Wine Shop!
OVERALL COMPOSITE SCORE: 18/20
- DRINKABILITY SCORE: 5/5 – This wine is almost too delicious to be legal. It is the absolute perfect red bistro wine and it’s here to give Beaujolais-Villages a run for its money. The Loire Valley continues to produce under-the-radar stunners and Bourgueil is one of the places that just creates lovely wines time and time again. It’s all bramble and black fruit and soft spice and I immediately needed more of it.
- PAIRABILITY SCORE: 4/5 – Wouldn’t be a bistro wine if its ability to pair with all kinds of appetizers and main dishes alike wasn’t stellar and there’s a reason why this one made the wine list at VSV. I had it with melted brie tartines and olive tapenade while Angie enjoyed hers with a mushroom tarte flambée. Both were great pairings.
- WALLET-ABILITY SCORE: 5/5 – $19 is wild, wild I say! Wildly low, that is. For the quality you get in one little glass of this wine it is well worth the buck.
- THE X FACTOR SCORE: 3/5 – Proudly made by a cooperative of growers from across the Loire, the wines from this label are largely HVE certified. It’s quite a lot to ensure over 180 vignerons are putting sustainability first, so it gets points not only for coordinating a major effort but also for putting ego aside and working towards a common goal. Unlike many of my fellow wine reviewers, I find massive strength in the cooperative model. Something about it just screams “liberté, egalité, fraternité”. Vive la France.
If you take away anything from this post, it’s that Larmandier-Bernier is always worth it, but sometimes rosé from a top producer can be risky. Here’s to another month of good wine everyone, santé !
Looking for more wine recommendations? Check out the January Wine Reviews, and stay tuned for more! See you next month!
