Mid-Range Burgundies That Deliver For The Dollar

Few wines oscillate between the incredibly exciting highs and the utterly depressing lows like Burgundy does. Even knowing the vintage, the vineyard, and the producer is no guarantee of enjoyment when it comes to the wine industry’s most addictive crapshoot. Even bottles in the $200+ range can fall short unless you know exactly what you’re purchasing, and few of us have $200 to throw away on a bottle of Chardonnay or Pinot Noir these days. 

Luckily, the team at Mission has screened dozens and dozens of both red and white Burgundies over the last few weeks in preparation of the biggest food day of the year: THANKSGIVING! Nothing pairs better with turkey and stuffing than Burgundian Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, which is why we slimmed down our selection to these top two picks. Dollar for dollar, pound for pound, both of these wines deliver the goods and the typicity of flavor that Burghounds crave. 

Imported by our friend Charles Neal, we think you’ll be very pleased to pour either or both of these wines around your Thanksgiving Day table.

Ragot Givry Vieilles Vignes 2020 $34.99

The village of Givry located in Burgundy’s Côte de Chalonnaise is known primarily for its Pinot Noir, making up 80% of its production. The Ragot family have traced their wine growing history back to 1760 when Gabriel Ragot tended vines in Mercurey. About a century later, Louis Ragot established a property in Givry. There he not only grew grapes, but also a number of different crops, as well as raising livestock. The Vieilles Vignes comes from a tiny 1.25 hectare vineyard of Pinot Noir vines averaging 50 years in age. The wine has notes of black fruits, cassis, blackberry, and raspberry along with some vanilla and spice. A nice match for grilled steaks, pork roast or chicken stew, or hard cheeses like aged gouda or parmesan.

ROBERT PARKER’S WINE ADVOCATE: Nicolas Ragot took the helm at this eight-hectare Givry estate in 2003, modernizing the bottling line and cuverie to work in a more precise, less interventionist manner. Working the soils, harvesting by hand and classical winemaking with destemmed fruit and macerations of some 10-15 days are the rudiments of the approach. The result is supple, flavorful reds and whites that still fly somewhat under the radar and merit consumer attention.

VINOUS: The 2020 Givry Vieilles Vignes has plenty of red berry fruit on the nose, though it just misses a little complexity. The palate is medium-bodied with candied red cherries and strawberry, gentle grip, fleshy and ripe with a touch of brown sugar on the finish.

Domaine Brintet Mercurey Blanc Vieilles Vignes 2021 $42.99

Also located in the Côte de Chalonnaise, Mercurey is renowned for both its reds and its whites, the latter of which are Chardonnays known for their hazelnut and almond notes with just a touch of flint. The Brintet history in Mercurey begins with the arrival of Jéhan Briétat from Italy in 1340, when he gained employment as a page at the Chateau de Montaigu. At the end of the 15th century, the name was transformed to Brintet and 100 years later, the family became owners of some vines in Mercurey. Flash forward several centuries and we find Luc Brintet and his wife Veronique heading their own 11.5-hectare domaine since 1984. The majority of their production is Pinot Noir, although they do make small amounts of excellent Chardonnay. The Vieilles Vignes wine comes from 65-year old vines grown on clay and limestone soils. The nose is full of golden fruits while additional notes of vanilla and spice coat the palate. The wine is approachable at a young age and with its finely tannic finish, will certainly age gracefully.

ROBERT PARKER’S WINE ADVOCATE: The Mercurey Vieilles Vignes from the Domaine Brintet is an excellent example of white Mercurey. It displays an attractive nose of spices and star anise and a mouth filled with spices intermingled with touches of coconut and oak. This silky textured, medium-to-full-bodied wine has a nice long finish and will last for 4-5 years

The Best Bordeaux Bargain We've Seen

There are three important aspects of the 2016 Château de Cugat Bordeaux to note before reading any further:

• 2016 was a fantastic vintage for Bordeaux with perfect ripeness and structure across the region
  

• The 2016 Château de Cugat already has 7 years of maturity past the vintage, which puts it right in the sweet spot for drinkability
  

• If you’ve never had the chance to drink a Bordeaux wine with some age on it, you can dip your toe into those waters without spending an arm and a leg

Unlike the ripe, fleshy, and fruity characteristics of Cabernet/Merlot blends at a youthful age, older vintage expressions—especially Bordeaux—will evolve into what’s often called a tertiary state, moving into more earthy flavors of tobacco, earth, and mushroom. Those tertiary flavors are what serious collectors spend decades waiting for, building entire cellars devoted to nurturing that evolution, and hoping they can pop the right bottle at just the perfect moment.

The chance to grab that flavor for just $13.99 without having to do any of the work is exactly the reason we’ve sold more cases of 2016 Château de Cugat than any other Bordeaux in our store’s history. 

Many of us don’t have the space, the time, the money, or the desire to lay down cases of wine in a controlled temperature environment for years on end. But that doesn’t mean we don’t want to drink those bottles when available! There are few pleasures in life better than a perfectly-cooked steak, a perfectly-aged bottle of Bordeaux, and the time to enjoy both together. 

We’re sure many of you remember this wine from before, and—like us—have been hoping we would obtain more. The time to strike is now. Grab what you need for the holiday months while we still have plenty in stock.

Chateau de Cugat Bordeaux Superieur 2016 $13.99

A delicious blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. Aged primarily in tank with a few barrel-lots thrown into the blend, this is a well balanced claret that is perfect for classic bistro fare. By far our best value in Bordeaux, this wine seriously over-delivers for its price! The domaine is situated in the Entre-Deux-Mers, which is an appellation designated for strictly white wines; the red wines of the region are entitled to the appellation Bordeaux Contrôlée. Malolactic is in barrel and the wine is raised with great attention, like in the top Châteaux of Bordeaux. The flavors are balanced between dark fruit and an old school Bordeaux earthiness that will please traditionalists and old world aficionados.

Quintessential Northern Rhône Syrah for Under $30

Ask any of our wine staff members for their favorite French red under $30 and there’s a good chance they’ll respond with the Laurent Combier Croze-Hermitage. Syrah from the Northern Rhône (its spiritual home) is beloved around the world, but it’s also notoriously expensive. Given the $100+ prices for Côte Rotie and bloated costs for St. Joseph, it makes the $23.99 price point for this Combier seem downright impossible.

But, make no mistake, you get all the dark-fruited, smoky, meaty, BBQ-drizzled deliciousness that many seek out in far pricier bottles in this sub-$30 specimen. For ribs, burgers, pork shoulder, wings, or any other smoked meat dish you wanna throw at it, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better value than this gorgeous cuvée. 

The Combier family has been working organically in the Croze-Hermitage region of the Northern Rhône since the 1970s, long before people knew what “organic” even meant. Their wines have evoked the essence of Syrah for over two generations, and their prices have remained incredibly reasonable for the quality received. 

For those even remotely interested in Syrah, the Northern Rhône, or French wine in general, this wine is the archetype of typicity for the region. The Mission wine staff is obsessed for a reason. It’s one of the most sought-after flavor profiles in the entirety of fine wine, and this little secret is entirely within reach of the everyday drinker. 

But you don’t have to take our word for it….

Combier Crozes-Hermitage Cuvee LC 2021 $23.99

92 POINTS: VINOUS - Primary red and blue fruit scents are complemented by cracked pepper and candied violet notes. In an energetic, juicy style, offering sweet black raspberry and boysenberry flavors that firm up in the back half. Shows just a trace of tannins on the persistent finish, which echoes the blue fruit and spice notes. Laurent Combier’s consistently delicious and accessible, entry-level Crozes-Hermitage Cuvée Laurent (known colloquially as “Cuvée L”) is one of the most ubiquitous Northern Rhône wines in restaurants, wine bars and shops across France. These wines lean towards a modern style with fruit-driven personalities, but there is more than enough depth and structure to warrant cellaring.

91 POINTS: WINE SPECTATOR - Delivers earth and fruit in equal parts, with wet earth, dried leaves and smoked mesquite alongside black plum and cherry compote. The medium-bodied finish is marked by pepper and anise, all cut through with savory acidity and graphite shavings.

Two Wild Turkey Barrels

If there's one thing that has become abundantly clear to us here at Mission over the last few years, it's that Wild Turkey might just be the best Bourbon in all of Kentucky. 

For all of the Blanton's and Weller fans out there, it feels like more and more of the genre's serious aficionados have rallied around Wild Turkey 101 as the quintessential Kentucky whiskey; the one Bourbon that no one could ever live without. 

On our last trip out to the distillery to visit Eddy Russell, we decided to pick a pair of cherry barrels from the same warehouse, the same floor, in the exact same location as one another, and bottle them side-by-side. Since everyone seems to be obsessed with specific parts of Wild Turkey's Kentucky warehouses, we decided to give our customers what they wanted. 

The result is a pair of 8 year old single barrels, each distilled on October 1st, 2014, each dumped on August 2nd, 2023, and each bottled on August 15th, 2023. They're both from the fourth floor of warehouse TY-K and they are both LIGHTS OUT delicious. 

So what's the difference between them? And do you really need both?

We think the fun of this exercise is tasting two incredibly-similar barrels at the same time, so the answer to the latter question is a resounding: YES! To answer the former question, let's dig into the notes below. 

Russell's Reserve 8 Year Old Mission Exclusive 55% ABV Single Barrel #0213 Kentucky Bourbon $69.99

On the nose, everything that we love about Wild Turkey Bourbon is alive and kicking in this Bourbon. There are gobs of sweet cereal grains, red berries, graham crackers, and toasty oak. The palate reinforces those notes and bolsters them with ample amounts of sweetness and barrel char, each washing over the palate in waves on the finish. You would think that an 8 year, 10 month old Bourbon at 110 proof would be punchy or hot, but this single barrel expression is anything but. It's rich, round, and spicy from front to back, drinking much older than its youthful age would leave any one to believe. Precocious in every way possible, this is exhibit A of exactly why we love Wild Turkey. 

Russell's Reserve 8 Year Old Mission Exclusive 55% ABV Single Barrel #0224 Kentucky Bourbon $69.99

Compared to its sister cask, the nuance of barrel #0224 is rooted in its sweetness. Whereas barrel #0213 has a deep, red-fruited bass note, this whiskey has more baking spices: cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg. Everything about this Bourbon has Fall written all over it. Much like its partner, the whiskey tastes much older than 8 years, 10 months of age. The sweetness carries through from front to back, giving loads of vanilla and graham cracker pie crust on the finish. At 110 proof, you don't want to miss it. 

A Trio of Rarities From Matthiasson

For those unfamiliar with the Matthiasson wines, the New York Times' Eric Asimov summarized it perfectly: “Matthiasson wines bear an agricultural stamp, as fresh, lively and alive as the best produce from a farmers’ market."

Namely, if you’re a locavore, or someone who cares deeply about organics, caring for the earth, and getting the freshest, more flavorful produce possible, then Steve Matthiasson is likely already known to your household. He is perhaps the most influential winemaker in Napa, if not the state of California, and his humble ethos has won many a convert over the last decade.

For the last few years, we’ve worked closely with Steve, streaming various Instagram Live tastings, and doing our best to educate consumers about Matthiasson’s incredible winemaking.  

Each Matthiasson label bears the stamp of the pruning shear: the most important tool in the Matthiasson tool belt, as Steve's philosophy is far more centered around farming than actual winemaking. "The pruning shear is our version of a chef's knife," Steve said during one of our discussions; "When you buy a bottle of Matthiasson, you're paying for for the fact that our vines were tended by hand, by full-time, year round employees with paid holidays and 401Ks. They're doing everything by hand, taking care of the land organically."

Now, the former San Francisco Chronicle winemaker of the year has released to us a few small production rarities that are normally held back for wine club members. 

We only have a few cases of each, so grab what interests you as they are very limited in scale. 

Matthiasson Pinot Meunier Yount Mill 2022 $52.99

The Pinot Meunier in the organically-farmed Yount Mill Vineyard was originally planted for sparkling wine (as it’s one of the red varieties in Champagne). Still wine made from Pinot Meunier is rare and can make very earthy wine with a beautiful strawberry note when grown in France, but Steve was curious as to how it would result in Napa. As it turns out, it’s absolutely delicious, like a Pinot Noir in style, but lighter, still earthy, and also fruity, even more so than the French versions. It also maintains a minerality that we went crazy for. Matthiasson first made the wine in 2015 assuming it would be a one-off, but it was such a hit that they decided to do it again in 2018, 2020, and now again in 2022. The wine was fermented with 50% whole clusters in a small open top tank, with two manual punch downs per day, so it has almost a Beaujolais feel to it. Don’t miss it. 

Matthiasson Schioppettino 2021 $52.99

Schioppettino (also called Ribolla Nera) originates in the Friuli region of Italy and Slovenia, and usually you’ll find it from only the most boutique Italian importers. Matthiasson has one of the few plantings in California. An ancient grape, Schioppettino, which means “gunshot,” is distantly related to Syrah and Pinot Noir, and shares the same peppery nose. When grown in Napa, Schioppettino has fascinating flavors of cedar, white and black pepper, flowers, and raspberry. It is incredibly fresh tasting, with a stony minerality and a naturally low alcohol level. The wine has tons and tons of flavor, yet is feather light on the palate. It’s made from just two rows of vines in Matthiasson’s Oak Knoll Vineyard in Napa Valley!!

Matthiasson Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley 2022 $42.99

If you love white Bordeaux like we do, then this wine is a must-buy. The Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon is Matthiasson’s take on a classic, 50/50 blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, a traditional blend that goes back many years in Bordeaux. The Sauvignon Blanc brings a clean fresh citrusy acidity and some tropical character. The Semillon contributes viscosity and waxiness that adds gravity and weight. The acidity and fruit expression are balanced by a rich lees character and a faint backdrop of creamy oak. That interplay is the magic of this time-honored blend. Flavors include grapefruit, fresh cut pineapple, flint, oat straw, dried fig, and beeswax. Delicious!!!

The Isle of Harris Single Malt Arrives

It’s a beautiful time to be a Scotch whisky drinker as a number of small distilleries established over the last decade have begun to release their debut whiskies after years of barrel maturation. One of the most coveted new single malts comes from the remote Isle of Harris, well off the northwest coast of Scotland, and in one of the most beautiful packages we’ve seen yet.

Many Mission customers are likely familiar with the ethereal Isle of Harris gin and its gorgeous bottle reminiscent of sea glass. The new Hearach single malt bottle is just as spectacular, as is the whisky itself. Already sold out from the distillery and in the UK, the Hearach is every bit as elegant as the Harris gin and the package itself would suggest. Using water from Abhainn Cnoc a’ Charrain, rumored to be the softest water in all of Scotland, the maritime influence is clear with saline notes and just the slightest bit of peat coming through on the finish. Slow-distilled in copper pot stills, the final marriage incorporates both ex-Bourbon and Sherry barrels to create a crescendo of both American and Spanish oak influences on the finish. It’s equal parts almonds and marzipan, with one of the most haunting finishes we’ve tasted in any whisky this year.

Believe the hype: Harris is by far the hottest new distillery in Scotland.

The Next Great Additive-Free Tequila Bargain

For most of the last decade, Tequila (and pretty much all spirits) has seen almost all of its growth in the premium sector. As more consumers became interested in the category, choosing to sip instead of shoot their Tequila, they were also willing to spend more in order to get something better. As additive and diffuser-free Tequilas became more and more popular, the prices continued to go up.

Which left all of us with one serious, gaping hole of a problem: What are we going to mix in our Margaritas?!! 

Few of us want to dump a beautiful $50 bottle of Blanco Tequila into a Wednesday night Paloma or Ranch Water, and once you’ve gone additive free it’s almost impossible to go back. 

For most of the last decade, Cimmaron has been the only additive-free option under $30 worth contemplating. But as of late, the crown has most definitely been handed to Cazcabel, one of the newest superstars of the additive-free bargain bracket. 

Distilled at NOM 1436 (the same distillery as the esteemed Fina Estampa), Cazcabel brings all the grassy, spicy, and citrus-driven notes we crave from real Tequila, without any of the added caramel, glycerol, or sugar that’s dumped into the larger brand name bottles. The Blanco is a bonafide barstar and will mix into just about anything you can throw at it (we particularly love it with the new Fever Tree Lime & Yuzu). At $24.95, there’s nothing even remotely close in terms of value to quality. 

If you’ve got an extra five bucks to spend and like your Tequila just a bit softer, try the Reposado as well at $29.95 that mellows out some of the spice through a short barrel maturation process. Either way, you can’t go wrong. 

Woodinville’s Allocated Fall Bourbon Release Captures the Essence of the Season

Back in 2017, Washington State's Woodinville Distillery released a limited edition whiskey for its dedicated following of Bourbon fans; a 5 year old whiskey that had been finished for an additional period with toasted applewood staves. 

Similar to how Maker's Mark includes different stave types to shape the flavors of its Maker's 46, Woodinville's addition of applewood brought out a fruity, nostalgic, and seasonal character in its beloved Bourbon, to the utter delight of its fanbase. The whiskey was so successful that it sold out immediately and has been something of a cult classic ever since.

This Fall season, Woodinville went back to the well and released another batch of its prized applewood Bourbon and we were lucky to snag an allocation here at Mission. If you're unfamiliar with Woodinville's Bourbon, the whiskies are generally quite rich with caramel, dark chocolate, vanilla bean, and plenty of tasty oak on the palate. What the applewood staves add is a fruity, almost cider like element that gives just the slightest impression of Calvados on the finish. 

What we love most about the whiskey at Mission is how the flavors of the applewood pair perfectly with the changing weather outside. As harvest time sets in here in California and the days get shorter, that robust whiskey flavor with just a tinge of apple and other orchard fruits seems to dial in the senses, reminding us of what a special time of year October is. 

If you've never tasted anything from Woodinville, it's a great time to dive in. The whiskey from this Washington distillery has never tasted better, and the return of a beloved fan favorite only makes that energy more contagious. Elsewhere $99+, take advantage while supplies last and save $10 automatically at checkout.

Woodinville Toasted Applewood Staves 750ml $89.99 (Elsewhere $99+)