Micro-Production Gigondas Worth Cellaring Away

While Cabernet Sauvignon still gets all the credit for building the American wine scene, we’ve found that an overwhelming percentage of our Mission customers love the more concentrated flavor of a juicy, full-bodied GSM blend just as much (Grenache + Syrah + Mourvedre). That’s why we wanted to bring your attention to this amazing little deal we have for you on a beautiful summer Monday!

Gigondas is a region in France’s Southern Rhône right near Châteauneuf du Pape that makes a bolder, more dynamic version of what we normally call a Côte du Rhone blend. The wines from Gigondas must be a majority of Grenache with the remainder being Syrah and Mourvedre, and the best expressions have bold fruit flavor (think ripe blueberries with cassis) with a savory, herbaceous element that gives them amazing depth. 

Domaine de Grand Bourjassot is a tiny 10 acre estate in the heart of the region and the Cuvée Cécile is its top wine. Since its inception in 1998, the wine has garnered immense praise from the industry’s top critics, but those reviews have only increased in quality over time. 

As an example, Jeb Dunnuck from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate gave the 2004 vintage a very fine 89 point score, calling it “impressive, if not outstanding.”

Fifteen vintages later, Jeb Dunnuck rated the 2019 it a well-deserved 93 points, telling readers that he would “hide bottles for 2-3 years and enjoy over the following decade.” We agree, as it’s one of the most delicious new wines we’ve tasted in weeks. The vines are an average of 65 years old and every grape is harvested by hand to preserve that incredible concentration.

And we’re just getting started on the press! The Vinous and Wine Spectator scores have yet to be released, which is why we’re letting you know about this little deal now, before the rush. If you love ripe, round, full-fruited red wines with distinction and character, this is a fantastic wine at a very reasonable price. Roughly 350 cases are made for the entire world and we have five of them for you today, while supplies last!

2019 Domaine de Grand Bourjassot “Cuvée Cécile” Gigondas $31.99

93 POINTS: JEB DUNNUCK - The 2019 Gigondas Cuvée Cécile is a more classic blend based largely on Grenache and offers a medium to full-bodied, balanced, impressive style. Sappy garrigue, spring flowers, and both red and blue fruits show on the nose, and it has plenty of mid-palate depth as well as building tannins that emerge with time in the glass. The cellar should be your friend on this one. I’d hide bottles for 2-3 years and enjoy over the following decade or more.

The New Face of Luxury Gin

Yes, indeed, that is Emma Watson—star of Harry Potter and other films—in the above photo, but Renais Gin is not just another celebrity throwaway. It’s the pride and joy of the entire Watson family, including her brother Oliver and her father Chris.

While fans all over the world are aware of Emma’s success, few know that her father Chris planted Chardonnay vines in Chablis back in the 1990s and that Emma’s family has been making Burgundy for over thirty years. Fewer are aware that Emma and her brother Oliver spent years in the Chablis vineyards long before she was ever cast as Hermione Granger.

And to be very clear, the focal point of the Watson family’s new Renais Gin is not Harry Potter. It’s Chablis. 

If you’re a lover of both Burgundy and gin (like we are at Mission), you’re going to want to try this gin immediately, mostly because the Watsons used actual pressed Grand Cru Chablis Chardonnay grapes as one of the botanicals in the gin, along with actual Kimmeridgian stones!! Yes, there are actual vineyard rocks used in the production of this gin, so as to effectively capture the essence of real Chablis. 

In addition to Chablis grapes and Chablis limestone, the Watsons add juniper, angelica root, linden flowers, and acacia honey to craft an entirely new expression of gin, and one that appeals directly to lovers of Burgundy, in particular. The aromas are fresh and lively, the texture rounded and supple, the flavors vinous and vibrant. 

Is this the first gin with real terroir and minerality? Perhaps! What’s more important is that it’s absolutely delicious and absolutely not some designer celebrity label. While Emma is a part of the marketing (of course), she’s not the face of the brand. The Watson family’s history of winemaking in Chablis goes back thirty years, which is where the story of Renais gin begins. 

We think it’s the most exciting new gin we’ve tasted in years and one of the most interesting, thought-provoking products we’ve added to our inventory in 2024 thus far.

Renais Gin $52.99

The Extra Añejo Gift That Keeps On Giving

The nondescript, austere black bottle that is San Matias Gran Reserva Extra Añejo Tequila has been one of the bar industry’s best kept secrets for well over a decade.

Made at NOM 1106, the Tequila de San Matias distillery’s aged bargain has long been a Tequila touchstone to those in-the-know, no different than how many of us feel about In-N-Out burgers or Arizona iced tea: a dependable, no nonsense product of quality that hasn’t really gone up in price for as long as we can remember.

$50 for a dependable, butterscotch-laden Extra Añejo Tequila is already a great price as is. Today, however, we’re gonna knock an extra $10 off that deal and give you all that extra maturity for the same price as most blanco Tequilas these days.

You can read the reviews on the always dependable Tequila Matchmaker for both a fair overview of the product and a look at the standard MSRP. You’re likely to come to the same conclusion that we did years ago: while it may not blow you away, it’s a damn good product for a very fair price.

And that price just got even better today—for a limited time! Who’s ready for Tuesday night shots on a warm summer evening?

San Matias Gran Reserva Extra Añejo Tequila $39.95

Right Bank Bordeaux Bargains

We love digging through stacks of old Bordeaux in search of mature values from great vintages. Not everyone wants to crack a $300 bottle of Lynch Bages on a random summer evening, which is why finding little gems from outstanding vintages like 2015 bring us immense joy. 

A recent search through an importer’s warehouse revealed five extra cases of 2015 Château Corbin from St. Emilion on Bordeaux’s famed Right Bank. Owned by the Cruse family since 1924, and today led by Anabelle Bardinet, the wines have been improving steadily since new investment was made in the late 1990s. 

With a cepage of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, the wines of Château Corbin are reminiscent of the old school Right Bank style we love: loads of plummy fruit, balanced with hints of tobacco and cigar box with plenty of grip. After almost a decade in bottle, the wine is in an absolutely beautiful spot and begging for a place around your summer grill. 

Our hot price of $39.95 is nothing to sneeze at either! Grill up a steak, sauté some mushrooms, roast something savory, or just pop the cork and enjoy it. Drinking mature, old school Bordeaux with great press at a great price doesn’t have to cost hundreds of dollars. 

Sometimes the best wines are the ones you least expect (although look at all the amazing reviews below):

2015 Château Corbin, St. Emilion $39.95

93 POINTS: JAMES SUCKLING - Plum pastries with violets and spiced blueberry fruits. The palate has impressive plushness and rich, fleshy appeal. Long finish. Try from 2022.

92 POINTS: ROBERT PARKER’S WINE ADVOCATE - A blend of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc aged for 18 months in barrels, 40% new, the 2015 Corbin is medium garnet-purple colored with cigar box and spice box notions accenting the core of red and black plums, blackberry preserves and earthy layers plus a hint of lavender. The palate is medium to full-bodied, firm, elegant and well balanced with grainy tannins, finishing lively and long.

90 POINTS: WINE SPECTATOR - A rather chunky style, with fig, boysenberry and blackberry confiture notes thoroughly embedded with grippy, brambly structure. Roasted apple wood and licorice snap notes fill in on the finish. Relies on power more than guile. 

90 POINTS: VINOUS - The 2015 Corbin shows much better from bottle than it did from barrel. Plump, juicy and forward, with lovely depth, it has much to recommend it. The dark red plum, mocha, chocolate, savory herb, leather, licorice, tobacco and smoke flavors are nicely delineated. The 2015 has come along nicely. I would prefer to drink it over the next handful of years

Beaujolais Brilliance from Brouilly

“This remains one of my absolutely favorite examples of Côte de Brouilly in the appellation and the wine deserves to be even better known.”

-John Gilman, View From the Cellar

Since 2009, every vintage of Domaine du Pavillon de Chavannes “Cuvée des Ambassades” has received amazing press from the folks at Vinous, and we expect 2022 to be no different. While we’re still waiting for the official score to be released, let us tell you what we know in the meantime:

• Domaine du Pavillon de Chavannes has the highest-elevation vineyard sites in Brouilly

• Roughly 60% of their vines are over 40 years old

• The old vine fruit is used to make the annual Cuvée des Ambassades, described by Vinous as “one of the most delicate and precise wines in Beaujolais”

• The wine is made with whole clusters and carbonic maceration, fermented in concrete tanks, and aged in old oak foudres without filtration

Beaujolais, unlike its Burgundian cousin, is made from Gamay rather than Pinot Noir,  and serious cru Beaujolais like the Pavillon de Chavannes has finally shed the “nouveau” moniker that kept older generations from discovering it. Dark, sumptuous, fleshy, and more brooding than its Pinot Noir relatives, French wine fans have been gravitating towards Brouilly for the better part of a decade, making the wines harder and harder to secure.

The takeaway is this: Cru Beaujolais is being appreciated outside Burgundy like never before, the quality has never been better, and the prices are still incredibly reasonable!

Beaujolais is also one of France’s most historic wines, with the Romans having cultivated vines on Mont Brouilly’s steep slopes where Domaine du Pavillon de Chavanne’s vineyards sit today.

While the word is still out on the 2022’s rating, why wait until the wine gets another rave review and then promptly sells out? At Mission, we want you to get in now while the wine is still available! For $21.99, there are few French reds that deliver this much quality for this low of a price, year after year after year.

2022 Domaine du Pavillon de Chavannes “Cuvée des Ambassades” $21.99

This is a very old school Beaujolais in the best sense: beautiful garnet color, beguiling aromatics, and a burst of refreshment in the mouth—and that burst is a savory, mineral, toothsome thing because of the domaine’s high elevations and because of Brouilly’s meager volcanic soils that provide depth of flavor. Some crus emphasize soil notes, others give fruit, but only good Côte de Brouilly gives stone in the flavor. Blackberries, cherries, and cassis permeate every inch of the palate with violets on the finish.

American Classics for the 4th

If you remember the pre-sale email we sent out a while back about the incredible (and collectable) wine bottle collaboration with famed LA tattoo artist Mr. Cartoon, then you’ll remember that limited edition project was put together by a man named Matt Suroff, who once worked in the fashion industry while living in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan.

Matt and his wife Alana, whose fondness for art and wine blossomed over their courtship in Tribeca, had long dreamt of starting their own wine label and—after splitting time between Paso Robles and New York, working harvests and soaking up every bit of knowledge they could—realized that dream with the Tribeca Wine Collective. Matt’s ability as a winemaker also came into focus, and the press he’s garnered thus far is fantastic.

Working with small growers and sustainably-farmed fruit, Matt and Alana’s refined palates are coupled with their keen eye for fashion in the first editions of the Tribeca Wine Collective’s eponymous labels. Working with winemaker Tyler Russell (who made the Bordeaux blend for the Mr. Cartoon project) and varietals from California’s Central Coast, these two have put together a portfolio of classic American style wines of quality, garnering press and praise wherever they go, with a modern take on curation.

We highly recommended these two wines in particular for your 4th of July backyard barbecue or evening fireworks celebrations! Check out the press:

2020 Tribeca Wine “Ocean Ave” Cabernet Sauvignon $49.99

93 POINTS: WINE ENTHUSIAST - Macerated blackberry, cherry cola and woodsmoke aromas converge on the nose of this bottling. The palate deftly integrates oak smoke with rich strawberry fruit, as toasted herb and peppercorn touches add ample spice. The name of the street Alana grew up on, Ocean Ave is an homage to a hotel on that same street where Matt cast many photo shoots.

Winemaker: Matthew Suroff

Consulting Winemaker: Tyler Russell

Vineyard: Happy Canyon, Grissini & Two Wolves Vineyards

AVA: Santa Ynez Valley

Grapes: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, Sustainably Farmed

Aging: 20% New French Oak, Unfiltered & Unfined

Production: 81 Cases

2022 Tribeca Wine “Leonard St” Gruner Veltliner $29.95

91 POINTS: WINE ENTHUSIAST - A very golden color in the glass, this bottling explores the denser side of Grüner, offering aromas of melon rind, dried grass clippings and toasted nuts. The richly textured palate is cut by citrus-peel acidity and a wet-clay minerality. Leonard Street Grüner is an ode to their TriBeCa roots, and memories of warm weather brunches where locals are often found drinking this cold, crisp white.

Winemaker: Matt Suroff

Consulting Winemaker: Tyler Russell

Vineyard: Davenport Vineyard

AVA: Edna Valley

Grapes: 100% Grüner Veltliner, SIP Certified (Sustainable)

Aging: 60% Stainless Steel, 40% Neutral French Oak - 6 months on lees, Filtered & Unfined

Production: 115 Cases

A Hot Deal In Napa

Once again, we call upon Google as the great equalizer for marketing hype when it comes to wine and spirits emails here at Mission.

We implore all of our customers to Google the Hess Collection Iron Corral Cabernet to see the savings here for yourself. $62.95 is the standard MSRP for this classic Napa Cab and today we’re offering the outstanding 2019 expression for the unbeatable price of just $34.95.

There are no tricks with this offer, nor with this wine. This is a classic Napa specimen of the old school California style: loads of cassis, savory spices, and hints of tobacco rolled up inside a big, plush mouthfeel and soft, integrated tannins that melt in your mouth when paired with the right meal.

Made from the Hess Estate’s Iron Corral vineyard, it’s a wine of quality and depth, with refined elements of oak showcasing a composition built for aging. Yet it’s balanced, well-integrated tannins allow this wine to show beautifully for those unwilling to wait.

When you think about the incredible savings, you’re almost getting two for the price of one! You can drink one now and save the other for a special occasion down the road!

**2019 Hess Collection Iron Corral Cabernet Sauvignon $34.95 (Elsewhere $60+)**

93 POINTS: JEB DUNNUCK - The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Iron Corral Estate is rock-solid, with a rich, velvety, medium to full-bodied profile that's very much in the style of the vintage. Nicely balanced, with lots of redcurrants, spiced plum, cedary incense, and tobacco, it has outstanding balance as well as length on the palate. It's well worth seeking out.

92 POINTS: WINE SPECTATOR - Fresh and direct, with cassis, raspberry and red licorice notes enlivened by a hint of bramble and touch of applewood on the finish. Drink now through 2032.

90 POINTS: WINE ENTHUSIAST - An affordable, approachable wine with small amounts of Malbec and Petit Verdot, this is a full-bodied, smoothly integrated expression of plush, lush texture and robust fruit. Boysenberry, black cherry and cinnamon glide easily across a soft, rich palate.

Château d'Issan's Second Wine Delivers the Goods

“This elegant, mid-weight Margaux is all class.” - Antonio Galloni of Vinous reviewing the Blason d’Issan

What is a “second wine” in Bordeaux, you ask?

A second wine quite literally means the wine made after the grand vin at each major château in Bordeaux, and in strong vintages like 2016 it can even be made with the same fruit that goes into the first wine.

The top properties in Bordeaux have two goals in mind when they produce a wine each vintage: control the quality and control the price. Too much wine can mean too much availability, which can sink the evaluation. Hence, in strong vintages like 2016 where there are extra grapes available, that leftover fruit will go into a second label.

For Margaux’s esteemed Château d’Issan, that second label is called Blason d’Issan and, as you can see in the reviews below (and from Galloni’s quote above), it holds its own as a finely-crafted Cabernet from the 2016 vintage. What stands out about the top wines of Margaux, and Château d’Issan as a producer, is the effortless elegance of the region’s best wines. There is a seamlessness and effortless grace that adorns these heady elixirs, and the 2016 Blason d’Issan has this quality in spades.

You could also try Château d’Issan’s **2016 grand vin for a side-by-side comparison, but that would run you $70+ per bottle. We’ll be the first to admit, the 2016 Château d’Issan is a more complete wine, but it’s also nowhere near its expected maturity. While you’re waiting for your 2016 d’Issan to evolve in your wine cellar, there’s the outstanding second wine to enjoy tonight: the 2016 Blason d’Issan, made from much of the same fruit, and tasting fantastic right now!

Get the grill fired up, decant a bottle tonight, and see what the fuss is all about. This wine already has almost 8 years of bottle age and is ready to go!

Blason d'Issan Margaux 2016 750ml $34.99

93 POINTS: JAMES SUCKLING - Very pretty and finely formed with currant, cherry and raspberry character. Medium to full body, firm and silky tannins and a long and fresh finish. Fine textured. Lovely second wine for d’Issan.

89 POINTS: VINOUS - Two reviews: The 2016 Blason d’Issan has a rich, generous bouquet of ample blackberry, tar and light violet aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with gentle grip, smooth tannin and plenty of tobacco-tinged black fruit that fans out nicely toward the sharp finish. A very capable second wine from d’Issan. -Neil Martin

The 2016 Blason d'Issan is a plump, forward second wine from Issan. Sweet tobacco, cedar, leather and licorice add character to this supple, fruity Margaux. Drink it over the next few years. -Antonio Galloni