++ NOTE: These are pre-sale wines, meaning we don’t have our hands on the goods yet. As soon as we get them, we’ll get them over to you as fast as we possibly can. To spread the love and keep things fair, we’re putting a ONE BOTTLE LIMIT per person on these – that’s one bottle total, rather than one bottle of each cuvée across the range. Any cheaters will be refunded right away. No email orders, phone calls, DMs or holds. Play nice and pick your fighter wisely! ++
You could wax lyrical for months on end about the wines of Eric Pfifferling (now overseen by his sons, Joris and Thibaut), such is their endless prettiness, unreal precision and consistent poise. Then again, is it even worth it? Demand for them so heavily dwarfs supply – and any allocations are always snatched up in an instant. What is it, exactly, that makes these so highly sought-after? In addition to rigorous organic and biodynamic farming, there’s an uncanny lightness of touch in the cellar that yields an otherworldly sense of purity and resonance in every bottle, full stop. You want the apex of the Southern Rhône? This is it.
That bell-ring clarity is so, so present in the 2024 Tavel, a savoury grenache (et al) rosé for the ages that’s long been the estate’s calling card. A silken-textured benchmark in its own right, steered by explosively ripe, crunchy red berries and rounded out by crushed violets and pomegranate tea to a mineral-driven finish. Those who prefer things a few shades lighter might look to the 2024 Chemin de la Brune, a direct-press grenache with squirts of cinsault and aramon that weds wild strawberries, white peaches, jasmine and mint with a lively, mandarin-laced acidity.
On the darker end, the 2023 Nizon remains a highlight even as it finds itself on the fleshier, fuller side of medium-bodied with this release. Old-vine grenache in full flight, bursting with bright red fruits, purple flowers and hints of darker berries? Perky acidity, fine tannins, long finish? Yes, thanks. Slightly denser though just as finessed, the 2022 Pierre Chaude takes grenache in a somewhat spicier direction thanks to the help of carignan, clairette and more. Same velveteen mouthfeel and signature core of crystalline red fruits, just wrapped in pomegranate molasses and garrigue.