(Please note this wine is on special order from a cold cellar in the east coast and will not ship until next week.)

Domaine Michel Gay et Fils is located in Chorey-les-Beaune, an ancient winegrowing village situated about a ten minute’s drive north of Beaune—the commercial center of the wine industry in Burgundy. Sébastien Gay is a fifth generation winemaker who took over control of the estate and its vineyards in 2000. While the estate has only existed since 1992, the family has been making wine for more than 100 years. When Sébastien took over, he made some serious changes that resulted in wine of vastly superior quality. In recent years, the wines have emerged much cleaner and full of the classic aromatics we all desire in great Burgundy. They source fruit from many vineyards in the surrounding region, including the Coucherias Premier Cru, located in Beaune—a stone’s throw southwest of the famous and highly regarded Beaune-Greves. This is a wine that is much more elegant and soft than most wines from Beaune, yet is built to last with serious balance and complexity. By eliminating herbicide-use in the vineyards, farming organically, and then meticulously sorting the grapes before fermentation, Sébastien has beautifully preserved the terroir to the highest degree; the wines are just about as good as you can come across from this region, which can be tough and rustic. Fermentation takes place in concrete and stainless steel tanks, then the wine is aged for 18 months in roughly 20% new French oak.

The 2011 Beaune-Coucherias Premier Cru has a dark ruby center with garnet hues on the rim. The aromas of this wine are dominated by floral and fresh with characteristics such as wet roses, flower stems, wet moss, wet leaves and green tea with additional notes of red currant, red plum, unripe strawberry, crushed gravel and subtle baking spices. The palate mimics these vivacious aromatics, wrapped up in a lush and silky body with moderate tannins; these tannins will continue to soften with time. This wine is ready to drink now, so long as you give it enough air. Please decant this wine for thirty minutes before serving at cellar temp in large Burgundy stems. This slow roasted pork shoulder with mustard and sage would make a killer pairing for this Red Burgundy, and I highly recommend you enjoy it with food.