2018 Alex Gambal Burgundy Wine Tasting featuring the latest vintage from our good friend and virtual Host Alex Gambal

"Drinking is a very demanding profession and I can’t hold down two jobs at once"
Morgan Freidman

I totally agree with that as I have only been able to do one job for the last 23 years here at Wine Watch and drinking is my job.  Next week you have three chances to come out and drink with me!  And the Wine Bar is still only open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday night for our wine tasting events only.  It could be a long time before we are open for regular service again as there seems to be no end in sight for the Corona Virus.  But we do have the table in the Wine Cave available on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights starting again on the 7th of January!

We have a minimum of 6 people to reserve the table in the Cave but we will take up to 15 people for a curated dinner by Chef Toni.  We must know in advance what food items you want so you will have to coordinate the menu with Toni ahead of time, but she can put together any of your favorites from past Wine Bar menus or whatever you want if she has enough notice. The best thing about this table is the view of the wine, we have the largest selection of vintage wine in South Florida and everything is available at a retail price!!  You may want to bring a sweater it is 64 degrees in the wine cave.

The best discovery that we have made in the world of Burgundy since I have owned the store are the wines of Alex Gambal.  We host a tasting with these wines almost every year in February/March and Alex has been here several times to host the tasting in person.  An American in Burgundy is a unique story, but Alex is a unique guy.  We are sad to see it come to an end with the 2018 vintage, but we are glad that we were able to secure a good amount of his last vintage to offer our “Wine Drinking People” and we are also glad that the 2018 vintage is outstanding in Burgundy!

We have sent dozens of people to see his winery in Beaune and he never let us down, not only were our people a big fan of his wines but there is something that makes you feel at home when you meet an American in Burgundy.  Alex unfortunately had no one to leave his business to as the kids did not have an interest in the wine business so last year he sold the farm to our good friends at Boisset, one of the largest producers in Burgundy.  

We will host a tasting with Alex here as our special virtual host on Friday, January 8th where you can experience over a dozen wines from the outstanding 2018 vintage!

For those of you that can’t make it I have included all the wines from Alex Gambal that we have in the store.  The fee for the tasting is $195 + tax which includes dinner, if you would like to make reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.

2018 Alex Gambal Burgundy Wine Tasting Featuring the Last Vintage
From our Good Friend and Virtual Host Alex Gambal
Friday, January 8, 2021
7:30 PM

2018 Alex Gambal Bourgogne Blanc
2018 Alex Gambal St Aubin
2018 Alex Gambal Saint Aubin En Remilly
2018 Alex Gambal Saint Aubin Les Murgers des Dents de Chien
2018 Alex Gambal Batard Montrachet Grand Cru
2018 Alex Gambal Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru

2018 Alex Gambal Bourgogne Pinot Noir Cuvée les Deux Papis
2018 Alex Gambal Savigny Les Beaune
2018 Alex Gambal Chambolle Musigny
2018 Alex Gambal Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru  les charmes
2018 Alex Gambal Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru Aux Echanges
2018 Alex Gambal Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru
2018 Alex Gambal Clos Vougeot Grand Cru

Menu
Selection of Cheese and Charcuterie
Salmon and Mango Tartar
Coq Au Vin deconstructed
Epoisses and Apple Tart

The fee for this tasting which includes dinner is $195 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.

The Last Hurrah From Alex Gambal – 2018 Vintage Alex’s Last Release!

2018 Alex Gambal Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru
Price : $230                 Sale : $202.40 (12 Bottles Available)
Violets floral notes, new leather, very exotic with rich black cherry fruit liqueur like on richness only 2.5 barrels produced.  The nose here is very complex and layered.  Wow a big and chewy wine with elegance and finesse a long layered finish that seems to go in and on the tannins are like velvet. 

2018 Alex Gambal Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
Price : $230                 Sale : $202.40 (18 Bottles Available)
The winegrowing area of Vougeot, in the middle of the Côte de Nuits, is famous all over the world for its prestigious Clos Vougeot, which regulary represents the image of the Burgundy wine-producing region. This Clos alone covers a large part of the village of Vougeot, between Chambolle-Musigny and Flagey-Echezeaux. With its 50 hectares entirely surrounded by walls, this vineyard is indisputably the largest of Burgundy’s Grand Crus and the wines produced reveal many different expressions depending on where they come from within the Clos.
From a parcel in the "Quartier de Marei Haut" we were able to vinify Clos Vougeot in "our style." This is to say with an elegance and class that sometimes is wanting in the Clos. Dark black cherry fruit along with a Chambolle like silkiness and we have a Clos Vougeot that is a cross between Grands Echezeaux and Musigny.

2018 Alex Gambal Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru Argillieres 
Price : $95       Sale : $83.60   (18 Bottles Available)
A superb winegrowing area, it is known as the “Côte de Nuits”. Officially recognized as of 1936, the AOC Nuit-Saint-Georges stretches from the village of Nuit-Saint-Georges to the North to Prémeaux-Prissey to the most Southern part.  The majority of the appellation is planted with Pinot Noir.
Our plot of Nuit-Saint-Georges 1er  Cru “Clos des Argillières” is located in the southern part, in the village of Prémeaux-Prissey

2018 Alex Gambal Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru les Charmes  
Price : $175.00            Sale $154.00 (30 Bottles Available)
Between Morey-Saint-Denis to the North and Vougeot to the South, the winegrowing area of Chambolle-Musigny stands at the end of an anticlinal valley, which has scattered its scree and colluvium for the delight of Pinot Noir. This grape variety is known here for producing the most “feminine” red wines of the Côte-de-Nuits.

This small winegrowing area counts 2 Grands Crus and 24 Premiers Crus.  The plot named “Les Charmes” is located on the Southern part of the Côte, adjoining Vougeot.

2018 Alex Gambal Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru Aux Echanges 
Price : $150.00            Sale $132.00   (30 Bottles Available)
Aux Echanges is one of the lower vineyards in the band of Premier Cru climats that runs north to south across the Chambolle-Musigny appellation, following the lower section of the Côte d'Or escarpment and, here in Chambolle, across the ancient alluvial fan created by the wash that ran through the Combe Ambin valley and out into the Saône valley.

2018 Alex Gambal Auxey Duresses Rouge
Price: $49.00   Sale $43.12     (12 Bottles Available)
Auxey-Duresses is located in the Cote de Beaune between Meursault and Volnay and produces charming Pinot Noirs. This has ripe raspberry, black cherry, black tea with a hint of spice, supple tannins and a long, lingering finish.

 2018 Alex Gambal Saint Romain Rouge
Price : $39.00  Sale $34.32     (12 Bottles Available)
At the foot of its high cliff, Saint-Romain is the finest example of the Hautes-Côtes-de-Beaune, where the landscape widens out to offer vast views. This enclosure brings to perfection the two Burgundy grape varieties, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Our Saint-Romain 2018 comes from a blend of several of our plots named “Sous Roche”, “Sous le Château”, “Le Jarron”, “La Perrière” and “En Chevrot”.

2018 Alex Gambal Volnay 
Price: $75.00   Sale $66.00     (18 Bottles Available)
The winegrowing area of Volnay is set upon an impressive hillock slightly hollowed by the presence of small, narrow anticlinal valley. The soil composition is relatively consistent and the vines, ideally oriented to face the rising sun, give wines of superb delicacy, often described as feminine.
This wine is a blend of grapes from three very closely situated plots: two belonging to our Domaine, “Robardelle” and “Petits Gamets”, as well as the purchase of grapes from the plot named “Les Famines”

2018 Alex Gambal Pommard
Price: $75.00   Sale $66.00     (18 Bottles Available)
Located in the Côte de Beaune, between Beaune and Volnay, Pommard has a total of 320 hectares of vines which spread across two slopes of a hill with a South, South-East facing orientation, ideal for vine growing.
Pommard was one of the very first AOCs to be established in 1936. The variety of terroirs in this AOC can be found in the diversity of its wines which have a multitude of characters.

2018 Alex Gambal Chorey Les Beaune 
Price : $42.50  Sale $37.40     (30 Bottles Available)
Our love affair with Chorey continues. Chorey is the perfect everyday village level Burgundy. 150 cases in 20% new oak barrels.

2018 Alex Gambal Savigny Les Beaune 
Price : $42.50  Sale $37.40     (30 Bottles Available)
A historic vineyard and famous owners such as the Dukes of Burgundy, the Cistercians and even Popes qualify the wines of Savigny-les-Beaune as "theological". The appellation, one of the largest in Burgundy, covers nearly 350 hectares of vineyards. A rarity in the Côte de Beaune, Savigny-les-Beaune also produces a festive wine: Crémant de Bourgogne.

2018 Alex Gambal Savigny Les Beaune Grands Picotins 
Price : $49.00  Sale $43.12     (12 Bottles Available)
This Savigny from the locality named “Grands Picotins” is produced by the Domaine. This plot of vines located on the way to the village of Savigny, lies upon very pebbly soils.  The vines are on average 35-40 years old, certified organic, yielding 15 hl/ha. The vines are east facing, planted on brown-limestone soil.

2018 Alex Gambal Chambolle Musigny  
Price : $95.00  Sale $83.60     (30 Bottles Available)
What more to say than red silk and the rhythm of a Bach concerto; power and light personified.

2018 Alex Gambal Gevrey Chambertin 
Price : $85.00  Sale $74.80     (18 Bottles Available)
Our Gevrey showed an exuberant fruit during its fermentation and still shows energy and its dark cherry fruit that is persistent.

2018 Alex Gambal Bourgogne Rouge Cuvee Les Deux Papis
Price : $32.50  Sale $28.60     (120 Bottles Available)
The delimited area of the Bourgogne appellation is vast and stretches over more than 300 towns and villages of Burgundy’s winegrowing region, therefore producing a great variety of wines.
Our Burgundy Pinot Noir is made with grapes from vines located in the village of Volnay, as well those in Savigny-les-Beaune and de Prémeaux-Prissey.

2018 White Burgundy

2018 Alex Gambal Batard Montrachet Grand Cru            
Price : $450     Sale $396  (12 Bottles Available)     
The winegrowing area of Chassagne prolongs towards the south that of Puligny-Montrachet and also extends the magnificent hillside upon which the world ’s most coveted Grand Cru white wines grow. This vast, magnificent hillside brings the Chardonnay grape to perfection.

2018 Alex Gambal Chevalier Montrachet Grand Cru
Price : $ 795.00           Sale $699.60   (6 Bottles Available)

The first and last vintage of Chevalier Montrachet from Alex and I only have 6 bottles! 

2018 Alex Gambal Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru
Price : $185.00            Sale $162.80   (18 Bottles Available)
At the boundary between the Côte de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune, the Montagne de Corton is home to two Grand Cru wines: Grand Cru Corton, red or white, and Grand Cru Corton Charlemagne, solely a white wine.  Three villages share the Grand Cru Corton Charlemagne: Aloxe-Corton (climat named Le Charlemagne),  Pernand-Vergelesses (climat named En Charlemagne) and Ladoix-Serrigny (Les Pougets, les Languettes, Le Corton).

2018 Alex Gambal Saint Aubin En Remilly 1er Cru
Price : $56       Sale : $49.28   (30 Bottles Available)

This 1er  Cru “En Remilly” is found just above the Montrachet. With a South-facing orientation, this terroir is one of the finest of Saint-Aubin with our other 1er Cru “Les Murgers des Dents de Chien”. We purchase the grapes from this plot and harvest them.

 2018 Alex Gambal Saint Aubin Les Murgers des Dents de Chien  1er Cru
Price : $56       Sale : $49.28   (120 Bottles Available)

This 1er Cru “Les Murgers des Dents de Chien” is located just above the Grand Cru Chevalier Montrachet, at the edge of Puligny-Montrachet.
We have harvested all the grapes from this plot since 1999.

2018 Alex Gambal Chassagne Montrachet La Matroie 1er Cru
Price : $95.00              Sale $83.60 (30 Bottles Available)
Alex bought .5 acres in 2008 in this 1er Cru of Puligny and this is all estate fruit.  White rocks and iron ore give this wine a distinct minerality.  Lots of juicy fruit with lemon drop candy with a nice touch of tongue tingly mineral,  this wine has wonderful concentration and richness lovely balance.

2018 Alex Gambal Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Les Cailleret
Price : $110.00            Sale : $96.80   (30 Bottles Available)
Le Cailleret is a prestigious Premier Cru vineyard in Puligny-Montrachet, located on the same line of the slope as the famous Le Montrachet Grand Cru vineyard. The terroir here is perfect for the Chardonnay grape variety, which produces elegant, mineral white wines.

2018 Alex Gambal St Aubin
Price : $39.00  Sale $58.50     (120 Bottles Available)
Set back from Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet, the winegrowing area of Saint-Aubin is situated in marvellous rolling countryside with the most varied orientations here and soil types that differ greatly. Magnificent and underrated white wines are produced here, as well as some fresh, fruity red wines.
This village wine is a blend of two plots “Les Vellerottes” and “En Bas de Vermarain à l ’Est”. We harvest the grapes from these plots and make the wines.

2018 Alex Gambal Chassagne Montrachet
Price : $66.00              Sale $58.08     (30 Bottles Available)
The potentially outstanding Chassagne-Montrachet is a blend of three parcels from around the appellation: En l'Ormeau, Les Essarts and Blanchots Dessous.

2018 Alex Gambal Puligny Montrachet  
Price : $69.00  Sale $60.72     (30 Bottles Available)
The winegrowing area of Puligny-Montrachet is renowned especially for its fine white wines, highly esteemed all over the world. It is located near the villages of Meursault, to the north, and Chassagne Montrachet, to the south.  At varying levels of intensity, the wines are elegant and stylish.  They combine delicacy, fullness and extraordinary complexity, all of which enhances with time in these fine laying-down wines.  Our Puligny-Montrachet is a blend of two adjoining plots of the domain - Les Grands Champs and Les Petits Grands Champs - which are located just below the Premier Cru Clavaillon.

2018 Alex Gambal Puligny Montrachet Les Enseigneres  1er Cru
Price : $95.00  Sale $83.60     (30 Bottles Available)
Our plot of Puligny-Montrachet “Les Enseignères” is situated just below the Grand Cru Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet.  The vineyard we bought in 2011 along with our Batard, our “Baby Batard” shows its muscles and power all the while supported by steel cables.

2018 Alex Gambal Meursault Les Narvaux  
Price : $75.00  Sale $66.00     (30 Bottles Available)
At the heart of the Côte de Beaune, the Meursault winegrowing area is the entry to the terroir of the very finest white wines, which continues along all the southern part of this hillside. Famous worldwide, the wines of Meursault are distinguished by their qualities of roundness, richness and minerality.
This Meursault is made from a plot of our Domaine “Les Narvaux”

2018 Alex Gambal Meursault Les Casse Tete  
Price : $69.00  Sale $60.72     (12 Bottles Available)
Shallow rocky soils this Lieu Dit has that rich ripe tree fruit on the nose with hints of flinty mineral notes. A very full and rich wine on the palate with juicy fruit, a nice creamy texture with a firm hand of acidity and a long finish, lots of forward juicy fruit but also has nice structure.

2018 Alex Gambal Saint Romain Blanc
Price :$42.50   Sale $37.40     (12 Bottles Available)
Saint-Romain is a small village in the Côte de Beaune sub-region of Burgundy which has had its own communal appellation since October 1947. This covers both elegant, prefumed red wines from the Pinot Noir grape variety, and white wines showing plenty of minerality which are made from Chardonnay.

2018 Alex Gambal Beaune Montagne Saint Desire Blanc
Price : $45.00  Sale $39.60     (12 Bottles Available)
Composed of relatively equal proportions of clay, sand, rock and silt on top of the limestone marl bedrock, Clos Saint-Désiré is grown high up on the slope of Beaune just above the famous red 1er Cru Clos des Mouches. Here the soil is surprisingly deep for this higher altitude site at nearing the apex of the Montagne Saint-Désiré. The wine is replete with solid mineral intensity and a surprisingly more full body due to the combination of deep topsoil mixed with a high proportion of limestone rocks.

2018 Alex Gambal Fixin Blanc
Price : $39.00  Sale $34.32     (18 Bottles Available)
Fixin (pronounced “Fissin”) is situated in the Côte de Nuits region between Dijon and Gevrey-Chambertin. In 1860 it merged with the neighbouring hamlet of Fixey. As well as wine-cellars, attractions for visitors include the 10th century church of Saint-Antoine, the manor of La Perrière where once the monks of Cîteaux came to enjoy the good air and the good wine, François Rude’s famous statue in the Parc Noisot of Napoleon in the process of becoming immortal, a particularly handsome communal laundry and the slate-covered village breadoven. Here there are a thousand things to see, not to mention many welcoming wine cellars.

2018 Alex Gambal Bourgogne Chardonnay
Price : $32.50  Sale $28.60     (120 Bottles Available)
Our Bourgogne Chardonnay now comes only from our parcel in Volnay and bio grapes that we harvest in Puligny. The Bourgogne has a wonderful balance between the vintage's acidity and the inherent richness of Puligny and Volnay.

A bit about Alex Gambal

Burgundy today is a paradox, one of the planets greatest terroirs for growing pinot noir and chardonnay and yet so many of the wines from this region remain average, overpriced examples of these two varietals.  I visited this region in March of 2008 for the Grand Jours de Bourgogne, a tasting that encompasses the entire region of Burgundy, with each village hosting a tasting highlighting their appellations wines with almost all of the major properties showing their wines.  The Corton tasting included a whopping 150 wines with equally as many vintners.  This tasting is one event that sums up the opening statement of this offering.  This is by far the largest grand cru in Burgundy and of the 150 different wines that have Grand Cru status only about 1/3 of the wines were grand- leaving the latter 2/3 of the wines shown at this event just grandly overpriced. 

Much of the dilemma that plagues Burgundy and causes the mass amount of mediocrity is that many of the new generation of producers are not enthusiastic about making wine.  They also have come to the realization they can sell everything they produce without working very hard.  This is not to say that there is a lack of passionate producers that worked hard to be the best regardless of profit, but that for the quality of the vineyards here there seems to be an alarming amount of average wines.  One of the things that add to the confusion here is that there are more small subdivided vineyard plots here probably than anywhere else in France or the world for that matter.  If you look at the most famous wine region of France and compare Burgundy to it you will find a few interesting facts.  Each time Burgundy produces one bottle of red wine, Bordeaux produces nine. For white wines, the ratio is one for two. Furthermore, Grand Crus in Burgundy only represent 3% of the total production!  In a year, the prestigious Château d'Yquem may produce around 8.000 cases whereas the Marquis de Laguiche (the largest owner of the prized Le Montrachet vineyard) will only produce 700 cases of Le Montrachet. 

Alex Gambal, one of the newcomers to this area has made one of the biggest impacts on the quality and the marketability of this region.  Alex has brought the American work ethic and his enthusiastic approach to marketing his wines and during the Grand Jours de Bourgogne he did what very few vintners do for the influx of Burgundy fans, he opened up his cuverie to his patrons so they could taste his newest releases in a relaxed and comfortable environment.  Most other producers only show their wines at the big tastings hosted by each appellation.

Born in Washington D.C., Alex Gambal discovered Burgundy in 1993, along with a passion for its wine.  He had caught the wine bug so bad that he decided to move the entire family to Burgundy to work with one of the leading U.S. importers of Burgundy Becky Wasserman.  It was not long before he was enrolled in the famous wine school in Beaune studying about winemaking and viticulture.  Only a few short years later he left Wasserman and created a négociant-éleveur business in 1997.

During the first year, Alex began by purchasing 1996 vintage finished wines and by 1998 had already established relationships with local growers.  Alex began to vinify the wine, beginning with grapes and must. In 2005, Maison Alex Gambal vinified 95% of the wines that will be bottled and they now own vineyards in the Bourgogne appellation that account for about 50% of the production of their two entry level wines; the Bourgogne Rouge and the Bourgogne Blanc.  In 2011 Alex make international wine news as he became the first American ever to buy Grand Cru vineyards as he managed to buy a small parcel of Batard Montrachet along with a few parcels located in Puligny and Chassagne Montrachet.  He is constantly enlarging his holdings to make as many domaine wines as possible.

The philosophy of Alex Gambal is a respect for the character of each appellation and vintage.  In addition, he believes that good winemaking, although imperative, should be secondary to the quality of the grapes which result from relationships and a sharing of ideas with the growers.  Achieving this goal requires constant attention to the individual vineyards including pruning techniques, green harvesting, vine maturity, etc. (certain vineyard sites are even picked by his own small team of vendangeurs). 

Older Vintages of Alex Gambal wines available:

2017 Alex Gambal Pommard
Price: $102.00 Sale Price: $89.76       Quantity in Stock: 10

2017 Alex Gambal Volnay
Price: $99.00   Sale Price: $87.12       Quantity in Stock: 6

2017 Alex Gambal Vosne Romanee
Price: $130.00 Sale Price: $99.00       Quantity in Stock: 10

2017 Alex Gambal Chambolle Musigny
Price: $135.00 Sale Price: $118.80     Quantity in Stock: 10

2017 Alex Gambal Meursault Clos Du Cromin
Price: $105.00 Your Price: $92.40      Quantity in Stock: 3

2017 Alex Gambal Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru Clos des Argillieres
Price: $130.00 Sale Price: $114.40     Quantity in Stock: 11

2016 Alex Gambal Pommard
Price: $76.50   Your Price: $67.32      Quantity in Stock: 50

2016 Alex Gambal Clos Vougeot
Price: $190.50 Sale Price: $167.64     Quantity in Stock: 11

2016 Alex Gambal Vosne Romanee Vielles Vignes
Price: $111.00 Sale Price: $97.68       Quantity in Stock: 49

2015 Alex Gambal Bourgogne Aligote
Price: $20.25   Your Price: $17.82      Quantity in Stock: 25

2015 Alex Gambal Chorey Les Beaune
Price: $43.50   Your Price: $38.28      Quantity in Stock: 7

2015 Alex Gambal Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru Clos des Argillieres
Price: $91.50   Sale Price: $80.52       Quantity in Stock: 4

2015 Alex Gambal Batard Montrachet Grand Cru
Price: $444.00 Your Price: $390.72    Quantity in Stock: 10

2014 Alex Gambal Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru
Price: $195.00 Sale Price: $171.60     Quantity in Stock: 9