Leon & Son Wine and Spirits

LDW classics: past, present and future 🩵

Of all the LDW arrivals, we’re obsessing over the swath of Marthe Henry Boillot wines that have landed. Everything from the Porusots to this Aligote, you feel her legacy of world class burgundy but through a new lense. We can’t wait to see what the future holds here (especially with the ‘23 vintage, which will have her first estate bottlings).

Trevallon has become a rolodex of memories for me. If you slide past the first frame (with our newest arrivals) to the frosty glass of ‘12 Blanc, it’s from one of my first vacations with my now-wife. I suitcased a couple bottles (as one does), one of which was Trévallon Blanc. We opened it while we recovered from the sun, and over our first refill the conversation of a life together started – a massive affirmation that this was my person and life together was the real deal. This beautiful bottle always takes me back to that warming memory (and to the many others since). Its always a big deal when I see these wines land. - Chris

20% OFF JURA + SAVOIE all 👏 day 👏 today 👏

We’re making space for fall arrivals — give us a hand? Link in story or visit us on Fulton til 9p.

If you’ve been eying some Marnes Blanches or maybe a mag of Theo Dancer’s Savagnin (haven’t we all?) now would be the time . . .

Though Sylvie Augereau might be best known as the founder of the natural wine fair ‘La Dive’ – France’s largest and most important – the wines she makes at her tiny Anjou estate (1.4ha) might be her most personal work. Her Réjouissances - which just landed - 50/50 Pineau d’Aunis and Grolleau from 50 year old biodynamic vines in Thoureil, a village tucked between Saumur and Angers. Aged in used oak for one year, bottled w/o sulfure and packed into just 80 cases. With its fresh fruit and underlying spice, it’s a joyous bridge into these late summer days 🌅

Oregon fam popping on Fulton St ❤️‍🔥

Tucked among the mountains north of Lake Balaton, István Bencze is quietly making some the finest zero-zero wines in the game. It tracks when you see where a resume with names like Tscheppe, Tauss and Strekov. And there’s no clearer example then in his estate (Demeter certified) Pinot Noir which just landed. A precise wine that we can’t get enough of. Our very own waxes poetic as to how-and-why this grower is so special in todays newest note: link in bio

This duo from la Morra, is rightfully getting attention. With sites at the appellations highest point, Maffrei is fully embracing the newest wave of stylish piedmontese wines that mix complexity with instant-drinkability. If you missed our profile on this newest gen, you can read it on the site (spoiler: we’re all in). The newest release is their first white. A totally unique blend of little-seen local Nascetta with Arneis and Riesling. Directly pressed for freshness and clarity, each varietal shines in the blend: Nascetta bringing fall-like orchard fruit, Arneis it’s signature silty texture and Riesling a lemon-oil acidity we can’t stop thinking about. The combo is a winner, making us yearn for more outside-the-box blends from the Langhe.

A new-vintage glow up from the singular Hervé Souhaut ✨

One of our fav summer arrivals each year, Gut Oggau’s Winifred is here ☺️ From a vineyard dedicated to the cuvée, fermented in a mix of large barrels, raised in 500-liter barrels for about 8 month and bottled w/o fining, filtering or sulfur; it’s as intentional, structured and delicious as rosé gets.

Our upstate neighbors, Barbichette, continue to make magic with their newly released wines. Coming from some of the best farmed vineyards (and most famous names) Upstate, they’re framing our state’s best appellations in a brand new way.  All the wines are w/o sulfur, added yeasts, chemical additives, fining or filtering: they’re bottling naturally made New York wines at their best. And, as you’ll see w/ all three new wines, they’re adding to their lineup in exciting ways. Two of which are from Pinot: a luminous direct to press rosé and an eye-opening whole cluster Red. And, a macertated muscat that serves as an ode to (and reminder of Cesar’s stage w/) Matassa in the Roussillon. Welcome back 🥰

We saw a double rainbow! It’s going to be a magical weekend. Happy Friday team  🌈😘

‘Linit’ is the first white from Envinate’s work in La Mancha. Both the name of the Cuvee and it’s varietal, Linit is indigenous to the area and rarely seen. Theirs is from centenarian vines, grown in chalk and clay soils well-covered in pebbles at 700m elevation. Direct press juice is fermented in concrete for about two weeks, then split between concrete and neutral barrels for 8 months of élevage. No fining, no filtration, and minimal SO2. The result is a briney Mediterranean wine whose sneaky texture and salinity remind us of the Assyrtiko you’d find from Greek great Hatzidakis. Lovers of seeing the sea level rise in wines in Castilla-La Mancha should run, not work to the newest release.

Todays note is on the excellent work Cantalapiedra is doing with Verdejo. A host of their wines just landed, including the luxurious, single parcel ‘El Chiviritero’. Macerated for a full day, raised in old wood, it’s the kind of wine that shows how noble this grape truly is in rueda

Colli di Luni - Liguria’s Eastern-most stretch, before spilling into Maremma -  is where you’ll find Ottaviano Lambruschi. Since the 70s he’s been a specialist (and reference point) for Vermentino. His original and top vineyard is called “Il Maggiore.” It sits at the zone’s highest point and produces fruit that imparts a flinty, phenolic character (from its slate soils) to the grape’s signature zesty, saline character. A shocking wine, its truly one of Italy’s great white wines ⚡️🌊

Two weeks ago, we were able to sit and taste the full range of 22s from Domaine de Chassorney. A notable vintage, in that it’s the first release w/o Frédéric Cossard’s who sold his estate to fellow vigneron friend Aurelien Verdet. Outside of the symbolic passing of the reigns, the holding’s remain the same and the wines remain as we know them (though with some changes worth noting). We get into the exchange, the changes and the final wines below. 

With children nowhere near the wine trade, Cossard began looking for a long-term solution for the future of his domaine. It was in 2018 (his 32nd vintage), he found one in his longtime motorcycle friend, Aurelien Verdet. Verfet already ran his family’s vineyard in the Hautes-Cotes de Nuits and is the son of Alain Verdet who’s considered one of the pioneers of organic farming in Burgundy.

The two friends spent vintages ‘19 through ‘21 working shoulder to shoulder in Cossard’s cellar. At first, the full transition was supposed to happen in 2021 - but the difficult vintage kept the two working together to ensure a successful year. These three years were spent tracking how-and-what Fred did for each cuvee as to make a seamless transition. 

In 2022 Aurelien moved the work to his cellar in Arcenant and took full ownership of the Domaine. In the vineyards, the domaine remains very much the same; ardently organic, like both Fred and his father worked. And, in the cellar, much remains the same: whole cluster pressing of whites still go into cement egg and the reds continue to see an extended maceration with their whole cluster. Changes are subtle but notable: elevage in qvevri is absent in ‘22 (though the cellar has some w/ plans to fold them into the program) and most importantly all the wines see sulfur. Both decisions clearly inform a slightly more classic style. 
 
Fred continues his work with negoce wines. In our profile, we give our take on the new wines. Link to that and the new cuvees and - for the curious or nostalgic - some of Fred’s last vintage from 2021.

Andy Young cant help himself when he says” our Pinots come to the costume party dressed as Gamay. But what happens when actual Gamay shows up in the room? The Passebilities are endless.” When you push past the passetoutgrain pun, what happens is crazy delicious. Passebilities, his willamette ode to the PTG, is 50-50 Gamay and Pinot. It’s fermented in a mix of big foudre and tank, then confidently raised on its full leese in barrique (25% new). The results are a layered, scrumptious (deeply American) take on a very french place. Which.. kind of feels like the theme this month?

J.G. Benda is not just new to us, they’re one of the freshest faces in Montalcino. When it comes to this beautiful place, we run with a tight group of producers who represent what we love about Sangiovese Grosso: wild herbs, aromatics and an ability to meld its intoxicating red fruit quality with exotic citrus flavors. It’s a high bar that we’re thrilled to say Benda leaps over. Having working with the likes of Il Maronetto (another fav), John Benda and his partner Zoe, jumped at the opportunity to acquire 18ha of untouched forest containing two 1ha vineyard plots (planted in 1998 and 2006) through a seldom seen auction. Their new estate is isolated deep in the woods at the highest point of the Brunello zone (500+ meters) on soils rich in sand, limestone, and rocky galestro. The fruit the area produces is fresh, pure fruited and perfectly in line with what we love. Treated simply with native fermentations in large wood, it’s the kind of instant classic we’re thrilled to have.

I really love seeing what top producers abroad are drinking on their home turf. It’s usually a fun sneak peek into what’s exciting locally before the rest of the industry knows. This past Spring, over dinner at Esslokal with the exceptionally talented Alwin and Stefanie Jurtschitsch, they clued me in about a producer they’re drinking: Von Der Vogelwaide. We pulled a cork (second photo) and I instantly needed to know more, came home and tasted everything I could. And can say confidently, I’ve not had wines like these from Wachau. This brand new duo is making magic with wines that reflect their love for (and pedigree with) Burgundy while honoring their very special place. Tasting names like Luis Seabra, Wasenhaus, Dostert for the first time come to mind here. We go all in and explain why in today’s notes (link in bio)

We spent last week talking about Vincent Ruiz’s new (delicous) work in the Savoie. But we didn’t have space to talk about his negocie work which arguably speaks most clearly to his defining experience working with Franck Balthazar. His self name project is made up of three wines, all from the same old vine vineyard in the Gard. Two Grenache bottlings and one Syrah, all made whole cluster with very little extraction: they’re gastronomic wines any purist should hunt down. We’re currently obsessed with the irredescent ‘Prima Materia.’ A glowing, quenching wine

Jonas Dostert is on a tear. Since coming onto our radar in ‘21, he’s made the case that the Obermosel is more than just a refreshing stop for Elbling. But rather, a corner of Germany defining itself with limestone (instead of riesling, there’s none to be found in the lineup). Not afraid of elevage, Dostert’s wines grasp the thrilling grey space between low PH and oxygen. Tense and detailed across the board, these are wines to not miss - for more about this rising star, look out for our full profile on the grower in inboxes tomorrow 👀

You cannot overstate the impact Beck Wasserman had on Burgundy’s place in the American wine industry. A self-made woman, her story is as much about American entrepreneurship as it is about the wines of France. She passed away in 2021, her story is well captured in the NYTimes Obit in 2021 (if her story is new to you we highly recommend reading it). As a sincere ode to her life and impact on it’s industry, Pierre Morey dedicated a wine to Becky Wasserman, from her favorite grape: Cuvee Becky Aligote.

At it’s core, the wine is made from the estate’s oldest plantings from 1937, which are coincidnetlly Becky’s birth year. They are blended with vines planted in ‘38 and ‘69. And unlike the typical Aligote at the Domaine, this wine is fermented and aged entirely in wood. An enveloping wine that’s appropriately as easy to drink on a weekday as it is to cellar for years to come.

“We have too many words today to describe something that’s fairly simple,” she said on Levi Dalton’s I’ll drink to that. So we’ll leave our descriptions with, this is an honest wine, from a vintage we love thats well worth raising a glass with.

For many of us, our first taste of Julien Rneard was in our Navy Yard space last year at an event celebrating the launch of Stephen Bitterolf’s retrospective book, and the fascinating revolution happening in Germany’s Mosel. On an evening studded with thoughtful discussion and very special wines (second photo!0, there was a surprise standout: Renard’s ‘21 Riesling.

As we’ve come to learn about Julien, it’s not just about making some of the most exciting wines coming out of the Mosel; it’s a journey of self-discovery. His deeply personal wines have our full attention. We get into his winding path to farming some of the steepest slopes (3rd photo), his unique talents and newest release in our last email - link in profile

Dominique Belluard’s tragic passing in 2021 left the future of his iconic Savioe estate in question. Making sure it passed to a true vigneron, his wife Valerie chose the young, talented Vincent Ruiz to carry on the domaine’s legacy.

With baited breath last week, we tasted his first release of the renamed Domaine du Gringet. Excited by this new chapter (and tbh relieved by the incredibly high quality), we’re confident that long-time fans (like us) will be thrilled with the results. Honoring the work with incredible pedigree while at the same time making notable changes, newly-landed Domaine du Gringet is a new release we can go all in on. We go into the transition and the newest wines in todays note, link in profile

The most unusual bottle we’ve tasted so far in ‘24 (and liked so much that we brought it in): Vinarija Mulatsák’s ‘Siegi’s Stardust’. A first for us, this natural cider from Burgenland is a blend of apples (Jonathan, Mutsu, Styrian sheep nose) and, added during fermentation, grated horseradish (ie “a sprinkling of ‘stardust’”). Spontaneously fermented, the undisgorged bottle takes the quenching profile of a farmhouse cider and adds an unexpected, lingering heat. We didn’t want to like it tbh but, it’s as delicious as it is wild. Amazingly good with pork or a late night sushi craving. A nice reminder that delicious drinks come in all shapes, sizes and every-so-oftern without category.

With almost 8 grams of acidity and 14 percent abv, Stefano Zoli’s first riserva practically vibrates in the glass. Add a touch of tannin from the skins and you have a wine that tastes like Verdicchio but, with unmissable dry extract, behaves like great dry riesling from the Saar. An insanely good wine from old vines. Bravo Stefano 

We’ve had some pretty heavy hitters land from Burgundy. Some whos-who. But, only one of these true trailblazers is from a less-recognized terroir: Domaine des Rouges Queues in Maranges. In the most southern tip of the Côte de Beaune, it’s historically been in the shadow of more famous appellations to the north, and only even recognized as its own appellation in 1989. Before then it was simply found in appellation-level Côte de Beaune bottlings, charmingly referred to as “vins de médecin” as it fleshed to the thinner wines farther north.
 
But, as Burg hounds know, there’s a reason young talents (Cassiopée, Bachelet-Monnot, Maison En Belles Lies) and legends alike (yes, even Leroy is making wine here now; it’s…expensive) are making wine here: it’s south facing, with rich soils, and the wines punch well above their price points. Rouges Queues is arguably the first grower to know this and go all-in almost 30 years ago. Their newest release has arrived and, with word of a nearby retirement, we can’t emphasize this opportunity to try their wines enough. We go in on the estate and theyre newest vintage on todays email: link in our profile. 

Follow our lead when survinging a heat wave: chill down your 10% abv Barrel X, Sip and Repeat. The Saar is here to help.

Our newest arrivals are molto, molto bello: Canonica’s Nebbiolos, Cristiana Tiberios top wines including her Fonte Canale, a full roster from Arianna Occhipinti and - arguably the most crushable Piedmontese red in the game - Fratelli Alessandria’s Pelaverga 🤌🇮🇹

Changing the industry’s perception on a grape or region only takes one person. Ronchi di Cialla did it for little-known Schioppettino in Friuli, Château Simone did it for Palette in Provence; and over the last 25 years, Elian da Ros has unquestionably done it for the Côtes du Marmandais. Tucked below Bordeaux – technically in the SudOuest – da Ros’s farming (biodynamic, certified) and deeply sensual wines (incl. from the local Abouriou grape) are as soulful and impressive as Southern French wine gets. Elian’s wines might be new to some; but have been well traveled among industry insiders for years.
 
If names like Granges des Peres, Gassac and Trevallon are important to you (spoiler: they very much are to us), we can’t recommend checking our newest profile on this talented grower. Link in our profile!