Walter's World, Edition No. 17 (December 2025)

I | Domaine Marsoif Crémant de Bourgogne Brut
2018 | Burgundy, France | Pinot Noir

Who doesn’t want a bit o’ bubbly for the holidays, am I right? This is coming from the same general neighborhood as the Gruhier selection below. Marsoif has been owned by the current stewards since the 1990s but has been around for much longer. This is a blend of Pinot Noir & Chardonnay, produced just like Champagne would be, in the traditional style of having the secondary fermentation take place in the bottle. What’s cool about this wine is that it’s from the 2018 vintage, so it’s had some time on the cork to mature and develop. When buying any sparkling wine, it’s super helpful to know when it was disgorged—meaning when it was done aging in the cellar on its lees and then clarified and topped up with fresh wine and perhaps a little sugar to balance out the acid. It’s at this stage that the wine changes course and will start to evolve differently than it did in the cellar. The longer it is on cork, generally, the more savory it will become. The bubbles will eventually dissipate too if it gets old enough!

II | Dominique Gruhier Épineuil
2023 | Burgundy, France | Pinot Noir

Burgundy is magical and maniacal at the same time -- the demand seems to have no limits! When you pair that with tariffs, it has caused prices to go bananas. So, where do we go to find affordable and delicious wines? To the fringe! 

This tasty little number is from the outskirts of Chablis, in a town called Épineuil, whose climate and soils are almost identical to Chablis. Historically, it was too cold to ripen Pinot Noir here consistently, but times have changed, and in warm vintages in particular, this is a treasure trove for hard-hitting red Burgundy. The story behind this particular winery is just crazy, but too long to tell here, so check out the link if you really want to nerd out. Let’s just say that when you drink this wine, you’ll gain grit, fortitude, and perseverance!

III | Domaine de La Pépière Monnières - Saint Fiacre
2022 | Muscadet, France | Melon B

Muscadet has gone through a massive transformation in the last decade, from establishing crus, evolving beyond being just “oyster wine,” and changing the name of its hallmark grape to something akin to the next hip-hop star — Melon B, whoop whoop! In all seriousness, the single most important thing that has shifted, to me, is that producers have greatly benefited from advancements in viticulture in marginal and moisture-laden climates. This region is right on the Atlantic Ocean and suffers the brunt of incoming weather, which makes moisture pressure and ripeness a challenge at times.

In the old days, they would harvest earlier and create weight and texture in the wines with lees aging, which would dominate the character with a nuttiness paired with less ripe fruit, so the wines were pretty one-note. These days, with better growing practices paired with climate change, producers here have been able to consistently achieve excellent ripeness, and that is what has added that extra layer of “wow” when paired with careful winemaking and time on lees, too. Pépière has always been my favorite producer from the area, and in recent years the wines are next-level delicious. This one is coming from a sub-area called Monnières–Saint-Fiacre that creates fine-boned examples grown on gneiss and limestone. If you haven’t had Muscadet for a while, I think this one is going to blow your mind.

IV | Giuseppe Cipolla 'Le Robbe'
2023 | Sicily, Italy | Nero d’Avola

My buddy Jon opened this bottle for me with excitement (we loved the last white wine we tasted from this producer so much that we put it in the club in the early days), but it was supremely disappointing — full of bruised and muted fruit with a balsamic finish. Sometimes that happens (you taste a wine in the place and moment where you can’t help but be mesmerized), only to be perplexed at a later date as to how you were so easily duped. Luckily, he had another bottle that we popped to confirm its mediocrity (science!), only to be pleasantly surprised again by just how freaking delicious it was.

Imagine it’s early summer and you’re on a road trip. You pull over at a fruit stand to buy a pint of strawberries that are just quivering between being perfectly ripe and overripe (heady with perfume), and you manage not to eat all of them on the way to the beach house you rented. You’ve also brought provisions to cook dinner that include herb-roasted leg of lamb with feta, pomegranate, and muhammara. Then you have the strawberries for dessert, but as a tart with miso caramel. Drinking this wine is like being Veruca Salt (golden ticket energy), and you get to choose whether or not to be a brat while doing so.

Giuseppe is located in central Sicily in an area that is a bit off the path (not the postcard coast). He only started cultivating grapes in 2015 on his family’s land, which had for generations been used for grains, olives, and fruit. He’s since sourced fruit from other sites as well, and this cuvée, Le Robbe, is a blend of native red and white grapes (some from 230-year-old vines!!) co-fermented and aged in neutral oak. He identifies as “natural” (but not in the scary way), and it’s the kind of natural that comes with talented and clean winemaking. I can’t wait to see what he makes 10 years from now with more experience and time spent in his little pocket of the island.

Bubble Club

I | Champagne Colin Castille Blanc de Blancs Brut Premier Cru
NV | Côte des Blancs, Champagne, France | Chardonnay

This family estate is in the heart of Champagne (literally), in the land of Chardonnay — the Côte des Blancs — where some of the world’s best expressions of sparkling wine are grown. This particular cuvée is sourced from Premier Cru villages of Vertus and Bergères-lès-Vertus and is 100% Chardonnay.

The hierarchy works a bit differently here than in Burgundy (where you’d find specific vineyards ranked as Premier or Grand Cru). Champagne ranks villages instead, which may seem odd, but we have to remember that these are wines of process — so while fruit quality is hugely important, the exact site isn’t always as singularly impactful as it would be with a still wine.

The first fermentation is done in both stainless steel and oak (the barrel bringing richness and complexity), and the wine is then blended with 40% reserve wines dating back to 2004 (which seriously amps up the deliciousness). After that, it spends 30 months on the lees before disgorgement.

I was so stoked to find this wine for the club, as it’s my perfect style (bright, layered, and quietly powerful) and usually costs so much more. Hope you dig it as much as I do!