Maison Angelot · Bugey, France

Brothers Eric and Philippe Angelot farm just outside Marignieu in the Bugey — a lesser-known appellation tucked between Jura and the Rhône Valley that most people drive past on the way to somewhere else. Their estate spans around 29 hectares across some 20 parcels, a patchwork of hillside and valley-floor sites planted to both white and red varieties. The philosophy here isn’t glamour or statement-making — it’s honest, food-friendly wine from grapes that know their place. Practicing organic, native yeast.

2025 Maison Angelot Bugey Gamay · $19
The label says it all: a cartoon man in a vineyard, absolutely losing his mind with joy over a glass of wine. We get it! From vines around 25–30 years old, carbonic-macerated for six days — it explains everything: the ruby-bright color, pop of red cherry and crushed violet notes, and the savory little kick on the finish. Light on tannin, easy on acid, high on drinkability. Chill it down. Open it on a whim.

2023 Maison Angelot Bugey Mondeuse · $18
Where the Gamay is a party, the Mondeuse is the wine you open when the night slows down — black label, gothic script, a bottle that knows how to set a mood. Savoie’s native grape, rarely exported and almost never this affordable. Fully destemmed, fully carbonic, ten days of maceration: dusty black cherry, wild blackberry, cracked pepper, fine-grained tannins with some actual grip. Pour a glass, put on something good, and don’t rush it.