–Keep a close watch on the arrival of the 2015 northern Rhones. The vintage yielded spectacular Syrahs that were at once tender and authoritative, loaded with classic terroir yet engaging from a purely hedonistic sense. Specific names to look for are Durand, Courbis, Ferraton, and Coursodon. If you are shopping ratings, some of these have pretty impressive ratings from Wine Spectator already, and fine range scores from Wine Advocate and Jeb Dunnuck that will surely end up on the higher end when the final reviews are issued. Simply, as time passes these wines will get more ttention and quantities aren’t huge to begin with. Don’t miss out on this epic vintage in the north.
–Not meaning to be sectarian in any way, but it has really been a white Christmas with respect to uncanny deals on Chardonnay. A measly $11 will buy you the spectacular new Novellum Chardonnay 2015 from Domaine Lafage (Wine Advocate 92 and arguably the best in the series, $10.98), consistently one of the best values on the market. Even sillier are the special purchases on the breakout Chilean Ritual Chardonnay 2015 (a James Suckling 93 that we sold well at $15.99, now $9.98!), and the crisp, appealing Thorn-Clarke Mount Crawford Chardonnay Eden Valley 2016 (90s from both Vinous and Wine Spectator, $9.98). This is a remarkable group of Chardonnays for this kind of price, with a special thanks to exceptional vintages and a quirky current market. To find a scenario similar you would need a time machine to go back to the ‘90s to find Chardonnays this good for this kind of tab.
–Just received what we believe to be the best damn bottles of Pinot Noir we’ve ever had form Australia. The new releases from Gary farr’s eponymous label, By Farr, are, in a word, epic. We were blown away by these micro-production gems grown in Victoria just west of Melbourne. Glossy, seductive, spicy, world-class, with that Pinot umami that separates the legends from the rest, these offerings are a must-buy for fans of the genre….
–We’ve managed to pull together a fair cache of older Sauternes all from top vintages, including a number of bits from 2005 that were enthusiastically re-rated by Wine Advocate in June of 2015, a variety of d’Yquem bottlings, and carefully selected stars from more recent collectible vintages. It’s a good time for your sweet tooth. See all Sauternes.