All Too Familiar

There’s a reason names become household, and the top of the wine market is built on these, the producers who have stood the test of time. Today’s list is a focus on these, the familiar names we know and love. But beyond being widely known and respected, these are all wines we expect to see on the top restaurant lists and at the best retail shops. Spanning several decades, this is a banner Friday List that will have something for virtually every collector. 

We begin in the Golden State, the highlight of today’s offer. Some of California’s greatest pioneers are here—including Mondavi, Ridge, Phelps, Shafer, and Chateau Montelena—who all paved the way for subsequent generations of producers. Wineries like Peter Michael and Dominus followed closely behind in the 1980s, but the 1990s are when Napa Valley really exploded onto the global scene in a dominant way, when we saw the rise of “cult” wines like Bryant and Harlan. This in turn gave rise to the likes of Lokoya, Cardinale, and Marcassin, which have garnered devout followings. 

The Old World is headlined today by a fabulous selection of Domaine Dujac Premier and Grand Cru bottlings, including magnums. Burgundy also shows off its royalty with gems from Coche-Dury, Drouhin, Ponsot, and Roumier. From Bordeaux, the beautifully aging 2009 Léoville Poyferré opens for rock stars Lafite Rothschild and Pétrus. And for the second week in a row, we’re lucky to feature Bartolo Mascarello and Giuseppe Rinaldi from Piedmont. We close with a small taste of Keller, a producer that single-handedly changed the landscape of German wines, and who leads the charge in making the world’s greatest dry Rieslings.