Legends & Legacies

Since reviving our Friday Lists of old last week, showcasing our newest and most exciting arrivals, we were fortunate enough to amass yet another great selection of the world’s finest. We’re constantly adding new wines to the website, so we encourage you to browse often—especially since items frequently sell so quickly, we never have a chance to feature them in an email offer. Luckily, this week’s arrivals were so many, we’ve got an absolutely stacked list today!

California leads the charge today with verticals of some of the Golden State’s greatest, including blue chips like Harlan Estate, Scarecrow, Colgin, and Araujo/Eisele—with new releases of each. For those who missed our sold-out Shafer Hillside Select offer, we’re back today with several recent vintages, though in very limited quantities. And speaking of new wines, we’re excited to offer the 3 most recent releases from Fingers Crossed, the new project from Nikolas Krankl, son of none other than Sine Qua Non founder, winemaker, and label artist Manfred Krankl. Believe us—the apple has not fallen far from the tree. These are wines of extraordinary character, with plenty of stuffing for long-term development and enjoyment. We wrap up California with some thrilling new releases from former Araujo winemaker Nigel Kinsman. Since 2014, he’s been quietly producing some of Napa’s most distinctive and delicious Cabernets under his own label, Kinsman Eades. Today we introduce his newest venture, Bella Oaks, which showcases one of Rutherford’s most historic vineyards.

Hopping over to the Old World, we’ll call your attention to a rare pair of wines from the Rhône: Jamet Côte Rôtie (in magnum!) and Pégau’s ultra-scarce Châteauneuf-du-Pape white cuvée, A Tempo. For those unfamiliar, Jamet packs a LOT into their Côte Rôtie, making them exquisitely long lived but also dazzling in their youth with a good decant. This 2019 magnum could outlive us all, but with its kaleidoscopic array of dark fruits, bacon, spice mélange, and rich earth… well, that’s why we have decanters! The Pégau is a truly unique and heady white wine experience, combining almost Chablis-like minerality with the complexity and floral notes of White Burgundy, rounded out by the familiar juicy fruit associated with Rhône Blancs. Truly, you don’t want to miss this one.

We close with Burgundy, which—we’re quite happy to say—is represented much as it was last week: with blue chips and powerhouses. Coche-Dury and Roulot vie for the spotlight with their transcendent and storied interpretations of Chardonnay, with a focus today on their Meursault terroirs. Following in these giant footsteps, newcomer and white wine-only producer Lamy-Caillat is already making waves. With deep family and winemaking roots in Chassagne-Montrachet, their motto of “small pots, great care” is evident in their pure, vibrant wines. But don’t take just our word for it. The Wine Advocate’s William Kelley writes, “Domaine Lamy-Caillat is the most exciting producer of White Burgundy that you’ve never heard of.” Our selection of Red Burgs today is just as enticing, with well-established names like Chevillon, Bachelet, and Mugneret-Gibourg. And as with Lamy-Caillat’s Chardonnays, François Bertheau’s name has risen quickly in the last several years, with amazingly pure interpretations of Chambolle-Musigny climats, including Bonnes Mares. Seriously, if you’re looking for some fresh names to invest in for your future enjoyment of Côte de Nuits, check out Domaine Bertheau before their prices catch up with their skyrocketing reputation.