Horizontal and Vertical

Vertical tastings (same bottling, different vintages) have long been the standard for producer assessments, allowing a direct comparison between vintages. Depending on how many years you taste together, this is a great way to illuminate the effects of both Mother Nature and the winemaking team. But if you’re looking to explore the range of possibilities and characters of a single vintage, then we recommend horizontal tastings (same vintage, different bottlings). These can be by producer, region, or any other classification that piques your interest. Today, we have an exciting collection that offers unique and marvelous opportunities to taste both vertically and horizontally. 

Starting at the top—the very top—we have several eye-popping Burgundy selections. Numerous bottlings and vintages are available from DRC (including Romanée-Saint-Vivant, La Tâche, Echezeaux, and Grands Echezeaux), Mugnier, and Arnoux. We also have a readymade 2018 horizontal flight from none other than Dujac, with 6 climats waiting to be tasted together, giving you an enviable perspective on a year that delivered such pristine fruit, sorting equipment was largely unnecessary at harvest. 

Our California offerings are just as abundant. From Bond Estates, we have each of their 5 “Grand Cru” Cabernets, featuring an array of different soil types and elevations across several vintages. Similarly, Aubert is also nicely represented by their single vineyard Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. You’ll find nearly every bottling of these, available from 4 vintages. Maybach is plentiful too, boasting both Amoenus (Calistoga) and Materium (Oakville) over a whopping 9 vintages—plus just 2 bottles of their 2019 Vocabulum. 

Rounding out today’s offer is an exciting collection from Fingers Crossed, the new project from Manfred Krankl’s son. The apples didn’t fall far from the tree, as these extraordinary Rhône variety wines resemble their Sine Qua Non family. We have several vintages of their Head Held High 5- and 6-pack assortment cases, as well as single bottles of their Fingers Crossed Grenache, Syrah, and White Blend. And we close with some of the best from the Stag’s Leap District: plenty of early vintages of Shafer Hillside Select and Odette, going all the way back to 2001.