Rhone Rocks

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, our Rhone offers are not frequent, but always met with open arms. Things at Cellar Trading sell at a breakneck pace, and we try in earnest to close the gap between offers but alas, here we are many months since our last one. Today covers both new releases and vintage offerings, but all will be tremendous additions to your collection.

The producer I’m most excited about showcasing today is Raymond Usseglio. I’ve always enjoyed these wines and have sold quite a bit of them in the last 15 years or so, but I really feel like they’ve stayed somewhat under the radar. Stephan has taken over from his father and has made tremendous progress in the vineyards, making what were always great wines even better. The Imperiale is the easy stand out, but more than just the rating, this is largely from vines planted 120 years ago! Sadly, there is only a single case of the Roussanne available, but this wine is well-worth several bottle placements in your cellar. The Girard, meanwhile, is a smash hit of a value and is not to be missed.

For those unfamiliar with Domaine Faury, this is a gem of a producer that is thankfully still well within reach availability- and cost-wise. I bought my first case of this wine in the 2009 vintage, and they have continued to impress me ever since. Definitely do not miss this wine, there is a limited amount available so you could blink and it could be gone. Saint Damien is back, and in 2021 made the difficult decision to declassify all his Gigondas into a single bottling, amping up the quality while remarkably leaving the price at the right level for us enthusiastic consumers! We still have a little bit left of the last 2 releases from Clos des Papes (2021 and 2022), but this could be the last look for both!