One of One

During the height of the 1997 Brunello craze in the early 2000s, the store I worked in was taking in vintages of Soldera like 1991, 1993 and 1994. I was curious why we would be bringing in weaker vintages of Brunello when everyone wanted 1997s. I was given a simple answer of “it’s Soldera, it will easily sell.” Bewildered, I swallowed my pride and bought a bottle of the 1991 so that I could try it. It took one sniff and one sip to understand. There’s Brunello, and then there was Soldera. Today’s offer is exactly that – wines that are 1 of 1 and have no equal.

Today’s offer isn’t exactly about “unicorns”, but we do have 2 in today’s offer. Selosse made a tiny amount of Ratafia, a rarity among rarities, and is a must for any Selosse lover. There is also one of his single Crus as well. We have a unique bottling of Drouhin’s Clos des Mouches, a wine that has been made fewer than five times in the last 55 years. Staying in Champagne are two of the most prolific versions of Chardonnay- Krug’s Clos du Mesnil and Salon Le Mesnil. Both magically transcendent, these are the greatest Champagne has to offer.

Italy is headlined by Piedmont stars Monfortino and Cappellano’s glorious Pie Franco. While Monfortino is the cornerstone of the Barolo community, the remarkably rare Pie Franco offers the most singular and unique approach to Barolo, thanks to its French root stock and old vines. Not to be outdone are the 2 pillars of Amarone- Quintarelli and Dal Forno.

Representing the rest of the singular growers, Vatan in Sancerre has no equal, and Clos Rougeard provides the red wine answer to the Loire’s pinnacle. Penfolds Grange remains the one “must-own” from down under. Keller’s G-Max is the epitome of dry Riesling, and Egon Müller’s single vineyard Auslese is the star of the sweet side.  Rayas has long defined the beauty of Grenache, and is arguably the finest example in the world, while Beaucastel’s Hommage Jacques Perrin defines the benchmark for Mourvedre-based wines. And of course, Château d’Yquem’s centuries-long reign over Sauternes remains unchallenged, with no rival coming close to its legendary stature.

We close with the top two reds of DRC- Romanée Conti and La Tåche, both of which top the red Burgundy hierarchy, but we also have a pair of vintages of their closest competition- Liger Belair’s La Romanée. Don’t miss the iconic Cros Parantoux from Méo-Camuzet- wines long tended by the godfather of Burgundy Henri Jayer. Suffice to say, there is no shortage of greatness in today’s offer.