MENTIONED IN THIS POST: -Inglenook 2013 -Shafer When I first started drinking and collecting wine, I was convinced that no bottle was too rare to drink. After all, wine was meant to be drunk. Sure, I might feel sheepish after opening a rare bottle, but I always believed that the pleasure of tasting that ultra…
When I talk about unicorn wines with my fellow Burgundy and Jura enthusiasts, a name I often hear on their lips is that of a tiny biodynamic estate in the heart of Jura called Pierre Overnoy. What makes wines from this estate so irresistible to collectors is that it is one of the best in…
When you think of a Napa Valley cult wine, you probably picture a rich, fruit-forward glass of Cabernet Sauvignon. However, some of the best cult wines of the moment are in fact made from California’s lesser-known Cabernet Franc, a relatively uncommon varietal that’s only been gaining traction on the wine market over the past five…
The problem with legendary vintages that are more than 90 years old is not whether they’re worth investing in–they undoubtedly are–it’s that finding an authentic bottle becomes more and more difficult every year. A wine like 1928 Mouton-Rothschild combines rarity, old age, and quality, and it’s these factors that make it one of the greatest…
Some of us don’t have the time nor patience to wait for a wine to mature by 2045. If you’re the type of collector who wants a wine that will last, but that you can still safely drink in its youthful vigor now, 2013 Realm Cabernet Sauvignon from the Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard is a…
Few things will make you feel more privileged than drinking a wine that isn’t officially on the market. I once had the chance to try a homegrown wine that a friend of my family made purely for his own entertainment, and even though it was a bit syrupy, it had a ton of character, and…
The 1929 DRC Les Gaudichots is the kind of wine that even the most seasoned of critics and collectors are afraid to open. One critic said that he always wanted to buy this wine, but he didn’t have the funds on his own to invest in it. He eventually split the cost with a friend;…
I often take for granted the fact that I am a relatively young collector. When I see that a wine will last 30 or more years in a cellar, I’m giddy with excitement; I know I’ll get to see that wine evolve completely and reach peak maturity. However, older collectors view these long-lived wines differently.…
You might have better luck finding a real unicorn than you will locating an authentic bottle of 1991 Gentaz-Dervieux. With high ratings and an extremely limited number of bottles left worldwide, this is one of the most sought-after Rhone Cote-Rotie bottles on the market. Its rarity alone is enough to make any serious collector take…
As I said before about the legendary 1986 Henri Jayer Richebourg, I’m supremely picky about which wines I consider true “unicorns;” they should be rare, old, age-worthy, and historically significant. Although 2005 Clos Rougeard Saumur Champigny is still relatively young by fine wine standards, I consider it one of the few mid-2000s wines to have…
We lost a wine icon this year. Margrit Mondavi passed away from cancer on September 2, 2016, and although she is no longer with us, she leaves behind a long legacy that will ripple through California’s wine industry for decades. My father-in-law remembers the first time he met Margrit Mondavi. “She was magnanimous and sharp…
Brunello di Montalcino is the crowning jewel of Italy’s Sangiovese grape, capable of lasting as long as 20 years in a cellar without much effort. Yet when the weather, the winemakers, and the cellar conditions are just right, Brunello can exceed this lifespan by an additional 10 or even 20 years; it’s a rare feat,…