What&rsquo;s happening in wine and whiskey this week:
<h3 dir="ltr">News of the Week</h3>
🍷 Cleveland, Ohio has a <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/unicorn-review/cleveland-wine-scene">thriving wine and food scene</a> that is worth checking out.
🥃 The <a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/unicorn-review/seagrams-american-whiskey">impact of Seagram&rsquo;s</a> can still be felt on modern American whiskey.
🇮🇹 Autumn is the perfect time to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/nov/13/piedmont-wine-autumn-hannah-crosbie">drink Italian wine</a>.
🦃 Here are <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/dining/drinks/thanksgiving-wines.html">11 wines to consider</a> for your Thanksgiving meal.
🇳🇿 The Macallan&rsquo;s new whisky, <a href="https://robbreport.com/food-drink/spirits/macallan-night-on-earth-first-light-1237360397/">a tribute to New Zealand</a>, was partially aged in bourbon barrels.
<h3 dir="ltr">New Bottle Releases</h3>
Old Overholt Extra Aged Cask Strength 12YR
Old Overholt has long been one of Jim Beam&rsquo;s bottom-shelf rye whiskeys, but one that is beloved by bartenders and whiskey enthusiasts alike. Over the past few years, the brand has gotten some major upgrades, including a run of cask-strength age statement expressions. The latest of those is a new 12-year-old whiskey bottled at 117 proof, a significant improvement on the original that is worth checking out. 117 proof; SRP $110
Lost Lantern American Vatted Malt Remix
Lost Lantern is the rare American independent bottler, a business model much more common in the scotch whisky world. One of the latest releases from the brand is American Vatted Malt Remix, a new version of its Vatted Malt that was released to celebrate its fifth anniversary. This is a blend of 11 whiskeys from distilleries in eight states, including Andalusia (Texas), McCarthy&rsquo;s (Oregon), Virginia Distilling Co. (Virginia), and Westland (Washington). 110.7 proof; SRP $100
Frey Ranch Harvester Series: Second Harvest&nbsp;
Nevada distillery Frey Ranch makes fantastic grain-to-glass bourbon and rye whiskey, but there are some special releases also worth checking out. The latest is Second Harvest, the new edition in the Harvester Series. This is a non-age statement blend of whiskeys aged between four and nine years that is made up of the following components: 100 percent wheat whiskey, four-grain bourbon, unmalted barley whiskey, malted barley whiskey, and 100 percent barley whiskey that is half malted and half unmalted. 122.44 proof; SRP $250 (375-ml bottle) 
<h3 dir="ltr">Unicorn Pick of the Week</h3>
The Laddie Rye
Bruichladdich is a scotch distillery located on Islay that produces two types of whisky&mdash;peated and unpeated. The Classic Laddie, its core expression, is the prime example of the latter, while the Port Charlotte range and particularly the annual Octomore releases contain some of the most heavily peated whisky you can find. The distillery is always toying with different experiments in terms of terroir and grains, and the latest example comes in the form of a new rye scotch whisky, which is unusual for the category.
<img src="https://directus-11-4sui.onrender.com/assets/0df3f631-0966-44a4-b448-8558e2ffb511.jpg?width=1200&amp;height=675" alt="The Laddie Rye"> 
Bruichladdich originally released a rye whisky made from a mashbill of 55 percent Islay rye and 45 percent Islay barley a few years ago as part of its Regenerative Project (so named for the regenerative effects planting rye has on the soil). That was a very limited release, but the new Laddie Rye is much more widely available. It was aged for seven years in American oak (ex-bourbon and toasted and uncharred virgin oak) and bottled at 100 proof with no chill filtration and natural color.
There&rsquo;s no mistaking this whisky for American rye, but that&rsquo;s not the point&mdash;this is Scottish rye and the character is completely different. There&rsquo;s a nice hit of spice as you sip, undercut by big floral notes along with flavors lilke grass, vanilla, citrus, and some caramel. So what to do with this whisky? Sip it neat for sure, but go ahead and try it in a cocktail&mdash;it just might make your next Rob Roy more Manhattan-like.

The Week in Wine and Whiskey: November 14

When you think of America&rsquo;s culinary capitals, cities like Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago likely come to mind. Cleveland, however, rarely makes the list. As a native Clevelander who moved to Los Angeles right after college, I&rsquo;ll admit my expectations were low when I moved back to my hometown this January. But what I found was a city transformed.
Once dismissed as &ldquo;The Mistake on the Lake&rdquo; (a jab dating back to 1969, when the Cuyahoga River famously caught fire), Cleveland has evolved into a mosaic of lively, food-forward neighborhoods. Tremont&rsquo;s walkable streets are lined with Victorian homes, stylish restaurants, and inventive cocktail and wine bars. Ohio City hums with creative energy, anchored by the iconic West Side Market where global food stalls (pierogis are a local specialty), craft breweries, and local coffee counters coexist. In Cleveland Heights, a retro 1950s diner turns out some of the city&rsquo;s most exciting modern Chinese dishes, while a fine-dining restaurant in Moreland Hills surprises with a wine and bourbon list to rival any metropolitan spot.
This is by no means an exclusive list&mdash;and perhaps I&rsquo;ll come back with more recommendations as I settle in&mdash;but here are the four experiences that made me see Cleveland in a whole new light.
<h3 dir="ltr">Cru Uncorked</h3>
<a href="https://cruuncorked.com/">Cru Uncorked</a> in Moreland Hills delivers one of Cleveland&rsquo;s most refined evenings out. Sandy and Sarah Cutler opened it in 2017, with the goal of creating a French-inspired restaurant close to home. The result feels like a fine-dining escape, where the elegance of a French countryside ch&acirc;teau meets Midwestern warmth. Inside, guests linger over artful dishes by executive chef Sam Lesniak, with dishes like octopus with ricotta aji amarillo cream, 'nduja chorizo, and saffron risotto, and a deep wine list that caters to lovers of Champagne, Burgundy, and Bordeaux.
Since beverage director Anthony Taylor joined in 2019, the cellar has grown exponentially from 300 to 15,000 bottles spanning 16 countries. The list is a collaboration between Taylor, Cru&rsquo;s president Chris Oppewall, and maitre d'hotel Janine Poleman, who all first worked together as sommeliers at LockKeepers under the tutelage of Ohio&rsquo;s first master sommelier, John Unger. Their shared vision&mdash;to bring the coveted Wine Spectator Grand Award to Cleveland.
Champagne offerings range from grower-producers like Egley-Ouriet and Henri Goutorbe, to Grand Cru Krug and Salon (you can order &ldquo;Les Mesnil&rdquo; from &lsquo;04, &rsquo;06, &rsquo;07, &rsquo;12, &rsquo;13, or &rsquo;08 in magnum). There are 49 DRCs on the list, including La Tache, Richebourg, and Roman&eacute;e-Conti, as well as verticals of all five First Growth Bordeaux. By the New Year they&rsquo;ll have every vintage of Mouton Rothschild going back to 1982. But there are also more obscure options like Taylor&rsquo;s personal favorite, Pico Arinto dos A&ccedil;ores from the Azores Wine Company, or Valdespino Toneles sherry made from Moscatel.
Taylor&rsquo;s enthusiasm extends beyond wine. As a member of the Cleveland Bourbon Club, he&rsquo;s curated a whiskey selection almost as extensive as the wine list. Highlights include a private barrel selection from local Cleveland producer River Roots, seven expressions of Glenmorangie single malt, and WhistlePig&rsquo;s 18-Year-Old Double Malt Rye.
<h3 dir="ltr">Abundance Culinary</h3>
Chef Liu Fang, born in the Qufu District of China&rsquo;s Shandong province, is the first to bring modern Chinese food to Cleveland. After moving from China with her Cleveland-native husband and business partner Carl Setzer, Liu Fang launched <a href="https://a-bun.com/">Abundance</a> as a pop-up at Larder Delicatessen before moving into its current home, a 1940s diner car in Cleveland Heights. The focus is on dishes like spicy lamb, tomato dumplings, and savory sour broth fish made with cured halibut, house-fermented tomatoes, king oyster mushrooms, and pickled mustard greens. The food is supported by a curated wine list designed to complement bold, spicy flavors with high-acid selections.
The wine program, led by Roohi Rustum, spotlights organic and biodynamic wines from women-led wineries, like Vanessa Cherruau&rsquo;s Chenin Blanc from Loire&rsquo;s Ch&acirc;teau de Plaisance to Martha Stoumen&rsquo;s Benchlands red blend from Mendocino. Rustum presents some of her rarer bottle offerings by-the-glass on &ldquo;Thirsty Thursdays&rdquo;&mdash;an electric Godello and slatey Mencia from Veronica Ortega are recent examples. Rustum pairs traditional dishes like Lion&rsquo;s Head meatballs, a Jiangsu province specialty of soft wagyu meatballs stewed with cabbage and served in a flavorful broth, with Georges Joillot Pommard. Or you can attend a beer brunch, a nod to Liu Fang and Setzer who began their careers by opening the Chinese craft brewery Great Leap Brewing.
<h3 dir="ltr">La Cave du Vin</h3>
This narrow, dimly lit bar&mdash;framed by brick arches, black leather booths, and the soft glow of red string lights&mdash;feels moody, romantic, and unmistakably cave-like. Opened in December 2023 by the Buildings and Food restaurant group (the team behind Prosperity Social Club, renowned for their Cleveland pierogis), <a href="https://www.lacavebar.com/">La Cave du Vin</a> is a collaboration between wine director Sean Cathcart and CEO Will Hollingsworth. The duo first fell in love with wine at a bar of the same name in Cleveland Heights&rsquo; Coventry Village. When that spot closed in 2018, Hollingsworth purchased the rights and revived its spirit here in Tremont.
&ldquo;Cleveland deserves a wine bar that doesn&rsquo;t take itself too seriously,&rdquo; says Cathcart, whose 30 by-the-glass pours are designed to spark curiosity. They focus on sustainably-farmed, family-owned producers that span a wide spectrum. You&rsquo;ll find light and juicy selections like Ohio&rsquo;s own Laleure &ldquo;Silo&rdquo; Chambourcin and the highly allocated Occhipinti &ldquo;SP68&rdquo; Frappato/Nero d&rsquo;Avola from Sicily alongside more classical, structured choices such as Daniel-Etienne Defaix Vaillon 1er Cru Chablis and Casanuova delle Cerbaie&rsquo;s Brunello di Montalcino.&nbsp;
On Wednesdays, the bar hosts &ldquo;Pour Decisions&rdquo;&mdash;you can order high-end wines in half glasses, making a taste of the good stuff more accessible (Vilmart Champagne at $20 is an upcoming selection). Or you can choose something from La Cave's ever-revolving in-house wine selection, available to take home or open at table for $20 corkage. For Ohio, this is a good place for rare finds at minimum markup&mdash;varieties like Italian Ruch&egrave; and producers Ovum or Nikolaihof. Insider tip&mdash;visit on Sunday for $3 off all by-the-glass offerings, and no corkage.
<h3 dir="ltr">Cent&rsquo;s Pizza + Goods</h3>
Chef and owner Vincent Morelli originally wanted a career in fashion before moving into the hospitality business. He&rsquo;s rechanneled that passion into a multi-use space where he showcases food and beverage alongside fashion, art, and design. From the outside, <a href="https://centspizza.com/">Cent&rsquo;s</a> doesn&rsquo;t look like much&mdash;it&rsquo;s a nondescript brick building in Cleveland&rsquo;s Ohio City, But inside it&rsquo;s all vibe&mdash;black and white tile floors meeting book displays lit up by red light installations, the Pixies streaming from the turntable, and blue strobe lights dancing across the ceiling like constellations. Morelli&rsquo;s menu focuses on artisanal pizzas&mdash;try the Mama (sweet onion and kalamata olives) or the Shroom (cream, garlic, and mushrooms galore)&mdash;but also serves cheese, meats, and tinned fish.&nbsp;
Varun Sharma runs a natural focused wine program, but don&rsquo;t bother looking for a printed menu. Instead, servers ask for taste preferences and a price range, then bring back two to three bottles to start a conversation. I found options like Bordenave Gros Manseng from Juracon and Filipa Pato&rsquo;s Blanc de Blancs from Bairrada using Bical, Cercial, and Maria Gomes grape varietals. And there&rsquo;s only ever one red and one white offered by-the-glass, which rotates almost every weekend. Cent&rsquo;s also has great Amaro options like Cynar, Meletti, Amaro Nonino, even the NA Dr. Zero-Zero AmarNo, if you want the bitter without the buzz.

Cleveland: Uncorked and Unexpected

What&rsquo;s happening in wine and whiskey this week:
<h3 dir="ltr">News of the Week</h3>
🇫🇷&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/unicorn-review/collectors-guide-languedoc">The Languedoc&rsquo;s different appellations</a> produce some fantastic wines that are worth checking out.
🥃 Heaven Hill&rsquo;s Sydney Jones took a path through craft whiskey&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/unicorn-review/sydney-jones-heaven-hill">before winding up in Bardstown</a>.
🍷 Check out these&nbsp;<a href="https://www.foodandwine.com/bargain-holiday-wine-11815522">affordable wines that drink beyond</a> their price point.
🚧 A 5,000-year-old wine press was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ancient-winepress-evidence-of-cult-unearthed-israel/">discovered during highway construction</a>.
🇮🇪 Irish whiskey&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2025/11/irish-whiskey-boosts-global-spirits-volumes-in-h1/">sales are up</a>.
<h3 dir="ltr">New Bottle Releases</h3>
Michter&rsquo;s 20 Year
Michter&rsquo;s 20-year-old bourbon is back for 2025. Last year&rsquo;s release was the first in two years, but it seems like things are back on track for this to continue to be an annual release. And that&rsquo;s a good thing, because this bourbon is usually fantastic, despite having an age statement that pushes the boundaries of bourbon maturation (and a steep price tag to match). 114.2 proof; SRP $1,200
Willett Family Estate Small Batch Bourbon
Willett announced the release of this new bourbon just a few days ago. It&rsquo;s a blend of two mashbills&mdash;72 percent corn, 13 percent rye, and 15 percent barley (70 percent of the blend); and 52 percent corn, 38 percent rye, and 10 percent barley (30 percent of the blend). Each batch will consist of about 50 barrels of differing ages, and will be bottled at cask strength. Proof varies; price unknown
Town Branch 16-Year Bottled-in-Bond Kentucky Single Malt Whiskey | Archive Series Volume 2
This is one of the older American single malts currently on the market. It's a bottled-in-bond, single barrel expression with no chill filtration, aged for 16 years at Town Branch in Kentucky. This is an expensive whiskey, but fans of the burgeoning American single malt category will want to check this out. 100 proof; SRP $400
<h3 dir="ltr">Unicorn Pick of the Week</h3>
Very Very Old Fitzgerald Blackhawk 15 Year 121 Proof
The history of this whiskey, or at least an older version of it, is pretty astounding as far as its auction sales go. The 18-year-old sold at Unicorn in 2024 for $80,000, and then again just a few weeks ago for $85,000&mdash;the latter was to raise money for the Chicago Blackhawks Foundation. It also recently sold at Sotheby&rsquo;s for $80,000, and a younger 12-year-old expression went for nearly $48,000. In other words, this is an extremely coveted bourbon.
<img src="https://directus-11-4sui.onrender.com/assets/0e35138d-b7fb-46ab-a5bb-ed22d2e98541.jpg?width=1200&amp;height=675" alt="Vvf Blackhawks">
And now the 15-year-old version will be up for auction starting this Sunday, the very first time that this particular expression has been available for sale publicly. A bit of background on this release&mdash;this is a private bottling that was created for the Wirtz family, the owners of the Chicago Blackhawks NHL team. It was distilled in 1950 at the famed Stitzel-Weller Distillery in Kentucky and bottled in 1966, making it a true &ldquo;unicorn&rdquo; dusty of the whiskey world, and it clocks in at barrel proof of 121. It comes in its original box and bag with tissue paper, and has never before been sold, shipped, or changed owners. In other words, this is a true piece of Kentucky bourbon history.
There will be some other fantastic bottles up for auction alongside this one, including a &ldquo;standard&rdquo; Very Very Old Fitzgerald 18-year-old (only the second time it&rsquo;s appeared at Unicorn), and for the very first time a late-production VVOF 15-year-old with black/red neck foil, as well as a few other age-statement Very Old Fitzgeralds. These are all worth pursuing, but keep your eyes on the Blackhawks edition because this extremely valuable whiskey will likely go fast.

The Week in Wine and Whiskey: November 7, 2025

The Languedoc region of France is expansive, stretching about 125 miles from east to west and up to 100 miles from the Mediterranean to the north. Planted within its borders are some 500,000 acres of grape vines, representing more than 30 grape varieties. Depending on how you count them, there are over 60 defined growing zones, including 35 appellations or sub-appellations.
Geologically, this is where the continents of Europe and Africa collide, resulting in a wide diversity of soil types&mdash;limestone, clay, sandstone, sand, gravel, schist, and others. It&rsquo;s also the home of several microclimates, grape varieties, and a wide range of wine styles. There is a lot to chew on here, so for ease let&rsquo;s start with noteworthy appellations in the eastern part of the region.
<h3 dir="ltr">The Appellations</h3>
Terrasses du Larzac
If there is one appellation in the Languedoc that connoisseurs should look out for, it is Terrasses du Larzac, an amorphous zone that stretches about 30 miles east to west as it skirts the southern edge of the Massif Centrale mountain range. It is marked by a white, calcareous plateau that overlooks the area, the Causse du Larzac, below which wind two river gorges. Although it is bathed in Mediterranean sunshine and not especially high in elevation, its proximity to the mountains provides the area with cool evening winds, even in the summer, that lengthen grape ripening time and preserve acidity.
It is home to varied topography and multiple soil types that create a multiplicity of expressions for the appellation&rsquo;s 100 winemakers. Within Terrasses are Montpeyroux and St-Saturnin, two sub-appellations distinct enough to be recognized on their own, as well as producers like Mas de Daumas Gassac and Grange des P&egrave;res. Both are situated in Terrasses but remain bureaucratically outside of it since they don&rsquo;t limit themselves to the authorized grape varieties (Grenache Noir, Syrah, Mourv&egrave;dre, Carignan, and Counoise).
Pic Saint-Loup
Pic Saint-Loup, just east of Terrasses du Larzac, is home to two geographic landmarks&mdash;L&rsquo;Hortus, a calcareous mountain plateau, and Pic Saint-Loup, a jagged peak that resembles an inverted wolf&rsquo;s tooth (from which the appellation takes its name). Somewhat more compact than Terrasses and with more homogenous soils (mostly various conglomerations of limestone), the Syrah-dominant wines of Pic Saint-Loup tend to have a velvety freshness to them, yet they can hold up for a decade or more. Mourv&egrave;dre and Grenache, Carignan and Cinsault also play a role here.
Cabri&egrave;res
Cabri&egrave;res (officially Languedoc-Cabri&egrave;res) is an anomaly in the region because it is known for ros&eacute;, which was a favorite of the Bourbon court. The appellation&rsquo;s schist soil is responsible for the signature freshness that the wines are known for. Some years ago, the area&rsquo;s prideful winemakers pushed back against a proposal to incorporate the zone into next-door Terrasses du Larzac.
Languedoc-Sommi&egrave;res/Langlade
Moving east in the direction of N&icirc;mes is Languedoc-Sommi&egrave;res, an appellation known as much for its olive trees as its wines. The focal point here is the small village of Langlade (technically a part of Sommi&egrave;res AOP), the source of some transcendent wines that were so esteemed in the 19th century to the point of being compared with Burgundy&rsquo;s finest. Due to the ravages of phylloxera, viticulture petered out in the area to the point of near extinction. A small revival took place in the 1980s, and by 2015 there were six wineries.
Still, the village would be a footnote if not for Roc d&rsquo;Anglade. Not only is it the finest in its village, it&rsquo;s one of the finest in the south of France. The estate&rsquo;s steep, terraced vineyards face due north, an unusual orientation in the region, which shortens daily sun exposure to grapes and allows them to preserve freshness and highlight delicacy. Because they are not interested in going through the bureaucratic process of obtaining AOP status, proprietors R&eacute;my and Martine P&eacute;dr&eacute;no label their wine under a lesser classification&mdash;IGP du Gard (appearing on their labels as Vin de Pays du Gard).
<h3 dir="ltr">Recommended Wines and Producers</h3>
[Note&mdash;a number of importers have spent decades exploring the Languedoc. Seek out wines offered by Becky Wasserman &amp; Co., Louis/Dressner, Kermit Lynch, Martine&rsquo;s Wines, Neil Rosenthal, Polaner Selections, Selection Pas Mas, United Estates/Patrick Allen Selections, Weygandt Selections.]
Whites Ermitage du Pic Saint-Loup Sainte Agn&egrave;s 2018 Languedoc ($33)
This wine is a blend of Roussanne, Grenaches Blanc and Gris, Marsanne, and a soup&ccedil;on of Clairette. When I first tasted it, I wasn&rsquo;t aware that it was seven years old. It&rsquo;s that fresh, with the delicacy of white alpine flowers, Seckel pear, and a squeeze of Meyer lemon, all grounded by savory leesiness. The Pic Saint-Loup appellation, where it&rsquo;s made, doesn&rsquo;t cover white wines, so this takes the generic Languedoc classification for reasons of bureaucracy (not quality). Find a younger vintage and cellar for a decade.
Mas Jullien Blanc 2021 IGP d&rsquo;H&eacute;rault ($56)
The Terrasses du Larzac is limited to red wines, so those making whites have to resort to a more generic label (H&eacute;rault being the name of the d&eacute;partement, or county). Still, there&rsquo;s nothing at all common about this wine. It&rsquo;s redolent with the flavors of late summer stone fruit meeting early autumn heirloom apples and pears, clementines of winter, and a fresh breeze on a warm spring day. Beautiful now, this will be a knockout in a few years.
Roc d&rsquo;Anglade Blanc 2023 Vin de Pays du Gard ($65)
A stunner made from a combination of grapes probably not known anywhere else&mdash;Carignan Blanc, Chardonnay, Chenin, Blanc, and Grenache Gris&mdash;this wine is rich with the scent of fresh crushed apples and pears that infuse the palate with lemon confit, honeycomb, and laurel. This wine has the energy to go for two decades.
Mas de Daumas Gassac Blanc 2023 IGP St-Guilhem Le-D&eacute;sert ($69)
Mountain fresh with an aroma of sunshine beaming down upon a patch of wildflowers, this unusual blend of Viognier, Chardonnay, (Petit) Manseng, Chenin, Muscat, and Sauvignon is a delight. The mouth has the richness of candied lemon and orange stirred into ground almonds, and a vein of minerality and balancing acidity keep things together. Still, this would benefit from some time.&nbsp;
Mas de Daumas Gassac Blanc 2013 IGP St-Guilhem Le-D&eacute;sert ($160)
A decade older than the previous wine, its elements have definitely melded together. What was once grainy is now smooth, with an aroma of fine marzipan perfumed with orange blossoms. But there&rsquo;s also an element of spiced, russet apples that adds to the wine&rsquo;s sumptuousness, all of which is restrained by mouthwatering acidity. I imagine this will be magical even ten years later.&nbsp;
Ros&eacute; G&eacute;rard Bertrand Clos du Temple 2022 Cabri&egrave;res ($190)
One of the Languedoc&rsquo;s largest negociants, Bertrand owns ten estates in the region and is dedicated to promoting biodynamic viticulture. Some years ago he set his sights on making one of the world&rsquo;s great, age-worthy ros&eacute;s, and decided that Cabri&egrave;res was the place to do it. He certainly succeeded in creating something sumptuous&mdash;the wine is laden with apricot and fine raspberry flavors, mandarin peel, and the sweet vanilla scent of oak. It&rsquo;s seductive now, but it was designed for the ages.
Red Roc d&rsquo;Anglade 2020 Vin de Pays du Gard ($60)
The garrigue-filled hills around Langlade are certainly suggestive of what appears in the bottle&mdash;a wild, red, berry-scented wine, aromatic and earthy with undertones of fresh leather and sun-cured tobacco. A mouthwatering and elegant blend led by Carignan, this is a wine to share over time. This will appeal to lovers of Premier and Grand Cru Burgundy, but it is much cheaper.
H&eacute;ritage du Pic St-Loup Tour des Pierres 2021 Pic St-Loup ($23)
Mostly Syrah with some Grenache Noir and Mourv&egrave;dre, this wine offers an indulgent dose of spice to start. It&rsquo;s peppery with wild dark berry notes, the bright red fruit of Grenache, and earthiness of Mourv&egrave;dre, all girded by the stoniness proclaimed by the wine&rsquo;s name. Though the winery makes fancier cuv&eacute;es, this can be enjoyed for years.&nbsp;
Mas des Chim&egrave;res Nuit Grave 2022 Terrasses du Larzac ($23)
The sappiness of Syrah (70%) takes the lead, followed by Grenache Noir and a bit of Cinsault and Mourv&egrave;dre. There&rsquo;s a sumptuousness to this wine with notes of dark berries, bitter chocolate, and vanilla-sweet oak, but it has the bones to hold up over time. Less for the ages, but still certainly worth seeking out, is the estate&rsquo;s single variety wine Oeillade. Some say that this is an old type of Cinsault, others that it&rsquo;s a different, archaic variety altogether&mdash;either way, it&rsquo;s thoroughly delightful.
Les Vignes Oubli&eacute;es 2019 Terrasses du Larzac ($35)
Made by an acolyte of Olivier Jullien (Mas Jullien, also recommended here), this wine from the forgotten vines of an abandoned vineyard has the exuberant energy of a lovable, wiry stray. It joyfully leaps on the palate with tart red berry, orange, and light herb flavors, along with lively acidity and a lithe, sturdy frame. Have fun with this for years to come.
Cal Demoura Les Combariolles 2021 Terrasses du Larzac ($52)
There&rsquo;s a coolness to this wine&mdash;the result, perhaps, of the bracing winds that descend from the Causse overlooking the appellation. Vincent Goumard knits together a cashmere-textured wine from Syrah, Mourv&egrave;dre, Carignan, and Grenache Noir. The bright red fruit flavors pulsate with freshness, highlighted with a pinch of peppery spice, all framed by fine tannin. It&rsquo;s terrific now, but losing it in the cellar for a decade will reveal ample rewards. If merino&rsquo;s more your thing, Cal Demoura&rsquo;s Terre de Jonqui&egrave;res offers a slightly more rustic experience for about two-thirds of the already reasonable price.&nbsp;
Mas Jullien Autour de Jonqui&egrave;res 2020 Terrasses du Larzac ($56)
As mentioned before, one of the greatest of France&rsquo;s underappreciated appellations is Terrasses du Larzac. Its nearly 100 winemakers take great advantage of cooler average temperatures, while enjoying the region&rsquo;s unfiltered sunshine and unspoiled beauty. Overall, the quality is exemplary, but a few like Mas Jullien stand out. The wine has generous red berry flavors, but they save space for other elements like earth, bitter herbs, and wispy aromatics. There&rsquo;s some mouthwatering acidity in the background, and the confident structure doesn&rsquo;t impose. Place a case of this in the cellar with the fancy wines from other regions.&nbsp;
Domaine d&rsquo;Aupilhac Les Cocali&egrave;res 2021 Montpeyroux ($42)
A subsection of Terrasses du Larzac that stands alone, Montpeyroux is best known in the U.S. for Sylvain Fadat&rsquo;s wines at D&rsquo;Aupillhac. He&rsquo;s a big fan of Carignan&mdash;despite its deep roots in the region, it has suffered the disdain of many for a generation. Fadat makes a splendid, pure version from that variety, but he&rsquo;s expert at others too, like Syrah, Mourv&egrave;dre, Grenache, Cinsault, and whites. The Les Cocali&egrave;res Rouge blend has no Carignan, but it&rsquo;s very much grounded in its place and exudes a sense of its vineyard&rsquo;s limestone and basalt soils coated with ripe red fruit, smoke, and oily herb flavors. This has the stuff to revisit in a decade or more.
Mas de Daumas Gassac 2023 IGP St-Guilhem Le D&eacute;sert ($65)
If there is one producer most responsible for reversing the pejorative opinion that people had of Languedoc wines, it&rsquo;s Mas de Daumas Gassac. Forty-five years after the first vintage, this estate red is all about finesse&mdash;vibrant red fruit laced with aromatic herbs, fine pepper, and polished stone. Though it is three-quarters Cabernet Sauvignon, there&rsquo;s no confusing this wine (in its youth, anyway) with wines from the M&eacute;doc. But the difference is in profile, not quality. That fades, however, as the wines near their second decade, but Daumas Gassac remains a wine from the south with the air of wild herbs and sunshine throughout.&nbsp;
Other producers for collectors to search for: Alain Chabanon (Languedoc-Montpeyroux), Ch&acirc;teau Fontan&egrave;s (Pic St-Loup), Ch&acirc;teau Lancyre (Pic St-Loup), Clos Marie (Pic St-Loup), Domaine de la Grange des P&egrave;res (IGP Pays d&rsquo;H&eacute;rault), Domaine de L&rsquo;Hortus (Pic St-Loup), Domaine de Montcalm&egrave;s (Terrasses du Larzac), Domaine du Pas de l&rsquo;Escalette (Terrasses du Larzac), Domaine Virgile Joly (Languedoc-St-Saturnin).

The Collector’s Guide to Languedoc, Part 2: The Wines

What&rsquo;s happening in wine and whiskey this week:
<h3 dir="ltr">News of the Week</h3>
🇫🇷&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/unicorn-review/collectors-guide-languedoc-wine">The Languedoc</a> is an important but under-appreciated French wine region.
🥃 The founder of one of Nashville&rsquo;s major hospitality groups&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unicornauctions.com/unicorn-review/collectors-corner-max-goldberg">has great whiskey collecting tips</a>.
🍷 This sommelier always has these&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-wines-to-serve-guests-certified-sommelier-keeps-on-hand-2025-10">five wines to serve to guests at home</a>.
🍾 These are some of the most&nbsp;<a href="https://vinepair.com/articles/wa-somms-most-underrated-napa-wine-2025/">under-rated Napa Valley wines</a>.
🧊 This single malt whisky is the&nbsp;<a href="https://robbreport.com/food-drink/spirits/la-alazana-distillery-antarctica-whisky-1237316983/">first to ever be aged in Antarctica</a>.
<h3 dir="ltr">New Bottle Releases</h3>
Jack Daniel&rsquo;s Single Barrel Special Release Tanyard Hill Rye
Jack Daniel&rsquo;s latest Single Barrel Special Release is a barrel-proof rye whiskey that clocks in, depending on the cask it came from, at between 130.2 and 148.8 proof. To put that in layman's terms, that's really, really strong, reaching hazmat levels once it goes beyond 140 proof. The whiskey was aged in the Tanyard Hill rickhouses, which are next to the Coy Hill rickhouses that previously yielded very strong whiskey. 130.2-148.8 proof; SRP $80
Middle West Dark Pumpernickel Rye
Ohio distillery Middle West just released a new Pumpernickel Rye, a first of its kind that is made from a four-grain mashbill of dark pumpernickel rye, non-GMO open-pollinated yellow corn, soft red winter wheat, and 2-row barley, and aged for a minimum of three years in new charred barrels. The whiskey is a deep and complex rye, with notes of cinnamon, black pepper, vanilla, ginger, and maple on the palate, and it's an interesting take on the category from this well-regarded craft distillery. 96 proof; SRP $47
2025 Remus Gatsby Reserve
MGP is known for releasing truly fantastic rye and bourbon, much of which is contract distilled or sourced to other brands. But the distillery also has its own in-house labels, and the premier expression is the Remus Gatsby Reserve lineup. The 2025 version is a 15-year-old bourbon made from the distillery&rsquo;s 21-percent rye mashbill. That provides a nice bit of spice on the palate, which is augmented by notes of cherry, raisin, molasses, and some pipe tobacco and a hint of Armagnac. 102.8 proof; SRP $200 
<h3 dir="ltr">The Week in Wine: The World of Pinot Noir Comes to LA</h3>
Last weekend, the World of Pinot Noir arrived in Los Angeles at the posh Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood. That's a long way from its home base at the Ritz Carlton in Santa Barbara, where it&rsquo;s been celebrated for more than a decade (before that it was held in Pismo Beach, overlooking the Pacific).
When it was launched in 2000, WOPN was a not so subtle homage (some would say carbon copy) to one of the most successful wine festivals in the U.S., the International Pinot Noir Celebration in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. Like that conference, WOPN was international in scope, with guests from all over the world attending, but especially from Burgundy. Like IPNC, the conference put a spotlight on the host region, California&rsquo;s Central Coastal appellations.
Keep in mind that this was five years before the juggernaut known as Sideways created an explosion of interest in both Pinot Noir and the Central Coast, something the WOPN festival greatly benefitted from.
In recent years, however, especially in the wake of the pandemic, glitzy wine festivals have lost a bit of their polish. Ticket sales have dipped as costs have soared, resulting in package deals that few can afford beyond the well-heeled and one-percenters. Then last year, IPNC ended its 39-year run (the consensus being, for most, &ldquo;Mission Accomplished&rdquo;). For the organizers of WOPN, it seemed like time to bring the party to the people.
And what a party. Sponsored by the local wine retail and restaurant group Wally&rsquo;s, the event drew close to 400 people tasting through Pinots (and Chardonnays) from all over the world, slurping and spitting (and not spitting) on a lovely fall afternoon.
WOPN (and IPNC) have always been an opportunity to take the pulse of the variety in all its forms, and the good news is that the World of Pinot Noir is in very good form. While there are plenty of fruit-forward, powerful wines out there (from the likes of OLG, Sea Smoke, and Alma Rosa), a great many are as restrained as any have been for years. Wines of restraint and balance from Presqu&rsquo;ile, Center of Effort, and Sandhi give the sense that the World, as we know it, is still expanding.
<h3 dir="ltr">Unicorn Pick of the Week</h3>
Barrell Craft Spirits 12-Year Bourbon Finished in French Oak Casks
Louisville&rsquo;s Barrell Craft Spirits has become one of America&rsquo;s premier whiskey blenders over the past decade. The company releases multiple batches of bourbon every year that are compiled from barrels sourced from different distilleries in different states, all of which are bottled at barrel strength (usually ranging between 110 and 120 proof). But it also has a series of fantastic cask-finished blends of bourbons (and other whiskeys) in its portfolio, and the latest edition is a 12-year-old expression that was finished in French oak barrels.
<img src="https://directus-11-4sui.onrender.com/assets/3336c046-9a17-4c21-8274-d4cb10be0647.png?width=1200&amp;height=800" alt="12 Yr Bourbon French Oak Lifestyle">
The components of this whiskey are bourbons sourced from Indiana, Kentucky, Wyoming, and Tennessee. While the distilleries are not named, you can guess at the origins&mdash;likely suspects might be MGP, Dickel, and Wyoming Whiskey, but these are not confirmed. French oak, which is more commonly used to mature wine and cognac, is known to impart subtle toasty notes of spice to a bourbon, something that BCS founder Joe Beatrice recognizes. &ldquo;French oak offers a more refined subtle contribution compared to heavily toasted American oak barrels used for initial maturation or heavy charring,&rdquo; he said in a statement, &ldquo;adding layers of flavor without overpowering the bourbon itself.&rdquo;
Indeed, this 108.5-proof bourbon is full of flavor, with the core bourbon&rsquo;s character nicely augmented by the finish. There are notes of tannin, cinnamon, toasted nuts, and grain, along with dried fruit, fresh apple, vanilla, and caramel. The French oak influence can be found in soft leather and toasted wood flavors, with a bit of spice and sweetness on the lingering finish that doesn&rsquo;t overpower at this relatively low cask strength. Whether you&rsquo;re a longtime BCS fan or new to this Kentucky blending house, give this new expression a try.

The Week in Wine and Whiskey: October 31, 2025

The Languedoc is one of the world&rsquo;s most important yet under-appreciated wine region, a statement that might require some explanation. The region comprises the western half of France&rsquo;s Mediterranean coast, as well as its hilly (and sometimes even mountainous) hinterland. At 500,000 acres, the Languedoc is among the largest wine regions in terms of area planted (in comparison, all of California has about 600,000 acres). And with roughly 320 million gallons of wine produced annually, its output equals or exceeds production of entire countries like Australia, Chile, and Argentina.
More importantly, the Languedoc is responsible for most of the modestly priced French wines on the market. While Burgundy, Bordeaux, and Champagne capture the imagination of connoisseurs, chances are that the under-$15 bottle with that special &ldquo;je ne sais quoi&rdquo; character you picked up while racing to a friend&rsquo;s dinner party came from the Languedoc. The wine is well-made and well-priced (or, as the French say, &ldquo;bon rapport qualit&eacute;-prix&rdquo;), which is what this region is best known for.
But there is another side to the Languedoc&mdash;it&rsquo;s driven by originality and innovation, exceptional terroir and talent, resulting in wines of exemplary quality. Fortunately, for savvy collectors looking to add both breadth and depth to their cellars, most of these are available at very attractive prices.
<h3 dir="ltr">The Lay of the Land</h3>
Anyone who visits this part of France will understand the Languedoc&rsquo;s visceral appeal. It is among the country&rsquo;s sunniest and warmest regions, but its heat is tempered by frequent breezes from the sea and mountains. Patches of vines adorn gentle hills that are interspersed with forest. Dramatic mountain gorges funnel the omnipresent perfume of garrigue, resinous wild herbs like thyme, rosemary, savory, sage, and lavender that seem to grow everywhere.
The landscape is adorned with the remains of ancient civilizations, like Roman roads, centuries-old churches, and monasteries. On the hilltops, stone fortresses and medieval structures built by idealists who challenged Church corruption lie in scenic ruin. In the southwest, the Canal du Midi, a 17th century marvel of engineering that is still in use, connects Toulouse to the Mediterranean Sea. It winds through unassuming country hamlets and picturesque seaside towns developed centuries ago as the point of contact between what became France and the Mediterranean world.
This gave birth to France&rsquo;s wine industry, which began in the 6th century BCE when Phocean Greeks, grapevines in hand, settled in what became Marseille. They later went to the Languedoc, where evidence of commercial wine production was found a century later. But it was the Romans in the 2nd century BCE who had the most influence. They expanded vineyards, organized wine production, and exported it to Rome&mdash;trade that is memorialized by a floor mosaic showing a connection between Ostia (ancient Rome&rsquo;s main port) and Narbonne (Rome&rsquo;s administrative capital in France).&nbsp;
<h3 dir="ltr">Roman Roots</h3>
Rome&rsquo;s later travails affected the Languedoc, resulting in an extended period of dormancy. By the late 13th century, a proto-renaissance had reinvigorated European scientific research and compelled Montepellier-based physician and aspiring alchemist Arnaud de Villeneuve to codify the process of mutage (stabilizing sweet wines through alcoholic fortification), creating what are known as vins doux naturels.
The oldest known description of deliberate sparkling wine production, found in the Abbey of St-Hillaire in Limoux, dates back to 1531. Local lore claims that Dom Perignon himself learned about the methode he&rsquo;s famous for whilst crashing at the monastery. At about the same time, the ros&eacute; wines of Cabri&egrave;res, which is now recognized as an appellation in the region, were reputed to be Louis XIV&rsquo;s favorite.
Unfortunately, being a royal favorite didn&rsquo;t guarantee future success, especially following the French Revolution. The boom and bust cycles that followed a transforming society didn&rsquo;t make things easy, and phylloxera hit the region early and especially hard. When a solution was found and replanting began, pent up demand for wine encouraged producers to favor high-yielding, rather than high-quality, varieties.
<h3 dir="ltr">From Plonk to Prestige</h3>
For much of the 20th century, the region&rsquo;s mild Mediterranean climate and coastal plains were well-suited to the sort of mass wine production necessary to slake the thirst of working-class Frenchmen. Fifty years ago, per capita consumption in France was 100 liters per year; in comparison, U.S. wine consumption peaked at less than 10 liters. Most wine was made by cooperatives, and members were paid by the weight of the grapes they delivered rather than their quality. At best, this was a recipe for mediocrity.
The logic of mass production started changing in the 1980s. Domestic wine consumption fell, and more affluent consumers demanded better wine than the vin ordinaire their parents quaffed. While the Languedoc always had a few quality-minded producers, they received little attention until the Guibert family arrived on the scene in the 1970s. Seeking a holiday home in the south of France, they purchased an isolated property in the beautiful Gassac Valley, close to the C&eacute;vennes mountain range. A famous geologist friend specializing in vineyards examined the soils and determined them ideal for high quality wine production.&nbsp;
They planted a wide range of vines, including local Mediterranean varieties, but also non-local Cabernet Sauvignon because of the family&rsquo;s love of Bordeaux. In 1978, with the help of famed enologist Emile Peynaud, they released their first wine&mdash;Mas de Daumas Gassac. Three vintages later, the wine was recognized by critics as a grand cru in the making, with one French magazine likening it to Bordeaux&rsquo;s famed Ch&acirc;teau Lafite. While some considered the success a one-off, others saw opportunity, particularly in the steeper, more remote vineyards of the region, where mechanization had little place. Conveniently, land and vineyard prices were low, especially compared to more esteemed parts of France, and a wave of winemakers with more talent than money poured into the region.
<h3 dir="ltr">Artistic Freedom Over Appellations</h3>
There was another reason for their interest&mdash;freedom. Unburdened by appellation rules (which didn&rsquo;t yet exist because of the region&rsquo;s supposedly poor quality), vintners could do as they wished without fearing demotion in status. Moreover, because most of the Languedoc&rsquo;s wines didn&rsquo;t command high prices, the financial risks of not following the rules were lower. The first vintage of Mas de Daumas Gassac, for example, was a blend of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with Tannat and Malbec, none of them historic to the region. It was given the lowly classification &ldquo;vin de table.&rdquo; Once it earned critical acclaim, it was able to earn a price that exceeded most appellation wines in the region.
Legislation caught up the following year, and from 1979 to the present the wine has been classified &ldquo;vin de pays&rdquo; (now IGP, Indication G&eacute;ographique Prot&eacute;g&eacute;e), somewhere in the middle of the hierarchy of French wine classification. Some winemakers followed suit, while others strove to demonstrate the potential that could emerge from their own sub-appellations. These were based upon local, Mediterranean grape varieties such as Grenache, Carignan, or Cinsault that long existed in their areas, or highly regarded varieties like Syrah and Mourv&egrave;dre.&nbsp;
Quality has soared throughout the Languedoc over the past four-plus decades. In 1980, the region had only one appellation d&rsquo;origine contr&ocirc;l&eacute;e (AOC) zone for still, dry red wine (Fitou). By the end of the decade, there were a dozen, and today there are over 30. But, as Mas de Daumas Gassac demonstrated, there is also fame to be found at the margins.
With the Languedoc&rsquo;s diversity of soil types, microclimates, and over 30 grape varieties, there are dozens, maybe even hundreds, of producers that deserve attention. In next week&rsquo;s installment, we&rsquo;ll focus on appellations in the eastern half of the region with wines that have demonstrated longevity, as well as wines and producers that would be worthy additions to any cellar.

The Collector’s Guide to Languedoc: Who to Know and What to Cellar from the Region, Part I

What&rsquo;s happening in wine and whiskey this week:
<h3 dir="ltr">News of the Week</h3>
🍷 Old wineries are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wineenthusiast.com/culture/industry-news/historic-wineries-new-labels/">attempting to bring in younger drinkers</a>.
💸 Want to spend a bit less? Some&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-10-21/wine-bars-are-booming-due-to-casual-dining-trends-tough-economy">wine bars have budget in mind</a>.
📋 It&rsquo;s time for restaurants to simplify their&nbsp;<a href="https://nypost.com/2025/10/20/lifestyle/restaurant-wine-lists-have-gotten-ridiculously-confusing-and-pretentious/">pretentious wine lists</a>.&nbsp;
💣 Tamdhu&rsquo;s new 21-year-old whisky is a&nbsp;<a href="https://robbreport.com/food-drink/spirits/whiskey-review-tamdhu-21-single-malt-scotch-whisky-1237256310/">sherry bomb for Macallan lovers</a>.
🩷 It&rsquo;s time to embrace the<a href="https://www.insidehook.com/wine/pink-chardonnay-just-got-bit-more-official"> joys of pink Chardonnay</a>.
<h3 dir="ltr">New Bottle Releases</h3>
Pinhook Vertical Series 10 Year Old
This is the seventh entry in Pinhook&rsquo;s Vertical Series, which tracks the progression of its bourbon as it gets older with each release (the first was four years old). The 10-year-old expression is a blend of 75 barrels bottled at cask strength of 115.9 proof. The whiskey was distilled at MGP in Indiana and then matured at Castle &amp; Key in Kentucky, and this would be a fun one to compare with previous releases if you can find those bottles as well. 115.9 proof; SRP $100
2XO Oak Series: White Oak Rye
For many years Dixon Dedman was the man behind Kentucky Owl , but he left that brand around the time it was sold to Stoli Group (which went bankrupt last year). His latest endeavor is 2XO, which stands for &ldquo;two times oak,&rdquo; or whiskey that is double-barreled. This brand has focused on bourbon until the launch of this new White Oak Rye, which follows the same path of double maturation. Look for notes of mint, spice, vanilla, and maple. 92 proof; SRP $50
Aberfeldy 15 Year Old Bolgheri Red Wine Cask Finish
Aberfeldy is the core whisky used in the Dewar&rsquo;s blend, but the distillery also has its own range of excellent single malt expressions. Master blender Stephanie Macleod created this new release, a 15-year-old single malt aged in refill casks before spending two years in Bolgheri red wine barrels from Tuscany. This is the latest in Aberfeldy&rsquo;s wine-finishing series, and has notes of ripe berries, leather, vanilla, chocolate, and baking spice on the palate. 92 proof; SRP $85
<h3 dir="ltr">Unicorn Pick of the Week</h3>
Indri Agneya
While it might not be familiar to everyone, Indian whisky is a category to be reckoned with. There are some fantastic single malts coming out of this country, many of them from bigger names like Paul John and Rampur (big being a relevant term here). But one lesser known producer (at least here in the U.S.) that is making waves is Indri, and it just launched&nbsp; a lightly peated new single malt called Agneya.
<img src="https://directus-11-4sui.onrender.com/assets/a5532834-ad1f-4123-a916-3f5005d91cc8.jpg?width=1200&amp;height=800" alt="Indri Whisky">
Agneya means &ldquo;belonging to fire,&rdquo; but as mentioned before the smoke is relatively light on the palate (nowhere near as strong as a whisky from Islay, for example). The whisky was produced at the Picadilly distillery, which lays claim as being the largest independent producer of malt spirits in India. There are currently more than 40,000 barrels aging there&mdash;Agneya was aged in a combination of PX sherry and bourbon casks, pretty typical for a single malt from any country. The mashbill is 6-row malted barley that was kilned over peat smoke (the peat is imported from Scotland). No color is added to the whisky, and it&rsquo;s non-chill filtered to preserve as much flavor as possible.
And that flavor is impressive. This whisky is clearly on the younger side (the youngest liquid is about five years old, according to the brand), but that doesn&rsquo;t mean it lacks complexity. Look for notes of vanilla, pepper, citrus, baking spice, and honey, along with toasted oak and a subtle wave of peat smokey as you sip. &ldquo;With Indri Agneya, we set out to push boundaries,&rdquo; said Surrinder Kumar, master blender for Piccadily Agro Industries Limited, in a statement. &ldquo;We wanted to explore the untapped space between the familiar and the unexpected. Agneya introduces a new conversation, a whisky that hints at smoke and spice, while still retaining the warmth and complexity that defines Indri&rsquo;s house style.&rdquo;
In that, Agneya has succeeded, making this yet another Indian whisky you keep an eye out for in this rapidly growing world of spirits. You can find a bottle now at retailers around the country (SRP $80).&nbsp;&nbsp;

The Week in Wine and Whiskey: October 24, 2025

The usual way to purchase wine at auctions is as follows: find a wine you&rsquo;ve loved in the past, or something that multiple critics consider near-perfect, and keep bidding until that prized bottle is yours.&nbsp;
But&nbsp; there's an alternative to consider that involves much less time, and might actually result in you coming away with some real curiosities. Look for wines without scores, at modest prices, with significant bottle age, and a hint (but not a wealth) of pedigree. These aren&rsquo;t wines to save for special occasions; they&rsquo;re wines to open with guests as experiments that often turn out to be excellent dinner pairings.&nbsp;
Of course, you&rsquo;re going to run into some duds&mdash;that's inevitable when you&rsquo;re playing this game. But you&rsquo;ll often find yourself sharing and talking about wines that are more interesting, and often cheaper, than a new release of similar quality pulled off the nearest retail shelf.
Ready to flirt with this wine auction Twilight Zone? Not so fast, because bidding erratically is a quick path to disappointment. Despite the fact that I&rsquo;ve spent quite a few years writing about wine professionally, I&rsquo;ve found it necessary to stick to some core guidelines to keep my auction buys (mostly) sensible.&nbsp;
These strategies have evolved over time, and I still run into an undrinkable bottle every now and then. But disappointments have become increasingly rare as I&rsquo;ve added new rules to my playbook. Here&rsquo;s how I find dusty, overlooked bottles that are worth drinking.&nbsp;
<h3 dir="ltr">Set a Price Cap</h3>
Online auction listings can be endlessly long, so the quickest way to narrow your options is to set a price cap. That puts your focus squarely on humble bottles that most bidders will simply ignore. Granted, if you set your upper limit at $50, an obscure bottle of some great producer from your favorite vineyard will almost certainly be listed at $51 and you might not see it. Ignore that feeling, and remind yourself that FOMO is one of our era&rsquo;s most potent soul-killers.
Unless I&rsquo;m looking for something specific, I then sort from oldest-to-youngest and scroll quickly until something catches my eye.&nbsp;
<h3 dir="ltr">Find a Spark of Recognition</h3>
I&rsquo;m looking at auctions to find the oldest bottles that are both reasonably priced and potentially interesting. I&rsquo;ve found it best to avoid complete unknowns and to stick to producers I&rsquo;ve enjoyed in the past, or at least ones I recognize. The worst old auction bottles I&rsquo;ve opened&mdash;dead, muddy, and actively spoiled&mdash;have generally been from defunct producers I&rsquo;d never heard of before.&nbsp;
One dynamic worth considering, particularly in the New World&mdash;many of the brands that are now large corporate entities were still independent back in the 1980s and &lsquo;90s, and were making sensible, balanced, more-or-less artisanal wine.
<h3 dir="ltr">Play Both Sides of the Vintage Chart&nbsp;</h3>
Some vintages can do no wrong. For example, it&rsquo;s hard to make a mistake buying 1991 Napa Cabernet or 2002 Champagne, but that&rsquo;s also where the most well-heeled collectors will be hunting.
You can drink good wines from great producers at good prices in less heralded vintages. But the ultimate hack is a bit more complicated&mdash;finding the actual vineyards that were most likely to overcome a bad vintage&rsquo;s biggest deficit.&nbsp;
Hot vintage? Try to find wine grown on cool, shady hillsides (north-facing in the Northern Hemisphere; south-facing in the Southern). Cool and wet vintage? Look for wine grown on the rockiest, steepest, most sun-drenched spot you can find. In California&rsquo;s often-panned 2011 vintage, for example, look for wines grown at higher elevations. Up above the fog that settles in coastal California&rsquo;s valleys, ample sun and breeze plus well-draining volcanic soil helped keep grapes dry and healthy, despite a cool season capped by an early October deluge.
<h3 dir="ltr">Push the Drinking Window&nbsp;</h3>
Few American wine drinkers age their wines, even those that are made to age. As one Napa winemaker once remarked to me, tell someone visiting the tasting room that a wine is fresh, fruity, and drinking wonderfully today, and they won&rsquo;t buy it. Tell them it&rsquo;s massive and ripe and tannic and needs ten or more years in bottle, they&rsquo;ll buy it and drink it that night.
Maybe because of this dynamic, winemakers tend to underestimate the longevity of their wines, particularly the humbler ones. They understand the realities of the wine market, that virtually no one is going to be drinking them 10 or 20 years from now.&nbsp;
Case in point&mdash;I recently acquired a 1991 MacRostie Carneros Merlot. The back label suggests enjoying it &ldquo;up to 10 years from vintage on special occasions with friends or family.&rdquo; When I opened it more than 30 years later, it was still bright and lively. Which brings us to&hellip;
<h3 dir="ltr">Check the Back Label&nbsp;</h3>
That MacRostie Merlot was grown at Hudson Vineyard, one of the best situated and managed vineyards in Carneros. To know that, though, you&rsquo;d have to move your cursor over to the back label image and zoom in.&nbsp;
The older the vintage, the less information you&rsquo;re going to be able to find about the wine in question. Today, it&rsquo;s routine for wineries to upload an information-rich PDF for each of their new releases. In 1991, there wasn&rsquo;t really an internet to upload to, and while wineries did document information about their wines, much of that information has been lost in ancient filing cabinets.&nbsp;
Zooming in on a label photograph, particularly a verbose back label, can provide crucial data that might not be available anywhere else on the web (as long as you take any drinking windows you find with a grain of salt.)
<h3 dir="ltr">Buck the Fashion&nbsp;</h3>
Stick with producers and regions that have some potential, but also recognize that varieties come and go. The reputations of entire regions can wax and wane due to factors that have little inherent correlation with the quality of what&rsquo;s in the bottle.&nbsp;
Merlot, for example, was red hot in the 1990s. California and Washington were making boatloads of it. Now, no one cares, but the wines are still out there, and continue to show well in good vintages (see the 1991 Carneros above). Older Zinfandels can also bring similar value and charm.
This works at the high end as well. A Madeira from the early 1900s might set you back $800. But if you want something truly fascinating to open with a group of friends who aren&rsquo;t wine nerds, a wine harvested before World War I is likely to be more captivating to a crowd than the most resplendent Grand Cru Burgundy from the 1990s. Likewise, consider vintage port&mdash;it may have a fusty reputation now, but that shouldn&rsquo;t nullify generations of compelling tradition and world-class vineyards. Such wines provide opportunities to revel in the road less traveled.&nbsp; 
<h3 dir="ltr">Let it Sit, Then Dump it Out&nbsp;</h3>
Older wine will change with oxygen, and generally for the better. What at first seems like a shapeless mass will often come into focus after a few minutes in a decanter&mdash;clean acidity, toothsome tannins, and fresher flavors. Even if the wine turns out to be less than amazing, it&rsquo;s miraculous how a bit of air can turn an old wine from off-putting to enjoyable.
Of course, that&rsquo;s not always the case. If you rolled the dice on a producer you&rsquo;ve never heard of, if the wine has the charm of stale coffee grounds in a forgotten percolator, your frog isn&rsquo;t going to turn into a prince&mdash;which is fine because you played the odds and spent, what, 25 bucks? Dump it in the sink, open another bottle, and dump that one as well if it turns out to be similarly putrid. Find your way to something you like, knowing that all three bottles cost less than some random single-vineyard Cabernet sitting on the shelf at your nearest wine shop.&nbsp;
<h3 dir="ltr">Moderate your Expectations</h3>
Because so few of us regularly drink moderately priced wine that&rsquo;s 20, 30, or even 40 years old, it can be a mind-bending exercise to decide whether such wines deliver a good value. The charms they offer&mdash;soft, rounded tannins in red wines; warm, autumnal flavors in whites&mdash;may also bring hints of things that a steady diet of young, modern wines has taught us not to like. Think a slight tang of volatile acidity, that balsamic note you often get in older reds. Or perhaps the earthy, green-pepper scents of pyrazines, which tended to be more common in red wines prior to the advent of modern viticultural techniques.
In the end, an old $30 wine bought at auction is a good value if it has a place at the dinner table as much as a similarly priced new release. If a dusty $30 bottle tastes like a wine that once had ambitions to taste like a $30 wine, that&rsquo;s more than appropriate. If it&rsquo;s pleasant but a bit tired, that&rsquo;s also completely fair. Time, after all, doesn&rsquo;t turn village-level vineyards into grand crus.
But I always give a few extra points for the &ldquo;time capsule&rdquo; effect, the way an older wine inevitably turns our attention to the past and to how weather and human decisions from decades ago continue to resonate. For me, a very good Merlot from Carneros evokes certain memories. In 1991, not long after Steve MacRostie harvested his grapes from Hudson Vineyard, while the wine was still bubbling away in the fermenter, my 10-year-old self fell asleep while trying to watch my home team, the Minnesota Twins, win game seven of the World Series.&nbsp;To me, that&rsquo;s an experience worth bidding on, and one you can&rsquo;t get at the shop around the corner.

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