What’s happening in wine and whiskey this week:

News of the Week

🇫🇷 The Languedoc’s different appellations produce some fantastic wines that are worth checking out.

🥃 Heaven Hill’s Sydney Jones took a path through craft whiskey before winding up in Bardstown.

🍷 Check out these affordable wines that drink beyond their price point.

🚧 A 5,000-year-old wine press was discovered during highway construction.

🇮🇪 Irish whiskey sales are up.

New Bottle Releases

Michter’s 20 Year

Michter’s 20-year-old bourbon is back for 2025. Last year’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’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’s a blend of two mashbills—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

Unicorn Pick of the Week

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—the latter was to raise money for the Chicago Blackhawks Foundation. It also recently sold at Sotheby’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.

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—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 “unicorn” 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 “standard” Very Very Old Fitzgerald 18-year-old (only the second time it’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.