What’s happening in wine and whiskey this week:

News of the Week

🇫🇷 The Languedoc is an important but under-appreciated French wine region.

🥃 The founder of one of Nashville’s major hospitality groups has great whiskey collecting tips.

🍷 This sommelier always has these five wines to serve to guests at home.

🍾 These are some of the most under-rated Napa Valley wines.

🧊 This single malt whisky is the first to ever be aged in Antarctica.

New Bottle Releases

Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Special Release Tanyard Hill Rye

Jack Daniel’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’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

The Week in Wine: The World of Pinot Noir Comes to LA

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’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’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, “Mission Accomplished”). 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’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’ile, Center of Effort, and Sandhi give the sense that the World, as we know it, is still expanding.

Unicorn Pick of the Week

Barrell Craft Spirits 12-Year Bourbon Finished in French Oak Casks

Louisville’s Barrell Craft Spirits has become one of America’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.

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—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. “French oak offers a more refined subtle contribution compared to heavily toasted American oak barrels used for initial maturation or heavy charring,” he said in a statement, “adding layers of flavor without overpowering the bourbon itself.”

Indeed, this 108.5-proof bourbon is full of flavor, with the core bourbon’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’t overpower at this relatively low cask strength. Whether you’re a longtime BCS fan or new to this Kentucky blending house, give this new expression a try.