To my mind, the reference point Hermitage is from Jean-Louis Chave. If I were to own only one producer, he would be it. His legendary wines are, without a doubt, the most collectible bottlings from the appellation (the ultra-low production 2003 is currently trading between $600-900/btl, if you can find it).

The wine is sought out year after year due to its consistency, greatness, and scarcity. The Chave family's uncanny ability to turn out great Hermitage for the last half-century has been absolutely unmatched.

In the great 2001 vintage, Chave produced yet another masterpiece - a textbook, traditionally crafted Hermitage, now selling for $200-$300 per bottle.

Enter: Betts & Scholl

One of our specialties at Crush is finding rare, high-quality New World Cabernet Sauvignon for under $100. These are wines that have the palate impact of bottlings that sell for 50-200% more.

Small production wonders from this difficult-to-navigate category have been delighting our customers for the last year and a half.

Of note lately is the 2002 Peacock Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon.

We can�t tell you too much about this wine because its exact origins must be kept a secret. Yes, this is 007 meets the wine business.

What we do know is that 2005 Shelter Sauvignon Blanc from Napa Valley is blended from the top vineyards of one of the most famous winemakers in the region. Superstar vintners obviously don't want you to know where their extra juice goes, so it is sold with the promise that its identity will kept on the DL.

Ripe. Rich. Huge. Monstrous. But Elegant. Palate coating - teeth staining. What else would you expect from the famed Rhône Valley appellation Côte-Rôtie?

After all, it translates as "Roasted Slope." Unlike its southern neighbor Chateauneuf-du-Pape, wine from this region is nearly 100% Syrah - and I might add, this is the Syrah that defines Syrah.

The family estate of Guigal has defined Côte-Rôtie for many decades and is consistently the benchmark for all other winemakers in this region. They produce the three most revered and collectible bottlings of Syrah-based wine on the face of the earth: La Turque, La Landonne and La Mouline (collectively known as the "La-La" wines).

Today's Crush offer features the stunning wines of Vouvray's Phillipe Foreau. Foreau (along with Gaston Huet) *defines* Vouvray in the same overpowering way Penfolds Grange defines Australian reds, or Dom. Romanée-Conti defines Burgundy, or Chateau d'Yquem defines Sauternes. And while the wines just mentioned sell for hundreds of dollars a bottle, the legendary and mind-twisting wines of Phillipe Foreau sell for under $50!

Why so inexpensive? Chenin Blanc (the main white grape in Vouvray) simply isn't well known. Additionally, as Eric Asimov wrote in his New York Times blog the other week (lamenting Chenin's obscurity), Vouvray is one of the few places in the world suited to transform the grape into a wine of such complexity and finesse.