The Lafarge M.O.
2009 Domaine Lafarge
Volnay and Volnay Vendanges Sélectionées
"Ultra-elegant... lilting... classic Volnay of charm and grace." - Burghound

Does Lafarge epitomize Volnay? Or is it the other way around?

Here are wines with all the transparency, purity and fine yet firm-boned mineral precision that makes us such big fans of this commune. And Lafarge renders them with the most pure, most perfect vintage expression.

Despite their miniature price tag and format, these are quite impressive half-bottles. They're from unique extremes way down in the corner of France's wild Southwest, and they're some of the country's most fascinating wines, combining the heartiness of the Southwest with mountain vigor.

With this offer we go beyond Bordeaux: Irouleguy is likely one of the wildest, most obscure corners of French wine.

Equipo Navazos
The story of Equipo Navazos and their La Bota sherries is an unusual one, in that originally there was absolutely no commercial ambition behind the endeavor. This was simply an effort by two sherry-loving friends to get their hands on some extraordinary amontillado that they discovered while tasting at bodegas.

History
As the story goes, Jesús Barquín, sherry expert and professor of criminology at the University of Granada, and Eduardo Ojeda, technical director of Grupo Estévez which includes sherry houses La Guita and the prestigious and very traditional Valdespino, took a field trip to the Sánchez Ayala sherry house in Sanlúcar. There, they came across 65 butts (sherry barrels) of amontillado that, despite their average age of over 30 years – the last 20 of which had been spent without “refreshing” or adding new sherry to the solera to preserve the flor - displayed an incredibly fresh profile with elegant, steely notes revealing definitive manzanilla origins.

The Rarest Sherry of Them All
Equipo Navazos La Bota Palo Cortado #21
141 Cases for the World; the Only Bottles in the Country

Palo Cortado is pretty much a freak of nature, confounding sherry's neat categories. It comes with the snappy steeliness of an amontillado yet some of the richness and dark tones of an oloroso. And for many sherry aficionados, it doesn't get any better...

Especially when it's a palo cortado from La Bota, sourced from very old sherry butts at Valdespino. These are mind-bendingly complex, wildly compelling sherries that epitomize the best of their category.

Luscious (Beautiful) Pommard
2006 Domaine de Courcel
Pommard 1er Cru Grand Clos des Epenots
Rethinking Pommard at Less $ than You Think

Pommard is Volnay's neighbor, which is sort of surprising.

The wines these neighboring villages produce are quite different.

If Volnay is an arrow, Pommard is a sledgehammer. Pommard is big-boned. Pommard stomps around and wears big boots. Pommard can be wild, fruit matched by earth and game.

Half-Bottle Overachiever
2001 Trimbach Cuvée Frédéric Emile 375ml
Sized and Priced to Drink with Reckless Abandon

"These 01 Freddy Emiles are still fierce, electric, bolting across the palate with dried citrus zest, candied lemon, mouth-drying rocks and a good dose of heady petrol and lanolin that hint at its age, even while the acidity seems to defy it."

I wrote the above quote earlier this year when we were offering the 2001 Freddy Emiles in 750ml.

At the time, we called it probably the best deal of the year. Almost five months later, I don’t think any of that’s changed - this wine is still sensational and it still represents one of the most insane quality-to-price ratios we’ve seen in a long time.

A Loire Rising Star
2009 Marula Le Haut Midi Touraine Rouge

There are a handful of producers whose wines are so good, whose palates are so sharp and personalities so forthright that, when they speak, we listen.

So when Jean-Francois Ganevat tells us his favorite Loire producer, we listen very closely.

Ganevat is a singular winemaker, an unwavering, independent personality whose fan-base in the U.S. has been growing steadily, despite the relative obscurity of his home in the Jura. As he was just picked up by none other than wine importer-rock star Kermit Lynch, look for his wines to get more attention.

SERIOUS 375ml
Dönnhoff, Faiveley, Leflaive, Egon Müller, Rieussec, Sine Qua Non, Trimbach...
Special Pricing Today Only!

The half-bottle gets its due.

Today's collection represents some serious 375mls - they also represent some of our favorite wines.

Today, every single bottle has been discounted, putting this format in the spotlight it deserves.

Two is Better than One
2009 Willi Schaefer Domprobst Spätlesen

Details matter and today we zero in on the bottom edge of what has to be one of the best labels in all of Germany.

On the Willi Schaefer label, this is where the AP number lives, the equivalent of wine's social security number.

Undeniable Bèze
2009 Drouhin Chambertin-Clos de Bèze
Gevrey-Chambetin Soars in 2009

One of the best bottles of Burgundy I've ever had was a '71 Drouhin Clos de Bèze.

The 2009 Drouhin Bèze, even at this young age, already flaunts an awesome potential.