The Friday List - 6/2/2023

New Arrivals

Hello Collectors,

Assembling today’s Friday List was a lot of fun for me, but also required maximum restraint. Why? Frankly, there was a lot of wine that I wanted to buy for myself, but I didn’t want to poach it before giving you a fair shot first! I’ll hold my enthusiasm until the weekend, but in the meantime, I’d strongly suggest securing anything that piques your interest today—or else I might!

I’ll begin with a real curve ball: Pott Wines. Yes—you read that correctly. I had the immense pleasure of trying these wines for the first time recently, and I have to say this bluntly: I’ve been missing out. These are flat-out delicious bottlings, but I really shouldn’t be shocked, considering our recent Greer offer. Aaron Pott, who also makes Greer, is an incredibly well-trained, hardworking, and naturally gifted winemaker, and these are ridiculously well priced wines that can easily hang with those costing twice as much. Don’t make the same mistake I did: buy these, open them, and enjoy them. 

For Nebbiolo fans, today I bring you not one but two of Barolo’s great cult producers! Giovanni Canonica, who has graced our offers before, has been experiencing a surge in popularity over the last year and a half. A huge fan of these wines myself, this doesn’t surprise me at all. Canonica makes tiny production bottlings that are all truly remarkable, and especially well received among Burgundy fans. Next, we have a small selection from one of modern winemaking’s most under-the-radar legends, only recently garnering fame: 89-year-old Lorenzo Accomasso. After quietly producing some of Barolo’s greatest masterpieces for 65 years—and not exporting or submitting them for critical review—word has finally gotten around. Unfortunately, the only way to get your hands on his wines is either to meet Lorenzo at his cellar in Barolo (his preferred method, so he can talk your ear off) or pay often exorbitant sums on the secondary market. In addition to having his celebrated Riserva Annunziata Barolo today, we also have his Barbera and Dolcetto. If you’re a Barolo fan and haven’t tried these, then today is your day. They have totally unique characters, huge “wow” factor, and age remarkably well. You don’t want to miss them—especially as Accomasso approaches 90. 

I have to rein in my excitement, or else this will be a ten-page email, but the other new wines this week are almost laughably extraordinary. California alone boasts Screaming Eagle, Harlan Estate, Marcassin, Accendo, Bryant Family and their Pritchard Hill neighbor David Arthur. France answers with its own parade of coveted names, from Bordeaux to Burgundy to the Rhône Valley: Haut-Brion, Yquem, Lynch-Bages, Roulot, Ghislaine Barthod, Marcel Juge, PYCM, and many more. 

Happy hunting! Now I’ll be waiting patiently with my own credit card ready.