The Friday List - 9/1/2023

Crème de la Crème

Hello Collectors,

With September here, the days are getting shorter, the vacations are over, and summer is fully on its way out. To help transition away from a season of ice-cold whites and dockside Champagne, we’ve put together one of our clients’ favorite lists: 100-point wines. We’re showcasing only the most collectible today, the gold standard bottlings that we can marvel at year-round… even if not at the beach. 

We open with a jaw-dropping selection of Old World wines, including a host of incredible Bordeaux. Troplong Mondot sets the tone, with a rare 3-liter of their monumental 2005 vintage, an expression of St. Emilion that’s ready to stun a crowd. In bottles, we have classics like Lafite and Léoville-Poyferré, plus futures from Canon, Montrose, and Les Carmes. For anyone who thought 2022 Bordeaux would be overpriced, we’re here to say with authority that these remarkable values will blow that suggestion out of the water. Get these while you can, because once they’re released and the public tastes them, these great prices will be just memories. 

From the Rhône Valley, Guigal brings its best with La Landonne and La Mouline. These neighboring parcels act as mirrors for each other, with La Mouline being the softer and more elegant counterpart to La Landonne’s power and structure. Both cuvées are benchmark examples of not just Côte Rôtie, but of Syrah’s potential as a variety. Italy is represented by a newer addition to the 100-point club: the magnum-only Il Caberlot. This is a fantastic bottle to have on hand for any gathering where the attendees love wine as much as you do, and can appreciate something truly special. 

The New World’s 100-point offerings are an embarrassment of riches from your favorite powerhouse producers. Screaming Eagle of course makes an appearance, alongside other legends like Scarecrow, Colgin, Schrader, and Harlan Estate. Maybach Family’s highly sought-after Materium bottling is available today in a variety of sizes, from halves to magnums. Heading down the California coast to close out this blockbuster offer, Manfred Krankl’s Sine Qua Non boasts an incredible 11 perfect wines. (We have even more available in our store that didn’t quite crack 100 points, hence omission today.) If, like many of us, you’ve been stuck on SQN’s waiting list for a decade, then these are must-buys for serious Rhône variety fans.