Tamnavulin 1979
$1,149.99
According to the Malt Whisky Yearbook, Tamnavulin is the fastest growing single malt in Scotland. While historically much of the distillery's production has ended up in Whyte & Mackay blends, it seems as though there's a new vision for the brand. With a capacity of about 4.2 million litres, we should soon be seeing a lot more Tamnavulin. Sadly, the core range is rather lean, but there was also a decade long stock gap from the mid-90s through mid-2000s, so a lot of the spirit is really just coming into its own. Imagine our surprise when this 2018 Taiwan-exclusive bottling appeared in our market. Apparently, this was the last batch they had left from the 1970s. It was matured in a combination of first fill Sherry butts and Bourbon barrels. In their own words: "Initially matured in Bourbon barrels then transferred to 30 Years Old Matusalem Oloroso Sherry butts before being returned to First Fill Bourbon barrels for a final maturation period to conclude the 39 year maturation."
Just gonna say it: this price is way too low.
Non-chill filtered, and bottled at 46.5% abv
Larmandier Rose Champagne
$184.99
Larmandier-Bernier is, according writer Peter Liem, "one of the finest producers in the Côte des Blancs", garnering rave reviews not just from Liem but other top critics like Vinous' Antonio Galloni. The wines are unified stylistically, with chalky cores and delicate, lifted citrus and floral notes that seem drawn in pastel. But there are also strong differences, a testament to the distinct personalities within the Côtes des Blancs.
This is a rare saignee method champagne rose. Intense on the palate and delicate on the nose. This cuvée is produced from the Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris grapes picked in Vertus, where the two varieties grow together in the same plot of old vines. It’s made by macerating the berries for a few days, a technique not commonly used in Champagne.
Quintarelli Alzero 2014
$649.99
A legendary wine from a legendary producer! "The late, great Maestro del Veneto, Giuseppe Quintarelli, succeeded in establishing his mythical and legendary estate during an amazing sixty-year career. All of the tradition, love, heart, and soul of crafting one of the world's finest wines continue at the Quintarelli home and winery in the hills north of Verona," according to Kermit Lynch. Alzero is made by letting Cabernet Franc grapes air-dry before pressing. One of the last wines to be made by Quintarelli, who died in 2012. Serious collectors of top Italian wine will not want to miss out on this rich, intense beauty.
Podere Forte Guardavigna 2018
$274.99
Podere Forte's top-end wine is made from 100% estate-grown Cabernet Franc, nurtured in vineyards above 525m. “The name comes from the rock that used to guard the vines. I mix up – I have to mix up – History and Fable. The Fable of a great Tuscan wine.” - Pasquale Forte
The Val d’Orcia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2004, encircles the Podere Forte. The estate was founded in 1997 by Pasquale Forte, a visionary entrepreneur who has created a balanced system where every element complements the others, following the principles of organic and biodynamic agriculture. The old concept of the corte romana has been recreated on the 500-ha estate: a place where people, plants and animals coexist in harmony and sustainable self-sufficiency. Wine is the main focus, but Podere Forte is also synonymous with the breeding of Cinta Senese pigs, Chianina cattle and Suffolk sheep, as well as various other farm animals, all living on biodynamic feed. Podere Forte produces its own fertilizers and compost using vine prunings and fallen timber from the woods. The pigs eat acorns and chestnuts in the woods where they roam freely, the bees pollinate the flowers and aromatic herbs in the botanic garden where the hives are. The olive groves cover around 26 hectares and in 2020 production of the first varietal oil, from the Frantoio variety, started.
Taylor Fladgate 2003 Vintage Port
$289.99
The 2003 vintage: Winter preceding the 2003 harvest was very wet. Flowering took place in bright warm weather at the end of May in some of the best conditions seen for several years. The first two weeks of August provided the intense summer heat which often precedes a great Port vintage. The picking season in September was warm and dry and the yields were even across all grape varieties, ensuring balance and complexity in the wines.
The 2003 Vintage Port is an absolute blockbuster, which according to Robert Parker, ‘will proudly stand shoulder to shoulder with the finest ever crafted by Taylor Fladgate.’
Berry's Ronnie`s Reserve 1969 CV
$5,199.99
This 50 Year old Single Malt Scotch was bottled to celebrate the career of the legendary Ronnie Cox. Distilled in 1969 and aged in Refill Hogshead Cask 16202 before being bottled at 46.3%. Only 123 bottles were produced for the world.
St Antony Hipping Riesling GG
$69.99
St. Antony, a top-shelf riesling producer making high-quality wine since 1912. The ultra-modern winery they built sits on top of cellars that hold decades of premium riesling, a white grape that ages as well, if not better, than any first-growth Bordeaux or Burgundy (and for a lot less). These are dry wines, brimming with minerality and acidity, and three of the four we received are GG (Grosses Gewächs), the grand cru designation for dry German riesling. They are situated in the town of Nierstein, a charming village that is effectively the epicentre of wine in the Rheinhessen. Praised by critics and adored by riesling lovers, these are beautiful, mineral-driven wines that are delicious now and even better over time.
Shiddys Orange Drink
$4.19
With some alcoholic drinks, you love the taste. Other booze, you treasure because it brings back memories from your past. Then, there are some drinks that are so conceptually weird they have to be consumed ironically. Shiddy's Orange Drink covers at least two of these three concepts, but it is up to you to decide which two.
This drink nails the flavour and feel of watery orange juice from concentrate in an adult cocktail format. Potentially, this is precisely what the doctor ordered, and you have been craving this flavour for eons without knowing it. Perhaps it will remind you of a time long ago, eating fast food near some obnoxiously bright yellow arches on a road trip to see family in another city or province.
Or maybe, just maybe, it will taste so deeply sentimental yet so fundamentally ironic that you have no choice but to acknowledge this masterpiece for what it truly is. You don't only want to imbibe this drink; at your core you understand that you need to. To consume it, is to be consumed by it.
By simply holding the can in your hand, you will be identified by your peers as recognizing, understanding, and appreciating the grand comedy that is human existence.
Shiddy's Orange Drink is going to make you think something. What that something is, is up to you.
5% ABV. No added sugar. Gluten-free. Only 100 Calories per Can. Creepy Clown not included.
High West A Midwinter Nights Dram Act12
$169.99
It is back, in limited quantities! High West A Midwinter Night's Dram takes is a spin on the company's own Rendevous Rye, finished in Port Barrels and bottled at a higher 49.3% ABV.
Like the Rendezvous Rye itself, Midwinter is a blend of two different Rye Mashbills:
- 95% rye, 5% barley malt from MGP in Indiana
- 80% rye, 20% malted rye from High West Distillery of Park City, Utah.