Deals of the Month - June 2024
Here, I share the best deals I've come across the past month. BTW, no affiliation with any of the below.
Let's face it - everyone's got their own taste in wine, not to mention different budgets. So I figured I'd just share the stuff that I like. Some months I stumble on more deals than others, but right now I've got 4 absolute gems for you. And don't worry, I've double-checked that you can actually buy these at the moment.
Deal #1: 2014 Raventós i Blanc, De la Finca, Brut, Penedès, Spain
Available on BBX at the time of writing for £120/6, equivalent to ~£27/bottle after taxes.
At a barbeque recently, we tried this wine albeit from a more recent vintage. I thought it was exceptional, specially for the price. It ranks well on cellar tracker and robertparker.com. To paraphrase their notes, it has a citrus nose, a creamy but fresh palate and a strong mineral backbone. It excels where many champagnes fail, to deliver a unique expression of terroir on a budget.
Deal #2: 2016 Pommard, Rugiens-Hauts, 1er Cru, Benjamin Leroux, Burgundy
Available on BBX at the time of writing for £285/6, equivalent to ~£60/bottle after taxes.
If anyone knows Pommard, it’s Leroux. He was a big part of Comte Armand’s success after he took over as winemaker there in 1999. He held the position for 15 years, advocating organic practices, and the legendary Pommards did consistently well with the wine critics. In 2007, he started his own side project and the rest is history. Benjamin Leroux is now one of the leading names in Burgundy, and this 2016 is a strong vintages with great reviews from the critics (93JM, 92Vinous). Oh, and the next cheapest of any vintage available in the world is £370/6. Solid arbitrage.
Deal #3: 2010 Brunello di Montalcino Vigna Soccorso, Tiezzi, Tuscany
Available on Lay & Wheeler at the time of writing for £30/bottle in-bond, equivalent to ~£40/bottle after taxes.
It’s no secret that I have a soft spot for Sangiovese. I picked up two bottles. What to say about the wine? I think L&W do a sublime job with their description:
“From Enzo’s carefully tended single plot that sits just below Montalcino’s town walls, with freshness, poise and elegance as well as depth and ripeness, this is the best ever from here, and received the second highest score (only Biondi-Santi was higher) in Walter Speller’s recent tasting of 2010 Brunellos for www.jancisrobinson.com.”
It’s a legendary vineyard on the south west slope on the hill up to the town of Montalcino. Amazing pedigree and age for the price. Whoever is selling this wine has kindly paid over 10 years storage for you!
Deal #4: 2012 Willi Schaefer, Graacher Domprobst Riesling Auslese Nr11, Mosel
Available from Bordeaux Index at the time of writing for £162 per 12 half bottles in-bond, equivalent to ~£17 per half bottle.
Willi Schaefer sadly recently died last March, but with grandson Christoph at the helm, the future looks to be in safe hands. The wines are widely regarded as among the finest in the Mosel, with history dating back to the 1500s. The domaine has prestigious holdings at the legendary Graacher Domprost and Himmelreich vineyards, and no other producer has the ability to express their differences better than Willi Schaefer. These are exceptional, terroir driven wines, that will live forever. I can almost guarantee that they will be more expensive in the future. In fact, once this case gets lifted, the cheapest (of any vintage) in the world will be 46% more expensive.