If I Could Buy Only One – April 25th Vintages Release
We asked our writers,“If you could buy only one wine from the April 25th release, which one would it be and why?”
Château Monplaisir Fût De Chêne Bergerac 2019, Southwest, France
$17.95, Old Cellar Collection
John Szabo – Bordeaux quality at Bergerac prices sums up the reasoning behind my only one pick this week: Château Monplaisir Fût De Chêne Bergerac 2019. This merlot-heavy blend with 40% Cabernet Sauvignon is a far more serious wine than the price would imply, developing well at this stage and at a fine crossroads of fruit and earth. You could put this on the dinner table for guests and claim it’s a $30 bottle and no one, not even the wine snobs in your circle, would be the wiser.
Anthonij Rupert Optima 2021, Western Cape, South Africa
$34.95, Vinexx
Megha Jandhyala – One of my favourite wines from the latest Vintages Release is Anthonij Rupert’s Bordeaux-style blend from the Cape: the 2021 Optima. I found its flavour profile enthralling not least for its luminously pigmented notes of blackberries, blackcurrants, violet essence, and dried thyme and oregano. Barrel influence, in the form of nutmeg, cloves, and vanilla is intricately mingled with these lush fruit flavours and savoury herbal tones. Textural complexity and poise only adds to this wine’s allure, its flesh and fullness supported by a lithe substructure of refined tannins and acidity. Elegance dovetails with vivid beauty here and all for a price of less than $35! I would buy a few bottles of this wine for my cellar as they can safely be stored for at least half a decade, on hand for any occasion that calls for a special wine!
Legit Cabernet Sauvignon 2021, IGT Toscana, Tuscany, Italy
$49.95, Banville Wine Merchants
Michael Godel – The Tolaini estate is based in Castelnuovo Berardenga within the territory of Chianti Classico and while the label design of their Legit Cabernet Sauvignon 2021, Toscana IGT may be a visual departure, its contents are purely local and parochial cabernet sauvignon. The creative concept is very much an anomaly and a first for the region, depicting a photograph of a Jazz pianist in sunglasses, captured by Lawrence Shustak, best known for his 1960’s New York images of Black Jews, Fisheye nudes, Jazz musicians, Graffiti and street photographs. The iconography is anything but Tuscan and yet again, the fruit, structure and style are fully that. You can substitute cabernet for sangiovese, but you simply can’t take the place out of the wine. Not when your winemakers listen to the land and stoke ferments that reflect their origin. The acid arrangement, balance in composition and resulting work of art are rooted in timelessness, even if the imagery is indicative of something other. Legit is a remarkable, one-of-a-kind IGT expression.
49218 Rocche Costamagna Comune Di La Morra Barolo 2021, Piedmont, Italy
$75.95 Glencairn Wine Merchants
David Lawrason – This is such a well balanced and groomed Barolo, delivering to exact expectations. Beyond classic! To me, the great pleasure of Barolo lies in its complex, evolving aromatics where red fruits move through a landscape of forests, meadows and farmyards. I extracted redcurrant, raspberry, hay/straw, leather, barnwood and distant wood smoke. The palate is just as ethereal, effortlessly even and energized yet calmly sophisticated. Tannins are harmonized and the acid-alcohol balance is perfect. Excellent length. This will please now with aeration, and should drink well into the 2030s.
Use these quick links for access to all of our April 25th Top Picks in the New Release. Non-premium members can select from all release dates 60 days prior.
John’s Top Picks – April 25th
Lawrason’s Take – April 25th
Megha’s Picks – April 25th
Michael’s Mix – April 25th
