If I Could Buy Only One – October 3rd VINTAGES Release

Back by popular demand: We asked the writers, “If you could buy only one wine from this release, which one would it be and why?”.

Château Larose Perganson 2010, AC Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux
$39.95, Marchands Des Ameriques Inc.
Michael Godel- Good staying power from a powerful vintage and from the Larose-Trintaudon estate so this “other” Bordeaux Haut-Médoc Château Larose Perganson 2010, Sustainable, Ac Haut Médoc has surely got that going for it. The dark berries have not left the glass building and while hints of secondary emissions like cèpes and truffles are on that bottle neck’s fill horizon they surely are not ready to take over just yet. Tart acidities in waves keep rolling over fruit that must have been seriously chalky earlier on, now liquifying into a capitulating state. Good price for a well-seasoned, reasoned and slow developing Cru Bourgeois. Good turkey wine too, not to mention racks and legs of lamb.
David Lawrason- I am not a wine collector in the classic sense. My cellar is small and largely sentimental rather than strategic. If I was strategic, I would buy a case of this very fine offering that is now approaching peak but should last nicely through the next decade. So why this chateau? I would actually be buying the 2010 vintage, which was a Bordeaux classic, with great structure, depth and almost perfect ripeness. And this Cru Bourgeois Superieur Haut Medoc, from a venerable site first planted in the early 18th Century is a fine example. To find a $40 bottle of excellent, almost mature 2010 is a rarity and a treat.

Mathilde Chapoutier Sélection 2017, Languedoc, France

$14.95, Terroir Wine Imports Ltd.

John Szabo MS- Here’s a juicy, satisfying, plump and savoury-fruity red from the Languedoc, delivering the necessary and more at the price point. It’s easy-drinking but not simple, featuring both red and black fruit, plus herbs and spice, unadulterated by wood flavour. Solid length, fine balance all in all.
Sara d’Amato- Certainly a top value in this release and an elegant assemblage of grenache and syrah aged in concrete from the Languedoc. Mathilde is the daughter of Michel Chapoutier and the 8th generation of the family’s wine dynasty. Young but well traveled and exceptionally accomplished, Mathilde looks beyond Chapoutier’s holdings in the Rhône in sourcing her recent label. What most impressed me was the poise, purity and natural expression of the fruit making for an exceptionally drinkable, widely appealing style that should prove wonderfully versatile with food.

Use these quick links for access to all of our Top Picks in the New Release. Non-Premium members can select from all release dates 30 days prior.

Lawrason’s Take
John’s Top Picks
Michael’s Mix
Sara’s Sommelier Selections