If I Could Buy Only One – June 24th, 2017 VINTAGES Release

As part of our VINTAGES recap, we asked our critics: “If you could buy only one wine from this release – which one would it be and why?”

Our picks from the June 24th VINTAGES release:

David Lawrason – There is no problem achieving weight, richness and power Down Under, but it is more difficult to mold wines of nuance, complexity and refinement. The Two Hands Bella’s Garden Shiraz achieves just that.It’s full bodied, dense yet lifted and refined with great clarity of fruit and purpose. You can have the best of both worlds!

Michael Godel – The Clonakilla Hilltops Shiraz 2015‘s multi-vineyard gathering in the Canberra District off of the southwestern Slopes of New South Wales takes a happy and successful vintage to create a seriously fresh and juicy shiraz. The fruit ranges from deep red to inflected black with mild but sweetly grainy tannins involved for a few year run in this graceful state. This from a producer who’s Canberra District shiraz/viognier is one of the finer on the planet. Kudos to Clonakilla for the come and get me style, the effort and the great result.

John Szabo, MS – Premium Bordeaux fans looking for a bottle to tuck in the cellar for a few years should snap up the Château La Confession 2012. It should hit full stride after 2020 or so, and cellar until 2030 without a stretch. For the moment, plenty of high quality new wood is evident, and fruit is dark, ripe but still fresh and abundant while the palate is sumptuous and concentrated, balanced and supple, with very good to excellent length. A wine like this shows again that blanket vintage ratings have limited usefulness (2012 was not highly touted across the region). But at least negative reports keep prices down.

Sara d’Amato – This kitchen sink “Extreme Vineyards” blend of shiraz, malbec, pinot noir, barbera, cinsault from Bonfire Hill is sourced from vineyards across the Western Cape that are “extreme” in multifaceted ways – some from dryland bush vines and other from high slopes or wind-ravaged vineyards. Barbecue ready with dialed back wood allowing for maximum fruity expression.

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.

Sara’s Sommelier Selections
Lawrason’s Take
Michael’s Mix
Szabo’s Smart Buys