Top 5 Wine Categories for Collectors to Focus on in 2017

This year promises to have a lot of very exciting releases. Here's what collectors need to watch out for:

1.  2015 reds from Burgundy.  

This is the big one, a vintage that promises more than any since 2005, and it might even be better than that. Yes, the trophies will be extremely expensive and very hard to get. Do your best to ignore them, and stick with the 100s of other great Burgundies that will be finadable and affordable. Look for Hudelot-Baillet or Sigaut rather than Roumier. Look for Lignier-Michelot rather than Ponsot. Look for Regis Forey rather than Rouget. And so on.

2.  2013 reds from Piedmont.

Usually a vintage like 2010 only comes along once in a generation. Mother nature was unusually kind and gave us another one just three years later. Pricing has started to move up in Piedmont, but bargains continue to abound, and only a handful of top wines are really expensive.

3.  2015 Northern Rhones.

This is a category that is getting more and more popular, and we now have a vintage that the locals say is the greatest since 1961. Clape, Allemand and Chave will all be hard to find and expensive, but you'll find plenty of other great wines to choose from. Start with the already in-stock Cornas of Vincent Paris!

4. 2014s from Sonoma.

2014 is our kind of Californian vintage, with fantastic brightness and vibrancy, and no lack of richness or structure. The Sonoma Coast may produce the very best Pinot Noirs in the world outside of Burgundy, and this is a great vintage to stock up for the cellar. But don't stop with the Pinots...there's plenty of good and ageworthy Syrah and Chardonnay as well!

5. Champagne!  

Champagnes vintage releases are all over the map, so there is no one single vintage to focus on here. But we've had a lot of very good vintages recently, so it is definitely a good year for stocking up.  In 2012 and 2013 Champagne had two back-to-back fabulous vintages. And there are still 2008s to be found! We are releasing a special one a bit later this week....

That's the list, but here are two notes to add:

• You'll notice that Bordeaux is not on this list, despite having two great back-to-back vintages in 2014 and 2015. Frankly, the asking price for the new releases is still too high. We continue to look for back-filling opportunities where prices are reasonable and you can already start drinking. Until release prices come down further, that's how we're going to play Bordeaux.
• There are lots of things that collectors were focused on last year that are still moving through the market place. White Burgundies from 2014 and German and Austrian wines from 2015 are chief among those. Even though we're now in 2017 we're continuing to find and offer wines from those important categories. Keep tuned!

Remember, most of the wines that we get in these categories are first offered, usually with discounts, to customers who subscribe to our newsletter.