News Briefs for June 2, 2023
June 2, 2023•Maison Joseph Drouhin has purchased two estates in Burgundy, totaling nearly 50 acres of vineyards: Château de Chasselas in the St.-Véran appellation and the Rapet estate in St.-Romain. The company did not disclose the price. Château de Chasselas includes 17.3 acres in the St.-Véran appellation, plus small parcels of Chasselas and Beaujolais. It’s already the main supplier of Drouhin’s St.-Véran wine. The Rapet estate in St.-Romain includes 19.8 acres of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in St.-Romain, as well as small parcels of Auxey-Duresses red and white, Pommard and Meursault. Wine Spectator has the full story.
•To Kalon Vineyard Company, part of Constellation Brands, has appointed Tony Biagi as winemaker. Biagi comes to the new role with a quarter-century of winemaking experience in Napa Valley, including at PlumpJack Estate, Cade Estate, Duckhorn Vineyards, Sinegal Estate Winery, and Hourglass Winery. He will oversee all winemaking operations for To Kalon’s three Napa Valley red wines. In addition to his new role, he will continue to make wines for his personal label, Patria, and will remain a winemaker for Hourglass and others in the Napa Valley.
•Cognac house Camus is launching its newest expression, Camus XO. Camus XO available now at select retailers nationwide and on Tipxy, Drizly, ReserveBar, and the Camus website for a suggested retail price of $349 a bottle. It’s made using Camus’ patented distillation method, called “Intensity,” using wines of various crus from the Cognac region, including Borderies.
•Lawrenceburg, Kentucky-based Russell’s Reserve is releasing the third annual edition of its 13-Year-Old Bourbon. Made under master distiller Eddie Russell, who has been with the distillery for 42 years, Russell’s Reserve 13-Year is the longest-aged expression in the company’s core range. It’s at 57.4% abv and is non-chill-filtered. The expression is available nationally at retail and on ReserveBar, priced at $150 a 750-ml. Russell’s Reserve is part of Campari Group.
•Stoli Group has named Miguel Cedeńo-Cruz as master distiller for Cenote Tequila. Cedeńo-Cruz previously served as Tequila manager at Diageo Mexico and operations director for Tequila Herradura at Brown-Forman, as well as aiding in the development of Tequila brands for Sazerac and Gallo, among others. Cenote Tequila’s portfolio of ultra-premium offerings includes Blanco, Reposado, Añejo, Cristalino, Cenote Green Orange liqueur, and Ahumado, a Tequila produced using mezcal-inspired production methods.
•Islay single malt distiller Bunnahabhain has released Fèis Ìle 2023: Canasta Cask Matured, the 2023 limited edition whisky commemorating the Islay whisky festival. This year’s release is bottled at 51.2% abv and fully matured in Canasta Sherry casks, which previously held a blend of wines made from Palomino and Pedro Ximenez grapes. The bottling is rolling out now in select markets, including Texas, Florida, northern and southern California, and the New York City region for a suggested price of $242 a 700-ml.
•Kentucky’s Bardstown Bourbon Company has announced Discovery #10, the latest in their series of releases focused on whiskey blending. The new whiskey, set to hit shelves today, is a blend of five Bourbon whiskies bottled at 57.12% abv. The five component whiskies are a 9-year-old Kentucky Bourbon (62% of the blend), a 13-year-old Kentucky Bourbon (18%), a 6-year-old Bourbon (8%), a 10-year-old Georgia Bourbon (10%), and a 10-year-old Tennessee Bourbon (2%). Only 3,500 cases of Discovery Series #10 will be released and the whiskey carries a suggested price of $140.
Subscribe to Shanken News Daily’s Email Newsletter, delivered to your inbox each morning.Tagged : Bardstown Bourbon Company, Bunnahabhain, Campari, Camus, cenote, Constellation, maison drouhin, Russell's Reserve, Stoli, To Kalon
