A Peek Inside the Cellar @ SipNYC

We don't often highlight our allocation wines, but this week we're making an exception. Vega Sicilia, Armand Rousseau, Leflaive, Mugnier—four estates that represent the pinnacle of their regions. These bottles come through decades of relationships and careful stewardship. The kind of access only SipNYC can offer our customers.

The Vega Sicilia Unico Reserva Especial Release 2022 (08,10,11) represents Spain's most audacious approach to winemaking—blending three separate Unico vintages to create a house style that transcends any single year. Founded 1864 by Bordeaux-trained Don Eloy Lecanda in Ribera del Duero, Vega Sicilia introduced Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Malbec alongside indigenous Tinto Fino on 210 hectares planted at 700-900 meters elevation. The Álvarez family, owners since 1982, harvests from 36-year-old vines at yields of 21-24.5 hl/ha in 12-kilogram crates, then ages the wine across multiple vintages—this release combines 2008, 2010, and 2011—before bottling just 16,961 bottles and 201 magnums. The 95% Tinto Fino and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon blend delivers blackberry, tobacco leaf, leather, and cedar with layered tannins and concentrated fruit built to age 40-60 years. Wine Advocate awarded it 98 points, James Suckling 99. This is the wine that Hugh Johnson compared to Château Latour, calling it "the Latour of a vintage that has raisined."

The Domaine Armand Rousseau Clos de la Roche Grand Cru 2022 stands as Rousseau's sole holding outside Gevrey-Chambertin, acquired in two parcels in 1920-1921 and 1975 in Morey-Saint-Denis. The vineyard's name references the massive stone blocks buried just 30 centimeters beneath mid-Jurassic limestone and calcareous-clay soils, creating exceptional drainage and mineral complexity. Armand Rousseau inherited his first vineyard plots in 1902 at age 18, married in 1909 to acquire additional parcels and the current domaine building, then pioneered domaine bottling in the 1930s on advice from Revue du vin de France founder Raymond Baudoin. Fourth-generation winemaker Cyrielle Rousseau, working alongside her father Eric, applies fermentation methods unchanged since 1909 to craft wines from vines averaging 40-45 years old planted at 11,000 vines per hectare on east and southeast-facing hillsides. The 2022 shows mineral-driven character with firm structure, vibrant red fruits layered with earth, and remarkable finish length that defines this Grand Cru's consistency across generations. Vinous 95, Wine Advocate 94, Burghound 95.

The Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru 'Les Pucelles' 2021 comes from one of Burgundy's most prestigious white wine vineyards, where limestone-rich calcareous soils produce Chardonnay that balances power with elegance. The Leflaive family established residence in Puligny-Montrachet in 1717 when Claude Leflaive married into the village, but Joseph Leflaive founded the modern domaine in 1905 by purchasing 25 hectares of phylloxera-ravaged vineyards at exceptionally low prices, recognizing their potential for greatness. Vincent Leflaive managed the estate with his brother Jo after Joseph's death in 1953, building its reputation as a top Burgundy producer, and Vincent's daughter Anne-Claude became co-director in 1990, converting the entire estate to biodynamic farming by 1997—making Domaine Leflaive Burgundy's pioneer in this revolutionary approach. Brice de La Morandière, great-grandson of founder Joseph Leflaive, represents the fourth generation since taking over in 2015, continuing the family's philosophy of respect for terroir through indigenous yeast fermentation in oak barrels followed by aging with light bâtonnage and stainless steel maturation. Les Pucelles lies northeast and upslope from the Grand Crus in the heart of Puligny-Montrachet's Premier Cru zone, its limestone-rich soils creating wines of exceptional finesse. The 2021 displays spectacularly fragrant aromatics with mouth-watering beauty, delivering rich yet elegant flavors with sumptuous fruit concentration, vibrant acidity, and the creamy texture that defines great Puligny-Montrachet from this renowned Les Pucelles vineyard.

The Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Musigny Grand Cru 2017 represents one of wine's most remarkable family returns. Frédéric Mugnier, a Dijon liqueur-maker, founded the estate in 1863 by purchasing Château de Chambolle-Musigny, expanding to nearly 20 hectares by 1902 with the acquisition of Clos de la Maréchale. Financial hardship after World War II forced the family to lease vineyards to Faiveley from 1950-1978, but in 1985, Frédéric Mugnier—great-great-grandson of the founder and a former oil engineer who had worked in Saudi Arabia—returned to Chambolle-Musigny to reclaim his legacy, immediately enrolling in oenology school in Beaune. This 1.14-hectare parcel in Grand-Musigny, planted 1947-1962, produces only 2,000-5,000 bottles annually from vines exceeding 60 years old. The lower slopes feature fissured rock allowing deep root exploration and faster drainage, mirroring Les Amoureuses structure, while upper slopes show marly soil lightened by friable oolitic limestone scree that retains water, making the site naturally drought-resistant and ensuring complete even ripening every year. The 2017 vintage brought mild, dry, sunny weather creating perfect grape quality—requiring no sorting for the first time in the domaine's history—producing Pinot Noir with red cherry, rose petals, and forest floor, sedate depth, exceptional intensity, and unequaled finish length. Jancis Robinson 19, James Suckling 97, Burghound 95. This wine needs ten years to fully express itself.