The Cellar
Rare wines. Rare spirits. Held not by score or scarcity, but by the evening they are capable of making. Every bottle here arrives with a record already chosen for it.
Provenance
We ask who grew it, who pressed it, and what the year felt like. A bottle without a story is only liquid.
Seasonal Discovery
The cellar turns with the light. Autumn wants tannin and low brass. July wants salt, chill, and a high snare.
Collector Counsel
A short list, kept short on purpose. We would rather you own nine bottles you can defend than ninety you cannot.
30 bottles, each with a record
Napa Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley, California
Nose: cassis, graphite, wet slate. Palate: dense black fruit wrapped in tobacco and iron. Finish: long, brooding, unresolved.
Best enjoyed alongside
Mezzanine
Massive Attack
Serve · 62°F, decanted 30 minutes
Glass · Large Bordeaux bowl
Hour · After 10pm, lights low
The evening begins here →
Burgundy Pinot Noir
Côte de Nuits, France
Nose: rose petal, wild strawberry, forest floor. Palate: silk and quiet muscle. Finish: lingers like a held glance.
Best enjoyed alongside
Love Deluxe
Sade
Serve · 58°F, no decant
Glass · Wide Burgundy bowl
Hour · Dusk into evening
The evening begins here →
Vintage Champagne
Reims, France
Nose: toasted brioche, lemon oil, hazelnut. Palate: fine mousse, chalk, stage-lit citrus. Finish: bright, imperious, encore-ready.
Best enjoyed alongside
Purple Rain
Prince
Serve · 48°F, freshly opened
Glass · White wine glass, never a flute
Hour · The moment you walk in
The evening begins here →
White Burgundy
Puligny-Montrachet, France
Nose: white flowers, oyster shell, cool butter. Palate: taut, mineral, unhurried. Finish: dry, luminous, spacious as a rest.
Best enjoyed alongside
Kind of Blue
Miles Davis
Serve · 54°F
Glass · Chardonnay glass, medium bowl
Hour · Late afternoon
The evening begins here →
Northern Rhône Syrah
Côte-Rôtie, France
Nose: black pepper, smoked bacon, violet. Palate: wild, sinewy, snarling with iron. Finish: raw, defiant, singed at the edges.
Best enjoyed alongside
Nevermind
Nirvana
Serve · 60°F
Glass · Syrah glass, tall bowl
Hour · Any hour that needs waking up
The evening begins here →
Grower Champagne
Aÿ, France
Nose: pink grapefruit, sourdough crust, warm chalk. Palate: relentless bubbles, saline drive. Finish: euphoric, mirror-ball long.
Best enjoyed alongside
Renaissance
Beyoncé
Serve · 46°F
Glass · White wine glass
Hour · The moment the guests arrive
The evening begins here →
Chianti Classico
Tuscany, Italy
Nose: sour cherry, dried herbs, terracotta. Palate: bright acid, dusty tannin, honest fruit. Finish: warm, grounded, unafraid.
Best enjoyed alongside
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Hill
Serve · 62°F
Glass · Medium bowl, Italian style
Hour · Long dinners, longer conversations
The evening begins here →
German Riesling
Mosel, Germany
Nose: green apple, lime blossom, wet slate. Palate: featherweight sweetness on a live-wire spine. Finish: crystalline, dancing, endless.
Best enjoyed alongside
Discovery
Daft Punk
Serve · 44°F
Glass · Tall, narrow bowl
Hour · Golden hour into night
The evening begins here →
Friulian Orange Wine
Friuli, Italy
Nose: dried apricot, chamomile, orange peel. Palate: skin-contact grip, honeyed and strange. Finish: cerebral, textured, quietly haunting.
Best enjoyed alongside
In Rainbows
Radiohead
Serve · 56°F
Glass · Medium white glass
Hour · Rainy nights, alone
The evening begins here →
Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Rhône, France
Nose: garrigue, black cherry, warm leather. Palate: plush, sun-baked, deeply grooved. Finish: slow, sensual, southern.
Best enjoyed alongside
Voodoo
D'Angelo
Serve · 63°F
Glass · Large Rhône bowl
Hour · After midnight
The evening begins here →
Barolo
Piedmont, Italy
Nose: tar, dried rose, licorice. Palate: austere, chiseled, uncompromising tannin. Finish: cold marble, no wasted syllable.
Best enjoyed alongside
Illmatic
Nas
Serve · 62°F, decanted 60 minutes
Glass · Large Burgundy bowl for Nebbiolo
Hour · Late, alone, thinking
The evening begins here →
Lambrusco Secco
Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Nose: crushed blackberry, violet, wet stone. Palate: frothy, tart, distorted with joy. Finish: pink foam, dissolving into static.
Best enjoyed alongside
Loveless
My Bloody Valentine
Serve · 50°F
Glass · Small tumbler
Hour · Grey afternoons
The evening begins here →
Old-Vine Zinfandel
Lodi, California
Nose: bramble jam, black pepper, sun-warmed asphalt. Palate: jammy, boozy, unrepentant. Finish: swaggering, low-riding, west-coast long.
Best enjoyed alongside
The Chronic
Dr. Dre
Serve · 60°F
Glass · Big bowl, room to breathe
Hour · Golden hour, top down
The evening begins here →
Vin Jaune
Jura, France
Nose: walnut, curry leaf, dried apple. Palate: oxidative, salty, achingly personal. Finish: bittersweet, confessional, unmistakable.
Best enjoyed alongside
Blue
Joni Mitchell
Serve · 58°F
Glass · Small tulip
Hour · Grief hours, and the hours after
The evening begins here →
Vinho Verde
Minho, Portugal
Nose: sea spray, lime pith, white peach. Palate: whisper-light spritz, cool and clean. Finish: barefoot, breezy, unbothered.
Best enjoyed alongside
Getz/Gilberto
Stan Getz & João Gilberto
Serve · 46°F
Glass · Small white glass
Hour · Late afternoon into dusk
The evening begins here →
Amontillado Sherry
Jerez, Spain
Nose: roasted almond, orange rind, brine. Palate: dry, layered, unnervingly deep. Finish: prophetic, umami, built for the long conversation.
Best enjoyed alongside
To Pimp a Butterfly
Kendrick Lamar
Serve · 55°F
Glass · Copita
Hour · Late night, no phone
The evening begins here →
Etna Rosso
Sicily, Italy
Nose: red cherry, volcanic ash, blood orange. Palate: nervy acid, ashen minerality, quiet dread. Finish: haunted, elegant, alarm-clock clear.
Best enjoyed alongside
OK Computer
Radiohead
Serve · 58°F
Glass · Medium Burgundy bowl
Hour · Rainy commute, headphones on
The evening begins here →
Demi-Sec Vouvray
Loire Valley, France
Nose: honeycomb, quince, wet wool. Palate: honeyed but taut, generous and wise. Finish: golden, forgiving, wide as gospel.
Best enjoyed alongside
Songs in the Key of Life
Stevie Wonder
Serve · 50°F
Glass · Medium white glass
Hour · Long Sunday
The evening begins here →
Smaragd Grüner Veltliner
Wachau, Austria
Nose: white pepper, snap pea, lentil. Palate: nervy, rhythmic, textured with tension. Finish: dry, twitchy, cerebral.
Best enjoyed alongside
Remain in Light
Talking Heads
Serve · 48°F
Glass · Tall white glass
Hour · Kitchen dancing, midweek
The evening begins here →
Txakoli
Basque Country, Spain
Nose: green apple, sea salt, blossom. Palate: prickly spritz, saline, quietly aching. Finish: young, luminous, tender.
Best enjoyed alongside
Channel Orange
Frank Ocean
Serve · 44°F
Glass · Small tumbler
Hour · Windows down, dusk
The evening begins here →
10-Year Malmsey Madeira
Madeira, Portugal
Nose: burnt caramel, dried fig, tobacco. Palate: molasses-thick, oxidized, sample-crackle warm. Finish: dusty, nostalgic, unhurried.
Best enjoyed alongside
Endtroducing…
DJ Shadow
Serve · 60°F
Glass · Small dessert glass
Hour · Very late
The evening begins here →
Aged Barbaresco
Piedmont, Italy
Nose: dried rose, truffle, tar. Palate: coiled, murky, refusing symmetry. Finish: brooding, improvisational, endlessly reopening.
Best enjoyed alongside
Bitches Brew
Miles Davis
Serve · 62°F, decanted 90 minutes
Glass · Large Nebbiolo bowl
Hour · The hour you stop checking the time
The evening begins here →
Sercial Madeira
Madeira, Portugal
Nose: salted almond, lemon oil, iodine. Palate: bone-dry, oxidative, edged in ache. Finish: bitter chocolate, smudged mascara long.
Best enjoyed alongside
Back to Black
Amy Winehouse
Serve · 55°F
Glass · Small tulip
Hour · One a.m., kitchen light on
The evening begins here →
English Sparkling Wine
Sussex, England
Nose: green apple, elderflower, buttered toast. Palate: chalky, precise, gently exuberant. Finish: crisp, orderly, quietly triumphant.
Best enjoyed alongside
Abbey Road
The Beatles
Serve · 48°F
Glass · White wine glass
Hour · Sunday afternoon
The evening begins here →
Old-Vine Cinsault
Swartland, South Africa
Nose: red currant, dried herb, dusty earth. Palate: light-footed, spry, sunlit. Finish: joyful, rhythmic, endlessly repeatable.
Best enjoyed alongside
Graceland
Paul Simon
Serve · 58°F
Glass · Medium red glass
Hour · Long lunch, no dinner plans
The evening begins here →
Alto Adige Lagrein
Alto Adige, Italy
Nose: blackberry, iron, wild sage. Palate: muscular, alpine, honest. Finish: open highway long, headlights on.
Best enjoyed alongside
Born to Run
Bruce Springsteen
Serve · 62°F
Glass · Medium red glass
Hour · The hour before you leave
The evening begins here →
Piedirosso
Vesuvius, Italy
Nose: black cherry, volcanic soil, dried violet. Palate: cool-blooded, low tannin, moody minerality. Finish: overcast, rain-slick, lovelorn.
Best enjoyed alongside
Disintegration
The Cure
Serve · 60°F
Glass · Medium red glass
Hour · After eleven, curtains drawn
The evening begins here →
Manzanilla en Rama
Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain
Nose: sea foam, green almond, chamomile. Palate: bracingly dry, saline, retro-futurist. Finish: cool, chrome, endlessly loopable.
Best enjoyed alongside
Random Access Memories
Daft Punk
Serve · 45°F
Glass · Copita or white wine glass
Hour · Aperitivo, sliding into night
The evening begins here →
Clairette de Die
Rhône, France
Nose: pear blossom, muscat grape, snowmelt. Palate: barely sweet, feather-light fizz. Finish: fragile, honest, breath-held.
Best enjoyed alongside
For Emma, Forever Ago
Bon Iver
Serve · 44°F
Glass · White wine glass
Hour · The first quiet snow
The evening begins here →
Rosé Champagne
Épernay, France
Nose: red berry, brioche, pink pepper. Palate: fine mousse, taut acid, showtime confidence. Finish: dry, dramatic, mirror-lit long.
Best enjoyed alongside
Thriller
Michael Jackson
Serve · 46°F
Glass · White wine glass, never a flute
Hour · The moment the night begins
The evening begins here →