The first cellar is here, and it’s the one that has given me the most trouble in recent years. As it turns out, the prices of great wines keep going up (particularly with the lamentable tariff situation) but $5,000 stays $5,000. A full 35 different bottlings beg me to be brief, so I’ll keep it to a few points of order:
- Last week I said I’d be using pricing from Grand Cru Direct, which I’ve never done before for this project. While I will be using far more GCD offerings in the $15,000 and $50,000 cellars in the coming weeks, the $5,000 one needed too many low-cost wines to balance the budget, so I’ve allowed myself access to all in-stock US pricing on Wine-Searcher. This project was a good reminder to expand the in-stock, budget-friendly offerings on the website in 2026. Offers from GCD are denoted by hyperlinks
- Pre-arrivals have a flat 13% added to them for tariff parity
- This project is a personal one, which is why I encouraged you all to follow along with your own versions at home. Below you will find loads of sparkling wine, dry whites with laser-beam acidity, and odd-balls like Fino Sherry in the drinking of which I am no doubt in the 1% of the 1%. You may also detect a whiff of Eurocentrism. Such is the nature of a personal cellar project, and should by no means keep you from your own Cali Cabernet or Aussie Shiraz if that is where your palate leads
Sparkling Wine
The largest section of this cellar by bottle count and a good deal over budget compared to our target average bottle price (which is $33.33, for those playing along at home), sparkling wine is a staple at my house. Whether as an afternoon aperitif with an unexpected visitor, or with the first few courses of a meal (that’s right, not just as a welcome tipple), no wine style is as versatile while also feeling so celebratory.
I’ve covered my “house wine” bases with Raventos, a non-Cava from an appellation carved out by an ambitious Catalan visionary, and rounded out the budget bubbles with some outstanding zero-dosage Italian fizz (Contratto). The oddball of the group is Bodet Herold, a project headed by a young, ambitious Saumur native making notable sparkling wine from Chenin, Cab Franc, and Grolleau. The two Champagnes are like sides of a coin – the bright, yeasty deliciousness of Vilmart balanced by the more vinous, brooding nature of Piollot’s Champs Rayes.
Rosé sparkling doesn’t play a huge role in my cellar at this price point, but it’s nice to have something friendly and gluggable in a pinch. G.D. Vajra’s 50/50 Nebbiolo/Pinot Noir saignée sparkler is an outrageous value.
Chardonnay
“Anything but Chardonnay” is so much a thing of the past that the younger generation of sommeliers doesn’t even know it existed. An easy grape to grow but tricky to make into something exceptional, we’re splitting our Chardonnay into leaner, less oaky versions (read: Chablis) and richer styles, one from Burgundy and one from Down Under.
I still haven’t found an everyday Chablis that offers more value than Paul Nicolle Vieilles Vignes (now run by Charly Nicolle and Lucy Thieblemont), which has been in my $5,000 cellar for three years running. The 2023 vintage delivers on everything I want when I crack open a bottle of Chablis after a long day. Next is Laurent Tribut, who has become my go-to producer as Vincent Dauvissat (Laurent’s father-in-law) and François Raveneau have continued their climb into the pricing exosphere.
Continuing into the richer styles, the under-sung and truly exceptional 2021 vintage in the Mâconnais lends us its focus and complexity with Jacques Saumaize Pouilly-Fuissé 1er Cru (a ludicrous steal at this price), and we round out the selection with (go ahead, sue me) the best dollar-for-dollar oaked Chardonnay producer anywhere in the world right now: Kumeu River, just north of Auckland in New Zealand.
Dry Riesling
Dry Riesling is not only delicious, but also versatile, and it can be found at reasonable quality levels for a pittance, which makes it essential for this exercise. I’m keeping the $5k cellar simple this year with one workhorse example from the Mosel in Germany, Selbach-Oster Trocken, and one from the beautiful Pfaffenberg vineyard in Austria, just outside the Wachau in Kremstal, Pichler-Krutzler, from the son-in-law of the grand Franz Xaver Pichler (I hadn’t realized it before, but this is shaping up to be the “son-in-law” cellar).
Chenin Blanc
One from Savennières, one from Saumur, one from Anjou, something borrowed, something blue… wait. That’s not quite right. Chenin is the perfect way for a high-acid-white-wine-lover to mix things up from Chablis and Riesling. Damien Laureau l’Alliance is lighter and sports lower alcohol than most Savennières these days, but is no less delicious. Domaine Guiberteau needs a bit of cellar age, making this 2020 release a perfect choice, and I can’t omit the wine I buy and drink probably more than any other – Thibaud Boudignon Anjou Blanc. It is hard to find any wine that is blissful to drink now, yet truly improves with age – this is that wine. His Savenniéres bottlings last longer, but have the disadvantage of not being nearly so approachable in their youth.
Other Dry Whites
Collecting wine is about personal taste, not just blindly buying the recommendations of wine pundits (or non-pundits, as in this author’s case). For instance, I happen to have a deep and abiding love for Fino Sherry. Since I share this affinity with roughly three other people worldwide, the price for fantastic Fino is criminally low, which is good for this cellar, if not so much for the producers. Valdespino Inocente is one of the great values in the entire wine world, if you happen to like flor-induced aromas and flavors, like I do.
I had the pleasure of tasting with Andreas Wickhoff, who runs day-to-day operations at Bründlmayer, back in April. There is quality and delight to be had across the whole range of their offerings (including some top-tier Blanc de Blancs sparkling and an impossibly good oaked Chardonnay), but it’s the humble Kamptal Grüner Veltliner we’re after here. Crowd-pleasing and a crazy value. What’s not to like?
Sometimes you need boat wine, or front porch wine, or de-glaze-a-pan-while-having-a-cheeky-guzzle wine. Low alcohol, bright and acidic, and perfectly happy to be consumed now or forgotten about in the back of the cellar for a decade, Tyrrell’s Semillon is a classic that has been languishing quietly outside the zeitgeist for a while. I think it may yet have a resurgence, but if it doesn’t, I’ll happily keep paying these prices.
Sweet Wine
2014 was a wet and challenging vintage in Germany, but top producers like Karthäuserhof still made great wines. To be perfectly honest, I haven’t tasted this “Auktion” version of the Karthäuserhofberg Spätlese (the yearly German wine auctions see producers release their best, held-back barrels and lots), but I’ve had plenty of lovely experiences with the normal release. At this price, how could you go wrong?
Rosé
I love a good rosé, and it’s so affordable to find examples that delight the palate on a hot summer day (or really any kind of day). Thibaud Boudignon returns with his quaffable Rosé de Loire, a wine that pairs easily with a range of lighter fare. To provide a contrasting style, the local Tibouren grape makes textured rosé at Provence’s Clos Cibonne, still under-appreciated and overshadowed by Bandol.
Pinot Noir
As with Champagne, we’ve overspent a bit here, but it’s unavoidable. Pinot Noir is desperately tricky to get right, and the producers who regularly do so command a premium. Our first stop is in Italy’s Valle d’Aosta for Grosjean, a dependable producer of easy-drinking mountain wines. I’m on record as a relentless promoter of the reds of Burgundy’s 2021 vintage, which was unfairly overlooked in the press (perhaps because there was so little wine to sell). Hubert Lignier’s old-vine Bourgogne Rouge is a perfect example of why the 2021s are not to be slept on. Lastly, I spent a week in the fall harvesting and making wine in Oregon, and while I was generally more impressed by the region’s exciting Chardonnays, one tiny producer’s Pinot Noirs are still haunting me. Will at Violin Wines is making stunningly balanced and age-worthy wines in Eola-Amity Hills, and his Sojeau Vineyard is one of the best. There is a little bit of 2018 kicking around the market, which is drinking quite well.
Sangiovese
I have fallen more and more in love with what is happening in modern Chianti Classico. There is something in the air there that is pushing ambitious producers towards greatness at a speed that sleepy appellations like Brunello simply cannot match. Nonetheless, Ciacci Piccolomini’s limited Rosso di Montalcino “Rossofonte” returns to the list this year as my pick for the single greatest value in the vicinity of Montalcino.
In Chianti, interesting wines abound, but it’s hard to match the energy and dedication of Sofia Ruhne at Terreno. The Tre Vigne bottling is a perfect indication of why Chianti Classico is Sangiovese’s most exciting home right now. A bit wilder and richer, l’Erta di Radda’s Due & Due is a good foil to Sofia’s knife-edge precision.
Nebbiolo
Our price constraint keeps us well out of Barolo, but Alto Piemonte delivers in style, with Rovellotti’s Colline Novaresi Nebbiolo, one of Piedmont’s greatest values. Valtellina’s “heroic viticulture” is next, and Ar.Pe.Pe. is well-deserving of its place as the premier producer in this dizzying appellation (we’re snagging some of their Rosso di Valtellina). As I’m on record only a few weeks ago in a private client offer extolling its value, I would be remiss to exclude Ronchi Barbaresco Cru Ronchi as the final Nebbiolo of choice.
Other Reds
There is so much ground to cover, but bottle counts are low to leave room for my outsized white-wine consumption. Beaujolais’s pick is no less regal for being so well-known: Lapierre’s inimitable Morgon. Rioja’s greatest producer is represented by the lesser-known Bosconia vineyard, which in 2012 showed a restrained elegance. Sometimes Syrah is the only correct answer (rack of lamb, anyone?), and while we can’t afford a word like “Cornas” on the label, Frank Balthazar’s Côtes du Rhône is entirely from younger Cornas vines, and a steal under $20 a pop.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. France’s most underrated Cabernet Sauvignon blend is Mas de Daumas Gassac in the Languedoc. It’s our most expensive bottle of red outside of Pinot Noir, but it’s worth it for this kind of complexity and age-ability. Last but not least, though it has to be a pricing error at a Missouri cheese shop, Comando G “La Bruja” at $19.99 is too good to pass up.
Conclusion
Next year I may finally cave and increase the budget in this cellar to $6k, but the exercise is always enlightening. Just how much quality can one pack into 150 bottles at $5,000? Looking back at the result, the answer is still: a lot. I even have $1.24 left over. Is that still enough to buy a pack of gum?
Feel free to peruse the whole cellar here.