I discovered the latest Five Star Nick’s Wine of the Week, the Chateau Maucamps Haut Medoc 2003 ( $23) while being shown around Sotheby’s elegant new retail wine shop on the ground floor of their New York digs by Jamie Ritchie, head of North American wine sales for the auction house.

Yes, as well as selling old masters and old premium wine at auction, Sotheby’s have a new retail shop and a very swank place it is too. While they certainly have their share of star names,  their primary focus has been to assemble an intriguing selection of wines from generally small, artisanal producers.

As Ritchie explained to me “I don’t think we’re ever going to be a wine warehouse. We’re looking for producers who are true to the terroir, true to the site, who make wines that have an elegance, a lightness of touch, a finesse, but the value-for-money equation is always part of a wine purchase.”

As he spoke he pulled from the rack a bottle of the Maucamps for us to drink over lunch, and it turned out to be exactly the kind of wine he was talking about.

2003 is generally regarded as a modest vintage in Bordeaux but Ritchie believes that it was better than that in the northern Medoc, and if this wine is anything to go by, he is absolutely right. A classic claret with ripe, finely concentrated dark fruit and a deep earthy finish weighty with blackberries, coffee, dark chocolate and minerality.

The wine is exclusive to Sotheby’s so those of you who live in New York State can order directly from them –  www.sothebyswine.com – but unfortunately everyone else will need to employ a more elaborate strategies to savor this modestly priced gem.

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