While Greeks and Romans were the first to plant grapevines on the Rhône River’s steep slopes, the modern era of winemaking in this part of southeastern France dates back to the 18th century, when wine barrels were marked with the initials CDR for Côte du Rhône. The Rhône Valley is one of France’s finest winemaking regions, but it is often overshadowed by its big brothers, Burgundy and Bordeaux. The Rhône has hot sunny days and rocky soils that retain heat at night, ensuring an ideal climate for growing concentrated, intensely flavoured grapes. The northern Rhône is known for its bold Syrah-based wines, while the southern Rhône is famous for wines made mostly with Grenache.
If you’re a Grenache lover, you can expect full-bodied wines with ripe fruit flavours of black currant, black cherry, and plum, as well as spice flavours of finely ground black pepper and fennel seeds. Syrah devotees will enjoy fruit flavours, like black plum, cassis, and black raspberry, with touches of crushed violet petal and pencil lead in the finish. These wines are built to age for decades, but they’re also delicious when drunk young. Here are seven that we have enjoyed this week:
Château de Beaucastel 2021 Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Photo : Château de Beaucastel
Pierre Tramier purchased Château de Beaucastel in 1909 and replanted vineyards that were decimated by phylloxera just a few years earlier. Today, the Courthézon estate is run by the Perrin family, the fifth generation of Pierre’s descendants, who manage 130 hectares of planted vines. Three-quarters of the vines are planted in the historic Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation, but the family also has vineyards in Vinsobres, Gigondas, Luberon, and Ventoux, among others. Their 2021 Châteauneuf-du-Pape has aromas of red plum, red raspberry, and crushed violet petals with soft, rounded tannins and flavors of cassis, raspberry, and black plum.
M. Chapoutier 2022 La Bernardine Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Photo : M. Chapoutier
The venerable house of Chapoutier goes back to 1808, and today it is run by Michel Chapoutier, who took over from his predecessor at the young age of 26. He is considered to be an original disruptor in the wine world thanks to his passion for creating innovative wines that sometimes seem counterintuitive to the older traditions held by many French winemakers. His La Bernadine 2022 has aromas of dried Mediterranean herbs, blueberry, and raspberry that transition to flavours of smoked charcuterie, crushed violet petals, and cassis, all wrapped in a velvety tannic sheath.
Maison Brotte 2022 Les Murets Côte Rotie
Photo : Maison Brotte
Maison Brotte was founded in 1931 by business school graduate Charles Brotte. His son Jean-Pierre took over the business in 1970 and focused on the export market, thereby making Maison Brotte wines available in Canada, the U.S., and over 100 other countries. His son Laurent and his wife Christine took over in 2001, and today the fifth generation is represented by their sons, Thibault and Benoît. Maison Brotte 2022 Les Murets has aromas of violet, anise frond, blackberry, and cassis that transition to flavours of red currant, raspberry, and black licorice. It’s drinking nicely right now, but don’t hesitate to lay it down for a few years.
Domaine Santa Duc 2021 Habemus Papam Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Photo : Domaine Santa Duc
Winemaker Benjamin Gras crafts excellent wines using Mourvedre, Syrah, Cinsault, and Grenache grapes grown at the foothills of the Dentelles de Montmirail mountains. He is known for minimal intervention, use of biodynamic principles, whole-cluster vinification, and wild yeast fermentation. He also bottles his wines unfined and unfiltered. His Habemus Papam is garnet coloured with aromas of cassis, plum, and forest floor. Silky tannins coat your palate with flavours of dried plum, cherry, mint, and dried sage. Drink now or lay it down for up to a decade.
Delas 2020 Francois de Tournon Saint-Joseph
Photo : Delas
Brothers Henri and Florentin Delas took over the company started by their ancestors in 1835 and renamed it Delas Freres in 1924. In 2015, the company celebrated its 180th birthday, and today it is still going strong. Delas Francois de Tournon is named for the monastic order of Jesuits who resided in this area in the 17th century. The winemaking team chose to blend grapes from the terroirs of Saint Jean de Muzols, Mauves, Vion, and Tournon to make this stunning 100 percent Syrah wine. Aromas of smoked charcuterie, brown baking spices, black cherry, and black plum lead you to pleasantly grippy tannins upon entry. It is generous in the mid palate with flavors of raspberry, black cherry, and a touch of dried cranberry in the finish.
E. Guigal 2022 Lieu-Dit Rouge Saint-Joseph
Photo : Etienne Guigal
Etienne Guigal opened his eponymous winery in 1946 and made wine continuously for an impressive 67 harvests. Today, the third generation of the family is represented by Philippe and Marcel Guigal, who continue the legacy started by their grandfather. Their wines continue to be some of the best Rhônes available in the U.S. market. The Lieu-Dit Rouge 2022 from Saint-Joseph has aromas of anise, plum, and black cherry with elegant, tight-grained tannins and flavours of cranberry, cherry, vanilla, and red currant.
Domaine de la Janasse 2022 Cuvée Chaupin Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Photo : Domaine de la Janasse
Aimé Sabon made the bold decision to stop selling his family’s grapes to a local cooperative in 1976 and instead built his own winery to produce his fantastic wines. He named it Janasse after the town his family lived in and started out with a mere 15 hectares. Today, his son, Christophe, manages 90 hectares, and his granddaughter, Isabelle, is the winemaker. The family’s Cuvée Chaupin 2022 has aromas of black raspberry, dried sage, rosemary, and thyme, and crushed violet petals. It is smooth and silky in the mouth with soft tannic structure and flavours of Oolong tea, red raspberry, and black currant.
The Swiss watchmaker just unveiled its new Constellation Observatory Collection today, the next step in its Constellation lineage and the first two-hand hour and minute timepieces to ever earn Master Chronometer certification. And if you were paying attention to any of the dazzling watches spotted at the Oscars this year, you would’ve caught a glimpse of the new line already: Sinners star Delroy Lindo rocked one of the models on the Academy Awards red carpet, giving us a pre-release preview of the collection.
Developed at Omega’s new Laboratoire de Précision (its chronometer testing lab open to all brands), the collection houses a set of nine 39.4 mm watches. The watches underwent 25 days of scrutiny there, analysed via a new acoustic testing method that recorded every sound emitted from the timepiece to track irregularities, temperature sensitivities, and more in the name of all things precision. (Details such as water resistance and power reserve are also thoroughly examined.) This meticulous process is all in the name of snagging that Master Chronometer label, meaning that the timepiece is highly accurate and surpasses the threshold for ultra-high performance. The Constellation Observatory Collection has now changed the game, though, thanks to its lack of a seconds hand.
A watch from the Constellation Observatory Collection, with the Observatory dome on display. Omega
“Until now, precision certification has required a seconds hand,” Raynald Aeschlimann, president and CEO of OMEGA, said in a press statement. “The development of a new acoustic testing methodology has made that requirement obsolete. It is this breakthrough that has enabled us to present the Constellation Observatory, the first two-hand watch to achieve Master Chronometer certification.”
In addition to notching its place in history, the collection also debuted a new pair of movements: the Calibre 8915 and the Calibre 8914, each perched on a skeletonised rotor base. The former’s Grand Luxe iteration will appear on the 950 Platinum-Gold model in the collection, which offers up that base in 18-karat Sedna Gold alongside a Constellation medallion in 18-karat white gold with an Observatory dome done in white opal enamel surrounded by stars. The second Calibre 8915, the Luxe, will find its home on the other precious-metal models in the line, either made with the brand’s 18-karat Sedna, Moonshine, or Canopus gold seen across the case, the hand-guilloché dial, and, of course, the movement itself. (Lindo chose to rock the Moonshine Gold on Moonshine Gold iteration, priced at approximately $86,000, for Sinners‘s big night at the Oscars.) As for the Calibre 8914, it can be found in the collection’s four steel models.
A look at a gold case-back from the collection. Omega
Each model is a callback to myriad design features on past Omega models. That two-hand dial, for one, comes from the 1948 Centenary (the brand’s first chronometer-certified automatic wristwatch), while the pie-pan dial (seen in various blue, green, and golden hues throughout the line) and that Constellation medallion caseback both appear on watches from 1952. The star adorning the space above 6 o’clock also harks back to 1950s timepieces from Omega. And to finish off the look, you can opt for alligator straps in a variety of colours, or perhaps a gold iteration to match the precious-metal models; the brick-like pattern on the 18-karat Moonshine bracelet was also inspired by Omega watches from the ’50s.
We’ll have to keep our eyes peeled for any other Constellation Observatory timepieces (or any other unreleased models from the brand) at the rest of the star-studded events headed our way this year—perhaps the Met Gala?
A modern classic in the making, combining naturally aspirated power with elegant restraint to deliver performance that feels as refined as it is visceral.
In a year when carmakers of all persuasions sheepishly extended hyperbolic electric targets, it’s fitting that the monastic puritans of Maranello—who, lest we forget, won’t finally yield to the sin of battery power until October with the Elettrica—opted to make combustion their major power play.
As an uncertain future of AI omnipresence barrels towards us, the 12Cilindri—an analogue, open-topped tribute to Ferrari’s late-’60s/early-’70s grand tourer, the Daytona—represents a defiant fade into the past, a pause for breath, a fleeting return to The Good Times when nascent technology provoked excitement rather than existential dread.
Guiding this automotive nostalgia trip is, as the nomenclature suggests, a naturally aspirated 6.5-litre V12 engine, generating an unceasing wave of power as it sears towards the 9,500 rpm redline with relative nonchalance. That’s because the 12Cilindri is not a mouth-foaming attack-dog. It scales performance heights with the refinement of the finest Italian works of art; its “Bumpy Road” mode facilitates comfy al fresco GT cruising, and even the imperious powerplant is mannerly at most speeds.
For all the yesteryear romance, progressive technologies and engineering, such as a world-class 8-speed transmission, advanced electronic aids and independent four-wheel steering, are baked into the deal. The 12Cilindri’s clean, stark design somehow toggles between retro and modern; and while vaguely polarising, one can’t ignore its magnetic road presence.
In terms of aesthetics, Ferrari describes the 12Cilindri as being “ready for space”; in many ways, a fantasy vehicle that transports users to another dimension is probably what the world needs right now.
On the fourth floor of Westfield Sydney, near the Castlereagh and Market Street entrance—in the space formerly occupied by Chanel—Loro Piana has opened its first Australian boutique. It is a significant address change for that corner of the mall, and a meaningful one for the Italian house, which has sourced Australian merino wool for decades but until now had no retail presence here.
The facade is understated—creamy, tactile, more about texture than theatre. Inside, the store unfolds across a single, expansive level divided into distinct men’s and women’s wings. The separation is clear without being heavy-handed: womenswear leads from soft accessories and leather goods into ready-to-wear, while menswear occupies its own assured territory, with tailoring and outerwear given proper breathing room. Footwear (supple loafers, luxurious slides, pared-back sneakers) is particularly strong, and the sunglasses are a quiet standout: mineral-toned frames with a disciplined elegance that feels entirely of the house.
That same restraint carries into the interiors, where the surfaces do much of the talking. Walls are wrapped in the company’s own linen and cashmere; carpets are custom, dense underfoot, softening the acoustics and the pace. Oak and carabottino wood add warmth without fuss; marble accents introduce a cool counterpoint. The effect is a composed space calibrated around material, proportion and restraint.
The Spring 2026 collection now in store underscores that sensibility. Silhouettes are elongated and fluid; cashmere, silk and featherweight merino move in sandy neutrals, creams and muddied earth tones, with flashes of marigold and pale turquoise breaking the calm. Tailoring is softly structured and projects confidence without aggression. Leather goods arrive in buttery skins that feel almost pre-lived, as though time has already worked its magic.
What distinguishes Loro Piana, particularly in a market that has grown noisier by the season, is its refusal to perform luxury in an obvious register. There are no oversized insignias telegraphing allegiance. Instead, the status is encoded in fibre count, in hand-feel, in how a coat hangs from the shoulder. It assumes the wearer knows and, crucially, does not need to announce it.
Sydney’s luxury landscape has matured in recent years; global houses no longer test the waters but commit to them. Yet Loro Piana’s arrival feels different. It is not trend-driven expansion but material logic. For a country whose sheep stations have long contributed to the house’s fabric story, this boutique reads almost as a thank-you note written in cashmere.
If all you’re going to do is look at it, a leather Dopp kit from a fashion house is a fine choice. But if you take travelling seriously—and do it often, for business, pleasure, or both—such a bag will inevitably end up blemished with droplets of water or stained by errant flecks of toothpaste. Get stuck with a cavalier team of baggage handlers, and it can even get soaked in your favourite fragrance or anti-ageing serum.
But Patricks, the high-performance Australian grooming brand stocked in Harrods and Bergdorf Goodman, has a solution. Its limited-edition bathroom bag, called BB1, is purpose-built to protect everything inside and out. Conceived by industrial designer George Cunningham with brand founder Patrick Kidd, the cuboid design is executed in a water-resistant recycled nylon you can rinse clean. It’s lined with a thin layer of shock-absorbing foam to safeguard your products, but if a bottle somehow gets cracked in transit, the two-way water-resistant zippers and sealed seams (which keep liquids from seeping in or out) ensure that whatever leaks won’t ruin your cashmere. Inside, two dual-sided zippered compartments are ideally sized to fit toothbrushes, razors, and other small essentials.
And though its clean lines and rugged construction make it undeniably masculine, its greatest feature is borrowed from women’s makeup bags. Like the best of these, BB1 unzips to lie flat, giving you unobstructed access to everything inside. Well, you and the 999 other gentlemen who move fast enough to snag one. $289
Courtesy of Patricks
1. Hanging Loop
The G-hook system isn’t just a stylish handle: You can also use it to hang the bag from a hook or secure it to your carry-on.
2. Two-Way Zipper
The closures are water-resistant in both directions, meaning liquids won’t get in or out.
3. Fold-flat Construction
BB1 opens to 180 degrees, letting you scan its 4.2-litre capacity at a quick glance.
4. Technical-Fabric Shell
The durable recycled-nylon is easy to maintain and woven to survive splashes and leaks from your go-to products.
You can bet on pretty much anything these days, from when Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce will get married to who will be the next James Bond—and now that includes the Rollies on your wrist, or on your wishlist.
Prediction market platform Kalshi, regulated in the U.S., and luxe watch marketplace Bezel have teamed up on a new platform called Watch Futures that allows users to splash down cash on where they think the prices of a particular luxe timepiece are going, whether that’s a Rolex Submariner or a coveted Patek Philippe, Time & Tide reported.
You can also place a wager on which models might be discontinued, as well as any future launches from the top watchmakers on the new platform; with Watches and Wonders coming up, it’s certainly a well-timed launch that could see a lot of activity as a slew of new releases are announced at the event.
Watch Futures is all based on Beztimate, Bezel’s system (once used only internally) to help it accurately calculate the market price of a timepiece. It draws data from real-time transactions, live bids, verified sales, and other market offers to spawn its own series of independent valuation models to establish a watch’s value. From there, it’s up to bettors to place their wagers, and then the platform will showcase any price fluctuations or other updates as time goes on.
This new platform could have some pretty large implications for the watch industry. As any horological savant would know, the internet and collectors alike are constantly chattering about which models are on the way out or when a certain timepiece of the moment’s time in the limelight will fade, of course, having a large impact on the prices of said model. And now, a Watch Futures user can have a direct stake in where a model is headed—and if they own said timepiece, it can be a protection from dwindling values on the marketplace, say, if a user places a bet on their model losing value and that actually comes to fruition.
To see Watch Futures in real time (and scope out how some pieces in your collection are faring), you can use the Kalshi app or its website.
Courtesy of Patricks
