2023 Robert Biale Black Chicken Zinfandel Napa Valley

2023 Robert Biale Black Chicken Zinfandel Napa Valley

with No Comment $50-$60Kevin VogtNapaOak KnollUSAZinfandel

Robert Biale

Black Chicken Zinfandel
Napa Valley 2023

2023 Robert Biale Black Chicken Zinfandel Napa Valley

Some wines are born of soil, while others are born of story. Black Chicken is both. Conceived on the Biale family farm in the 1940s as a code whispered over a crackling party-line phone, this Zinfandel has grown into one of Napa Valley’s most revered gems. The 2023 vintage carries that history forward with fresh intensity, a wine that unites heritage with the precision of modern craftsmanship.

Black Chicken is shaped by the Oak Knoll District, where the Biale family has tended their home ranch since the 1930s. This cooler pocket of Napa lends the wine its hallmark freshness and balance, characterized by bright acidity, supple tannins, and fruit that sings with clarity, giving Black Chicken its unmistakable voice.

From vineyard to cellar, every detail of the 2023 vintage was shaped with purpose, yielding a Zinfandel of extraordinary character. Vibrant fruit, supple tannins, and an enduring finish make this release one of the most complete Black Chickens to date. This is a Zinfandel that transcends trend or time, standing proudly as one of Napa Valley’s enduring treasures.

Robert Biale
Black Chicken Zinfandel
Napa Valley 2023

Your Price: $55

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“A big but cool and well-balanced wine that is full-bodied but fresh. Made from vines averaging 40 years old and from mostly cool parts of Napa Valley, including the Biale family’s vineyard planted in 1937. Moderate tannins lift the vivid raspberry, blackberry, black pepper and umami flavors. Drink or hold.”

94 Points

2023 Sequoia Grove Chardonnay Napa Valley

2023 Sequoia Grove Chardonnay Napa Valley

with No Comment $30 and underCarnerosChardonnayKevin VogtNapaOak KnollUSA

Sequoia Grove

Chardonnay
Napa Valley 2023

2023 Sequoia Grove Chardonnay Napa Valley

In a region celebrated for its opulence, the 2023 Sequoia Grove Chardonnay stands out by choosing nuance as its compass. It’s a wine shaped by cool-climate discipline: mornings that delay ripeness, evenings that preserve acidity, and vineyards that favor elegance over indulgence. It shows a precision that feels rare for Napa, offering a Chardonnay shaped as much by restraint as by ripeness.

Much of that character comes from Carneros’ Haire Vineyard, where 30-year-old Wente and Robert Young clone vines deliver fruit with natural concentration. These old vines ripen slowly, holding onto acidity even in generous years, giving the wine its signature tension. Oak Knoll adds its own imprint, layering in structure and a subtle mineral thread that keeps the wine lifted and complete.

The winemaking team further amplifies that interplay of energy and richness. Native-yeast fermentation and extended lees contact build a creamy mid-palate, while the modest use of new French oak contributes subtle warmth rather than weight. The resulting Chardonnay is vibrant yet composed, delivering richness through texture rather than sweetness and finishing with a clarity that echoes its origins.

Sequoia Grove
Chardonnay
Napa Valley 2023
Retails at: $38

Your Price: $29.99

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“A nicely rich, suave and spicy white that blends luxurious poached apple and pear flavors with notes of marzipan, lemon meringue, toasted almonds, hazelnuts, brioche and butter. Full-bodied, broad in mouthfeel, well layered and plush. Drink now.”

93 Points

2022 Facets Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2022 Facets Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

with No Comment $60-$70Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaOak KnollUSAYountville

Facets

Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley 20222022 Facets Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Precision is the language Julien Fayard speaks fluently, and in Facets 2022, he’s written a love letter to Napa’s diversity. The wine captures the essence of Napa Valley, standing as a polished reflection of the region’s diverse terroirs, revealing balance over excess. It’s a wine that captures the power of California sun and the restraint of French discipline in perfect, seamless motion.

For Fayard, crafting Facets is less about blending fruit than sculpting dimension. Sourced from the cool precision of Oak Knoll and the structured gravitas of Yountville, the 2022 vintage draws on contrasting terroirs to create harmony. His training at Château Lafite Rothschild and Quintessa informs a philosophy of finding an equilibrium between opulence and restraint, ripeness and poise.

Aged for 20 months in French oak, the 2022 Facets reveals depth without heaviness. It is a modern Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon that’s refined, confident, and enduring. For collectors and casual enthusiasts alike, it’s a wine that defines where Napa Cabernet is headed: elegant, deliberate, and undeniably world-class.

Facets
Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley 2022

Your Price: $65

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“The Gemstone estate vineyard spans 6.5 hectares (16 acres) on the western benches of Yountville. Still, Facets is Gemstone’s non-estate wine, crafted from carefully selected vineyards in Yountville and Oak Knoll by winemaker Julien Fayard, who took the helm in 2021. The 2022 Facets is a crowd-pleaser with upfront appeal, offering heady aromas of violets, rose petals, sweet candied red berry fruit, and dusty minerals. The velvety, fine-grained tannins are seamlessly integrated on the palate, giving the wine a polished texture. Full-bodied and rich, it features expressive, balanced cedarwood sweetness and finishes with notes of crushed cacao nibs. Grapes are gently pressed directly into barrels for fermentation and aged up to 18 months in 40% new French oak. The 2022 vintage is approachable now and perfect for drinking, while the more structured 2021s continue to develop, delivering a harmonious balance of richness, elegance, and immediate gratification.”

95 Points

2023 Flora Springs Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2023 Flora Springs Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

with No Comment $60-$70Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaOak KnollUSA

Flora Springs

Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley 2023

2023 Flora Springs Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

When Gina Gallo-Boisset assumed her role at Flora Springs, she carried the legacy of California’s foremost winemaking dynasty and the influence of one of Burgundy’s most vibrant families. Their 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon embodies this union: a wine that captures Napa’s bold essence with elegance, precision, and contemporary finesse.

At its core, the wine reveals a harmonious duality: the depth of Rutherford’s gravelly soils entwined with the lush generosity of Oak Knoll fruit. This Cabernet bears substance without weight, commanding attention while inviting another sip through its impeccable balance.

In the cellar, the partnership of Gina and longtime Flora Springs winemaker Enrico Bertoz shaped the wine with both power and restraint. The élevage here is thoughtful, never heavy-handed: time in French oak shapes the tannins into silk without obscuring the purity of the fruit. What emerges is a Napa Cabernet that honors the grandeur of the past yet speaks confidently to the present: a wine of structure, grace, and enduring character.

Flora Springs
Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley 2023
Retails at: $75

Your Price: $65

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“Aromas of blackberries, plums, ink, graphite and cedar. The palate is medium-bodied with softly integrated tannins and bright acidity. Great freshness and balance. The premiere release under new ownership and packaging. Drink or hold.”

93 Points

2022 Steps Barrel Select Reserve Napa Valley

2022 Steps Barrel Select Reserve Napa Valley

with No Comment $40-$50Atlas PeakCalistogaKevin VogtNapaOak KnollProprietary RedSaint HelenaUSA

Steps

Barrel Select Reserve
Napa Valley 2022

2022 Steps Barrel Select Reserve Napa Valley

The 2022 Steps Reserve Barrel Select embodies the exceptional artistry of Grant Long, Jr., a renowned winemaker celebrated for his work at Aonair, Reverie II, and James Joseph. Grant possesses a unique talent for crafting both approachable and elegant wines, transforming each barrel into a harmonious expression of texture, balance, and enduring appeal.

Sourced from premier vineyards across Napa Valley – Saint Helena, Oak Knoll, Atlas Peak, and Calistoga – the 2022 Steps Reserve showcases a captivating interplay of lush valley floor fruit and structured mountain grapes. This meticulously crafted blend, centered around Cabernet Sauvignon and interwoven with Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petit Verdot, exemplifies Grant’s ability to translate Napa Valley’s diverse terroir into a genuinely captivating wine.

After 18 months of careful aging in French oak, the 2022 Steps Reserve Barrel Select unfolds with layers of rich, penetrating flavors. Polished yet vibrant, this wine promises a journey of evolution, maturing gracefully into a paragon of sophistication over time.

Steps
Barrel Select Reserve
Napa Valley 2022

Your Price: $49.99

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“The Steps 2022 Reserve Barrel Select opens with supple fruit aromas of plums and black currants, accompanied by notes of sweet spices, chocolate fudge, graphite, new leather, and cedar. On the palate, the wine is penetrating and concentrated with flavors of blackberries, black plums, allspice, gingerbread, vanilla extract, and toasted hazelnuts. The wine has a sultry structure with silky tannins that glide into a long, smooth finish like a sunset slowly fading into twilight.”

95 Points

2021 Lewis Cellars Mason's Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2021 Lewis Cellars Mason’s Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

with No Comment $70-$80Cabernet SauvignonCalistogaKevin VogtNapaOak KnollRutherfordSaint HelenaUSA

Lewis Cellars

Mason’s Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley 2021

2021 Lewis Cellars Mason's Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Randy Lewis’s journey to winemaking is as captivating as his former life on the racetrack. A professional race car driver, passionate about speed and precision, Randy’s trajectory took a dramatic turn following a life-altering crash during the 1991 Indianapolis 500 qualifiers. This near-fatal incident ignited a new passion, inspiring him to craft world-class wines.

In 1992, Randy and his wife, Debbie, founded Lewis Cellars. They brought the same focus and dedication to winemaking that once propelled him to success on the track. Over the past three decades, Lewis Cellars has become synonymous with excellence, garnering numerous 90+ point scores and achieving the prestigious title of Wine Spectator’s Wine of the Year in 2016.

The 2021 Mason’s Cabernet Sauvignon embodies the winery’s meticulous attention to detail and commitment to sourcing from Napa Valley’s premier vineyard sites, including Calistoga, St. Helena, Rutherford, and Oak Knoll. This wine reflects a vintage characterized by intensity and concentration, offering ripe blackberry, cassis, and subtle spice aromas. With its robust structure and refined tannins, Mason’s balances power and elegance, delivering a sensory experience that deepens with each sip.

Lewis Cellars
Mason’s Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley 2021

Your Price: $79.99

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“The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Mason’s Cabernet is a smoking value offering a big, rich, mouthful of ripe black fruit as well as full-bodied richness, ripe, velvety tannins, no hard edges, and classic Cabernet tobacco, spice, and chocolate nuances.”

94 Points

2015 Corley Proprietary Red Napa Valley

2015 Corley Proprietary Red Napa Valley

with No Comment $70-$80Kevin VogtNapaOak KnollProprietary RedRutherfordSaint HelenaUSAYountville

CORLEY

PROPRIETARY RED
2015 NAPA VALLEY

2015 Corley Proprietary Red Napa Valley
The Corley family and their dedicated team are well known for creating single vineyard premium Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from their vineyards in Rutherford, St. Helena, Yountville, and Oak Knoll. In 1990 they planted Cabernet Franc in their Oak Knoll vineyard with the vision of producing a Meritage of the three varieties.
 
The 2015 vintage is a small production of just 506 cases comprised of 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Cabernet Franc, and 32% Merlot, created to be approachable in its youth while also having the capability to age and can be enjoyed at every phase of its development. With over five years in the bottle, the 2015 perfect showcases Chris Corley’s winemaking ability, the strong vintage, and choice of vineyards.
 
CORLEY
PROPRIETARY RED
2015 NAPA VALLEY
 
Your Price: $75
 
 
“The 2015 Corley Proprietary Red Wine opens with lavender, cassis, freshly picked blackberries, cherry cola, cloves, and crushed volcanic rocks. The palate is intense and complex, with flavors of black plums and cocoa powder with a hint of savory black olives. This wine is simply stunning at the moment and is an excellent food wine that will age gracefully for the next decade or so.”
96 Points
2017 Adaptation Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2017 Adaptation Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

with No Comment $50-$60Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaOak KnollStags LeapUSA

ADAPTATION

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2017 NAPA VALLEY

2017 Adaptation Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Framed by Mountain fruit’s power, harnessed with additions of Stags Leap, Oak Knoll, and Pope Valley grapes, Adaptation’s Cabernet Sauvignon is purposefully versatile and abundantly complex. The 2017 release emerges from the rugged, dynamic terrain of Howell Mountain’s Ink Grade Vineyard, supplying structure, depth, and flavor intensity. 100-point powerhouse Odette Winery creates Adaptation, under the guidance of Jeff Owens, formed to combine power and elegance while simultaneously showcasing its origins. 
 
Napa Valley’s diversity of micro-climates, terrain, soils, and exposures created an Artist’s palette of flavors, textures, tannins, and aromas for Jeff to adapt Howell Mountain’s power unveiling an approachable, elegant wine that delivers on all fronts. 
 
Centered around a core of nearly 80% Cabernet Sauvignon transformed with additions of Merlot, Malbec, and Petite Sirah, then aged 18 months in oak, Adaptation personifies the best characteristics of the vintage and the winery’s drive to showcase Napa Valley’s unique terroir gracefully.
 
ADAPTATION
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2017 NAPA VALLEY
Retails at: $62
 
Your Price: $59.99
 
 
“From the folks at Odette and Plumpjack, this lovely red is juicy, broad and immensely likable, with soft layers of baking spice, black cherry and licorice. With 16% Merlot and smaller additions of Malbec and Petite Sirah, it delivers supple texture and length without fuss.”
91 Points, “Editors’ Choice”
2017 Tyros Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2017 Tyros Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

with No Comment $30 and underCabernet SauvignonCarnerosKevin VogtNapaOak KnollSaint HelenaUSA

TYROS

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2017 NAPA VALLEY

2017 Tyros Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Encapsulating the breadth of Napa Valley terroir, Tyros Cabernet Sauvignon orchestrates from vineyards spanning the length of Napa Valley, created to be a mindful expression of its varietal, region, and vintage. The makers of Tyros, Silenus winery’s vineyard was a walnut orchard, converted to Cabernet vines in 1968; the family sold fruit for years to Silver Oak, Robert Mondavi, and Inglenook, often being a component in their reserve wines. With triple 90-point reviews and priced at $30, you can’t go wrong with a case.  
 
The winemaking team crafted Tyros around a tapestry of meticulously chosen vineyards, including; Silenus Oak Knoll Estate and surrounding sites, St Helena, Pope Valley, and Carneros. 23% Merlot contributes suppleness, a softer texture, and cherry fruit, balancing the Cabernet’s tannins. 
 
They then aged Tyros for 22 months in 50% new French oak and 10% new American oak Barrels, perfectly balancing the fruit’s lushness and natural tannins. The resulting wine is gracefully balanced, long, and expressive, and at $30, it’s impressive at this price level. 
 
TYROS
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2017 NAPA VALLEY
Retails at: $35
 
Your Price: $29.99
 
 
“This is an enjoyable and approachable Cabernet that is blended with 23% Merlot. Black cherry, cassis and mocha highlight a soft, supple palate. It has a hint of dried herb on the finish.”
90 Points “Editors’ Choice”
 
“Quite bold and ripe, this teeters a bit, with a prune note amid the cherry, raspberry and plum confiture flavors. Features pretty spice accents, a relatively silky feel and a lingering mesquite element for added range. For fans of the style.”
90 Points
 
“Earthy, black and blue fruit aromas over a very lovely, juicy palate showing cassis, currants, cocoa and coffee.”
90 Points
2018 Lobo Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2018 Lobo Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

with No Comment $40-$50Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaOak KnollUSA

LOBO

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2018 NAPA VALLEY

2018 Lobo Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Founded on farming first and foremost, Lobo’s Oak Knoll Vineyard’s high-density planting, aggressive pruning, and idyllic terroir caught the eye of great winemakers like Randy Lewis from the get-go. Calling on Mario Bazan’s 30 years of experience managing vineyards like OPUS ONE, To-Kalon, and Stags Leap, Lobo positioned themselves for a seamless transition from selling grapes to becoming a boutique winery making ridiculously high-quality wines. 
 
Lobo winemaker Victoria Coleman is well-rounded in her skillset, working alongside Erick Tourbier at Chateau Mouton Rothschild and Jade Valley Winery in China. Her exposure to Old-World winemaking technique resonated and manifested in the elegantly balanced, terroir expressive wines she produces. 
 
Raised under the shadows of the Mayacamas Mountains, Lobo Vineyard’s well-drained gravelly loam and micro-climate cooler than the neighboring Yountville produces Cabernet Sauvignon fruit of dynamic complexity. Their 2018 is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon crafted in a style that melds balance and enchantment, power and grace, and at less than $100, this wine is stunningly impressive. 
 
LOBO
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2018 NAPA VALLEY
Retails at: $75
 
 
 
“A savoury and spice-driven nose of tobacco leaves, underbrush and earl grey tea. Tender red fruits and zesty acidity provide a delicious lift to the finish, where the tannins and edgy but pleasing. A delicious Cabernet at a relative value…”
92 Points
 
“… More beauty than beast with nose of meadow flowers and red berry fruit, it offers lush, pretty flavors of red currant, cherry, pomegranate, black raspberry and allspice. An elegant and sensual wine that promises wonderful aging potential and is ready to enjoy when you are.”