2018 Grand Napa Los Carneros Chardonnay

2018 Grand Napa Los Carneros Chardonnay

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GRAND NAPA

2018 CHARDONNAY
LOS CARNEROS

2018 Grand Napa Los Carneros Chardonnay

Grand Napa Winery in Rutherford has an eye for locating vineyards that are capable of producing expressive, profound and varietally sound wines. Those of you that have tasted their Reds under their Grand Napa, Heir Apparent or Calculated Risk brands already know what a stunning value they offer. What you may not know is that they also produce a small amount of Chardonnay, and with 129 cases of their Los Carneros bottling, it’s no surprise. We’ve kept a close eye on their Chards over the years, and the moment we tasted this one, we felt like we had struck gold, due to its overwhelming quality and value.
 
Grand Napa’s 2018 Los Carneros Chardonnay is made in a pure and textured style that offers rich and inviting white fruits, impeccable weight and stunning natural acidity, that’s both refreshing and perfectly balances the wine’s subtle yet intriguing opulence.  
 
Carneros Chardonnays offer big fruit, and plenty of structure. It’s the cooling influences from the Pacific Ocean and the San Pablo Bay that funnel through the Coastal Mountain ranges, and allow the grapes a long growing season, with temperatures cool enough to maintain acidity and structure.
 
GRAND NAPA
2018 CHARDONNAY
LOS CARNEROS
Retails at: $59.99
 
Your Price: $24
 
 
 
“The Grand Napa Los Carneros Chardonnay 2018 is beautifully balanced with perfect combination of sweet fruits and rich texture.  It begins on the palate with succulent honey dipped peaches, ripe apricots, lemon curd and highlighted with spring floral characteristics.  It has a beautiful richness on the palate with just enough acidity to give it a shimmering mouthfeel. This is the best Grand Napa Chardonnay that I’ve tasted.  Very well done.” 93 Points
CASTELLO ROMITORIO 2015 BRUNELLO MONTALCINO, ITALY

2015 Castello Romitorio Brunello Montalcino Italy

with No Comment $50-$60BrunelloItalyKevin VogtMontalcino

CASTELLO ROMITORIO

2015 BRUNELLO 
MONTALCINO, ITALY

CASTELLO ROMITORIO 2015 BRUNELLO MONTALCINO, ITALY

There are great wines that are made through decisions by the winemaker, and then there are great wines that are a result of the vintage, which is what Montalcino experienced in 2015. If you’ve read any of the vintage reports from winemakers and critics, the energy is contagious. Stefano Cinelli Colombini said, “the vintage saw textbook timing,” and James Suckling alerted his readers that it’s a vintage “nobody should miss”.  We agree, and here’s one of the best, and with triple 95 point scores.
 
Castello Romitorio has Italian history embedded in its DNA. The Estate dates back to the Middle Ages, and through time, transitioned from a temple to a fortress, a monastery, a castle, a Manor House, and now, lucky for us, a winery. 
 
Located in the northwest of the town of Montalcino, the vineyard has soils composed of clay and Albarese, from which fossils and shells emerge, evidence of an ancient coastal seabed. The 2015 vintage offers remarkable power, dynamic complexity, and a purity of fruit that’s spectacular.  
 
CASTELLO ROMITORIO
2015 BRUNELLO 
MONTALCINO, ITALY
Retails at: $65
 
Your Price: $59.99

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“… a suave and supple expression that shows a slightly more opulent texture compared to many of its peers… You taste the natural richness and exuberance of the fruit, with variety-specific elements of wild cherry, blue flowers and soft earth…” 
95 Points
 
“… laced with spicy, dark red fruits, wild, sweet and spicy floral tones that give way to savory herbs, hints of animal musk and black earth. On the palate, it’s soft, enveloping, almost creamy in texture and offset by a mix of savory spice, fine tannin and saturating mineral tones as black cherry and sage seem to hover on the senses. The finish is spicy and long, structured, but also with vibrant primary fruits holding on strong, as a twang of savory herbs lingers long…” 95 Points
 
“A dense and rich Brunello with lots of ripe fruit, spices and hints of new wood. Full-bodied, chewy and rich. A muscular wine that needs time to come together. Better after 2022.” 95 Points
 
 
2018 Arrived Proprietary White Paso Robles

2018 Arrived Paso Robles Proprietary White

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ARRIVED

PROPRIETARY WHITE
2018 PASO ROBLES 

2018 Arrived Proprietary White Paso Robles

One of the rarest wine types in France is White Chateauneuf-du-Pape, and the two primary grapes used in it are Grenache Blanc and Clairette Blanche. There are only around 175 acres of Clairette Blanche planted in Chateauneuf-du-Pape, and in California, it’s almost non-existent. Arrived is a blend of both grapes, and arose from the Paper Street Vineyard, which is owned and farmed by the iconic Dusi Family. This wine is guaranteed to give you one of those where have you been all my life epiphanies the moment you try it.

Arrived Proprietary White is a near 50/50 blend of Grenache Blanc and Clairette Blanche that was fermented in stainless steel tank and spent just nine months in neutral barrels. On the palate, the wine offers a kaleidoscope of poached pear, tropical banana, lime peel, honeysuckle, and stony minerals. 

The wine arose from chalky, limestone-rich white soils that produce vibrant wines with remarkable clarity, detail, depth, and balance. The vineyard is in the Willow Creek District of Paso Robles and is a site carefully chosen by one of the areas most distinguished farming families. With a total production of 100 cases, don’t hesitate to secure yours.

 

ARRIVED
PROPRIETARY WHITE
2018 PASO ROBLES
Retails at: $36

Your Price: $25
 
 

“Gravenstein apple, honeydew melon, kiwi, lemon zest, asian pear, and a core of minerality that continues to develop in the glass. Lifted, concentrated, showing a bright purity of fruit. Succulent. Balanced. Refreshing. 100 Cases Produced” 
52% Grenache Blanc | 48% Clairette Blanche

2016 Cosa Obra Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

2016 Cosa Obra Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

with No Comment $30 and underKevin VogtPinot NoirSonomaSonoma CoastUSA

COSA OBRA

2016 PINOT NOIR
SONOMA COAST

 

2016 Cosa Obra Sonoma Coast Pinot NoirCosa Obra makes my short-list of the leading values in Pinot Noir that we’ve introduced over the years. We still get requests for it months, and even years after our offering. The perceived value that gets packed into each bottle is palpable, and the 2016 vintage is a splendid example. This vintage brought a more powerful, meatier style of Pinot from the famed Sangiacomo Vineyard. At our price, I’m confident that people will be talking about this long after it’s gone. 

The Sangiacomo Vineyard is the source for Cosa Obra, and its storied history earned more than its fair share of memorable, highly-rated wines. The 2016 vintage spent just nine months in French oak, preserving the wines vibrant and lively flavors, yet adding a lightly toasty finish.

Cosa Obra sources the fruit from a tiny block of Pommard Clone grapes that produces intriguing aromas and a dense Pinot Noir fruit. It erupts from the glass with a vibrant medley of dark cherries, exotic spices, wild roses, and subtle meaty characteristics.

COSA OBRA
2016 PINOT NOIR
SONOMA COAST
Retails at: $32

Your Price: $29.99

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“Garnet in color, the nose opens slowly over time revealing aromas of dark cherry, spice, and tobacco. A full mid palate with flavors of black cherry, blueberry-pomegranate and cherry cola, embellished with toasty oak in the background. Wellrounded, integrated tannins and texturally appealing with a soft and sleek mouthfeel.”

2016 Arietta Quartet Proprietary Red

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ARIETTA

2016 QUARTET
PROPRIETARY RED

Harmonious is the first word that comes to mind when tasting Arietta’s Quartet. The wine brings together four Bordeaux varietals in a way that perfectly complements, supports, and defines one-another. The blend was composed by Andy Erickson, who made Screaming Eagle from ’05 – ’10, and he also makes Mayacamas, which just ranked #2 in the recent Wine Spectator Top 100. With 95 Points and a spot on Wine Enthusiast’s Top 100, don’t miss this vintage of Arietta Quartet.  

Arietta built this superior blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc around a core of Coombsville fruit that’s paired with carefully chosen sites in Carneros and Calistoga. The 2016 benefits from two new Cabernet Vineyards in Southern Napa that are both managed by one of Napa Valley’s top viticulturists, Mike Wolf. 

The 2016 was finely tuned for 22 months in oak and made its entrance from one of Napa Valley’s most exceptional vintages, and one that the Wine Spectator ranks as the highest-rated vintage since 1997. If you’re looking for a stunningly complex and deeply hedonistic blend to add to your cellar, this one is absolutely singing.

ARIETTA
2016 QUARTET
PROPRIETARY RED
 
Your Price: $68
 
 
“Winemaker Andy Erickson coaxes beautiful fruit and structure from this blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot, many of the grapes from Coombsville and Carneros. Juicy and weighty on the palate in blackberry and blueberry, it offers firm integrated tannin and undeniable elegance, with lovely teases of dried herb, graphite and exotic spice.” 
95 Points, Editors’ Choice, #48 Wine Enthusiast Top 100 Wines of 2019
 
“The 2016 Quartet is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Deep purple-black in color, it features youthful, vivacious black and red currants notions with an undercurrent of black plums, mulberries, Indian spices and fragrant earth plus wafts of tobacco and new leather. Full-bodied and laden with decadent black fruit and spicy layers, it has a velvety backbone and long spicy finish.” 94 Points
2016 Shottesbrooke Cabernet Sauvignon

2016 Shottesbrooke “Langhorne Creek” Cabernet Sauvignon

with No Comment $30 and underAustraliaCabernet SauvignonKevin VogtLanghorne Creek

SHOTTESBROOKE

2016 CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
LANGHORNE CREEK, AUSTRALIA

 

2016 Shottesbrooke Cabernet SauvignonSome of the most complex and hedonistic Cabernet Sauvignon for your dollar, comes from down-under. The grape has a long history in Australia that dates back to the mid-1800s. Luminaries Penfolds, Leeuwin and Cape Mentelle have helped to canonize Australian grown Cabernet as a serious contender on the world stage. Shottesbrooke’s 2016 Cabernet reminded me of this, and with 93 and 95 Point scores, I wouldn’t hesitate to secure yours. 

Hailing from the Langhorne Creek Appellation, which is located inside the Fleurieu zone, and is also home to the McLaren Vale region, Shottesbrooke’s 2016 perfectly expresses the area’s rich terroir. 

The 2016 is loaded with classically styled, profound notes of eucalyptus, blue plums, juniper berry, and baking spices. The wine is intensely aromatic, wildly complex, approachable, and at our price, offers extraordinary value.

SHOTTESBROOKE
2016 CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
LANGHORNE CREEK, AUSTRALIA
 
Your Price: $19.99
 
“While not particularly deep, the hue is youthful, and the fragrant eucalypt nuances that accompany the fresh cassis of the palate are regional (and shared with Coonawarra). The finely spun tannins are a feature of a medium-bodied cabernet made to be drunk whenever the idea pleases you. Screwcap. 14.5% alc. To 2030”  95 Points
 
“Dark dusty garnet color. Aromas of blackberry jam, black plum, juniper berry, and wet slate with a tart, dry full body and an interesting, very long ripe blackberry, black plum, bergamot, and dates finish with woody tannins and heavy oak flavor. Robust and aggressively structured cab for similarly inclined fare.” 93 Points, Gold Medal Exceptional 
2018 Darms Lane Oak Knoll District Chardonnay

2018 Darms Lane Oak Knoll District Chardonnay

with No Comment $30 and underChardonnayKevin VogtNapaOak KnollUSA

DARMS LANE

2018 CHARDONNAY
OAK KNOLL DISTRICT
2018 Darms Lane Oak Knoll District Chardonnay

 

Most Chardonnay fans have a preferred style of either rich, buttery and opulent, or clean, crisp and minerally. For my palate, the most important characteristic, regardless of style is balance, and Darms Lane’s 2018 Chardonnay has it from first sip to the last drop. When you read about the winemaker and the vineyard, the quality won’t come as a surprise, but one thing that will surprise you is the unbelievable value at this price.

Darms Lane’s winemaker Brian Mox is well-versed in crafting premium Napa Valley Chardonnay. He spent several vintages as winemaker at Lewis Cellars, and he’s the current winemaker at Laird Family Estate, and both wineries are recognized for exceptional Chardonnay. 

The 2018 combines fruit from the winery’s Bon Passe Estate Vineyard, as well as neighboring Trefethen. The area is know for its complex soils and micro-climate that’s one of the coolest in Napa Valley, enabling the fruit to develop concentrated flavors at ripe sugar levels with refreshing, balanced acidity. 

DARMS LANE
2018 CHARDONNAY
OAK KNOLL DISTRICT

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“Refreshing and vibrant, our 2018 Chardonnay offers aromas of pear, brioche, vanilla, honeysuckle, toasted oak, and hints of lemon curd. The beautifully balanced pallet exhibits flavors of pear, apple, vanilla, and fresh hints of Meyer lemon and tart orange as well as a touch of white peach. The wine has medium body with a subtle richness leading to crisper, clean citrus and stone fruits through the mid pallet and a lively fresh finish. Enjoy!”

2016 DuMOL Wester Reach Russian River Valley Chardonnay

2017 DuMOL Wester Reach Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

with No Comment $60-$70ChardonnayKevin VogtRussian River ValleyUSA

DuMOL 

2017 PINOT NOIR
WESTER REACH
RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY

2016 DuMOL Wester Reach Russian River Valley Chardonnay
Best described as “dynamic, alive and precise,” which is how winemaker Andy Smith details DuMOL’s 2017 Wester Reach Pinot Noir. The complexity comes in part from the matrix of carefully chosen clones, which include Calera, Swan, and Pommard. We introduced the wine last year, and now that it’s got a 96 point score, if you missed it the first time around, here’s a second chance.
 
The 2017 Wester Reach Pinot Noir perfectly balances an equilibrium of fruit from four iconic Russian River Valley Vineyards, including the winery’s O’Connell Estate, Dutton UPP Road, Widdoes and Occidental Road. 
 
The 2017 vintage is from one of the lowest-yielding harvests in twenty years, with small berries and clusters, which resulted in incredible detail and focused flavors. The wine was barrel fermented and spent just 12 months in oak to preserve the purity of the fruit.    
 
DuMOL 
2017 PINOT NOIR
WESTER REACH
RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY
 
Your Price: $69.99
 
“Made from four stellar sites within the appellation, this stunning wine shows rich red and blue fruit. Spice and forest floor tones intertwine alongside firm, supple tannins and balanced acidity, finishing with impressive length and intensity.” 96 Points
 
“The wine is dynamic, alive and precise. It begins in a coastal style–sleek, focused and linear. The deep entry expands along strong lines with good drive and detail to its red and black fruit flavors. As it fully opens, natural Russian River textures and volume takes hold – broad, supple and layered. Savory elements steer the wine toward complexity that will continue to build in bottle. Drink between 2019 and 2029.”
2013 J Gregory Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

2013 J Gregory Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

with No Comment $30-$40Cabernet SauvignonCoombsvilleKevin VogtNapaOak KnollUSA

J. GREGORY

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2013 NAPA VALLEY

2013 J Gregory Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
What comes after making some of Napa Valley’s most prestigious wines in the 1980s and 1990s? Mark Jessup was part of the original winemaking team at OPUS ONE from 1979 through 1987, and after OPUS, he chose to pursue his dream of building a winery of his own… Lucky for us, we found him, and his 2013 Napa Cabernet is genuinely a joy to behold.
 
The 2013 J Gregory Napa Cabernet hails from one of the areas most prized vintages. At nearly 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine perfectly embodies the power and focus that are hallmarks of this vintage. On the palate, the wine is detailed and expressive, yet firmly balanced and sophisticated.
 
Mark works closely with a handful of growers, where he has long term, mutual relationships. His 2013 vintage has origins in Coombsville and Oak Knoll, which are both situated in cooler-climate regions within Napa Valley, where in a great vintage like 2013, the grapes can achieve optimum ripeness, and at a gradual pace…
 
J. GREGORY
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2013 NAPA VALLEY
Retails at: $85
 
 
 
“There is a compelling way that this wine presents itself, with an intriguing nose of bright, briary wild berries and subtle eucalyptus that combine with balanced sweet vanilla and hints of wet earth. On the palate, ripe black cherries, red and black raspberries, red currants, and fresh cranberries beautifully frame elegant floral characteristics along with a subtle, minerally, slate-like thread. This beauty indeed begins bright and linear but puts on weight and body as it opens up in the glass over time. Drink or hold for a decade or more.” 94 Points
2016 Paradigm Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Estate

2016 Paradigm Oakville Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

with No Comment $70-$80Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaOakvilleUSA

PARADIGM

CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
2016 OAKVILLE ESTATE2016 Paradigm Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Estate

If I were to choose one wine that perfectly articulates Oakville’s notorious complexity, Paradigm Cabernet would be my first choice. Their Estate is positioned directly South of Andy Beckstoffer’s Iconic To-Kalon Vineyard, and in an area widely considered the epicenter of Grand Cru quality Cabernet. The winery’s neighbors include icons, Dominus, Harlan, Opus One, and Martha’s Vineyard, and at this price, Paradigm tips the scales with groundbreaking quality.  

This absolutely stunning Cabernet was made by Heidi Barrett whose past and present clients includes Amuse Bouche, Screaming Eagle, Dalla Valle, Grace Family, Revana, David Arthur and Barbour… 

Heidi made the 2016 vintage in a focused, beautifully knit style that’s concentrated and highly detailed. The wine spends 20 months in oak and 20 months in the bottle before release and offers a parade of focused red and black fruits, minerals, and vanilla bean. 

 

PARADIGM
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
2016 OAKVILLE ESTATE
Retails at: $84

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“Dark Cabernet color with beautiful aromas of black cherry, cassis, plums, 5-spice, vanilla. Big, ripe and mouthcoating across the palate. The flavors are similar to the aromas with ripe fruit, berry/cherry pie, moderate tannins, and nice length. This wine shows enough structure to be age-worthy yet soft and balanced enough to enjoy upon release. Flavors linger in this tasty dense wine. Tastes like Oakville.”