2019 Montagu The Baron Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford

2019 Montagu The Baron Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford

with No Comment $40-$50Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaRutherfordUSA

MONTAGU

THE BARON
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
RUTHERFORD 2019

2019 Montagu The Baron Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford
Weston Eidson apprenticed with mentors Jason Moore of Modus Operandi Cellars and Russell Bevan. Well-connected, Eidson has partnered with exceptional vineyards in Napa and Sonoma, including Sage Ridge, Baciagalupi, Durell, Charles Heintz, Hyde, and Richie. He thoughtfully crafts his wines to highlight the terroir through minimal intervention winemaking.
 
The Baron is a rich, full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon with some Petit Verdot to flesh out the mid-palate and give the wine a zesty spice and playfulness. The fruit comes from a secret vineyard in Rutherford, and the 2019 vintage was fabulous for the area, producing wines with depth, robust flavors, and ripe, fine-grained tannins that feel like satin and will provide at least a decade of ageability.
 
Don’t let the scores based on the winery’s $125 retail sway you. At our price, it is one of our finest offerings and is a rich, powerful, hedonistic Cabernet Sauvignon that will make you wish you had ordered more once you’ve tried it. Our panel loved it, and now it’s an unbelievable value.
 
MONTAGU
THE BARON
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
RUTHERFORD 2019
Retails at: $125
 
 
 
“Starting with the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon The Baron, which includes 10% Petit Verdot, this rich, chewy, mouth-filling effort offers tons of ripe black cherry and plum fruits as well as chocolate and assorted spices. It’s a chewy, fruit-driven Cabernet to drink over the coming decade.” Reviewed May, 2022
90 Points
2018 Grand Napa Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Napa Valley

2018 Grand Napa Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Napa Valley

with No Comment $40-$50Cabernet SauvignonCoombsvilleKevin VogtNapaRutherfordSt HelenaUSA

GRAND NAPA 

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
RESERVE NAPA VALLEY 2018

2018 Grand Napa Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Napa Valley
Our top-selling Cabernet Sauvignon this year, Grand Napa Vineyards in Rutherford, produces rich, full-bodied wines with depth and character from premium vineyards in Napa Valley. Grand Napa owner/winemaker Dwight Bonewell hand-selects the vineyards he works with, and his involvement ensures harvesting only the highest quality fruit before he works his magic in the winery, carefully nurturing each vineyard’s unique character into its purest expression.
 
Grand Napa’s 2018 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon arose from prime sites in Rutherford, St. Helena, and Coombsville, compellingly representing the vintage and distinct origins. This bottling spent 22 months in 50% new French oak and 50% two-year-old oak, giving a graceful balance between the depth of fruit, spice components from the oak, plush tannins, and impressive structure.
 
GRAND NAPA 
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
RESERVE NAPA VALLEY 2018
Retails at: $110
 
 
 
“Another terrific wine, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve offers lots of blackcurrants, spice box, tobacco leaf, and chocolatey nuances to go with a full-bodied style on the palate. It has the 2018 vintage’s fresher, more elegant style yet brings ample fruit and has an expansive, layered mouthfeel as well as a great finish. It’s another wine to enjoy any time over the coming 15-20 years.”
94 Points
2019 Heir Apparent Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2019 Heir Apparent Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

with No Comment $40-$50Cabernet SauvignonCalistogaKevin VogtNapaRutherfordSaint HelenaUSA

HEIR APPARENT

RESERVE 2019
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
NAPA VALLEY

2019 Heir Apparent Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Grand Napa Winery in Rutherford produces Heir Apparent wines, and winemaker Dwight Bonewell’s expert blending skills and access to exceptional vineyards paired beautifully with another outstanding vintage. Dwight crafts his Reserve Cabernet from a rigorous selection of high-quality sites in Rutherford, St Helena, and Calistoga, resulting in a multi-faceted wine embodying Napa Valley’s distinctive personality.
 
The 2019 growing season saw few challenges and a mild autumn, giving the grapes a long hang-time resulting in exceptional flavor development while retaining acidity. This particular vintage is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot and Cabernet Franc added to accent the mid-palate and maintain balance, just like many of the great wines of Bordeaux.
 
HEIR APPARENT
RESERVE 2019
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
NAPA VALLEY
Retails at: $125
 
 
 
“Aromas of raspberries, sour cherries, kirsch, lemon zest and sweet spices. It’s full-bodied with sleek tannins framing a juicy, sweetly fruited core. Drink or hold.”
91 Points
2019 Croze Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2019 Croze Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

with No Comment $30-$40Cabernet SauvignonHowell MountainKevin VogtNapaOakvilleRutherfordUSA

CROZE

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
NAPA VALLEY 2019

2019 Croze Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Croze Fine Wines produced its first Cabernet Sauvignon in 1998, built on a philosophy of elegance and balance, and 2019 marks its 20th year of production. This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon combines grapes from Rutherford, Howell Mountain, and Oakville AVAs, including Oakville’s Money Ranch Road Vineyard, which became famous when it was the source of Napa’s first 100 Point wine.
 
Croze’s winemaker, Daniel Benton, intimately understands the vineyards he works with and elevates each plot’s finest attributes in his wines. The 2019 vintage matured for 28 months in French oak barrels, and while approachable and drinkable now, this wine has a structure worthy of additional aging in the cellar.
 
CROZE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
NAPA VALLEY 2019
Retails at: $65
 
 
 
“The 2019 Croze Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon begins with a rich nose of sweet blackberries, milk chocolate, vibrant black currants, Spring violets, and vanilla bean. The penetrating palate follows by balancing richness and freshness with power and elegance, expressing these traits with concentrated red currants, ripe cassis, and nicely structured fine-grained fruit tannins. The lingering, rich flavors and mouth-quenching acidity carry these characteristics through to a long, fulfilling finish. This one keeps calling me back for more…”
94 Points

2018 Grand Napa Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Napa Valley

with No Comment $40-$50Cabernet SauvignonCoombsvilleKevin VogtNapaRutherfordSaint HelenaUSA

GRAND NAPA 

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
RESERVE NAPA VALLEY 2018

Grand Napa Vineyards in Rutherford produces rich, full-bodied wines with depth and character from premium vineyards in Napa Valley, hand-selected by winemaker Dwight Bonewell. Dwight’s involvement in the vineyards ensures harvesting only the highest quality fruit before he works his magic in the winery, carefully nurturing each vineyard’s unique character into its purest expression.
 
Grand Napa’s 2018 Reserve Cabernet arose from prime sites in Rutherford, St. Helena, and Coombsville, compellingly representing the vintage and distinct origins. The 2018 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon spent 22 months in 50% new French oak and 50% two-year-old oak giving a graceful balance between fruit and spice components from the oak, plush tannins, and impressive depth and structure.
 
GRAND NAPA 
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
RESERVE NAPA VALLEY 2018
Retails at: $110
 
 
 
“Another terrific wine, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve offers lots of blackcurrants, spice box, tobacco leaf, and chocolatey nuances to go with a full-bodied style on the palate. It has the 2018 vintage’s fresher, more elegant style yet brings ample fruit and has an expansive, layered mouthfeel as well as a great finish. It’s another wine to enjoy any time over the coming 15-20 years.”
94 Points

2020 Foley Johnson Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford

with No Comment $40-$50Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaRutherfordUSA

FOLEY JOHNSON 

CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
RUTHERFORD 2020

Bill Foley is a titan in the wine industry, with around thirty successful brands, including Merus, Lancaster, Kuleto, and many others. Foley Johnson is paramount because it bears his name and is in the heart of Rutherford, one of the most significant regions in America for growing premium Cabernet Sauvignon with a distinct “Rutherford dust” characteristic.
 
The Foleys believe that sustainable farming in their vineyards preserves the local ecosystem and produces fruit that more accurately depicts the unique terroir in this small pocket of Napa Valley. The 2020 release upholds the standards of previous vintages with powerfully layered flavors accented by the signature “Rutherford dust,” a dynamic structure with ripe tannins. At less than $50, Foley Johnson is one of the best values in the region.
 
FOLEY JOHNSON 
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
RUTHERFORD 2020
Retails at: $75
 
Your Price: $45
 
 
“The Foley Johnson Estate Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 begins with a savory nose dominated by deep black cherry, ripe blackberry, fresh red currants, dried salame, and ground espresso, followed by tobacco leaf, vanilla hints, and white flowers. The structured palate has slightly dusty tannins, which frame a wine that reflects similarities in the nose with bright, fresh red fruits balanced by deeper black fruits and baker’s chocolate. These elements combine to create an elegantly complex wine that drinks great at release but will continue to age gracefully for the next eight years or so.”
93 Points
2019 Sullivan Coeur De Vigne Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford

2019 Sullivan Coeur De Vigne Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford

with No Comment $60-$70Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaRutherfordUSA

SULLIVAN

COEUR DE VIGNE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
RUTHERFORD 2019

2019 Sullivan Coeur De Vigne Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford
Jim Sullivan’s obsession with wine began in the 1950s, making wine at home from a small plot of vines gifted to him and his new bride as a wedding present. Jim moved his family to a dusty Rutherford farm in 1972, establishing Sullivan Estate, which has been quietly producing and selling wine to friends, family, and wine lovers for nearly five decades.
 
Winemaker Jeff Cole earned a degree in Wine and Viticulture from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo before working with Schramsberg and J. Davies Vineyards, joining Sullivan in 2013. The 2019 Coeur de Vigne is a Left Bank Bordeaux-inspired blend with a clear and powerful voice, articulated through Jeff’s precise winemaking with an emphasis on displaying the dynamic terroir and rich potential offered by the Rutherford estate.
 
SULLIVAN
COEUR DE VIGNE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
RUTHERFORD 2019
Retails at: $120
 
 
 
“Blended with 8% Petit Verdot and 2% each of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, this hearty red is brimming in thick tannin, considerable oak and expansively youthful layers of vanilla, cassis and plum. Impressive in its grasp of both variety and appellation, it is worth cellaring; enjoy best from 2029–2034.”
94 Points “Cellar Selection”
2019 Quinetessa Proprietary Red Rutherford

2019 Quinetessa Proprietary Red Rutherford

with No Comment $100 and overKevin VogtNapaProprietary RedRutherfordUSA

QUINTESSA

PROPRIETARY RED
RUTHERFORD 2019

2019 Quinetessa Proprietary Red Rutherford
Quintessa sees an opportunity for each vintage to deepen their connection with their land by looking, listening, and developing a better understanding of how each plot responds to its soils, aspect, and microclimate. The Huneeus Family founded the estate on 280 acres of diverse geology with several different terroirs, all organically farmed and individually monitored to ensure the perfect ripening of each plot for their flagship red wine.
 
The 2019 vintage saw early rains that established healthy soils and even shoot-growth with slightly cooler spring temperatures, then ideal summer conditions without significant heat spikes that helped maintain bright acidity. This Bordeaux-style blend is 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged 22 months in French oak, allowing for a refined integration of tannins and fruit character that have a youthful approachability and a potential for longevity and further development in the cellar.
 
QUINTESSA
PROPRIETARY RED
RUTHERFORD 2019
 
Your Price: $235
Limit 6 Bottles Per Customer
 
 
“This is a winemaker’s master class in blending and understanding of a long-standing site. Dried herb, cedar and pencil shavings accent lifted red fruit and brilliant acidity on the palate, with a supple yet still youthfully grippy texture that is framed by structured, graceful tannins. Enjoy from 2029–2039.”
100 Points
 
“So much earth and spice with walnut and wet earth. Like fog laying over the valley in the morning. Black fruit. Medium-to full-bodied with super-fine tannins that are long and persistent, with graceful progression and length on the palate. So long, with real definition. September 2022 release. From biodynamically grown grapes. Hard not to drink now, but will age wonderfully.”
99 Points
2007 Pella Cabernet Sauvignon Star Vineyard Napa Valley

2007 Pella Cabernet Sauvignon Star Vineyard Napa Valley

with No Comment $50-$60Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtRutherfordUSA

PELLA 

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
STAR VINEYARD RUTHERFORD
NAPA VALLEY 2007

2007 Pella Cabernet Sauvignon Star Vineyard Napa Valley
Kristof Nils Anderson, the former Lewis winemaker and founding winemaker at Gargiulo Vineyards in Oakville and Scribe in Sonoma, is known for making tannins “dance” on the palate in his terroir distinctive wines. His wines have extended aging potential and the proven ability to evolve magically in the cellar. Pella represents the epitome of his remarkable talent and artistry in crafting age-worth wines of the highest caliber.
 
The Star Vineyard in Rutherford is farmed by one of Napa Valley’s greatest viticulturists, David Abreu, producing sultry Cabernet Sauvignon fruit of admirable quality. This vineyard, ideally situated on a sweet spot of the Rutherford Bench, is the next vineyard to the South of BV’s #10 Vineyard and adjacent to BV#1, which goes into BV’s flagship Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. Optimally cellared, the 2007 vintage is at a pinnacle of drinkability with its decade-plus of bottle-age that worked some real magic in that time.
 
PELLA 
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
STAR VINEYARD RUTHERFORD
NAPA VALLEY 2007
Retails at: $100
 
 
 
“The Cabernet Sauvignons from Pella contain Rutherford fruit from the Star Vineyard and are a glimpse into a rare time-capsule from the mid-2000s. Unfortunately, winemaker Cristof Anderson only produced a handful of vintages. Still, those he created are a spectacular example of what perfectly-aged, high-quality Cabernet Sauvignon can become over time. The 2007 vintage begins with a nose including concentrated black cherry juice, ground espresso, dried sage, dark chocolate, crushed granite, iron, and elegant florals. A very concentrated, compact palate follows, with penetrating red fruits and deep, supple black fruits that combine black tea, blackberries, and red currants, along with an immense amount of complexity. The complex flavors and aromas form waves of intensity that wash over your palate, then recede, evolving in a way that few wines do. The finish is unexpectedly long and ultimately satisfying, with poise, elegance, grace, and intensity that leave you wanting more and more.”
97 Points
2006 Pella Cabernet Sauvignon Star Vineyard Rutherford Napa Valley

2006 Pella Cabernet Sauvignon Star Vineyard Rutherford Napa Valley

with No Comment $40-$50Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaRutherfordUSA

PELLA 

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
STAR VINEYARD RUTHERFORD
NAPA VALLEY 2006

2006 Pella Cabernet Sauvignon Star Vineyard Rutherford Napa Valley
Kristof Nils Anderson is the founding winemaker of Gargiulo Vineyards in Oakville and Scribe in Sonoma and is famous for the way he makes tannins “dance” on the palate in his terroir distinctive wines. His wines are known to have extended aging potential and the ability to evolve into magic in the glass, and Pella, a personal label named after his daughter, is the epitome of this signature style.
 
The fruit for this bold 100% Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from the exemplary Star Vineyard in Rutherford, farmed by none other than renowned viticulturist David Abreu. The wine was aged for two years in fine-grained Tonnellerie Demptos Barrique Reserve French oak barrels before its long journey in the bottle leading to this magic.
 
On a side note, we are lucky to have Joel Aiken, an expert in Rutherford terroir, on our tasting panel. Joel spent 27 years as BV’s winemaker, and he agrees this wine is precisely what a supremely well-made Rutherford Cabernet should be.
 
PELLA 
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
STAR VINEYARD RUTHERFORD
NAPA VALLEY 2006
Retails at: $100
 
 
 
“I don’t get overly excited about many wines, particularly if they have any extended age. Age, for the sake of age, is not my thing. Extended cellaring that transforms a bottle of wine into something otherworldly, now you have my attention. The 2006 Pella Star Vineyard Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon, yes 2006, no typo here, is drinking otherworldly now. Still inky in the glass, it begins with a powerful nose of briary black currants, freshly ground espresso beans, milk chocolate, and sweet vanilla spice. The palate is rich and decadent with deep black fruits, concentrated Creme de Cassis, delicate florals, and an unbelievably supple mouthfeel. The finish is very long, linear, expansive, and as compelling as you might hope to experience. Perfection is difficult to achieve and even harder for me to acknowledge, but this wine is about as close as I have seen. Simply brilliant!” I tasted two bottles over several days, and my notes are consistent. Wow!
98 Points