2019 Adobe Road The 24 Red Blend California

2019 Adobe Road The 24 Red Blend California

with No Comment $50-$60Kevin VogtProprietary RedUSA

ADOBE ROAD

THE 24 RED BLEND
CALIFORNIA 2019

2019 Adobe Road The 24 Red Blend California
Kevin Buckler is an ambitious professional driver who has secured wins at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona and Le Mans, the 2002 Porsche World Cup Champion title, and several wins in significant motorsports events in North America. He founded the Adobe Road Winery in 2002, extending his drive for perfection into the winemaking world, and created the Abode Road Racing Series to represent some of his most significant accomplishments.
 
The metal chronograph label on the bottle is a miniature replica of the Rolex timepiece that counts down at the exhilarating 24-hour races in Daytona and Le Mans. The 2019 vintage is a Rhone-style blend of Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Syrah, with hints of Malbec and Petite Sirah, expertly blended to represent the value of teamwork and success.
 
ADOBE ROAD
THE 24 RED BLEND
CALIFORNIA 2019
Retails at: $66
 
Your Price: $59.99
 
 
“The right blend of teamwork, preparation, and the ability to adapt has led to our team success. The same holds true for how we crafted The 24. The blend features fresh, fruity Grenache, mixed with an almost equal portion of dark, spicy Mourvedre. Syrah holds the backbone of smooth tannin and velvety mouthfeel. A dash of Malbec and Petite Sirah make the whole thing burst with intensity!”
2018 Gorman Proprietary Red Zacharys Ladder Red Mountain WA

2018 Gorman Proprietary Red Zachary’s Ladder Red Mountain WA

with No Comment $30-$40Columbia ValleyKevin VogtProprietary RedUSAWashington State

GORMAN

ZACHARY’S LADDER
PROPRIETARY RED
RED MOUNTAIN, WA 2018

2018 Gorman Proprietary Red Zacharys Ladder Red Mountain WA
Chris Gorman has over 30 years of experience in the wine industry, working as an importer for several years before switching gears into wine production. He made several small batches of wine before going commercial in 2002, establishing Gorman Winery and releasing the first vintage of Zachary’s Ladder, highlighting Washington State’s Columbia Valley wine region.
 
The fruit for this Proprietary Red was grown in the Red Mountain AVA, located in Eastern Washington inside the larger Columbia Valley Region, an area recognized for some of the state’s most extraordinary wines. The 2018 Zachary’s Ladder is a Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated blend aged in neutral French oak for 20 months, allowing the fruit to be the main focus of this full-bodied, supple, beautifully structured red wine.
 
GORMAN
ZACHARY’S LADDER
PROPRIETARY RED
RED MOUNTAIN, WA 2018
 
Your Price: $35
 
 
“The 2018 Zachary’s Ladder is a Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated blend that includes 15% Syrah and 5% Petit Verdot. It offers loads of darker fruits as well as notes of peppery herbs, violets, and spring flowers. It has a kiss of classy oak, is medium to full-bodied, and has a plush, mouth-filling texture. As with all of Chris’s wines, it brings the richness and texture yet stays beautifully balanced.”
93 Points
 
“It seems that 2018 was a bountiful vintage, and this wine offers its cornucopia of fruit. Cherry- and raspberry-gummy aromas are followed by plump, rounded fruit flavors that show impressive depth, layering and plenty of structure to support it all.”
92 Points, Editors’ Choice
 
“This broad-shouldered red offers both chutzpah and style. The backbone shows a density that’s typical of Red Mountain, suggesting time in the cellar, yet there’s just enough rich blackberry, cedar and mineral accents to make this approachable. Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2027.”
92 Points
2021 Domaines Ott By Ott Rose Provence

2021 Domaines Ott By Ott Rose Provence

with No Comment $30 and underFranceKevin VogtProvenceProvenceRosé

DOMAINES OTT

BY. OTT ROSÉ
PROVENCE 2021

2021 Domaines Ott By Ott Rose Provence
Provençal rosé is the world’s benchmark style for crisp, dry, fruity, focused rosé, and Provence is the only wine region in the world with rosé production as its primary focus. Domaines Ott consists of three separate family-owned estates in the south of France, each producing wines of definition and allegiance to each vineyard’s unique terroir.
 
Château de Selle bottles By.Ott in a new part of the winery built exclusively for its production, ensuring top quality due to a fully controlled process from blending to bottle storage. The 2021 rosé has fresh fruity notes with a touch of salinity and a crisp minerality, making it a fabulous choice for a warm summer day. It offers a sensational level of quality from one of the world’s best producers of dry Rosé.
 
DOMAINES OTT
BY. OTT ROSÉ
PROVENCE 2021
 
Your Price: $27.99
 
 
“The 2021 BY.OTT Rosé opens with aromas of white blossoms, peach, orange zest, sea breezes, and wet chalk. On the palate, bright flavors of strawberry, white raspberry, and passion fruit are in a delightful balance with refreshing acidity. This wine is ready to drink and enjoyable with or without food at any time of the day.”
92 Points
2018 Shafer Relentless Syrah Napa Valley

2018 Shafer Relentless Syrah Napa Valley

with No Comment $90-$100Kevin VogtNapaSyrahUSA

SHAFER 

RELENTLESS SYRAH
NAPA VALLEY 2018

2018 Shafer Relentless Syrah Napa Valley
Shafer’s Relentless Syrah made its debut in 1999 before capturing three spots on the Wine Spectator’s Top 100 list, including the #1 ranking in 2012. Now in its 20th vintage, this spectacular Syrah/Petite Sirah blend continues to steal the show with its intensely captivating, indulgent style and consistently stratospheric scores from numerous critics.
 
Named for Shafer’s longtime winemaker Elias Fernandez’s relentless dedication to high-quality winemaking, this wine is an individual selection of only the top-quality fruit, just like the Hillside Select. The blend changes each year, and the 2018 vintage is 76% Syrah with 24% Petite Sirah, but what remains the same is the wine’s bold, polished style that’s been consistent for over two decades.
 
SHAFER 
RELENTLESS SYRAH
NAPA VALLEY 2018
 
Your Price: $99.99
 
 
“A young wine with superb depth and polish that shows great depth and brightness. Full and focused with blue fruit and long, fine tannins that are compact and energetic. Slate. Graphite. Sophisticated and curated. So beautiful to try now, but be patient and open after 2026.”
97 Points
 
“…the 2018 Relentless looks to be just about sensational, offering a dense purple color as well as rich, loaded notes of blackberries, currants, smoked meats, peppery spice, and violets. Reminding me of a great Cornas on steroids with its gamy, exotic character paired with beautiful richness, it has fabulous purity, ripe, polished tannins, and a great finish. This will undoubtedly be a great vintage for this cuvée, and my money is on it being one of the best yet.”
96-98 Points
2020 Grand Napa Pinot Noir Los Carneros

2020 Grand Napa Pinot Noir Los Carneros

with No Comment $30-$40CarnerosKevin VogtNapaPinot NoirUSA

GRAND NAPA

PINOT NOIR
LOS CARNEROS 2020

2020 Grand Napa Pinot Noir Los Carneros
Grand Napa Vineyards in Rutherford is known for sourcing grapes from sustainably farmed vineyards throughout the Napa Valley that produce wines with depth, character, and balance with plush tannins and intense concentration. Winemaker Dwight Bonewell is involved in the vineyards and the winery, ensuring that only the best fruit is harvested and sorted by hand before coaxing each vineyard’s unique character into its purest expression.
 
The Los Carneros AVA receives cooling breezes from the San Pablo Bay that benefit cooler-climate grapes such as Pinot Noir, helping retain the variety’s crisp, bright acidity. The 2020 Los Carneros Pinot Noir was aged for six months in 20% new French oak, emphasizing the fruit characteristics and site-specific terroir of the AVA, resulting in a superbly balanced and deeply satisfying Pinot Noir at a price too low to pass up.
 
GRAND NAPA
PINOT NOIR
LOS CARNEROS 2020
Retails at: $90
 
 
 
“The 2020 Grand Napa Los Carneros Pinot Noir has a bright nose of pie cherries, cola, dried mushrooms, white flowers, and brown sugar. The seamless palate has flavors of red cherries, mixed berries, vanilla hints, and liquid minerals. It’s a lush, easy-drinking wine, balanced by the fresh acidity. The wine team bottled it in May of 2022 and, although drinking nicely now, will certainly benefit from more time in the bottle. Drink now through 2028.”
92 Points
2019 Smith Wooton Cabernet Franc Napa Valley

2019 Smith Wooton Cabernet Franc Napa Valley

with No Comment $30-$40Cabernet FrancKevin VogtNapaUSA

SMITH WOOTON

CABERNET FRANC
NAPA VALLEY 2019

2019 Smith Wooton Cabernet Franc Napa Valley
Smith Wooton is Croze Napa Valley Winery’s boutique label, designed to showcase small lots and highlight local growers that share the same passion for the land and the vines as the estate. Daniel Benton is the mastermind behind the wines and spends valuable time in the vineyards to understand the nuances each small parcel contributes to the whole.
 
Daniel creates Smith Wooton’s 2019 Cabernet Franc from a single-acre Cabernet Franc Vineyard in the heart of Napa Valley’s Oak Knoll District, where the grapes are cooled nightly by breezes from the San Pablo Bay, producing ideal levels of fresh acidity. The grapes were fermented at cool temperatures, promoting the fruit’s natural purity and creating intricate layers of complexity, revealing the classic characteristics of Cabernet Franc in an eloquent fashion.
 
SMITH WOOTON
CABERNET FRANC
NAPA VALLEY 2019
Retails at: $55
 
 
 
“The 2019 Smith Wooton Cabernet Franc brings notes of peony, rose petal, red currant, cloves, earthy spice, and leather. The wine has an elegant mouthfeel with flavors of bramble, black cherry, and cocoa with bright, fresh acidity and soft tannins that glide each flavor into a pleasant finish. This wine is drinking enjoyably right now and has a sold backbone making it suitable to age for another decade or so.”
94 Points
2021 Martin Ray Chardonnay Concrete Fermented Dutton Ranch Vineyard

2021 Martin Ray Chardonnay Concrete Fermented Dutton Ranch Vineyard

with No Comment $30 and underChardonnayKevin VogtRussian River ValleySonomaUSA

MARTIN RAY

CHARDONNAY 2021
CONCRETE FERMENTED
DUTTON RANCH VINEYARD

2021 Martin Ray Chardonnay Concrete Fermented Dutton Ranch Vineyard
There’s good reason for the resurgence in concrete egg fermentation, primarily because of its convex shape, which creates a vortex that naturally stirs the wine and causes the lees to disperse throughout the vessel—this natural circulation results in a wine with a fuller body and softer texture. Martin Ray’s consistently high-scoring Dutton Ranch Chardonnay is a pristine example, with a sharp focus complemented by the richness from lees providing a noticeable balance.
 
Dutton Ranch Vineyard sits in the Green Valley subregion of the greater Russian River Valley AVA, an area known for its Goldridge sandy loam soils and proximity to the ocean, producing some of Sonoma County’s most distinguished grapes. This 2021 Chardonnay is perfect for summer with its uplifting aromas and levity that pair effortlessly with the season, offering an abundance of value and enjoyment.
 
MARTIN RAY
CHARDONNAY 2021
CONCRETE FERMENTED
DUTTON RANCH VINEYARD
Retails at: $35
 
Your Price: $26
 
 
“Sliced apples, apricot stones, jasmine, lemons and white tea on the nose. It’s medium-bodied with a very clean, focused and mineral palate. Elegant. Made in concrete eggs. Drink now. Screw cap.”
93 Points
2018 Saddleback Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville

2018 Saddleback Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville

with No Comment $50-$60Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaOakvilleUSA

SADDLEBACK

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
OAKVILLE 2018

2018 Saddleback Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville
Nils Venge was the first American winemaker to earn a 100-point score in 1985 with the Groth Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, establishing a pedestal of quality winemaking that few others have achieved. He established Saddleback Cellars in the late 1970s from vineyards situated on 14 acres behind Opus One, where the soils and climate combine to produce grapes of regal qualities.
 
The estate hasn’t changed much since Nils first began growing grapes, and that’s just the way nature intended it to be. Napa’s 2018 vintage delivered pristine conditions for producing superior wines that make a powerful statement and earning an overall vintage rating of 99 Points from The Wine Spectator, matched only by Napa Valley’s 1997 vintage.
 
SADDLEBACK
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
OAKVILLE 2018
Retails at: $78
 
 
 
“The 2018 Saddleback Cellars Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon opens with sultry notes of violets, cassis, black cherry, black plum, cardamom, and petrichor. On the palate, the wine’s rich, penetrating core expresses flavors of blackberry tart and chocolate gelato with a delightfully balancing acidity and long finish. This wine is incredible right now and has a solid structure for aging, rendering years of pleasure-filled drinking experiences.”
94 Points
2017 Immortal Estate Slope Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County

2017 Immortal Estate Slope Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County

with No Comment $70-$80Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtSonomaSonoma MountainUSA

IMMORTAL ESTATE

SLOPE CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
SONOMA COUNTY 2017

2017 Immortal Estate Slope Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County
The magnificently steep vineyards of Immortal Estate are among the steepest in California, planted on a dramatic 55-degree slope on the Mayacamas range. The winery was formerly known as Hidden Ridge, and in 2019, Tusk Proprietor Tim Martin partnered up with Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander and Supermodel Kate Upton as the winery’s owners.
 
Winemaker Tim Milos made wine at Opus One, Stag’s Leap, and Cliff Lede and has two 100-Point wines under his belt, so it’s no wonder Immortal wines receive high scores from enthusiasts and critics with each new vintage. Individual barrels from eight lots were selected for the final blend of the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon producing complexly flavored, concentrated, age-worthy Cabernet Sauvignon.
 
IMMORTAL ESTATE
SLOPE CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
SONOMA COUNTY 2017
 
Your Price: $79.99
 
 
“A big beast of a wine, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Slope has loads of blackcurrant and blackberry-styled fruits as well as toasted spice, graphite, licorice, and crushed stone-like aromas and flavors. Structured, full-bodied, and tannic, it has masses of baby fat that will take at least 7-8 years to melt away, yet it’s one satisfying mouthful of a Cabernet today.”
94 Points

2015 I FavatiI Aglianico Iripina Campi Taurasini

with No Comment $30-$40ItalyKevin Vogt

I FAVATI

IRPINIA CAMPI TAURASINI
CRETAROSSA AGLIANICO 2015

This wine is a mouthful of flavor and syllables, so let me unpack both a bit. I Favati estate is located in the Irpinia region in central Campania, nearby the classic, key winemaking towns of Avellino, Tufo, and Taurasi. Aglianico is one of Italy’s noble red grapes and Campania’s most celebrated red variety, given the nickname “Barolo of the South” because of its notably high tannins and acidity, leading to long-lived wines with complexity and deep flavors.
 
‘Cretarossa’ is the name of the single-vineyard parcel near the village of Taurasi, where I Favati sourced fruit for this remarkable wine, and also represents the namesake DOCG of one of the most famous regions for Aglianico. This stunning example of Aglianico falls under the newer Irpinia-Campi Taursini DOC because of its less stringent aging regulations to produce a more approachable and accessible wine but with all the earth, dark fruit, spice, and mineral-driven components classic to the varietal.
 
I FAVATI
IRPINIA CAMPI TAURASINI
CRETAROSSA AGLIANICO 2015
 
Your Price: $32
 
 
“The 2015 I Favati, Irpinia Campi Taurasini Aglianico ‘Cretarossa’ opens with fresh bergamot, rose petals, black cherry, cloves, dusty earth, cigar box, and leather. On the palate, the wine has flavors of plum, black olive, black peppercorn, and balsamic glaze. This rustic style of wine is supported with bright acidity, well-structured tannins, and intensity of flavor that allows the wine to age gracefully for those who have the patience. The 2015 vintage has a few years in the bottle and is seriously impressive at the moment.”
95 Points