2019 Calera Pinot Noir Central Coast

2019 Calera Pinot Noir Central Coast

CALERA

PINOT NOIR
CENTRAL COAST 2019

2019 Calera Pinot Noir Central Coast
A pioneer in domestic Pinot Noir, Josh Jensen founded Calera’s vineyard at an elevation of 2,200 feet on Mt Harlan after discovering the area’s limestone soils were similar to those in Burgundy, providing the depth and complexity to some of the world’s most well-respected wines.
 
Calera wines represent an American spirit with a French influence, and the Central Coast Pinot Noir sets a precedent for this old-world style in California and offers remarkable value. This 2019 vintage balances power and elegance with gorgeous red fruits, spice, silky tannins, and linear focus.
 
CALERA
PINOT NOIR
CENTRAL COAST 2019
Retails at: $30
 
Your Price: $26.99
 
 
“The Calera Central Coast Pinot Noir 2019 is a beautiful interpretation of New World Pinot Noir made in an Old World style. It begins with a nose of tart cherry, pomegranate, hibiscus petals, and hints of cloves. The bright, focused palate elegantly displays red cherry/berry characteristics followed by black tea and an interesting saline/liquid mineral complexity that draws you in for another sip. This wine is certainly one of the best value Pinot Noirs available in a daily-drinker price range.”
92 Points
2017 Juslyn Perrys Blend Spring Mountain

2017 Juslyn Perrys Blend Spring Mountain

JUSLYN

PERRY’S BLEND
SPRING MOUNTAIN 2017

2017 Juslyn Perrys Blend Spring Mountain
Juslyn Vineyards’ proprietors, Perry and Carolyn Butler, came to Napa in 1997 from the tech industry, bringing a high level of quality expectations and detail-oriented nature. Winemaker Angelina Mondavi exceeded those expectations beginning her career at age 10 in the lab at her family’s winery, Charles Krug, and now has 28 harvests under her belt. She also has an undergraduate degree from Villanova University with a major in Chemistry and a Master’s degree in Oenology from the University of Adelaide’s Waite Campus.
 
Since her return to Napa in 2007, Angelina’s had the opportunity to work with many acclaimed winemakers, including Stacy Clark at Pine Ridge and Jayson Woodbridge of Hundred Acre. She carefully crafts Perry’s Blend as a Left Bank Bordeaux-style Red that changes each vintage but is based around a core of Cabernet Sauvignon enhanced primarily with Cabernet Franc, proudly conveying the Spring Mountain prestige and classic character.
 
JUSLYN
PERRY’S BLEND
SPRING MOUNTAIN 2017
Retails at: $110
 
 
 
The 2017 Juslyn Vineyards Perry’s Blend is an exceptional example from Spring Mountain opening with an incredible depth of aromas, with wild black currants, black tea, balsamic, cloves, fresh roses, and volcanic rock. The palate mimics the nose with its deeply concentrated flavors adding blackberries, black olives, dark chocolate, and a hint of aniseed. A linear structure of flavors reveals a very concentrated and focused wine with a solid tannic structure and bright acidity that will keep this wine fresh, alive, and age-worthy for at least another 12 to 15 years.” 
94 Points
2016 Immortal Estate Slope Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County

2016 Immortal Estate Slope Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County

IMMORTAL ESTATE

SLOPE CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
SONOMA COUNTY 2016

2016 Immortal Estate Slope Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County
Immortal Estate’s vineyards are among the steepest in California, terracing a 55-degree slope on Spring Mountain that receives ample sunshine with increased airflow and water drainage for the fruit’s greatest possible concentration of flavors. This 100pt capable estate was previously named Hidden Ridge, and, in 2019, Tusk Proprietor Tim Martin, Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander, and Supermodel Kate Upton purchased it.
 
Two-time 100-point winemaker Tim Milos selects harvest dates by tasting grapes from each block and carefully sorts the fruit before fermentation, ensuring that only perfectly healthy grapes make it to fermentation. The 2016 vintage was glorious for Sonoma, and this mountain Cabernet Sauvignon was aged 28 months in 75% new French oak to help soften the tannins for smooth drinkability. It’s no surprise that Immortal Slope receives high scores from enthusiasts and critics with each release.
 
IMMORTAL ESTATE
SLOPE CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
SONOMA COUNTY 2016
 
Your Price: $79.99
 
 
“Starting with the 2016 Slope, this beauty is all Cabernet Sauvignon that saw 28 months in 75% new French oak. Dense purple-hued with a rocking bouquet of blackcurrants, sagebrush, sappy green herbs, lead pencil, and tobacco, it hits the palate with a mammoth-sized personality that carries lots of tannins, a plush, sexy texture, no hard edges, and a great finish.”
95 Points
2018 Domaine Anderson Estate Chardonnay Anderson Valley

2018 Domaine Anderson Estate Chardonnay Anderson Valley

DOMAINE ANDERSON

ESTATE CHARDONNAY
ANDERSON VALLEY 2018

2018 Domaine Anderson Estate Chardonnay Anderson Valley
Domaine Anderson lies where Redwood forests meet the Mendocino Coast, creating a unique pocket of land with warm days significantly cooled by nightly coastal fog. Searching for prime Pinot Noir and Chardonnay terroir in California, this ideal climatic combination led Jean-Claude Rouzaud of the Roederer family to the area in 1981, embarking on a journey to produce supremely balanced, Burgundy-influenced wines from California’s Northern Coast.
 
Jean-Claude’s son, Frederic, continues the pursuit of high-quality wine production at Domaine Anderson’s 50 acres of vineyards meandering through the Anderson Valley with distinct microclimates tucked within the valley floor, gentle knolls, and steep hillsides. The 2018 Estate Chardonnay grapes were handpicked, fermented in small French barriques, and aged ten months in a small proportion of new oak to allow the wine’s vibrant fruit character to shine, uncannily reminiscent of a lovely White Burgundy.
 
DOMAINE ANDERSON
ESTATE CHARDONNAY
ANDERSON VALLEY 2018
 
Your Price: $32
 
 
“Nutty, toasty, buttery aromas meld beautifully with rich pear, cream and butterscotch flavors in this well-rounded, concentrated and layered wine. Its richness and complexity are enhanced by an underlying lively acidity for excellent balance.”
92 Points
2020 My Favorite Neighbor Blanc Chardonnay Blend San Luis Obispo

2020 My Favorite Neighbor Blanc Chardonnay Blend San Luis Obispo

MY FAVORITE NEIGHBOR

BLANC [CHARDONNAY-BLEND]
SAN LUIS OBISPO 2020

2020 My Favorite Neighbor Blanc Chardonnay Blend San Luis Obispo
Farming is life for Eric Jensen, so he works exclusively with farmers who share the common goal of growing the best fruit possible using organic or biodynamic practices, coaxing the vines to perform at their apex. Gaining experience from neighbors Stephan Asseo of L’Aventure, and friend Justin Smith of Saxum, Eric’s wines make a bold statement of quality with an ideal balance of opulence, intensity, and richness.
 
Eric designs his wines to capture high-quality wine’s most intriguing qualities but with a value price to be shared with friends, family, and your favorite neighbors any day of the week. This Chardonnay-based blend is sourced from select vineyard sites in San Luis Obispo and is rich, sleek, and ready to drink now or in five to six years for aged complexity.
 
MY FAVORITE NEIGHBOR
BLANC [CHARDONNAY-BLEND]
SAN LUIS OBISPO 2020
 
Your Price: $49.99
 
 
“The Chardonnay-based 2020 Blanc has lush tropical fruits on the nose with accents of toast, almonds and sweet spice. The palate offers generous fruits, a sleek, polished texture, youthful new oak spices and expansive flavors on the long finish. Super classy!”
95 Points
2018 Beau Vigne Romeo Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2018 Beau Vigne Romeo Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

BEAU VIGNE

ROMEO CABERNET SAUVIGNON
NAPA VALLEY 2018

2018 Beau Vigne Romeo Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
With over two decades of winemaking experience, Julien Fayard has earned respect among winemakers in Napa Valley. He began in his family’s Provençal winery, then spent valuable time in Bordeaux at Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte. After relocating to Napa Valley, Julien worked as the Director of Winemaking for Philippe Melka and currently oversees small boutique wineries, including Beau Vigne, combining his elegant French winemaking style with bold California elements.
 
The Beau Vigne Romeo Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 is a charming blend of premier vineyards in Oakville, Rutherford, and St. Helena that’s impossible not to love. Beau Vigne’s limited production is a prize to behold, especially in exceptional vintages such as 2018 that will continue to deliver with an elegant demeanor and complementary depth.
 
BEAU VIGNE
ROMEO CABERNET SAUVIGNON
NAPA VALLEY 2018
Retails at: $100
 
 
 
“Dark chocolate cherry and roasted coffee intensity glides in on a sleek mouthfeel. Seductive notes of blackberry and licorice rise up to a massive shouldered – yet balanced – red. In his youth, Romeo is cloaked in dark violet flowers that bloom as the wine opens up.”
97 Points
2019 My Favorite Neighbor Cabernet Sauvignon San Luis Obispo

2019 My Favorite Neighbor Cabernet Sauvignon San Luis Obispo

MY FAVORITE NEIGHBOR

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
SAN LUIS OBISPO 2019

2019 My Favorite Neighbor Cabernet Sauvignon San Luis Obispo
Turning heads with yet another massive score, Eric Jensen of My Favorite Neighbor created an ideal combination of perfectly ripe fruit, flavor intensity, and lavish textures, giving some of the best $50 Cabernets anywhere a real challenge. As a homage, he created this Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend from exceptional vineyards around Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, and Edna Valley, crafted to deliver unreal quality and shake up domestic the Cabernet Sauvignon market in this price range.
 
Eric is dedicated to growing fruit for some of the best wineries in Paso Robles, gaining experience from neighboring farmers and vintners, particularly from his original favorite neighbor, Stephan Asseo of L’Aventure Winery. Farming is life for him, and the farmers he works with all share the common goal of growing the best fruit possible using organic or biodynamic practices, coaxing the vines to perform at their ultimate best. The results are simply stunning, and with the new 96 point score, don’t hesitate to secure yours.
 
MY FAVORITE NEIGHBOR
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
SAN LUIS OBISPO 2019
 
Your Price: $49.99
 
 
“Blended with a bit of Syrah and Petit Verdot, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon has a deep ruby-purple color and an alluring fragrance of cassis, violet, aniseed, bitter chocolate and coffee beans. It’s notable this vintage for Goldilocks ripeness and seamless lift, offering a chocolate-like texture and very long finish.”
96 Points
 
“…more elegant and focused, with medium to full-bodied aromas and flavors of cassis, redcurrants, green tobacco, and cedary spice. I love its texture, it has ripe, polished tannins, plenty of sweet fruit, and a great, great finish, all while staying in a relatively compact, and again, elegant package. As I’ve written in the past, it would cost three to four times the price from Napa. It’s worth noting the change in appellation from Paso Robles to San Luis Obispo County, which probably allows for a wider range of fruit.”
95 Points
 
“2019 My Favorite Neighbor is deeply aromatic with incense, ripe black plums, blackcurrants, and chocolate-covered cherries. The wine has a rich, decadent mouthfeel with voluminous flavors of blueberry crumble, mocha, and butterscotch. The wine has an edgy minerality, like wet stones after a rainstorm, enhanced by the soft, chalky tannins, finishing with a succulent, velvety texture. Drink now until 2031.”
94 points
2019 Baxter Chardonnay Oppenlander Vineyard

2019 Baxter Chardonnay Oppenlander Vineyard

BAXTER

OPPENLANDER VINEYARD
CHARDONNAY 2019

2019 Baxter Chardonnay Oppenlander Vineyard
Philip Baxter gained inspiration for winemaking as a young boy working alongside his father, an influential figure and a supporter of his endeavors. After attending UC Davis, Phil took an internship in Burgundy. In France, he contributed to wine production from more than 30 vineyards ranging from village level to Grand Cru, developing French-winemaking techniques he would later bring to California.
 
Baxter wines are exclusively handmade, benefiting from Philip’s 17 years of experience and gentle, traditional French techniques that celebrate the varietal and the terroir. The grapes came from a small block on the Oppenlander vineyard. They were harvested by hand, fermented in neutral French oak, and aged on the lees for 12 months, adding body to the fresh, pure fruit flavors for a domestic Chablisienne-style Chardonnay that’ll rock your world when you try it.
 
BAXTER
OPPENLANDER VINEYARD
CHARDONNAY 2019
 
Your Price: $39.99
 
 
“The 2019 Baxter Oppenlander Chardonnay has an alluring nose opening with chamomile, orange zest, green apple, Meyer lemon, brioche, vanilla ice cream, and crushed rocks. The aromas transfer to the palate with the added complexity of white peach, apricot, and nectarine with a hint of freshly baked brioche. The bright acidity complements the zesty minerality and crisp fruit flavors that portray elegance in a glass and varietal purity.”
94 Points
2017 Maroon Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Coombsville Napa Valley

2017 Maroon Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Coombsville Napa Valley

MAROON

2017 RESERVE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON    
COOMBSVILLE, NAPA VALLEY

2017 Maroon Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Coombsville Napa Valley
Pursuing his passion for agriculture, Paul Maroon acquired 37 acres in Coombsville 20 years ago, selling fruit to some of Napa Valley’s top wineries before realizing the full potential of his Estate in 2009 and producing his first vintage under his moniker. Today, Maroon’s team focuses on raising 100% single-varietal wines crafted to balance power and finesse, allowing their exceptional vineyard prominence. Their simplistic approach is ideal for their Estate’s gravelly loam soils and cool climate, naturally encouraging balanced flavors. 
 
Coombsville is cooler than much of Napa, which was a significant advantage in 2017 with a slight heatwave at the end of the growing season; however, Maroon’s vineyards were nearly unaffected and continued to ripen slowly and evenly. The wine was aged 30 months in 1/3 new French oak barrels and 2/3 neutral barrels, emphasizing the gorgeous fruit character with incredible depth and layers of flavor. At our price, Maroon Cabernet has developed an immense following that’s ever-increasing, unpretentiously delivering exceptional quality, seldom available at this price.
 
MAROON
2017 RESERVE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON    
COOMBSVILLE, NAPA VALLEY
Retails at: $100
 
 
 
The Maroon Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 starts with a penetrating nose of bing cherries, black currants, tobacco leaves, vanilla hints, and crushed slate. The gorgeous fruit is compact and penetrating on the palate with concentrated red currants, blackberries, and black plums, combined with rocky minerals and wood spice. It has bright, fresh flavors with intense fruit and a long, powerful finish, wrapped in velvety tannins.”
94 Points
2018 Beaulieu Vineyards Georges De Latour Private Reserve

2018 Beaulieu Vineyards Georges De Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

BEAULIEU VINEYARDS

GEORGES DE LATOUR
PRIVATE RESERVE 2018
CABERNET SAUVIGNON

2018 Beaulieu Vineyards Georges De Latour Private Reserve
Few wines in the Napa Valley have the same historical prestige as Beaulieu Vineyard’s Georges de Latour Private Reserve, setting the benchmark for Napa Cabernet Sauvignon for over 80 years. André Tchelistcheff didn’t know it at the time, but his talented winemaking helped create one of the most collected American wines and one of the first true “cult” Cabernets in the New World.
 
André coined the term “Rutherford dust” because of the unique aroma that gives wines a provenance that can’t be matched anywhere else in the world. The 2018 release is an elegantly structured wine with layers of complexity and finely integrated tannins that create a solid backbone for aging, making it a fine addition to any collector’s cellar. As a side note, former BV winemaker for 27 years, Joel Aiken, is part of our weekly tasting panel, and his insight is invaluable.
 
BEAULIEU VINEYARDS
GEORGES DE LATOUR
PRIVATE RESERVE 2018
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
Retails at: $145
 
Your Price: $139.99
 
 
“The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve is fabulous. Inky, rich and explosive, the 2018 is a fine addition to the lineage of one of Napa Valley’s most historic wines. Inky red fruit, chocolate, leather and licorice all open in the glass. Aeration brings out floral top notes, raspberry and a hint of blood orange. There is plenty of depth, but the tannins are finer than they were a few years ago. Shorter time on the skins and a reduction in barrel fermentations really allow the pedigree of these Rutherford sites to come through. The 2018 is sensational.”
98 Points
 
“Blackberry, blackcurrant and mint with some sage and crushed-stone undertones. Full-bodied with chewy tannins that are in-check and nicely polished. Smoke, toasted oak and bark at the end, complementing the fresh yet ripe fruit. Drink after 2024.”
98 Points
 
“The famous wine lives up to its historic promise in this wonderfully complex and structured vintage, the wine showing an abundance of tension and youthful grip. Earthy in dried herb, cedar and sage, it shares notes of black currant, cassis and forest within a textured and brightly layered foundation of elegant ageablity. Enjoy best from 2028–2038.”
97 Points, Cellar Selection