2018 Barnett Vineyards Rattlesnake Cabernet Sauvignon

2018 Barnett Vineyards Rattlesnake Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain

with No Comment $100 and overCabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaSpring MountainUSA

BARNETT VINEYARDS

2018 RATTLESNAKE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
SPRING MOUNTAIN DISTRICT

2018 Barnett Vineyards Rattlesnake Cabernet Sauvignon
Barnett’s 2018 Rattlesnake Cabernet Sauvignon walks a tightrope of perfection, led by superior concentration, fruit intensity, and overall balance, staying on your mind for weeks after tasting it. The wine emerges from a small rocky knoll on the estate at 2,050′ elevation, blended with the most exceptional barrels of their Estate fruit, meticulously scrutinized by winemaker David Tate throughout elevage.
 
Rattlesnake Hill Cabernet made its debut in 1991, prompting a handwritten congratulatory letter from Robert Parker stating, “I’ve only been compelled to do this twice in my career before, but enclosed you will find a personal check for 2 cases for my cellar.” Their team’s unwavering use of traditional techniques and micro-managing production has solidified them as a paragon on Spring Mountain for more than 30 years, and this wine represents the pinnacle of their achievements. 
 
BARNETT VINEYARDS
2018 RATTLESNAKE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
SPRING MOUNTAIN DISTRICT
 
Your Price: $195
 
 
Our tasting panel tastes thousands and thousands of wines every year, many of them super high-scoring. Even so, there are very few that are so mind-bogglingly great from the first sip that they virtually require you to continue discovering their secrets. The 2018 Barnett Rattlesnake Cabernet Sauvignon from Spring Mountain is undoubtedly one of those super-compelling wines that dials everything into perfection. It begins with a very intriguing nose, including black currants, graphite, light menthol, cocoa powder, and the aromas of walking through a cedar grove after rainfall. It continues with a very compact, concentrated palate of muddled blackberries, black raspberries, baker’s chocolate, and saline minerals, along with hints of green peppercorn. Then, just saying the finish is long and complex is an understatement. The waves of balanced fruits and flavors not only dance across your palate for over a minute, but they also penetrate your very being. This stunner is a spectacular bottle of wine, and I can’t wait until the next time I get to taste it again.”
98 Points, #1 WCC Top 5 Wines of 2021
2018 Barnett Vineyards Rattlesnake Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain

2018 Barnett Vineyards Rattlesnake Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain District

with No Comment $100 and overCabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaSpring MountainUSA

BARNETT VINEYARDS

2018 RATTLESNAKE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
SPRING MOUNTAIN DISTRICT

2018 Barnett Vineyards Rattlesnake Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain
Representing the highest level wine possible from Barnett Vineyards, Rattlesnake Hill comes from a small rocky knoll on the estate at 2050 elevation, blended with the crème de la crème barrels of their Estate fruit, meticulously scrutinized by winemaker David Tate throughout elevage. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2018 vintage rattles your senses with euphoric complexity, penetrating fruit, and indescribable length. 
 
Rattlesnake Hill Cabernet made its debut in 1991, prompting a handwritten congratulatory letter from Robert Parker stating, “I’ve only been compelled to do this twice in my career before, but enclosed you will find a personal check for 2 cases for my cellar.” Their team’s unwavering use of traditional techniques and micro-managing production has solidified them as a paragon on Spring Mountain for more than 30 years, and this wine represents the pinnacle of their achievements.  
 
BARNETT VINEYARDS
2018 RATTLESNAKE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
SPRING MOUNTAIN DISTRICT
 
Your Price: $195
 
 
“Our tasting panel tastes thousands and thousands of wines every year, many of them super high-scoring. Even so, there are very few that are so mind-bogglingly great from the first sip that they virtually require you to continue discovering their secrets. The 2018 Barnett Rattlesnake Cabernet Sauvignon from Spring Mountain is undoubtedly one of those super-compelling wines that dials everything into perfection. It begins with a very intriguing nose, including black currants, graphite, light menthol, cocoa powder, and the aromas of walking through a cedar grove after rainfall. It continues with a very compact, concentrated palate of muddled blackberries, black raspberries, baker’s chocolate, and saline minerals, along with hints of green peppercorn. Then, just saying the finish is long and complex is an understatement. The waves of balanced fruits and flavors not only dance across your palate for over a minute, but they also penetrate your very being. This stunner is a spectacular bottle of wine, and I can’t wait until the next time I get to taste it again.”
98 Points
2018 Janzen Beckstoffer To Kalon Cabernet Sauvignon

2018 Janzen Beckstoffer To Kalon Cabernet Sauvignon

with No Comment $100 and overCabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaOakvilleUSA

JANZEN

BECKSTOFFER TO KALON
2018 CABERNET SAUVIGNON 

2018 Janzen Beckstoffer To Kalon Cabernet Sauvignon
“To Kalon” is Greek for “highest good,” a name fitting for Andy Beckstoffer’s To Kalon Vineyard, which is one of the greatest Cabernet vineyards in the New World, described by many as Napa’s First Growth. Initially planted in 1868, the vineyard is located on the Oakville bench and has a rich history of producing powerful wines with depth, balance, and vast complexity. 
 
Beckstoffer To Kalon designated wines can easily top $500 per bottle, and the site consistently produces some of the highest-scoring Cabernets in the Valley. The viticulture crew impeccably farms this vineyard, and well-draining soils combine with evening shadows that preserve acidity and intense fruit flavors. Janzen’s 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Beckstoffer To Kalon is “head-turning,” as Jeb Dunnuck writes, and a stunning example of the vineyard’s paramount quality.
 
JANZEN
BECKSTOFFER TO KALON
2018 CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
 
Your Price: $225
 
 
“…the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Janzen Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard is more expressive and ready to go, offering a beautiful bouquet of cassis, blueberries, flowery incense, tobacco leaf, sandalwood, and violet-like nuances. Beautifully balanced and full-bodied, with that classic To Kalon sexiness as well as purity on the palate, this is another head-turning wine in this lineup that can be drunk today or cellared for 15-20 years.”
98 Points
2015 Heitz Cellar Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

2015 Heitz Cellar Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

with No Comment $100 and overCabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaOakvilleUSA

HEITZ CELLAR

MARTHA’S VINEYARD
2015 CABERNET SAUVIGNON

2015 Heitz Cellar Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
Martha’s Vineyard is one of the most prized vineyards in all of Napa Valley, boasting some of the New World’s longest-lasting, alluring Cabernet Sauvignons, capable of 100 point scores. Heitz has had a contract with Martha’s Vineyard since 1966, after Tom and Martha May, founders of Martha’s Vineyard, tasted Heitz Cabernet and were so impressed with the quality, they sealed a deal with their precious fruit.
 
Located on Oakville Bench bordering To-Kalon and below Harlan and BOND wineries, Martha’s Vineyard is fringed with eucalyptus trees believed to be the source of the wine’s signature minty, menthol character that makes it so memorable. The 2015 release is powerfully complex and loaded with the Vineyard’s hallmark savory undertones and is an absolute classic.
 
HEITZ CELLAR
MARTHA’S VINEYARD
2015 CABERNET SAUVIGNON
 
Your Price: $260
 
 
“Enticing, with the frankly ripe profile of the vintage showing off in a display of slightly exotic plum and blackberry coulis flavors, while dark licorice, menthol and sassafras notes course through. Sweet spice accents sparkle through the finish, revealing a lingering hint of singed juniper. The long finish features rippling acidity…” 
95 Points
2019 Dakota Shy Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2019 Dakota Shy Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

with No Comment $100 and overCabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaUSA

DAKOTA SHY

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2019 NAPA VALLEY

2019 Dakota Shy Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Dakota Shy founder, Todd Newman, was raised outside of the small farming town of Minot, North Dakota, where from a very young age understood the meaning behind a long, hard day of work. Discovering his passion for wine at 22 years old while working at a Michelin starred restaurant in Napa Valley, Todd came to work for Revana Family Vineyards, where he met assistant winemaker Tom Garrett.
 
With access to some of the most prestigious vineyards and several years of working under some of Napa Valley’s biggest winemaking legends, Newman and Garrett partnered to found Dakota Shy. Named to represent the balance between the strength and humility of winemaking, the two have reached their shared goal of producing wine to rival the best of what Napa Valley has to offer, producing truly exceptional and profound Cabernet Sauvignon.
 
DAKOTA SHY
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2019 NAPA VALLEY
 
Your Price: $110
 
 
“The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) is soft, pliant and wonderfully inviting, with terrific energy that adds brightness to the red/purplish berry fruit, spice and rose petal flavors. This mid-weight, vibrant Cabernet is a terrific introduction to the year.”
90-92 Points
2018 Quintessa Proprietary Red Rutherford

2018 Quintessa Proprietary Red Rutherford

with No Comment $100 and overKevin VogtNapaProprietary RedRutherfordUSA

QUINTESSA

PROPRIETARY RED
2018 RUTHERFORD

2018 Quintessa Proprietary Red Rutherford
Quintessa was founded on 280 acres of diverse geology, providing many different terroirs, each individually monitored to ensure the perfect ripening of the grapes for their flagship red wine. In addition, the application of organic and biodynamic farming enables them to capture the nuances of each plot in every bottle produced.
 
Quintessa sees each vintage as an opportunity to listen to the land, create a deeper connection, and better understand how each plot is affected by its composition, aspect, and microclimate. 2018 was a milder vintage that slowed down ripening, allowing for more complex flavor development, perfect ripeness, and refreshing acidity for one of the finest and purest examples to date.
 
QUINTESSA
PROPRIETARY RED
2018 RUTHERFORD
 
Your Price: $210
 
 
“This is beautifully polished with firm, dusty tannins to the blue fruit, as well as chocolate and cedar character. Some much earthier character, too, from mushrooms to bark. Forest flowers. Perfumed. It’s full-bodied with round tannins and a soft, creamy finish. Some iron and iodine to this. So attractive at the finish. From biodynamically grown grapes.”
99 Points
2017 Beaulieu Vineyards Georges De Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

2017 Beaulieu Vineyards Georges De Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

with No Comment $100 and overCabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaRutherfordUSA

BEAULIEU VINEYARDS

GEORGES DE LATOUR
2017 PRIVATE RESERVE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON

2017 Beaulieu Vineyards Georges De Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
A wine of grand distinction, BV’s Georges De Latour Cabernet is a liquid legacy epitomizing Rutherford’s distinctive terroir with a transpicuous window into the fragrance of Rutherford and deep connection to the area’s roots. Paid homage by winemaking and fruit selection of the highest level that and even after 80 vintages the wine is as solid as ever. This 2017 offers a choreographed union of power and grace, and with double high-90s reviews, it’s a joy to behold. 
 
Beaulieu Vineyards is a timeless classic, embodying every trait that makes Rutherford so wondrous. Created from vines planted in the early 1900s, George de Latour’s first vintage was in 1936, released in 1940 to honor the winery founder’s passing. 
 
Under the guidance of one of the world’s most iconic winemakers, Andre Tchelistcheff, BV built on a reputation of excellence and achievements. Composed inside the winery’s new state-of-the-art facility, Georges de Latour perfectly balances time-honored traditions with modern technologies.
 
Fun side note, friend and former head winemaker at BV (27 years there) Joel Aiken tastes with us on our tasting panel each week.
 
BEAULIEU VINEYARDS
GEORGES DE LATOUR
2017 PRIVATE RESERVE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
Retails at: $145
 
Your Price: $125
 
 
“This is one of the most balanced Georges de Latour, offering currants, minerals, fresh herbs and spices. It’s full-bodied with very fine tannins. Long and focused. Subtle and complex. Very elegant and refined in the end. Reminds me of classic, old vintages from the 1960s and 1970s. Drink or hold.”
97 Points
2016 Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

2016 Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

with No Comment $100 and overCabernet SauvignonKevin VogtMt VeederNapaOakvilleSaint HelenaUSA

BERINGER

2016 PRIVATE RESERVE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 

2016 Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
The remarkable vineyards combined to form Beringer’s flagship Private Reserve Cabernet are so expressive and profound that the winemaking team can take a minimalist approach to production, allowing these incredible vines to shine. The wine is, at its core, a blend of Pauli, Steinhauer, and Bancroft Ranch vineyards atop Howell Mountain, providing the unmatched power, enormous structure, and richness of the wine. They completed it with fruit from Oakville, St Helena, Spring Mountain, and Mount Veeder, which round out the stunningly complex blend. 
 
Mark Beringer not only vinifies each renowned site individually, but he also ages them separately for a full 20 months before making the barrel selection. He does this to allow each vineyard to express the depth of its unique terroir fully.
 
Beringer is California’s oldest continually operating winery, and they’re the only winery in history to have both a red and white wine honored as the #1 wine on the Wine Spectator Top 100. The 2016 release is as James Suckling writes, “Breathtaking” and worthy of the 99 point score.
 
BERINGER
2016 PRIVATE RESERVE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
Retails at: $170
 
Your Price: $150
 
 
“Breathtaking. Exceptional integration of super ripe blackberries and the very finest oak. The tannins build up beautifully, forming wave upon wave as the wine flows across the palate. Then the wave breaks on your palate and shoots way out at the finish, so that you wonder where it will end and normal life begin again. Needs time to soften, but this is so, so good…”
99 Points
 
“… the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve shows the vintage beautifully and is more pure, classic, and elegant. Notes of crème de cassis, graphite, lead pencil shavings, and freshly crushed rocks give way to a medium to full-bodied, seamless Cabernet that has remarkable purity of fruit and impeccable balance…”
97+ Points
 
“… the deep garnet-purple colored 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve sings of crème de cassis, kirsch, blackberry preserves and blueberry pie, with loads of chocolate box, floral and baking spices hints. Full-bodied with a firm, chewy frame and loads of savory accents, it delivers a long, multilayered finish…”
95 Points
2017 Duckhorn Three Palms Napa Valley Merlot

2017 Duckhorn Three Palms Napa Valley Merlot

with No Comment $100 and overKevin VogtMerlotNapaUSA

DUCKHORN 

2017 THREE PALMS
NAPA VALLEY MERLOT

2017 Duckhorn Three Palms Napa Valley Merlot
Three Palms is the most distinguished Merlot Vineyard in the New World. It’s the exact location where a combination of large diurnal temperature swings and highly-porous gravely soils combine to produce powerful Merlot berries specific to their site. Dan Duckhorn recognized its vast potential early on and has created a single-vineyard Merlot from it since 1978. The Wine Spectator describes the 2017 release as “Powerful, rich and complex,” which is precisely what you’d expect from Three Palms. This vintage earned 96 points and was featured as the #15 wine globally on their Top 100 list last year.
 
Duckhorn’s 2017 Three Palms Vineyard Merlot perfectly embodies this hallowed ground’s most revered characteristics; Power, concentrated fruit, intensity, and a profound sense of place. 
 
The 2017 vintage was created from 100% Estate fruit, combining 91% Merlot balanced with Cabernet, Malbec, and Cab Franc. The wine is powerful, driven, focused, and confident. I strongly recommend securing a case of this celebrated California Merlot.
 
DUCKHORN 
2017 THREE PALMS
NAPA VALLEY MERLOT
 
Your Price: $110
 
 
“Powerful, rich and complex, with a refined mix of currant, dark cherry and plum tart flavors backed by suave, medium-grained tannins. Well-defined slate and loamy notes stretch out nicely on the finish, with black olive hints. Drink now through 2027.”
96 Points, #15 Top 100 Wines of 2020
 
“Once again, the famed Three Palms Vineyard has yielded a fascinating and full-bodied Merlot. Luxurious aromas of black cherry, plum, raspberry, cedar and wet slate rise from the glass where they mingle with hints of chocolate and sweet baking spices. On the palate, dusty tannins add nuance and sophistication to a round, fleshy texture, with flavors of black and red fruit, fig and iron-rich earthy notes drawing the wine to a long, resonant finish.”
2015 The Vineyard House Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Estate

2015 The Vineyard House Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Estate

with No Comment $100 and overCabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaOakvilleUSA

THE VINEYARD HOUSE

CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
2015 OAKVILLE ESTATE 

2015 The Vineyard House Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Estate
The Vineyard House is my go-to recommendation for anyone looking for $500 quality in Cabernet, but at a price that’s less than half that. Surrounding their Estate Vineyard are properties owned by Harlan Estate, Promontory, and Futo, which garner around $500 to $1600 per bottle. Jeremy Nickel owns the winery, and the brand is a tribute to his late father, Gil Nickel, of Far Niente and Nickel & Nickel wineries. The wine is under-the-radar, for now, but based upon the extreme quality inside the bottle and pedigree of the land, the brand will likely be a future cult wine.
 
Jeremy’s property is elevated above the benchlands of Oakville, overlooking To-Kalon and Martha’s Vineyards. The vines are grown in volcanic and sedimentary bedrock and produce fruit with superior concentration, power, and depth. 
 
This stunning wine emerges from one of Napa Valley’s top vintages, which the Wine Spectator describes as producing “significantly lower yields…Quality is high.” After developing for 24 months in oak, this remarkable wine expresses everything that I look forward to in upper echelon Oakville Cabernet. Still, we priced it at less than half of what you’d expect. 
 
THE VINEYARD HOUSE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
2015 OAKVILLE ESTATE
Retails at: $225
 
 
 
“The Vineyard House Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 is picture-perfect. Of all the Cabernet Sauvignons I taste every year, The Vineyard House always stands out as one of the best-of-the-best Napa Cabernets that could easily challenge any contender. It’s powerfully brooding, with a linear element that makes it incredibly complex and seamless, along with remarkable purity. It is a towering wine with a mouth-watering combination of wild Burgundy plums, crushed mountain blackberries, smooth blue fruits, and elegant florals. It has a defined presence on your palate, but with all elements perfectly in place. The finish stays on your palate long enough to evolve as it slowly expands, then tapers for over a minute. It’s simply a delight to behold, and you can enjoy it now and over the next couple of decades.”
97 Points
 
“Our 2015 Cab is a case study of power & balance. This reddish-purple wine displays concentrated aromas of blackcurrants, blackberries, redcurrants, crème de cassis, violets, rosehips, tobacco leaf, forest floor, and pencil lead. Its seamless tannic structure and bright acidity will provide the stuffing for great longevity in your cellar. Patience will pay off in dividends, but our extended barrel aging adds a supple nature to the wine allowing for accessibility in its youth. The 2015 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon will not disappoint with its polished but intense personality.”