2020 Steps Proprietary Red Reserve Barrel Select Napa Valley

2020 Steps Proprietary Red Reserve Barrel Select Napa Valley

with No Comment $40-$50Atlas PeakDiamond MountainKevin VogtNapaProprietary RedUSA

STEPS

RESERVE BARREL SELECT
PROPRIETARY RED
NAPA VALLEY 2020

2020 Steps Proprietary Red Reserve Barrel Select Napa Valley
STEPS Barrel Select Reserve is designed each year from a powerfully expressive and quality-driven selection of fruit from some of Napa Valley’s most prized AVAs. Grant Long Jr. is well known for his winemaking at Aonair, Reverie II, James Joseph, and Witchery, and he creates STEPS Reserve in the same supple, concentrated, and hedonistic style that’s developed a devoted following.
 
The 2020 STEPS combines structured mountain fruit from Diamond Mountain and Atlas Peak with characteristically earthy, dusty Rutherford fruit to create a harmonious balance of Napa terroir. The blend consists of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon enhanced with Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot, and Merlot, presented in a richly layered style that perfectly balances power and elegance and a long, smooth finish. 
 
STEPS
RESERVE BARREL SELECT
PROPRIETARY RED
NAPA VALLEY 2020
 
Your Price: $49.99
 
 
“The 2020 Steps Reserve Barrel Select opens with an intense nose and aromas of violet, lilac, black tea, red plum, black raspberry, and volcanic rock. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied and mouth-filling with flavors of ripe plums, cocoa powder, berry bramble, and savory spice. The tannins are velvety soft but with a strong backbone that will allow the wine to age and develop further.”
94 Points
2018 Westwood Pinot Noir Sonoma County

2018 Westwood Pinot Noir Sonoma County

with No Comment $40-$50Kevin VogtPinot NoirSonomaSonoma MountainUSA

WESTWOOD

PINOT NOIR 2018
SONOMA COUNTY

2018 Westwood Pinot Noir Sonoma County
Westwood proprietor Carl Stanton founded his Annadel Gap Vineyard in 1998, and over the next dozen years, his viticultural team planted and replanted each block to discover the vineyard’s unique identity. The Annadel Gap lies between Sonoma Mountain and Mount Hood. Like the Petaluma Gap, cool Pacific breezes and thick fog roll in most mornings and evenings, resulting in fruit with fully developed, complex flavors and fresh acidity.
 
Westwood’s team farms their vineyards biodynamically, providing renowned winemakers Philippe Melka and Maayan Koschitzky pure and exceptional quality fruit to seamlessly bring their vineyards to life in their wines. The 2018 growing season gave Pinot Noir grapes great intensity, elegance, and layers of decadent flavors, and this wine from the Annadel Gap Vineyard is a stunning example.
 
WESTWOOD
PINOT NOIR 2018
SONOMA COUNTY
Retails at: $65
 
Your Price: $45
 
 
“Sourced from the estate’s Annadel Gap Vineyard as well as parcels in Petaluma Gap vineyard Terra de Promissio, this wine was aged 18 months in (41% new) French oak and bottled unfil- tered. Aromas of fresh red cherry, chocolate, and cinnamon lead to a palate that is juicy to its core. Caramel apple, tomato leaf, lavender, and cranberry are vibrant and the mouthfeel generous, opening up to baking spices backed by beetroot and rhubarb. Complex and delicious.”
95 Points
2020 Maison Harbour Bourgogne Chardonnay Cote D'Or

2020 Maison Harbour Bourgogne Chardonnay Cote D’Or

with No Comment $40-$50BurgandyChablisChardonnayFrance

MAISON HARBOUR

BOURGOGNE CHARDONNAY
COTE D’OR 2020

2020 Maison Harbour Bourgogne Chardonnay Cote D'Or
Colleen and Nick Harbour are North American natives who met while studying abroad in Luxembourg and returned to Europe in 2008 after university studies. They found themselves immersed in the local wine scene, leading to a passion for wine but a waning interest in their daily jobs. Nick and Colleen officially moved to Burgundy in 2011, where Nick attended wine school in Beaune while Colleen pursued an internship at Maison Champy, making lifelong friends that connected the couple with small growers’ vineyard parcels.
 
Nick and Colleen’s winemaking revolves around expertly farmed fruit from distinct parcels and a hands-off approach in the cellar, allowing the glorious Burgundian terroir to shine through in their wines. The 2020 Bourgogne Chardonnay Côte d’Or comes from vines just below the village of Puligny-Montrachet, matured for 16 months in neutral 228-liter barrels and stainless steel, promoting the purity of the fruit and the essence of this iconic vineyard location.
 
MAISON HARBOUR
BOURGOGNE CHARDONNAY
COTE D’OR 2020
 
Your Price: $48
 
 
“Bright, fresh, clean, and pure, showing minerality, energy, focus and tension. Midweight, balanced and structured, with flavors of pears and nectarines, great acidity and a long, cleansing finish. From vines just below the village of Puligny-Montrachet, this Bourgogne seriously over delivers. Aged for 16 months in neutral oak barrels and stainless steel tanks before bottling.”
2020 Maison Jessiaume Rully White Burgundy

2020 Maison Jessiaume Rully White Burgundy

with No Comment $40-$50BurgandyChardonnayFranceKevin Vogt

MAISON JESSIAUME

RULLY 2020
WHITE BURGUNDY

2020 Maison Jessiaume Rully White Burgundy
Maison Jessiaume’s historic estate, established in 1850, is located in the Santenay region in the Côte de Beaune, with thirty-seven acres of vines planted and wines produced from 15 different appellations. They farm their vineyards organically, and the winemaking approach is minimal, with as little intervention as possible utilizing hand harvesting, hand sorting, ambient yeast fermentation, gravity flow, and natural clarification.
 
Rully is an AOC in the northern Côte Chalonnaise, giving soft, generous whites with “both the coolness and the polish of marble,” according to the Bourgogne Wine Board. Maison Jessiaume fermented the grapes for the 2020 Rully in oak, aged them on the lees for 12 months, and then transferred them to stainless steel for four to six months before bottling, resulting in a pure, focused wine with complex flavor intensity and delightful drinkability.
 
MAISON JESSIAUME
RULLY 2020
WHITE BURGUNDY
 
Your Price: $45
 
 
“The Maison Jessiaume 2020 Rully opens with fresh floral notes of honeysuckle and acacia, ripe yellow apple, quince, bread dough, saffron, and wet rocks. The palate is crisp and clean with flavors of tangerine, lemon, and pineapple balanced with round flavors from lees aging. The finish is long and soft but leaves your mouth watering from bright acidity.”
96 Points
2019 Chateau De Pez Saint-Estephe Bordeaux

2019 Chateau De Pez Saint-Estephe Bordeaux

with No Comment $40-$50BordeauxBordeauxFranceKevin Vogt

CHÂTEAU DE PEZ

SAINT-ESTÈPHE
BORDEAUX 2019

2019 Chateau De Pez Saint-Estephe Bordeaux
Chateau de Pez is the oldest estate in Saint-Estèphe, founded in the 15th century, making it one of the oldest estates on the Left Bank of Bordeaux. The Pontac family, then owners of Chateau Haut-Brion, established the vineyards of Pez and held onto the property until the French Revolution.
 
Champagne producer Louis Roederer purchased Château de Pez in 1995 and was reclassified as a Cru Bourgeois in 2003 in recognition of their continued delivery of premier quality wine. The 2019 growing season was dry and sunny, resulting in wines with focused vibrance, mineral tension, and a delicate balance between power and elegance. Chateau de Pez is an outstanding example of the vintage’s best attributes.
 
CHÂTEAU DE PEZ
SAINT-ESTÈPHE
BORDEAUX 2019
 
Your Price: $49.99
 
 
“This year’s blend is 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2019 de Pez comes tumbling out of the glass with an astonishingly beautiful perfume of lilacs, black cherries and black raspberries over a core of stewed plums, clove oil, dark chocolate and Sichuan pepper. The medium-bodied palate is jam-packed with energetic black fruits, supported by a firm foundation of ripe, grainy tannins and lovely freshness, finishing long and perfumed. I love where this once-malingering château is headed—bravo to winemaker Nicolas Glumineau from Pichon Lalande!”
92-94+ Points
2018 Bruna Grimaldi Camilla Barolo Piedmont Italy

221118 2018 Bruna Grimaldi Camilla Barolo Piedmont Italy

with No Comment $40-$50BaroloBaroloItalyKevin VogtPiedmont

BRUNA GRIMALDI

CAMILLA BAROLO
PIEDMONT, ITALY 2018

2018 Bruna Grimaldi Camilla Barolo Piedmont Italy
Bruna Grimaldi and her husband Franco Fioriono grew up in the hills that join Grinzane Cavour to Serralunga d’Alba, where grape growing and high-quality wine production are a big part of family traditions. The Camilla Barolo is made in a classic style with extended maceration to gently extract color, tannins, and the aromatics essential for high-quality Nebbiolo wines with long aging potential.
 
The fruit comes from specially selected vineyards, including the famed Badarina in Serralunga that belonged to Bruna’s mother, the Bricco Ambrogio site Bruna and Franco purchased in Roddi, and the Grimaldi family’s original property in Grinzane Cavour. The regional blending incorporates harmony and balance in the wine, aged in large Slavonian oak barrels and French oak tonneaux for a minimum of 30 months before being further matured in the bottle before release. These techniques create a compelling wine with an impressive range of diverse flavors and complexity.
 
BRUNA GRIMALDI
CAMILLA BAROLO
PIEDMONT, ITALY 2018
Retails at: $50
 
Your Price: $42
 
 
“This is an ambitious, all-encompassing blend that is especially accessible in 2018. It offers a harmonious bouquet with wild berry and rose. The tannins are soft and yielding, and you can start enjoying this Barolo without waiting too much longer.”
91 Points
2018 Leto Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Mt Veeder

2018 Leto Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Mt Veeder

with No Comment $40-$50Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtMt VeederNapaUSA

LETO CELLARS

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
MT VEEDER 2018

2018 Leto Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Mt Veeder
Brad and Lisa Warner share more than 80 years of wine industry experience and have taken everything they’ve learned along the way and poured it into their boutique brand, Leto Cellars. Leto is Greek for “the hidden one” and expresses Brad and Lisa’s goals as they source fruit from small, family-owned vineyards from premier locations throughout the Valley.
 
Brad chose this Mount Veeder site because of its volcanic soil composition and cooling effects from San Pablo Bay, allowing the fruit a longer hang time to develop extraordinary complexity. Barrel-aged for 18 months, this 100% mountain Cabernet Sauvignon walks a tightrope of rich power and focused restraint, highlighting the vineyard and vintage with perfect balance.
 
LETO CELLARS
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
MT VEEDER 2018
Retails at: $85
 
 
 
“The 2018 Leto Mt Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon begins with aromas of violet, lavender, malt powder, blackberry tart, and nutmeg. On the palate, the wine has a rich concentration with flavors of cocoa nibs, vanilla, blueberry, and wet stones. This wine has an immaculate structure that will unfold in layers of complexity with age yet also shines with vitality today.”
94 Points
2019 Gamba MCM Estate Zinfandel Russian River Valley

2019 Gamba MCM Estate Zinfandel Russian River Valley

with No Comment $40-$50Kevin VogtRussian River ValleySonomaUSAZinfandel

GAMBA

MCM ESTATE ZINFANDEL 
RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY 2019

2019 Gamba MCM Estate Zinfandel Russian River Valley
Gus Gamba considers himself a steward of his land and utilizes organic vineyard management practices on his family’s property, planted in 1900. His Vineyard’s topography, soils, and microclimate are perfect for ripening Zinfandel to the peak of perfection, resulting in one of the Russian River Valley’s most prized Zin’s. 
 
Farming is foremost at Gamba Vineyards; however, the same level of care follows through into the cellar. Gus and his team double-hand-sort the berries, with only the best making their way into fermentors. Next, the 2019 release spent an impressive 18 months aging primarily in American oak barrels, contributing to the wine’s spice characteristics and remarkable structure. The finished wine is rich, vibrantly detailed, engrossingly fresh, and is drinking beautifully right now. 
 
GAMBA
MCM ESTATE ZINFANDEL 
RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY 2019
Retails at: $54
 
Your Price: $49.99
 
 
“The exciting 2019 MCM Gamba Estate Old Vine Zinfandel is a brilliant wine, with bright garnet hues shining in the glass. The aroma offers lush raspberry, rhubarb pie and savory dried herbs. Medium to full in body, the wine explodes with fresh berries, stone fruit and red cherry that are accented with delicious brown spices and an essence of toasty oak. The texture is slightly leathery, yet polished and refined. The wine is focused, compelling, and exquisitely layered, with mouth-watering tannins; a serious and seamless flavor experience from beginning to end. Lifting acidity and mild toasted oak round out the coda of its pleasant, lingering finish. A great wine to enjoy in its youth, or candidate to lay down in the cellar if you have the will power!”
2019 Dolum Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2019 Dolum Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

with No Comment $40-$50Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaOakvilleStags LeapUSA

DOLUM

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
NAPA VALLEY 2019

2019 Dolum Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Dolum Estate produces limited quantities of premium Cabernet Sauvignon and has done so for over three decades. The team makes meticulous decisions for fruit selection in each vintage and sources high-quality grapes from small sub-districts, including Oakville and Stags Leap, crafting wines that balance power and elegance.
 
Winemaker Chad Alexander’s background in soil science and making wine at Hess Collection and Robert Craig wineries has influenced his winemaking style as he captures the essence of each unique plot showcased in his wines. Dolum Estate’s 2019 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is a classic example of the region’s best attributes: a profound depth of flavor, soft, refined tannins, and a sultry finish that elegantly lingers.
 
DOLUM
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
NAPA VALLEY 2019
Retails at: $100
 
 
 
“Aromas of crushed blackberry, plum, blackcurrant and menthol. Full-bodied with powdery tannins. Succulent and fruity on the palate with a core of black fruit and berries. Ground spice, too. Focused. Best after 2026.”
94 Points
2019 Chateau Haut-Breton Larigaudiere Margaux

2019 Chateau Haut-Breton Larigaudiere Margaux

with No Comment $40-$50BordeauxBordeauxFranceKevin Vogt

CHATEAU HAUT-BRETON

LARIGAUDIÈRE
MARGAUX 2019

2019 Chateau Haut-Breton Larigaudiere Margaux
Château Haut-Breton Larigaudière’s vineyards are located near Arsac and Soussans within the Margaux AOC and encompass the region’s full spectrum of terroir, from gravelly soils with sand, transitioning to gravelly soils with clay. The sandy soils produce ethereal wines while the clay produces wines with more tannic structure, so every plot is planted accordingly, with a primary focus on Cabernet Sauvignon, with Merlot and Petite Verdot rounding out the balance.
 
Depending on the age of the vines, soil type, and variety, the grapes are fermented separately in stainless-steel vats at relatively low temperatures to promote dynamic aromatic development. The 2019 vintage matured in oak from 18 to 24 months until each barrel was ready to be bottled, giving an affordable Bordeaux red that shows a high level of quality, textbook Margaux classicism, and early approachability that makes this a standout.
 
CHATEAU HAUT-BRETON
LARIGAUDIÈRE
MARGAUX 2019
 
Your Price: $49.99
 
 
“The 2019 Haut-Breton Larigaudiere is plush, deep and wonderfully expressive. Black cherry, licorice, spice, chocolate, leather and espresso all flesh out in a generous, creamy Margaux that will drink well right out of the gate. The exuberant, racy style is hugely appealing.”
91 Points