2019 Groth Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville

2019 Groth Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville

with No Comment $60-$70Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaOakville

GROTH 

CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
OAKVILLE 2019

2019 Groth Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville
Dennis and Judy Groth purchased an old, rundown farm in what is now the Oakville AVA in 1981. Few people in the wine business understood the value and potential of the land in Napa Valley at the time, but Ren Harris, a realtor, fellow winegrower, and founder of Paradigm Winery, was one of them. He promised the couple that this property would aspire to greatness.
 
After one year of solely selling fruit, Dennis and Judy decided to produce wine. They asked Nils Venge to be their winemaker, and after his initial visit to the estate, he commented, “That’s the Sweet Spot…that can make us world-class wine.” He proved himself right in 1985, when Robert Parker awarded the Groth Estate Cabernet Sauvignon America’s first 100-Point score.
 
The Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon comes primarily from the estate vineyard and small portions from partner growers in Oakville. The 2019 vintage is 89% Cabernet Sauvignon with 11% Merlot, rounding out the mid-palate and continuing the legacy of Groth’s outstanding reputation.
 
GROTH 
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
OAKVILLE 2019
Retails at: $70
 
 
 
“Sumptuous black and blue berries, candied violets and sweet cedar on the nose. Fresh and inviting in the mouth, showing elegant red, black and blue fruit with graphite, clove and tangy orange acidity framed by pointed tannins. A lovely ageworthy red with energy and poise by winemaker Ted Henry. Drink 2022-2036”
94 Points
2018 Hendry Cabernet Sauvignon Hendry Vineyard Napa Valley

2018 Hendry Cabernet Sauvignon Hendry Vineyard Napa Valley

with No Comment $60-$70Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaUSA

HENDRY

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
HENDRY VINEYARD
NAPA VALLEY 2018

2018 Hendry Cabernet Sauvignon Hendry Vineyard Napa Valley
The Hendry family has been growing grapes in Napa Valley since 1939, compiling over 80 years of viticultural experience; they are one of the area’s most long-standing, prominent families. The 203-acre ranch in the Southern part of Napa has a significant coastal influence from San Pablo Bay that helps to maintain acidity and keeps the fruit fresh and bright.
 
Hendry’s Cabernet Sauvignon plots are at an elevation range between 150 and 300 feet above sea level on thin, stony soils similar to the Left Bank of Bordeaux, where some of the world’s most famous Cabernet blends were born. The 2018 release comes from a fabulous vintage and a glorious location from one of Napa’s foundational wineries with decades of experience. With a 95pt score and Cellar Selection designation from Wine Enthusiast, Cabernet Collectors shouldn’t miss it.
 
HENDRY
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
HENDRY VINEYARD
NAPA VALLEY 2018
Retails at: $70
 
 
 
“This deeply colored, extremely ripe and concentrated wine from a cooler part of Napa Valley is powerful but smooth, as a creamy texture carries blueberries, cocoa and anise flavors wrapped in significant fine-grained tannins. The flavors show great depth on the palate and good length on the finish. best from 2026–2036.”
95 Points, “Cellar Selection”
2018 Maroon Cabernet Sauvignon Special Reserve Coombsville

2018 Maroon Cabernet Sauvignon Special Reserve Coombsville

with No Comment $60-$70Cabernet SauvignonCoombsvilleKevin VogtNapaUSA

MAROON

SPECIAL RESERVE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
COOMBSVILLE 2018

2018 Maroon Cabernet Sauvignon Special Reserve Coombsville
Paul Maroon recognized the potential for Bordeaux varietals to thrive in Coombsville and purchased 37 acres there over two decades ago. He sold fruit to several of Napa Valley’s top wineries until 2009 when he decided to produce the first vintage of Maroon. Coombsville became an AVA in 2011 and quickly established a reputation for delivering sophisticated wines with elegant structure due to the cooler climate in the southern end of Napa Valley.
 
Chris Corley has been the winemaker since Maroon’s inaugural vintage and has worked with Paul for over 20 years, creating a symbiotic relationship built around their passion for the vineyards, the beautiful wines, and a solid commitment to quality. We recommended this wine last November, and it recently earned an incredible 96 Point Score from Lisa Perrotti-Brown, co-founder of The Wine Independent. Lisa is a Master of Wine and former Editor-in-Chief for Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate. At our price of $65/btl, you can be the judge of how great of a deal this wine is. 
 
MAROON
SPECIAL RESERVE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
COOMBSVILLE 2018
Retails at: $174
 
 
 
“Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Special Reserve gallops in with energetic notes of blackcurrant jelly, chocolate-covered cherries, and boysenberry preserves, plus suggestions of chocolate mint and candied violets. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers a structured style with great tension and firm, grainy tannins to support the bright, muscular fruit, finishing long and vibrant.” Reviewed March, 2023
96 Points
2016 Chateau Musar Lebanon Rouge Bekaa Valley

2016 Chateau Musar Lebanon Rouge Bekaa Valley

with No Comment $60-$70Kevin VogtProprietary Red

CHATEAU MUSAR

LEBANON ROUGE
BEKAA VALLEY 2016

2016 Chateau Musar Lebanon Rouge Bekaa Valley
Gaston Hochar planted his first vineyards in Bekka Valley, Lebanon, in 1930 after returning from Bordeaux. He named his new winery after an Arabic word that translates to “a place of extraordinary beauty.” Just over ten years later, Major Ronald Barton of Château Langoa-Barton and Leoville-Barton was stationed in Lebanon and befriended Gaston, giving him the insight and knowledge that has driven Musar’s Bordeaux-styled wines for several decades.
 
Chateau Musar’s Rouge blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault, and Carignan changes slightly year after year to reflect the growing season of that vintage. The wines are fermented in concrete, aged for at least 12 months in a small percentage of French oak, and blended and bottled at the end of the third year following the harvest. The bottles matured in deep, stone cellars for an additional four years, released in their seventh year, and have a reputation worldwide for drinking for up to 20 years or more. 
 
CHATEAU MUSAR
LEBANON ROUGE
BEKAA VALLEY 2016
 
 
 
“The 2016 Chateau Musar Rouge opens with a kaleidoscope of aromas such as violets, forest floor, red cherries, truffle, baking spices, and cigar box. On the palate, the wine has firm yet gentle tannins, like rounded corners, that glide into flavors of dried red fruits, nutmeg, earthy spice, and vanilla. The finish is long, dynamic, and mesmerizing. This wine has the structure to age in the cellar but has already reached a very sophisticated level of drinkability that’s just sublime.”
96-97 Points
2018 Pirouette Proprietary Red Columbia Valley

2018 Pirouette Proprietary Red Columbia Valley

with No Comment $60-$70Columbia ValleyKevin VogtProprietary RedUSAWashington State

PIROUETTE

PROPRIETARY RED
COLUMBIA VALLEY 2018

2018 Pirouette Proprietary Red Columbia Valley
Nine of the world’s top winemakers make up the Long Shadows brand that Allen Shoup created after decades of building the Chateau Ste Michelle brand and its affiliate wineries to international recognition. Allen retired from Chateau Ste Michelle in 2002 to focus on his newest endeavor to promote Washington wines by bringing in celebrated international winemakers.
 
Allen hired Gilles Nicault as the Director of Winemaking because of his expertise, flexibility, and eagerness to merge his winemaking skills with each vintner who joined the team as a co-owner of their wine. Philippe Melka and Agustin Huneeus, Sr worked as a team to create the 2018 Pirouette by combining Old-World winemaking and New World technology elements to make this Bordeaux style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot, aged 22 months in French oak. The resulting wine is, as Decanter proclaims, “Hauntingly good.”
 
PIROUETTE
PROPRIETARY RED
COLUMBIA VALLEY 2018
 
 
 
“Hauntingly good, this a stunning new bottling by Philippe Melka. Dense and chewy, once in the month, this takes on a glorious range of flavours from sagebrush and pipe tobacco to blackcurrant jelly and chocolate cake. The vibrant sense of tension and silky tannins both add to the enjoyment, as this has a long way to go in the cellar.”
96 Points
2021 Raen Pinot Noir Royal St. Robert Cuvee Sonoma Coast

2021 Raen Pinot Noir Royal St. Robert Cuvee Sonoma Coast

with No Comment $60-$70Kevin VogtPinot NoirSonomaSonoma CoastUSA

RAEN

PINOT NOIR
ROYAL ST. ROBERT CUVEE
SONOMA COAST 2021

2021 Raen Pinot Noir Royal St. Robert Cuvee Sonoma Coast
The Mondavi family is one of the most well-known names in American viticulture, and their innovation continues to influence the wine industry worldwide. The family began planting Pinot Noir over 100 years ago, and Tim Mondavi pioneered the variety in the early 1970s, later transferring his passionate endeavors to his sons Carlo and Dante. The boys grew up at Opus One estate and learned keen winemaking techniques from their father at his cult winery Continuum.
 
RAEN Royal St. Robert Cuvée Pinot Noir is a tribute to their grandfather, who has been the most valuable mentor in the wine industry. It is a blend of hand-chosen selections of coastal vineyards that give a flavorful depiction of the Sonoma Coast. The 2021 release is 100% whole cluster, natively fermented, and bottled without fining or filtration, creating a super-pure style of Pinot Noir with a powerful core and a vibrant finish.
 
RAEN
PINOT NOIR
ROYAL ST. ROBERT CUVEE
SONOMA COAST 2021
 
 
 
“Extremely spicy with iron, forest flower, black tea, and dried strawberry aromas, following through to a medium to full body, with lovely velvety tannins that are integrated and refined, with a long and flavorful finish. Yet it always remains refined and poised in a exemplary way. Needs three or four years still to show it’s true self. Drink or hold.”
97-98 Points
2021 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Sonoma County

2021 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Sonoma County

with No Comment $60-$70Kevin VogtPinot NoirSonomaSonoma ValleyUSA

WILLIAMS SELYEM

PINOT NOIR
SONOMA COUNTY 2021

2021 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Sonoma County
Burt Williams and Ed Selyem had an affinity for Burgundy that neither of them could afford, so in the early 1970s, the two set out to make their own Pinot Noir. The goal was to produce wines for themselves; however, Burt nor Ed realized at the time that they were setting the standards for American Pinot Noir. Williams Selyem began with fruit purchased from growers with a simple handshake agreement, and 35 years later, those agreements are still in place and hold a testament to the loyal relationships Burt and Ed created. In 2009, their 2007 Litton Estate Pinot Noir was awarded a 100-Point score by Wine Enthusiast, making it the first California Pinot Noir with a perfect score. 
 
The 2021 Sonoma County Pinot Noir has stunning, pristinely balanced fruit quality from Drake Estate, Klopp, MacGregor, Putnam, Olivet Lane, and Starkey Vineyards. Despite the difficult beginning of the growing season, the vintage commenced with ideal temperatures and slightly below-average yields combined with exceptional fruit quality and vivacity, finely layered flavors, and site specificity.
 
WILLIAMS SELYEM
PINOT NOIR
SONOMA COUNTY 2021
 
Your Price: $65
 
 
“Layered and complex, the Sonoma County Pinot Noir offers strawberry and cherry fruit notes with hints of oolong tea. Clove and wood spices add further depth and intrigue. Sourced from many parts of the Russian River Valley and the Coast, this wine offers a broad brushstroke of the beauty of our diverse fruit sources. Red fruits on the palate with citrus peel undertones overlay onto the supple tannin structure that is refined and elegant.”
2021 Occidental Pinot Noir Freestone-Occidental Sonoma Coast

2021 Occidental Pinot Noir Freestone-Occidental Sonoma Coast

with No Comment $60-$70Kevin VogtPinot NoirSonomaSonoma CoastUSA

OCCIDENTAL 

FREESTONE-OCCIDENTAL
PINOT NOIR 2021
SONOMA COAST

2021 Occidental Pinot Noir Freestone-Occidental Sonoma Coast
Steve Kistler worked his first harvest for Ridge Vineyards in 1975 and observed the obvious difference in the character of the cool climate, coastal fruit versus fruit grown in warmer vineyards further inland. Steve developed a taste for marine-influenced wines, opened Kistler Vineyards in 1978, and has been a Pinot Noir pioneer since the early 1990s. He then sought ridges and terraces near the small town of Bodega, which he believes have the ideal soil and climate for producing Burgundian-styled wine. 
 
After selling his stake in Kistler Vineyards in 2008, Steve embarked on a new project named Occidental focused on cool-climate Pinot Noir of the utmost quality. The 2021 Freestone-Occidental Pinot Noir comes from the Bodega Headlands, Occidental Station, and Bodega Ridge vineyards and shares the same winemaking regimen as their single vineyard Pinots and projects a bright, focused energy that will develop beautifully over time.
 
OCCIDENTAL 
FREESTONE-OCCIDENTAL
PINOT NOIR 2021
SONOMA COAST
 
Your Price: $69.99
 
 
“The Occidental Freestone-Occidental Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2021 begins with an evocative nose of cherry cough drop, cola bean, salami, Spring florals, and dried herbs. The gorgeous, penetrating palate continues with bright red fruits, fresh mixed berries, sweet dark cherries, bay leaf, and a saline minerality. It balances power and elegance in a way that beautifully expresses the best characteristics of the Pinot Noir varietal. The long, drawn-out finish and mouth-quenching acidity make it an amazing treat that I can’t wait to enjoy again.”
95 Points
2018 Pedestal Merlot Columbia Valley

2018 Pedestal Merlot Columbia Valley

with No Comment $60-$70Columbia ValleyKevin VogtMerlotUSAWashington State

PEDESTAL

MERLOT 2018
COLUMBIA VALLEY

2018 Pedestal Merlot Columbia Valley
After two decades of building the Chateau Ste. Michelle brand and its affiliate wineries to international recognition, Washington wine icon Allen Shoup ventured into a new concept aimed at elevating Washington wines by bringing in renowned international winemakers to create super-premium wines. Allen hired ambitious French native Gilles Nicault to be the Director of Winemaking of his newest creation, Long Shadows, because of Gille’s knowledge and flexibility to help the consulting winemakers create their masterpieces.
 
World-renowned winemaker Michel Rolland consults for the Long Shadows Pedestal Columbia Valley Merlot, providing the vision for this wine from his hometown of Saint-Émilion, also home to some of the variety’s most famous producers. The 2018 Pedestal is 82% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 4% Malbec, hand-harvested after an ideal autumn with cool nights giving the grapes a long hang-time to reach full ripeness without losing acidity for an outstanding balance and layers of indulgent flavors.
 
PEDESTAL
MERLOT 2018
COLUMBIA VALLEY
 
Your Price: $69.99
 
 
“An utterly spectacular showing from this exciting vintage. 82% Merlot with the remainder Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec, this revels in its Turkish coffee aromas with sandalwood, dark currants, chocolate fudge and blueberry compote rounding out the bouquet. This presents a hedonistic bent with an intense mouthfeel and glorious length. Unabashedly big, the acidity and firm tannins hold this gorgeous core of blue and dark fruits in place.”
96 Points
2018 Maroon Cabernet Sauvignon Special Reserve Coombsville

2018 Maroon Cabernet Sauvignon Special Reserve Coombsville

with No Comment $60-$70Cabernet SauvignonCoombsvilleKevin VogtNapaUSA

MAROON

SPECIAL RESERVE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
COOMBSVILLE 2018

2018 Maroon Cabernet Sauvignon Special Reserve Coombsville
Paul Maroon obtained 37 acres in Coombsville over two decades ago, with 17 of those acres planted with Cabernet Sauvignon that he tended and sold to several of Napa Valley’s top wineries until 2009 when he decided to produce the first vintage of Maroon. Coombsville became an AVA in 2011 and quickly established a reputation for delivering sophisticated wines with elegant structure due to the cooler climate in the southern end of the Valley.
 
Chris Corley has been the winemaker since Maroon’s inaugural vintage and has worked with Paul for over 20 years, creating a symbiotic relationship built around their passion for the vineyards, the beautiful wines, and a solid commitment to quality. The wine team hand-picked the 2018 Special Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from the Maroon estate in Coombsville, fermented the grapes, and aged the resulting wine for 30 months in 75% new French oak for a complex flavor development that will continue to evolve and express this fantastic vintage.
 
MAROON
SPECIAL RESERVE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
COOMBSVILLE 2018
Retails at: $174
 
 
 
“The 2018 Maroon Special Reserve Coombsville Cabernet Sauvignon opens with lavender, sage, red plum, blackberry pie, mocha, and crushed rocks. The wine has flavors of dark berries, baking spices, cassis, and dark chocolate with a tension that will soften with time. This beautifully balanced 100% Cabernet Sauvignon captures the essence of the Coombsville AVA with refreshing acidity, structured tannins, and long aging potential that will reveal more profound layers of complexity.”
94-95 Points