2019 Armelle Et Bernard Rion Chambolle-Musigny Les Echezeaux

2019 Armelle Et Bernard Rion Chambolle-Musigny Les Echezeaux

ARMELLE ET BERNARD RION

CHAMBOLLE-MUSIGNY
LES ECHEZEAUX 2019

2019 Armelle Et Bernard Rion Chambolle-Musigny Les Echezeaux
Domaine Armelle et Bernard Rion was founded in 1896 by Pierre Rion after he acquired vines from Chateau de la Berchere during his years as a dedicated sharecropper. More than a century later, the fifth generation of the Rion family runs the winery. They have vineyard holdings strategically positioned in some of the most recognized Burgundian wine-producing villages, including Vosne-Romanée, Chambolle-Musigny, Nuits-Saint-Georges, and Vougeot.
 
‘Les Echezeaux’ is planted with vines of an average age of 50 years in the southern part of the village of Chambolle-Musigny, receiving ample sunlight and achieving perfect ripeness. The 2019 vintage saw frost, hail, and drought, which lowered yields but produced small but brilliant crops with deep concentration and may be one of the best vintages in the last decade.
 
ARMELLE ET BERNARD RION
CHAMBOLLE-MUSIGNY
LES ECHEZEAUX 2019
 
Your Price: $99.99
 
 
“The Armelle et Bernard Rion Chambolle-Musigny Les Echezeaux 2019 opens with a bright nose of tart red cherry, cardamom, pomegranate, fresh green herbs, saddle leather, cinnamon spice, shoe polish, and freshly harvested French lavender. On the palate, the wine has flavors of Ranier cherries, white raspberries, and clove hints, along with a liquid metal/saline quality that bolsters the fresh acids and medium-grained tannins, leading to a long, elegant finish. It’s enjoyable now due to its pristinely balanced fruit/tannin structure, but it will evolve beautifully over the next decade.”
95 Points
2018 Booker Fracture Syrah Paso Robles

2018 Booker Fracture Syrah Paso Robles

BOOKER

FRACTURE SYRAH
PASO ROBLES 2018

2018 Booker Fracture Syrah Paso Robles
Dedicated to growing fruit for some of the best wineries in Paso Robles, Eric Jensen farmer and winemaker at Booker Winery, gained valuable experience from neighbors Stephan Asseo of L’Aventure, and friend Justin Smith of Saxum. Fracture is one of Booker’s flagship wines, with its name paying homage to the limestone that causes the calcareous soil in the vineyard to crack.
 
Paso Robles welcomed the cooler 2018 vintage, leading to a relaxed harvest of healthy fruit and longer hang-time for the grapes, allowing them to develop more complex flavors and aromas. This 100% Syrah is made in a silky smooth style that Eric describes as “falling into a soft pillow” that is ready to drink right off of the bottling line but also has the potential to age for another 20 years or longer. 
 
BOOKER
FRACTURE SYRAH
PASO ROBLES 2018
 
Your Price: $99.99
 
 
“Another magical wine, the 2018 Fracture is based on 100% Syrah brought up in new and used French oak. Deep purple-hued, with beautiful notes of crème de cassis, blackberries, vanilla bean, toasted spices, white flowers, and a hints of charcuterie, this beauty hits the palate with full-bodied richness, perfectly integrated oak, a rounded, lush mouthfeel, and a great finish. This unabashedly Paso Robles Syrah brings loads of fruit yet stays balanced, elegant, and is simply a thrill to drink.”
98 Points
 
“Youthful purple. Heady, spice-accented aromas of blackberry, blueberry cherry liqueur and pungent flowers show excellent clarity and energetic lift. Sappy and penetrating on the palate, displaying sharply defined black/blue fruit, violet pastille, cola and exotic spice flavors that turn livelier as the wine opens up. Finishes extremely long, smoky and minerally, with powerful, spicy thrust, a repeating floral note and gently chewy, polished tannins.”
97 Points
2018 Acumen Peak Cabernet Sauvignon Atlas Peak

2018 Acumen Peak Cabernet Sauvignon Atlas Peak

ACUMEN

PEAK CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2018 ATLAS PEAK

2018 Acumen Peak Cabernet Sauvignon Atlas Peak
Acumen Estate consists of 116 organically certified acres of vines on Atlas Peak, spread across two vineyards from which a small portfolio of estate-grown wines is born. The winery bases their sought-after style of Cabernet Sauvignon on the great Cabernets of the 1960s and 70s, which helped secure Napa on the international wine map.
 
Acumen sells a large portion of their mountain-grown fruit to other fine wineries in Napa Valley, allowing Chappellet’s 30-year veteran winemaker Philip Titus to focus on his favorite small vineyard blocks. The 2018 vintage is graceful with an exquisite yet powerful structure due to a cooler than average summer with zero heat spikes, allowing the grapes to slowly develop full physiological maturity, depth of aromas and flavors, and an incredible overall balance between fruit, earth, and minerality.
 
ACUMEN
PEAK CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2018 ATLAS PEAK
Retails at: $115
 
Your Price: $99.99
 
 
“The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Peak showed nicely, with beautiful blue fruits, scorched earth, licorice, and violet aromas and flavors. With medium to full-bodied richness, it stays tight and compact on the palate, with a fresh, Bordeaux-like style in its tannins and acidity. It needs 4-5 years of bottle age but should age nicely on its purity and elegance.”
95 Points
 
“Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Peak charges out of the gate with energetic scents of red and black currants, fresh blackberries and boysenberries with suggestions of camphor, cardamom, tar and new leather plus a waft of pencil shavings. Full-bodied, concentrated and decadent in the mouth, the palate has a solid foundation of firm, grainy tannins and lively freshness to support, finishing long with a pleasantly surprising floral perfume coming through at the end.”
94+ Points
2016 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Lot C-91

2016 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Lot C-91

HEITZ CELLAR

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2016 LOT C-91
2016 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Lot C-91
Joe Heitz pioneered single-vineyard wines in Napa Valley, and in 1969 he blended select plots from his most prized vineyards, discovering that he could create a wine with the qualities he desired most – aging potential, complexity, and depth. Lot C-91 encompasses this art of assemblage, gracefully presented with concentrated fruit, focus, and sophisticated complexity. 
 
Heitz is a historic winery that continues to pursue the same traditional, age-worthy style for which they’re well known and respected. For the last 50 years, Heitz Cellar has sourced fruit for Lot C-91 from premium parcels in St. Helena, Oakville, Rutherford, and Howell Mountain, representing a step-up in quality, achieving the density and length of a genuinely fantastic wine, which recently earned an extraordinary score.
 
HEITZ CELLAR
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2016 LOT C-91
 
Your Price: $99.99
 
 
“Blue fruit with stone, lavender and currant aromas and flavors. Fresh herbs too. Medium-bodied with ultra-fine tannins. Such firmness and focus and beauty. A blend of all their top single vineyards. Drink or hold.”
96 Points
2016 Blanket Prince Of Hearts Proprietary Red

2016 Blanket Prince Of Hearts Proprietary Red

BLANKIET

PRINCE OF HEARTS 
2016 PROPRIETARY RED

2016 Blanket Prince Of Hearts Proprietary Red
In 1996, Claude and Katherine Blankiet had the opportunity to view an undeveloped hillside property behind Dominus’ Napanook vineyard and purchased the site without hesitation, naming it Paradise Hills. The vineyard experiences a cooler terroir than other parts of Napa Valley due to its eastern exposure with bright sunny mornings and cool, shady afternoons, preserving natural acidity as temperatures rise later in the day, producing exquisitely balanced, focused fruit.
 
Viticulturist David Abreu and winemaker Helen Turley extensively studied the different soil compositions in the vineyard, dividing it into four distinct blocks with strategically selected rootstocks and clonal varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petit Verdot. The 96 point 2016 Prince of Hearts captures the essence of this top estate, presented with a supple mouthfeel and exceptional balance made possible by the site’s complex terroir and the wine team’s diligence in the vineyard and cellar.
 
BLANKIET
PRINCE OF HEARTS 
2016 PROPRIETARY RED
 
Your Price: $99.99
 
 
“…another seamless, elegant wine from the estate that has remarkable complexity in its sandalwood, spice box, chocolate, and cassis and blueberry-like fruits. Hitting the palate with full-bodied richness, a seamless texture, and ultra-fine tannins, it can be drunk today or cellared for 15+ years. It’s another beautiful wine from this team that has both power and finesse.”
96 Points
 
 
2018 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five

2018 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five

SHAFER

2018 CABERNET SAUVIGNON
ONE POINT FIVE 

2018 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five
John Shafer began making wine in 1978 and was eager for his son Doug to join him as the lead winemaker, but Doug turned him down two or three times before finally agreeing to a partnership in 1983, which they refer to as the “generation and a half” or One Point Five. The father-son team spent the last 35 years overseeing the production of their Stags Leap wines, which rank among the best in the valley and embody their passion for the district.
 
Sourced from Borderline and Shafer’s Hillside Estate vineyards, known for producing small berries with structure and depth of flavors, One Point Five represents the quintessence of the region. The wine is a worldwide favorite that’s perennially high scoring and beloved for having seamlessly soft tannins and a luscious mouthfeel that’s enjoyable today and suitable to age for a decade.
 
SHAFER
2018 CABERNET SAUVIGNON
ONE POINT FIVE 
 
Your Price: $99.99
 
 
“This is a muscular wine with a velvety backdrop—classic for the vintage and appellation. Silky tannins glide across a foundation of turned earth, crushed rock, clove and tobacco. The wine is hugely structured and grand. Dark plum, cherry and mocha flavors round out the profile….”
97 Points, “Cellar Selection”
 
“This has a deliciously ripe and perfumed nose of blueberries, cloves, potpourri and gravel. It’s full-bodied with firm, chewy tannins and fresh acidity. Creamy and elegant with a driven, focused finish. Cooler and more refined at the end…”
95 Points
 
“The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five (100% Cabernet Sauvignon) might be the finest vintage to date. Dense purple-hued, with a thrilling nose of blue and black fruits as well as graphite and crushed stone, it’s medium to full-bodied and has a wonderfully pure, elegant texture, ample underlying tannins, and a great finish. It shows the more focused, elegant, yet structured style of the vintage to a T.”
95 Points
2017 Larkmead Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2017 Larkmead Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

LARKMEAD

CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
2017 NAPA VALLEY

2017 Larkmead Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Above ground, Larkmead Vineyards is a masterpiece of sustainable farming with winemaking at the highest level. Still, it’s what’s beneath their vineyard that makes them a marvel of New World Cabernet production and genuinely unique. Planted above ancient riverbed gravel with a similar well-draining environment to Napa’s hillsides, Larkmead Vineyard produces powerful fruit with mesmeric complexity. Their 2017 release is a classic example of their vineyard’s identity, shown through the vintage’s lens, capturing their team’s drive, emotion, and combined expertise. 
 
Capturing the vineyard’s diversity by fermenting in multiple small lots, winemaker Dan Petroski’s intimate knowledge of the property shines in this wine. The vineyard borders Selby Creek and the Napa River, where an accumulation of ancient riverbed gravel, clay, and loam, formed the perfect canvas to cultivate grapes.
 
Utilizing a systems approach to farming, Nabor Camarena and viticulturist Kelly Maher farm Larkmeads Vineyard as a single component of the larger surrounding ecosystem, lending to the uniform balance of their wines.
 
LARKMEAD
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
2017 NAPA VALLEY
Retails at: $125
 
 
 
“With 10% Merlot, this is a structured red that’s built by broad tannins but approachable in its youth. Earthy peat, dried herb, cedar and cigar box play against a depth of dark cherry, cassis and plum, while fresh acidity permeates beneath, making for a cohesive package.”
96 Points
 
“This is really subtle and complex with black truffles, blackberries, lavender and rosemary. Medium to full body. Firm and silky tannins with beautiful fruit. Linear and racy. Love the balance and finesse. Drink now or hold.”
94 Points
2016 Witchery Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon

2016 Witchery Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon

WITCHERY

2016 OAKVILLE 
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 

2016 Witchery Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon
Designed to encapsulate the 16th-century definition of their namesake, an irresistible fascination, everything about Witchery wines, including; the attractive packaging, charming bouquet, and enchanting flavors, are expertly choreographed and on display. The wine casts a powerful spell, setting in motion an instant and devoted following by just about everybody trying it. 
 
Witchery’s Oakville Cabernet comes from a secret vineyard located directly South of OPUS ONE and adjacent to Silver Oak. The site’s ideal micro-climate and complex soils produce incredibly expressive Cabernet fruit that lends well to Witchery’s signature style of crafting chillingly rich and captivating wines. 
 
Winemaker Grant Long Jr aged the wine 100% New French Oak Barrels, completing the blend with Petite Verdot and Cabernet Franc. The 2016 release developed remarkably well in the bottle, and with just 8 barrels produced and only a handful of cases left, now is a great time to try it.
 
WITCHERY
2016 OAKVILLE 
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
 
Your Price: $99.99
 
 

Some Cabernets are styled more elegantly with laser like precision, while others are monstrous, bold and powerfully inky. Somewhere in the middle lies the perfect balance of power & grace and I’ve found it in this wine. The Witchery Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 is a picture of balance with a nose that actually smells satiny with fresh black plums, crushed blueberries, sweet vanilla and delicate floral notes. The palate is lush and beautifully balanced with black cherry, red currants, ever so slightly dusty tannins and beautifully integrated toasty oak. The finish is long, penetrating and so mouth watering that it evokes a pavlovian response. It is absolutely beautiful now, but will age gracefully for a decade or more.”

96 Points, Kevin M. Vogt, Master Sommelier 

2018 Bevan Ontogeny Proprietary Red

2018 Bevan Ontogeny Proprietary Red

BEVAN

2018 ONTOGENY
PROPRIETARY RED

2018 Bevan Ontogeny Proprietary Red
Number one on Jeb Dunnuck’s list of the Top Napa Cabernets Under $100, Russell Bevan’s 2018 Ontogeny is a barrel selection created from Tench, Sugarloaf, Harbison, Wildfoote, Saunders, and Sage Ridge vineyards. Russell produces single-vineyard Cabernets that retail for around $200 from each of those coveted sites; however, Ontogeny isn’t just the introduction to Bevans wines’ cardinal quality, but as the least expensive of his big reds, it doesn’t compromise at all in quality. 
 
2018 was a faultless growing season, virtually uninterrupted by significant heat spikes, providing a prolonged hang-time, allowing the fruit to accumulate intense flavor and complexity. The resulting wine is breathtakingly complex and irresistibly engaging. 
 
Ontogeny combines six highly expressive vineyards raised in a variety of top-level oak barrels and with a near-perfect 99 Point score and priced under $100; you can’t have too much of this in your cellar.
 
BEVAN
2018 ONTOGENY
PROPRIETARY RED
 
Your Price: $99.99
 
 
“While this cuvée is one of the least expensive in the lineup, it’s often one of my favorites. The 2018 Ontogeny is no exception and should be snatched up by readers. A classic 2018 nose of ripe, pure blue fruits, cassis, violets, and smoked earth gives way to a full-bodied, dense, concentrated Cabernet with beautiful tannins and length. It’s going to evolve for 20 years or more.”
99 Points, #1 Top Napa Cabernets Under $100
2017 Luce Della Vite Luce Toscana

2017 Luce Della Vite Luce Toscana

LUCE

DELLA VITE LUCE 
2017 TOSCANA

2017 Luce Della Vite Luce Toscana
Vittorio Frescobaldi and Robert Mondavi took a risk creating the first Super Tuscan-style blend of Sangiovese and Merlot from Montalcino’s time-tested terroir. They merged traditional Tuscan winemaking with Montalcino’s majestic earth, balancing Sangiovese’s penetrating fruit with Merlot’s supple richness. Twenty-five vintages later, their flagship Luce Della Vite Toscana continues to turn heads with massive scores, sleek packaging, and powerfully enchanting flavors. 
 
The biodiversity of Luce’s Vineyards is vital in the character and complexity of their wines. Located Southwest of Montalcino Village, their vines are influenced by the sea, earth, and the climate conditions created by the rolling hills.
 
Luce’s team sorts each berry carefully before transferring them into Cement fermentation vessels, where they spend four weeks on the skins, extracting depth and rich color. The wine is barrel-aged for a full 24 months, polishing the powerfully captivating flavors and aromas. 
 
LUCE
DELLA VITE LUCE 
2017 TOSCANA
Retails at: $110
 
Your Price: $99.99
 
 
“Dark-berry, walnut, cedar and violet aromas with just a hint of chocolate. Full-bodied, layered and rich with ripe tannins and a vivid finish. Shows energy and a velvety texture. Deep and long. Give it two or three years to soften. Try after 2022.”
97 Points
 
“… the 25th anniversary of Luce… the 2017 vintage celebrates this birthday properly. Luce is one of the few Super Tuscans of Montalcino. Compared to Brunello it is blended with Merlot adding suppleness and focused on new oak ageing. Deep crimson in colour, full of clove, vanilla and buttery aromas, than brights for black cherry and plummy notes, graphite and cherry flavour, with an earthy mineral finish. Grainy velvety tannins and firm acidity are well supported by incredibly rich fruit concentration and suppleness. A wine drinkable now with potential for ageing. Drinking Window 2020 – 2040”
95 Points