2018 Site Syrah Bien Nacido Vineyard Santa Maria Valley

2018 Site Syrah Bien Nacido Vineyard Santa Maria Valley

with No Comment $50-$60Central CoastKevin VogtSanta Maria ValleySyrahUSA

SITE

SYRAH 2018
BIEN NACIDO VINEYARD
SANTA MARIA VALLEY

2018 Site Syrah Bien Nacido Vineyard Santa Maria Valley
Jeremy Weintraub is the owner and winemaker for Site Wines and gained experience growing grapes in Paso Robles, Santa Maria, Central Otago, Martinborough, Tuscany, and Long Island. After his vineyard work, Jeremy began making wine at Seavey Vineyard in Napa and later vinifying wines for Adelaida Cellars in Paso Robles, whom he still works with today.
 
Site sources grapes from some of the most distinctive vineyards in California, and Bien Nacido is known for some of the state’s most sought-after cool-climate grapes. Esteemed Syrah producer Sine Qua Non is now entirely estate-grown, no longer sourcing fruit from Bien Nacido, and Site was next in line for their contract with Block B, the oldest, steepest, and most revered plot in the vineyard. The 2018 Syrah has a graceful elegance with earthy and spicy notes reminiscent of the wines of the Northern Rhône, providing an attestation to the exceptional terroir of the Bien Nacido Vineyard.
 
SITE
SYRAH 2018
BIEN NACIDO VINEYARD
SANTA MARIA VALLEY
 
Your Price: $55
 
 
“The 2018 Syrah Bien Nacido Vineyards was mostly destemmed (90%) and spent 18 months in 50% new French oak. It’s another inky hued effort that brings both richness and elegance. Lots of darker, briny fruits, smoked game, and black pepper notes give way to a medium to full-bodied wine that has silky yet present tannins, terrific balance, and a great finish. It’s going to evolve for 15 years or more.”
96 Points
2018 Domaine Eden Pinot Noir Santa Cruz Mountains

2018 Domaine Eden Pinot Noir Santa Cruz Mountains

with No Comment $30-$40Central CoastKevin VogtPinot NoirSanta CruzSanta Cruz MountainsUSA

DOMAINE EDEN

PINOT NOIR 2018
SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS

2018 Domaine Eden Pinot Noir Santa Cruz Mountains
Domaine Eden is an estate owned by iconic Santa Cruz Mountains producer Mount Eden vineyards that focuses on high-quality Pinot Noir and Chardonnay production. Their team adheres to strict sustainable farming standards, producing small, concentrated yields of remarkable fruit. The vineyards are planted with Dijon clones 777, 667, and 828 and the historic California clones Mount Eden, Calera, and Swan, resulting in remarkably complex, aromatically indulgent wines that have become a signature of the brand.
 
Indigenous yeasts carry out the fermentation in French Burgundian barrels without fining, filtration, or manipulation, allowing complete transparency and purity true to the varietal. The 2018 Pinot Noir lives up to its sister winery’s hierarchy with a suave mouthfeel and polished balance reflective of the site’s terroir in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
 
DOMAINE EDEN
PINOT NOIR 2018
SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS
 
Your Price: $39.99
 
 
“Gamy aromas of roasted pork and a wet stone mineraliy surround the plush cranberry fruit on the nose of this bottling. There’s a floral edge to the palate, from rose petal to violet, as well as light red-currant and more game flavors.”
93 Points
2019 Calera Pinot Noir Central Coast

2019 Calera Pinot Noir Central Coast

with No Comment $30 and underCentral CoastKevin VogtPinot NoirUSA

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
2020 Tablas Creek Patelin De Tablas Rouge Paso Robles

2020 Tablas Creek Patelin De Tablas Rouge Paso Robles

with No Comment $30 and underCentral CoastKevin VogtPaso RoblesProprietary RedUSA

TABLAS CREEK

PATELIN DE TABLAS ROUGE
PASO ROBLES 2020

2020 Tablas Creek Patelin De Tablas Rouge Paso Robles
The founders of Tablas Creek include the Perrin family, the proprietors of the renowned Château de Beaucastel in Chäteauneuf-du-Pape, and the Haas family of the legendary American importing company Vineyard Brands. The property is in the remarkably Rhône-like climate of Paso Robles, where the shallow, rocky, limestone soils are of similar geologic origin as the soils found in the vineyards of Beaucastel.
 
They imported clones of Mourvédre, Grenache Noir, Syrah, Counoise, Roussanne, Viognier, Marsanne, Grenache Blanc, and Picpoul Blanc to ensure the highest quality and allow Tablas Creek to replicate the clonal selection of an established vineyard. The Patelin de Tablas is an homage to the classic blends of the Southern Rhône with Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Tannat, and Counoise in a pleasantly bright and spicy, easy-to-drink wine with a range of complexity and depth of character.
 
TABLAS CREEK
PATELIN DE TABLAS ROUGE
PASO ROBLES 2020
 
Your Price: $27.99
 
 
“The Tablas Creek 2020 Patelin de Tablas opens with notes of rose petals, lavender, rosemary, red cherries, white pepper, and smoked meat. The palate bursts with fresh juicy flavors of red plums and cranberries with hints of sarsaparilla and wet stones after a rainstorm. The wine’s ripe fruit flavors are intricately balanced by fresh acidity, and spicy undertones provide ultimate complexity and exciting drinkability.”
93 Points
2020 My Favorite Neighbor Blanc Chardonnay Blend San Luis Obispo

2020 My Favorite Neighbor Blanc Chardonnay Blend San Luis Obispo

with No Comment $40-$50Central CoastChardonnayKevin VogtPaso RoblesUSA

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
2019 My Favorite Neighbor Cabernet Sauvignon San Luis Obispo

2019 My Favorite Neighbor Cabernet Sauvignon San Luis Obispo

with No Comment $40-$50Cabernet SauvignonCentral CoastKevin VogtPaso RoblesUSA

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
2018 Booker Fracture Syrah Paso Robles

2018 Booker Fracture Syrah Paso Robles

with No Comment $90-$100Central CoastKevin VogtPaso RoblesSyrahUSA

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 Bruliam Pinot Noir Soberanes Vineyard Santa Lucia Highland

220126 2018 Bruliam Pinot Noir Soberanes Vineyard Santa Lucia Highland

with No Comment $30-$40Central CoastKevin VogtMontereyPinot NoirSanta Lucia HighlandsUSA

BRULIAM

2018 PINOT NOIR
SOBERANES VINEYARD
SANTA LUCIA HIGHLANDS

2018 Bruliam Pinot Noir Soberanes Vineyard Santa Lucia Highland
Medical doctor-turned-winemaker Kerith Overstreet is the genius behind Bruliam, and it’s her intricate attention to detail that brings her wines energy and life. Bruliam Wines is a boutique winery producing around 1000 cases annually of single-vineyard Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, and Chardonnay from some of California’s most celebrated vineyards.
 
Kerith’s relationships with many renowned growers secure her allocations of some of the highest quality fruit in California, hence her single-vineyard Pinot Noir from Soberanes Vineyard, the latest site developed by the Pisoni & Franscioni families. The character of Soberanes shines brilliantly in this wine with its captivating, majestic balance of complex aromas and flavors; the wine is a real over-achiever at this price.
 
BRULIAM
2018 PINOT NOIR
SOBERANES VINEYARD
SANTA LUCIA HIGHLANDS
Retails at: $55
 
 
 
“Dark, bright-rimmed red. Spice-tinged red fruits, incense and floral qualities on the perfumed nose, along with a building mineral topnote. Juicy and energetic on the palate, offering vibrant raspberry and cherry, rose pastille and exotic spice flavors that show fine delineation and appealing sweetness. Deeply flavored but graceful as well, finishing on a gently tannic note, with strong, red-fruit- and spice-driven tenacity.”
93 Points
2019 Morgan Twelve Clones Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir

2019 Morgan Twelve Clones Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir

with No Comment $30 and underCentral CoastKevin VogtMontereyPinot NoirSanta Lucia HighlandsUSA

MORGAN

TWELVE CLONES
SANTA LUCIA HIGHLANDS
2019 PINOT NOIR 

2019 Morgan Twelve Clones Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir
Dan and Donna Lee founded Morgan winery in the early 1980s, focusing on sustainable farming and minimalist winemaking, becoming a leader in high-quality, value wines from California’s Central Coast. Dan produces wines that are true to the variety and vineyard location, displaying precision and balance between freshness and elegance that’s enjoyable immediately upon release.
 
The Twelve Clones Pinot Noir is the winery’s flagship wine named for the numerous clones that give this wine its wide range of complex flavors and aromas that send your senses on a wild and pleasure-filled ride. The fruit comes from some of Santa Lucia Highland’s best vineyards, including Morgan’s organically farmed Double L vineyard, which provides 67% of the grapes in this 94pt 2019 vintage.
 
MORGAN
TWELVE CLONES
SANTA LUCIA HIGHLANDS
2019 PINOT NOIR 
Retails at: $35
 
Your Price: $29.99
 
 
“Bright aromas of pomegranate, orange peel, pepper and sea salt show on the nose of this clonal combination. Zesty, energetic flavors of lemon and orange zest meet with a tart and snappy red-currant flavor on the palate, with oregano and cardamom adding complexity toward the finish.”
94 Points
 
“… Very nicely perfumed with scents of black cherry, strawberry, spice, and savory herbs. Light to mid-weight in style with a delicious core of giving strawberry, raspberry, and cherry flavors. Silky in the mouth, with appealing fitness, minimal tannins, and a compliment of barrel magic. Elegant and giving and ideal as a daily drinker.”
92 Points
2019 Sans Liege Co-Ferment The Offering

2019 Sans Liege Co-Ferment The Offering

with No Comment $30-$40Central CoastKevin VogtPaso RoblesProprietary RedSanta BarbaraUSA

SANS LIEGE

2019 CO-FERMENT
THE OFFERING

2019 Sans Liege Co-Ferment The Offering

Sans Liege’s winemaker Curt Schalchin has an affinity for wines of the Southern Rhône because of their kaleidoscope of complex aromas and flavors. Relying on his intuition, he prudently monitors his vineyard’s unique microclimates from Paso Robles to Solvang, seeking finesse, distinct terroir, and unrestrained character. 

The winery describes The Offering as a quest for independence, giving an homage to the Southern Rhone but made with the freedoms of New World winemaking. The Offering Co-Ferment is a small side production with the same recipe as its sister wine with 30% whole cluster Grenache, destemmed Syrah with 25% of the stems returned, and 100% destemmed Mourvèdre. The critical difference is that all grapes were fermented together in the same vessel giving a heightened integration of the three varietals, resulting in a superior version of the same blend that everyone on our tasting panel wants to buy.

 

SANS LIEGE
2019 CO-FERMENT
THE OFFERING

Your Price: $32

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“The 2019 Sans Liege The Offering Co-Ferment is something extraordinary. The moment our tasting panel tried it, we all wanted to buy some. Its compelling nose is deep, exotic, and a little spicy, with wild currants, jasmine tea, cold charcuterie, and dried English rose petals. The complimentary palate follows with an untamed tension between the primary and secondary flavors, revealing very concentrated and focused fruits that carry an incredible freshness, surrounded by a supporting cast of flavors that beautifully carry it through a long, complex finish. What a delightful find.”

94 Points