2017 Meyer Family Cellars Spitfire Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon

2017 Meyer Family Cellars Spitfire Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon

with No Comment $40-$50Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaOakvilleUSA

MEYER FAMILY CELLARS

2017 SPITFIRE OAKVILLE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON

2017 Meyer Family Cellars Spitfire Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon
Meyer Family Cellars is rooted in Napa Valley tradition, established by Justin Meyer, visionary and co-founder of Silver Oak Cellars. Justin’s son Matt and his wife Karen have worldwide winemaking experience, and together they craft this remarkable Oakville Cabernet, sourced from a coveted Oakville neighborhood. They make it in a powerfully rich, enchanting style that offers incredible value for the region. 
 
Spitfire arose from an undisclosed site near Eastern Oakville, where the Vaca Mountains converge with the Valley floor. The iron-rich, volcanic soils are nutrient deficient and force the roots deep into the earth, extracting the site’s unique terroir. 
 
Matt ages this wine for 22 months in A&K barrels, a Missouri-based cooperage owned by Silver Oak. The American oak adds intriguing spice elements which blend well with Oakville’s notoriously complex fruit.
 
MEYER FAMILY CELLARS
2017 SPITFIRE OAKVILLE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
Retails at: $54
 
Your Price: $49.99
 
 
“After nearly three years of aging, this ’17 Oakville Cabernet has begun to demonstrate many of the fruit and aromatic characteristics we’ve come to expect. Cassis, blackberry, and red-black currant all work in ripe combination across the juicy palate, with secondary notes of cooking spice, eucalyptus, and a hint of licorice. Two years in American oak have added a complex spice box of flavors, showing cardamom and cinnamon layered in a framework of integrated oak tannins. This vineyard site continually produces wines of great polish and drinkability, making them a joy to open while still young. As always, Spitfire is made for your next steak!” 
Gold Medal, Sunset International Wine Competition
2018 Bevan Ontogeny Proprietary Red

2018 Bevan Ontogeny Proprietary Red

with No Comment $90-$100Kevin VogtNapaProprietary RedUSA

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
2018 Baldacci Sorelle Chardonnay Carneros

2018 Baldacci Sorelle Chardonnay Carneros

with No Comment $30 and underCarnerosChardonnayKevin VogtNapaUSA

BALDACCI

SORELLE CHARDONNAY
2018 CARNEROS

2018 Baldacci Sorelle Chardonnay Carneros
Revered for lively acidity and concentrated fruit, Carneros Chardonnays benefit from their proximity to the Pacific Ocean and San Pablo Bay. Cool air funnels through the Coastal Mountain ranges allowing the grapes a long growing season, with temperatures cool enough to maintain acidity and structure. Baldacci’s Sorelle Chardonnay perfectly reflects this phenomenon, as echoed by Jeb Dunnuck, who writes that it’s “nicely textured and has good acidity followed by a clean finish, all making for a delicious Chardonnay.” 
 
Michael Baldacci works closely with Josh Clark to farm his Carneros Vineyard to its utmost potential. Josh is a leading viticulturist whose A-list clients include Outpost, Hourglass, and Kinsella Estate, to name a few. 
 
Sorelle is barrel-aged and crafted in a full-bodied, concentrated style by Michael Baldacci and Ricardo Herrera. Ricardo gained experience at icons Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Dominus, and Screaming Eagle. The resulting wine performs at an exceptionally high-level that’s uncommon at this price.
 
BALDACCI
SORELLE CHARDONNAY
2018 CARNEROS
Retails at: $40
 
 
 
“A full-bodied, toasty white with aromas and flavors of apricot, ripe pear, smoke and apple pie. Crisp acidity and a toasty, flinty finish. Drink or hold.”
91 Points
 
“…the 2018 Chardonnay Sorelle offers an attractive, richer style that carries lots of buttered melon, white peach, and pineapple fruit notes as well as some background toastiness. It’s nicely textured and has good acidity followed by a clean finish, all making for a delicious Chardonnay to drink over the coming couple of years.”
90 Points
2017 Belle Glos Eulenloch Vineyard Pinor Noir Napa Valley

2017 Belle Glos Eulenloch Vineyard Pinor Noir Napa Valley

with No Comment $30-$40CarnerosKevin VogtNapaPinot NoirUSA

BELLE GLOS

EULENLOCH VINEYARD
2017 PINOT NOIR
NAPA VALLEY

2017 Belle Glos Eulenloch Vineyard Pinor Noir Napa Valley
Belle Glos Pinot Noirs have an extravagantly rich style that transcends varietal/category to the degree that even some Cabernet-drinkers enjoy them. Winemaker Joe Wagner crafts them with unprecedented lavish fruit and sweet oak levels, and he works to distill the essence of each vineyard and deliver it generously. His Eulenloch Pinot Noir from Napa Valley’s Carneros region is opulent, complex, and nuanced. At around $40, it’s a lot of Pinot for the price. 
 
Joe was involved in the Wagner Family wine business at an early age, taking invaluable lessons from his father, Chuck Wagner, who founded Caymus Vineyards with his father, Charlie. Joe created Belle Glos to showcase Pinot Noirs produced from noteworthy coastal wine-growing regions, and lucky for us, he recently added Eulenloch Vineyard in Napa Valley. 
 
Eulenloch Vineyard benefits from cooling influences from the Pacific Ocean via San Pablo Bay, which helps the grapes maintain acidity and structure. Joe utilizes frequent punch downs to extract color and tannins at the winery, and he controls temperature to maximize flavor.
 
BELLE GLOS
EULENLOCH VINEYARD
2017 PINOT NOIR
NAPA VALLEY
Retails at: $55
 
Your Price: $39.99
 
 
“Deep ruby red with aromas of ripe cherry, blueberry, and juicy blackberry layered with hints of cocoa and forest floor. A rich and opulent wine offering flavors of baker’s chocolate, blackberry, and sweet pipe tobacco. This wine is well rounded with supple, refined tannins and a mouthwatering, long finish.”
2018 Eleven Eleven X-I Estate Cabernet Oak Knoll District

2018 Eleven Eleven X-I Estate Cabernet Oak Knoll District

with No Comment $80-$90Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaOak KnollUSA

ELEVEN ELEVEN

X∙I ESTATE CABERNET
2018 OAK KNOLL DISTRICT 

2018 Eleven Eleven X-I Estate Cabernet Oak Knoll District
Eleven Eleven is a new winery producing exciting wines out of their state-of-the-art production facility near downtown Napa. Winemaker Kirk Venge creates them in a powerfully captivating style that’s elegantly balanced and enriched with nuance. Their 2018 X∙I Estate Cabernet perfectly reflects the winery’s drive to make the best wines possible, and at $85, don’t miss this high-scoring Cab. 
 
The 2018 release is nearly 90% Cabernet Sauvignon heightened with the other four most classic Bordeaux varieties; Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, and Petit Verdot. The wine spent almost two years developing in French oak barrels, and it’s rocking now. 
 
The X∙I Estate Vineyard is in the Oak Knoll AVA, where the clay loam soils, combined with the San Pablo Bay cooling influences, are ideal for ripening Bordeaux varieties. The resulting wine is, as Vinous writes, “spectacularly rich” and “gorgeous in its style,” and at $85, it’s a stupendous value for top-quality Napa Cab.
 
ELEVEN ELEVEN
X∙I ESTATE CABERNET
2018 OAK KNOLL DISTRICT
 
Your Price: $85
 
 
“The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate will thrill readers who enjoy opulent Napa Valley wines. Inky dark fruit, dark chocolate, menthol, licorice and spice blast out of the glass. Unctuous and spectacularly rich, the 2018 is a gorgeous wine in its style. Plush, silky tannins round out the luxurious finish.”
94 Points
 
“Black garnet color. Aromas and flavors of boysenberry, eclairs, sassafras, sage, and licorice with a lightly tannic, vibrant, dryish full body and a warming, complex, long finish with moderate oak flavor. A dense and brooding Oak Knoll Cabernet for fabulous steaks; drink now through 2035.”
Gold Medal, Exceptional, Cellar Selection
94 Points
 
“I haven’t been this excited about unveiling a new wine in years. Finally, the secret is out! A true 5 varietal Estate Bordeaux Blend. Having the viticulture at your fingers to guide each of these plantings with just the right inputs and be blessed with a nearly perfect vintage like 2018 was a combination for success. I love the dark fruit and young tightly laced tannin feel. As young as these plantings are, I predict outstanding things in future years stemming from this, the XI inaugural release!”
Winemaker Kirk Venge
2016 Sebright Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2016 Sebright Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

with No Comment $60-$70Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaOakvilleUSA

SEBRIGHT

2016 RESERVE 
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
NAPA VALLEY

2016 Sebright Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Sebright wowed us last year with their Greenwood Block Cabernet. Their resolute style of crafting beautifully refined wines deep-seated in elegance made a memorable impact. We wondered if it could get any better, and their 48 case production of Reserve Cabernet from their Estate Vineyard loudly answered that question with a resilient YES. The wine is more profound, more opulent, and with more intensity than their Greenwood Block bottling. At $125, it’s an incredible wine, but at $65, there aren’t enough superlatives to describe it. 
 
Sebright’s Reserve Cabernet comes from their single-acre Garnett Creek Estate Vineyard, double planted to clone 7, a clone also used by Screaming Eagle. They farm the vineyard sustainably and by hand, and the volcanic ash soils produce tiny yields of intense fruit. 
 
Andy Jones, who worked under Thomas Brown at Outpost, makes this wine, which reigns from the remarkable 2016 vintage. The Wine Spectator ranks 2016 as the highest-rated vintage for Napa Cabernet since 1997. It spent 23 months in new French oak barrels, and with just 2 barrels (48 cases) produced, don’t wait to secure yours.
 
SEBRIGHT
2016 RESERVE 
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
NAPA VALLEY
Retails at: $125
 
 
 
“This is a very concentrated, powerful wine with an intense nose including muddled black and blue berries, rose petals, glove leather, and sweet vanilla. The focused palate has an energetic approach with layers of mountain blackberries complex minerals, Burgundy plums, and cherry pipe tobacco. The lavish finish is compelling, dynamic, exceptionally long, beautifully presented in a wine that I want more of.”
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
2018 Faust Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2018 Faust Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

with No Comment $40-$50Cabernet SauvignonCoombsvilleKevin VogtNapaUSA

FAUST

CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
2018 NAPA VALLEY

2018 Faust Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
The producers of Faust challenge themselves to create wines that purely express their Coombsville estate. They describe the wine as a modern classic that they craft in a bold style exemplifying their vineyard’s unique characteristics and dynamic terroir. At around $50, it’s one of Napa Valley’s best values in high-quality Cabernet Sauvignon.
 
Faust’s winemakers Jen Beloz and David Jelinek have every possible tool to make great wine inside Quintessa’s state-of-the-art winery in Rutherford. There, they craft a world-class Cabernet using an optical sorter that inspects each berry to ensure uniform ripeness before the juice travels gently by gravity through the winemaking process. 
 
The 2018 release is composed around a core of fruit from the winery’s estate vineyards in Coombsville and Rutherford and elevated with Atlas Peak, Mount Veeder, and Howell Mountain grapes, producing diverse and compelling flavors.
 
FAUST
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
2018 NAPA VALLEY
Retails at: $55
 
Your Price: $49.99
 
 
“Very attractive aromas of blackcurrants, black olives and dark leather with some cedar. It’s full-bodied with firm, silky tannins and a refined, polished finish. Shows finesse and focus. Grows on the palate. Really delicious now, but will improve with age. Drink or hold.”
94 Points
 
“…this full-bodied, highly expressive red is made from Coombsville estate grapes as well as grapes from sites in Rutherford and Oakville. It presents concentrated, burly black-fruit notes tempered by savory clove, espresso, leather and toasted oak.”
92 Points
 
“Intense yet fresh with juicy blue and black notes. Dark chocolate mixed with dried herbs seduces the palate, while silky tannins and lifting acidity lead to a layered and lingering finish.”
2017 B. Kosuge Pinot Noir The Shop, Carneros

2017 B. Kosuge Pinot Noir The Shop, Carneros

with No Comment $30 and underCarnerosKevin VogtNapaPinot NoirUSA

B. KOSUGE 

2017 PINOT NOIR
THE SHOP, CARNEROS 

2017 B. Kosuge Pinot Noir The Shop, Carneros
Byron Kosuge is a highly-skilled winemaker who’s spent decades immersed in Carneros Pinot Noir, but it’s his curious nature that sets him apart from the rest. He continually experiments with farming and fermentation techniques to create a more distinctive, fresher Pinot Noir. He describes his style as a “new tradition” of winemaking, inspired by old-world methods but recombining them in ways that seem to suit New World conditions. The results are brilliant, and at $30, his 2017 Carneros Pinot Noir is also a glaring value.
 
Byron spent the first 15 years of his winemaker career at Saintsbury Winery in Carneros, where he meticulosity studied the region and surrounding vineyards. His vast skill set has attracted several other high-quality Pinot producers like MIURA and Small Vines as the consulting winemaker. 
 
In the vineyard, and the cellar, Byron is incredibly hands-on; walking the vineyards, working the vines, sorting grapes. He ferments his Carneros Pinot in a combination of neutral oak vessels of various sizes and concrete, resulting in a clean, fresh style of Pinot Noir that’s remarkably balanced.
 
B. KOSUGE 
2017 PINOT NOIR
THE SHOP, CARNEROS
Retails at: $35
 
Your Price: $29.99
 
 
“The 2017 Shop was, as usual, aged in a combination of neutral oak vessels of various sizes and concrete. In response to the somewhat riper flavors in the fruit, I included a fairly healthy portion of whole clusters in the fermentations, slightly more than usual, to help balance out the ripe fruit flavors. But no drastic changes. In its youth the wine was deeply colored, very plush and a bit brooding during its time in barrel and cask. Now, it still tends towards the darker fruit end of the spectrum. One other benefit of mature vines—despite the heat of the vintage, the alcohol checks in at surprisingly modest 13.3%”
2018 Vineyard 29 Cru Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2018 Vineyard 29 Cru Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

with No Comment $60-$70Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaSt. HelenaUSA

VINEYARD 29

CRU CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
2018 NAPA VALLEY

2018 Vineyard 29 Cru Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Vineyard 29 utilizes a combination of Old-World techniques and the most advanced methods available in their constant pursuit of perfection. These processes include everything from gravity flow tanks, an optical sorter that can be programmed algorithmically, to a control room that monitors the conditions inside the vineyards, caves, and winery. They center their philosophy on Elevage, which translates to raising the wine from grape to bottle. The 2018 Cru Cabernet perfectly portrays the character of the Napa Valley terroir, and as Jeb Dunnuck writes, it does so with “notable purity, balance, and length.”
 
The wine team thoughtfully constructed the 2018 release from fourteen vineyards, with their core composed of parcels surrounding the winery’s Estate in St Helena. The winemaking team hand-selects the balance of fruit from different parts of the Valley, creating a well-rounded and richly layered Cabernet that’s effortlessly balanced. 
 
Vineyard 29 Winemaker Keith Emerson has crafted this wine since the inaugural vintage in 2005. He gained invaluable experience while working alongside Philippe Melka on the winery’s high-scoring Estate wines through 2017, while Philippe was consulting winemaker. At under $100, this is a steal in terms of the sheer quality of what’s inside the bottle.
 
VINEYARD 29
CRU CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
2018 NAPA VALLEY
Retails at: $75
 
Your Price: $69.99
 
 
“Plums, Asian spices, tobacco, and lead pencil notes emerge from the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Cru, which hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a beautifully polished, elegant texture, and outstanding length. This is another gorgeous 2018 displaying notable purity, balance, and length as well as richness. It can be drunk any time over the coming 15+ years.”
94 Points
#28 Top Napa Cabernet Under $100
 
“The 2018 CRU Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon holds nothing back upon opening. Grilled meat, cocoa and Bing cherry perfume a beautifully expressive nose. Pulling from multiple vineyards throughout Napa Valley, this wine truly encompasses the incredible diversity that our valley has to offer. Firm tannins and structure house notes of cassis, plums, black peppercorns and fresh tobacco leaf. This wine finishes with a long, weighty finish that never loses its focus and remains pure throughout.”