2019 Prisoner Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2019 Prisoner Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

with No Comment $40-$50Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaUSA

PRISONER

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2019 NAPA VALLEY

2019 Prisoner Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
The Prisoner Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 is a wine made in a similar fashion and style as The Prisoner Red Blend but with Cabernet Sauvignon as the main blending component. Director of Winemaking Chrissy Wittman works with a team of growers in Napa Valley to select fruit that best fits the profile of her spellbinding wines unhindered by tradition.
 
She blended in small percentages of Merlot, Syrah, Malbec, Petite Sirah, and Charbono for that extra rich mouthfeel well known by Prisoner drinkers worldwide. It served time in French and American oak, giving the wine a signature spice rack of flavors and silky smooth finish for under $50. Our panel was impressed by this wine’s stunning concentration, superior richness, and riveting flavor profile, guaranteed to delight fans of rich, inky-style Napa Cabs.
 
PRISONER
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2019 NAPA VALLEY
Retails at: $55
 
Your Price: $49.99
 
 
“The Prisoner Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 begins with a deep, rich nose of black and blue fruits, toasted coconut, sweet vanilla, and wood spice. The palate is lush and rich, with deep, ripe blackberry and sweet black currants combined with espresso, baker’s chocolate, and tobacco notes.”
90 Points
2018 Martin Ray Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2018 Martin Ray Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

with No Comment $30 and underCabernet SauvignonHowell MountainKevin VogtNapaOak KnollRutherfordStags LeapUSA

MARTIN RAY

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2018 NAPA VALLEY

2018 Martin Ray Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Martin Ray Vineyards and Winery embraces the “wines of place” philosophy, perenially producing wines that showcase the best of the region’s site-specific terroir. The Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon blends four different sought-after appellations: Howell Mountain, Oak Knoll, Rutherford, and Stags Leap District, giving this wine diversity from the select vineyards.
 
This release is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon that underwent hand punch-downs for two weeks in open-top fermenters and then aged in 40% new French oak for 16 months. Any wine drinker familiar with Martin Ray knows the consistency of high quality from vintage to vintage the wines have to offer, and the 2018 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon hits a home run for the superior level of sophistication in the bottle at this price.
 
MARTIN RAY
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2018 NAPA VALLEY
Retails at: $30
 
Your Price: $25
 
 
“Deep and manicured with blueberry and blackberry aromas and flavors. Full-bodied and tight with super polished tannins and a tight, racy finish. Beautifully crafted tannins make this exciting. Better after 2022, but already beautiful. Screw cap.”
93 Points
2017 Juslyn Perry's Blend Spring Mountain

2017 Juslyn Perry’s Blend Spring Mountain

with No Comment $40-$50NapaProprietary RedSpring MountainUSA

JUSLYN

2017 PERRY’S BLEND
SPRING MOUNTAIN 

2017 Juslyn Perry's Blend Spring Mountain
Juslyn Vineyards’ proprietors, Perry and Carolyn Butler, came to Napa in 1997 from the tech industry, bringing their high level of quality expectations and detail-oriented nature. Winemaker Angelina Mondavi exceeded those expectations beginning her career at age 10 in the lab at her family’s winery Charles Krug and now has 28 harvests under her belt, an undergraduate degree from Villanova University with a major in Chemistry, and a Master’s degree in Oenology from the University of Adelaide’s Waite Campus.
 
Since her return to Napa in 2007, she’s had the opportunity to work with many acclaimed winemakers, including Stacy Clark at Pine Ridge Vineyards and Jayson Woodbridge of Hundred Acre. Angelina carefully crafts Perry’s Blend as a Left Bank Bordeaux-style blend that changes each vintage but is based around a core of Cabernet Sauvignon enhanced primarily with Cabernet Franc that proudly conveys the prestige and desire of Spring Mountain fruit.
 
JUSLYN
2017 PERRY’S BLEND
SPRING MOUNTAIN 
Retails at: $110
 
 
 
“The 2017 Juslyn Vineyards Perry’s Blend is an exceptional example from Spring Mountain opening with an incredible depth of aromas, with wild black currants, black tea, balsamic, cloves, fresh roses, and volcanic rock. The palate mimics the nose with its deeply concentrated flavors adding blackberries, black olives, dark chocolate, and a hint of aniseed. A linear structure of flavors reveals a very concentrated and focused wine with a solid tannic structure and bright acidity that will keep this wine fresh, alive, and age-worthy for at least another 12 to 15 years.”
94 Points
2019 Arietta Quartet Proprietary Red

2019 Arietta Quartet Proprietary Red

with No Comment $70-$80Kevin VogtNapaProprietary RedUSA

ARIETTA 

2019 QUARTET 
PROPRIETARY RED

2019 Arietta Quartet Proprietary Red
Arietta’s Quartet is a Bordeaux-style blend named for its ability to sing with vibrancy and greatness; Quartet is defined in the music world as four instruments or voices joining together in harmony, thus naming this harmonious four varietal blend. The winery has been family-owned since 1996 and has been honored to have the highly talented Andy Erickson as their conductor since 2006.
 
Over the last 16 years, Andy has applied the intricate knowledge and expertise he gained while making wine at some of Napa Valley’s finest estates, including Screaming Eagle, Staglin, Mayacamas, and Harlan Estate. The 2019 release is another nearly flawless vintage with the hedonistic appeal and depth of aroma and flavors very similar to the 2018 bottling but with slightly lower yields giving focused precision, concentration, and intensity.
 
ARIETTA 
2019 QUARTET 
PROPRIETARY RED
 
Your Price: $75
 
 
“This exceptional wine combines 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot into a harmonious whole after aging 20 months in French oak barrels. Sage, cedar and black currant highlight a classically structured, textured and nuanced palate of structure and graceful tannin.”
95 Points
2015 Morlet Cabernet Sauvignon Les Petits Morlet

2015 Morlet Cabernet Sauvignon Les Petits Morlet

with No Comment $90-$100Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapa

MORLET

2015 CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
LES PETITS MORLET 

2015 Morlet Cabernet Sauvignon Les Petits Morlet
Fifth-generation winemaker Luc Morlet grew up in Avenay-Val d’Or, France, working with his family on their estate, kindling an early passion for wine and tradition. During his university studies in Viticulture and Enology, he worked vineyards in Burgundy, Bordeaux, and Southern France, creating a traditional, time-tested technique foundation, which he brought to America. 
 
Luc left France in 1996, joining his wife Jodie in California, bringing with him his savoir-faire of Old-World winemaking techniques, becoming known and respected in Napa and Sonoma for crafting superbly balanced, terroir focused wines. His Les Petits Cabernet is a Cuvée style blend constructed from younger vines grown on many of the A-list properties where Luc sources fruit, offering the power, persistence, and balance that you’d want from a top-tier Napa Valley wine.
 
MORLET
2015 CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
LES PETITS MORLET
 
Your Price: $95
 
 
“Slightly deeper colored than the ’14, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Les Petits Morlet offers more black fruits, graphite, scorched earth, and tobacco. It’s another full-bodied yet finesse-driven wine from this estate that has good acidity, ripe tannin, and plenty of class. As with the 2014, it will keep for over a decade.”
93 Points
 
“…Very deep garnet-purple colored, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Les Petits Morlet gives up expressive red and black currants notes with underlying hints of Chinese five spice, bay leaves, pencil lead and dark chocolate with a waft of lavender. Medium to full-bodied, it coats the mouth with black fruits and red berry sparks, framed by grainy tannins and lovely freshness, finishing long and juicy…”
92 Points
2015 Corley Proprietary Red Napa Valley

2015 Corley Proprietary Red Napa Valley

with No Comment $70-$80Kevin VogtNapaOak KnollProprietary RedRutherfordSaint HelenaUSAYountville

CORLEY

PROPRIETARY RED
2015 NAPA VALLEY

2015 Corley Proprietary Red Napa Valley
The Corley family and their dedicated team are well known for creating single vineyard premium Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from their vineyards in Rutherford, St. Helena, Yountville, and Oak Knoll. In 1990 they planted Cabernet Franc in their Oak Knoll vineyard with the vision of producing a Meritage of the three varieties.
 
The 2015 vintage is a small production of just 506 cases comprised of 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Cabernet Franc, and 32% Merlot, created to be approachable in its youth while also having the capability to age and can be enjoyed at every phase of its development. With over five years in the bottle, the 2015 perfect showcases Chris Corley’s winemaking ability, the strong vintage, and choice of vineyards.
 
CORLEY
PROPRIETARY RED
2015 NAPA VALLEY
 
Your Price: $75
 
 
“The 2015 Corley Proprietary Red Wine opens with lavender, cassis, freshly picked blackberries, cherry cola, cloves, and crushed volcanic rocks. The palate is intense and complex, with flavors of black plums and cocoa powder with a hint of savory black olives. This wine is simply stunning at the moment and is an excellent food wine that will age gracefully for the next decade or so.”
96 Points
2017 Sola Provus Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville

2017 Sola Provus Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville

with No Comment $30 and underCabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaOakvilleUSA

SOLA PROVUS

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2017 OAKVILLE
2017 Sola Provus Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville
First planted with wine grapes in the 1860s, the Oakville AVA is home to many family-owned vineyards managed by detail-oriented growers and visionary vintners working together to articulate the region’s notorious complexity, continuing the AVA’s precedence. Within the Napa Valley, Oakville has the largest concentration of some of Napa’s greatest producers, including Screaming Eagle, Harlan Estate, and Opus One, to name a few.
 
Sola Provus’ proprietors knew they had discovered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity when they discovered land for sale in Oakville, so the husband and wife sold everything they owned, quit their jobs, and moved to Napa to begin their wine adventure. Our tasting panel tasted the 2017 Sola Provus with many other wines from the same vintage, and the Sola Provus truly stood out as a winner with tangible value. 
 
SOLA PROVUS
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2017 OAKVILLE
Retails at: $110
 
 
 
“The 2017 Sola Provus Cabernet Sauvignon is a sultry wine that opens with notes of crushed blackberries, black cherries, cassis, mushrooms, baked earth, and Christmas spices.  The wine’s complexity expands onto the palate with fudge brownies, savory spices, cinnamon, and nutmeg. The finish is long and layered, slowly drifting from one flavor to the next until you’re ready for another sip.”
94 Points
2019 Duckhorn Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2019 Duckhorn Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

with No Comment $50-$60Cabernet SauvignonCalistogaHowell MountainKevin VogtNapaUSAYountville

DUCKHORN

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2019 NAPA VALLEY

2019 Duckhorn Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Duckhorn made their first Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon in 1978 and has only missed one vintage in over 40 years. Their Cabernet consistently delivers a lush, rich, eclectic taste of Napa because it’s a blend of many of their estate properties, including Rector Creek in Yountville, Monitor Ledge in Calistoga, Stout on Howell Mountain, and even their historic Three Palms Vineyard.
 
The 2019 vintage saw an ideal summer without any significant heatwaves, ensuring an even ripening of the grapes and more complex flavor development. The blend consists of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot aged 16 months in 100% French oak (50% new and 50% neutral), creating a soulful balance between the fruit and the oak.
 
DUCKHORN
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2019 NAPA VALLEY 
Retails at: $78
 
Your Price: $59.99
 
 
“The Duckhorn Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 is a rich, powerful wine with deep concentration and firm structure. The nose and palate are in sync with wild mountain blackberries, ripe Bing cherries, cedar, pie spices, dried herbs, and vanilla hints. Although compact and firm now, the intensity of sweet fruit on the palate blooms from under the youthful, slightly gripping fruit tannins, after a little time in the glass. The intensity of fruit combined with the foundational structure tells me this one has a couple of decades of good living ahead of it.”
94 Points
2017 Sparrow's Quarrel Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2017 Sparrow’s Quarrel Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

with No Comment $30 and underCabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaUSA

SPARROW’S QUARREL

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2017 NAPA VALLEY

2017 Sparrow's Quarrel Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Sparrow’s Quarrel makes wine to express quintessential Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from small plots carefully tended by hand, steadily focused throughout the process on looking after the vines, elevage, and bottling. Each parcel was kept separate in individual stainless steel tanks throughout fermentation, with punch-downs performed during the process, allowing for maximum skin contact resulting in a deeper extraction of color and tannin, giving the wine a solid backbone.
 
After fermentation, the individual tanks are transferred into medium-toast French oak barrels and blended to perfection after a complete analysis of each barrel. This level of precision and care is bound to make excellent wine, and at this price, you’ll be drinking like a king.
 
SPARROW’S QUARREL
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2017 NAPA VALLEY
Retails at: $92
 
Your Price: $29.99
 
 
“The 2017 Sparrow’s Quarrel Napa Cabernet Sauvignon begins with fresh notes of lilac, black plums, blueberry compote, vanilla extract, anise, cola, and coffee. The palate offers deep flavors of blackberries and black cherries, finishing with chocolate fudge and a hint of smoke. The tannins are firm, and the flavors are concentrated, giving this wine a great aging potential of about 12-15 years.”
94 Points
2018 Rudius Savory Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain

2018 Rudius Savory Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain

with No Comment $80-$90Cabernet SauvignonHowell MountainKevin VogtNapaUSA

RUDIUS

SAVORY ESTATE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2018 HOWELL MOUNTAIN 

2018 Rudius Savory Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain
In 1998, David Abreu and Rick Forman planted a tiny 1.3-acre plot at the top of Howell Mountain at an elevation of 1780 feet. Each vintage, the Savory Estate vineyard shows off its vast potential with powerfully concentrated fruit, rock-solid structure, and supreme ageability, that’s vividly depicted in Rudius’s 2018 vintage.
 
Jeff Ames began his winemaking career interning with Lynn Penner-Ash in Oregon and later worked as Thomas Rivers Brown’s assistant winemaker for Outpost, Schrader, and TOR before becoming the head winemaker for TOR in 2005. The Savory Estate vineyard provides Jeff with the pieces to the puzzle that make up his hedonistic signature style, with past vintages scoring well into the upper 90s. Here’s an opportunity to own this incredibly limited Howell Mountain Cabernet, priced to savor.
 
RUDIUS
SAVORY ESTATE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2018 HOWELL MOUNTAIN 
Retails at: $135
 
 
 
“The Rudius 2018 Savory Estate Cabernet is a visually compelling wine with an inky black center core and a deep ruby hue at the edges. The nose and palate dance beautifully together as they balance a vast array of compelling characteristics, including muddled blackberries, black currants, gunflint, dried green herbs, fresh cut violets, and Italian glove leather, along with hints of vanilla, baker’s chocolate, and white pepper. The palate is exceptionally concentrated and powerful yet finds the perfect symmetry between structure, intensity, and elegance. I struggled to find the perfect analogy to describe it, but it is like a bodybuilder who is also a world-class ballet dancer. It’s not what you’d expect at first glance but is thrilling to behold. I think this stunning effort is precisely what everybody looks for in an incredible mountain Cabernet. It is still a baby, and as great as it is now, you can enjoy it any time over the next several decades. Simply gorgeous!”
98 Points