2016 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Lot C-91

2016 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Lot C-91

with No Comment $90-$100Cabernet SauvignonHowell MountainKevin VogtNapaOakvilleRutherfordSt HelenaUSA

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
2018 Erickson & Caradin Ivy & Thistle Cabernet Sauvignon Atlas Peak

2018 Erickson & Caradin Ivy & Thistle Cabernet Sauvignon Atlas Peak

with No Comment $40-$50Atlas PeakCabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaUSA

ERICKSON & CARADIN

2018 IVY & THISTLE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
ATLAS PEAK

2018 Erickson & Caradin Ivy & Thistle Cabernet Sauvignon Atlas Peak
True wine lovers and collectors in their own right, Erikson & Caradin set out to create Cabernet Sauvignons that top the highest standards. The two found their beginnings in 2013 when they sold the entirety of their small production to good friends and select restaurants. They continue to remain craft-focused today, with only 50 barrels produced across eight separate designations.
 
The 2018 Ivy & Thistle is the fourth vintage of one single row of Cabernet Sauvignon grown on the steepest part of the Atlas Peak Vineyard, providing intensely concentrated and expressive mountain fruit. The cool vintage allowed for a longer hang time, producing beautifully complex fruit that winemaker Kevin Morrisey fermented in concrete before aging in second-use barrels. These practices encourage the fruit’s natural expression of its terroir to be the main focus in this limited-production Cabernet Sauvignon.
 
ERICKSON & CARADIN
2018 IVY & THISTLE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
ATLAS PEAK
Retails at: $140
 
Your Price: $49
 
 
“The 2018 Erikson & Caradin Ivy & Thistle Cabernet Sauvignon has pronounced aromas of lavender, purple lilacs, black currants, black plums, cardamom, and graphite. The flavors are rich and intense on the palate with black cherries, crushed blackberries, dark chocolate, and dried herbs. The wine is full-bodied with velvety tannins and a very smooth, persistent finish that is drinkable today or can be aged up to 10 years.”
93 Points
2019 Vista Atlas Peak Reserve Chardonnay

2019 Vista Atlas Peak Reserve Chardonnay

with No Comment $30 and underAtlas PeakChardonnayKevin VogtNapaUSA

VISTA

ATLAS PEAK RESERVE
2019 CHARDONNAY

2019 Vista Atlas Peak Reserve Chardonnay
Marked with superior concentration and uncanny value, the Vista brand is synonymous with a price-exceeding quality unmatched in its category. Their Reserve Chardonnay emerges from Atlas Peak, on the western slopes of the Vaca Mountain Range, where cool nighttime temps encourage exquisite aromas and flavors while maintaining fresh acidity.
 
For generations, Chardonnay has thrived on Atlas Peak; popularity furthered in the mid-90s when Antinori began producing Atlas Peak Chardonnay for Antica. Pahlmeyer also sourced Chardonnay from Atlas Peak, an area now well-known for producing expressive and profound Chardonnay with a clear sense of locality. At $25, this will take your “house” Chardonnay to an entirely new level.
 
VISTA
ATLAS PEAK RESERVE
2019 CHARDONNAY
 
Your Price: $25
 
 
“The 2019 Vista Atlas Peak Reserve Chardonnay begins with a fascinating nose that includes elegant honeysuckle, bright passionfruit, candied lemon, hints of vanilla bean, and white flowers. It smoothly traditions to a rich, supple mouthfeel that’s fleshy on the palate, combining honey-dipped Asian pears, and quince, with just enough bright acidity and tropical fruit character to keep it lively and fresh.”
93 Points
2018 Larkmead Firebelle Napa Valley

2018 Larkmead Firebelle Napa Valley

with No Comment $90-$100Kevin VogtNapaProprietary RedUSA

LARKMEAD

2018 FIREBELLE
NAPA VALLEY

2018 Larkmead Firebelle Napa Valley
Strategically planted above two colluvial fans extending from the Mayacamas and Vaca mountain ranges with 300 feet of ancient riverbed gravel beneath the topsoil, Larkmead’s 110-acre vineyard contains seven distinctive soil profiles, providing unique flavor characteristics in the fruit. The vineyard is planted with the most suitable varieties, clones, and rootstocks, creating the wide range of flavors and nuances that’s become a hallmark of Larkmead wines.
 
Merlot is grown in well-drained, rich loam soils full of clay and gravel, resulting in more plush density that enhances the softness of the wine. The winery’s super high-scoring Firebelle blend is based around a core of 75% Merlot, enriched with 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, showing refined beauty, grace, and a substantial aging potential with its fine-grained tannins and exquisite balance.
 
LARKMEAD
2018 FIREBELLE
NAPA VALLEY
Retails at: $120
 
Your Price: $99.99
 
 
“Marrying 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine is focused, soft and rounded in feel, with an underlying structure that should lend well to aging. It shows integrated notes of cedar, dried herb and slate that mix with a core of blueberry and plum. Lingering accents of nutmeg and cocoa nib mark the close….”
97 Points, #39 Top 100 Cellar Selections 2021
 
“Lovely aromas of tile, blackberries and plums with some lavender and violets, following through to a full body with chewy, round tannins that are layered into the pretty, not overly ripe fruit…”
96 Points
2018 Calculated Risk Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville

2018 Calculated Risk Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville

with No Comment $40-$50Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaOakvilleUSA

CALCULATED RISK

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2018 OAKVILLE

2018 Calculated Risk Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville
Dedicated to crafting wines that express their true sense of the land and natural varietal character, Calculated Risk’s Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon is a textbook example of the winery’s driving force. Oakville’s notorious complexity is powerfully bestowed and incarnated with robust intensity, keen focus, and lasting balance. 
 
Winemaker Dwight Bonewell added two Oakville Vineyards together; Money Road, near Oakville’s center, and a State Lane property bordering Yountville AVA, creating a broad interpretation of Oakville terroir, equaling a balanced, polished easy-drinking style. Priced in line with many Oakville neighbors at $120, at $46, it doesn’t take a calculus degree to sum up this deal… 
 
CALCULATED RISK
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2018 OAKVILLE
Retails at: $120
 
Your Price: $46
 
 
“Plenty of ripe berries and cherries here with some chocolate and hazelnut undertones. It’s full-to medium-bodied with round tannins and a flavorful finish. Shows richness with balance…”
93 Points
2018 Sebright Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2018 Sebright Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

with No Comment $60-$70Cabernet SauvignonCalistogaKevin VogtNapaUSA

SEBRIGHT

2018 RESERVE 
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
NAPA VALLEY

2018 Sebright Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Named after the Silver Sebright bantam chickens that help maintain the biodiversity of their environmentally friendly farmed vineyards, Sebright Cellars quietly produces superior quality boutique Cabernet from their own single-acre Garnett Creek Vineyard in Calistoga. Double planted to clone 7, a clone also used by Screaming Eagle, Sebright’s vineyard produces concentrated fruit enriched with minerality and fresh acidy.
 
Veteran Calistoga winemaker Tom Eddy’s vast experience gives him the tools needed to lucidly reveal the vineyard’s site-specific terroir with singular focus, robust fruit character, and structure for aging. Their 2018 vintage is magnificent, and so if you haven’t tried Sebright before, and you’re looking for a wine that none of your friends have heard of but will rock them to their core when they try it, this is it.
 
SEBRIGHT
2018 RESERVE 
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
NAPA VALLEY
Retails at: $125
 
 
 
“The Sebright Reserve Napa Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 begins with a deeply extensive, sultry nose that includes crushed blackberries, blueberry cobbler, black currants, baking spices, and violets. These aromas dance in unison with a concentrated palate of burgundy plums, bing cherries, crushed earthy minerals, and black tea, combined with a focused intensity to the fruit. The finish is balanced, with power, finesse, and satiny tannins that create a long, plush finish. This outstanding wine is delightful to drink now but will reward collectors with 15 or more years of enjoyment.”
96 Points
2018 Laird Chardonnay Red Hen Ranch

2018 Laird Chardonnay Red Hen Ranch

with No Comment $30-$40ChardonnayKevin VogtNapaOak KnollUSA

LAIRD

2018 CHARDONNAY
RED HEN RANCH

2018 Laird Chardonnay Red Hen Ranch
With over 50 years of vineyard expertise farming some of Napa Valley’s most prime locations, the Laird family’s intimate knowledge of their vineyards is the foundation of their wines. Considered their “home vineyard,” Red Hen Ranch, located in the Oak Knoll District, is on the same property as the winery, allowing their team the ability to monitor it year-round closely. 
 
A stand-out in the Laird Family’s portfolio of vineyards, Red Hen Ranch vineyard is influenced by cool sea breezes from the San Pablo Bay, consistently producing a Chardonnay with pronounced fruit flavors and a refreshing balance of acidity. The winery’s philosophy centers on creating wines with unmasked identity, and winemaker Brian Mox beautifully translated the 2018 vintage into its distinctive vineyard voice with delectable opulence. 
 
LAIRD
2018 CHARDONNAY
RED HEN RANCH
Retails at: $35
 
Your Price: $32
 
 
“A full-bodied white with aromas and flavors of buttered toast, praline, grilled peach and dried mango. Ripe and flavorful with salted-butter notes on the finish. Drink now.”
93 Points
2016 Ehlers Estate Portrait Proprietary Red

2016 Ehlers Estate Portrait Proprietary Red

with No Comment $50-$60Kevin VogtNapaProprietary RedSaint HelenaUSA

EHLERS ESTATE

2016 PORTRAIT
PROPRIETARY RED

2016 Ehlers Estate Portrait Proprietary Red
Ehlers Estate in St. Helena is a historic winegrowing property initially established in the mid-1800s at Napa Valley’s narrowest point, where constant airflow brings morning fog and moderating sea breezes, ensuring a slow and even ripening. The estate’s old-world style layout, where the farthest point of the property is just 600 yards from the centrally located winery, is rare in California, naturally encouraging an increased focus on quality.
 
Ehlers’s vineyard, situated on 42 contiguous acres, is divided into five primary blocks defined by their unique soil types and 25 sub-blocks with varying combinations of clones and rootstocks, offering a remarkable diversity in their fruit. Designed to represent “the perfect picture” of the unique terroir of this classical estate, the 2016 Portrait is firm and confident, harmoniously displaying the vineyards and vintage’s most remarkable characteristics. 
 
EHLERS ESTATE
2016 PORTRAIT
PROPRIETARY RED
Retails at: $65
 
Your Price: $60
 
 
“Fresh, with a light savory streak amid the red currant and damson plum fruit, giving this a racy, focused profile. Shows a floral nuance in the background and a bright mineral edge on the finish. Relies on precision rather than bombast. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Best from 2020 through 2030.”
92 Points
2015 Dyer Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain District

2015 Dyer Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain District

with No Comment $80-$90Cabernet SauvignonDiamond MountainNapaUSA

DYER

2015 CABERNET SAUVIGNON
DIAMOND MOUNTAIN DISTRICT 

2015 Dyer Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain District
Diamond Mountain District is known for its upland volcanic soils formed during the Pliocene era, giving its fruit a distinctive minerality, firm tannic structure, and extensive suitability for aging. The mountain’s proximity to the cold Pacific Ocean causes a substantial moderating effect with up to 40-degree differences between nighttime and daytime temperatures, enhancing the freshness and acidity in the grapes.
 
Bill and Dawnine Dyer have over 80 years of combined experience in winemaking both in Napa Valley and around the world, evident in Dyer wines with a focus on the exceptional terroir of Diamond Mountain. The Dyers have moved towards dry farming their vineyard, creating an opportunity for the best possible quality to flourish, as is evident in this riveting expression of Diamond Mountain District Cabernet.
 
DYER
2015 CABERNET SAUVIGNON
DIAMOND MOUNTAIN DISTRICT
Retails at: $95
 
Your Price: $89
 
 
“Translucent and super-expressive, Dyer’s 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon is magnificent. Sweet plum, graphite, lavender and spice develop in the glass, but it is the wine’s exceptional balance and captivating beauty that stand out most. The richness of the vintage has filled out the wine’s classically built frame nicely. Even so, what comes through is a powerful, structured Diamond Mountain Cabernet that exudes class and polish from the first taste to the last. Don’t miss it.”
95 Points
 
“A blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Cabernet Franc and the rest Petit Verdot, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain shows the more pretty, elegant side to this appellation. Cassis, blueberries, liquid violets and incense are just some of the nuances here. This beauty from winemaker Dawnine Dyer is full-bodied, has notable freshness, polished tannin, and again, a beautiful elegance. Drink it anytime over the coming 15-20 years.”
93+ Points
 
“Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain displays understated blackberries, black cherries, cedar and herbs notes with damp earth and black truffles nuances. Medium to full-bodied and built like a brick house, it is packed with restrained, muscular fruit, framed by grainy tannins and great tension, finishing long and earthy. Give it another year or two in bottle and drink it over the next 15-20+.”
93+ Points
2018 Janzen Beckstoffer To Kalon Cabernet Sauvignon

2018 Janzen Beckstoffer To Kalon Cabernet Sauvignon

with No Comment $100 and overCabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaOakvilleUSA

JANZEN

BECKSTOFFER TO KALON
2018 CABERNET SAUVIGNON 

2018 Janzen Beckstoffer To Kalon Cabernet Sauvignon
“To Kalon” is Greek for “highest good,” a name fitting for Andy Beckstoffer’s To Kalon Vineyard, which is one of the greatest Cabernet vineyards in the New World, described by many as Napa’s First Growth. Initially planted in 1868, the vineyard is located on the Oakville bench and has a rich history of producing powerful wines with depth, balance, and vast complexity. 
 
Beckstoffer To Kalon designated wines can easily top $500 per bottle, and the site consistently produces some of the highest-scoring Cabernets in the Valley. The viticulture crew impeccably farms this vineyard, and well-draining soils combine with evening shadows that preserve acidity and intense fruit flavors. Janzen’s 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Beckstoffer To Kalon is “head-turning,” as Jeb Dunnuck writes, and a stunning example of the vineyard’s paramount quality.
 
JANZEN
BECKSTOFFER TO KALON
2018 CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
 
Your Price: $225
 
 
“…the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Janzen Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard is more expressive and ready to go, offering a beautiful bouquet of cassis, blueberries, flowery incense, tobacco leaf, sandalwood, and violet-like nuances. Beautifully balanced and full-bodied, with that classic To Kalon sexiness as well as purity on the palate, this is another head-turning wine in this lineup that can be drunk today or cellared for 15-20 years.”
98 Points