2018 Sequum Cabernet Sauvignon Kidd Ranch Vineyard Napa Valley

2018 Sequum Cabernet Sauvignon Kidd Ranch Vineyard Napa Valley

with No Comment $30-$40Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaSaint HelenaUSA

SEQUUM

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
KIDD RANCH VINEYARD
NAPA VALLEY 2018

2018 Sequum Cabernet Sauvignon Kidd Ranch Vineyard Napa Valley
Sequum is a boutique winery based in Saint Helena, led by Paul Skinner, who combines his Ph.D. in viticulture and soil science with his deep connections in the wine industry to create balanced wines with a powerful sense of place. 
 
Paul spent two decades consulting for premium vineyards before starting his winery in 2003, which is now blended and bottled at Pride Mountain Vineyards.
 
The cooler 2018 growing season is known for producing red wines with elegance, and this Cabernet Sauvignon is nuanced and sophisticated while exhibiting power and depth throughout the finish. It promises a divine wine-drinking experience and has many years of cellaring potential.
 
SEQUUM
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
KIDD RANCH VINEYARD
NAPA VALLEY 2018
Retails at: $75
 
 
 
“The Sequum Kidd Ranch Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 begins with an intense nose of black currants, Italian glove leather, baking spices, milk chocolate, Kalamata olives, and French lavender. The rich palate continues with ripe red and black plums and tart red cherries, combining a complex savory note with sweet vanilla spice. It has an outstanding balance of rich, ripe black fruits intermixed with tart, bright red fruits, intertwined in a way where the red fruits lift the heavier dark fruits to create a wine with impeccable power, elegance, grace, liveliness, and length. Congratulations to Paul Skinner and his team for making another beautiful vintage of this wine.”
95 Points
2022 Leto Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Sonoma County

2022 Leto Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Sonoma County

with No Comment $30 and underKevin VogtSauvignon BlancSonomaSonoma ValleyUSA

LETO CELLARS

SAUVIGNON BLANC
SONOMA COUNTY 2022

2022 Leto Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Sonoma County
Brad Warner, co-founder and winemaker at Leto Cellars, has over 50 years of dedication and experience in the wine industry. He began his career in the cellar at Charles Krug Winery, followed by nearly 30 years of tenure at Robert Mondavi Winery, where he served as the Vice President of Production. Brad’s wife, Lisa, was also at Mondavi and was in charge of all aspects of wine production for over 30 years, founding Leto Cellars in 2008 and leaning into their well-deserved knowledge and adoration for their work.
 
“Leto” translates to “the hidden one” in Greek, and Leto Cellars symbolizes finding a fantastic wine made with passion at an unbelievably low price point. 
 
The 2022 Sauvignon Blanc was stainless steel-fermented, giving a very aromatically pure character, bursting with concentrated flavors and crisp acidity, perfect for a warm summer day.
 
LETO CELLARS
SAUVIGNON BLANC
SONOMA COUNTY 2022
Retails at: $28
 
 
 
“The Leto 2022 Sauvignon Blanc is brilliantly aromatic with notes of white blossoms, lemon zest, pink grapefruit, white peach, passion fruit, and golden straw. On the palate, the wine has a lively intensity with concentrated flavors of lemon, Granny Smith apple, mandarin orange, and gooseberry and a long, playful finish.”
94 Points
2019 Kelly Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Napa Valley

2019 Kelly Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Napa Valley

with No Comment $40-$50Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaOak KnollUSA

KELLY FAMILY VINEYARDS

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
ESTATE NAPA VALLEY
OAK KNOLL DISTRICT 2019

2019 Kelly Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Napa Valley
Kelly Family Vineyards is one of our most exciting boutique wine discoveries this year, and their 2019 vintage embodies everything we look for in superior-quality, small-lot Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. For years, they’ve sold fruit to some of Napa’s top Cabernet producers, and if I told you which ones, I’m confident you’d jump straight to the order button. 
 
Vineyard Manager Mario Bazán immigrated to Napa in 1973 and was charmed by Napa’s beauty, so he carefully honed his viticultural skills as a laborer and today runs one of the most respected vineyard management companies in Napa and Sonoma counties.
 
Winemaker Bob Pepi works closely with Gene and Mario to craft Kelly Family Vineyards’ limited production of premium quality wines. The depth and complexity of the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon release reflect the undivided attention of the small, intimate team and the glorious vintage.
 
KELLY FAMILY VINEYARDS
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
ESTATE NAPA VALLEY
OAK KNOLL DISTRICT 2019
Retails at: $95
 
 
 
“Coming from another fantastic vintage in Napa Valley, the Kelly Family 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits notes of wet stones, petrichor, black currant, savory spice, and a hint of cinnamon. On the palate, the wine has bright acidity that enhances the flavors of dried herbs, menthol, black plum, cherry, and allspice. The finish lingers on the palate and portrays the complexity of the flavors as it envelopes your taste buds. This wine has the structure to age and will continue to develop.”
96 Points
2019 Merus Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2019 Merus Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

with No Comment $100 and overCabernet SauvignonCoombsvilleKevin VogtNapaUSAYountville

MERUS

CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
NAPA VALLEY 2019

2019 Merus Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Merus is Latin for “pure” or “undiluted.” The purity behind the winery humbly came to fruition in 1998, with Erika J. Gottl and Mark Herold having crafted the inaugural vintage in their garage behind their house in Napa. The wine won international renown, and in 2007 Bill Foley added Merus to his Foley Family Wines group and restored an old ghost winery into a winemaking facility worthy of the brand.
 
The winery’s small size and long-term relationships with many Napa Valley growers allow the team to control many factors in the vineyard, including yield size, pruning, irrigation, and harvest times. The 2019 vintage is 97% Cabernet Sauvignon coming from a unique site in the Coombsville AVA with 3% Petit Verdot, sourced from a selected plot in Yountville, aged 24 months in 100% new French oak giving the already concentrated fruit additional flavor complexity, depth, and a lasting finish. 
 
MERUS
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
NAPA VALLEY 2019
Retails at: $225
 
 
 
“A killer bottle of Napa Valley magic, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon from Merus is 97% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Petit Verdot. It’s a powerful, full-bodied, uber-ripe beauty that stays lively and balanced, with beautiful blue fruits, as well as smoked tobacco, chocolate, and scored earth-like aromas and flavors. A beast of a wine with a great mid-palate and velvety tannins, it should shed its considerable baby fat over the coming 4-6 years and have two decades of overall longevity.”
97 Points
2021 Lingua Franca Avni Pinot Noir Willamette Valley

2021 Lingua Franca Avni Pinot Noir Willamette Valley

with No Comment $30-$40Kevin VogtOregonPinot NoirUSA

LINGUA FRANCA

AVNI PINOT NOIR
WILLAMETTE VALLEY 2021

2021 Lingua Franca Avni Pinot Noir Willamette Valley
Larry Stone was the ninth Master Sommelier in the United States and spent over 30 years as a high-profile sommelier and restaurateur. In 2010, he began negotiations on the highly sought-after 150-acre Janzen Farm in Oregon’s Eola-Amity Hills AVA, finally purchasing the property in 2012. The estate lies in the neighborhood of Argyle’s Lone Star, Domaine Serene’s Jerusalem Hill, and Evening Land’s Seven Springs vineyards, known for Nekia, Gelderman, and Jory soils and a climate ideally suited to grow Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
 
Larry co-founded Lingua Franca alongside David Honig and Dominique Lafon in 2015. Dominique, a well-known producer in Meursault, assumed the position of the consulting winemaker and brought on his protégé Thomas Savre to craft the wines because of Thomas’s experience working for some of the top domains in Burgundy. The Avni Pinot Noir comes primarily from the Lingua Franca Estate Vineyard, with around 30% from other prized plots in the Eola-Amity Hills region to elevate the range of aromas and flavors but retain the savory spice.
 
LINGUA FRANCA
AVNI PINOT NOIR
WILLAMETTE VALLEY 2021
 
 
 
“The Lingua Franca Avni Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2021 begins with a strikingly complex Burgundian-like nose of fresh cherries, delicate green herbs, light wood spice, and white florals. The palate continues with bright red and sweet black cherries, tart pomegranate, ripe Burgundy plums, black tea, hints of cola, and saline minerality. The touch of greenness from partial whole-cluster fermentation dances with the complex sweet/tart fruit to showcase the lushness of Oregon Pinot Noir, guided by the thoughtful, measured hand of a Burgundian winemaker in a way that beautifully projects the best traits of both regions.”
94 Points
2019 Groth Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville

2019 Groth Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville

with No Comment $60-$70Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaOakville

GROTH 

CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
OAKVILLE 2019

2019 Groth Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville
Dennis and Judy Groth purchased an old, rundown farm in what is now the Oakville AVA in 1981. Few people in the wine business understood the value and potential of the land in Napa Valley at the time, but Ren Harris, a realtor, fellow winegrower, and founder of Paradigm Winery, was one of them. He promised the couple that this property would aspire to greatness.
 
After one year of solely selling fruit, Dennis and Judy decided to produce wine. They asked Nils Venge to be their winemaker, and after his initial visit to the estate, he commented, “That’s the Sweet Spot…that can make us world-class wine.” He proved himself right in 1985, when Robert Parker awarded the Groth Estate Cabernet Sauvignon America’s first 100-Point score.
 
The Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon comes primarily from the estate vineyard and small portions from partner growers in Oakville. The 2019 vintage is 89% Cabernet Sauvignon with 11% Merlot, rounding out the mid-palate and continuing the legacy of Groth’s outstanding reputation.
 
GROTH 
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
OAKVILLE 2019
Retails at: $70
 
 
 
“Sumptuous black and blue berries, candied violets and sweet cedar on the nose. Fresh and inviting in the mouth, showing elegant red, black and blue fruit with graphite, clove and tangy orange acidity framed by pointed tannins. A lovely ageworthy red with energy and poise by winemaker Ted Henry. Drink 2022-2036”
94 Points
2020 Dolum Estates Cabernet Sauvignoin Cask #11 Sonoma County

2020 Dolum Estates Cabernet Sauvignoin Cask #11 Sonoma County

with No Comment $30 and underAlexander ValleyCabernet SauvignonKevin VogtSonomaUSA

DOLUM ESTATES

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
CASK #11 2020
SONOMA COUNTY

2020 Dolum Estates Cabernet Sauvignoin Cask #11 Sonoma County
Dolum Estates’ founders strive to create wines with undeniable character and all-embracing elegance that vividly portray their origin. Winemaker Chad Alexander’s background in soil science, and experience making wine at Hess Collection and Robert Craig wineries, brought their goal to fruition, producing terroir-focused wines with depth of flavor that remain elegant and finely balanced.
 
Their 100% Cabernet Sauvignon Cask #11 embodies the classic Alexander Valley depth and complexity of the region’s ancient soils. It’s balanced with 8% Cabernet Sauvignon from Oakville that ties in the rich, supple mouthfeel. This impressive wine, aged in French oak, offers immediate enjoyment and the structure to age for five to seven years.
 
DOLUM ESTATES
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
CASK #11 2020
SONOMA COUNTY
Retails at: $82
 
 
 
“Massive notes of crushed stone, blackberry, earth, and licorice are gentled by the wine’s inherent elegance. It morphs from tightly wound to a tamed beast with lithe, lip-smacking tannins.”
94 Points, “Publisher’s Pick”
2021 Hourglass HG III Red Blend Napa Valley

2021 Hourglass HG III Red Blend Napa Valley

with No Comment $40-$50Kevin VogtNapaProprietary RedUSA

HOURGLASS 

HG III RED BLEND
NAPA VALLEY 2021

2021 Hourglass HG III Red Blend Napa Valley
The Hourglass estate consists of two vineyards producing a line of estate wines under winemaker Tony Biagi, who gained nearly ten years of experience making wines for Plumpjack. The two vineyards are planted predominately with Bordeaux varietals, and Tony focuses on creating Old-World-styled wines with a modern twist.
 
The HG III is a unique blend of small lots of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petite Sirah, offering a silky-smooth, consistent style of a Napa Valley red blend that continuously finds itself on the shelves of our wine shop. The 2021 vintage is youthful and full of life with concentrated flavors, smooth, supple tannins, and a long, indulgent finish. It is the perfect accompaniment to a meal or a relaxing evening.
 
HOURGLASS 
HG III RED BLEND
NAPA VALLEY 2021
Retails at: $53
 
 
 
“The Hourglass 2021 HG III Proprietary Red Blend opens with a spice rack of complex aromas with violets, pink peppercorns, red currant, blackberry, leather, and mushroom. On the palate, the wine has depth and flavors of ripe red plum, blueberry, melted dark chocolate, malt, toasted bread, and roasted coffee beans. The flavor intensity lasts through the finish and is enjoyable from beginning to middle to end.”
94 Points
2020 Stemmler Pinot Noir BZ Vineyard Anderson Valley

2020 Stemmler Pinot Noir BZ Vineyard Anderson Valley

with No Comment $30 and underAnderson ValleyKevin VogtPinot NoirSonomaUSA

STEMMLER

PINOT NOIR
BZ VINEYARD 2020
ANDERSON VALLEY

2020 Stemmler Pinot Noir BZ Vineyard Anderson Valley
Robert Stemmler began working at Charles Krug after moving to California from Germany in 1961, and later for Inglenook and Simi wineries before launching his winery focused on Pinot Noir in 1976. His Pinot Noirs rose to critical acclaim, being called the best in America in 1984. Although Robert sold in his winery 1989, he still steps in to ensure that the quality level he established over 40 years remains intact.
 
The BZ Vineyard sits near the Navarro River in the Anderson Valley, not far from the Pacific Ocean, and is one of the coolest sites the winery works and the last one harvested. Stemmler harvested wines from the 2020 vintage a little earlier than usual, allowing for a brighter character than past vintages, bringing zesty acidity and fresh red fruits from a co-fermentation of different Pinot Noir clones specially selected by the winemaking team. 
 
STEMMLER
PINOT NOIR
BZ VINEYARD 2020
ANDERSON VALLEY
Retails at: $50
 
 
 
“The Stemmler 2020 Bz Pinot Noir opens with bright notes of red berry and stone fruits with light florals. The palate continues with cotton-candied bright red cherries, ripe strawberries, cola bean, chalk, and white flowers. It is a fresh, easy-drinking Monday through Thursday wine.”
90 Points
2020 Maison Jessiaume Bourgogne Chardonnay Burgundy France

2020 Maison Jessiaume Bourgogne Chardonnay Burgundy France

with No Comment $30 and underBurgandyChardonnayFranceKevin Vogt

MAISON JESSIAUME

BOURGOGNE CHARDONNAY
BURGUNDY FRANCE 2020

2020 Maison Jessiaume Bourgogne Chardonnay Burgundy France
Founded in 1850 in the Santenay region of Burgundy, Maison Jessiaume’s proprietors are unwaveringly committed to continuing the winery’s legacy and showcasing unique terroirs. Jessiaume controls thirty-seven acres of organically farmed vines across fifteen sub-appellations, with their Chardonnay vines predominant in the southern areas. These vineyards provide crisp, clean acidity, minerality, and floral notes to the wines.
 
The winemaking team relies on a minimalistic approach, removing human intervention as much as possible and utilizing techniques such as ambient yeast fermentation, gravity flow, and natural clarification. The 2020 Bourgogne Chardonnay is a blend of different plots that were delicately refined over ten months in neutral French oak, keeping the characteristics of the fruit intact while providing a bit more structure, spice, and a softer mouthfeel that is delightfully approachable.
 
MAISON JESSIAUME
BOURGOGNE CHARDONNAY
BURGUNDY FRANCE 2020
 
 
 
“The Domaine Jessiaume 2020 Bourgogne Chardonnay comes from a nearly perfect vintage for white wines, evident in this wine with concentrated aromas of honeysuckle, chamomile, apricot, custard, allspice, and wet stones. On the palate, the flavors or just as intense with peach, and pear, with a hint of butterscotch pot de crème. The wine is drinking fabulously at the moment, with or without food, and is impressively delightful.”
95 Points