2020 Flowers Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast

2020 Flowers Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast

with No Comment $40-$50Kevin VogtPinot NoirSonomaSonoma Coast

FLOWERS

PINOT NOIR
SONOMA COAST 2020

2020 Flowers Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
Flowers Winery founders were among the first to see the potential in the rough and rugged Sonoma Coast, planting their first vineyard in the area over 30 years ago. Their organic and biodynamic approach to farming is part of their continued commitment to respect the environment and cultivate healthier vines for higher quality wines, which you can taste in all of the wines they produce.
 
The Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir features a selection of small, family-owned vineyards, including the Sea View Ridge estate bringing forth an ultimate expression of cool-climate, coastal fruit. The 2020 vintage experienced lower than average rainfall that stressed the vines and reduced yields resulting in super-concentrated fruit that reflects the continued pursuit of quality that Flowers delivers with each new vintage.
 
FLOWERS
PINOT NOIR
SONOMA COAST 2020
Retails at: $55
 
Your Price: $45
 
 
“The 2020 Flowers Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir begins with inviting aromas of rose petals, violets, red currants, freshly sliced strawberries, black tea, forest floor, and wet stones. The wine is lively on the palate with a natural acidity that balances and complements flavors of red cherry, cranberry, and Bella mushrooms. This wine is a part of a consistent line of excellent quality wines for an approachable price, portraying an exemplary creation.”
92 Points
2021 Domaines Ott By Ott Rose Provence

2021 Domaines Ott By Ott Rose Provence

with No Comment $30 and underFranceKevin VogtProvenceProvenceRosé

DOMAINES OTT

BY. OTT ROSÉ
PROVENCE 2021

2021 Domaines Ott By Ott Rose Provence
Provençal rosé is the world’s benchmark style for crisp, dry, fruity, focused rosé, and Provence is the only wine region in the world with rosé production as its primary focus. Domaines Ott consists of three separate family-owned estates in the south of France, each producing wines of definition and allegiance to each vineyard’s unique terroir.
 
Château de Selle bottles By.Ott in a new part of the winery built exclusively for its production, ensuring top quality due to a fully controlled process from blending to bottle storage. The 2021 rosé has fresh fruity notes with a touch of salinity and a crisp minerality, making it a fabulous choice for a warm summer day. It offers a sensational level of quality from one of the world’s best producers of dry Rosé.
 
DOMAINES OTT
BY. OTT ROSÉ
PROVENCE 2021
 
Your Price: $27.99
 
 
“The 2021 BY.OTT Rosé opens with aromas of white blossoms, peach, orange zest, sea breezes, and wet chalk. On the palate, bright flavors of strawberry, white raspberry, and passion fruit are in a delightful balance with refreshing acidity. This wine is ready to drink and enjoyable with or without food at any time of the day.”
92 Points
2018 Shafer Relentless Syrah Napa Valley

2018 Shafer Relentless Syrah Napa Valley

with No Comment $90-$100Kevin VogtNapaSyrahUSA

SHAFER 

RELENTLESS SYRAH
NAPA VALLEY 2018

2018 Shafer Relentless Syrah Napa Valley
Shafer’s Relentless Syrah made its debut in 1999 before capturing three spots on the Wine Spectator’s Top 100 list, including the #1 ranking in 2012. Now in its 20th vintage, this spectacular Syrah/Petite Sirah blend continues to steal the show with its intensely captivating, indulgent style and consistently stratospheric scores from numerous critics.
 
Named for Shafer’s longtime winemaker Elias Fernandez’s relentless dedication to high-quality winemaking, this wine is an individual selection of only the top-quality fruit, just like the Hillside Select. The blend changes each year, and the 2018 vintage is 76% Syrah with 24% Petite Sirah, but what remains the same is the wine’s bold, polished style that’s been consistent for over two decades.
 
SHAFER 
RELENTLESS SYRAH
NAPA VALLEY 2018
 
Your Price: $99.99
 
 
“A young wine with superb depth and polish that shows great depth and brightness. Full and focused with blue fruit and long, fine tannins that are compact and energetic. Slate. Graphite. Sophisticated and curated. So beautiful to try now, but be patient and open after 2026.”
97 Points
 
“…the 2018 Relentless looks to be just about sensational, offering a dense purple color as well as rich, loaded notes of blackberries, currants, smoked meats, peppery spice, and violets. Reminding me of a great Cornas on steroids with its gamy, exotic character paired with beautiful richness, it has fabulous purity, ripe, polished tannins, and a great finish. This will undoubtedly be a great vintage for this cuvée, and my money is on it being one of the best yet.”
96-98 Points
2020 Grand Napa Pinot Noir Los Carneros

2020 Grand Napa Pinot Noir Los Carneros

with No Comment $30-$40CarnerosKevin VogtNapaPinot NoirUSA

GRAND NAPA

PINOT NOIR
LOS CARNEROS 2020

2020 Grand Napa Pinot Noir Los Carneros
Grand Napa Vineyards in Rutherford is known for sourcing grapes from sustainably farmed vineyards throughout the Napa Valley that produce wines with depth, character, and balance with plush tannins and intense concentration. Winemaker Dwight Bonewell is involved in the vineyards and the winery, ensuring that only the best fruit is harvested and sorted by hand before coaxing each vineyard’s unique character into its purest expression.
 
The Los Carneros AVA receives cooling breezes from the San Pablo Bay that benefit cooler-climate grapes such as Pinot Noir, helping retain the variety’s crisp, bright acidity. The 2020 Los Carneros Pinot Noir was aged for six months in 20% new French oak, emphasizing the fruit characteristics and site-specific terroir of the AVA, resulting in a superbly balanced and deeply satisfying Pinot Noir at a price too low to pass up.
 
GRAND NAPA
PINOT NOIR
LOS CARNEROS 2020
Retails at: $90
 
 
 
“The 2020 Grand Napa Los Carneros Pinot Noir has a bright nose of pie cherries, cola, dried mushrooms, white flowers, and brown sugar. The seamless palate has flavors of red cherries, mixed berries, vanilla hints, and liquid minerals. It’s a lush, easy-drinking wine, balanced by the fresh acidity. The wine team bottled it in May of 2022 and, although drinking nicely now, will certainly benefit from more time in the bottle. Drink now through 2028.”
92 Points
2019 Smith Wooton Cabernet Franc Napa Valley

2019 Smith Wooton Cabernet Franc Napa Valley

with No Comment $30-$40Cabernet FrancKevin VogtNapaUSA

SMITH WOOTON

CABERNET FRANC
NAPA VALLEY 2019

2019 Smith Wooton Cabernet Franc Napa Valley
Smith Wooton is Croze Napa Valley Winery’s boutique label, designed to showcase small lots and highlight local growers that share the same passion for the land and the vines as the estate. Daniel Benton is the mastermind behind the wines and spends valuable time in the vineyards to understand the nuances each small parcel contributes to the whole.
 
Daniel creates Smith Wooton’s 2019 Cabernet Franc from a single-acre Cabernet Franc Vineyard in the heart of Napa Valley’s Oak Knoll District, where the grapes are cooled nightly by breezes from the San Pablo Bay, producing ideal levels of fresh acidity. The grapes were fermented at cool temperatures, promoting the fruit’s natural purity and creating intricate layers of complexity, revealing the classic characteristics of Cabernet Franc in an eloquent fashion.
 
SMITH WOOTON
CABERNET FRANC
NAPA VALLEY 2019
Retails at: $55
 
 
 
“The 2019 Smith Wooton Cabernet Franc brings notes of peony, rose petal, red currant, cloves, earthy spice, and leather. The wine has an elegant mouthfeel with flavors of bramble, black cherry, and cocoa with bright, fresh acidity and soft tannins that glide each flavor into a pleasant finish. This wine is drinking enjoyably right now and has a sold backbone making it suitable to age for another decade or so.”
94 Points
2021 Martin Ray Chardonnay Concrete Fermented Dutton Ranch Vineyard

2021 Martin Ray Chardonnay Concrete Fermented Dutton Ranch Vineyard

with No Comment $30 and underChardonnayKevin VogtRussian River ValleySonomaUSA

MARTIN RAY

CHARDONNAY 2021
CONCRETE FERMENTED
DUTTON RANCH VINEYARD

2021 Martin Ray Chardonnay Concrete Fermented Dutton Ranch Vineyard
There’s good reason for the resurgence in concrete egg fermentation, primarily because of its convex shape, which creates a vortex that naturally stirs the wine and causes the lees to disperse throughout the vessel—this natural circulation results in a wine with a fuller body and softer texture. Martin Ray’s consistently high-scoring Dutton Ranch Chardonnay is a pristine example, with a sharp focus complemented by the richness from lees providing a noticeable balance.
 
Dutton Ranch Vineyard sits in the Green Valley subregion of the greater Russian River Valley AVA, an area known for its Goldridge sandy loam soils and proximity to the ocean, producing some of Sonoma County’s most distinguished grapes. This 2021 Chardonnay is perfect for summer with its uplifting aromas and levity that pair effortlessly with the season, offering an abundance of value and enjoyment.
 
MARTIN RAY
CHARDONNAY 2021
CONCRETE FERMENTED
DUTTON RANCH VINEYARD
Retails at: $35
 
Your Price: $26
 
 
“Sliced apples, apricot stones, jasmine, lemons and white tea on the nose. It’s medium-bodied with a very clean, focused and mineral palate. Elegant. Made in concrete eggs. Drink now. Screw cap.”
93 Points
2018 Saddleback Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville

2018 Saddleback Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville

with No Comment $50-$60Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaOakvilleUSA

SADDLEBACK

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
OAKVILLE 2018

2018 Saddleback Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville
Nils Venge was the first American winemaker to earn a 100-point score in 1985 with the Groth Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, establishing a pedestal of quality winemaking that few others have achieved. He established Saddleback Cellars in the late 1970s from vineyards situated on 14 acres behind Opus One, where the soils and climate combine to produce grapes of regal qualities.
 
The estate hasn’t changed much since Nils first began growing grapes, and that’s just the way nature intended it to be. Napa’s 2018 vintage delivered pristine conditions for producing superior wines that make a powerful statement and earning an overall vintage rating of 99 Points from The Wine Spectator, matched only by Napa Valley’s 1997 vintage.
 
SADDLEBACK
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
OAKVILLE 2018
Retails at: $78
 
 
 
“The 2018 Saddleback Cellars Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon opens with sultry notes of violets, cassis, black cherry, black plum, cardamom, and petrichor. On the palate, the wine’s rich, penetrating core expresses flavors of blackberry tart and chocolate gelato with a delightfully balancing acidity and long finish. This wine is incredible right now and has a solid structure for aging, rendering years of pleasure-filled drinking experiences.”
94 Points
2017 Immortal Estate Slope Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County

2017 Immortal Estate Slope Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County

with No Comment $70-$80Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtSonomaSonoma MountainUSA

IMMORTAL ESTATE

SLOPE CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
SONOMA COUNTY 2017

2017 Immortal Estate Slope Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County
The magnificently steep vineyards of Immortal Estate are among the steepest in California, planted on a dramatic 55-degree slope on the Mayacamas range. The winery was formerly known as Hidden Ridge, and in 2019, Tusk Proprietor Tim Martin partnered up with Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander and Supermodel Kate Upton as the winery’s owners.
 
Winemaker Tim Milos made wine at Opus One, Stag’s Leap, and Cliff Lede and has two 100-Point wines under his belt, so it’s no wonder Immortal wines receive high scores from enthusiasts and critics with each new vintage. Individual barrels from eight lots were selected for the final blend of the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon producing complexly flavored, concentrated, age-worthy Cabernet Sauvignon.
 
IMMORTAL ESTATE
SLOPE CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
SONOMA COUNTY 2017
 
Your Price: $79.99
 
 
“A big beast of a wine, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Slope has loads of blackcurrant and blackberry-styled fruits as well as toasted spice, graphite, licorice, and crushed stone-like aromas and flavors. Structured, full-bodied, and tannic, it has masses of baby fat that will take at least 7-8 years to melt away, yet it’s one satisfying mouthful of a Cabernet today.”
94 Points
2020 Sailors Grave Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2020 Sailors Grave Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

with No Comment $30 and underCabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaUSA

SAILOR’S GRAVE

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
NAPA VALLEY 2020

2020 Sailors Grave Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Sailor’s Grave pays homage to Michael Pozzan’s father, Byron, who spent years at sea marking each port with a new tattoo representing the long, arduous journeys many sailors embarked on, some never returning home. Michael is the founder of Michael Pozzan Winery and is known for his ability to hand-select exceptional fruit in each vintage, producing affordable Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon with intense character, richness, and depth.
 
The 2020 vintage comprises 97% Cabernet Sauvignon with 3% Zinfandel, offering a well-rounded interpretation of the valley with two classic varietals. Sailor’s Grave’s 2020 vintage inks a remarkable story with richly concentrated flavors and impressive fruit purity balanced by bright acidity, creating a delightful wine to drink any day of the week.
 
SAILOR’S GRAVE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
NAPA VALLEY 2020
Retails at: $45
 
Your Price: $29.99
 
 
“The Sailor’s Grave Napa Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 is opulent from the start, with aromas of black currants, black plums, tobacco, fresh violets, and dried vanilla bean. The palate continues with rich blackberries and black raspberries with hints of sage and clove. The refined structure and rich, lengthy finish might make you forget that this is a value Napa Cabernet. Indeed, it is a very good Napa Cabernet regardless of price.”
92 Points
2019 Duckhorn Merlot Three Palms Napa Valley

2019 Duckhorn Merlot Three Palms Napa Valley

with No Comment $100 and overKevin VogtMerlotNapaUSA

DUCKHORN 

THREE PALMS MERLOT
NAPA VALLEY 2019

2019 Duckhorn Merlot Three Palms Napa Valley
Duckhorn has been setting the New World standard for Merlot since their initial bottling of the Three Palms Vineyard in 1978. In 2017, Wine Spectator awarded the 2014 Three Palms Vineyard Merlot as the “Wine of the Year,” solidifying its reputation as a benchmark for the variety.
 
The vineyard’s location up-valley consists of poor, thin volcanic soils that force the vine’s roots deep into the earth in search of nutrients, reducing yields and boosting the concentration of flavors. 2019 was yet another fantastic vintage for Napa, which means this wine is already exceeding expectations and will continue to do so for years to come.
 
DUCKHORN 
THREE PALMS MERLOT
NAPA VALLEY 2019
Retails at: $115
 
Your Price: $110
 
 
“The exceptional 2019 growing season produced a fascinating and elegantly full-bodied expression of Merlot at the famed Three Palms Vineyard. Luxurious aromas of black plum, boysenberry and dark chocolate leap from the glass, followed by hints of sweet molasses and vanilla bean. On the palate, firm tannins and undercurrents of energetic acidity add brightness and poise to lush dark berry flavors, while promising a long life ahead.”