2020 Emeritus Pinot Noir Russian River Valley

2020 Emeritus Pinot Noir Russian River Valley

with No Comment $30-$40Kevin VogtPinot NoirRussian River ValleySonomaUSA

EMERITUS

PINOT NOIR 2020
RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY

2020 Emeritus Pinot Noir Russian River Valley
Emeritus proprietors favor wines with balance and vineyard character over those with intensity and varietal character alone, following a Burgundian philosophy where the grape acts as a vector for translating the terroir in a glass. It is essential to Emeritus to be an estate winery because they believe that winemaking begins in the vineyard, and having complete control over their land is ideal for cultivating the vines to their pinnacle of potential.
 
All vineyards are dry-farmed, forcing the vines to dig deep into the earth, searching for nutrients and water and enhancing the overall complexity and minerality of the wines. The 2020 Emeritus Russian River Pinot Noir is a blend of Emeritus’ estate vineyards planted in coveted the Goldridge soils of the Green and Russian River Valleys, and at $40 is a serious contender of ultimate quality.
 
EMERITUS
PINOT NOIR 2020
RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY
 
Your Price: $39.99
 
 
“The Emeritus Russian River Valley Pinot Noir 2020 begins with a deep, rich nose of ripe boysenberries, cola bean, violets, and fresh mushrooms. The palate is bright, fresh, and concentrated, with complementary flavors of medium intensity. It has mouth-quenching acidity and an elegant, long finish. This bottling drinks beautifully now but will put on even more weight and body over the next couple of years.”
92 Points
2018 Grand Napa Master Red Napa Valley

2018 Grand Napa Master Red Napa Valley

with No Comment $30-$40CoombsvilleKevin VogtNapaProprietary RedSaint HelenaUSA

GRAND NAPA 

MASTER RED
NAPA VALLEY 2018

2018 Grand Napa Master Red Napa Valley
Grand Napa Vineyards in Rutherford produces full-bodied wines with depth, character, and balance from select vineyards that give fruit with powerful concentration and plush tannins. 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 Master Red is a tribute to the early award-winning Bordeaux style blends from Napa, combining 55% Cabernet Sauvignon with almost equal parts Merlot and Malbec, all grown in Coombsville and Saint Helena, attributing complexity from cooler and warmer parts of the Valley. 2018 is an exquisite vintage due to ideal growing conditions without any significant heatwaves, allowing to wine to be delicately layered with complex aromas and flavors that would make the early wines of Napa genuinely proud.
 
GRAND NAPA 
MASTER RED
NAPA VALLEY 2018
Retails at: $90
 
Your Price: $36
 
 
“Loads of black cherries, currants, tobacco leaf, chocolate, and spring flower notes emerge from the 2018 Master Red. A medium to full-bodied, lightly textured blend with integrated tannins and a clean, classy finish, I’d be thrilled to drink bottles any time over the coming 10-15 years.” 
92 Points
 
“Savory aromas of dried mushroom and oyster shell on the nose, layered with dried blackcurrant and tobacco. It’s medium- to full-bodied with sleek, integrated tannins. Flavorful with a juicy, savory finish. Try from 2021.” 
92 Points
2018 Booker Fracture Syrah Paso Robles

2018 Booker Fracture Syrah Paso Robles

with No Comment $90-$100Central CoastKevin VogtPaso RoblesSyrahUSA

BOOKER

FRACTURE SYRAH
PASO ROBLES 2018

2018 Booker Fracture Syrah Paso Robles
Dedicated to growing fruit for some of the best wineries in Paso Robles, Eric Jensen farmer and winemaker at Booker Winery, gained valuable experience from neighbors Stephan Asseo of L’Aventure, and friend Justin Smith of Saxum. Fracture is one of Booker’s flagship wines, with its name paying homage to the limestone that causes the calcareous soil in the vineyard to crack.
 
Paso Robles welcomed the cooler 2018 vintage, leading to a relaxed harvest of healthy fruit and longer hang-time for the grapes, allowing them to develop more complex flavors and aromas. This 100% Syrah is made in a silky smooth style that Eric describes as “falling into a soft pillow” that is ready to drink right off of the bottling line but also has the potential to age for another 20 years or longer. 
 
BOOKER
FRACTURE SYRAH
PASO ROBLES 2018
 
Your Price: $99.99
 
 
“Another magical wine, the 2018 Fracture is based on 100% Syrah brought up in new and used French oak. Deep purple-hued, with beautiful notes of crème de cassis, blackberries, vanilla bean, toasted spices, white flowers, and a hints of charcuterie, this beauty hits the palate with full-bodied richness, perfectly integrated oak, a rounded, lush mouthfeel, and a great finish. This unabashedly Paso Robles Syrah brings loads of fruit yet stays balanced, elegant, and is simply a thrill to drink.”
98 Points
 
“Youthful purple. Heady, spice-accented aromas of blackberry, blueberry cherry liqueur and pungent flowers show excellent clarity and energetic lift. Sappy and penetrating on the palate, displaying sharply defined black/blue fruit, violet pastille, cola and exotic spice flavors that turn livelier as the wine opens up. Finishes extremely long, smoky and minerally, with powerful, spicy thrust, a repeating floral note and gently chewy, polished tannins.”
97 Points
2018 Beau Vigne Juliet Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2018 Beau Vigne Juliet Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

with No Comment $50-$60Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaUSA

BEAU VIGNE

JULIET CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2018 NAPA VALLEY

2018 Beau Vigne Juliet Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
With over two decades of experience, Julien Fayard began making wine at his family’s winery in Provence, then spent valuable time in Bordeaux at Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte, and ultimately relocated to Napa Valley. Julien worked as the Director of Winemaking for Philippe Melka and now oversees small projects of his own, including Beau Vigne, whose signature style centers on Atlas Peak’s bold, multidimensional mountain fruit and Julien’s French finesse. 
 
Just like Juliet Capulet from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, my first impression of this wine is soft-spoken and shy, setting the stage for escalating depth of character and intensity that develops into a powerful, independent core. Beau Vigne proudly produces only a few thousand cases per year, and the 2018 vintage is quickly becoming prized for its delicate complexity that will continue to develop for years to come.
 
BEAU VIGNE
JULIET CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2018 NAPA VALLEY
Retails at: $120
 
 
 
“…Juliet is a savory beauty romanced by a sonnet of cigar leaf, black pepper, and sandalwood. Plummy flavors cling to dry, chalky tannins, delivering a complex mouthfeel as notes of soy sauce and dark cherry paint the palate.”
97 Points
2018 Acumen Peak Cabernet Sauvignon Atlas Peak

2018 Acumen Peak Cabernet Sauvignon Atlas Peak

with No Comment $90-$100Atlas PeakCabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaUSA

ACUMEN

PEAK CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2018 ATLAS PEAK

2018 Acumen Peak Cabernet Sauvignon Atlas Peak
Acumen Estate consists of 116 organically certified acres of vines on Atlas Peak, spread across two vineyards from which a small portfolio of estate-grown wines is born. The winery bases their sought-after style of Cabernet Sauvignon on the great Cabernets of the 1960s and 70s, which helped secure Napa on the international wine map.
 
Acumen sells a large portion of their mountain-grown fruit to other fine wineries in Napa Valley, allowing Chappellet’s 30-year veteran winemaker Philip Titus to focus on his favorite small vineyard blocks. The 2018 vintage is graceful with an exquisite yet powerful structure due to a cooler than average summer with zero heat spikes, allowing the grapes to slowly develop full physiological maturity, depth of aromas and flavors, and an incredible overall balance between fruit, earth, and minerality.
 
ACUMEN
PEAK CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2018 ATLAS PEAK
Retails at: $115
 
Your Price: $99.99
 
 
“The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Peak showed nicely, with beautiful blue fruits, scorched earth, licorice, and violet aromas and flavors. With medium to full-bodied richness, it stays tight and compact on the palate, with a fresh, Bordeaux-like style in its tannins and acidity. It needs 4-5 years of bottle age but should age nicely on its purity and elegance.”
95 Points
 
“Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Peak charges out of the gate with energetic scents of red and black currants, fresh blackberries and boysenberries with suggestions of camphor, cardamom, tar and new leather plus a waft of pencil shavings. Full-bodied, concentrated and decadent in the mouth, the palate has a solid foundation of firm, grainy tannins and lively freshness to support, finishing long with a pleasantly surprising floral perfume coming through at the end.”
94+ Points
2018 Bruliam Pinot Noir Soberanes Vineyard Santa Lucia Highland

220126 2018 Bruliam Pinot Noir Soberanes Vineyard Santa Lucia Highland

with No Comment $30-$40Central CoastKevin VogtMontereyPinot NoirSanta Lucia HighlandsUSA

BRULIAM

2018 PINOT NOIR
SOBERANES VINEYARD
SANTA LUCIA HIGHLANDS

2018 Bruliam Pinot Noir Soberanes Vineyard Santa Lucia Highland
Medical doctor-turned-winemaker Kerith Overstreet is the genius behind Bruliam, and it’s her intricate attention to detail that brings her wines energy and life. Bruliam Wines is a boutique winery producing around 1000 cases annually of single-vineyard Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, and Chardonnay from some of California’s most celebrated vineyards.
 
Kerith’s relationships with many renowned growers secure her allocations of some of the highest quality fruit in California, hence her single-vineyard Pinot Noir from Soberanes Vineyard, the latest site developed by the Pisoni & Franscioni families. The character of Soberanes shines brilliantly in this wine with its captivating, majestic balance of complex aromas and flavors; the wine is a real over-achiever at this price.
 
BRULIAM
2018 PINOT NOIR
SOBERANES VINEYARD
SANTA LUCIA HIGHLANDS
Retails at: $55
 
 
 
“Dark, bright-rimmed red. Spice-tinged red fruits, incense and floral qualities on the perfumed nose, along with a building mineral topnote. Juicy and energetic on the palate, offering vibrant raspberry and cherry, rose pastille and exotic spice flavors that show fine delineation and appealing sweetness. Deeply flavored but graceful as well, finishing on a gently tannic note, with strong, red-fruit- and spice-driven tenacity.”
93 Points
2018 Recoltant Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2018 Recoltant Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

with No Comment $30-$40Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaUSA

RECOLTANT

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2018 NAPA VALLEY

2018 Recoltant Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Récoltant is a French term for a farmer who grows and harvests their fruit, intent on selling it to top winemakers who will represent the fruit in its purest form. Inspired by this, Recoltant Napa Valley Cabernet is sourced from some of the most revered landscapes in the region, rooting itself in a time and place that’s true of its terroir.
 
Authored by Julien Fayard, Récoltant celebrates Napa Valley’s farmers, crafted with the same standards of excellence Julien practiced while he was Director of Winemaking for Philippe Melka at elite Napa Valley producers like Lail, Gemstone, Hundred Acre, and Mastery. The 2018 vintage delivers intense complexity of aromas and flavors, offering unmatched quality and pedigree at $40.
 
RECOLTANT
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2018 NAPA VALLEY
Retails at: $60
 
Your Price: $39.99
 
 
“The Recoltant Napa Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 mimics sibling wines Purlieu and Le Pich in many ways. It is inky black in color, with a nose of mixed black berries, black currants, glove leather, and rose petal. On the palate, the wine is deep and rich with flavors of blackberry cobbler, kitchen spice, and grandma’s pie crust combined with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg. Winemaker Julian Fayard’s genius shines through because even with all of these powerful characteristics, this wine is not the least bit cloying or overly heavy.”
94 Points
 
“Medium ruby-purple, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley opens with classic aromas of cassis, cedar, cigar box and bright touches of mint chocolate and red cherries. The palate is medium-bodied with pure, restrained fruits, a finely grainy texture, integrated freshness and a long, mineral-driven finish. I love this classy, mineral-laced Cabernet Sauvignon from winemaker Julien Fayard.”
92 Points
2019 Duckhorn Merlot Napa Valley

2019 Duckhorn Merlot Napa Valley

with No Comment $40-$50CarnerosKevin VogtMerlotNapaUSA

DUCKHORN 

2019 MERLOT
NAPA VALLEY

2019 Duckhorn Merlot Napa Valley
The Duckhorn name is synonymous with Merlot due to Dan Duckhorn’s passion for the classic Bordeaux varietal, which he initially planted in the Napa Valley in 1978. His love for Merlot started after a trip to Bordeaux, France, and he vowed to grow it just as beautifully in Napa Valley, improving its reputation in the New World.
 
Duckhorn’s Napa Valley Merlot is a blend of some of the winery’s most iconic vineyards, including the Napa side of Carneros fruit chosen for its proximity to the cooling effects of the Pacific Ocean, which play a vital role in contributing brightness to this wine. The 2019 vintage began with abundant rainfall, followed by a long, warm summer with foggy mornings and the absence of significant heat spikes helping to preserve freshness, vibrance, depth of color, and overall structure. This vintage ranks among their best yet for their beloved Napa Valley Merlot. Our tasting panel members were all commenting on how it was the best Duckhorn Napa Merlot in recent memory, and possibly ever.
 
DUCKHORN 
2019 MERLOT
NAPA VALLEY
Retails at: $56
 
Your Price: $45
 
 
“From its tantalizing aromas of ripe cherry and black plum to its fine-grained tannins and lively complexity, this is a lovely expression of Napa Valley Merlot. On the palate, the flavors are rich and fleshy, with luxurious layers of black currant, red licorice, fig compote, blueberry and crushed rose petal flowing to a long, elegant finish.”
2016 Chateau Labadie Medoc Bordeaux France

2016 Chateau Labadie Medoc Bordeaux France

with No Comment $30 and underBordeauxBordeauxFranceKevin Vogt

CHÂTEAU LABADIE

2016 MEDOC
BORDEAUX, FRANCE

2016 Chateau Labadie Medoc Bordeaux France
Bordeaux’s original classification by Napoleon III in 1855 has remained nearly unchanged, representing just 61 chateaux and leaving many quality producers without deserved prestige and recognition. The Cru Bourgeois classification that Chateau Labadie attained was introduced to the Chamber of Commerce of Bordeaux and the regional Chamber of Agriculture in 1932, giving proper accolades to the quality coming from Chateaux left out of the original classification but fully deserving growers and vintners in their own right.
 
Bordeaux’s 2016 vintage was excellent, reminding critics of some of the region’s most famous vintages from the 1980s but with greater clarity and precision due to advances in the vineyards and wineries. Not only is this one of Bordeaux’s most note-worthy vintages in the last 40 years, but this wine comes from a producer whose primary concern isn’t about image but consistency of quality, which you’ll taste in this remarkable expression from the Medoc.
 
CHÂTEAU LABADIE
2016 MEDOC
BORDEAUX, FRANCE
 
Your Price: $25
 
 
“This rich wine has powerful tannins as well as attractive black-currant fruits. It is both generous and well structured, coming from 20-year-old vines. Drink this dense wine that’s full of potential from 2023.”
91 Points, Editors’ Choice
 
“This has a bright, ripe and juicy edge of ripe red berries that deliver attractive, sweet fruit on the palate. Good depth and detail here. A blend of merlot, cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc. Drink in the next six to eight years.”
90 Points
2019 Flowers Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast

2019 Flowers Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast

with No Comment $40-$50Fort Ross SeaviewKevin VogtPinot NoirSonomaSonoma CoastUSA

FLOWERS

2019 PINOT NOIR
SONOMA COAST 

2019 Flowers Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
Flowers Vineyards and Winery founders were among the Fort Ross-Seaview AVA early pioneers recognizing the potential of growing cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay on the rugged, isolated Sonoma Coast. 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.
 
The 2019 vintage started quite cool with some snow on the estate that helped oxygenate the soils, bringing vital nutrients to the vines. The cool coastal temperatures throughout the summer allowed for slow ripening and intricate flavor development that is unforgettably irresistible, resulting in this remarkable expression of coastal Pinot Noir.
 
FLOWERS
2019 PINOT NOIR
SONOMA COAST 
Retails at: $55
 
Your Price: $45
 
 
“Aromas of ripe strawberries, red cherries and colored flowers. Medium-to full-bodied with fine, well-integrated tannins. Fresh acidity and bright, juicy fruit on the palate. Well balanced. Drink now.”
93 Points
 
“…The 2019 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast is deeper ruby-hued and has pure, classic, textbook notes of ripe cherries, raspberries, spring flowers, and underbrush. The balance is spot on, it has ripe, present tannins, good freshness, and a great finish.”
92 Points