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 Monchiero Barolo Piedmont Italy

2015 Monchiero Barolo Piedmont Italy

with No Comment $40-$50BaroloBaroloItalyKevin VogtPiedmont

MONCHIERO

2015 BAROLO
PIEDMONT, ITALY

2015 Monchiero Barolo Piedmont Italy
The Monchiero winery was established by Vittorio Monchiero’s grandfather, who decided to stay in the Langhe after World War II to tend to his treasured land, unlike his six brothers who left Italy for the United States. Vittorio took over the winery at the end of the 1980s and began examining each plot and replanting vines as necessary, adapting his vineyards to modern agriculture, which is reflective in the balance of his wines.
 
Vittorio aims to bring modernity into the vineyards and winery without losing the traditions that helped shape the historic region and its wines for centuries. The 2015 Barolo is divine and elegant with excellent fruit concentration accented with minerality, earth, and spice, producing a quality level rarely found for less than $50.
 
MONCHIERO
2015 BAROLO
PIEDMONT, ITALY
Retails at: $50
 
Your Price: $45
 
 
“A red showing ripe-berry and chocolate character with polished tannins and a flavorful finish. Medium to full body. Intense and focused ending. Drink after 2021.” 
92 Points
2019 Morgan Twelve Clones Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir

2019 Morgan Twelve Clones Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir

with No Comment $30 and underCentral CoastKevin VogtMontereyPinot NoirSanta Lucia HighlandsUSA

MORGAN

TWELVE CLONES
SANTA LUCIA HIGHLANDS
2019 PINOT NOIR 

2019 Morgan Twelve Clones Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir
Dan and Donna Lee founded Morgan winery in the early 1980s, focusing on sustainable farming and minimalist winemaking, becoming a leader in high-quality, value wines from California’s Central Coast. Dan produces wines that are true to the variety and vineyard location, displaying precision and balance between freshness and elegance that’s enjoyable immediately upon release.
 
The Twelve Clones Pinot Noir is the winery’s flagship wine named for the numerous clones that give this wine its wide range of complex flavors and aromas that send your senses on a wild and pleasure-filled ride. The fruit comes from some of Santa Lucia Highland’s best vineyards, including Morgan’s organically farmed Double L vineyard, which provides 67% of the grapes in this 94pt 2019 vintage.
 
MORGAN
TWELVE CLONES
SANTA LUCIA HIGHLANDS
2019 PINOT NOIR 
Retails at: $35
 
Your Price: $29.99
 
 
“Bright aromas of pomegranate, orange peel, pepper and sea salt show on the nose of this clonal combination. Zesty, energetic flavors of lemon and orange zest meet with a tart and snappy red-currant flavor on the palate, with oregano and cardamom adding complexity toward the finish.”
94 Points
 
“… Very nicely perfumed with scents of black cherry, strawberry, spice, and savory herbs. Light to mid-weight in style with a delicious core of giving strawberry, raspberry, and cherry flavors. Silky in the mouth, with appealing fitness, minimal tannins, and a compliment of barrel magic. Elegant and giving and ideal as a daily drinker.”
92 Points
2019 Sans Liege Co-Ferment The Offering

2019 Sans Liege Co-Ferment The Offering

with No Comment $30-$40Central CoastKevin VogtPaso RoblesProprietary RedSanta BarbaraUSA

SANS LIEGE

2019 CO-FERMENT
THE OFFERING

2019 Sans Liege Co-Ferment The Offering

Sans Liege’s winemaker Curt Schalchin has an affinity for wines of the Southern Rhône because of their kaleidoscope of complex aromas and flavors. Relying on his intuition, he prudently monitors his vineyard’s unique microclimates from Paso Robles to Solvang, seeking finesse, distinct terroir, and unrestrained character. 

The winery describes The Offering as a quest for independence, giving an homage to the Southern Rhone but made with the freedoms of New World winemaking. The Offering Co-Ferment is a small side production with the same recipe as its sister wine with 30% whole cluster Grenache, destemmed Syrah with 25% of the stems returned, and 100% destemmed Mourvèdre. The critical difference is that all grapes were fermented together in the same vessel giving a heightened integration of the three varietals, resulting in a superior version of the same blend that everyone on our tasting panel wants to buy.

 

SANS LIEGE
2019 CO-FERMENT
THE OFFERING

Your Price: $32

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“The 2019 Sans Liege The Offering Co-Ferment is something extraordinary. The moment our tasting panel tried it, we all wanted to buy some. Its compelling nose is deep, exotic, and a little spicy, with wild currants, jasmine tea, cold charcuterie, and dried English rose petals. The complimentary palate follows with an untamed tension between the primary and secondary flavors, revealing very concentrated and focused fruits that carry an incredible freshness, surrounded by a supporting cast of flavors that beautifully carry it through a long, complex finish. What a delightful find.”

94 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
2019 Castello Romitorio Super Tuscan Tuscany, Italy

2019 Castello Romitorio Super Tuscan Tuscany, Italy

with No Comment $30 and underChiantiItalyKevin VogtSyrahTuscany

CASTELLO ROMITORIO

2019 ROMITORO
SUPER TUSCAN
TUSCANY, ITALY

2019 Castello Romitorio Super Tuscan Tuscany, Italy
Castello di Romitorio’s history is extensive, beginning as a temple in Roman times with many transformations before its most recent renovation in the 1980s into a winery and art workshop by the owner and Italian artist Sandro Chia. Sandro believes the best expressions of art and wine thrive with a minimalistic approach and that natural progression should never be altered but rather enhanced.
 
The Romitoro IGT encompasses indigenous French varietals, proving that these varieties grow incredibly well in Tuscany, producing high-quality wines. The 2019 Castello di Romitorio “Romitoro” comingles Syrah and Petit Verdot, in a classic and refreshing style that scored 93 points from Robert Parker and James Suckling, offering incomparable value at $25.
 
CASTELLO ROMITORIO
2019 ROMITORO
SUPER TUSCAN
TUSCANY, ITALY
 
Your Price: $25
 
 
“The Castello Romitorio 2019 RomiTòro is a generous Tuscan blend of Petit Verdot and Syrah… This is a terrific value from a vintage that delivers excellent balance, intensity and richness. That beautiful concentration is what drives this wine, imparting dark fruit flavors, plum, spice and sweet tobacco along the way. This was a terrific vintage in both Maremma and Montalcino, the two areas where Filippo Chia makes wine.”
93 Points
 
“Plums and blackberries with black-mushroom and dark bark undertones. Full-bodied with round tannins and a delicious, juicy finish. This needs time to come together, but already so pretty. Drink or hold.”
93 Points
2018 Black Kite Pinot Noir Kite's Rest Anderson Valley

2018 Black Kite Pinot Noir Kite’s Rest Anderson Valley

with No Comment $40-$50Anderson ValleyKevin VogtMendocinoPinot NoirUSA

BLACK KITE

2018 PINOT NOIR
KITE’S REST
ANDERSON VALLEY

2018 Black Kite Pinot Noir Kite's Rest Anderson Valley
Black Kite Cellars was born out of a love for Burgundian Style Pinot Noirs after Rebecca and Tom Birdsall spent a vacation biking through the region, tasting the distinct nuances from one vineyard to the next. Rebecca and Tom were specific on the style of Pinot Noir they preferred, tasting through Anderson Valley, Sonoma Coast, Carneros, Russian River Valley, Santa, Lucia Highlands, Willamette Valley, and Burgundy to discover what they were looking for in a winemaker.
 
Jeff Gaffner joined the team in 2005 after earning fame from helping make the 1996 Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cépages, which was Wine Spectator’s #1 Wine of the Year. The Kite’s Rest Pinot Noir comes from the winery’s estate vineyard of the same name planted with Dijon 114, 115, and Pommard, giving the wine balance between the elegant aromatics of the Dijon clones and the richness and body of the Pommard clone. If you enjoy boutique, hand-crafted Pinot Noir, you really should try it. 
 
BLACK KITE
2018 PINOT NOIR
KITE’S REST
ANDERSON VALLEY
 
Your Price: $45
 
 
“Refined and precise, with hints of red licorice to the sleek assembly of cherry, dried berry and currant flavors. Loamy midpalate, with a long, crisp finish of slate and spice. Drink now through 2026.”
93 Points
 
“Lavish ripe fruit flavors meet delicious baking-spice accents in this broad, smooth and mouthfilling wine. It’s easy to love for the strawberry, and red- and black-cherry notes and the cinnamon, vanilla and cedar shadings from oak aging.” 
93 Points