2016 Livio Sassetti Montecucco Rosso DOC La Querciolina

2016 Livio Sassetti Montecucco Rosso DOC La Querciolina

with No Comment $30 and underChiantiItalyKevin VogtRossoSangioveseTuscany

LIVIO SASSETTI

MONTECUCCO ROSSO DOC
LA QUERCIOLINA 2016 

2016 Livio Sassetti Montecucco Rosso DOC La Querciolina
The Sassetti family is one of the top producers of Sangiovese-based wines in Tuscany. It’s their dedication to their land and ability to identify new plots capable of producing world-class fruit that has been a key to their success. Their Montecucco Rosso comes from an organically farmed 12-hectare vineyard in Southern Tuscany, and in all honesty, it drinks better than a lot of good $50 Brunellos. Vinous describes the 2016 release as “gorgeous and an amazing value,” and at $28, I bet you’ll wish you had ordered more once you taste it.
 
Montecucco neighbors Montalcino, and most of its seven villages are on the slopes of Monte Amiata, Italy’s second-highest volcano. The soils there are of volcanic origin and produce powerful Sangiovese Grosso fruit that’s concentrated, vibrant, and unique to Montecucco. 
 
Livio Sassetti’s Montecucco Rosso is 100% Sangiovese Grosso, the same grape used for Brunello. The winemaking team aged the 2016 vintage for just six months in barrel, preserving the fruit’s vibrancy, and now with sufficient time in the bottle, this vintage is stunning.
 
LIVIO SASSETTI
MONTECUCCO ROSSO DOC
LA QUERCIOLINA 2016
 
Your Price: $28
 
 
“The bouquet is dark and earthy in the best possible way, as savory herbs give way to crushed black cherry, encased in an air of smoky minerals, sous-bois, and hints of animal musk. The 2016 La Querciolina Montecucco Rosso then floods the palate with silky textures, offset by cool-toned red fruits and minerals, riding a core of brisk acids. It finishes with medium length yet brimming with energy, as a mix of savory spice and minerality slowly tapers off, leaving just a hint of dried cranberry. This is gorgeous and an amazing value. Drink 2020-2026”
93 points
 
“A firm and silky red with berries and a hint of chocolate. Some coffee, too. Medium body, firm yet polished tannins and a fresh finish. Drink now.”
91 Points
2018 Ridge Proprietary Red Lytton Springs

2018 Ridge Proprietary Red Lytton Springs

with No Comment $40-$50Dry Creek ValleyKevin VogtProprietary RedSonomaUSA

RIDGE

2018 PROPRIETARY RED
LYTTON SPRINGS

2018 Ridge Proprietary Red Lytton Springs
Ridge utilizes pre-Industrial winemaking techniques that were common in Bordeaux and California around the 19th Century. These methods involve fermenting with natural yeasts, winemaking decisions based on taste, and not adding any commercial enzymes or nutrients for extracting color, flavor, and tannins. It’s a philosophy that’s paid off, and when paired with historic vines, it creates wines of sensational quality. Their 2018 Lytton Springs is one of their best, and with double 96 point reviews, don’t miss it.
 
Lytton Springs vineyard was planted in the early 1900s, and the ancient Zinfandel Vines are interplanted with Petite Sirah, Carignane, Mourvèdre, and Grenache. Ridge produced their first vintage from Lytton Springs in 1972, and the consistency of character and quality of the fruit has been a hallmark of the site ever since. 
 
The 2018 vintage combines 72% Zinfandel balanced with Petite Sirah, Carignane, and Mourvedre. The wine has stunning depth and complexity that winemakers can’t replicate with younger vines.
 
RIDGE
2018 PROPRIETARY RED
LYTTON SPRINGS
 
Your Price: $45
 
 
“…The nose is lush and open, with aromas of aniseed, red and blue berries, blood orange and earth plus touches of tobacco leaf and dried flowers. The medium-bodied palate combines intense, powerful flavors with a more ethereal, silty structure, and it finishes with loads of juicy layers. It’s stunning straight from bottle but will have more to give with time in the cellar.”
96 Points
 
“The 2018 Lytton Springs is magnificent. Elegant, layered and so complete, the 2018 has a lot to offer, but it needs time to fully come together. Sweet red cherry, red plum, blood orange, spice, mint and rose petal open up in the glass. Bright acids and beams of tannin give the wine its vibrant energy. Readers should plan on cellaring the 2018 for at least a few years. Wow!”
96 Points
2016 Cornerstone Michael's Cuvee Napa Valley

2016 Cornerstone Michael’s Cuvee Napa Valley

with No Comment $50-$60Kevin VogtNapaOakvilleProprietary RedUSA

CORNERSTONE

MICHAEL’S CUVEE
2016 NAPA VALLEY

2016 Cornerstone Michael's Cuvee Napa Valley
A vineyard’s location is paramount for wine grapes and their winemaker’s ability to produce a great wine. To-Kalon Vineyard in Oakville consistently yields fruit with the potential to become a world-class wine. Notably, Oakville Station Vineyard consists of two plots, both walled by To-Kalon grapes. The site is farmed and owned by the University of California at Davis and plays a vital role in advancing the quality of grape growing. Few wineries have access to their grapes, but lucky for us, Cornerstone does, and they make just 200 cases.
 
Cornerstone’s 2016 Michael’s Cuvee balances the power of Cabernet Sauvignon, the plushness of Merlot, the intensity of Cabernet Franc and ties them in with Oakville’s notorious complexity. The wine has a deep, compelling style with rich fruits intermixed with spices, rocky minerals, and floral notes. 
 
Kari Auringer made this stunning wine, and Kari worked under Celia Welch at Cornerstone and contributed to the fame of some of the Napa Valley’s most luminous names, including Scarecrow, Keever, Kelly Fleming, and Corra, to name just a few.
 
CORNERSTONE
MICHAEL’S CUVEE
2016 NAPA VALLEY
Retails at: $95
 
 
 
“The 2016 Cornerstone Michael’s Cuvée 2016 begins with a penetrating nose of wild mixed berries, crushed stone, pipe tobacco, earthy mushrooms, sweet florals, and wood spice. The palate is focused, concentrated, and linear styled, with juicy red and black berries, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking spices, and freshly turned earth. The palate has crushed velvet tannins, outstanding length, and a fantastic balance of flavors on the finish. It drinks beautifully now and will improve over the next decade.”
94 Points
2017 La Ferme Du Mont Chateauneuf-Du-Pape Rogue Vendange

2017 La Ferme Du Mont Chateauneuf-Du-Pape Rogue Vendange

with No Comment $40-$50Cotes du RhoneKevin VogtRhone ValleyRhone ValleyUSA

LA FERME DU MONT

CHATEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE ROUGE
2017 VENDANGE 

2017 La Ferme Du Mont Chateauneuf-Du-Pape Rogue Vendange
Stéphane Vedeau is a young, energetic winemaker whom Robert Parker writes is “seriously talented” and “quickly emerging as a star of the southern Rhone.” He believes in gentle winemaking and extended macerations at low alcohol levels, which result in palpably elegant wines. My first impression and initial tasting notes when tasting his 2017 were “killer focus, incredible fruit, spice, and love at first taste.”
 
La Ferme du Mont farms their Chateauneuf-du-Pape vineyards biodynamically. This bottling combines 80% Grenache, 10% Syrah, and 10% Mourvèdre made in a vibrant, highly-focused style that’s so well-balanced that the alcohol is nearly imperceptible.
 
Stéphane is a 3rd generation winemaker whose passion for sustainable, harmonious winemaking and the Grenache variety is evident in his wines. At less than $50, you have to try this one.
 
LA FERME DU MONT
CHATEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE ROUGE
2017 VENDANGE
 
Your Price: $46
 
 
“The 2017 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vendange has a concentrated, medium to full-bodied style as well as some exotic, sappy herbs, and spring flower aromas and flavors. Leading with more dark fruit, it gains depth and richness with time in the glass and will certainly be an outstanding wine.”
91-93 Points
 
“Tasted blind. Reductive nose, petillant palate and while the red fruit is very attractive and ripe, the balance is still raw. The purity and persistence of that gorgeous red fruit indicates great quality here, so there should be lots more to come.”
17+/20
2018 Bacio Divino Pazzo Napa Valley Proprietary Red

2018 Bacio Divino Pazzo Napa Valley Proprietary Red

with No Comment $30 and underKevin VogtNapaOakvilleProprietary RedUSA

BACIO DIVINO

2018 PAZZO 
NAPA VALLEY
PROPRIETARY RED

2018 Bacio Divino Pazzo Napa Valley Proprietary Red
Bacio Divino is one of the top producers of Sangiovese-based blends in Napa Valley, and their reputation of excellence spans each of the wines they produce. They created Pazzo in 1999 as a sister-label to Bacio Divino that would appeal to a broader audience. The 2018 vintage is incredibly rich, with penetrating fruit and intriguing floral elements. Pazzo means crazy in Italian, and at around $30, the 2018 release is a crazy-good value.
 
Bacio Divino has a history of producing high-scoring wines. Because of that, they have access to some of the greatest vineyards in Napa Valley, including Beckstoffer Heritage sites in Oakville and Rutherford and Sangiovese on Atlas Peak. Pazzo comes from a collection of unnamed sites and include grapes from their Estate vineyard.
 
Winemaker Kirk Venge built the 2018 Pazzo with 38% Sangiovese and 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, and he tied them together with Syrah and Petite Sirah. The 2018 vintage produced powerful fruit with incredible intensity. This vintage is like a bistro-wine on steroids, and you’ll thank me later, once you taste it.
 
BACIO DIVINO
2018 PAZZO 
NAPA VALLEY
PROPRIETARY RED
Retails at: $35
 
Your Price: $29.99
 
 
“This is full-bodied with round, ripe tannins that give form to the ripe palate of plum and berry with some fig undertones. Round and savory. Drink now or hold.”
91 Points
 
“Pazzo (which means ‘crazy’ in Italian) is a ‘funky’, unpretentious blend – an ingratiating wine that is wonderful to drink in its youth. In addition to its good looks, it displays a nose of red berry aromas and follows through with spirited, sweet, lingering, fruit flavors. We have enjoyed incredible success and growth with this unique blend.”
2018 Silver Ghost Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2018 Silver Ghost Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

with No Comment $30-$40Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaRutherfordUSA

SILVER GHOST 

CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
2018 NAPA VALLEY

2018 Silver Ghost Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Weston Eidson’s devotion to quality and conviction for making rich, expressive, value-priced Napa Cabernet is getting him noticed. He’s found the ideal balance of lush Valley-floor fruit and robust high-elevation grapes that together make his wines thoroughly enjoyable. It’s clear when you taste them that they share qualities found in significantly higher-priced Cabs, and at $35, that’s something to celebrate.
 
Silver Ghost’s 2018 vintage combines fruit from a historic East Rutherford vineyard, a hillside site in Calistoga, and a secret parcel in Yountville. The wine also marries clone 7, which emanates elegance, and clone 337, which lends to the lush textures, and richness. 
 
The 2018 release was cellared for 22 months in French oak barrels and is concentrated, poised, and polished. With solid scores out of the gate, I wouldn’t hesitate too long to secure yours.
 
SILVER GHOST 
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
2018 NAPA VALLEY
 
Your Price: $35
 
 
“Aromas and flavors of dried flowers with currants, blackberries and violets. It’s full-bodied with soft, refined tannins and a savory finish. Pretty length, too…”
93 Points
 
“Deep garnet, rich plum nose, smooth and graceful, lush and toasty with ripe plum fruit; balanced, long and elegant.”
92 Points
 
“Silver Ghost is a full-bodied and richly expressive Cabernet Sauvignon crafted from some of Napa Valley’s finest vineyards. Dark in color with a vibrant nose of blueberries, violets and crème de cassis the palate reveals lush red and blue fruits, mocha and dark spice. The luxurious texture and depth continue through the long finish.”
2019 Alma De Cattleya Chardonnay Sonoma County

2019 Alma De Cattleya Chardonnay Sonoma County

with No Comment $30 and underChardonnayKevin VogtSonomaSonoma ValleyUSA

ALMA de CATTLEYA

2019 CHARDONNAY 
SONOMA COUNTY 

2019 Alma De Cattleya Chardonnay Sonoma County
Bibiana González Rave’s unwavering commitment to superior quality, accessible prices, varietal purity, and origin in her wines is highly transparent. She makes wines in a bright and cheerful style tied to the year’s hallmarks and location of the grapes. I’ve stopped asking how she can create wines with such surreal quality, sense of place, and value, and I’m just simply going to enjoy them and share them with you.
 
Bibiana created this brilliant 2019 Chardonnay from methodically selected vineyards, each with a strong coastal influence that lends to the perfect balance of acidity, texture, softness, and length. She then crafted this wine using the same exacting standards as the Cattleya single-vineyard Chardonnays, which retail for around $70 per bottle. 
 
Bibiana has extensive experience making wine in Bordeaux and the Rhone Valley in France and South Africa. When she came to California, industry leaders immediately recognized her talents as she helped shape brilliant wines at Peay, Lynmar, and Pahlmeyer, to name a few. At just $26, you have to try this.
 
ALMA de CATTLEYA
2019 CHARDONNAY 
SONOMA COUNTY
 
Your Price: $26
 
 
“Lush notes of red apple and juicy pear balance beautifully with notes of lemon curd, honeysuckle and hints of toasted vanilla. Bright acidity and a rich mouthfeel add complexity and a textured, complex finish.”
2018 Flowers Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast

2018 Flowers Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast

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

FLOWERS

2018 PINOT NOIR
SONOMA COAST 

2018 Flowers Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
Flowers is a winery dedicated to crafting elegantly balanced wines that express their vineyard’s authentic voice. They’re able to achieve this through organic farming and minimal intervention in the cellar. As a result, their wines faultlessly showcase fresh coastal minerality, hallmark purity of fruit, and complex nuances derived from their land. The 2018 release is, as Jeb Dunnuck writes, “impeccably made and high-quality.”
 
Joan and Walt Flowers helped shape Pinot Noir production along the extreme Sonoma Coast and were among the first to plant grapes in the area known as the Fort Ross Seaview AVA. The region is also a source for such notables as Peter Michael, Marcassin, Martinelli, Fort Ross, and Pahlmeyer, to list a few. 
 
With attention to every detail, Flowers hand-sorts their fruit on their custom-built shaker table before gently dispersing the berries onto the next sorting table where six sorters assess every cluster before allowing only the best fruit to pass through into the fermenters. At under fifty bucks, I highly recommend harvesting some for your cellar.
 
FLOWERS
2018 PINOT NOIR
SONOMA COAST
Retails at: $55
 
Your Price: $46
 
 
“… Lots of spice box, earthy forest floor, cherries, and redcurrant notes define the bouquet, and it’s medium-bodied and balanced, with good acidity and a great finish. As with everything from this estate, it’s impeccably made and high-quality.”
93 Points
 
“This complex wine is thick in tannin and structure, with nuanced underlying elegance. Textured, it offers dried herb, clove, wild strawberry and a twist of blood orange on the palate, with acidity interwoven within the integrated oak.”
91 Points
 
“… pretty, aromatic and super-elegant. Crushed flowers, dried cherry, mint, sage, cedar and tobacco are some of the many notes that develop in the glass. The 2018 is perfumed, light on its feet and exquisitely beautiful—all qualities that make it a terrific choice for drinking over the next handful of years. Drink 2020 – 2026”
90 Points
2016 Saddleback Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville

2016 Saddleback Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville

with No Comment $50-$60Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaOakvilleUSA

SADDLEBACK

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2016 OAKVILLE 

2016 Saddleback Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville
Saddleback Cellars is where premium Oakville fruit and a half-century of winemaking experience join forces to create deeply profound Cabernet Sauvignon that ranks among one of Oakville’s best values. The winery’s 14-acre vineyard is in a sweet-spot behind OPUS ONE, where the soils and climate combine to produce grapes of regal qualities. Nils Venge crafts the wine, and Nils was the first American winemaker to earn a perfect 100 point score from Robert Parker when he made the 1985 Groth Reserve Cab.
 
Saddleback’s vineyard is near Oakville’s center on Money Road with notable neighbors Plumpjack, Groth, and Silver Oak. The 2016 release showcases the vintage’s intense fruit and powerful style that offers layer after layer of dense black fruits, exotic chocolates, leather, and cassis. 
 
Nils ages his Cabernet for around 24 months in oak barrels, contributing structure and adding additional complexity layers. The 2016 vintage benefited from a further two years in the bottle, and it’s delicious right now will continue to perform for the next decade.
 
SADDLEBACK
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2016 OAKVILLE
Retails at: $78
 
 
 
“This has the well-defined fruit and racy graphite edge that typifies the vintage, with a core of steeped black currant and plum fruit and extra mesquite, sassafras and warm earth nuances throughout. The richness makes this tempting now, but no rush. Drink now through 2030.”
92 Points
 
“This substantial 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon is a truly stunning! On the nose, complimentary oak, with pleasing aromas of black cherry, blackberry, graphite and light anise. One the palate, it approaches with a balanced, full bodied mouthfeel. It engages the palete with bold tannins and balances gracefully with blackberry compote, black cherry, leather and a hint of anise. A flavorful finish is generous with lingering notes of black pepper. Perfectly paired with your favorite cut of beef or tomato based pasta dish. Another amazing vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon from the ‘King of Cabs’!”
2017 Duckhorn Three Palms Napa Valley Merlot

2017 Duckhorn Three Palms Napa Valley Merlot

with No Comment $100 and overKevin VogtMerlotNapaUSA

DUCKHORN 

2017 THREE PALMS
NAPA VALLEY MERLOT

2017 Duckhorn Three Palms Napa Valley Merlot
Three Palms is the most distinguished Merlot Vineyard in the New World. It’s the exact location where a combination of large diurnal temperature swings and highly-porous gravely soils combine to produce powerful Merlot berries specific to their site. Dan Duckhorn recognized its vast potential early on and has created a single-vineyard Merlot from it since 1978. The Wine Spectator describes the 2017 release as “Powerful, rich and complex,” which is precisely what you’d expect from Three Palms. This vintage earned 96 points and was featured as the #15 wine globally on their Top 100 list last year.
 
Duckhorn’s 2017 Three Palms Vineyard Merlot perfectly embodies this hallowed ground’s most revered characteristics; Power, concentrated fruit, intensity, and a profound sense of place. 
 
The 2017 vintage was created from 100% Estate fruit, combining 91% Merlot balanced with Cabernet, Malbec, and Cab Franc. The wine is powerful, driven, focused, and confident. I strongly recommend securing a case of this celebrated California Merlot.
 
DUCKHORN 
2017 THREE PALMS
NAPA VALLEY MERLOT
 
Your Price: $110
 
 
“Powerful, rich and complex, with a refined mix of currant, dark cherry and plum tart flavors backed by suave, medium-grained tannins. Well-defined slate and loamy notes stretch out nicely on the finish, with black olive hints. Drink now through 2027.”
96 Points, #15 Top 100 Wines of 2020
 
“Once again, the famed Three Palms Vineyard has yielded a fascinating and full-bodied Merlot. Luxurious aromas of black cherry, plum, raspberry, cedar and wet slate rise from the glass where they mingle with hints of chocolate and sweet baking spices. On the palate, dusty tannins add nuance and sophistication to a round, fleshy texture, with flavors of black and red fruit, fig and iron-rich earthy notes drawing the wine to a long, resonant finish.”