2019 Domaine Maison Cheverny Rogue Loire Valley

2019 Domaine Maison Cheverny Rogue Loire Valley

with No Comment $30 and underFranceKevin VogtLoire ValleyPinot Noir

DOMAINE MAISON

2019 CHEVERNY ROUGE
LOIRE VALLEY

2019 Domaine Maison Cheverny Rogue Loire Valley
Pinot Noir/Gamay blends from Cheverny offer remarkable value and are relished by the French locals because they possess vibrant red fruit, crisp acidy, palpable minerality, and energizing freshness. Burgundy and the Atlantic Ocean influence Cheverny, a small region in the Loire Valley with siliceous clay, limestone, and gravelly soils, well-suited for Burgundian grapes that produce supple fruit with gentle tannins and vibrant energy. Cheverny Reds are primarily Pinot Noir/Gamay blends, with up to 10% Cabernet Franc or Malbec, known locally as Côt.
 
Domaine Maison’s Cheverny Rouge is a classic representation, combining 60% Pinot Noir with 30% Gamay with 10% Côt, balancing bright, supple fruit, floral character, and minerality, with vibrant energy, depth, and focus. This bottling is very typical for what the French locals might drink at a local Bistro, great wine that is an exceptional value.
 
Located between two rivers, Loire and Cher, the Domain Maison’s plots consist of vines between 20 and 45-years-old, grown in clay-limestone and light gravel soils, that produce focused fruit with depth and a sense of place. The team fermented this wine in stainless steel to preserve the fruit’s natural essence, beautifully delivered into your glass.
 
DOMAINE MAISON
2019 CHEVERNY ROUGE
LOIRE VALLEY
 
 
 
“Red wines of the Loire Valley are known for their brightness and vivacity. Cheverny AOC, located within the Touraine district, is planted mainly with Pinot Noir. This blend in particular is comprised of 60 percent Pinot Noir, 30 percent Gamay, and 10 percent Côt, the local name for Malbec. The region’s fruit ripens beautifully leading to wines with juicy, red cherry and raspberry flavors with great depth and concentration. Sweet spice notes, such as cloves and cinnamon, add an additional layer of complexity to the wine followed by a lush and silky finish. The locals enjoy this easy-drinking wine just a tad below room temperature, making it a perfect wine for the summer. Even at a fantastic value, the most surprising aspect of this wine is how quickly you’ll need another glass.”
95 Points
2017 Adaptation Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2017 Adaptation Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

with No Comment $50-$60Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaOak KnollStags LeapUSA

ADAPTATION

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2017 NAPA VALLEY

2017 Adaptation Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Framed by Mountain fruit’s power, harnessed with additions of Stags Leap, Oak Knoll, and Pope Valley grapes, Adaptation’s Cabernet Sauvignon is purposefully versatile and abundantly complex. The 2017 release emerges from the rugged, dynamic terrain of Howell Mountain’s Ink Grade Vineyard, supplying structure, depth, and flavor intensity. 100-point powerhouse Odette Winery creates Adaptation, under the guidance of Jeff Owens, formed to combine power and elegance while simultaneously showcasing its origins. 
 
Napa Valley’s diversity of micro-climates, terrain, soils, and exposures created an Artist’s palette of flavors, textures, tannins, and aromas for Jeff to adapt Howell Mountain’s power unveiling an approachable, elegant wine that delivers on all fronts. 
 
Centered around a core of nearly 80% Cabernet Sauvignon transformed with additions of Merlot, Malbec, and Petite Sirah, then aged 18 months in oak, Adaptation personifies the best characteristics of the vintage and the winery’s drive to showcase Napa Valley’s unique terroir gracefully.
 
ADAPTATION
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2017 NAPA VALLEY
Retails at: $62
 
Your Price: $59.99
 
 
“From the folks at Odette and Plumpjack, this lovely red is juicy, broad and immensely likable, with soft layers of baking spice, black cherry and licorice. With 16% Merlot and smaller additions of Malbec and Petite Sirah, it delivers supple texture and length without fuss.”
91 Points, “Editors’ Choice”
2018 Martinelli Zinfandel Vigneto Di Evo

2018 Martinelli Zinfandel Vigneto Di Evo

with No Comment $30-$40Kevin VogtSonomaSonoma ValleyUSAZinfandel

MARTINELLI

2018 ZINFANDEL
VIGNETO DI EVO

2018 Martinelli Zinfandel Vigneto Di Evo
The Martinelli Family’s intimate knowledge of their land developed over 135 years, encompassing six generations with an unsurpassed dedication to farming and crafting wines expressing their place and heritage. Their plantings include Jackass Hill; The steepest non-terraced vineyard in Sonoma County at a death-defying 65 degrees slope, compared to today’s 30 degrees limit. Their Vigneto di Evo Zinfandel is a barrel selection from Jackass, Vellutini, Lolita, and Giuseppe & Luisa vineyards. At $33, it offers a profound glimpse into the lifeblood of their wines. 
 
Guardians of terroir, the Martinelli team strives to consistently produce wines deeply rooted in place, highlighting the vineyard’s character through a hands-off winemaking approach, allowing the wine to go through a set of natural processes with minimal intervention.
 
Courtney Wagoner and Erin Green created this wine to represent the winery’s best Zinfandel plots, manifesting primal energy, heritage, and balance. Deeper, darker flavors developed from the vineyard’s proximity to the Pacific, heightened by old-vine intensity, and refreshed with younger vines, resulting in a fantastic representation of the Estate.
 
MARTINELLI
2018 ZINFANDEL
VIGNETO DI EVO
Retails at: $40
 
Your Price: $33
 
 
“… 2018 “Vigneto di Evo” Zinfandel has energetic aromas of wild strawberry, sweet leather and star anise lift and fill your nose. The palate has balanced acidity and elegant tannins with layers of chocolate and black cherry. Sweet and juicy flavors of blackberry and baking spices linger through the finish.”
2019 Widows Peak Pinot Noir By Beau Vigne Anderson Valley

2019 Widows Peak Pinot Noir By Beau Vigne Anderson Valley

with No Comment $30-$40Anderson ValleyKevin VogtPinot NoirSonomaUSA

WIDOWS PEAK

BY BEAU VIGNE
2019 PINOT NOIR
ANDERSON VALLEY

2019 Widows Peak Pinot Noir By Beau Vigne Anderson Valley
Beau Vigne is a boutique producer whose signature style is in making balanced, rich, multidimensional wines, and one that Robert Parker says is “one of my favorite wineries.” Their founding winemaker was Dave Phinney, later succeeded by Kirk Venge, and now, Julian Fayard, former Director of Winemaking for Philippe Melka, is at the helm. Their recently released Widows Peak Pinot Noir impresses at its $85 retail price, but at $38, it’s an absolute delight.  
 
This remarkable Pinot Noir emerged from a small vineyard in Anderson Valley centered between two creeks where well-drained gravelly soils and large diurnal temperature swings inspire fruit with clarity, place, and dynamic complexity. 
 
This soul-stirring Pinot Noir gains complexity from a wide range of Dijon clones 115, 667, and 777, as well as Swan and Pommard, each distinctively showcased, flawlessly delivering the vineyard’s identity. At this price, you’ll thank me once you taste it. 
 
WIDOWS PEAK
BY BEAU VIGNE
2019 PINOT NOIR
ANDERSON VALLEY
Retails at: $85
 
 
 
“The finished Anderson Valley Pinot Noir offers a provocative and swirling mélange of aromas and flavors. Lush bing cherry, raspberry and fine-grained tannins, spice, and a flinty mineral notes.”
2016 Heitz Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2016 Heitz Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

with No Comment $60-$70Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaUSA

HEITZ

CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
2016 NAPA VALLEY

2016 Heitz Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Dedicated to classic winemaking, Heitz Cellar’s invariant style of producing profoundly hedonistic and age-worthy Cabernets is a hallmark of their brand. The winery has reliably produced its unmistakably intense, savory, well-built Cabernets since 1961. Their 2016 Napa Cabernet perfectly expresses their timeless approach, fusing power and elegance, enriched with history, and a desire to handcraft Cabernets at the highest level. 
 
Joe Heitz had a keen eye for discovering vineyards capable of producing age-worthy wines. Their 2016 Napa Valley Cabernet showcases two Saint Helena Vineyards, Only One and Spring Valley, enhanced with a touch of Rutherford fruit. 
 
Each decision made at the winery, from when to pick, through the entire fermentation and aging process, is purposefully made to guide the wine into a style that’s both stunning upon release and will stand the test of time, rather than be flashy and forward when consumed young.
 
HEITZ
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
2016 NAPA VALLEY
 
Your Price: $65
 
 
“A subtle savory edge leads off, followed by enticing rooibos tea, red currant preserve and raspberry coulis flavors. Elegant finish. Drink now through 2026.”
91 Points
2016 Department 66 Grenache Cotes Catalanes

2016 Department 66 Grenache Cotes Catalanes

with No Comment $30-$40GrenacheKevin VogtUSA

DEPARTMENT 66

2016 GRENACHE 
COTES CATALANES

2016 Department 66 Grenache Cotes Catalanes
Inspired by the raw beauty of ancient Grenache vines grown on steep hillsides of Cotes Catalanes, France, Department 66 was created by Dave Phinney, founder of Prisoner and Orin Swift brands, a talented winemaker and visionary. He purchased 300 acres of gnarley vines and constructed a winery when he saw the potential of these 60-year-old vines. Today, the wine team produces gorgeous wines, including this brilliant 95 Point Grenache blend, which Jeb Dunnuck glows is a “bonafide blockbuster.” 
 
The wine team harvested the 2016 vintage from the old vines grown in black schist, with small granite and limestone deposits scattered in red, rocky soils known as angile. The region is deep in France’s southwest corner, adjacent to the Pyrénées-Orientales mountain range, where old vine Grenache thrives. 
 
Combining a core of old vine Grenache with Syrah, Carignan, and Mourvedre, aged 18 months in oak, the 2016 release is intensely captivating, exuberantly textured, and laced with intriguing spices, perfectly ripe berries, and savory undertones. 
 
DEPARTMENT 66
2016 GRENACHE 
COTES CATALANES
Retails at: $38
 
Your Price: $34.99
 
 
“The 2016 Côtes Catalanes D66 is a bonafide blockbuster from winemaker Richard Case that does everything right. Loaded with notions of ripe blackberry and currant fruits, chocolate, ground pepper, licorice, and leafy herbs, this puppy hits the palate with full-bodied richness and depth yet stays nicely balanced and light on its feet. Rich, opulent, and decadent are the buzzwords here, and it should keep for 7-8 years. The blend is 80% Grenache and 20% Syrah aged 12 months in barrel.”
95 Points
2018 Galius Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Bordeaux

2018 Galius Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Bordeaux

with No Comment $30-$40BordeauxBordeauxFranceKevin Vogt

GALIUS

SAINT-EMILION GRAND CRU 
2018 BORDEAUX 

2018 Galius Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Bordeaux
Named for a Roman soldier that settled in Bordeaux after receiving land for military service, Galius lives up to its namesake delivering powerful favors with enchanting old-world complexity, depth, and minerality, balanced with military precision. The 2018 Galius commands an impenetrable presence on the palate and has “gorgeous fruit,” as noted by Decanter. At $32, the quality dominates. 
 
Farmed sustainably, with terroir on the front lines, Galius’s eleven hectares of half-century-year-old vines grown in clay-limestone soils produce fruit with intense minerality and penetrating focus. 
 
Fermented in stainless-steel tanks for freshness and polished with 15 months in oak, the blend is 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc. Merlot offers rich, supple approachability and the Cab Franc, contributes floral lift and heightened refinement.
 
GALIUS
SAINT-EMILION GRAND CRU 
2018 BORDEAUX
 
Your Price: $32
 
 
“Enchanting nose of sweet leather, ripe blue fruit and even honeyed flowers. Refined, plunging, gorgeous fruit on the palate…”
93 Points
2020 Joseph Jewell Rose Of Pinot Noir Slusser Vineyard Russian River

2020 Joseph Jewell Rose Of Pinot Noir Slusser Vineyard Russian River

with No Comment $30 and underKevin VogtRoséRussian River ValleySonomaUSA

JOSEPH JEWELL

ROSÉ OF PINOT NOIR
SLUSSER VINEYARD
2020 RUSSIAN RIVER 

2020 Joseph Jewell Rose Of Pinot Noir Slusser Vineyard Russian River
Representing a singular expression of the people, place, and vintage, Joseph Jewell wines bring people together with easy approachability, conversation-driving quality, and powerful varietal character. They source from expressive, cool-climate vineyards that provide the ingredients necessary to create wines that stand out for their pristine balance and thoughtful sophistication. Their 2020 Rosé was a bright star at our tasting with piercing aromatics, mineral-intensity, and contagious energy, and at $24, it’s a superb value. 
 
Farmed by the same family for over 100 years, Slusser Vineyard is in the middle reach of the Russian River Valley, where Mark West Creek’s flooding resulted in intense minerality in the wines. 
 
Calling on 100% Pinot Noir, winemaker Adrian Jewell crafted this Rosé in a brightly focused style, highlighting the vineyard’s keen minerality and freshness of fruit that will leave your taste buds craving more.
 
JOSEPH JEWELL
ROSÉ OF PINOT NOIR
SLUSSER VINEYARD
2020 RUSSIAN RIVER
 
Your Price: $24
 
 
“Fruity and layered in waves of raspberry, strawberry and watermelon, this light, crisp wine delivers vibrant flavor and texture. Dried herb and a hint of lemongrass add complementary nuance and deliciousness.” 
91 Points
2018 Edict Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2018 Edict Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

with No Comment $30-$40Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaUSA

EDICT

2018 RESERVE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
NAPA VALLEY

2018 Edict Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Edict’s philosophy of hand-crafting wines that are loved and remain true to their varietal and region is evident when you taste them. Their 2018 Reserve Cabernet exemplifies their motive, making a powerful statement of Napa Valley’s diversity of soils and micro-climates, enhanced by the fantastic vintage and expert blending. Making no excuses at its $88 retail price, this boutique Reserve Cab merits attention. Of course, at less than $40, it’s in a whole new league. 
 
Edict collaborates with some of Napa Valley’s top growers, calling on their vineyard manager’s 30 years of experience, ensuring expert fruit selection and encouraging natural varietal character, balance, and expression.
 
Created with 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged 22 months in oak, Edict’s Reserve Cabernet is made in a bold and concentrated style, dressed with Napa’s notorious complexity and guided with the vintage’s most classic hallmarks.
 
EDICT
2018 RESERVE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
NAPA VALLEY
Retails at: $88
 
Your Price: $38
 
 
“The Edict Reserve Cab 2018 begins with an elegant nose that includes red raspberries, tart cherries, wet earth, sweet vanilla, and tropic forest florals. This nose leads to a complimentary palate that is medium-full bodied with red and black fruits that include red currants, black cherries, and cigar box, framed by chalky tannins and bright acidity. The structure tells me this one will keep improving over time, and one more bit of evidence is that the last sip out of the bottle was the best. It just kept getting better and better as it opened up. I can’t wait to see where this one goes.”
92 Points
 
“This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon reveals beautiful aromas of cedar, raspberries, black currants, and a touch of toasty oak. The wine exudes complexity, medium to full body, stunningly sweet fruit and tannins, and a sense of airiness with even though there is a richness. Its velvety texture and complexity are seductive. We recommend you enjoy this lovely Cabernet over the next 5-8 years.”
2015 Spence Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain

2015 Spence Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain

with No Comment $80-$90Cabernet SauvignonHowell MountainKevin VogtNapaUSA

SPENCE

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2015 HOWELL MOUNTAIN 

2015 Spence Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain
The producers of Spence Howell Mountain Cabernet set out to create a wine that’s theirs alone, reflective of the specific characteristics of their exceptionally unique plot near Howell Mountain’s summit. Keenly focused on extracting what transpires in the vineyard, voiced in your glass with eloquence, purity, and individuality, their team is hands-off in the cellar. Their 2015 Howell Mountain Cabernet is sensationally intense, rivetingly defined, powerfully expressive, and an incredible value. 
 
Uniquely positioned above a canyon, Spence’s Vineyard benefits from consistent breezes, thickening the grape skins, contributing color and intensity. The site’s thick surface layer of red volcanic soil laced with rock allows rapid drainage, forcing the roots deep into the earth, extracting site-specific nuance.
 
Spence’s winemaker Ted Osborne began his career at Cakebread before gaining global experience in Australia, South Africa, and Bordeaux and returning to Napa Valley to make wine at Piña and Storybook Mountain. His focus is on vineyard-defined wines that unveil the site’s character in a balanced, elegant, and unique fashion through minimal-intervention winemaking.
 
SPENCE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2015 HOWELL MOUNTAIN
Retails at: $110
 
 
 
“Coming from the Spence’s vineyard at 1,900’ elevation on top of Howell Mountain, this blockbuster Cabernet reminds me of watching a Cheetah run in slow motion. It’s firm and bursting with power, yet sleek, graceful, and elegant at the same time. It begins with a gorgeous nose of explosive black plums, fragrant violets, dusty cocoa powder, wet slate, dried mushrooms, and vanilla hints. This mind-blowing concoction is perfectly ripe on the palate, with concentrated crushed blackberries, exotic wild currants, stewed plums, baker’s chocolate, and scorched earth. It is wonderfully firm and amazingly complex and long on the palate, with mouth-quenching crushed-velvet tannins that, time after time, left me yearning for another sip. It is a decadent, amazingly sultry stunner now that will continue to drop jaws for well over another decade.” 
97 Points, Kevin M. Vogt, Master Sommelier