2018 Details Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County

2018 Details Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County

with No Comment $30-$40Alexander ValleyCabernet SauvignonChalk HillDry Creek ValleyKevin VogtKnight's ValleySonomaUSA

DETAILS

CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
2018 SONOMA COUNTY

2018 Details Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County
Details Cabernet fuses superior talent, assiduous fruit selection, and rigorous science in creating their value-focused Cabernet. Their commitment to excellence and obsessive attention to detail paid off, resulting in an enchanting wine that tastes like it should be much more expensive. We were among the first to feature it last August, before any scores. Recently, Vinous reviewed it, alerting readers to this “ridiculous value.” At $33, it’s a wine everybody should try. 
 
Sourced from a hillside vineyard located on the Sonoma side of the Mayacamas Mountains, behind Oakville, this wine also incorporates fruit from Knights Valley, Alexander Valley, Dry Creek, and Chalk Hill for increased definition. Their team handpicks the fruit to precise analytics, equating to optimized flavors and aromas. 
 
Details is a new project by the owners of Sinegal, and Ryan Knoth makes the wines. Ryan gained valuable experience working under the tutelage of icons David Abreu, Michel Rolland, and Fredrik Johansson at Staglin Vineyards. He also worked with Jim Barbour and Philippe Melka at Gandona Estate.
 
DETAILS
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
2018 SONOMA COUNTY
Retails at: $40
 
Your Price: $33
 
 
“The 2018 Details Cabernet Sauvignon is a new project from David Sinegal and winemaker Ryan Knoth made from a collection of top sites in Sonoma County, with a strong focus on Moon Mountain. Silky, yet powerful, with striking depth, the 2018 is simply magnificent. Readers will find a mid-weight, savory Cabernet Sauvignon. Best of all, the 2018 is a ridiculous value in today’s world.”
93 Points
 
“A value-priced release from this terrific estate, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon DETAILS checks in as 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% each of Merlot and Petite Sirah, 4% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot, all aged 16 months in 55% new oak. Lots of ripe black cherry and blueberry fruits, notes of vanilla bean, cedar, and tobacco, medium to full-bodied richness, and notable purity all make for a delicious Napa Valley Cabernet that won’t break the bank. Enjoy bottles over the coming 7-8 years.”
91 Points
2018 Fort Ross Pinot Noir Sea Slopes

2018 Fort Ross Pinot Noir Sea Slopes

with No Comment $30 and underKevin VogtPinot NoirSonomaSonoma CoastUSA

FORT ROSS

2018 PINOT NOIR
SEA SLOPES 

2018 Fort Ross Pinot Noir Sea Slopes
Sea Slopes is a wine inspired by the majestic Sonoma Coast and crafted by renowned winemaker Jeff Pisoni. Over the years, this wine has built upon a reputation of excellence as one of the area’s most reliable values. It’s the delicious result of the culmination of the proprietor’s drive to make the best wines from their Estate, and at $30, the value is substantial. 
 
Fort Ross Vineyard sits at the exact location where various soil types and elevations meet with an extreme maritime climate. In the near vicinity and inside the Fort Ross Seaview AVA, icons Peter Michael, Marcassin, Martinelli, Flowers, and Pahlmeyer all source fruit. 
 
Winemaker Jeff Pisoni helps to articulate the best attributes of the Estate. Jeff barrel ages this wine in primarily neutral barrels to integrate the natural acidity, rich flavors, and soft tannins into a beautiful, perfumed Pinot Noir.
 
FORT ROSS
2018 PINOT NOIR
SEA SLOPES
Retails at: $35
 
Your Price: $29.99
 
 
“Bottled under screw cap and a value-priced effort, the 2018 Pinot Noir Sea Slopes comes from sites in the Sonoma Coast and has a lively, complex bouquet of spiced cherries, cranberries, sappy flowers, and a kiss of marine-like salinity. With good complexity, medium body, nicely integrated acidity, and a good finish, it’s a delicious drinker to enjoy over the coming 3-4 years.”
89 Points
 
“An expressive garnet, this lively Pinot Noir has alluring layers of raspberry, red plums and hibiscus aromas. Vibrant flavors of perfumed Bing cherry, tangy plum and dried cranberries seamlessly intertwine with hints of cassis framed by fine tannins. The mouthwatering acidity and structured, elegant layers of pure Pinot Noir fruit lingers through the energetic finish. Sea Slopes is a true expression of a coastal Pinot Noir.”
2018 Eleven Eleven X-I Estate Cabernet Oak Knoll District

2018 Eleven Eleven X-I Estate Cabernet Oak Knoll District

with No Comment $80-$90Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaOak KnollUSA

ELEVEN ELEVEN

X∙I ESTATE CABERNET
2018 OAK KNOLL DISTRICT 

2018 Eleven Eleven X-I Estate Cabernet Oak Knoll District
Eleven Eleven is a new winery producing exciting wines out of their state-of-the-art production facility near downtown Napa. Winemaker Kirk Venge creates them in a powerfully captivating style that’s elegantly balanced and enriched with nuance. Their 2018 X∙I Estate Cabernet perfectly reflects the winery’s drive to make the best wines possible, and at $85, don’t miss this high-scoring Cab. 
 
The 2018 release is nearly 90% Cabernet Sauvignon heightened with the other four most classic Bordeaux varieties; Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, and Petit Verdot. The wine spent almost two years developing in French oak barrels, and it’s rocking now. 
 
The X∙I Estate Vineyard is in the Oak Knoll AVA, where the clay loam soils, combined with the San Pablo Bay cooling influences, are ideal for ripening Bordeaux varieties. The resulting wine is, as Vinous writes, “spectacularly rich” and “gorgeous in its style,” and at $85, it’s a stupendous value for top-quality Napa Cab.
 
ELEVEN ELEVEN
X∙I ESTATE CABERNET
2018 OAK KNOLL DISTRICT
 
Your Price: $85
 
 
“The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate will thrill readers who enjoy opulent Napa Valley wines. Inky dark fruit, dark chocolate, menthol, licorice and spice blast out of the glass. Unctuous and spectacularly rich, the 2018 is a gorgeous wine in its style. Plush, silky tannins round out the luxurious finish.”
94 Points
 
“Black garnet color. Aromas and flavors of boysenberry, eclairs, sassafras, sage, and licorice with a lightly tannic, vibrant, dryish full body and a warming, complex, long finish with moderate oak flavor. A dense and brooding Oak Knoll Cabernet for fabulous steaks; drink now through 2035.”
Gold Medal, Exceptional, Cellar Selection
94 Points
 
“I haven’t been this excited about unveiling a new wine in years. Finally, the secret is out! A true 5 varietal Estate Bordeaux Blend. Having the viticulture at your fingers to guide each of these plantings with just the right inputs and be blessed with a nearly perfect vintage like 2018 was a combination for success. I love the dark fruit and young tightly laced tannin feel. As young as these plantings are, I predict outstanding things in future years stemming from this, the XI inaugural release!”
Winemaker Kirk Venge
2015 Poggio Nardone Brunello Di Montalcino Italy

2015 Poggio Nardone Brunello Di Montalcino Italy

with No Comment $30-$40BrunelloBrunelloItalyKevin Vogt

POGGIO NARDONE

2015 BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO
MONTALCINO, ITALY 

2015 Poggio Nardone Brunello Di Montalcino Italy
There are great wines made through the winemaker’s decisions, and then there are those that result from the vintage, which was a fantastic one in Montalcino for their 2015’s. The year produced wines with remarkable power, dynamic complexity, and a purity of fruit that’s spectacular. Finding a high-quality Brunello from 2015 is easy, but finding one at $40 is nearly impossible. Of the 118 2015 vintage Brunellos rated by the Wine Spectator, only 1 had a release price of $40. Here’s the needle in the haystack. 
 
Poggio Nardone’s 2015 Brunello is a classic blend of 100% Sangiovese Grosso aged four years in barrel. The vines were grown at an altitude of 350-450 meters in soils rich in marl and limestone and produced fruit with precision detail. 
 
The estate is less than 10 hectares, but it’s also the exact location where ideal soils and high altitude vineyards intersect and produce powerful, dense, and long-lived Brunellos that make a lasting impression.
 
POGGIO NARDONE
2015 BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO
MONTALCINO, ITALY
Retails at: $55
 
Your Price: $39.99
 
 
“A ripe but composed Brunello di Montalcino with tar, leather, dried brambleberries, dried tea leaves and ash. Chewy and foursquare on the full-bodied palate; the rustic tannins give this a silty, grainy quality. Decadent and powerful…”
94 Points
 
“This is a lovely expression of Sangiovese with a full and generous disposition… offers bright cherry, cassis, raspberry and other red berry fruits. Those fruity high notes are followed by savory tones of forest floor, candied orange peel, autumnal leaf and baking spice. The wine offers a smooth and silky mouthfeel with well-integrated tannins and a long, polished finish. This is a clean and compact interpretation of Brunello with the amped up and generous characteristics of this sunny vintage… Drink 2021-2035”
93 Points
2018 Marimar Estate Acero Unoaked Chardonnay Russian River Valley

2018 Marimar Estate Acero Unoaked Chardonnay Russian River Valley Don Miguel Vineyard

with No Comment $30 and underChardonnayKevin VogtRussian River ValleySonomaUSA

MARIMAR ESTATE

ACERO UNOAKED CHARDONNAY
2018 RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY
DON MIGUEL VINEYARD

2018 Marimar Estate Acero Unoaked Chardonnay Russian River Valley
Marimar Estate’s Don Miguel Vineyard is in Green Valley, the coolest, foggiest part of the Russian River. The site is influenced by traditional Mediterranean viticultural practices and planted in a high-density European-style with more than 2,000 vines per acre, which naturally encourages low-yields with concentrated, and balanced flavors. The winemaking team selected specific blocks with great intensity and aromatics within the vineyard for their Acero Unoaked Chardonnay, which at around $25, is a serious value. 
 
Don Miguel Vineyard is organically farmed and contains desirable sandy loam, Goldridge soils of volcanic origin, and marine sediment. The high-density planting promotes vines to live longer and achieve fruit with greater concentration and more elegance and finesse. 
 
Marimar Torres teamed up with Bill Dyer, legendary winemaker at Sterling Vineyards, for 20 years to produce the best wines possible from the Estate. The wine team ages and ferments their Acero Chardonnay in 100% stainless steel to capture the purity of flavors and the fruit’s most natural essence.
 
MARIMAR ESTATE
ACERO UNOAKED CHARDONNAY
2018 RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY
DON MIGUEL VINEYARD
Retails at: $34
 
Your Price: $25
 
 
“Fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks, this wine never sees oak. A floral aroma of honeysuckle wrangles the nose as a crisp palate brings flavors of pear, peach and lavender. Stony minerality defines the texture, and the finish carries a touch of honey.”
90 Points
 
“This has a bright, green-melon and apple nose with light, flinty nuances. The palate has a supple, white-peach and pear core. Fresh, light and clean. Drink now.”
90 Points
 
“There are lots of stony notes to the open-textured, spicy Gala apple, dried apricot and quince flavors of this white. The plush finish offers plenty of creaminess. Drink now.”
89 Points
2018 Sparkman Holler Cabernet Sauvignon

2018 Sparkman Holler Cabernet Sauvignon

with No Comment $30-$40Cabernet SauvignonColumbia ValleyKevin VogtUSAWashington State

SPARKMAN

2018 HOLLER
CABERNET SAUVIGNON

2018 Sparkman Holler Cabernet Sauvignon
Sparkman handcrafts powerfully concentrated and elegantly balanced wines from Washington State and people are noticing. We discovered them in 2016 and gushed about their 2013 Holler, which went on to rank #21 on the Wine Spectator Top 100, out-scoring icons like Screaming Eagle at more than 25 times its price. The winery hasn’t skipped a beat since, and their 2018 vintage powerfully reflects Columbia Valley’s distinct terroir and the winery’s hallmark style of crafting concentrated wines deep-seated in elegance. 
 
Winemaker Linn Scott called on fruit from eleven different unique sites in Columbia Valley when creating the 2018 Holler. The resulting wine offers a well-rounded interpretation of Columbia Valley terroir, presented with supreme balance. 
 
The Wine Spectator describes the 2018 vintage in Washington State as producing “full-bodied yet well-balanced wines.” Sparkman Holler is a grand example, and after 18 months in oak and rest in the bottle, this wine is drinking beautifully.
 
SPARKMAN
2018 HOLLER
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
 
Your Price: $32
 
 
“This is a pan-Washington Cabernet, with fruit from White Bluffs, Horse Heaven, Red Mountain and Yakima Valley. The aromas offer notes of vanilla, sautéed dried herb, ground aniseed, coffee and cherry. Plump chocolate and cherry flavors follow, with a smooth feel upping the appeal.”
91 Points, Editors’ Choice
 
“We’re not sure how to fully and accurately describe this wine. Really. Stunning is a word that might work. It’s degree of texture and personality are something we have not seen before in this label. Silky. Deep. Polished. Round. Its sexy accessibility is counterintuitive for a wine this young. It possesses a dense purple saturation as well as a stunning nose of black and blue fruits, orange peel, sweet oak and crushed mineral. On the palate it leads with supple rich fruit balanced atop a fine tannic framework. Flavors erupting on the palate include blackberry, cherry, citrus, caramel, mocha, cedar and stone. Ready to roll right now and built for the long run.”
2018 Lingua Franca Estate Pinot Noir Eola-Amity Hills

2018 Lingua Franca Estate Pinot Noir Eola-Amity Hills

with No Comment $40-$50Kevin VogtOregonPinot NoirUSA

LINGUA FRANCA

2018 ESTATE PINOT NOIR
EOLA-AMITY HILLS

2018 Lingua Franca Estate Pinot Noir Eola-Amity Hills
Lingua Franca winery resulted from Master Sommelier Larry Stone’s vision to develop an exceptional vineyard, neighboring Argyle’s Lone Star, Domaine Serene’s Jerusalem Hill, and Evening Land’s Seven Springs in Oregon’s Eola-Amity Hills region. Combine that with Burgundy-icon Dominique Lafon’s vision to produce world-class wine to further strengthen the team. Their wines walk a tightrope having New World concentration and intensity that’s equally matched with pristine balance and a powerful sense of place reminiscent of great Burgundy. 
 
Larry and his team separated the vineyard into twenty-three blocks, planted to different rootstocks and budwood reflective of the varying soil conditions. They impeccably farm the vineyard under low-impact, Organic and Biodynamic principles, which include no-till farming and the use of pygmy goats, guided through each row of vines by a Llama.
 
Lafon protégé, and winemaker Thomas Savre crafts the wines, with consulting winemaker Dominique Lafon. Their team meticulously sorts the fruit in the vineyard and at the winery and ferments the berries 20% whole cluster for added depth and structure. They age the wine for 12 months, primarily in neutral barrels to preserve the fruit’s natural essence.
 
LINGUA FRANCA
2018 ESTATE PINOT NOIR
EOLA-AMITY HILLS
 
Your Price: $49.99
 
 
“Structured and refined, with sleek and steely raspberry and blueberry flavors laced with stony minerality and fresh violets. Builds tension toward medium-grained tannins. Drink now through 2028.”
92 Points
 
“This has a Syrah-like foundation of earthy herbs and chewy tannins. The fruit is pure Pinot—elegant and bright raspberry flavors rich enough to feel lightly jammy. It finishes with a kick of citrusy acidity…”
92 Points
 
“Sourced from our best-performing blocks of Pinot Noir, the Lingua Franca Estate Pinot Noir begins with a heady scent of roses and red fruits. On the palate, the wine is quite dense and rich, powerful in expression, with a perfect balance of red and black fruits, dark plum, pomegranate and raspberry, then the nuances of wet stone and savory herbs come through in the lifted lingering finish and velvety texture.”
2016 Sebright Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2016 Sebright Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

with No Comment $60-$70Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaOakvilleUSA

SEBRIGHT

2016 RESERVE 
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
NAPA VALLEY

2016 Sebright Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Sebright wowed us last year with their Greenwood Block Cabernet. Their resolute style of crafting beautifully refined wines deep-seated in elegance made a memorable impact. We wondered if it could get any better, and their 48 case production of Reserve Cabernet from their Estate Vineyard loudly answered that question with a resilient YES. The wine is more profound, more opulent, and with more intensity than their Greenwood Block bottling. At $125, it’s an incredible wine, but at $65, there aren’t enough superlatives to describe it. 
 
Sebright’s Reserve Cabernet comes from their single-acre Garnett Creek Estate Vineyard, double planted to clone 7, a clone also used by Screaming Eagle. They farm the vineyard sustainably and by hand, and the volcanic ash soils produce tiny yields of intense fruit. 
 
Andy Jones, who worked under Thomas Brown at Outpost, makes this wine, which reigns from the remarkable 2016 vintage. The Wine Spectator ranks 2016 as the highest-rated vintage for Napa Cabernet since 1997. It spent 23 months in new French oak barrels, and with just 2 barrels (48 cases) produced, don’t wait to secure yours.
 
SEBRIGHT
2016 RESERVE 
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
NAPA VALLEY
Retails at: $125
 
 
 
“This is a very concentrated, powerful wine with an intense nose including muddled black and blue berries, rose petals, glove leather, and sweet vanilla. The focused palate has an energetic approach with layers of mountain blackberries complex minerals, Burgundy plums, and cherry pipe tobacco. The lavish finish is compelling, dynamic, exceptionally long, beautifully presented in a wine that I want more of.”
97 Points
2016 Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

2016 Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

with No Comment $100 and overCabernet SauvignonKevin VogtMt VeederNapaOakvilleSaint HelenaUSA

BERINGER

2016 PRIVATE RESERVE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 

2016 Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
The remarkable vineyards combined to form Beringer’s flagship Private Reserve Cabernet are so expressive and profound that the winemaking team can take a minimalist approach to production, allowing these incredible vines to shine. The wine is, at its core, a blend of Pauli, Steinhauer, and Bancroft Ranch vineyards atop Howell Mountain, providing the unmatched power, enormous structure, and richness of the wine. They completed it with fruit from Oakville, St Helena, Spring Mountain, and Mount Veeder, which round out the stunningly complex blend. 
 
Mark Beringer not only vinifies each renowned site individually, but he also ages them separately for a full 20 months before making the barrel selection. He does this to allow each vineyard to express the depth of its unique terroir fully.
 
Beringer is California’s oldest continually operating winery, and they’re the only winery in history to have both a red and white wine honored as the #1 wine on the Wine Spectator Top 100. The 2016 release is as James Suckling writes, “Breathtaking” and worthy of the 99 point score.
 
BERINGER
2016 PRIVATE RESERVE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
Retails at: $170
 
Your Price: $150
 
 
“Breathtaking. Exceptional integration of super ripe blackberries and the very finest oak. The tannins build up beautifully, forming wave upon wave as the wine flows across the palate. Then the wave breaks on your palate and shoots way out at the finish, so that you wonder where it will end and normal life begin again. Needs time to soften, but this is so, so good…”
99 Points
 
“… the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve shows the vintage beautifully and is more pure, classic, and elegant. Notes of crème de cassis, graphite, lead pencil shavings, and freshly crushed rocks give way to a medium to full-bodied, seamless Cabernet that has remarkable purity of fruit and impeccable balance…”
97+ Points
 
“… the deep garnet-purple colored 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve sings of crème de cassis, kirsch, blackberry preserves and blueberry pie, with loads of chocolate box, floral and baking spices hints. Full-bodied with a firm, chewy frame and loads of savory accents, it delivers a long, multilayered finish…”
95 Points
2018 Paydirt Going For Broke Proprietary Red California

2018 Paydirt Going For Broke Proprietary Red California

with No Comment $30 and underCentral CoastKevin VogtPaso RoblesProprietary RedUSA

PAYDIRT

GOING FOR BROKE
PROPRIETARY RED
2018 CALIFORNIA

2018 Paydirt Going For Broke Proprietary Red California
Paydirt is an idiom about striking gold, defining a valuable or rewarding discovery, which is the feeling you’ll have when you taste this wine. The secret behind the palpable quality is in the dirt. With a core of Dusi Vineyard fruit, followed by Bokisch in Lodi and other vineyards in Paso Robles, Oak Knoll, and St Helena, Paydirt is deeply-rooted in heritage clones from ancient parcels. Jeb Dunnuck recently tasted the 2018 and alerted readers to this “delicious drinker,” so now would be the perfect time to stake your claim on a case. 
 
The 2018 blend married 81% old vine Zinfandel with Grenache, Petite Sirah, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Barbera, and Cabernet Sauvignon crafted by winemaker Kent Jarman. Kent is also the winemaker at Coup de Foudre and Kenefick Ranch and was previously the assistant winemaker at Duckhorn. 
 
This wine made its debut in 2010, and the winery proved they could hold-their-own in the competitive $30 red blend category. Now entering the 2018 vintage, they’re onto a new challenge in the sub $20 price range and based on the quality, they’re poised to dominate it.
 
PAYDIRT
GOING FOR BROKE
PROPRIETARY RED
2018 CALIFORNIA
 
Your Price: $19.99
 
 
“Brambly herbs, plum, framboise, and violet notes emerge from the 2018 Going For Broke, which is a Zinfandel-dominated blend that includes small amounts of Grenache, Petite Sirah, Syrah, and Mourvèdre. Balanced and medium to full-bodied, with both richness and elegance, it’s a delicious drinker to enjoy over the coming 4-6 years or so.”
90 Points