2019 Desoncierto Albarino Cambados Urban Winery Cambados, Spain

2019 Desoncierto Albarino Cambados Urban Winery Cambados, Spain

with No Comment $30 and underKevin VogtProprietary WhiteSpain

DESCONCIERTO

2019 ALBARIÑO
CAMBADOS URBAN WINERY
CAMBADOS, SPAIN

2019 Desoncierto Albarino Cambados Urban Winery Cambados, Spain
The delightfully refreshing nature of Desconcierto Albariño intersects with profound intensity, resulting in a stimulating, unique white that makes other varietals envious. The wine’s alluring qualities are fueled by great weather, causing it to move faster than any other white wine on our tasting menu. Desconcierto is beautifully opulent, loaded with brightly focused fruit, intriguing spice, and classic saline character that’s simply irresistible. 
 
Albarino grows best in areas with a strong maritime influence, which helps the grapes maintain a lively acidity. Desconcierto’s Vineyard is close to the Arousa Estuary’s shores, and the sea’s impact stands out in this classic Atlantic-influenced wine. 
 
Desconcierto utilizes partial Malolactic fermentation in their winemaking, which a technical method now widely used that gives the wine a rounder mouthfeel. There are less than 350 cases of this wine produced and trust me, you’ll wish you had ordered a lot more once you taste it.
 
DESCONCIERTO
2019 ALBARIÑO
CAMBADOS URBAN WINERY
CAMBADOS, SPAIN
 
Your Price: $29.99
 
 
“Lively and intense aromas of white peach, pear and apples. Light notes of vanilla and yeast, a result of aging and stirring in the vat. Full body, crisp, vibrant and refreshing with mouthwatering citrus notes. Long finish with dry mineral notes.”
2019 Martin Ray Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains

2019 Martin Ray Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains

with No Comment $30 and underChardonnayKevin VogtMontereySanta Cruz MountainsUSA

MARTIN RAY

2019 CHARDONNAY
SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS

2019 Martin Ray Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains
Santa Cruz Mountain Chardonnays display dense aromas, rich fruit, remarkable intensity, complex minerality, and tantalizing acidity. Martin Ray’s version expresses these distinct characteristics with tropical melon, orange zest, and a leesy, textured mouthfeel that makes the wine, as James Suckling writes, “hard to resist.” 
 
This Chardonnay comes from two 1000ft elevation vineyards on opposite sides of the Mountain and offers a stunning portrayal of the region’s dynamic terroir. Each site shares sizeable diurnal temperature shifts and excellent sun exposure, resulting in powerfully concentrated, expressive berries. 
 
Martin Ray’s winemaking team utilized a technique of stirring the lees bi-weekly during its 12 months aging in French oak. This technique results in a rich, leesy texture that perfectly contrasts the bright natural acidity.
 
MARTIN RAY
2019 CHARDONNAY
SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS
Retails at: $35
 
Your Price: $28
 
 
“Mouthwateringly intense aromas of salted butter and toast. Lemon curd, grilled pear, hazelnut and chalk, too. It’s medium-to full-bodied with tangy acidity and a toasty, saline finish. Hard to resist. Drink or hold. Screw cap.”
93 Points
 
“Ripe Bosc pear, lemon mousse, and grilled pineapple with touches of honey- suckle on the nose. Subtle baking spices, sweetgrass, a hint of quince paste and Tahitian vanilla overlay a broad palate framed by linear acidity and minerality.”
2020 Flowers Rose of Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast

2020 Flowers Rose of Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast

with No Comment $30 and underKevin VogtRoséSonomaSonoma CoastUSA

FLOWERS

ROSÉ OF PINOT NOIR
2020 SONOMA COAST

2020 Flowers Rose of Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
Flowers Winery designedly crafts their Rosé to highlight the distinct minerality and fresh acidity in this wine. Their team exercises minimal intervention in the cellar to promote a pure expression of the Sonoma Coast. This new release illustrates their commitment to expressing the uniqueness of their land as it excites your taste buds with striking pink grapefruit, saltwater minerals, sea breeze, and fresh acidity. 
 
The winemaking team created their 2020 Pinot Noir Rosé from their Sea View Ridge Estate and selected family-owned vineyards on the Sonoma Coast, all properties sharing a pronounced coastal influence and aligning farming practices. 
 
With attention to every detail, fruit is hand-sorted on the winery’s custom-built shaker table before six team members assess every cluster before allowing only the best fruit to pass through by gravity flow into the fermenters. The blend is 100% Pinot Noir and perfectly reflects the quality of fruit and meticulous care that goes into it.
 
FLOWERS
ROSÉ OF PINOT NOIR
2020 SONOMA COAST
Retails at: $35
 
Your Price: $29.99
 
 
“Elegant and distinct, with aromas of peach, strawberry and subtle hints of rose petal. Bursts of fresh citrus colorfully drive the palate and are balanced with flavors of nectarine and stone fruit. A silky entrance coupled with fresh and uplifting acidity leaves you with our signature coastal expressions.”
2018 Baldacci Sorelle Chardonnay Carneros

2018 Baldacci Sorelle Chardonnay Carneros

with No Comment $30 and underCarnerosChardonnayKevin VogtNapaUSA

BALDACCI

SORELLE CHARDONNAY
2018 CARNEROS

2018 Baldacci Sorelle Chardonnay Carneros
Revered for lively acidity and concentrated fruit, Carneros Chardonnays benefit from their proximity to the Pacific Ocean and San Pablo Bay. Cool air funnels through the Coastal Mountain ranges allowing the grapes a long growing season, with temperatures cool enough to maintain acidity and structure. Baldacci’s Sorelle Chardonnay perfectly reflects this phenomenon, as echoed by Jeb Dunnuck, who writes that it’s “nicely textured and has good acidity followed by a clean finish, all making for a delicious Chardonnay.” 
 
Michael Baldacci works closely with Josh Clark to farm his Carneros Vineyard to its utmost potential. Josh is a leading viticulturist whose A-list clients include Outpost, Hourglass, and Kinsella Estate, to name a few. 
 
Sorelle is barrel-aged and crafted in a full-bodied, concentrated style by Michael Baldacci and Ricardo Herrera. Ricardo gained experience at icons Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Dominus, and Screaming Eagle. The resulting wine performs at an exceptionally high-level that’s uncommon at this price.
 
BALDACCI
SORELLE CHARDONNAY
2018 CARNEROS
Retails at: $40
 
 
 
“A full-bodied, toasty white with aromas and flavors of apricot, ripe pear, smoke and apple pie. Crisp acidity and a toasty, flinty finish. Drink or hold.”
91 Points
 
“…the 2018 Chardonnay Sorelle offers an attractive, richer style that carries lots of buttered melon, white peach, and pineapple fruit notes as well as some background toastiness. It’s nicely textured and has good acidity followed by a clean finish, all making for a delicious Chardonnay to drink over the coming couple of years.”
90 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 Florian Mollet Pouilly-Fume Loire Valley, France

2018 Florian Mollet Pouilly-Fume Loire Valley, France

with No Comment $30-$40FranceKevin VogtLoire ValleySancerre

FLORIAN MOLLET

2018 POUILLY-FUME
LOIRE VALLEY, FRANCE

2018 Florian Mollet Pouilly-Fume Loire Valley, France
Florian Mollet is fervent about his viticulture and winemaking. He’s also not afraid to combine tradition with modern advancements like using multiple small stainless-steel tanks for vinifying each of his parcels separately. His winery is Domaine du Clos du Roc, one of the top houses in Sancerre, formerly the Saint-Satur Abbey, founded in 1450. Their Pouilly-Fume comes from a tiny 6ha parcel across the river near the wine-growing hamlet of Boisgibault, and it produces fruit with remarkable character, clarity, and balance.
 
Domaine du Clos du Roc’s parcel in Pouilly-Fume is grown in silex soils and planted to 100% Sauvignon Blanc. The flint terroir gives the wine a unique personality, and the hallmark a subtle smoky, gunflint note which rises from the glass. 
 
Florian ferments his Pouilly-Fume in stainless steel tanks for three weeks without malolactic fermentation to preserve the wine’s natural brightness. He also ages the wine for six months on the fine lees, contributing to the intriguing textures and overall balance.
 
FLORIAN MOLLET
2018 POUILLY-FUME
LOIRE VALLEY, FRANCE
 
Your Price: $34
 
 
“Wonderful aromas of dried flowers to the cooked apple and some lime. Green papaya too. Medium to full body. Fruity and minerally finish. Drink now.” 
94 Points
 
Winery Notes: “Golden green. The nose opens up to notes of wild flowers backed by subtle citrus fruit. Expressive attack on the palate exuding exotic fruit with refreshing exuberance and delicate balance.”
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.”
NV Marquis de la Mysteriale Cuvee Grand Esprit Champagne

NV Marquis de la Mysteriale Cuvee Grand Esprit Champagne

with No Comment $30 and underChampagneChampagne/SparklingFranceKevin Vogt

MARQUIS de la MYSTERIALE

CUVÉE GRAND ESPRIT
CHAMPAGNE NV

NV Marquis de la Mysteriale Cuvee Grand Esprit Champagne
How much would you expect to pay for a bottle of Champagne? Champagne commands a higher price tag than other sparkling wines due to strict requirements on aging and the fact that the region is roughly 8% of the size of Sonoma County. Champagne wines must spend at least 15 months in the bottle before release, which is longer than any other Sparkling, and they usually start above $40-$60/btl. There’s a reason why Marquis de La Mysteriale Champagne is just $29.99. The company that produces it has decided to discontinue this particular wine, which creates a grand opportunity for you.
 
Maison de Grand Esprit crafts their Champagne in a toasty and rich style, which they achieve through aging on the lees for a full 15 months. Their winemaking team sourced the grapes from small family growers, and they completed the blend with 59% Chardonnay and 41% Pinot Noir. 
 
Winemaker Florent Gauthier has an inherent passion for wine he’s developed in France, Switzerland, Australia, Chile, Argentina, and California, even working for a brief time at Stags’ Leap Winery. He believes in minimal intervention winemaking and allowing for each wine’s finesse and elegance to express itself.
 
MARQUIS de la MYSTERIALE
CUVÉE GRAND ESPRIT
CHAMPAGNE NV
Retails at: $60
 
Your Price: $29.99
 
 
“This wine is soft and well balanced. An attractive predominance of Chardonnay in the blend with Pinot Noir gives an edge of minerality as well as fresh apple flavors. The wine is ready to drink.”
90 Points
 
“Rich and complex yet fresh, our Champagne possesses a beautiful, intricate aroma of toasted bread, almond and nougat combined with a fine, persistent mousse.”
2017 Heinrich Spindler Trocken Riesling Pfalz Germany

2017 Heinrich Spindler Trocken Riesling Pfalz Germany

with No Comment $30 and underGermanyKevin VogtRiesling

HEINRICH SPINDLER

2017 TROCKEN RIESLING
PFALZ, GERMANY 

2017 Heinrich Spindler Trocken Riesling Pfalz Germany
There’s passion in winemaking, and then there’s Markus Spindler, whose heart beats for Riesling. His family has been crafting Riesling in the Pfalz region of Germany for 400 years. He believes premium wines can only arise when a variety of small but crucial conditions occur, and he does everything in his power to make sure these events happen. His 2017 Trocken Riesling is brilliant, and at less than thirty bucks, the quality in the bottle is unmatched. 
 
Markus Spindler farms 20 hectares of vines with a strong focus on organic principles. The vines are grown in shell limestone, basalt, colored sandstone, where the vines’ deep roots draw up the diverse minerals and store them in the grapes. 
 
Pfalz offers a range of microclimates perfectly suited for ripening Riesling. Markus meticulously vinifies each plot individually in all of its variants. His greatest challenge is preserving the full range of natural aromatics, which he achieves through gentle handling, limiting the use of pumps, and utilizing gravity flow whenever possible. 
 
HEINRICH SPINDLER
2017 TROCKEN RIESLING
PFALZ, GERMANY
 
Your Price: $28
 
 
“This is Markus’ bread and butter riesling. The grapes for this wine are sourced from Spindler’s vineyard holdings in Friedelsheim, Niederkirchen and Forst. It was fermented in stainless steel until dry with cultured yeasts. This is a pure expression of Pfalz exotics: passion fruit, peach, almond blossom.”
2017 Silverpoint Chardonnay Petaluma Gap

2017 Silverpoint Chardonnay Petaluma Gap

with No Comment $30-$40ChardonnayKevin VogtNapaPetaluma GapUSA

SILVERPOINT

2017 CHARDONNAY
PETALUMA GAP

2017 Silverpoint Chardonnay Petaluma Gap
Silverpoint’s master plan is to remain small and focused on producing tiny quantities of meticulously made wines. Their strategy parallels winemaker Don Van Staaveren’s patient and minimal intervention approach of winemaking. Don is a seasoned winemaker responsible for authoring the Chateau St. Jean wines that made history when his 1996 Cinq Cepages was the #1 wine on the Spectator Top 100 list. This wine proves that when a winemaker perfectly aligns his style with the proprietor’s goals, great things happen, and with a mere 91 cases made, don’t hesitate to secure yours.
 
Silverpoint Cellars sources their Chardonnay fruit from the renowned Rodgers Creek Vineyard, which sits in the heart of the cool-climate Petaluma Gap AVA. The site has maritime winds and heavy fog influences, along with chalky volcanic ash soils, which create an ideal environment for Chardonnay to develop expressive flavors and maintain natural acidity.  
 
Don barrel-aged the 2017 release for nine months sur lie, which played a crucial role in contributing to the wine’s creamy mouthfeel and opulent textures. With just 91 cases made, this pedigreed and micro-produced Chardonnay guarantees to impress.
 
SILVERPOINT
2017 CHARDONNAY
PETALUMA GAP
Retails at: $45
 
 
 
“Rich and pale gold color with a creamy texture balanced by a lively acidity. Hints of melon and white peach. Voluptuous. A long juicy finish lets you linger with this Chardonnay. 91 cases produced”