2012 Enos Incomum Cabernet Sauvignon

2012 Enos Incomum Cabernet Sauvignon

with No Comment $30 and underCabernet SauvignonDry Creek ValleyKevin VogtSonomaUSA

ENOS 

2012 Enos Incomum Cabernet Sauvignon2012 INCOMUM
CABERNET SAUVIGNON

“Incomum” is defined as uncommon or unusual, and the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon from Enos is just that… Uncommon is finding a $75 Napa Valley Cabernet  that drinks as great as this wine. Unusual is the unique set of flavors and nuances that have resonated with so many of you. It’s become one of our most loved and reordered wines and now that this vintage is almost gone, I wanted to give you one last opportunity to order some before it completely disappears. Robert Parker predicts the wine will be “reasonably long lived given its bright acidity, but it’s delicious now as well….”
 
Enticing you with a burst of pure, super-ripe fruit, laced with bay leaf, black cherry, cigar tobacco, blackberry tart, incense and plenty of crème de cassis, this wine is singing right now.  Authored by talented winemaking-duo Dan Fitzgerald, who worked at Williams-Selyem and John Harley, who worked at Donum Estate, the 2012 Enos Incomum cascades over your palate with massive fruit and terrific clarity, as wave after wave of pure red fruits, crème de cassis, graphite and earth tease your palate with an infinite loop of vibrant flavors.  I highly recommend a case… 
 
ENOS 
2012 INCOMUM
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
Retails at  $75.00/btl
 
 
Tasting Notes: “With a tantalizing nose that pulls you in, this complex and penetrating expression has an unusual depth yet a sultry elegance combined with a laser like clarity.  It is a fresh and vibrant Cabernet Sauvignon that offers sweet black cherries, cassis berries, Spring flowers, pencil lead and sweet vanilla. It is also deep, powerful and penetratingly expansive with a finish that lasts over a minute.” 
94 Points, Master Sommelier Kevin M. Vogt
Salcheto Riserva

Salcheto 2012 Riserva Vino Nobile di Montelpuclciano (Sangiovese Blend)

with No Comment $30-$40ItalyKevin VogtNobile di MontelpulcianoTuscany

SALCHETO

2012 RISERVA
VINO NOBILE di MONTELPULCIANO
(SANGIOVESE BLEND)

 
Odds are, when three top wine critics in the US positively agree on a wine, it will appeal to aSalcheto Riserva broad audience. Yes, taste is  subjective, but truly great wine can transcend subjectivity and appeal to a much wider range of palates, simply because it’s an excellent representation, is perfectly balanced and has a set of indescribable qualities that is compelling for just about any wine lover. With triple 92-93 point scores and a price that’s fairly easy to swallow (pun, intended), I strongly recommend trying this one.

Emerging from Tuscany’s Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG, this stunning Riserva spends the required 2 full years in oak and a year in the bottle before release.  With Sangiovese making up 90% of the final blend, the 2012 has a scrumptious bouquet lined with dark berries and wild plum, then on the palate the wine is deep, seductive and velvety.  With about 30 cases available, we don’t expect this wine to last very long…

SALCHETO

2012 RISERVA
VINO NOBILE di MONTELPULCIANO
(SANGIOVESE BLEND)
Your Price: $34.99/btl
 
 
“Dark notes of blackberry and plum are reinforced by molasses and licorice flavors. Dense and meaty, this red is surprisingly nimble given the power and concentration. What this needs is an aged, grilled steak. Drink now through 2025.”
 
 93 Points
“Toast, mocha, spiced plum and pipe tobacco aromas come together in this savory red. The palate offers juicy raspberry, wild cherry, star anise and vanilla notes with firm, refined tannins. Drink 2018-2026.”
 
92 Points
“… displays pretty aromas of wild berry, cassis and dried cherry. The 2012 vintage is steady and well assembled, although the high notes are more muted. However, you can count on the bouquet to deliver authentic and true Sangiovese aromas…”
92 Points

Customers who enjoy Salcheto’s Vino Nobile di Montelpulciano Riserva, may also enjoy these two terrific Italian wines…

SILVIO GRASSO
2013 BAROLO
PIEDMONT, ITALY
Your Price: $34.99/btl
 
Pushing the boundaries of tangible value, to find a beautifully crafted and classically styled Barolo at under forty per bottle isn’t just an anomaly… It’s a dominating statement in terms of what’s achievable and available at this price point.  Created in a warm, intense style with a solid core and beautifully persistent flavors, we simply couldn’t believe how great this Barolo was for $34.99/btl…
BIBBIANO
GRAN SELEZIONE
2013 CHIANTI CLASSICO
VIGNA DEL CAPANNINO
Your Price: $34.99/btl
 
From The Wine Spectator, “A savory example, featuring tobacco, earth, wild herb and underbrush notes enveloping a core of fading cherry. Balanced and finishing dry, with tobacco and iron accents lingering. Settling in nicely, with a few years more to go…”    93 Points

Kenefick Ranch 2012 Petite Sirah Calistoga Estate

with No Comment $30 and underCalistogaKevin VogtNapaPetite SirahUncategorizedUSA
KENEFICK RANCH
2012 PETITE SIRAH
CALISTOGA, ESTATE
 
California Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux Style Blends aren’t the only wines that are shining bright from the 2012 vintage…  Some of the best examples of Durif, AKA Petite Sirah can age gracefully for up to two decades.  Even the word Petite refers to the small berries that these vines produce, and in turn, the greater skin to juice ratio creates a wine with penetrating intensity, yet supple, velvety tannins.  Kenefick Ranch’s 8 barrel production of their 2012 Estate Petite Sirah has everything that I look for in a great California Petite Sirah.  The flavors are deep and penetrating and on the palate the wine is pure silk, presented in a plump, velvety overlay.  At $45/btl retail this wine will bring a smile to your face.
With warm days and cool nights, Calistoga offers the perfect climate for Petite Sirah to fully develop, and many of California’s best examples of this variety come from the Calistoga area.  This quintessential Calistoga Petite Sirah was expertly guided from grape to bottle by talented winemaker Kent Jarman, who’s also the winemaker at Coup de Foudre, and previously the assistant winemaker at Duckhorn.  Kept for 18 months in Meyrieux Barrels, this 2012 is brimming with blue fruits, spices and plum.
 
KENEFICK RANCH
2012 PETITE SIRAH
CALISTOGA, ESTATE
Retails at:  $45.00/btl
 
+ Ground Shipping Included on ANY Full or Mixed 15-Pack
(Upgrade your 15-Pack to UPS 3-DAY AIR for $39, Available in select States)
 
Winery Notes: “We treat this Petite Sirah in a gentle manner during fermentation to allow the heavy tannin profile to integrate properly. Aromatics of dark cherry, plum and spice are enveloped in a rich, fresh berry profile. Copious velvet tannins let this wine finish very long. Good to drink now and will cellar well for the next 10-15 years.”
 
Customers who enjoy the Kenefick Ranch Petite Sirah may also enjoy these two terrific Reds…

 

LEWIS CELLARS
ALEC’S BLEND
2015 NAPA VALLEY
Retails at:  $65.00/btl
Your Price: $59.99/btl
 
Winery Notes: “Our 2015 Alec’s Blend is a lot like the Honda XR500 that Alec takes to the trails of Lefthand Canyon in Boulder, CO – big, powerful, and lots of fun. Bursting with sappy black cherry, chocolaty oak spice and Madagascar vanilla, it’s a dense and delicious blend of 50% Syrah, 30% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc, and 9% Cabernet Sauvignon. Fruit-driven and plush but framed in fine, polished tannins, this ride will make you smile...”
CARLISLE
2015 PETITE SIRAH
PALISADES VINEYARD
Your Price: $49.99/btl
 
From Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate, “Another monster in the making… This is no ordinary Petite Sirah, but then, few are. Nearly black as a moonless night, the wine’s aromatics soar from the glass, offering up floral notes intermixed with blackberry, incense, blueberry liqueur, graphite and licorice. Huge intensity of flavor, sweet but noticeable tannins, low acidity, but fabulous richness, and a broad, almost endless finish characterize this Petite Sirah that should age well for 30-50 or more years…” 91-94 Points

Le Pich 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon

with No Comment $50-$60Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapa
LE PICH
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2015 NAPA VALLEY
 
It feels good to be on the leading edge of a fledgling brand that’s soared into something as special as Le Pich and Purlieu.  We first introduced their inaugural 2009 vintage back in 2012 and we never stopped singing their praises.  As the second label for Purlieu, a rising cult producer whose Cabernets range $95-$200/btl, Le Pich delivers a amazingly high level of quality, without the lofty price tag that often comes with it.  This phenomenal Napa Cab is made by Julien Fayard, who learned his craft at Chateau Lafite Rothschild.  Julien then gained valuable, first-hand experience as Director of Winemaking for Philippe Melka at elite Napa Valley producers like Lail, Gemstone, Hundred Acre, Vineyard 29, and Mastery…
 
Kicking things up a notch or two in terms of quality, the 2015 Le Pich is gorgeously concentrated, dramatic and wonderfully expressive.  Drawing from several celebrated regions throughout Napa Valley, each vineyard and unique micro-climate elevates the final complex blend.  The net result is that Le Pich is one of our best selling brands of all times, for good reason.  I strongly recommend a case… you can thank me later.
 
LE PICH
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2015 NAPA VALLEY
Your Price: $54.99/btl Click to Order
+ Ground Shipping Included on ANY Full or Mixed 15-Pack
(Upgrade your 15-Pack to UPS 3-DAY AIR for $39, Available in select States)
From Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate:
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Le Pich has expressive black and red currants notes with kirsch, spice box, earth and unsmoked tobacco notions. Medium-bodied, soft, supple, open and singing, the palate provides plenty of juicy fruit and a satisfying finish.
92 Points

Customers that would enjoy the Le Pich 2015 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, may also enjoy these two terrific Cabs…
POST PARADE
2014 STRETCH DRIVE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
Retails at:  $65.00/btl
Your Price: $59.99/btl 

Stretching the boundaries in just the third vintage, you’ll find this rising-star wine company and soon to be cult-classic producer in the winner’s circle after every race.  The Post Parade wines have gotten more profound with each vintage.  A pacesetter in the under seventy price bracket, Stretch Drive is the second wine produced at Post Parade, and oo
zes with provocative dark berries laced with crushed rock, cocoa and baking spices.  It’s made by Thomas Rivers Brown, whom you may recognize from Schrader, Revana, GTS, Maybach, Gemstone and Outpost…
AMAPOLA CREEK
2014 CABERNET SAUVIGNON
ESTATE, SONOMA VALLEY
Retails at:  $90.00/btl
 
From Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate, “…Containing 7% Petit Verdot, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Vineyard has a deep garnet-purple color and youthfully reticent nose, offering glimpses at blackberry and black plum notes over pencil shavings, garrigue, lavender and Mediterranean herbs. Full-bodied and packed with black fruits and earthy flavors, it is built like a brick house with a solid frame of firm, ripe tannins and plenty of freshness, finishing long.” 
 
 
 93-95 Points

Humanitas 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon

with No Comment $30-$40Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtReds

 

HUMANITAS
2012 CABERNET SAUVIGNON
REID VINEYARD, NAPA VALLEY
 
When we selected the Humanitas Signum as our number one wine in 2017, it sold out before noon… While this surprised some, it didn’t surprise me, because it’s difficult to come up with enough gushing superlatives that accurately describe how I feel about all the Humanitas wines.  While Signum was $100 Cab blend that we sold for $55, at under $40, the 2012 Reid Vineyard Cab is a wine that is a little easier to swallow… Pun intended.  Stunningly concentrated and dangerously hedonistic, the 2012 Reid Vineyard Cab is bursting with authoritative and alluring flavors of sensual dark fruits, chocolate espresso, scorched earth and pipe tobacco.
 
Expertly composed by winemaker Rob Lloyd, former winemaker at Rombauer, this 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon originates from a single vineyard on the North Eastern edge of St Helena.  A blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, enhanced with Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot and Merlot, the 2012 spent 22 months in oak and like many 2012 Napa Valley Cabs, this wine is really showing great now and should continue to evolve for another 5-7 years.
 
HUMANITAS
2012 CABERNET SAUVIGNON
REID VINEYARD, NAPA VALLEY
Retails at:  $60.00/btl
+ Ground Shipping Included on ANY Full or Mixed 15-Pack
(Upgrade your 15-Pack to UPS 3-DAY AIR for $39, Available in select States)
Tasting Notes: “The aromatic bouquet blooms with red and black fruits, pipe tobacco, dark chocolate and hints of sun-baked earth. In the glass it is black as a starless night, ringed with rich, hedonistic blackberry, cassis, red berries and cocoa powder.  Though dense, this wine is nimble but with deep, dark black currant, mixed black berries, bing cherry and a touch of sweet vanilla that surrounds your palate in pure joy.  This is another sensational effort from a producer that is quickly becoming one of my favorites.”