2016 The Paring Proprietary Red California

2016 The Paring Proprietary Red California

with No Comment $30 and underKevin VogtProprietary RedUSA

THE PARING

PROPRIETARY RED
2016 CALIFORNIA

2016 The Paring Proprietary Red California

Created in 2006 out of a desire for more creativity and imagination in the vineyard, The Paring catapulted into popularity, earning placements on many great restaurant wine lists due to its undeniable charm. The grapes for The Paring come from younger vines within the vineyard blocks at highly regarded big sister wineries The Hilt and JONATA.
 
Winemaker Matt Dees is a natural when it comes to winemaking, curious and experimental, with notable vintages under his belt from Staglin in Napa Valley and Craggy Range in New Zealand. The 2016 vintage is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Petit Verdot that scored 93 points from Jen Dunnuck and is a beautiful homage to Bordeaux style blends for under $30. 
 
THE PARING
PROPRIETARY RED
2016 CALIFORNIA
 
Your Price: $28
 
 
“The 2016 Red Wine checks in as a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc, 20% Merlot, and 10% Petit Verdot. Brilliant notes of cassis, tobacco leaf, damp earth, cedary herbs, and graphite all emerge from this concentrated, remarkably pure, elegant Bordeaux blend hat has building tannins and a great, great finish. It tastes like it costs three times the price.”
93 Points
2016 Anthem Cabernet Sauvignon Mount Veeder

2016 Anthem Cabernet Sauvignon Mount Veeder

with No Comment $60-$70Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtMt VeederNapaUSA

ANTHEM 

CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
2016 MOUNT VEEDER

2016 Anthem Cabernet Sauvignon Mount Veeder
Selected for its powerfully expressive, vividly detailed, and incomparably hedonistic qualities, Anthem’s 2016 Mount Veeder Cabernet is a show-stopper so irresistible that it was nearly impossible to keep stocked in the tasting room. Jeff Ames, the winemaker at TOR and Rudius, crafts Anthem Cabernet to showcase power and restraint while simultaneously exhibiting a stunning level of depth and persistent intensity, setting it apart from others.
 
Anthem winery is steadfast in creating exceptional quality Cabernets from distinctive Mountain AVA’s in Napa Valley. They’ve assembled a powerful team led by highly-respected viticulturist John Truchard and, as mentioned earlier, winemaker Jeff Ames. The winery’s production team is free to vinify without regard for cost, making every decision solely on its impact on the quality of their wine. All of this is present in their wines, and this 2016 release is their most remarkable yet.
 
ANTHEM 
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
2016 MOUNT VEEDER
Retails at: $125
 
 
 
“The 2016 Anthem Cabernet Sauvignon is an explosion of intense aromas beginning with violets, lavender, cassis, black plums, black cherries, balsamic reduction, black tea, graphite, and earth. The pronounced flavors penetrate the palate with great depth and firm tannins for a completely mouth-coating texture that slowly dissipates into the background. Drinking this wine is a truly ethereal experience, and its structure gives it the ability to be aged for several years of pleasure.”
95 Points, #3 WCC Top 5 Wines of 2021
2016 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Lot C-91

2016 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Lot C-91

with No Comment $90-$100Cabernet SauvignonHowell MountainKevin VogtNapaOakvilleRutherfordSt HelenaUSA

HEITZ CELLAR

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2016 LOT C-91
2016 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Lot C-91
Joe Heitz pioneered single-vineyard wines in Napa Valley, and in 1969 he blended select plots from his most prized vineyards, discovering that he could create a wine with the qualities he desired most – aging potential, complexity, and depth. Lot C-91 encompasses this art of assemblage, gracefully presented with concentrated fruit, focus, and sophisticated complexity. 
 
Heitz is a historic winery that continues to pursue the same traditional, age-worthy style for which they’re well known and respected. For the last 50 years, Heitz Cellar has sourced fruit for Lot C-91 from premium parcels in St. Helena, Oakville, Rutherford, and Howell Mountain, representing a step-up in quality, achieving the density and length of a genuinely fantastic wine, which recently earned an extraordinary score.
 
HEITZ CELLAR
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2016 LOT C-91
 
Your Price: $99.99
 
 
“Blue fruit with stone, lavender and currant aromas and flavors. Fresh herbs too. Medium-bodied with ultra-fine tannins. Such firmness and focus and beauty. A blend of all their top single vineyards. Drink or hold.”
96 Points
2016 Gaja Brunello Di Montalcino Pive Santa Restituta

2016 Gaja Brunello Di Montalcino Pive Santa Restituta

with No Comment $80-$90BrunelloBrunelloItalyKevin Vogt

GAJA

BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO
2016 PIEVE SANTA RESTITUTA

2016 Gaja Brunello Di Montalcino Pive Santa Restituta
Gaja is one of the biggest names in Italian wine, famous for a fusion of modern and traditional winemaking, continually impressing wine critics and collectors from all over the world since their early beginnings 250 years ago. In the 1960s and ’70s, Angelo Gaja was one of the first winemakers in Italy to begin experimenting with new French oak barriques that today contribute to Gaja’s signature house-style.
 
Brunello di Montalcino is famous for the Brunello clone of Sangiovese, known for more body, multiple layers of concentrated flavors, and impressive longevity that by law must be aged for a minimum of two years in barrel and four years total before release. Master of Wine Greg Sherwood has rated Gaja’s 2016 vintage of Brunello di Montalcino as one of the estate’s most outstanding vintages, with beautifully perfumed aromatics and intensely complex flavors that pleasantly linger into a long finish.
 
GAJA
BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO
2016 PIEVE SANTA RESTITUTA
 
Your Price: $89.99
 
 
“The 2016 Gaja Pieve Santa Restituta Brunello di Montalcino is intensely aromatic, beginning with violets, roses, potpourri, black cherries, leather, balsamic, and saffron. The palate is equally complex with flavors of black plums, cherry cola, cocoa, and earth. The depth of flavors and fine-grained tannins thoroughly coat the mouth leading into a long, decadent finish that can be enjoyed now or cellared to gracefully age for the next 12-15 years.”
95 Points
 
Vintage Report: 2016 Brunello di Montalcino
“Textbook growing season resulted in wines of finesse and elegance, balance and harmony, with mostly red fruit flavors…”
99 Points
2016 Ehlers Estate Portrait Proprietary Red

2016 Ehlers Estate Portrait Proprietary Red

with No Comment $50-$60Kevin VogtNapaProprietary RedSaint HelenaUSA

EHLERS ESTATE

2016 PORTRAIT
PROPRIETARY RED

2016 Ehlers Estate Portrait Proprietary Red
Ehlers Estate in St. Helena is a historic winegrowing property initially established in the mid-1800s at Napa Valley’s narrowest point, where constant airflow brings morning fog and moderating sea breezes, ensuring a slow and even ripening. The estate’s old-world style layout, where the farthest point of the property is just 600 yards from the centrally located winery, is rare in California, naturally encouraging an increased focus on quality.
 
Ehlers’s vineyard, situated on 42 contiguous acres, is divided into five primary blocks defined by their unique soil types and 25 sub-blocks with varying combinations of clones and rootstocks, offering a remarkable diversity in their fruit. Designed to represent “the perfect picture” of the unique terroir of this classical estate, the 2016 Portrait is firm and confident, harmoniously displaying the vineyards and vintage’s most remarkable characteristics. 
 
EHLERS ESTATE
2016 PORTRAIT
PROPRIETARY RED
Retails at: $65
 
Your Price: $60
 
 
“Fresh, with a light savory streak amid the red currant and damson plum fruit, giving this a racy, focused profile. Shows a floral nuance in the background and a bright mineral edge on the finish. Relies on precision rather than bombast. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Best from 2020 through 2030.”
92 Points
2016 Blanket Prince Of Hearts Proprietary Red

2016 Blanket Prince Of Hearts Proprietary Red

with No Comment $90-$100Kevin VogtNapaProprietary RedUSA

BLANKIET

PRINCE OF HEARTS 
2016 PROPRIETARY RED

2016 Blanket Prince Of Hearts Proprietary Red
In 1996, Claude and Katherine Blankiet had the opportunity to view an undeveloped hillside property behind Dominus’ Napanook vineyard and purchased the site without hesitation, naming it Paradise Hills. The vineyard experiences a cooler terroir than other parts of Napa Valley due to its eastern exposure with bright sunny mornings and cool, shady afternoons, preserving natural acidity as temperatures rise later in the day, producing exquisitely balanced, focused fruit.
 
Viticulturist David Abreu and winemaker Helen Turley extensively studied the different soil compositions in the vineyard, dividing it into four distinct blocks with strategically selected rootstocks and clonal varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petit Verdot. The 96 point 2016 Prince of Hearts captures the essence of this top estate, presented with a supple mouthfeel and exceptional balance made possible by the site’s complex terroir and the wine team’s diligence in the vineyard and cellar.
 
BLANKIET
PRINCE OF HEARTS 
2016 PROPRIETARY RED
 
Your Price: $99.99
 
 
“…another seamless, elegant wine from the estate that has remarkable complexity in its sandalwood, spice box, chocolate, and cassis and blueberry-like fruits. Hitting the palate with full-bodied richness, a seamless texture, and ultra-fine tannins, it can be drunk today or cellared for 15+ years. It’s another beautiful wine from this team that has both power and finesse.”
96 Points
 
 
2016 Marimar Estate Pinot Noir Metodo Antiguo

2016 Marimar Estate Pinot Noir Metodo Antiguo

with No Comment $30 and underKevin VogtPinot NoirSonomaSonoma CoastUSA

MARIMAR ESTATE

2016 PINOT NOIR
METODO ANTIGUO

2016 Marimar Estate Pinot Noir Metodo Antiguo
Marimar Torres, of the renowned Familia Torres winemaking family in Spain, immersed herself in the wine business early, bringing an old-world, quality-minded approach to her Sonoma-based estate. Método Antiguo, which translates to “Old Method,” refers to the original way of making wine with whole cluster fermentation that is still used today by many of Burgundy’s top estates as a stylistic tool for increased savory complexity, textural qualities, and tannin structure.
 
Doña Margarita Vineyard is planted at high density, creating increased competition amongst the vines, slowing vigor, and deeply concentrating flavors, later enhanced by whole cluster fermentation. The inclusion of stems during vinification adds gentle tannins, improving the structure, adding heady freshness to the aromatics, which is particularly complementary to Pinot Noir, and this one is drinking beautifully.
 
MARIMAR ESTATE
2016 PINOT NOIR
METODO ANTIGUO
Retails at: $64
 
 
 
“The Marimar Estate Doña Margarita Vineyard Metodo Antiguo Pinot Noir 2016 has an intriguing nose which includes candied strawberries, cherry cola, dried mushrooms, baking spices, fresh thyme, and violets. On the palate, it has fresh mixed berries, saline with a unique savory note, and a clean, minerally component. The finish is balanced and bright, with elegance and finesse.”
92 Points
2016 Espirit De Fonrozay Bordeaux

2016 Espirit De Fonrozay Bordeaux

with No Comment $30 and underBordeauxBordeauxFranceKevin Vogt

ESPRIT DE FONROZAY

2016 BORDEAUX

2016 Espirit De Fonrozay Bordeaux
The Bordeaux AOC growing region in France does not allow irrigation, period, no exceptions. In 2016, the magic of Bordeaux proved itself again when not one drop of rain fell during the summer, yet the natural water-retaining qualities of the clay and limestone soils of the area fully sustained the vines. The 2016 vintage is considered one of the most outstanding vintages of Bordeaux, with Jeb Dunnuck rating it as “Extraordinary” and Wine Enthusiast asking, “Is 2016 the Perfect Bordeaux?”
 
The 2016 vintage of Espirit de Fonrozay is blended from select vineyard sites throughout Bordeaux, adding a mosaic of complexity to the vintage’s intensely concentrated flavors. Wines of this caliber often sell at triple-digit prices, but this wine has an “every night sipper” price that you shouldn’t miss.
 
ESPRIT DE FONROZAY
2016 BORDEAUX
 
Your Price: $16.99
 
 
“Warm and ripe, this wine is full of black fruits and rich tannins. It is structured but this foundation is already well integrated with the fruit. Spice and a touch of licorice indicate the wood aging and also the potential of this wine. Drink from 2021.” 
90 Points
2019 Red Car Chardonnay Sonoma Coast

2019 Red Car Chardonnay Sonoma Coast

with No Comment $30 and underChardonnayKevin VogtSonomaSonoma CoastUSA

RED CAR

2016 CHARDONNAY
SONOMA COAST

2019 Red Car Chardonnay Sonoma Coast
Built from a collection of coastal vineyards, Red Car’s 2016 Chardonnay is tuned with fruit from Kent Ritchie’s Vineyard, which has an epic history of producing some of California’s most distinguished Chardonnays. This wine gains additional complexity from Red Car Estate, Zephyr Farms, Manchester Ridge, and Hawk Hill Vineyards, crossing the finish line with clarity, balance, and delicate textures. 
 
Red Car parks their Sonoma Coast Chardonnay in primarily neutral oak barrels, creating a racy, fresh, inviting wine, and time in the bottle has increased richness and made the fruit softer and more supple, resulting in a wine that’s a joy ride to drink right now. 
 
RED CAR
2016 CHARDONNAY
SONOMA COAST
Retails at: $35
 
Your Price: $28
 
 
“An oaky nose of caramel and brioche gives way to a lighter, brighter midpalate of high-toned acidity and fresh flavors of lemon and tangerine. The ripeness is balanced and well integrated with the tannin and oak.”
90 Points
2016 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Lot C-91

2016 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Lot C-91

with No Comment $90-$100Cabernet SauvignonHowell MountainKevin VogtNapaOakvilleRutherfordSaint HelenaUSA

HEITZ CELLAR

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2016 LOT C-91

2016 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Lot C-91
Joe Heitz pioneered single-vineyard wines in Napa Valley, and in 1969 he blended select plots from his most prized vineyards, discovering that he could create a wine with the qualities he desired most – aging potential, complexity, and depth. Lot C-91 encompasses this art of assemblage, gracefully presented with concentrated fruit, focus, and sophisticated complexity.
 
Heitz is a historic winery that continues to pursue the same traditional, age-worthy style for which they’re well known and respected. For the last 50 years, Heitz Cellar has sourced fruit for Lot C-91 from premium parcels in St. Helena, Oakville, Rutherford, and Howell Mountain, representing a step-up in quality, achieving the density and length of genuinely fantastic wine.
 
HEITZ CELLAR
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
2016 LOT C-91
 
Your Price: $99.99
 
 
“The presence of savory elements such as sage, rosemary, cured meats, and black pepper distinguishes this cuvée from any other. The conclusion of the Lot C-91 on the palate displays incredible complexity and harmony, and those who can afford to be patient will be rewarded for decades to come.”