2018 Grand Napa Master Red Napa Valley

2018 Grand Napa Master Red Napa Valley

with No Comment $30-$40CoombsvilleKevin VogtNapaProprietary RedSaint HelenaUSA

GRAND NAPA 

MASTER RED
2018 NAPA VALLEY

2018 Grand Napa Master Red Napa Valley
Grand Napa Vineyards in Rutherford produces wine in an approachable style that’s keenly balanced, richly textured, and without hard edges. They seek vineyards that produce concentrated fruit, naturally balanced by elegant tannins. Their Master Red combines grapes from both warm and cool parts of the Valley and harmoniously balances fruit, acid, and structure, tying it all in with soft, velvety tannins. Notably, this wine earned double 92 point scores based on the winery’s $90 retail price, so at our price, you can be the judge.
 
Dwight Bonewell, the winemaker at Grand Napa, keeps a black book of secret vineyard sources, and he created his 2018 Master Red from top sites in Coombsville and Saint Helena. His 2018 combines 55% Cabernet Sauvignon with nearly equal parts Malbec and Merlot. 
 
2018 was a faultless growing season, virtually uninterrupted by significant heat spikes, providing a prolonged hang-time and allowing the fruit to accumulate intense flavor and complexity. Grand Napa’s 2018 Master Red envelopes your palate in a blanket of red and black fruits, crushed flowers, black coffee, and soft, velvety tannins.
 
GRAND NAPA 
MASTER RED
2018 NAPA VALLEY
Retails at: $90
 
 
 
“Loads of black cherries, currants, tobacco leaf, chocolate, and spring flower notes emerge from the 2018 Master Red. A medium to full-bodied, lightly textured blend with integrated tannins and a clean, classy finish, I’d be thrilled to drink bottles any time over the coming 10-15 years.”
92 Points
 
“Savory aromas of dried mushroom and oyster shell on the nose, layered with dried blackcurrant and tobacco. It’s medium- to full-bodied with sleek, integrated tannins. Flavorful with a juicy, savory finish. Try from 2021.”
92 Points
2018 Vineyard 29 Cru Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2018 Vineyard 29 Cru Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

with No Comment $60-$70Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaSt. HelenaUSA

VINEYARD 29

CRU CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
2018 NAPA VALLEY

2018 Vineyard 29 Cru Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Vineyard 29 utilizes a combination of Old-World techniques and the most advanced methods available in their constant pursuit of perfection. These processes include everything from gravity flow tanks, an optical sorter that can be programmed algorithmically, to a control room that monitors the conditions inside the vineyards, caves, and winery. They center their philosophy on Elevage, which translates to raising the wine from grape to bottle. The 2018 Cru Cabernet perfectly portrays the character of the Napa Valley terroir, and as Jeb Dunnuck writes, it does so with “notable purity, balance, and length.”
 
The wine team thoughtfully constructed the 2018 release from fourteen vineyards, with their core composed of parcels surrounding the winery’s Estate in St Helena. The winemaking team hand-selects the balance of fruit from different parts of the Valley, creating a well-rounded and richly layered Cabernet that’s effortlessly balanced. 
 
Vineyard 29 Winemaker Keith Emerson has crafted this wine since the inaugural vintage in 2005. He gained invaluable experience while working alongside Philippe Melka on the winery’s high-scoring Estate wines through 2017, while Philippe was consulting winemaker. At under $100, this is a steal in terms of the sheer quality of what’s inside the bottle.
 
VINEYARD 29
CRU CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
2018 NAPA VALLEY
Retails at: $75
 
Your Price: $69.99
 
 
“Plums, Asian spices, tobacco, and lead pencil notes emerge from the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Cru, which hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a beautifully polished, elegant texture, and outstanding length. This is another gorgeous 2018 displaying notable purity, balance, and length as well as richness. It can be drunk any time over the coming 15+ years.”
94 Points
#28 Top Napa Cabernet Under $100
 
“The 2018 CRU Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon holds nothing back upon opening. Grilled meat, cocoa and Bing cherry perfume a beautifully expressive nose. Pulling from multiple vineyards throughout Napa Valley, this wine truly encompasses the incredible diversity that our valley has to offer. Firm tannins and structure house notes of cassis, plums, black peppercorns and fresh tobacco leaf. This wine finishes with a long, weighty finish that never loses its focus and remains pure throughout.”
2018 Rochiolo Pinot Noir Estate, Russian River

2018 Rochiolo Pinot Noir Estate, Russian River

with No Comment $80-$90Kevin VogtPinot NoirRussian River ValleySonomaUSA

ROCHIOLI 

2018 PINOT NOIR 
ESTATE, RUSSIAN RIVER

2018 Rochiolo Pinot Noir Estate, Russian River
Rochioli is one of the most distinguished vineyards in North America, and it’s revered for producing powerful and vividly distinct berries. The family recognized the potential to grow world-class Burgundian varieties on their property early on. Their first release was named The Best Pinot Noir in America by the Wine Spectator, and decades later, the following for their brand is more robust than ever.
 
The 2018 Russian River Pinot Noir represents the essence and character of the entire Estate by intricately combining five of the winery’s coveted single-vineyards; Sweetwater, Little Hill, Big Hill, West Block, and East Block. 
 
Tom Rochioli’s winemaking philosophy of producing terroir-driven wines made with minimal intervention, and built on a foundation of superb fruit, helped make them one of the top producers in North America. The 2018 release is supremely balanced, concentrated, and powerfully focused.
 
ROCHIOLI 
2018 PINOT NOIR 
ESTATE, RUSSIAN RIVER
 
Your Price: $89.99
 
 
“This blockbuster wine is a single-vineyard blend of the winery’s best blocks, including 40% Sweetwater, 39% Little Hill, 12% Big Hill, 6% West Block and 3% East Block. Together, they find unison in spicy, woody and earthy tones of white pepper and tingling acidity. It delivers a powerful freshness followed by forest notes, black tea and baked strawberry.”
97 Points
 
“A good value in world-class Pinot Noir, the 2018 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley comes from a mix of the estate’s single vineyard and was 95% destemmed and brought up in French oak. It has a great red fruit-driven core as well as lots of floral and spice notes, medium body, great acidity, and no shortage of length on the finish. It’s great today and will shine for 7-8 years.”
94 Points
 
“The 2018 Pinot Noir Estate is such a pretty wine. Crushed red berries, rose petal, mint, spice and blood orange infuse the 2018 with tremendous character, especially at this level. A Pinot of precision and nuance, the 2018 Estate brilliantly shows the direction Tom Rochioli has taken his wines in recent years. Readers will find an especially compelling edition of the Estate in 2018.”
93 Points
 
“Powerful and pure-tasting, with underbrush accents and hints of white pepper to the dark currant and dried raspberry flavors. Cedary in the midpalate, with a long finish of dried beef and loamy notes. Drink now through 2025.”
93 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.”
2018 Prisoner Wine Co. Cuttings Cabernet Sauvignon

2018 Prisoner Wine Co. Cuttings Cabernet Sauvignon

with No Comment $40-$50Cabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaSonomaSonoma MountainUSA

PRISONER WINE CO.

2018 CUTTINGS
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 

2018 Prisoner Wine Co. Cuttings Cabernet Sauvignon
The inspiration for Cuttings Cabernet Sauvignon is grapevine cuttings cultivated on high-elevation vineyards transversing through some of California’s most sought-after regions. Revered for crafting unique blends unrestricted by tradition, Cuttings ownership, along with winemaker Chrissy Wittmann, built Cuttings around 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, enhanced with Petite Sirah, Syrah, and Zinfandel. The richly layered 2018 release has supple dark fruits, intriguing complexity, and at less than $50, is a substantial value.
 
Prisoner winemaker Chrissy Wittmann called on a diverse variety of clones and terroirs, primarily from hillside vineyards in Napa Valley, Sonoma, and Red Hills Appellation to create this masterpiece. She combined the deep, intense flavor of Cabernet Sauvignon with Petite Sirah, Syrah, and Zin’s structure and richness. 
 
This wine is the bigger, more masculine brother to the popular Prisoner Red blend, and Chrissy made it in an irresistibly plump, velvety style. The 2018 vintage spent 18 months in 40% new French oak barrels, and it’s stunning now… Right out of the bottle.
 
PRISONER WINE CO.
2018 CUTTINGS
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
Retails at: $55
 
Your Price: $45
 
 
“Deliciously smooth with flavors of blueberry, dark cherry, and cocoa. Aromas of fresh roasted coffee, black currant, vanilla bean, brown spice, and wild berries.”
2018 Domaine Jessiaume Santenay 1er Cru Les Gravieres Red Burgundy

2018 Domaine Jessiaume Santenay 1er Cru Les Gravieres Red Burgundy

with No Comment $40-$50BurgandyFranceKevin VogtPinot NoirRed Burgandy

DOMAINE JESSIAUME

SANTENAY 1er CRU
LES GRAVIÈRES
2018 RED BURGUNDY 

2018 Domaine Jessiaume Santenay 1er Cru Les Gravieres Red Burgundy
Santenay is an appellation of Côte de Beaune that’s best known for its Pinot Noir production. The region includes a dozen Premier Cru Vineyards, and Les Gravières is classically in the best part of the appellation. It’s located near the border of Chassagne and considered by many the top Cru Vineyard in Santenay. At less than $50, Domaine Jessiaume’s Premier Cru Red Burgundy from Les Gravières shows off the remarkable power, beauty, and complexity for which the site is known.
 
Les Gravières has highly-porous oolitic limestone, marls, and white oolite soils. Domaine Jessiaume sources from 60 years old vines have deep root systems that extract minerals and other composites, beautifully expressing the vineyard’s distinct terroir. 
 
Maison Jessiaume values organic viticulture and a gentle touch to winemaking. Their team intervenes as little as possible during the winemaking processes, ferments with natural yeasts, and relies on gravity to transfer the wine into tanks. The cumulative result is a pure and balanced interpretation of the varietal, location, and vintage.
 
DOMAINE JESSIAUME
SANTENAY 1er CRU
LES GRAVIÈRES
2018 RED BURGUNDY
 
Your Price: $49
 
 
“Floral and fresh on the nose, very inviting. Nice mouthfeel, bright, supple, with verve and tension. Complex flavor profile, red stone fruits, clove, cinnamon, nice balance and structure, expansive across the palate. Chewy tannins, very pure. Nice spice on the finish, with blood orange acidity. From vines with an average age of 60 years, aged 14 months in 350L barrels (30% new) before bottling.”
2018 Vista Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford Reserve

2018 Vista Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford Reserve

with No Comment $30 and underCabernet SauvignonKevin VogtNapaRutherfordUSA

VISTA

RUTHERFORD RESERVE
2018 CABERNET SAUVIGNON 

2018 Vista Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford Reserve
Vista commands attention as the only Cabernet Sauvignon from Rutherford at $25. The 2018 release powerfully reflects the region’s dynamic complexity, superior elegance, and dusty tannins. The 2018 vintage magnifies these traits because it’s one of the best in the last decade. Now, with more time in the bottle, if you haven’t tasted one lately, I recommend you do. This extra time produced a richer, more opulent, complex Cabernet Sauvignon that will make anyone rethink what’s possible at this price level.
 
This 2018 offering originates from Rutherford’s Western side, where the soils and microclimate produce pristine, complex fruit. The Cabernet Sauvignon is clone 337, a clone often used in cult wines, and it’s balanced with 15% Oakville Cabernet Franc and 6% Rutherford Merlot.
 
In the 2018 vintage, Mother Nature gifted the valley with a long, trouble-free growing season that allowed the grapes more time on the vines to develop deep, complex flavors. Vista’s 2018 Rutherford Reserve Cabernet perfectly reflects the vintage with a purity of fruit and a unique complexity that expands into mineral-laced black fruits, blue violets, iron, and Rutherford dust hints.
 
VISTA
RUTHERFORD RESERVE
2018 CABERNET SAUVIGNON
 
Your Price: $25
 
 
“The Vista Reserve Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 has a gorgeous, powerful nose of blackberry pie filling, French lavender, sweet vanilla and brioche. On the palate, this opulent beauty is rich and concentrated, with a core of focused fruits and flavors including mountain blackberries, red plums, ripe blueberries, menthol, vanilla spice, and dark chocolate, all supported by fine grained fruit tannins. It is amazingly ready-to-drink now, but has the structure to cellar for a decade.” 
95 Points, Kevin M. Vogt, Master Sommelier
2018 Titus Cabernet Franc Napa Valley

2018 Titus Cabernet Franc Napa Valley

with No Comment $40-$50Cabernet FrancKevin VogtNapaSaint HelenaUSA

TITUS

CABERNET FRANC
2018 NAPA VALLEY

2018 Titus Cabernet Franc Napa Valley
When a winemaker designs a winery solely for crafting his namesake wines, he sets himself up for complete control over every aspect of the process, and that’s when great things happen. Brothers Eric and Philip Titus believe the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. They meticulously blend their wines, creating complete wines with superior expressions of the variety, vintage, and region. The proof is in a glass of their Cabernet Franc, which also happens to be a remarkable value.
 
The 2018 Titus Cabernet Franc arose from two sites; Titus Estate in Saint Helena and Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard in South Napa. The cooler-climate South Napa site contributes brighter acid and structure, while the Saint Helena Vineyard adds power and intensity. 
 
Philip Titus is a seasoned winemaker revered for authoring Chappellet’s Pritchard Hill wines for nearly three decades and leaving countless World Class wines in his wake. He and his brother continually evolve their farming to further understand their unique land. Their passion for creating outstanding wines of great value and a sense of place is highly evident in this Cab Franc.
 
TITUS
CABERNET FRANC
2018 NAPA VALLEY
Retails at: $58
 
Your Price: $49.99
 
 
“The 2018 Titus Cabernet Franc is a wine filled with the elegance and grace that is indicative of the variety. Aromas of allspice, caraway, cranberry, strawberry jam, and violets lift out of the glass. The smooth entry is filled with notes of dark cherry, pomegranate, cinnamon, and baking spices as the wine glides across the palate. Mouth filling and smooth though the finish the tannins are finely developed with a light touch that leaves the wine lingering with toasty spices and anise. Enjoy through 2030.”
2018 Ridge Proprietary Red Lytton Springs

2018 Ridge Proprietary Red Lytton Springs

with No Comment $40-$50Dry Creek ValleyKevin VogtProprietary RedSonomaUSA

RIDGE

2018 PROPRIETARY RED
LYTTON SPRINGS

2018 Ridge Proprietary Red Lytton Springs
Ridge utilizes pre-Industrial winemaking techniques that were common in Bordeaux and California around the 19th Century. These methods involve fermenting with natural yeasts, winemaking decisions based on taste, and not adding any commercial enzymes or nutrients for extracting color, flavor, and tannins. It’s a philosophy that’s paid off, and when paired with historic vines, it creates wines of sensational quality. Their 2018 Lytton Springs is one of their best, and with double 96 point reviews, don’t miss it.
 
Lytton Springs vineyard was planted in the early 1900s, and the ancient Zinfandel Vines are interplanted with Petite Sirah, Carignane, Mourvèdre, and Grenache. Ridge produced their first vintage from Lytton Springs in 1972, and the consistency of character and quality of the fruit has been a hallmark of the site ever since. 
 
The 2018 vintage combines 72% Zinfandel balanced with Petite Sirah, Carignane, and Mourvedre. The wine has stunning depth and complexity that winemakers can’t replicate with younger vines.
 
RIDGE
2018 PROPRIETARY RED
LYTTON SPRINGS
 
Your Price: $45
 
 
“…The nose is lush and open, with aromas of aniseed, red and blue berries, blood orange and earth plus touches of tobacco leaf and dried flowers. The medium-bodied palate combines intense, powerful flavors with a more ethereal, silty structure, and it finishes with loads of juicy layers. It’s stunning straight from bottle but will have more to give with time in the cellar.”
96 Points
 
“The 2018 Lytton Springs is magnificent. Elegant, layered and so complete, the 2018 has a lot to offer, but it needs time to fully come together. Sweet red cherry, red plum, blood orange, spice, mint and rose petal open up in the glass. Bright acids and beams of tannin give the wine its vibrant energy. Readers should plan on cellaring the 2018 for at least a few years. Wow!”
96 Points
2018 Bacio Divino Pazzo Napa Valley Proprietary Red

2018 Bacio Divino Pazzo Napa Valley Proprietary Red

with No Comment $30 and underKevin VogtNapaOakvilleProprietary RedUSA

BACIO DIVINO

2018 PAZZO 
NAPA VALLEY
PROPRIETARY RED

2018 Bacio Divino Pazzo Napa Valley Proprietary Red
Bacio Divino is one of the top producers of Sangiovese-based blends in Napa Valley, and their reputation of excellence spans each of the wines they produce. They created Pazzo in 1999 as a sister-label to Bacio Divino that would appeal to a broader audience. The 2018 vintage is incredibly rich, with penetrating fruit and intriguing floral elements. Pazzo means crazy in Italian, and at around $30, the 2018 release is a crazy-good value.
 
Bacio Divino has a history of producing high-scoring wines. Because of that, they have access to some of the greatest vineyards in Napa Valley, including Beckstoffer Heritage sites in Oakville and Rutherford and Sangiovese on Atlas Peak. Pazzo comes from a collection of unnamed sites and include grapes from their Estate vineyard.
 
Winemaker Kirk Venge built the 2018 Pazzo with 38% Sangiovese and 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, and he tied them together with Syrah and Petite Sirah. The 2018 vintage produced powerful fruit with incredible intensity. This vintage is like a bistro-wine on steroids, and you’ll thank me later, once you taste it.
 
BACIO DIVINO
2018 PAZZO 
NAPA VALLEY
PROPRIETARY RED
Retails at: $35
 
Your Price: $29.99
 
 
“This is full-bodied with round, ripe tannins that give form to the ripe palate of plum and berry with some fig undertones. Round and savory. Drink now or hold.”
91 Points
 
“Pazzo (which means ‘crazy’ in Italian) is a ‘funky’, unpretentious blend – an ingratiating wine that is wonderful to drink in its youth. In addition to its good looks, it displays a nose of red berry aromas and follows through with spirited, sweet, lingering, fruit flavors. We have enjoyed incredible success and growth with this unique blend.”