2019 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley One Liter Bottles

2019 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley One Liter Bottles

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CAYMUS

CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
2019 NAPA VALLEY
ONE LITER BOTTLES

2019 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley One Liter Bottles
Caymus Vineyards pioneered the art of crafting beautifully ripe Cabernet Sauvignon with velvety tannins that are almost impossible to detect. They achieve this through extended hang-time, a technique where the fruit is kept on the vine unusually long, allowing the berries to develop an attractive suppleness and perfectly mature flavors. At around $100, their Napa Cabernet in special 1-liter bottles delivers immense satisfaction.
 
The 2019 vintage was born from a compilation of strategically selected sites throughout Napa Valley. This wine remains a consistent model for the Caymus signature style because of the winery’s relationships and collaboration with their growers. 
 
The winery excelled in 2019, and this new release asserts enormous extract, followed by a compelling crescendo of sweet blue fruits, dark chocolate, and cassis. The best news is the 1 Liter Bottles contain 33% more wine than 750ML, which are a necessity in a vintage as great as this one.
 
CAYMUS
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
2019 NAPA VALLEY
ONE LITER BOTTLES
 
Your Price: $99.99
 
 
“Caymus has a signature style that is dark in color, with rich fruit and ripe, velvety tannins – as approachable in youth as in maturity. We farm Cabernet grapes in eight of Napa’s 16 sub-appellations, with diversification enabling us to make the best possible wine in a given year. This Cabernet offers layered, lush aromas and flavors, including cocoa, cassis and ripe dark berries.”
2018 Domaine Jessiaume Santenay 1er Cru Les Gravieres Red Burgundy

2018 Domaine Jessiaume Santenay 1er Cru Les Gravieres Red Burgundy

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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 Bacio Divino Pazzo Napa Valley Proprietary Red

2018 Bacio Divino Pazzo Napa Valley Proprietary Red

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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.”
2018 Silver Ghost Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2018 Silver Ghost Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

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SILVER GHOST 

CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
2018 NAPA VALLEY

2018 Silver Ghost Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Weston Eidson’s devotion to quality and conviction for making rich, expressive, value-priced Napa Cabernet is getting him noticed. He’s found the ideal balance of lush Valley-floor fruit and robust high-elevation grapes that together make his wines thoroughly enjoyable. It’s clear when you taste them that they share qualities found in significantly higher-priced Cabs, and at $35, that’s something to celebrate.
 
Silver Ghost’s 2018 vintage combines fruit from a historic East Rutherford vineyard, a hillside site in Calistoga, and a secret parcel in Yountville. The wine also marries clone 7, which emanates elegance, and clone 337, which lends to the lush textures, and richness. 
 
The 2018 release was cellared for 22 months in French oak barrels and is concentrated, poised, and polished. With solid scores out of the gate, I wouldn’t hesitate too long to secure yours.
 
SILVER GHOST 
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
2018 NAPA VALLEY
 
Your Price: $35
 
 
“Aromas and flavors of dried flowers with currants, blackberries and violets. It’s full-bodied with soft, refined tannins and a savory finish. Pretty length, too…”
93 Points
 
“Deep garnet, rich plum nose, smooth and graceful, lush and toasty with ripe plum fruit; balanced, long and elegant.”
92 Points
 
“Silver Ghost is a full-bodied and richly expressive Cabernet Sauvignon crafted from some of Napa Valley’s finest vineyards. Dark in color with a vibrant nose of blueberries, violets and crème de cassis the palate reveals lush red and blue fruits, mocha and dark spice. The luxurious texture and depth continue through the long finish.”
2019 Alma De Cattleya Chardonnay Sonoma County

2019 Alma De Cattleya Chardonnay Sonoma County

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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.”
2018 Morgan Twelve Clones Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands

2018 Morgan Twelve Clones Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands

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MORGAN

TWELVE CLONES
SANTA LUCIA HIGHLANDS
2018 PINOT NOIR 

2018 Morgan Twelve Clones Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands

Dan Lee’s focus on sustainable farming and minimalist winemaking over the past 40 years has made Morgan winery a category leader in high-quality, value wines from the Santa Lucia Highlands. The winery consistently produces balanced wines of distinction, and at less than $30, their Twelve Clones Pinot Noir regularly makes my short-list of California’s best value Pinots.
 
Morgan draws on several of the Santa Lucia Highlands’ top Vineyards, including the Double L Estate, Rosella’s, and Tondre, to create their flagship Twelve Clones Pinot. 
 
The team named Twelve Clones for the diverse Pinot Noir clones inside the Double L Vineyard. The vast selection of clones contributes to the multi-dimensional flavors and aromas that make this wine so revered.
 
MORGAN
TWELVE CLONES
SANTA LUCIA HIGHLANDS
2018 PINOT NOIR
Retails at: $35
 
Your Price: $29.99
 
 
“Layers of baked berry, pie crust and star anise show on the nose of this clonal combination. It’s clean and direct on the palate, offering tart red-currant and cranberry fla­vors, touched up by thyme, lavender and potpourri elements.”
92 Points
 
“… the light ruby-hued 2018 Pinot Noir Twelve Clones gives up a pretty nose of framboise and strawberries as well as lots of floral, rose petal, sappy herb, and minty aromas and flavors. It’s another lightly textured, medium-bodied, elegant wine from this estate to enjoy over the coming 4-6 years.”
92 Points
 
“Pale ruby color, fresh cherry nose, crisp and bright with cherry, strawberry and rhubarb notes; silky and fresh, charming and long.” – Anthony Dias Blue, October 2020”
92 Points
 
“The 2018 Twelve Clones demonstrates the finesse of Pinot Noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands. It displays aromas of blackberry, cola, and cured meat. Flavors of red and black fruit are complemented by notes of black plum and toasty oak. Perfectly poised, this medium bodied wine is light on its feet and a great reflection of 2018’s elegance…”
 
2016 Post Parade Stretch Drive Cabernet Sauvignon

2016 Post Parade Stretch Drive Cabernet Sauvignon

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POST PARADE

2016 STRETCH DRIVE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 

2016 Post Parade Stretch Drive Cabernet Sauvignon
Post Parade Winery was founded ten years ago under the guiding principle to create something worth appreciating. The Post Parade crew performed this achievement without the slightest compromise, and they brought in Thomas Brown to make the wines. You may recognize Thomas from Schrader, Revana, and Outpost. When the project first launched, Brown said “Post Parade has been the most enjoyable project I’ve taken on in recent memory.” The wines have continually stretched the boundaries of quality at their price level, and the 2016 Stretch Drive, which is the second wine at Post Parade, is, as Jeb Dunnuck writes, “guaranteed to put a smile on your face.
 
The winery works closely with three vineyards; Trench Vineyard in Oakville, made famous by Russell Bevan; Red Head Vineyard on Soda Springs Road, where Brown also sources fruit Saunter Winery; and Ithaca Vineyard in North Rutherford, which is also a source for Revana winery. 
 
The grapes that go into Stretch Drive are hand-sorted twice, first by cluster, and again berry by berry after destemming, to ensure only perfectly ripened fruit makes its way to the crusher. The juice is then fermented on the skins for 16 days, extracting color and flavor, before aging in barrels for 22 months.
 
POST PARADE
2016 STRETCH DRIVE
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
Retails at: $75
 
Your Price: $69.99
 
 
“The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Stretch Drive is also terrific and has a supple, sweetly fruited, sexy style. Ample blueberry and strawberry liqueur, fruitcake and spring flower notes all emerge from this full-bodied, massive fruit bomb that is guaranteed to put a smile on your face. I suspect it will age, but I’d just drink it.”
93 Points
 
“Composed of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged 20 months in 75% new French oak, the 2016 Stretch Drive Cabernet Sauvignon is deep garnet-purple colored and gives up notes of blackberries, black cherries, cassis and mulberries with hints of chocolate box, tilled soil and vanilla pod. Full, juicy and bursting with blackcurrant flavor, it has a soft texture and long, refreshing finish.”
90 Points
2018 The Crane Assembly Disciples Proprietary Red

2018 The Crane Assembly Disciples Proprietary Red

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THE CRANE ASSEMBLY

2018 DISCIPLES
PROPRIETARY RED

2018 The Crane Assembly Disciples Proprietary Red
The Crane Assembly wines honor the history of the G.B. Crane Vineyard, established around 1885. The eight-acre vineyard has 4 acres of original plantings. For Disciples, winemaker Kevin Fox and consulting winemaker Dave Phinney intermix fruit from other iconic vineyards in the area to replicate the style and structure of G.B. Crane. The 2018 release is richly layered, with supple dark fruits, vast complexity, and is perfectly balanced.
 
The wine’s backbone comes from Morisoli Vineyard, which sits in the center of the Rutherford bench and has been a longtime source for BV Georges de Latour, Elyse, Mercury Head, and the list goes on. The 2018 release also includes fruit from Tofanelli Vineyard in Calistoga, which has attracted producers like Prisoner, Schrader Cellars, and Turley. 
 
In 2018, the final blend is nearly 50% Zinfandel, matched with Bordeaux and Rhone Varieties. This wine deliciously shows off the incomparable skills of Dave Phinney & Kevin Fox. They are masters at creating new, unique blends that are as individualistic as they are enjoyable.
 
THE CRANE ASSEMBLY
2018 DISCIPLES
PROPRIETARY RED
 
Your Price: $45
 
 
“Strawberry preserves leap from the glass initially, followed by a bouquet of floral aromatics: lavender, violets and roses. Rich earthy notes of freshly plowed soil, fresh rain on warm granite and petrichor. Spicy, but not a peppery spice, more of a star anise spiciness, tart raspberries and sweet plouts, with a very long, dusty finish of strawberry cream, vanilla and caramelized sugar that lingers…. smooth and luscious!”
NV Marquis de la Mysteriale Cuvee Grand Esprit Champagne

NV Marquis de la Mysteriale Cuvee Grand Esprit Champagne

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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.”
2016 Coursey Graves West Slope Syrah Bennett Valley

2016 Coursey Graves West Slope Syrah Bennett Valley

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COURSEY GRAVES

2016 WEST SLOPE SYRAH
BENNETT VALLEY

2016 Coursey Graves West Slope Syrah Bennett Valley
Winemaker Cabell Coursey works tirelessly to uncover and illuminate some of Napa and Sonoma’s lesser-known vineyards that are quietly yielding world-class grapes. He seeks out steep hillside plots that experience cool atmospheric conditions and have rocky soils that share similarities to the austere conditions of Bordeaux. These vineyards are capable of producing concentrated fruit with majestic characteristics that are unique to their origin. When I first tasted his 2016 West Slope Syrah last year, my immediate thought was, I’m getting a case of this for my cellar.
 
Coursey Graves Estate Vineyard is located a thousand feet above sea level on Bennett Mountain, where the ancient volcanic soils and unique micro-climate is ideally suited for Syrah. The wine is powerfully compelling, richly layered, and effortlessly elegant. 
 
Burgundy inspired winemaker Cabell Coursey, and he learned winemaking from the University of Burgundy in Dijon, France. Then he honed his skills in New Zealand and the Willamette Valley before working at iconic producers DuMOL and Kosta Browne. The 2016 release has several stellar reviews, but DougAndrea on CellarTracker may have said it best with his quote, “OMG. Buy more…” 
 
COURSEY GRAVES
2016 WEST SLOPE SYRAH
BENNETT VALLEY
Retails at: $65
 
 
 
“Very savory and smoky, this Sonoma syrah is anything but a fruit bomb. The slightly sappy tannins and smoked-bacon flavor nicely balances the underplayed ripeness. The finish is fresh with plenty of spicy complexity. Drink or hold.”
93 Points
 
“Deep ruby-purple, the 2016 Syrah Estate West Slope has a very pretty nose with scents of violet, stone and graphite with touches of tar and olive over a concentrated core of blackcurrant, warm black cherries and spice box. Full-bodied, it gives up intense, spiced blue and black fruits framed by firm, ripe tannins and good freshness, finishing very long…”
92 Points
 
“This is a thick, rich and unctuously varietal wine, smoky in oak and beautifully wrapped layers of grilled meat and game. A thicket of lavender and licorice gives it complexity and more to ponder.”
90 Points