2021 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Sonoma County

2021 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Sonoma County

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WILLIAMS SELYEM

PINOT NOIR
SONOMA COUNTY 2021

2021 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Sonoma County
Burt Williams and Ed Selyem had an affinity for Burgundy that neither of them could afford, so in the early 1970s, the two set out to make their own Pinot Noir. The goal was to produce wines for themselves; however, Burt nor Ed realized at the time that they were setting the standards for American Pinot Noir. Williams Selyem began with fruit purchased from growers with a simple handshake agreement, and 35 years later, those agreements are still in place and hold a testament to the loyal relationships Burt and Ed created. In 2009, their 2007 Litton Estate Pinot Noir was awarded a 100-Point score by Wine Enthusiast, making it the first California Pinot Noir with a perfect score. 
 
The 2021 Sonoma County Pinot Noir has stunning, pristinely balanced fruit quality from Drake Estate, Klopp, MacGregor, Putnam, Olivet Lane, and Starkey Vineyards. Despite the difficult beginning of the growing season, the vintage commenced with ideal temperatures and slightly below-average yields combined with exceptional fruit quality and vivacity, finely layered flavors, and site specificity.
 
WILLIAMS SELYEM
PINOT NOIR
SONOMA COUNTY 2021
 
Your Price: $65
 
 
“Layered and complex, the Sonoma County Pinot Noir offers strawberry and cherry fruit notes with hints of oolong tea. Clove and wood spices add further depth and intrigue. Sourced from many parts of the Russian River Valley and the Coast, this wine offers a broad brushstroke of the beauty of our diverse fruit sources. Red fruits on the palate with citrus peel undertones overlay onto the supple tannin structure that is refined and elegant.”
2021 AXR Proprietary Red Napa Valley

2021 AXR Proprietary Red Napa Valley

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AXR

PROPRIETARY RED
NAPA VALLEY 2021

2021 AXR Proprietary Red Napa Valley
AXR’s estate is a historic property founded over 130 years ago that has been a brewery, restaurant, inn, winery, and saloon, and it today once again a winery that celebrates its decorated past. Sitting at the base of the Mayacamas range, the sedimentary soils in the vineyards are the result of thousands of years of runoff that provides wines with incredible depth and character.
 
Winemaker Jean Hoefliger draws on his experience working in the cellars at Chateau Carbonnieux and Chateau Lynch-Bages in Bordeaux, bringing a Grand Cru Classé style to his Napa Valley wines. The 2021 Proprietary Red Blend is a classic Left Bank style with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petit Verdot that is rich, juicy, and approachable and will improve with time in the bottle.
 
AXR
PROPRIETARY RED
NAPA VALLEY 2021
Retails at: $65
 
Your Price: $48
 
 
“The AXR 2021 Napa Valley Proprietary Red is powerful, with concentrated aromas of black cherry, plum, cassis, allspice, and cedar. On the palate, the wine has rich flavors of blackberry, blueberry yogurt, and black tea leaves with chewy tannins and fresh acidity. This wine is youthful and vibrant, and with a few more years in the bottle, it will begin to unfold its inner layers of complexity.”
95 Points
2021 Brewer-Clifton Chardonnay Sta. Rita Hills

2021 Brewer-Clifton Chardonnay Sta. Rita Hills

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BREWER-CLIFTON

CHARDONNAY 2021
STA. RITA HILLS

2021 Brewer-Clifton Chardonnay Sta. Rita Hills
Greg Brewer founded Brewer-Clifton in 1996 to showcase the unique geographic, geologic, and climate of the Santa Rita Hills appellation in Santa Barbara County. He began vinification training in 1991 at Santa Barbara Winery, and through his work at Brewer-Clifton, Melville, and Diatom wineries, Greg proved without any doubt that Sta. Rita Hills is a world-class wine-growing region, and in 2020 he was named winemaker-of-the-year by Wine Enthusiast. 
 
Sta. Rita Hills is one of the coolest grape-growing regions on the west coast, providing fruit with purity and a firm structure that’s the calling card of Brewer-Clifton wines. The 2021 Chardonnay was whole-cluster fermented in neutral barrels to achieve a harmonious balance between the terroir-specific minerality and bright fruit flavors, keeping the focus fresh and clear.
 
BREWER-CLIFTON
CHARDONNAY 2021
STA. RITA HILLS
Retails at: $40
 
Your Price: $36
 
 
“The Brewer-Clifton 2021 Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay opens with fresh notes of honeysuckle, apricot, pineapple, brioche, and beeswax. Flavors of peach, nectarine, lemon poppy seed muffin, and roasted almond are complemented by a vibrant acidity on the palate. The wine is elegantly textured, and the soft mouthfeel lingers into the finish.”
93-94 Points

2019 Chapellet Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

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CHAPPELLET

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
NAPA VALLEY 2019

Donn Chappellet dreamed of making Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon that would rival First Growths of Bordeaux. In 1967, with the advice of André Tchelistcheff, he and his wife Molly established Chappellet and were some of the first to plant vines on Pritchard Hill. Their vineyard ranges 800 to 1,800 feet in elevation and reaps critical acclaim, even being called “Napa Valley’s Rodeo Drive” and “Napa Valley’s Grand Cru.”
 
The Signature Cabernet Sauvignon has been their flagship wine for over 50 years, laying a foundation for structured, mountain fruit with concentrated varietal character lending years of longevity. The 2019 growing season yielded Cabernet Sauvignon with seductive aromatics, radiant energy, and supple tannins that glide into a long finish and a lasting impression.
 
CHAPPELLET
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
NAPA VALLEY 2019
 
Your Price: $89.99
 
 
“This is very complex, with blackcurrants, tobacco and cedar. Some sandalwood and terra-cotta, too. Medium-to full-bodied with ultra-fine tannins that are creamy-textured and so long and pure. Attractive and complex. 77% cabernet sauvignon with petit verdot, malbec and merlot. So good now to drink, but will age beautifully. Drink or hold.”
95 Points

2018 Grand Napa Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Napa Valley

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GRAND NAPA 

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
RESERVE NAPA VALLEY 2018

Grand Napa Vineyards in Rutherford produces rich, full-bodied wines with depth and character from premium vineyards in Napa Valley, hand-selected by winemaker Dwight Bonewell. Dwight’s involvement in the vineyards ensures harvesting only the highest quality fruit before he works his magic in the winery, carefully nurturing each vineyard’s unique character into its purest expression.
 
Grand Napa’s 2018 Reserve Cabernet arose from prime sites in Rutherford, St. Helena, and Coombsville, compellingly representing the vintage and distinct origins. The 2018 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon spent 22 months in 50% new French oak and 50% two-year-old oak giving a graceful balance between fruit and spice components from the oak, plush tannins, and impressive depth and structure.
 
GRAND NAPA 
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
RESERVE NAPA VALLEY 2018
Retails at: $110
 
 
 
“Another terrific wine, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve offers lots of blackcurrants, spice box, tobacco leaf, and chocolatey nuances to go with a full-bodied style on the palate. It has the 2018 vintage’s fresher, more elegant style yet brings ample fruit and has an expansive, layered mouthfeel as well as a great finish. It’s another wine to enjoy any time over the coming 15-20 years.”
94 Points
2018 Ramey Pinot Noir Russian River Valley

2018 Ramey Pinot Noir Russian River Valley

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RAMEY 

PINOT NOIR 2018
RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY

2018 Ramey Pinot Noir Russian River Valley
David Ramey earned a graduate degree from UC Davis in 1979, just before he began working for the Moueix family at their renowned property, Château Pétrus. There he absorbed every detail of their old-world winemaking philosophy, which he brought back to California, firmly establishing Matanzas Creek and Chalk Hill as winemaker, then project manager for Dominus Estate.
 
Ramey Wine Cellars was founded in 1996 by David and his wife Carla, and they have been producing award-winning wines of critical acclaim ever since. The 2018 Russian River Pinot Noir arose from top vineyard sites, including De La Montanya, Bucher, Dutton Goff, and Kilcullen. David fermented them with native yeast using 25% whole clusters, and aged them on the lees for 13 months in French oak, resulting in a beautifully elegant, delineated Pinot Noir.
 
RAMEY 
PINOT NOIR 2018
RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY
 
Your Price: $49.99
 
 
“The 2018 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley is spicy and lifted with cinnamon and dried roses, fresh with wild raspberry fruit and blood orange. The palate is medium-bodied and softly textured, characterized by elegance and finesse. Drink over the next 10 or so years.”
94 Points
2019 Eco Terreno Cuvee Tierra Red Blend Alexander Valley

2019 Eco Terreno Cuvee Tierra Red Blend Alexander Valley

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ECO TERRENO

CUVEE TIERRA RED BLEND  
ALEXANDER VALLEY 2019

2019 Eco Terreno Cuvee Tierra Red Blend Alexander Valley
Eco Terreno Wines are at the forefront of sustainable farming and a leader in biodynamics, placing a high importance on the health of the vineyard and the environment to grow the highest quality fruit. Founder and winemaker Mark Lyon, the former lead winemaker at Sebastiani Vineyards, draws from his years of experience with Alexander Valley fruit and focus on finding harmony with nature.
 
The winery is located within a small hamlet of the Russian River in Alexander Valley, experiencing coastal fog from the Petaluma Gap, blanketing the vineyards each morning, preserving acidity and freshness. The ideal growing season in 2019 allowed Mark to dial into each plot for the Cuvée Tierra blend consisting of 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Cabernet Franc, 24% Merlot, and 10% Petit Verdot that delivers serious quality for this value price.
 
ECO TERRENO
CUVEE TIERRA RED BLEND  
ALEXANDER VALLEY 2019
 
Your Price: $27
 
 
“The Eco Terreno 2019 Cuvée Tierra Alexander Valley Red Blend opens with violets, earth, dried herbs, chocolate-covered strawberries, black cherries, and cloves. On the palate, the wine has ripe, chalky tannins and beautifully balanced flavors of blackberries, red plums, cinnamon, vanilla bean, savory spice, and black olives. The wine has a soft texture that is easy to drink right now with enough intensity to age a few years in the cellar.”
94-95 Points
2020 Arbe Garbe White Blend Sonoma County

2020 Arbe Garbe White Blend Sonoma County

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ARBE GARBE

WHITE BLEND 2020
SONOMA COUNTY

2020 Arbe Garbe White Blend Sonoma County
Letizia Pauletto and Enrico Maria Bertoz have reconnected with the roots of their native region of Friuli, Italy, by crafting pure, refined wines from Friulian varieties uncommonly found in the US. Enrico and Letizia worked harvests in Friuli while attending college, polishing their skills and picking up valuable old-world techniques. After arriving in California, Enrico gained additional experience at Sine Qua Non, Joseph Phelps, and Flora Springs, paving the way for his success with this brand.
 
Arbe Garbe is a white blend of Tocai Friulano, a relative of Sauvignon Blanc, of which only around 50 acres are planted in California, Malvasia Bianca, an ancient variety with Greek origins, and Chardonnay. The 2020 release may be the freshest yet with clean, crisp, focused flavors that are unlike any other wine from California and provides a unique and inviting drinking experience.
 
ARBE GARBE
WHITE BLEND 2020
SONOMA COUNTY
 
Your Price: $35
 
 
“The Arbe Garbe 2020 Sonoma County Proprietary White begins with opulent floral notes of honeysuckle, orange blossom, and jasmine, followed by cinnamon apple strudel, quince, ginger, and lemon verbena. The flavors on the palate are a bit riper with golden apple, green pineapple, white peach, nectarine, and a hint of honey. This wine is delightfully refreshing with a medium body, providing roundness and checking all the boxes.”
95 points
2019 Acumen Cabernet Sauvignon Mountainside Napa Valley

2019 Acumen Cabernet Sauvignon Mountainside Napa Valley

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ACUMEN

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
MOUNTAINSIDE 2019
NAPA VALLEY

2019 Acumen Cabernet Sauvignon Mountainside Napa Valley
Acumen Estate sits high above the fog line on top of Atlas Peak, where sunshine slowly ripens the fruit, and volcanic soils give distinctive minerality. One hundred sixteen acres of sustainably farmed vines make up two vineyards from which a small portfolio of estate-grown wines are born under renowned winemaker Phillip Titus.
 
Acumen sells a large portion of their estate-grown mountain fruit to other top wineries in Napa Valley, allowing Philip to focus on his favorite small blocks within the vineyards. The 2019 growing season was similar to the fantastic 2018 vintage, with cooler-than-average summer temperatures that ensured a slower development, giving Cabernet Sauvignon deeper, more complex flavors and fine-grained tannins for structure and ageability.
 
ACUMEN
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
MOUNTAINSIDE 2019
NAPA VALLEY
Retails at: $75
 
Your Price: $49.99
 
 
“A blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Mountainside has a deep garnet-purple color, bursting with bold scents of black cherries, mulberries and warm cassis, plus hints of fragrant earth and cedar. Full-bodied, intense and possessing bags of fresh, lively black fruits, it has a firm structure of grainy tannins, finishing long with a spicy kick.”
91+ Points
2020 Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The Haze Napa Valley

2020 Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The Haze Napa Valley

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CARTER CELLARS

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
THE HAZE 2020
NAPA VALLEY

2020 Carter Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon The Haze Napa Valley
Carter Cellars is the concomitant of Mark Carter’s historic Carter House hotel and his Grand Award-winning wine list. Mark’s relentless pursuit of producing world-class Cabernet Sauvignons from Napa’s top vineyards has led to around a dozen 100-point scores and a reputation for producing thrilling and memorable wines of the highest quality.
 
The 2020 vintage is the second release of The Haze Cabernet Sauvignon, primarily sourced from younger vines in the Fortuna Vineyard, which flanks icons Plumpjack and Groth on Oakville’s volcanic Eastern side. It also contains grapes from a plot south of Napa township exposed to cool ocean breezes from San Pablo Bay. This wine portrays the winery’s signature style with ripe fruit, seasoned tannins, and incredible depth that lingers into a layered, complex finish.
 
CARTER CELLARS
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
THE HAZE 2020
NAPA VALLEY
 
Your Price: $95
 
 
“This is our second release of The Haze which is sourced from vineyards in Oakville and the southern Napa AVA, a site heavily influenced by the clean Bay air. The Haze has a deep dark purple ruby hue, matched with dark red and black fruits, fresh leather, graphite and currents all wrapped in powerful integrated oak. On the palate, it is has a full-bodied lifted finish with a balanced mouthful matched with firm, yet supple tannins.”