2016 Anthem Cabernet Sauvignon Mount Veeder

2016 Anthem Cabernet Sauvignon Mount Veeder

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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
2019 Harvey & Harriet Proprietary Red San Luis Obispo

2019 Harvey & Harriet Proprietary Red San Luis Obispo

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HARVEY & HARRIET

PROPRIETARY RED 
2019 SAN LUIS OBISPO

2019 Harvey & Harriet Proprietary Red San Luis Obispo
Luxuriously designed to emulate high-end Cabernet Blends’ most hedonistic qualities, Harvey & Harriett creator Eric Jensen’s inspiration for this wine came from his hardworking parents, Harvey and Harriet, who couldn’t afford the expensive, top-level Cabernet blends produced today. Eric struck gold, finding an ideal balance of opulence, intensity, and richness, making it a clear choice as our number four pick this year. 
 
Dedicated to growing fruit for some of the best wineries in Paso Robles, Eric Jensen of Booker Vineyard gained winemaking experience along the way from neighbors Stephan Asseo of L’Aventure, and friend Justin Smith of Saxum. The fruit for Harvey & Harriet is sourced from premier sites, blended to showcase the depth, power, and character expected from cult-style wines. 
 
HARVEY & HARRIET
PROPRIETARY RED 
2019 SAN LUIS OBISPO
 
Your Price: $32
 
 
“The 2019 Harvey & Harriet Blend is an extraordinary value in wine that begins with a beautiful nose of red, black, and blue fruits, along with graphite, vanilla spice, and sweet florals. It continues on the palate with crushed blackberries, red currants, pie spices, and liquid minerals. It has enough power without being over-the-top and is lush and rich, with supple, satiny tannins. Although it will drink beautifully for another 8 – 10 years, there is no reason to wait because it is delightful now.”
93 Points, #4 WCC Top 5 Wines of 2021
 
“…the 2019 Harvey and Harriet can be thought of as the more approachable, lush red in the lineup, and it always seems more black fruit-driven than the straight Cabernet Sauvignon. Blackberries, sweet tobacco, cedar, and some floral violet nuances define the nose, and it’s medium to full-bodied, with a beautiful texture and silky tannins. It’s a smoking value, and while it has plenty of up-front charm, it certainly has a decade or more of overall longevity.”
94 Points
2018 Tinazzi Collezione Di Famiglia Verona, Italy

2018 Tinazzi Collezione Di Famiglia Verona, Italy

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TINAZZI

COLLEZIONE DI FAMIGLIA
2018 VERONA CORVINA
VERONA, ITALY

2018 Tinazzi Collezione Di Famiglia Verona, Italy
Tasting Tinazzi’s 2018 Corvina last April, we were entranced by the outrageous quality, unfitting at its value price. However, when recently re-tasting each potential selection for our top five list this year, the fact that our panel preferred drinking this over $150 – $250 Napa Cabs on the table solidified our choice. 
 
Corvina is an Italian grape variety with an integral role, mandated by law in all Valpolicella wines, including Amarone, which must include a minimum of 45% in their blends. This late-ripening variety is low in tannin and high in acidy. Tinazzi’s version is varietally classic, manifested with bright cherry, transitioning to juicy dark cherry, spice, and classic hints of almond, a signature of the variety. Fans of juicy Rhone blends, Zinfandel, and of course Valpolicella wines (and well, anybody with a pulse) would love this, and especially at $25.
 
TINAZZI
COLLEZIONE DI FAMIGLIA
2018 VERONA CORVINA
VERONA, ITALY
 
Your Price: $25
 
 
“The 2018 Tinazzi Verona Corvina is concentrated with juicy fruit aromas such as cranberries, red cherries, and black raspberries with spicy hints of cardamom, nutmeg, white pepper, and dried oregano. This medium to full-bodied wine is fresh and delightful with soft tannins and a succulent finish. The depth and complexity of flavor this wine displays puts it on a well-deserved pedestal and can be enjoyed tonight and over the next few years.”
94 Points, #5 WCC Top 5 Wines of 2021
 
“Deep bright red; Ample and harmonious, ranging from red fruits to spices; Velvety, persistent and full, with great harmony.”
96 Points, Luca Maroni
2019 Steps Reserve Barrel Select Proprietary Red

2019 Steps Reserve Barrel Select Proprietary Red

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STEPS

RESERVE BARREL SELECT
2019 PROPRIETARY RED

2019 Steps Reserve Barrel Select Proprietary Red
Each year STEPS is re-birthed as it’s formed from declassified grapes from some of Napa Valley’s most coveted vineyards and meticulously blended by winemaker Grant Long, Jr, whom you might know from Aonair, Witchery, and James Joseph. Grant makes the blend with an unwavering goal of producing a showy, opulent red, guided by the vintage and the varietals that performed best. The 2019 release reflects the vintage’s knockout power and blanketing intensity, and at our price, the value is nearly inconceivable.
 
Steps 2019 Barrel Select draws on Diamond Mountain’s concentrated fruit and expressive flavors, then brings Rutherford elegance and Oakville complexity into play with absolute grandiosity. The final blend is more than 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, elevated with Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Merlot, crafted in a richly layered, lavish, hedonistic style. The wine is a steal at $50, and at $45, a single case won’t be enough.
 
STEPS
RESERVE BARREL SELECT
2019 PROPRIETARY RED
Retails at: $50
 
 
 
“The 2019 Steps Reserve Barrel Select is beautifully aromatic with violets, ripe black plums and black raspberries, dark chocolate, and wet stones. On the palate, flavors of blueberry pie, cocoa power, and a savory mushroom component add additional layers of complexity. The tannins are fine-grained, giving the wine a velvety texture felt throughout the long and opulent finish that slowly fades away on the palate, revealing its complexity one layer at a time.”
95 Points
2017 Frisson Cabernet Sauvignon Alluvium Coombsville

2017 Frisson Cabernet Sauvignon Alluvium Coombsville

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FRISSON

2017 CABERNET SAUVIGNON
ALLUVIUM COOMBSVILLE

2017 Frisson Cabernet Sauvignon Alluvium Coombsville
Frisson is a French word defined by a sudden feeling of excitement or thrill; Taking inspiration from this, Frisson Cabernet is mindfully crafted in a magnetic style, awakening your senses with intensely compelling characteristics, drawing you in with soul-stirring energy. The winery’s Alluvium Coombsville Cabernet whispers the region’s spirit with persuasive power and polished confidence, leaving a positive impression at its $115 retail price and a frisson at $36.
 
Focusing on revealing Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley’s leading sub-appellations most dynamic features, Frisson proprietors drew on Coombsville’s gravelly loam soils and cooler climate that naturally encourages balanced fruit in creating this masterpiece. This wine embodies the proprietor’s mission of creating boutique wines from grapes grown in superior terroir, transforming them into balanced wine with a sense of place. Frisson offers exceptional value at our Customer Appreciation Week Price.
 
FRISSON
2017 CABERNET SAUVIGNON
ALLUVIUM COOMBSVILLE
Retails at: $115
 
 
 
“Frisson’s 2017 Alluvium Coombsville Cabernet is striking in the glass with a deep, brooding, inky-purple color. This full-throttle wine begins with a powerful nose that includes very ripe dried plums, dried cherries, black currants, dried herbs, Asian spices, light florals, and bramble. The intense palate has concentrated black fruits with black plums, black cherries, vanilla hints, and exotic spice. This is certainly no cocktail wine, and it begs to be enjoyed with food. I had it with orange-barbecue glazed pork, and it was delightful.”
91 points
2018 Dolum Estates Cabernet Sauvignon Cask #28 SLD

2018 Dolum Estates Cabernet Sauvignon Cask #28 SLD

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DOLUM ESTATES 

CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
2018 CASK #28
SLD (STAGS LEAP DISTRICT) 

2018 Dolum Estates Cabernet Sauvignon Cask #28 SLD
Dolum Estate’s Stags Leap District Cabernet is a classic example of the region’s best attributes, with penetrating fruit, vibrant detail, and mouth-quenching acidity. Stags Leap District has unique terroir marked by the heat reflecting off the rocky cliffs, balancing the cooling breeze from the South, producing powerfully captivating and intensely concentrated Cabernet grapes.
 
Dolum’s vines emerge from nutrient-deficient shallow, sandy loam soils over thick red clay, forcing the roots deep into the earth, extracting minerals, and illuminating their site-specific terroir with power, intensity, grace, and balance. Winemaker Chad Alexander’s background in soils science and experience making wine at Hess Collection and Robert Craig wineries brought this wine to the next level, resulting in a profound depth of flavor that remains elegant and finely balanced.
 
DOLUM ESTATES 
CABERNET SAUVIGNON 
2018 CASK #28
SLD (STAGS LEAP DISTRICT) 
Retails at: $120
 
Your Price: $48
 
 
“This is one of those “Wow” wines that when you taste it, you instantly realize it is something special. The rich nose begins with blackberry syrup, bright cassis, vanilla crème, elegant florals, menthol, and sun-baked stones. The palate has a beautiful concentration of black and red fruits, including Burgundy plums, red currants, and crushed black cherries, intertwined with a touch of dried herbs, cracked black pepper, and espresso roast. The concentrated finish is linear, expansive, and long, wrapping your palate in a mouth-quenching satin blanket. Unfortunately, it looks like the bottle will run out long before my enthusiasm does.” 
95 Points
2020 Domaine Chasselay Gamay Rouge Je T'Aime Mais J'ai Soif

2020 Domaine Chasselay Gamay Rouge Je T’Aime Mais J’ai Soif

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DOMAINE CHASSELAY

2020 GAMAY ROUGE
JE T’AIME MAIS J’AI SOIF 

2020 Domaine Chasselay Gamay Rouge Je T'Aime Mais J'ai Soif
The Chasselay family has been growing grapes and making wine since 1464 in the small village of Châtillon d’Azergues, located in southern Beaujolais, where granite and limestone soils produce exquisite fruit. Today, Jean-Gilles Chasselay and his two children Fabien and Claire, work the vineyards and vinify the wines with an invested interest in sustainable viticulture and have been certified organic since 2006.
 
Whole-cluster fermentation is very common in the region; however, while Fabien was training under Bruno Clavelier in Vosne Romanée, he learned that destemming Gamay grapes produced a Burgundian style wine with silky tannins and a touch of salinity. The grapes are hand-harvested and fermented in concrete with natural yeasts, emphasizing the fresh fruit character and minerality from the soils for a wine that drinks deliciously on its own but is also magnificent with food. Trust me on this one; if you enjoy French Pinot Noir or top-quality Beaujolais wines, you’ll love this.
 
DOMAINE CHASSELAY
2020 GAMAY ROUGE
JE T’AIME MAIS J’AI SOIF 
 
Your Price: $27
 
 
“Je t’aime mais j’ai soif” means, “I love you, but I’m thirsty,” and this wine couldn’t be more accurately named. The intense and complex aromatics hook you immediately with cranberries, wild strawberries, black plums, warm apple cider, dried oregano, savory spice, and underbrush. The palate is bright and alluring with acidity that tingles on the palate, a deep concentration of flavors, and an electric finish. This wine pairs beautifully with charcuterie but also drinks superbly on its own.”
93 Points
2018 Maison Harbour Gevrey-Chambertin 'La Justice' Red Burgundy

2018 Maison Harbour Gevrey-Chambertin ‘La Justice’ Red Burgundy

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MAISON HARBOUR

GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN
‘LA JUSTICE’
2018 RED BURGUNDY

2018 Maison Harbour Gevrey-Chambertin 'La Justice' Red Burgundy
The prestigious appellation Gevrey-Chambertin is located in the Northern part of Burgundy in the Côte de Nuits (North Slope) and produces full-bodied, rich Pinot Noirs with a firm structure, velvety tannins, and delicate texture. Before establishing their small négociant house, Maison Harbour’s Nicholas and Colleen Harbour attended wine school in Beaune, making lifelong friends that connected the couple with small growers with vineyard parcels.
 
Revered for being more age-worthy and fuller-bodied than other parts of Burgundy, Pinot Noirs from Gevrey-Chambertin are great for your cellar, and this one is unbelievable right now. The Harbours age their Pinot Noirs in two to six-year-old barrels, focusing on the fruit’s reflection of the terroir, creating brilliantly defined wines with remarkable freshness.
 
MAISON HARBOUR
GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN
‘LA JUSTICE’
2018 RED BURGUNDY
 
Your Price: $85
 
 
“The 2018 Maison Harbour La Justice Gevrey Chambertin opens with a stunning nose of rich cherries, dried rose petals, gunflint, mixed berries, nutmeg, black tea, and earthy minerals. The complexity of aromas seamlessly continues on the palate with powerful richness and impressive concentration, including lush fruit flavors of splash pluots and red plums, then continuing with cola bean and dried mushrooms. At a mere fraction of the price, this village-level Gevrey drinks better than many Premier Cru and even Grand Cru burgundies I’ve had. It’s simply stunning, and if you like Burgundy, this one will blow you away with the power and richness it has, particularly at this price.”
96 Points
2018 Ellman Brothers Blend Napa Valley

2018 Ellman Brothers Blend Napa Valley

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ELLMAN

BROTHERS BLEND
2018 NAPA VALLEY

2018 Ellman Brothers Blend Napa Valley
Ellman’s 20-acre vineyard sits at the base of Atlas Peak in an ancient riverbed. It reaps the rewards of having soils that uniquely combine the traits of volcanic hillside material with the alluvial ground of the valley floor. The vineyard, managed by Mike Wolf, one of the leading viticulture experts in Napa Valley, is carved into the rocky foothills and planted to a suitcase-clone of Cabernet Sauvignon in 1999, delivering old-world-style wines that are brilliant to taste.
 
Brought to life by winemaker Andy Erickson, who made Screaming Eagle from 2005 – 2010, and Mayacamas, which ranked #2 in the 2019 Wine Spectator Top 100, Ellman wines represent Andy’s cumulative experience, combined with expert farming and a proprietor’s distinct vision. Brother’s Blend, named after the Ellman brothers Neil and Lance, is nearly 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, accentuated with Merlot, and is aged in barrels for 22 months, producing a super smooth red that’s as Vinous writes, “dense, plush and explosive,” and “has so much to offer.”
 
ELLMAN
BROTHERS BLEND
2018 NAPA VALLEY
Retails at: $95
 
 
 
“The 2018 Proprietary Red Blend Brothers Blend is dense, plush and explosive. A rush of black cherry, menthol, licorice, cloves and mocha gives the 2018 its exuberant personality. This fleshy, voluptuous red has so much to offer. Bright floral notes and a burst of red raspberry fruit punctuate the finish. This is a terrific entry-level red.”
94 Points
2018 Domaine Santa Duc Gigondas Aux Lieux-Dits

2018 Domaine Santa Duc Gigondas Aux Lieux-Dits

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DOMAINE SANTA DUC

2018 GIGONDAS
AUX LIEUX-DITS

2018 Domaine Santa Duc Gigondas Aux Lieux-Dits
Domaine Santa Duc embodies the cumulative knowledge, heart, and experiences of six generations, each contributing to the wine’s signature, becoming a permanent part of their evolving story. Aux Lieux-Dits is a blend of eight unique parcels of Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah, and Cinsault, farmed biodynamically, bringing out the purest essence of Gigondas terroir.
 
Meticulous in every aspect of production, Domaine Santa Duc’s team handpicks and hand-sorts the grapes, feeding them into stainless-steel thermoregulated vats by gravity, ensuring the quality of each berry remains intact. Aging takes place in 3600-liter Stockinger oak foudres and 800-liter terra-cotta amphorae, emphasizing the wine’s fruit and spice characteristics, creating an ethereal mouthfeel and tantalizing finish that’s profoundly memorable, vastly overdelivering at this value price.
 
DOMAINE SANTA DUC
2018 GIGONDAS
AUX LIEUX-DITS
 
Your Price: $39.99
 
 
“….Black-cherry and mulberry flavors are ripe but briskly balanced by a dazzling mineral freshness and salty, chalky finish. Fruity yet shaded by subtle kisses of charcuterie and dried earth, it’s a complex, hedonistic wine that’s at peak now through 2030. Made from organic and biodynamic grapes.”
94 Points
 
“Discreetly floral with blueberry and liquorice – rounded and juicy. A discrete style of wine, but it’s well balanced and has a sense of drinkability. There’s a nice sense of tannic finesse and it has good sense of direction and focus. Firm and well balanced, without excesses. Eight different plots around Gigondas, biodynamically farmed, partly destemmed. Drinking Window 2021 – 2027.”
94 Points
 
“Ripe but understated style, with a mix of Damson plum, black cherry and blackberry fruit flavors mixed with wood spice and black tea notes. Stylish, pure finish. Drink now through 2033…”
93 Points