• Cabernet Sauvignon,  Merlot,  Ribera del Duero,  Spain,  Tinto Fino,  Weekend Selection

    Weekend Selection

    Hacienda Monasterio Ribera del Duero 2014 Hacienda Monasterio is owned by Carlos del Rio whose family has been in the sherry business for decades. Being fortunate enough to own some prime, south-facing parcels on the right side of the river, Carlos hired Peter Sisseck, the owner/winemaker of the famed Ribera estate Pingus to take over the winemaking in 1995. Peter has helped to turn this old estate into a Ribera powerhouse with wines that can age for years. A blend of 80% Tinto Fino, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot and aged for 17 months in French oak (30% new). Deep bright red with ripe sweet berry fruits aromas and…

  • Cabernet Sauvignon,  California,  Exceptional Red,  Merlot,  Napa

    Exceptional Red

    Napa Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 The winery was founded by Charlie R. Woods on five and a half acres of prime Oakville soil. In the 1970s, he built a geodesic dome there to store barreled wine, and he concentrated on making reds, in particular Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon. The winery changed hands a number of times before being purchased in 1996 by Koerner Rombauer and Rich Frank. A decade later, the Trinchero family was looking for a winery property that would capture the essence of Napa. Napa Cellars, with its ideal Oakville location and fame for luscious Chardonnay and authentic Napa reds, was the obvious choice. Winemaker Joe Shirley came…

  • Cabernet Sauvignon,  California,  Cellar Selection,  Merlot,  Napa,  Petit Verdot

    Cellar Selection

    Cade 2013 Howell Mountain Napa Cabernet Sauvignon In 2005, John Conover, Gavin Newsom and Gordon Getty founded CADE Estate Winery on Howell Mountain as a complement to the valley floor terroir of PlumpJack Winery. Like PlumpJack, CADE takes its name from Shakespeare, who used the term to refer to the wine casks or cades used to transport wine from Bordeaux to England in Elizabethan times. Deep purple red with concentrated aromas of black berry fruit and subtle spice, a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot and 6% Merlot. The palate blackberry, plum and cacao flavors with pepper and cinnamon, very complex, with cedar notes. Well structured with firm…

  • Cabernet Franc,  Cabernet Sauvignon,  California,  Cellar Selection,  Napa,  Petit Verdot

    Cellar Selection

    Robert Mondavi Oakville BDX 2012 Robert Mondavi established his namesake winery in 1966 with a vision to create Napa Valley wines that would stand in the company of the world’s finest. He chose To Kalon Vineyard in the heart of the Napa Valley as the home for Robert Mondavi Winery. This first-growth vineyard, located in Oakville, California, is renowned for producing some of the finest wines in the world. A special wine not produced every vintage, BDX presents a different expression of Oakville in a Bordeaux blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot. The wine sat on French oak (55% new) for 28 months. Aromas…

  • Cabernet Sauvignon,  Malbec,  Petit Verdot,  Washington State,  Weekend Selection

    Weekend Selection

    Browne Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 Inspired by the greatness of one man, owner Andrew Brown’s Grandfather, William Bitner Browne, built the winery on standards of integrity and excellence. As a curator of the brightest talent, best vineyards and the divining rod of winning concepts at Precept Wine, where Andrew serves as its CEO, his groundbreaking feats across the wine industry carry through to his own family legacy in wine, Browne Family. Browne Family Vineyards was 15 years in the making before its first vintage ever debuted. Vineyards, winemakers and cellar masters committed to world-class wine production were carefully and deliberately selected to represent the best of the Columbia Valley…

  • Alexander Valley,  Cabernet Sauvignon,  California,  Petite Sirah,  Weekend Selection

    Weekend Selection

    Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley 2014 In 1900, at age 13, Louis Martini emigrates from his native Genoa, Italy to the U.S., where he joins his father, a fisherman, in San Francisco.  In 1906, Louis makes his first wine alongside his father, who wisely sends him back to Italy to hone his craft and study winemaking at the university in Alba (Piedmont). In 1911, Louis returns to CA where he makes his first martini wine. In 1922, Louis forms the L.M. Martini Grape Products Company, producing sacramental and medicinal wine in the Prohibition-era. In 1933, Louis puts down roots in Napa, one of the original 5 wineries founded…

  • Bordeaux,  Cabernet Franc,  Cabernet Sauvignon,  France,  Merlot

    Cellar Selection

    Chateau Fleur Cardinale Grand Cru 2012 Interesting!!!!…..The idea suddenly came to them late one evening just as they were about to fall asleep. It suddenly caught their imaginations. They mulled it over for a few minutes, but then decided no…it wasn’t realistic. Days later that idea was still in their minds. It just wouldn’t go away. They hinted at it to others, who smiled in approval. It was a daring idea perhaps, but there are times when you want to believe, and nothing will stop you. They decided to pursue it. It was Florence Decoster, the present owner, who first nurtured that idea and brought it to fruition in the…

  • Bordeaux,  Cabernet Franc,  Cabernet Sauvignon,  Cellar Selection,  France,  Merlot,  Uncategorized

    Cellar Selection

    Chateau Giscours 2012 Located in the heart of a beautiful 300-hectare estate, the 83-hectare Giscours vineyard is situated in the famous Margaux appellation. Though the estate was first mentioned in a document dating back to 1330, it was not until 1847 that Count de Pescatore laid the cornerstone of the remarkable chateau that now overlooks the vines. Giscours’ wines quality was confirmed by its inclusion as a third growth in the 1855 classification. The estate was purchased by Nicolas Tari after WW II. In 1995, the Chateau’s wine growing business was acquired by Eric Albada Jelgersma. The investment he has made in less than a decade mirrors his passionate commitment…

  • Cabernet Sauvignon,  California,  Cellar Selection,  Sonoma

    Cellar Selection

    Hidden Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 Surrounded by gnarled oak and Manzanita forests on the south and western slopes of Spring Mountain in the Mayacamas mountain range, Hidden Ridge Vineyard is so remote it can be reached only by heavy-duty four-wheel-drive vehicles, by foot or by helicopter. The 55-acre vineyard was developed and planted by husband and wife team Casidy Ward and Lynn Hofacket to grow stellar mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. Made by winemaking team Marco DiGiulio and Timothy Milos at Bin to Bottle in Napa, efforts in the vineyard and the cellar have produced a Cabernet Sauvignon that sings loudly, on slopes as steep as 55%. Bought this on a recommendation…

  • Cabernet Sauvignon,  California,  Cellar Selection,  Napa,  Petit Verdot,  Rutherford

    Cellar Selection

    BV Georges De Latour Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 In 1900, when Georges de Latour’s wife, Fernande, first laid eyes on the land that would become their original Rutherford vineyard, she named it “beau lieu,” or “beautiful place.” Shortly thereafter, de Latour sold his thriving cream of tartar business, bought the four-acre ranch and founded Beaulieu Vineyard with the vision of making Napa Valley wines that would rival those of his native France. When prohibition hit most wineries shuttered, Beaulieu Vineyard increased its business fourfold by selling sacramental wine to the Catholic Church. After the repeal in 1933, Georges de Latour became dedicated to the research and innovation that would bring about…