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

    Cellar Selection

    Robert Mondavi 2013 Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon Robert Mondavi Winery, located in Oakville, CA, makes a number of outstanding and consistent quality wines and established his winery in 1966 with a vision to have his Napa Valley wines to be among the world’s finest.  Robert Mondavi also believed his wines should reflect its “roots” and be a signature creation from a combination of the soil, climate and production techniques, both new and old, which transforms the grapes into a fine wine. Oakville Cab has an alluring dark purple, almost inky color with loads of blue and black fruit aromas. The wine is a blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cabernet Franc,…

  • 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…

  • Cabernet Franc,  Cabernet Sauvignon,  California,  Malbec,  Napa,  Petit Verdot,  Weekend Selection

    Weekend Selection

    Amici Napa Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 In the 1990’s, a group of friends with a passion for good wine and fun times together crushed a few tons of grapes in the Napa Valley for their personal cellars. The resulting wine was so well-received that they started producing wine the very next year to share with the public. They chose to name the wine, appropriately, Amici (“friends” in Italian). Amici’s owners: John Harris, Bob and Celia Shepard, and Bart Woytowicz; are all great friends with a passion for making and enjoying great wine. I recently met Robert Emery, Amici’s General Manager and tasted a few of his wines, a wonderful Chardonnay from…

  • Argentina,  Cabernet Franc,  Cabernet Sauvignon,  Cellar Selection,  Malbec,  Merlot,  Petit Verdot

    Cellar Selection

    Achaval Ferrer Quimera 2009 It began in 1998 when a group of Italian and Argentine friends came together to make a dream a reality, bringing Argentine wine to the global marketplace. Argentina is regarded as one of the dynamic regions in the world. Only 4 countries produce more wine than Argentina. Significant investments in technology have improved the winemaking production in the past several years, with many premium quality wines, Achaval Ferrer Quimera among some of the best.  I had this gem at a restaurant on Cape Cod, and each October, the restaurant marks down all of their wines 50%, below retail! Dark red with aromas of dark red fruits,…

  • Cabernet Franc,  Cabernet Sauvignon,  California,  Exceptional Red,  Malbec,  Merlot,  Napa,  Petit Verdot,  Syrah

    Exceptional Red

    Robert Mondavi 2012 Napa Merlot Robert Mondavi Winery, located in Oakville, CA, makes a number of outstanding and consistent quality wines and established his winery in 1966 with a vision to have his Napa Valley wines to be among the world’s finest.  Robert Mondavi also believed his wines should reflect its “roots” and be a signature creation from a combination of the soil, climate and production techniques, both new and old, which transforms the grapes into a fine wine. Opening a bottle of 2012 Napa Merlot, I noticed a dark red color, almost purple with blue and black fruit aromas. The wine is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet…

  • Cabernet Sauvignon,  California,  Malbec,  Merlot,  Napa,  Petit Verdot,  Weekend Selection

    Weekend Selection

    Whitehall Lane Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 Whitehall Lane was founded in 1979 but the history of the soil cultivation dates back two centuries. In the mid 1800’s, Napa Valley settlers were drawn to the deep, loamy soils and ideal climate, planting high quality grape vines at the Whitehall Lane Winery site. A barn constructed in the early 1900’s for equipment storage is still used today. In 1979, two brothers started the winery and directed their winemaking efforts successfully to Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. They named the winery after the road that runs along the south border of the property, Whitehall Lane. In 1993, the Leonardini Family of San Francisco took control…

  • Cabernet Sauvignon,  Carmenère,  Cellar Selection,  Chile,  Malbec,  Petit Verdot

    Cellar Selection

    Errazuriz Don Maximiano Founders Reserve 2012 Don Maximiano Errazuriz founded Viña Errazuriz in 1870 in the Aconcagua Valley, north of Santiago. This valley has cool, rainy winters, hot, dry summers and moist Pacific Ocean breezes, ideal for growing grapes. Don Maximiano obtained the finest clones from France and transformed this barren land into a world-class vineyard. Today, the tradition of quality lives on with Don Maximiano’s descendant, Eduardo Chadwick, the fifth generation of his family to be involved in the wine business. Eduardo has overseen the modernization of the winemaking technology at this historic estate while maintaining a distinct identity for its wines, dedicated to producing estate grown wines of…

  • Cabernet Franc,  Cabernet Sauvignon,  California,  Cellar Selection,  Malbec,  Merlot,  Napa

    Cellar Selection

    Darioush 2011 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon Nowhere is the connection between wine and culture more evident than in the history of Persia. Discoveries dating to 5,000 B.C. in the Zagros Mountains of Northern Iran show that winemaking emerged as permanent communities replaced nomadic life and a new age of wine culture began. Darioush Khaledi was instilled at an early age with the winemaking craft of his father, inspired by wine culture in the literary city of Shiraz – in modern day Iran – and the ancient city of Persepolis. He became a lifelong collector, seeking out old world wines infused with tradition and energized by modern technique. Aspiring to the ideals…

  • Cabernet Franc,  Cabernet Sauvignon,  California,  Cellar Selection,  Malbec,  Merlot,  Napa

    Cellar Selection

    Darioush 2008 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon Nowhere is the connection between wine and culture more evident than in the history of Persia. Discoveries dating to 5,000 B.C. in the Zagros Mountains of Northern Iran show that winemaking emerged as permanent communities replaced nomadic life and a new age of wine culture began. Darioush Khaledi was instilled at an early age with the winemaking craft of his father, inspired by wine culture in the literary city of Shiraz – in modern day Iran – and the ancient city of Persepolis. He became a lifelong collector, seeking out old world wines infused with tradition and energized by modern technique. Aspiring to the ideals…

  • Cabernet Franc,  Cabernet Sauvignon,  California,  Cellar Selection,  Malbec,  Merlot,  Napa

    Cellar Selection

    Robert Mondavi 2010 Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon Robert Mondavi winery, located in Oakville, CA, makes a number of outstanding and consistent quality wines and established his winery in 1966 with a vision to have his Napa Valley wines to be among the world’s finest.  Robert Mondavi also believed his wines should reflect its “roots” and be a signature creation from a combination of the soil, climate and production techniques, both new and old, which transforms the grapes into a fine wine. Opening a bottle of 2010 Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon, I noticed a dark purple, almost inky color with blue and black fruit aromas.  The wine is a blend of 88% Cabernet…