2016 Domaine Romanee-Conti La Tache $4200 – Last bottle 2018 Domaine Romanee-Conti Romanee-St-Vivant $2900 – Last bottle
2016 Elvio Cogno Bricco Pernice Ravera Barolo $130 – 3 bottles 100 points Wine & Spirits Magazine Valter Fissore’s 2016 Barolo Ravera Bricco Pernice is a tour de force, taking the power, balance and elegance of his 2016 Barolo Ravera (98 points, W&S 12/20) to an even higher level. The wine bursts from the glass with aromas of rose petal, violet and mint that are fresh and high toned, beautifully representative of the outstanding 2016 vintage. The five-acre Bricco Pernice plot sits near the top of a south-facing hill in the Ravera cru, and in the long, even growing season of 2016, its preponderance of old vines (75 percent are more than 50 years of age) lends a depth and resonance to the herb-inflected dark-cherry flavors. The wine has an inner brightness and lift that propel those flavors across the palate as they gain notes of raspberry, licorice and orange peel. Cool, ferrous tannins outline the vivid fruit tones, creating a precise, chiseled effect: Each flavor is clearly defined, yet all are in perfect harmony. The tension between subtle power and exuberant energy in the 2016 Bricco Pernice is a thrill that every Barolo lover should experience (Also received 97 points Wine Advocate, James Suckling, Jeb Dunnuck and Decanter Magazine)
2018 Spottswoode Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley $250 – 2 bottles 100 points Wine Advocate Composed of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon from Spottswoode explodes from the glass with bombastic notes of crushed blackcurrants, fresh blackberries and wild blueberries with hints of cardamom, lilacs, incense and fragrant earth, leading into wafts of pencil shavings and crushed rocks. Medium-bodied, elegant and yet so, so intense, it has layers of bright crunchy fruit and mineral sparks galore, framed by exquisitely ripe, finely pixelated tannins, finishing very long and energetic. Wowsers. 100 points Jeb Dunnuck One of the wines of the vintage, as well as a legendary Napa Cabernet that will compete with anything out there, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate reveals a deep purple hue as well as extraordinary notes of pure crème de cassis and blackberry-scented fruits intermixed with lots tobacco leaf, lead pencil, spice, and hints of flowers. Reminding me of the 2016 with its purity as well as its balance, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a layered, seamless texture, and a blockbuster of a finish. Based on 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot, this is a wine you don’t want to miss! It’s going to take 7-8 years to hit its early drinking plateau and cruise for 30-40 years in cold cellars (Also received 99 points Vinous)
2018 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley $190 – Last bottle 100 points Decanter This is as good as it gets for Washington Cabernet Sauvignon. Right away the gorgeous creme de violette and creme de cassis tones join blackberry cordial, exotic spices and dark chocolate shavings. The combination of finesse and texture is downright scintillating. Sweet pipe tobacco is woven together with Black Forest cake, and fresh blueberries and graphite with shades of tar take shape on the palate. Truly sensational even at the three year mark, this will provide drinking enjoyment over the next 20 plus years. (Also received 98 points Wine Advocate and James Suckling)
2019 Sine Qua Non Disenta Syrah Central Coast $350 – 3 bottles 100 Wine Advocate The 2019 Syrah Distenta I is composed of 83.6% Syrah, 3% Mourvedre, 5.2% Petite Sirah, 6.2% Grenache, 1.4% Muscat and 0.6% Petit Manseng. “I think Muscat is the number-one white grape for me to blend with reds,” Manfred told me last year. “It kinda triples the effect of the wine.” The red winemaking included 33% whole cluster. The vineyard sources for this wine are 35% The Third Twin, 33% Eleven Confessions, 31% Cumulus and 1% Molly Aida—all estate-owned vineyards. This wine was bottled at the end of July 2021, after 23 months in French oak, 43% new. Deep garnet-purple colored, it erupts from the glass with a powerfully fragrant nose of red roses, Morello cherries, boysenberries and juicy blueberries, followed by hints of mocha, star anise, cardamom and cassia. The concentrated, full-bodied palate is jam-packed with bright, crunchy black, blue and red fruits. It has a rock-solid structure of firm, finely-grained tannins and seamless freshness lifting the shimmering layers to a long, energetic finish. The complexity and vivacity of this Syrah are simply jaw-dropping! (Also received 97 Vinous)
2018 Vine Hill Ranch VHR Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Napa Valley $230 – 3 bottles 98 points Vinous Francoise Pechon – Vinous Winemaker of the Year 2021** The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon has filled out beautifully since I tasted it a year ago. Rich, sumptuous and enveloping, the 2018 captivates all the senses with its sensual personality. All the Vine Hill Ranch signatures come through so beautifully. The 2018 possesses tremendous intensity as it continues to open in the glass, revealing myriad shades of nuance. Black cherry, lavender, spice and chocolate all flesh out on a wine that balances the sumptuousness of the 2012 with some of the energy of the 2013. (18++ Jancis Robinson)
2018 RIDGE Montebello Red Wine Santa Cruz Mountains $235 – Last bottle 94-97+ points Wine Advocate I tasted the 2018 Monte Bello as a finished barrel sample during the annual Ridge Monte Bello Tasting Final Assemblage event; the blend was 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 11% Petite Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc. It has a medium to deep ruby-purple color and youthfully primary nose with boysenberry, blueberry jam, blackcurrant, dark chocolate-covered cherries, cigar box, graphite, loamy earth and oodles of floral character. The palate is medium to full-bodied and packed full of flavor layers, knit by very fine, ripe, pixelated tannins and great freshness and finishing very long. (also received 97 James Suckling, 96 Vinous)
NEW ARRIVALS
2019 Arterberry Maresh Pinot Noir Dundee Hills Willamette Valley $27.99 2019 J.K. Carriere”Provocateur” Pinot Noir Willamette Valley $22.99 2019 Carlisle Papera Ranch Zinfandel Russian River $49.98 95 Wine Spectator 94 Vinous 2020 Cantina Gungui “Berteru” Cannonau di Sardegna $44.99 2016 Piemaggio “le fioraie” Chianti Classico $26.99 2018 Terlan “Vorberg” Riserva Pinot Bianco Alto Adige $46.99 95 Wine Advocate 95 Suckling 2019 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Puligny-Montrachet $124.98 2019 Dom. de la Taille Aux Loups(Jacky Blot) “Remus” Montlouis Sur Loire $29.98 2020 Chateau de Chaintres Exmuros “Terre de Breze” Saumur Blanc $26.99 Rosi Schuster Aus den Dornfern Red $19.98 90 Wine Advocate
