Wine & Spirits

99 points James Suckling This pure cabernet sauvignon is the real deal with redcurrant and terracotta character on both the nose and palate. It’s full-bodied, yet really reserved and ultra-refined. The quality of the tannins is super with such fine grain, yet it continues on for minutes. This is the first release and it shows beautiful classicism. Shows the essence of the place. Needs four or five years to come around.

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Pursuit is, quite simply, a gift to Cabernet lovers everywhere. The valley’s most exclusive vineyards plus the world-class winemaking talents of Philippe Melka, Michel Roland, and Matt Sands. These same combined forces result in some of the most coveted, limited, and expensive wines in the world, so getting a taste of it at a price like this is simply too good an opportunity to let pass by. 

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Tasting Notes Forward bold aromatics of black cherry, dark currants are impressively concentrated with the complementing notes of cola, hints of sweet cedar, and lively spice. As Cabernet Sauvignon defines this wine blend, the other four Bordeaux varietals contribute to its character, balance, and grace. The generous flavors of rich black currant, dark cherry and dark chocolate compliment the velvety richness, impeccable balance and a lingering finish. Sweet toasty vanilla and caramel spice are a nice compliment added from the select French oak barrels in which this wine gracefully ages for 22 months. I would describe this 2017 Trujillo Napa Valley Cabernet as “great complexity of flavor with elegance”.

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The 2020 Trujillo Madelyn White Wine Cuvée, named for his daughter Sophia Madelyn Trujillo, is a unique and rousing blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Gewurztraminer, along with a touch of Viognier, all sourced from cooler regions of Mendocino and Napa. Within its aromatic expressiveness, there are the subtle hints of orange blossom, honey, melon, and a hint of anise. The flavors are expressive: crisp, sweet pink grapefruit, melon, star fruit, and a touch of sweet Meyer lemon. This balanced wine knits together perfectly with its vibrant acidity and complementing minerality. It has a refreshing lift, with exhilarating brightness that generously rolls out to a lingering, delightful, and satisfying finish.

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A stunning new wine from the family of Silver Oak, the 2018 Timeless Red was grown on Soda Canyon Ranch—the property that has provided the backbone of Silver Oak’s Napa Valley Cabernet for two decades—in one of the best vintages of all time. And it delivers on the promise of its impeccable pedigree. Timeless is an homage to the Duncan legacy of vintners. Coming from a winemaking family now in their third generation (with a fourth not far behind), it’s a masterful blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc that has all the finesse and complexity of the family’s signature wines. Aged in new French Oak, it shows a luxurious texture and subtle notes of cacao and vanilla, which all enhance the ripe black fruit and wild herbs.  The iconic Soda Canyon Ranch in southeastern Napa has been an integral part of Silver Oak Napa Valley since 1999. The Duncans farm the property in six distinct blocks, each with its own microclimate and soil profile, and Silver Oak winemaker Nate Weis selected lots from each of the plots to craft Timeless into one wine that paints a picture of this legendary site. Unlike Silver Oak, Timeless undergoes a Bordeaux-style French Oak aging regimen and soutirage (racking), and the result is a gorgeous Napa Valley wine with tons of grace. Timeless might be a new name, but it has been part of the Duncan story for decades. Like all of their wines, this one will make a beautiful addition to any cellar.

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100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Don Ross had been a serious collector and consumer of fine wine for over thirty years when he and his wife Joann moved to a 2-acre property near St. Helena in January 2003. Their new home included a few rows of Cabernet Sauvignon (.75 rocky acres planted in 1996), a vineyard cottage, a guesthouse, and a winery. Ron and Joann got to work remodeling and landscaping their spot on the knoll and when it came time to choose a wine name to reflect the beautifully simple life they’d created there, they thought of a book they had both loved many years back, “Shibumi”. The Japanese word Shibumi means ‘the pursuit of perfection through simplicity’ or ‘effortless perfection’. Sadly, Don lost his battle to cancer in 2016, but his passion for wine and the Shibumi concept lives on in the wines of Shibumi Knoll. Shibumi Knoll is located in the center of the Napa Valley, close to the Napa River, on the alluvial fan of Mill Creek, and is 80% rock. Thus Shibumi Knoll wines show the grace of Napa Valley with the structure that comes from stony hillside vineyards. The Cabernet (only 134 cases made in 2018!) has an invitingly beautiful, rich, lush burgundy color that is your first sense engaging you to taste. The nose gives off black currant, velvety vanilla, subtle fig, and crisp bell pepper with a clean refreshing hint of grapefruit. The finish is long and beautiful with a liveliness and hint of richness, all leading you to a pleasurable lasting finish.

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“The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve is fabulous. Inky, rich and explosive, the 2018 is a fine addition to the lineage of one of Napa Valley's most historic wines. Inky red fruit, chocolate, leather and licorice all open in the glass. Aeration brings out floral top notes, raspberry and a hint of blood orange. There is plenty of depth, but the tannins are finer than they were a few years ago. Shorter time on the skins and a reduction in barrel fermentations really allow the pedigree of these Rutherford sites to come through. The 2018 is sensational.” - Antonio Galloni, March 2021

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94 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate "The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Dr. Crane Vineyard is a blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc. It has a medium to deep garnet-purple color and an earthy nose with kirsch, black berries, cassis and baking spices plus cigar hints. The palate is medium to full-bodied, plush, intense and earthy, finishing long and spicy. (LPB) 94+ " (12/2018)

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Winemaker Notes Black cherry, berries, hints of cola, and minerals joined by a touch of cardamom and vanilla are in the aromatics of this wine. Focused cherry liquor and refined tannins are at the core of its flavor and structure, a central core of intensity that lingers on and on. Balanced and intense, the wine will complement heartier dishes but has the refinement to be an increasingly graceful table companion for many years to come. Critical Acclaim CG90 Connoisseurs' Guide Storybook Mountain Zinfandels are rarely, if ever, dramatic wines of exuberantly juicy fruit, but they are typically deep, and well-structured offerings that rely less on bombast and more on balance and varietal precision, and this one does just that. If slightly pulled back in ripeness and a tad tight just now, it has the right pieces in place to age handsomely, and, given its maker's track record for making long-lived Zins that reveal a certain claret-like elegance with time, we have no reservations about setting a few bottles aside for drinking when five or six years have passed.

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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. (1/2021)

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"Exuberant tropical fruit and honeysuckle scents plus savory/nut notes with hints of brioche, marzipan and ginger. Full-bodied and voluptuously fruited in the mouth, it offers tons of salted nut and savory layers with seamless freshness and fantastic length." - Lisa Perotti-Brown

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96 points James Suckling This is so aromatic with redcurrants, flowers and crushed stones. Some bark and rose stem, too. Full-bodied, yet so refined and textured with a lovely finish of fruit and hints of berry and light chocolate. So delicious now, but will develop nicely in the bottle.

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