Wine & Spirits

The 2017 Langoa Barton is composed of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, which beings with inviting aromas of ripe red berries and currants along with florals, licorice, tobacco and mineral nuances all adding further complexity. It continues to impress on the palate with is elegant structure and excellent overall balance. This gorgeous Bordeaux displays wonderful purity and freshness through the long finish. It is an excellent wine from the vintage which will need some time to unwind, but ultimately should go on to evolve beautifully over the next two decades.

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This Pinot-centric Jackson Family brand expands into Oregon with this smooth, dark and toasty wine. It's layered with whiffs of smoke, espresso and black licorice, matched with dark fruit flavors of black cherry and cassis. It's a big, balanced, sexy wine with polished tannins that leave a trail of tobacco highlights.  --PAUL GREGUTT  

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96 points Vinous One of the real highlights of the vintage, the 2017 Les Carmes Haut-Brion possesses off the charts aromatic intensity and tremendous depth. An exotic mélange of sweet tobacco, menthol, rose petal, licorice, dried herbs and sweet dark fruit builds in a wine endowed with extraordinary beauty. Energetic and vibrant to the core, Les Carmes Haut-Brion was magnificent on the three occasions I have tasted it so far. Don't miss it. (AG) 

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deep ruby. Medium complexity. Medium plus tannin, acidity, body, and length. High alcohol. Nose: black forest cake, strawberry, black cherry, baking spices, chocolate, rhubarb, coffee, vanilla, cinnamon, green pepper, and jalapeños. Palate: fresher plum, strawberry, cooked cherry, fig, chocolate, baking spices, and green pepper. 

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In 2018 climatic conditions were perfect up on Spring Mountain. This Cabernet is evidence of that. Fresh blackberry, anise and mocha are the first things apparent on the nose followed by cola, acai berry and menthol. This is a silky lush wine with layers of dark chocolate, cedar and freshly ground coffee. The tannins are chiefly present, being round pleasing chalky tannins with firm mountain acid balancing them out. The finish is chocolate covered plum. This powerhouse Cabernet is already showing well and will develop even more complexity over the next 10-12 years.

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Rose, iris, red-berry and camphor aromas lift out of the glass. Full bodied and polished, the palate is already accessible, offering succulent black cherry, raspberry compote, licorice and baking spice alongside velvety tannins that give it a smooth, enveloping mouthfeel.

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100 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate Composed of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Poetry prances out of the glass with impressively flamboyant scents of blackberry compote, blueberry preserves, blackcurrant pastilles and candied violets, giving way to nuances of dried roses, menthol, powdered cinnamon and aniseed with a waft of cedar chest. Full-bodied, the palate is impactful yet maintains compelling restraint, featuring layers of crunchy black fruits, exotic spices and floral hints, framed by firm, exquisitely ripe tannins and seamless freshness, finishing with epic length and depth. This is one of those beguiling 2018 Napa Cabernets that is simply going to blow you away! (LPB) 

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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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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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