LIST OF CABERNET GEMS
2 bottles 2015 Staglin Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Booth Bella Oaks ~RUTHERFORD, sells for $200-$230, our price $180
Current vintage, Release date 03/2018
95 points Vinous -The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Booth-Bella Oaks Vineyard is fabulous. Super-ripe red cherry, plum, lavender, mocha and sweet French oak give the wine its dark, sumptuous personality. Racy and open-knit, with no hard edges, the 2015 will drink well with minimal cellaring. - Antonio Galloni (March 2018)
14 bottles 2015 Cannonball High Dive Napa Valley Red Blend~NAPA, low is $78, Average is $103 and climbs to $129 our price $69
Blend: 68% Cabernet Sauvignon,16% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot
95 points Tasting Panel - Soft and luscious with elegant, tangy blackberry and cassis; smooth, rich, and deep with an exquisite velvety texture; an impressive, complex blend of all the Bordeaux varieties, save Malbec.
94 points Wilfred Wong - This wine is dramatic from the beginning to the end. It's bold aromas and flavors of black fruit, a medley of ripe berries, earth, and oak stays long and lasting on the palate. Pair with a thick ribeye and dollop of strong blue cheese. (Tasted: May 18, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
91 points Decanter - A lovely rich structure with smoky cassis, tobacco, spiced plum and chocolate notes. Velvety tannin, wonderfully balanced oak flavours and a lingering, smooth finish.
4 bottles 2016 Dunn Vineyards Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon~HOWELL MOUNTAIN, Average is $164 and climbs to $220 our price $149
97 points Decanter - Wiry, opinionated and something of a recluse, Randy Dunn has a reputation for making sleek, powerfully structured, extremely ageworthy mountain cabernet. He is also adamant on the topic of ripeness, vowing in 2007 that he would never make a wine with more than 14% alcohol by volume. The 2016, like most Dunn Cabernets, has not an ounce of body fat. It’s tight, lean, and focused with soaring fine tannin and lots of fantastic savory and spicy flavors from black olives to Chinese 5-spice. The fruit has almost a cool blue character. While I loved drinking this 2016, this wine won’t truly unfurl itself for another several years.
95+ points Vinous - The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain offers good density, but in more of a medium-bodied style that is quite a bit more approachable than is the norm here. A whole range of inky Howell Mountain fruit, graphite, grilled herb, licorice, spice, chocolate, and lavender nuances open up in a brooding, resonant Cabernet that needs a few years in bottle to start drinking well. There is plenty of the structure readers have come to expect from Dunn, but less youthful austerity, which is not a bad thing at all.
95 points Wine Spectator - Sage and bay leaf notes lead the way here, followed quickly by black currant and bitter plum paste flavors. The finish is framed by singed cedar and alder details, with a lingering sanguine echo. Needs a little time to soften fully, but everything is in place.
2 magnums 2016 Leonetti Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon (MAGNUM)~WALLA WALLA VALLEY, Low on magnums starts at $287 our price $245
98 points James Suckling - This regal wine really sets the tone for delivering poise, balance and elegance. Such distinctive cabernet redcurrants, cassis and red cherries, framed in cedary oak and tobacco. The palate is cast in noble tannins that deliver elegance and length. Deeply flavorful blackcurrants and dark cherries with chocolate that’s laced into the finish. A blend of 82% cabernet sauvignon, 13% petit verdot, 3% malbec and 2% merlot. Drink for the next decade and then some.
95 points Wine Advocate - A blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Petit Verdot, 3% Malbec and 2% Merlot, the 2016 Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon offers up a focus of fruit on the nose that is rarely seen in wine, along with a bold, plush, vibrant core of fruit that exudes power and a velvety roundness. Dark red, black and even hints of blue fruit are found in the mouth, with a rich and vibrant core that gives way to chewy tannins. With a bold spiciness and layers of oak, the bold, full-bodied wine lingers with intensity and a long, thought-provoking, complex finish that is focused and delivers pleasure as the wine puts a smile on my face. Only 2,900 cases were made, and they are worth every penny!
94+ points Vinous - Bright, dark red. Fruit-driven aromas of redcurrant, cranberry and spicy oak. Concentrated and suave on the palate, with tangy flavors of raspberry and cassis complicated by savory minerality and sexy Indian spices and perfumed by a floral note. Finishes ripely tannic and gripping, with outstanding rising length and a piquant cumin note. A wonderfully vibrant Cabernet with a long life ahead of it.
16 bottles 2016 Matthew Wallace Regusci Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon~STAGS LEAP DISTRICT, Low is $80, Average is $95 our price $76
95 points Wine Spectator - Rich, lush, and intense on the nose and in the mouth. Layers of dark fruits, chocolate truffle, earthy spices, and cigar leaf are buffered by smooth, silky tannins and lead to a seductive and lengthy finish. The fruit is sourced from Regusci Vineyard, from the finest block on the ranch, encompassing a westward-facing steep hillside that produces the fruit of remarkable concentration and depth.
93 points Vinous - The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon (Stags Leap District) has come together beautifully over the last year. Silky tannins frame a core of super-ripe red stone fruit, along with hints of pomegranate, rose petal mint, and sweet spices.
6 bottles 2017 Keplinger Oakville Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon~OAKVILLE, Low is $199, Average is $230 our price $179
97 points James Suckling - This is so good. Real. It’s full-bodied with very soft, polished tannins and so much character. Herbs, plums, currants and garrigue. Goes on for minutes. A little tight now, but so much in the center palate. Give it time to open. Shows the excellence of 2017, if you picked right. Better in 2024.
94 points Wine Spectator - Ripe, fresh and very inviting, with crushed plum and blackberry notes leading the way, showing streaks of singed vanilla, sweet bay leaf and menthol. The ample grip is very fine-grained, melding nicely with the fruit through the finish. Drink now through 2034. 307 cases made. — JM
3 bottles 2017 Larkmead Cabernet Sauvignon~NAPA, Matching low $109, Average is $122 and climbs to $140, our price$109
96 points Wine Enthusiast - With 10% Merlot, this is a structured red that's built by broad tannins but approachable in its youth. Earthy peat, dried herb, cedar and cigar box play against a depth of dark cherry, cassis and plum, while fresh acidity permeates beneath, making for a cohesive package.
94 James Suckling - This is really subtle and complex with black truffles, blackberries, lavender and rosemary. Medium to full body. Firm and silky tannins with beautiful fruit. Linear and racy. Love the balance and finesse.
92 points Jeb Dunnuck - Starting with the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon, it comes all from the estate in the north part of the valley and is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot. It has a deep, serious bouquet of scorched earth, graphite, crushed rocks, new saddle leather, and smoked tobacco all ground by a core a ripe dark fruit. With medium to full-bodied richness on the palate, building tannins, and the classic, focused style of the vintage, it's going to benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age and keep for two decades.
17 bottles 2017 Lewis Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Napa Valley~NAPA, Matching low $149, Average is $171 and climbs to $200, our price$149
93 points Wine Spectator - Ripe and winey in feel, with a wave of warm black currant and fig compote flavors rolling through, inlaid with cocoa, sweet tobacco and dark licorice notes. This moves slowly but assuredly. Drink now through 2032.
92+ points Jeb Dunnuck - Lastly, the 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve has a big, rich, mineral-laced style that's going to need bottle age. Black fruits, charcoal, graphite, tobacco, and scorched earth notes give way to a medium to full-bodied, concentrated, structured 2017 that does well in the vintage. The grippy tannins let you know it's a 2017, yet I do like the overall concentration here. Give bottles 3-4 years in the cellar, and it should keep nicely over the following decade.
12 bottles 2017 Post Parade Cabernet Sauvignon~NAPA, Matching low $95, Average is $100, our price$95
Thomas Rivers Brown Winemaker
93 points Jeb Dunnuck - The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon is another medium to full-bodied, beautifully textured 2017. Blue fruits, toasted spices, and smoked tobacco notes give way to a seamless, polished 2017 offering terrific tannins, a pure, layered mouthfeel, and a great finish.
17 bottles 2018 Lewis Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley~NAPA, Matching low $89, Average is $97 and climbs to $123, our price $95
94 points Jeb Dunnuck - As to the Cabernets, these are all terrific, with the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon offering textbook, ripe black fruits, toasty oak, chocolate, and spice-driven aromas and flavors. This full-bodied, incredibly satisfying, powerful Cabernet exemplifies the vintage’s fresh, nicely balanced style. It's going to keep for 15 years.
93 points Wine Spectator - A crowd pleaser style, this red is ripe and focused, with very lush blackberry compote, cassis and plum purée notes streaming through, underscored with black licorice on the fleshy and liberally toasted finish. Drink now through 2028.
