United States
United States
Miner Family Winery 2009 La Diligence Marsanne Stagecoach Vineyard
American White
Ripe stone fruit, buttered bread, liquorice and honeycomb meet a mineral element. The texture is lush and thick, with ripe fruit and a long finish. Marsanne comes from Stagecoach Vineyard in Napa Valley. The wine spent five months in French Burgundian oak, approximately forty percent new. Production totalled four hundred cases, and alcohol is 14.4 percent.
Foppiano 2021 Estate Grown Zinfandel Russian River Valley
American Red
Red raspberry, dark fruit jam, cinnamon, clove, ripe plum, black tea and lavender oil form a layered profile. Blueberry, elderberry and cranberry accompany oak spice and baking notes. The blend is eighty-nine percent Zinfandel and eleven percent Barbera. Soft tannins, tangy acidity and a long, mouthwatering finish are also present in this firmly structured red.
Union Sacré 2022 Sylvaner Santa Maria Valley
American White
Pear flesh, lime curd, lychee, white melon and citrus appear in a dry white wine with a grippy texture. White flowers, Granny Smith apple and Asian pear are also present. The fruit is pressed directly using a four-hour light-pressure cycle. Fermentation takes place on fine lees for three weeks at 55°F, followed by ageing in 500-litre neutral wood puncheons. The wine is bottled unfiltered.
Frog’s Leap 2020 Chardonnay Napa Valley
American White
White peach, hazelnut and restrained reductive aromas sit above a palate with fresh acidity, weight and minerality. Chardonnay comes from a steep Carneros vineyard planted in nineteen seventy-nine. Indigenous yeasts begin fermentation in new French oak barrels; after four to five days, the wine is racked to concrete to finish fermenting. It rests on the lees for up to ten months and contains thirteen point four percent alcohol.
Broc Cellars 2019 KouKou Cabernet Franc
American Red
Cabernet Franc comes from Crown Point Vineyard in Happy Canyon. The site has serpentine loam and clay-loam soils, with pronounced shifts between daytime and nighttime temperatures. Whole clusters are placed in concrete, foot crushed and gently pumped over. The wine is pressed back into concrete for ten months of ageing before bottling. It contains twelve percent alcohol and comes from Santa Barbara County.
Broc Cellars 2019 Amore Bianco Tocai Friulano
American White
Tocai Friulano comes from Fox Hill Vineyard in Mendocino and is grown organically. Native yeasts carry out fermentation, no sulphur is added, and the wine is left unfiltered. The fermented juice is pumped off the skins, which are pressed in a basket press. The wine is then returned to sandstone jars for ageing. Production totalled forty-two cases.
eStCru 2019 Staring at the Sun Carignan Alexander Valley
American Red
Mouth-coating, chalky tannins accompany ripe cherry, vanilla, beetroot and rhubarb. Gamey and earthy aromas and flavours are present. Venison, soy sauce, white pepper, clove and sweet tobacco are also present. Acidity is high. The wine spent twelve months in French oak. Residual sugar is 0.30 percent. The wine comes from Alexander Valley in Sonoma County and is made from Carignan.
Day Wines 2022 Infinite Air Castles Gamay-Dolcetto Willamette Valley
American Red
Rosy florals, blueberries, boysenberry, grilled plum, cracked pepper, dark berries, obsidian minerals, petrichor and summer forest shape the profile. Bright acidity appears with a plush, velvety mid-palate and a long, firm structure. The blend is fifty-eight percent Gamay and forty-two percent Dolcetto. Partial destemming leaves twenty percent whole clusters. Native fermentation lasts twenty-four days, followed by eleven months in neutral French oak.
Ridge 2021 Three Valleys Sonoma County Red
American Red
Deep garnet colour accompanies fresh raspberry, cherry, barrel spice, clay minerals and mint. Sweet red-berry fruit, lively acidity, supple tannins and a medium body accompany a long finish. The blend is seventy-three percent Zinfandel, fifteen percent Petite Sirah, ten percent Carignane and two percent Grenache. Native primary and malolactic fermentations precede eleven months in American oak, including five percent new barrels.
Broc Cellars 2019 Pétillant Valdiguié
American Sparkling
Light red colour accompanies berry, plum and rose-petal aromas. The body is light and crisp, with assertive carbonation. Valdiguié comes from Ricetti Vineyard in Mendocino, from roughly sixty-year-old vines. Grapes are foot pressed, fermented to eighteen grams of residual sugar, chilled for two weeks, then bottled. The wine rests on its side for eleven months and is released without dosage.
Margins 2020 Sattler’s Vineyard Counoise Santa Clara Valley
American Red
Fresh, fruity and spicy, this Counoise is lightly hued and suited to a light chill. Fruit comes from Sattler's Vineyard in Santa Clara Valley, a small foothill site. Hot, dry conditions are tempered by a marked daily temperature swing, preserving acidity. Alcohol is twelve point nine percent, and the red is versatile at the table.
Trisaetum 2021 Coast Range Estate Riesling
American White
Round and fruity, the Riesling combines baked apple and pear with a hint of almond paste. A touch of sweetness remains far from dessert level, while the palate is full and the finish lingers. Production totals two hundred and sixty-nine cases, and alcohol is eleven point three percent. The estate vineyard lies in Oregon's Yamhill-Carlton District.
Donkey & Goat 2014 Stone Crusher Roussanne El Dorado
American White
Deep orange-gold in colour, this skin-contact Roussanne shows floral, apricot and nutty notes. The palate is dry and light-bodied, with chewy tannins and mineral character. Fermentation takes place on the skins for twelve days in an open-top wooden vat. Maturation lasts ten months, with sixty percent in neutral French oak. The finish is long, with stone fruit and spice.
Trefethen 2021 Eshcol Red Oak Knoll District
American Red
Cabernet Sauvignon accounts for fifty-one percent of the blend, with Malbec at twenty-three percent, Merlot and Petit Verdot at twelve percent each, and Cabernet Franc at two percent. Raspberry and Bing cherry appear with leather and liquorice. Dark fruit and black pepper are also present. The finish is balanced and smooth. Fruit comes entirely from the Main Ranch estate vineyard, and maturation lasts fourteen months.
Arnot-Roberts 2019 North Coast Trousseau
American Red
Dried cherry, orange peel, spice, cedar and rose petal appear in a pale-coloured red with depth. The fruit comes mostly from Luchsinger Vineyard, together with two barrels from Bartolomei Vineyard. The sites are harvested and fermented separately without destemming. Whole clusters are used, and the wines mature separately in neutral French oak and stainless steel. Fine tannins and bright acidity accompany strawberry and earth.
Cakebread Cellars 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
American Red
Fresh smoky cassis, blackberry and boysenberry appear with cedar, black-tea spice and sweet oak. The palate is concentrated, with black fruit, firm structure and a long savoury finish. The blend is seventy-eight percent Cabernet Sauvignon, sixteen percent Merlot, four percent Cabernet Franc and two percent Malbec. Fermentation took place in stainless steel, followed by twenty months in French oak, thirty-five percent new. Alcohol is 14.2 percent.
Ashes and Diamonds Rouge No. 3 Napa Valley MV
American Red
Dark cherry, cocoa and spice are present. The palate is round and rich, with a focused profile and firm tannic structure. Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are used. Fruit comes from vineyards across Napa Valley, ranging from thin, rugged soils to the richer soils of the valley floor. Multiple vintages are blended together. The style emphasizes structure rather than ripeness or alcohol.
Sequoia Grove 2018 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
American Red
Bright black cherry, blackberry, baking spices, chocolate and toasted vanilla are present. The palate has intense blackberry flavours and round, smooth tannins. The blend is eighty-three percent Cabernet Sauvignon, eight percent Merlot, six percent Cabernet Franc, and one percent each Syrah, Malbec and Petit Verdot. Grapes are hand-picked and the berries hand-sorted. A one-to-three-day cold soak precedes fermentation. Maturation lasts twenty months in French oak, half new.
Kistler 2014 McCrea Vineyard Chardonnay Sonoma Mountain
American White
Pineapple paste, honey-nut, guava, cashews and brioche appear with a satiny texture and zippy acidity. Dried pear, almond, savoury herbs and dried flowers are also present, together with a persistent finish. The vineyard lies on the eastern bench of Sonoma Mountain. Its soils combine volcanic material and limestone. Floral and citrus-blossom aromas and a chalk-like fruit core are part of the site profile.
White Walnut Estate 2023 Worden Hill Road Chardonnay
American White
White peach, white pepper, saline and seashell notes accompany tight citrus acidity. Flinty spice and lemon verbena are present with lime zest and fresh flowers. The medium-bodied palate is tangy, mineral, vivid and vibrant, with a clean, fresh character and a Chablis-like feel. Its linear shape remains ripe and energetic. Fruit comes from a Chardonnay site along Worden Hill Road in the Willamette Valley.
RAEN Winery 2016 Royal St Robert Cuvée Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
American Red
Wild strawberry, raspberry and cranberry appear with cured meat, wood smoke, forest floor, herbs and truffle. Dark cherry, violet, mushroom and black tea are also present. The palate has a chewy frame, acidity and a long mineral finish. Fermentation uses eighty percent whole clusters and native yeasts. The wine is aged in ten percent new French oak and ninety percent neutral oak, then bottled unfined and unfiltered.
Adelsheim 2021 Breaking Ground Pinot Noir Chehalem Mountains
American Red
Pinot Noir comes from eleven hillside sites, with sixty-eight percent estate fruit. The vineyards include loess, volcanic and sedimentary soils. Grapes are fermented in stainless steel, then aged for eleven months in French oak, twenty-nine percent new. Black cherry and raspberry appear with exotic spice and dark loam. The texture is supple, with ethereal qualities and deeper tones. Alcohol is thirteen percent.
Trefethen 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Oak Knoll District
American Red
Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Petit Verdot form an eighty-eight, six and six percent blend from the Main Ranch estate vineyard. Dark plum and black cherry appear with cocoa, pepper and fragrant herbs. Bright cherry flavours are accompanied by vanilla and forest floor. The wine spent eighteen months in oak, with fifty-three percent new barrels. Alcohol is thirteen-point-nine percent, and the fruit is sustainably farmed.
Tenet Wines 2015 GSM Columbia Valley
American Red
Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre form a forty-three, thirty-five and twenty-two percent blend. Red and black raspberry, plum, herb and spice appear in the profile. Lively fruit flavours and a lingering finish are also present. The wine is red, dry and full-bodied, with blackberry, smoked herbs and liquorice also present. The texture is mouth-filling. Alcohol is fifteen-and-a-half percent.
Clos Pegase 2012 Hommage Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
American Red
The blend is ninety-nine percent Cabernet Sauvignon and one percent Petit Verdot. Black cherry, cassis, French plum, baking spice, iris, fresh pipe tobacco, liquorice and subtle toasted oak form the profile. Firm tannins accompany a mineral structure, and the wine carries fourteen-and-a-half percent alcohol. The texture is smooth and velvety, and the finish is long, balanced and seamless.
Merryvale Vineyards 2017 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
American Red
Plum, blackberry and cherry accompany leather and granite-like mineral detail. Lively acidity, soft tannins, a velvety texture and a long finish are present. The blend is eighty-five percent Cabernet Sauvignon, ten percent Cabernet Franc and five percent Merlot. Native-yeast fermentation follows a five-day cold soak in small tanks. Maturation lasts twenty-two months in French oak, with fifty percent new barrels, before bottling without fining or filtration.
Duckhorn 2004 Three Palms Vineyard Merlot Napa Valley
American Red
Red fruit, dried herbs, allspice, vanilla bean and dust accompany ripe strawberry, dried cherry, toasted oak, chocolate and spice. The texture is velvety, with bright acidity and firm, well-integrated tannins. The blend is seventy-five percent Merlot, ten percent Cabernet Sauvignon, nine percent Petit Verdot, five percent Cabernet Franc and one percent Malbec. Maturation lasts twenty months in new sixty-gallon French oak barrels. The wine contains 14.5 percent alcohol.
Duckhorn 2003 Three Palms Vineyard Merlot Napa Valley
American Red
Strawberry, raspberry, cherry, black olive, almond and spice accompany red fruit, cedar and oak. The texture is silky, with balanced acidity and ample tannins in a smooth, full-bodied profile. The blend is seventy-five percent Merlot, eleven percent Cabernet Sauvignon, seven percent Petit Verdot and seven percent Cabernet Franc. Maturation lasts twenty months in new sixty-gallon French oak barrels. The grapes were harvested over six days in September.
Far Niente 2018 Estate Bottled Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville
American Red
Ripe purple fruit accompanies black liquorice and briar. A silky texture, dense velvety chocolate and toast sit within a full-bodied, concentrated profile with a long finish. The wine is made entirely from Cabernet Sauvignon. Maturation lasts sixteen months in French oak barrels, using seventy-three percent new oak and twenty-seven percent once-used oak. Skin contact lasts twelve to twenty-nine days, and the fruit comes from Martin Stelling Vineyard in Oakville.
Robert Mondavi Winery 2019 The Estates Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon
American Red
Blackberry, blueberry, plum, chocolate, nutmeg and subtle oak accompany black plum and fine, well-integrated tannins. The profile is juicy, with good acidity. The blend is eighty-five percent Cabernet Sauvignon, six percent Cabernet Franc, six percent Petit Verdot, two percent Malbec and one percent Merlot. Maturation lasts twenty months in French oak barrels, with ninety percent new oak. The wine contains 15.3 percent alcohol.