New California Cult Cabernet at 1800 Las Olas

“Doctor says to a man, ‘You’re pregnant!’ The man says, ‘How does a man get pregnant?’ The doctor says, ‘The usual way, a little wine, a little dinner….’”

Henny Youngman

Hey we think that a little more wine could probably solve a lot of the world's problems. 

We are working very hard to solve the wine world's problem by putting on some of the best wine tastings that the world has to offer- like this incredible tasting featuring some of Napa's new Cult Wines.

The theme here is Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon that scored very high in the major wine publications like The Wine Advocate or the Wine Spectator and they are made in very limited quantities.  These are some of the new “Cult Wines” of Napa and they are not easy to find many of these below are only available through the wineries mailing list.

Join us as we taste through some of the new Napa elite along with a special menu prepared by Wine Watch Caterings Toni Lampasone.  The fee for this tasting is $295 + Tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or just respond to this e-mail announcement.  There are only 15 seats available for this event.

New California Cult Cabernet at 1800 Las Olas
Saturday, February 7, 2015
7:30 PM

Tasting Line-up:

Reception:

2006 Schramsberg J Schram
Price: $101.25    Sale $89.10

From the inception of our efforts in 1965, we have sought to achieve the greatest elegance and individuality possible in our sparkling wines. J. Schram epitomizes our philosophy to create a wine in which no effort has been spared and no care has been omitted. This wine is a fine expression of American individuality and innovation. Wine grapes from the finest vineyards of Northern California are nurtured throughout the ripening process, before they are hand-picked. Complexity is gained through fermentation in both oak barrels and stainless steel tanks. Some small lots undergo malolactic fermentation to enrich aromas and infuse creaminess on the palate. The wine is then aged in our historical mountainside caves for over five years. Dedicated to our founder of 1862, Jacob Schram, this special bottling has been a great success since its first release in 1992. J. Schram reflects Schramsberg’s continuing role as a pioneer in world class sparkling wines. It is our nominee when you want an American statement of international excellence. The 2006 J. Schram opens with bright aromas of green apple, ripe grapefruit and sweet pineapple followed by exotic nuances of mango, guava, panna cotta, and toasted almond. On first sip, tangerine and Kaffir lime are present, which are accentuated by layers of tart pear and Fuji apple. The palate’s texture is viscous and savory on entry. A long finish is driven by generous mouthwatering and lingering acidity.

2008 The Vineyard House Cabernet Sauvignon Napa
Price: $202.50

Founded by jeremy Nickel in 2005 and the wine is made by Bil Balentine, we just recently showed this wine blind alongside harlan Estates 2008 and only one member of our group picked the Harlan above the Vineyard House!!

A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon 85%, Cabernet Franc 6%, Merlot 6%, Malbec 3%.  Dark currant and cherry fruit, dark spice and dark mocha chocolate, fresh plowed earth, graphite mineral, a cornucopia of fruit earth and spice on the nose.  Very big and chewy with dark cherry, currant, cassis very rich on the tongue with ripe round tannins and a very silky sexy texture to this wine with layers of dark spices.  This wine has lots of juicy fruit very exotic spices and a long finish echoing the nuance from the nose through the finish.  Finish 50+      Most Excellent

2007 Husic Cabernet Sauvignon Napa
Price: $132.00

2001 was the first vintage of this wine founded by Frank Husic. 

Lots of dark cherry and black currant bery fruit fresh shaved lead pencil with damp black earth very complex bouquet, dark coco and cedar box spice. Big and chewy on the tongue but still has nice elegance and structure with layers of earth and spice with a long elegant finish. There is a bit of PV planted on the property, but if it makes it into the blend it is only 1%. Finish 50+ Most Excellent

2006 Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon Napa
Price: $900.00

2003 was the first vintage of Scarecrow.  In 1945, the famed John Daniel, Jr., who made so many historically great wines at Inglenook, convinced a neighbor of his, J. J. Cohn, to plant 80 acres of Cabernet vines, and the fruit became a component of Inglenook’s series of great Cabernet Sauvignons. Cohn, who owned the property and planted the vineyard at the insistence of John Daniel, had a prominent career in Hollywood as chief of production at MGM, where he played a role in the making of such movies as “Ben Hur,” “Mutiny on the Bounty,” and his favorite movie apparently, “The Wizard of Oz,” to which the Scarecrow label pays tribute. The 2003 Scarecrow (471 cases, all from the Rutherford area of Napa) was bottled unfined and unfiltered. The man behind this wine today is the grandson of J. J. Cohn, Bret Lopez, and his winemaker is Celia Masyczek, who first became well-known working at Staglin. Much of this blend still comes from the old dry-farmed Cabernet Sauvignon vines planted in 1945 by J. J. Cohn.

(94+ Points)  The full-bodied 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon does not possess any of the hard, foreboding tannins found in some 2006 Cabernets, but rather, it displays a silky, velvety personality. Although not as nuanced or complex as the 2005, it is a brilliant wine offering generous levels of black currant fruit intermixed with graphite, scorched earth, and a hint of underlying smoke. It will be surprisingly delicious early in its life but capable of lasting two-plus decades.

One of the true blue chip vineyards and wines of Napa Valley, winemaker Celia Masyczek fashions approximately 400 cases of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from a legendary Rutherford vineyard with 60-year old vines. Aged in 100% new oak,
this cuvee reveals a very singular character. If California vineyards were ever classified a la French sites, this Rutherford terroir would be judged a grand cru.  Wine Advocate #180, Dec 2008

2005 Gemstone Cabernet Sauvignon Napa
Price: $180.00

Proprietor Paul Franks started this label in 2001 and the wines are made by winemaking consultant Philippe Melka for owners Paul Frank and his wife, Suzie. They sell much of the fruit from their vineyard, which is located on the Silverado Trail side of the Yountville sector. In fact, it is actually just south of Screaming Eagle and closer to Oakville than Yountville.

(95 Points) Ripe and juicy, with firm, intense, polished black cherry, wild berry, currant and black licorice flavors that are delightfully elegant and refined. The finish goes on and on. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot.   Best from 2010 through 2018. 797 cases made. –JL Wine Spectator, Issue: Oct 31, 2008

2004 Sloan Cabernet Sauvignon Napa
Price: $398.00

Not much has changed at Proprietor Stuart Sloan’s vineyard since his brilliant debut vintage of 2000. From his thirteen acres of gently sloping hillside vineyards, his winemaker Martha McClellan and the globe-trotting Michel Rolland and  superstar viticulturalist David Abreu turn out 600 cases (with a potential 1,000 cases in the future) of splendid Cabernet Sauvignon.

(98 points)  The 2004 Sloan’s spectacular inky/purple/garnet color is followed by notes of high quality espresso roast, chocolate, black currants, truffles and a striking minerality. Full-bodied and super-rich with that roasted character that one finds in Cote Rotie and some of the great Haut-Brions from Pessac-Leognan, this full-bodied, rich 2004 is a super-star of the vintage. Although the tannins are elevated, they are extremely sweet and well-integrated. This spectacular 2004 is performing even better now than it did following bottling. It is also one of the more developed and evolved vintages of Sloan, no doubt because that was the nature of the 2004 vintage. Drink it now and over the next two decades.  Wine Advocate #212 Apr 2014

2003 Hundred Acre Cabernet Sauvignon Kayli Morgan Napa
Price: $319.00

The 2000 vintage was the first vintage of this fabulous wine from the eastern hillsides of northern Napa Valley, not far from the Eisele Vineyard.  Jason Woodbridge is the mind behind this label.

(98 points)  The sensational 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon Kayli Morgan Vineyard (100% varietal) is a candidate for wine of the vintage. Although it came in at 15.9% alcohol, it is not the least
bit hot or out of balance. The wine boasts glorious levels of creme de cassis fruit and licorice that combine to form the background of a perfumed, aromatic wine with full-bodied richness, a voluptuous texture and both hedonistic and intellectual appeal that are sine qua non. This sensational Cabernet Sauvignon seems velvety, but every one of Woodbridge’s wines that I have tasted is velvety from infancy. Yet they age and age as the 2000, a far from ideal vintage, has proven time after time. There is always a Pomerol-like silky texture to these wines, despite the fact they are 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2003 is a titanic wine that can be drunk now or in 20 years given the genius of Jayson Woodbridge.  Wine Advocate #207, Jun 2013

2002 Blankiet Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Paradise Hills Vineyard
Price: $215.00

2000 was the first vintage of this wine.  They started out with Helen Turley and John Wetlaufer.  This small artisanal producer turns out around 900 cases of wine from a beautiful hillside site behind Dominus’ large Napanook Vineyard.  Blankiet’s proprietary red is created under the guidance of Martha McClellan (the wife of Harlan Estate’s Bob Levy as well as the winemaker at Sloan).

(95 points) There are just over 1000 cases of the Cabernet Sauvignon, which is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the hillsides of the Blankiet estate. The 2002 possesses floral, blueberry, and espresso roast notes and big, sweet, black currant fruit infused with chocolate, barbecue spice, and meaty notes. The wine is big, rich, and complex, with sweet tannin and a multi-layered, concentrated finish. As I have written before, the only way readers are going to get any of this wine is to be on the mailing list or check out one of the few restaurants that receives an allocation. This is an amazing operation on the hillsides overlooking the huge Dominus/Napanook estate. A complex set of caves and a remarkable, nearly surreal chateau grace the property. Winemaker Helen Turley, working with her viticulturalist husband, John Wetlaufer, is fashioning some spectacular wines from these hillsides of volcanic ash and basalt. These are big, structured, potentially long-lived wines that will need some cellar time for those lucky enough to latch onto a few bottles. Everything to date has been aged in 100% new Taransaud barrels for 18-19 months and then bottled unfiltered. Wine Advocate #162 Dec 2005

2001 Bond St Eden Napa
Price: $559.00    Sale $491.92

1999 was the first vintage for Bond but the St. Eden did not come out until 2001 so we thought this wine should qualify for this tasting - And it scored 100 points!!

(100 points) Utterly perfect, another wine that seems to have taken on a first-growth Pauillac-like character (think Mouton-Rothschild) is the 2001 St. Eden. With a remarkably perfumed nose of crushed rocks, subtle barbecue smoke, and again, cedar wood intermixed with creme de cassis and blackberry, this wine displays a phenomenally concentrated mouthfeel, full-bodied opulence, voluptuous texture, and of this trio, is certainly the closest to its apogee of full maturity. Nevertheless, it will still benefit from another 5-10 years of cellaring and keep for an additional 25-30.  Wine Advocate #195 Jun 2011

Menu

Foie Gras Tourchon with black cherry jam and Pumpernickel toast points

Tuna Tartar on sesame crisp

Parmesan roll ups

First Course

Mesquite grilled Portobello Mushroom Carpaccio drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, a garnish of fresh herbs and mini vegetables

Second Course

Cabernet Sauvignon braised beef short rib with Beemster Gouda Potato gratin

Dessert

Dark chocolate, bourbon, pecan tart with pineapple rum caramel sauce

This tasting will introduce some of the New Napa Cult Cabernet Sauvignon to our Guests.  The fee for this tasting is $295 per person + tax. This is a sit down pre-poured event and there are only 15 spaces for this event, call 954-523-9563 or email andy@winewatch.com to make reservations.

Other wines Available from the producers we are serving this evening:

2001 Bond Melbury Napa
Price: $495.00    Sale Price: $420.00
Quantity in Stock: 1

(98 points) The 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon Melbury (a dead ringer for Pauillac) has an opaque blue/purple color and an extraordinarily sweet nose of charcoal, lead pencil shavings, cedar wood, black currants, licorice and spice box. Full-bodied, with great intensity, purity and texture, this is a wonderfully dense, full-throttle wine that is still an adolescent and likely to stay one for at least another 5-7 years. Look for it to age gracefully well past 20-30 years. Wine Advocate #195 Jun 2011

2001 Bond Vecina Napa
Price: $353.00    Sale Price: $300.00
Quantity in Stock: 2

(96+ points) The most backward, earthy, muscular/masculine wine of the group is the 2001 Vecina. Still quite tightly knit, with loads of rugged tannins as well as distinctive notes of graphite and earth reminiscent of a St.-Estephe such as Chateau Montrose, the wine displays sweet, earthy blueberry and blackberry fruit, but then the tannins kick in. This full-bodied, massive wine needs a good 5-7 years of cellaring at the minimum, and whether it ever approaches the seamless/flawless perfection of a St. Eden or Melbury remains to be seen. Wine Advocate #195 Jun 2011

2002 Bond Melbury Proprietary Red Wine Napa
Price: $618.00    Sale Price: $525.00
Quantity in Stock: 4

(96 points) An exquisite effort, the 2002 Melbury Proprietary Red boasts a dense purple color to the rim along with a sweet perfume of acacia flowers, blueberry pie, licorice, and a hint of hot rocks. A wine of great intensity, tremendous voluptuousness and opulence, fabulous purity, low acidity, and silky tannin, this stunning 2002 can be drunk now and over the next 15-20 years. This is the newest brainchild of the irrepressible Bill Harlan and his sensational winemaking team of Bob Levy and Michel Rolland. These are all 100% terroir-based Cabernet Sauvignons from distinctive sites in Napa Valley. There are 600-700 cases of each cuvee. The Melbury represents a hillside vineyard site above Lake Hennessy, the St. Eden is a valley floor vineyard in the Oakville corridor, and Vecina is a western hillside vineyard adjacent to Harlan Estate. I also tasted a stunning wine from Spring Mountain, which may be the next site that Bill Harlan offers to Bond’s mailing list clients. The quality of these singular, extraordinary offerings is world-class. Wine Advocate # 162 Dec 2005

2002 Bond Vecina Proprietary Red Wine Napa
Price: $377.00    Sale Price: $320.00
Quantity in Stock: 4

(95+ POINTS) The big, rich, brawny 2002 Vecina Proprietary Red is a primordial, tannic beast with a beef blood-like concentration, a huge, opaque purple color, and notes of scorched earth, blackberries, chocolate, camphor, roasted meats, and cassis. It’s as if I took an aged porterhouse steak from Peter Lugar’s famed restaurant, put it in a Cuisinart, and aged it in new French oak. Give this amazing wine 5-6 years of bottle age, and drink it over the following 20-25 years. This is the newest brainchild of the irrepressible Bill Harlan and his sensational winemaking team of Bob Levy and Michel Rolland. These are all 100% terroir-based Cabernet Sauvignons from distinctive sites in Napa Valley. There are 600-700 cases of each cuvee. The Melbury represents a hillside vineyard site above Lake Hennessy, the St. Eden is a valley floor vineyard in the Oakville corridor, and Vecina is a western hillside vineyard adjacent to Harlan Estate. I also tasted a stunning wine from Spring Mountain, which may be the next site that Bill Harlan offers to Bond’s mailing list clients. The quality of these singular, extraordinary offerings is world-class. Wine Advocate # 162 Dec 2005

2002 Bond St Eden Napa
Price: $677.00    Sale Price: $575.00
Quantity in Stock: 2

(100 points)  The 2002 St. Eden, which comes from a valley floor vineyard in the Oakville corridor, is unreal. I had given the 2001 a perfect score, but the 2002 (made by the brain trust of on-site winemaker Bob Levy and outside French consultant Michel Rolland) is showing incredible elements of cedarwood, licorice, chocolate and creme de cassis as well as exquisite texture, full-bodied intensity, and unbelievable purity and length. It is only the second vintage for this vineyard, leased by Bill Harlan for several decades, and it has turned out to be a killer Cabernet Sauvignon and a great classic of Napa. It should drink well for 20-25 years.  Wine Advocate #201 Jun 2012

2010 Bond Quella Napa
Price: $480.00    Your Price: $422.40
Quantity in Stock: 3

(98 Points)  The 2010 Quella is a candidate for perfection. From the lower foothills of Pritchard Hill, it offers up notes of charcoal, graphite, espresso and copious quantities of blueberry and black raspberry liqueur, along with distinctive minerality, a full-bodied mouthfeel, moderately high tannins, gorgeous richness and a long, moderately tannic finish. Forget it for five years and drink it over the following three decades.

To quickly summarize this project that has been remarkably successful since the debut vintage, Bond is the project of the visionary Bill Harlan, the proprietor of Harlan Estate. Along with winemaker Bob Levy and consulting oenologist Michel Rolland, he continues to sign twenty-year leases on highly regarded vineyards planted with 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from which he offers consumers world-class Cabernet Sauvignons that showcase different Napa micro-climates/terroirs. In short, there are five separate vineyard sites in the Bond portfolio. The Melbury comes from a 7-acre parcel (sedimentary and clay soils) on steep slopes in the Pritchard Hill area near Lake Hennessey, east of Rutherford. The northern most parcel, the Pluribus comes from a high elevation (1,000 feet) site on Spring Mountain. It, too, is a 7-acre parcel planted in the white volcanic bedrock called tufa. The most southerly situated vineyard is Vecina (11 acres planted at 200-330 foot elevation), which is a neighbor of Harlan Estate in the Oakville Corridor, on the western hillsides of Napa. St. Eden, a valley floor vineyard, is composed of 11 acres on gentle foothills just north of the Oakville Crossroads. The Quella Vineyard is a 9-acre site in the eastern foothills of St. Helena with an interesting terroir of alluvial pebbles and small rocks of what is believed to be an old riverbed. White tufa can be found as well. Part of the objective is to vinify these wines in identical manners so that as they age their micro-climate / terroir characters become more pronounced. The barrels that are deemed not worthy enough to go into the individual single vineyard wines are blended into the Matriarch cuvee.  Wine Advocate #209, Oct 2013

2002 Blankiet Merlot Napa
Price: $247.50    Your Price: $217.80
Quantity in Stock: 3

(94 Points) The deep, rich 2002 Merlot is not up to the level of the 2003, although it does possess fabulously complex notes of scorched earth, chocolate, espresso roast, and meaty black cherries, currants, and plums. A broodingly backward, concentrated, full-bodied, dense, and super-rich Merlot, it should drink well for 15 or more years.  As I have written before, the only way readers are going to get any of this wine is to be on the mailing list or check out one of the few restaurants that receives an allocation.  This is an amazing operation on the hillsides overlooking the huge Dominus/Napanook estate. A complex set of caves and a remarkable, nearly surreal chateau grace the property. Winemaker Helen Turley, working with her viticulturalist husband, John Wetlaufer, is fashioning some spectacular wines from these hillsides of volcanic ash and basalt. These are big, structured, potentially long-lived wines that will need some cellar time for those lucky enough to latch onto a few bottles. Everything to date has been aged in 100% new Taransaud barrels for 18-19 months and then bottled unfiltered. Wine Advocate # 162, Dec 2005

2001 Hundred Acre Cabernet Sauvignon Napa
Price: $299.00    Sale $263.12
Quantity in Stock: 1

(92 -94 points)   The 2001 (1,500 case of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon) may be the Le Pin of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a lascivious, powerful, smoky sex pot of great fruit intensity, purity, and voluptuousness. The texture is unctuous, the fruit level remarkable, and the wine gloriously pure, rich, and bursting with black currant and sweet cherry fruit as well as nicely integrated, toasty French oak. It will drink well for 15+ years. This exciting debut effort possesses an individualistic, distinctive style ... all to the credit of this brash newcomer, a tightly-spaced vineyard situated on the Silverado Trail, north of St. Helena, near the Rombauer Vineyard. This is an impressive effort fashioned by Philippe Melka, who believes this site has "unlimited potential."  Wine Advocate #142,  Aug 2002

2002 Hundred Acre Kayli Morgan Cabernet Sauvignon Napa
Price: $687.00    Sale Price: $575.00
Quantity in Stock: 2

(98 Points) As for the 2002 Hundred Acre (1,200 cases), this is a terrific example of great Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. A seamless wine with extraordinary concentration, a dense purple color, a beautifully sweet nose of black cherry liqueur intermixed with cassis, graphite, smoke, and underbrush, it is layered, multi-dimensional, and opulent, with a long finish. Although more accessible and flashy than the 2001, it is capable of lasting 15 more years. Wine Advocate # 157 Feb 2005

2006 Hundred Acre Cabernet Sauvignon Ark Vineyard Napa
Price: $360.00    Sale Price: $300.00
Quantity in Stock: 1

(96 points)  More tannin and earthiness are apparent in the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Ark Vineyard. Last year, this wine revealed considerable softness, but that has morphed into a more delineated, beautifully dense, full-bodied Cabernet with dazzling fragrance and glycerin in addition to an extravagant fruit character. It, too, should drink beautifully for 20 years.  Wine Advocate #180,  Dec 2008

2009 Hundred Acre Cabernet Sauvignon Deep Time Napa
Price: $795.00    Sale Price: $650.00
Quantity in Stock: 2

(100 Points)   The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Deep Time is another perfect wine. Quintessential elegance, seductiveness and ripeness are all present in this full-bodied, gorgeously rich wine along with intense minerality and abundant, corpulent, cassis, mulberry and boysenberry fruit. It takes a wild ride on the palate with incredible intensity yet a surreal finesse and focus that belie the wine’s compelling concentration and intensity. I’ll cut off my notes now since so few people will ever get a chance to try this beauty, but if you do, it takes you deep into the essence of Cabernet Sauvignon as well as the complicated think tank of Woodbridge’s brain. Anticipated maturity: now-2030.   Wine Advocate #209, Oct 2013

2010 Hundred Acre Cabernet Sauvignon Far and Few Between Price: $750.00    Sale Price: $600.00
Quantity in Stock: 6

(100 Points) The 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Few and Far Between has a minerality that is also found in the Howell Mountain cuvee as well as deep, luxurious, beautiful black currant and blackberry fruit intermixed with hints of jammy black cherries, licorice, camphor and charcoal embers. Exceptionally full-bodied with sweet tannin, surreal richness and remarkable purity as well as delineation, this pushes ripeness and intensity to nearly over-the-top levels, but it pulls back to simply create a wine of genius. This 2010 should age effortlessly for two to three decades, but there is no reason to delay your enjoyment.  Wine Advocate #209, Oct 2013

2010 Hundred Acre Cabernet Sauvignon Precious Napa
Price: $595.00    Sale Price: $450.00
Quantity in Stock: 2

(99 Points) Made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, the silky 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Precious boasts amazing amounts of creme de cassis, licorice, spring flowers, charcoal and graphite. The quintessential Woodbridge wine, it is busting with sensuality, exuding enormous fruit, and built like a skyscraper. Abundant notes of cassis and the soft, velvety tannins are fabulous. This wine can be drunk now or in 20-30 years.  Wine Advocate #209, Oct 2013

2011 Hundred Acre Cabernet Sauvignon Far and Few Between Napa
Price: $525.00    Sale Price: $425.00
Quantity in Stock: 6

(94-96 Points)  Another great success that escaped the insidious spread of botrytis on the valley floor is the 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Few and Far Between. One of the top wines of the vintage, the Cabernet Franc component gives the wine a multidimensional aromatic display of forest floor, blueberries, mulberries, black raspberries, plums, black currants and a wet rock-like minerality. The rich, full-bodied flavors seem almost an anomaly in this vintage given its extraordinary irregularity and frequent disappointments. This prodigious 2011 is a candidate for the wine of the vintage.  Wine Advocate #209, Oct 2013

2011 Hundred Acre Cabernet Sauvignon Kayli Morgan Napa
Price: $525.00    Sale Price: $425.00
Quantity in Stock: 3

(89-91 Points) The lighter, medium-bodied, charming 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Kayli Morgan reflects some of the vintage’s issues with less than ideal ripeness. However, Woodbridge has not pushed extraction nor tried to produce something that the grapes just couldn’t provide. It is a more delicate Kayli Morgan offering sweet tannin, ripe black cherry and black currant fruit, not a trace of herbaceousness and a silky, seductive texture and finish. It should probably be consumed in its first 10-12 years of life. Wine Advocate #209, Oct 2013

2011 Hundred Acre Cabernet Sauvignon Ark
Price: $525.00    Sale Price: $425.00
Quantity in Stock: 6

(94-96 Points) To further emphasize the success Howell Mountain enjoyed in 2011 is Woodbridge’s 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Arc Vineyard. A fabulous bouquet of mulberries, jammy cherries and black currants intermixed with hints of lead pencil shavings, forest floor and background oak is followed by a surprisingly full-bodied, concentrated, ripe, rich, layered, compelling wine. This is a great success to enjoy over the next 15 or so years.   Wine Advocate #209, Oct 2013

2009 Sloan Cabernet Sauvignon Napa
Price: $650.00    Your Price: $572.00
Quantity in Stock: 2

(96 points) The 2009 Sloan Estate has fleshed out beautifully since last year. Exciting and totally voluptuous, the 2009 covers every inch of the palate with layers of mocha-infused dark fruit. The 2009 boasts striking inner perfume and sweetness, with generous plum, cinnamon, melted road tar and Christmas cake notes that wrap around the highly expressive finish. I imagine the 2009 is a vintage that will enjoy a broad window of drinkability starting pretty much upon release. The 2009 is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. Sloan fans will note the Merlot is a little higher than normal in 2009. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2027. Wine Advocate #204 Dec 2012

2008 Sloan Cabernet Sauvignon Napa
Price: $650.00    Sale $572
Quantity in Stock: 1

(96 points) The 2008 Sloan Estate is racy and totally elegant from start to finish. It shows gorgeous freshness and vibrancy in its expressive dark red fruit, flowers, licorice and tobacco. Today the 2008 comes across as a relatively understated, subdued vintage for this wine. It should be absolutely fabulous in another few years. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2028. Wine Advocate #198 Dec 2011

2007 Sloan Proprietary Red Napa
Price: $875.00    Sale Price: $750.00
Quantity in Stock: 2

(100 Points)  The 2007 Sloan, now in bottle, has lived up to the extraordinary quality it exhibited from barrel. A world-class, perfumed nose of charcoal, espresso roast, white chocolate, black currants, sweet plums, Asian soy and a Grave-like scorched earth aroma soars from the glass of this dense purple-colored wine. Full-bodied and seamlessly constructed with a multidimensional mouthfeel as well as a phenomenal finish, this 2007 carries considerable tannin, but at present it is concealed by the wine’s luxurious levels of fruit, glycerin and intensity. This spectacular 2007 should drink well for 25-30+ years. Stuart Sloan’s operation on a beautiful hillside just above Auberge du Soleil has taken off in less than a decade. They produce slightly more than 600 cases, but they hope to eventually reach 1,000 cases. This spectacular vineyard is treated like a spoiled child and Sloan boasts an impressive winemaking team of Martha McClellan and globe-trotting consultant Michel Rolland. The blend is dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon (80-85%) with the rest some awesome Cabernet Franc and tiny portions of Petit Verdot and Merlot.  Wine Advocate #192Dec 2010

2006 Sloan Cabernet Sauvignon Napa
Price: $500.00    Sale $440
Quantity in Stock: 8

(98 points) The 2006 is performing even better from bottle than it did from barrel. Sloan and McClellan decided to bottle it later than usual, recognizing the rugged, tough tannins of the vintage could be sweetened up with longer barrel aging. Their strategy worked. The wine’s dense ruby/purple color is followed by notes of white chocolate, burning embers, creme de cassis, coffee, and scorched earth (think Haut-Brion or La Mission Haut-Brion). It possesses terrific structure, melted, well-integrated tannins, full body, and is already bursting with complexity. A great success, it is one of the vintage’s most thrilling wines. Drink it over the next 20-25 years.

2003 Sloan Cabernet Sauvignon Napa
Price: $309.00    Sale $271.92
Quantity in Stock: 5

(96 + points)  The 20003 was made by Martha McClellan and the viticulture looked over by David Abreu. The 2003 Sloan, if slightly less prodigious than the perfect 2002, remains a young wine. Notes of vanillin, espresso roast, blackberries, scorched earth, camphor and hints of charcoal and barbecue meat jump from the glass of this spicy, rich, provocative Cabernet Sauvignon. With a full-bodied mouthfeel, sweet tannin and adequate acidity, the blend includes 14% Cabernet Franc and 86% Cabernet Sauvignon from this extraordinary hillside vineyard above Auberge de Soleil in mid-Napa Valley. This wine is 2-5 years away from full maturity, and should last for another decade.  Wine Advocate #207, Jun 2013

2011 Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvigon Napa
Price: $575.00    Sale Price: $475.00
Quantity in Stock: 3

(91-93 Points) A notable success in an extremely irregular vintage (even more so for Napa’s valley floor vineyards), the 2011 Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon possesses a deep ruby/plum/purple color, and a slightly lighter weight and less of a serious foundation of structure than the 2010. However, the wine’s purity and hints of kirsch, black currants, berry fruit and toasty oak are well-displayed and well-integrated into this seamlessly constructed effort. It is on a relatively fast evolutionary track so drink it over the next 10-15 years.  Wine Advocate #209, Oct 2013

2010 Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon Napa
Price: $650.00    Sale Price: $500.00
Quantity in Stock: 1

(98 Points)  Tasting the three most recent vintages of the Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon was not only a privilege, but also an intellectual and hedonistic turn-on. The 2010 Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon (100% Cabernet Sauvignon) is a magnificent wine. Full-bodied and opulent with terrific purity, an intriguing, gravelly, wet stone-like minerality, and a sensational perfume, it has a spectacular finish that lasted over 45 seconds, offering up copious quantities of black currants, black cherries, cedar and vanillin. It is one of the superstars of the vintage. It is accessible now because of the sweetness of the tannins, but make no mistake, there is plenty of structure underlying the luxurious fruit levels. It should drink well for 30+ years.

These have been enviable wines since I first started tasting them thanks primarily to Celia Welch, the consulting winemaker at this historic estate in Rutherford. They have added a quasi-second wine called M. Etain, which is brilliantly packaged. Of course, it is what’s in the bottle that really counts.  Wine Advocate #209, Oct 2013

2005 The Vineyard House Cabernet Sauvignon Napa MAGNUM
Price: $390.00    Sale $343.20
Quantity in Stock: 2

"The Vineyard House 2005 from Napa is a delicious Cab with loads of blackberry, black cherry, black currant and cassis liquor exploding in your mouth. There is a hint of wet stone on the long finish that is very appealing. The acidity is medium and the wine is nicely balanced on the palate. This fruit forward wine is a crowd pleaser and should age 5-7 years or more. It's a great first effort for Jeremy Nickel and we will surely see wonderful wine coming from Vineyard House in future vintages."  - Randa Warren (Master Sommelier)

2007 The Vineyard House Cabernet Sauvignon Napa
Price: $187.50    Sale $165.00
Quantity in Stock: 11

(92 Points) Jeremy Nickel, son of the late Gil Nickel, who founded Far Niente, farms this ten-acre vineyard in Oakville's Halter Valley, between the Mayacamas and Vaca mountains. He grew a tight, mineral-rich cabernet in 2007, a wine with the warmth of sun on stone. Intriguing flavors develop out of the tannin, with juicy, purple berried fruit and cool notes of conifers. This is pungent and savory, a wine to cellar for several years before decanting with lamb. Wine & Spirits Magazine

WIDY- Sommerston Wine Co. with Craig Becker