Highly Allocated Gems
Showing 541–549 of 623 results
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Seven Hills 2012 Merlot Seven Hills Vineyard
$39.99Walla Walla Valley Washington State
Wine Advocate 90 Rating
A wine this estate’s been making for the past 25 years, the 2012 Seven Hills Vineyard Merlot is a big, rich, chewy wine that offers ample cherry, currant, licorice and spice to go with a full-bodied, ripe and nicely tannic feel on the palate. Made from 100% Merlot that spent 20 months in 40% new French oak, it’s outstanding, and will have 10-15 years of longevity. SP17-6 -
Seven Hills 2013 Ciel du Cheval Vineyard
$49.99Red Mountain Washington State
Wine Advocate 90 Rating
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My favorite of the 2013s was the 2013 Ciel du Cheval Vineyard, which checks in as a blend of 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 14% Petit Verdot and the rest Cabernet Franc, aged in 40% new oak. One of the textured, concentrated and layered releases, it has lots of oak current showing, as well as notes of charred earth, black raspberry, currants and vanilla. Medium to full-bodied, balanced, with ripe, yet certainly present tannin, give bottles 2-4 years of cellaring and enjoy over the following decade. R16-1 SP17-1 -
Shafer 2016 Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon
$349.99Napa Valley
Jeb Dunnuck 100 Rating
Pure perfection, the prodigious 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select reveals an even deeper purple/blue hue as well as extraordinary notes of unsmoked tobacco, crushed rocks, graphite, crème de cassis, and blueberries. With a massive, full-bodied profile and a texture that builds incrementally on the palate, it has a stacked mid-palate, ultra-fine (yet lots of them) tannins, flawless balance, and a monster of a finish. It’s tight and closed at the moment, so hide bottles for a solid 7-8 years. It should age at a glacier pace. SP21-2 -
Shafer 2018 Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon
$349.99Napa Valley
Jeb Dunnuck 100 Rating
Incredible purity and precision, as well as opulence, define the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select, and this is as good as any Cabernet Sauvignon in the world today. Revealing a deep purple hue as well as a thrilling bouquet of pure crème de cassis, black raspberries, spring flowers, lead pencil shavings, and an incredible minerality, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a deep, layered, seamless texture, ample mid-palate depth, and a great finish. This is classic 2018 Napa Valley with its purity, freshness and precision as well as sensational concentration and perfectly integrated acidity, tannins, and alcohol. It delivers pleasure today yet warrants a solid 4-5 years of bottle age and is going to be a 30- to 40-year wine. SP31-3 -
Shafer Relentless 2019 Relentless Napa Valley
$99.99California
Jeb Dunnuck 96 Rating
The 2019 Relentless is mostly Syrah, yet the cuvée always includes a good bit of Petite Sirah, with 11% in the 2019. A deep purple-hued blockbuster of a Syrah, it offers loads of ripe blackberries, ground pepper, sappy herbs, and violet-like aromas and flavors. One of those wines that delivers richness and intensity with no sensation of weight of heaviness, it has terrific balance, ripe tannins, and a great finish. Enjoy bottles over the coming 10-15 years. R21-5 -
Shafer Vineyards 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select
$299.99Napa Valley California
Wine Advocate 98 Rating
I was able to taste four vintages of the estate’s flagship Cabernet Sauvignon, their Hillside Select. This first growth-like cuvée was first made in 1978 and always comes from their estate Hillside Vineyard just above their estate in Stags Leap. This is a 54-acre south-facing, amphitheater-like vineyard of thin, rocky, volcanic soils. Today the cuvée is always 100% Cabernet Sauvignon that spends upwards of 32 months in new French oak. It is consistently one of the greatest Cabernet Sauvignons in the world. Starting with their 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select, it boasts a deep, saturated purple hue as well as a heavenly bouquet of sweet blueberry and cassis fruits interwoven with plenty of graphite, tobacco, and lead pencil notes, with ample minerality emerging with time in the glass. This was a hot, low-yielding vintage for Napa, and while this beauty is massively concentrated, it’s also silky and seamless, with great tannins, no sense of over-ripeness or heaviness, and a finish that goes on for nearly a minute. This is a brilliant, incredibly sexy wine to enjoy over the coming 30-40 years. R27-4 -
Signorello Estate 2016 Padrone Cabernet Sauvignon
$149.99Napa Valley California
Wine Advocate 95 Rating
Made up of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Merlot (bottled in June 2018), the deep garnet-purple colored 2016 Padrone Proprietary Red Wine opens with youthful, very primary notes of red and black currants, crushed plums and black raspberries with touches of cinnamon stick, Marmite toast, pencil shavings, lavender and black soil. Medium-bodied with great vibrancy and freshness plus a fine-grained frame of tannins supporting the red and black fruits, it finishes with a lovely herbal lift. SP21-1 -
Silver Oak 2017 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
$134.99California
James Suckling 96 Rating
This is a big upgrade in finesse and clarity to such a popular, premium cabernet from Napa. It shows lots of blackberry, tar, cedar and oak-tree aromas that follow through to a full yet toned palate of fine, integrated tannins and a vivid finish. Owner David Duncan explained that the American oak they use in the wine for aging now comes 100% from their own barrel-making facilities, which tones down the vanilla character in the wine. Really impressive and delicious. It’s a joy to drink now, but can age. SP30-2 -
Sine Qua Non 2015 Grenache E
$499.99Eleven Confessions Vineyard California
Wine Advocate 100 Rating
This is a single-vineyard Grenache-dominated, barrel-selection blend coming from the Eleven Confessions Estate vineyard in Sta. Rita Hills. It bears Elaine Krankl’s initial and a portrait Manfred made of Elaine on the label. The blend is 82% Grenache, 12% Syrah, 5% Petite Syrah and 1% Viognier, and 56% was fermented using whole clusters. It was aged for around 38 months in French oak, 28% new. R18-2 SP19-1
