On Deck for wine tasting at VRW next week:

Wine Spectator 92 Points
STAG'S LEAP WINE CELLARS Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley Aveta 2021

Distinctive, fresh and fragrant, with notes of lemon verbena and lemongrass up front, with touches of fresh-grated ginger, yuzu and grapefruit that linger with terrific intensity on the finish. Drink now. 8,500 cases made.—M.W. $38

Jeb Dunnuck 93 Points
2020 Paul Hobbs Pinot Noir Russian River Valley

The quintessential 2020 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley is flush with cola spice, grenadine, and sappy forest floor, while the palate opens with generous ripe red fruits of cherry, beet root, and cinnamon. $70

Jeb Dunnuck 93 Points
2020 Paul Hobbs Chardonnay Russian River Valley

The 2020 Chardonnay Russian River Valley is sunny with golden pineapple, Meyer lemon, and wet stone. It has a delicately rounded feel on the palate without being weighted down, with fresh pear, orange pith, and green almond. Classic and elegantly expressive of the Russian River Valley, drink it over the next 6 years. $60

Wine Spectator 93 Points
Piper-Heidsieck Extra Brut Champagne Essentiel NV (2022)

Toasty on the nose, with hints of grilled nut, smoke and spices transitioning on the palate to accent flavors of baked nectarine, candied ginger and mandarin orange peel. Harmonious and expressive, with a fine, raw, silky mousse and pretty lime blossom and graphite accents on the finish. Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. Disgorged November 2021. Drink now. 1,347 cases imported. $70

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Taste Wine Spectator’s Number 5 of the 2022 Top 100 at Vintage Reserve Wine (VRW) for $15 per person.
Tuesday, December 13th. Available 12:00 noon -5:45 PM

Wine Spectator 96 Points
Antinori Toscana Tignanello 2019 (#5 Wine Spectator Top 100)

A supple, elegant red highlighted by bright cherry, black currant, violet, tobacco, iron and oak spice aromas and flavors. Though fluid and seemingly approachable now, this is well-structured and shows the balance to age. Fine length. Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2025 through 2042. 25,800 cases made, 5,000 cases imported. $145

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Taste 2020 Coudoulet de Beaucastel and 2020 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape at Vintage Reserve Wine (VRW) for $15 per person.
Wednesday, December 14th. Available 12:00 noon -5:45 PM

Jeb Dunnuck 90-92 Points
2020 Chateau De Beaucastel Cotes Du Rhone Coudoulet De Beaucastel

A year-in, year-out winner, the 2020 Côtes Du Rhône Coudoulet De Beaucastel offers outstanding quality as well as classic notes of darker fruits, roasted herbs, truffly earth, and some meaty, peppery, gamey nuances. With wonderful purity of fruit, ripe tannins, and a balanced, elegant mouthfeel, it will have over a decade of longevity. $30

Jeb Dunnuck 94-96 Points
2020 Chateau Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape

The 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape was scheduled to be bottled the week after this tasting, and it's the usual blend of 35% Mourvedre, 25% Grenache, and the rest Syrah, Counoise, and other permitted varieties. While the estate compares this to their 2016, it reminds me slightly of their 1990 and has a wonderful perfume of red, blue, and black fruits, as well as sappy garrigue, saddle leather, and ground pepper. It's beautifully textured, medium to full-bodied, has a good sense of freshness, and fine tannins, as well as a tight, focused style on the palate that bodes well for longevity. It deserves 7-8 years of bottle age and should be long-lived. $105

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Taste the wines of Staglin Family Vineyard at Vintage Reserve Wine (VRW) for $30 per person.
Thursday, December 15th. Available 12:00 noon -5:45 PM

2019 Staglin Family Salus Napa Cabernet

Winemaker Notes: Welcome to High Definition Cabernet – the 2019 Salus is a generous and deliciously detailed display of exuberant dark fruits dynamically supported by a range of floral, earthy and herbaceous characters. Lifted floral notes slide into resinous rosemary underlain by tilled earth and powdered porcini mushrooms complexed with a puff of gunpowder, graphite and criollo cigar wrapper. Bursting blackcurrant and ripe raspberry deepened by crushed cacao nibs and fresh licorice root

envelop the palate before sliding silkily through a delightfully delineated and lengthy exit. The hint of grip and grit on the finish portends a rewarding and delicious life for this wine. $115

Wine Advocate 97
2016 Staglin Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate bursts out of the glass with beautiful black cherry compote, warm cassis and freshly crushed blackberries scents plus touches of chargrill, violets, dark chocolate and pencil shavings and a waft of English lavender. Full-bodied, the palate features great intensity combined with fantastic freshness, textured by soft, finely grained tannins and lifted by the most gorgeous floral perfume, finishing long and layered. Beautiful wine. $300

Antonio Galloni, Vinous 97 Points
2018 Staglin Rutherford Estate Cabernet

Staglin's 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate favors energy and tension over volume, at least at this point in its life. Bright, aromatic and sumptuous, the 2018 is fabulous right out of the gate. Inky red/purplish fruit, lavender, rose petal, cedar and menthol race across the palate. The 2018 is bright and focused from start to finish, with impeccable balance, well-judged oak and tons of sheer appeal. It is one of the best recent editions I can remember tasting. Winemaker Fredrik Johansson captured the magic of the 2018 vintage and put it all into the bottle. I can't wait to see how this ages. $300

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Wine Enthusiast 95 Points
2021 Alma de Cattleya Sonoma Pinot Noir

This appellation blend by Bibiana Gonzalez Rave is a tremendously complex and simply delicious wine for a fair price. Aromas of cinnamon, sumac and raspberry paste are juicy yet dark and serious on the nose. There's a firm grip to the sip that frames the rich black raspberry core, with flavors of thyme, sage and cracked pepper adding more nuance. $35 Our Price $

James Suckling 99 Points
2019 Opus One

The purity of fruit is really something else here, with currants and fresh flowers, such as violets and roses. Flower stems as well. Fantastic length and structure to the wine, with tightness and focus. Wonderful fruit. Graceful. A blend of 78% cabernet sauvignon, 8% merlot, 7% petit verdot, 6% cabernet franc and 1% malbec. Try after 2028. Internet Price $389.99 (Available GT)

Additional Scores: WA 97-99, JD 96-98, WS 95

Wine Advocate 96 Points
2018 Venge Vineyards Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon explodes with crème de cassis, baked plums and Black Forest cake scents, plus hints of candied violets, clove oil, cedar and unsmoked cigars. Big, full-bodied and richly fruited, the palate has a firm and grainy frame to support the generous black fruits and spicy accents, finishing very long. $205 (Available GT)

James Suckling 95 Points
2019 Pahlmeyer Jayson Napa Cabernet Sauvignon

A plush, full-bodied red with currant, olive, walnut and chocolate-nut character. It’s full and layered with so much unctuous fruit, but not heavy nor overpowering. Delicious and satisfying now, but will age nicely. $100 (Back in stock GT and VRW)

Wine Spectator 93 Points
Rudd Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Crossroads 2019

A solid, direct style, with red and black currant preserves that meld steadily into a backdrop of singed vanilla, cedar and warm earth. Features flashes of humus and menthol, too, which provide range. Drink now through 2032. 3,420 cases made. $80 (Arrives GT 12/14/22)

Wine Spectator 94 Points
Hudson VineyardsChardonnay Napa Valley Carneros 2020

Stunning, showing a generous and smooth mix of vibrant, juicy fruit with lemon curd, peach and Fuji apple, hints of dried tarragon, a touch of sea salt on ripe melon and a smidge of buttery pastry on the long finish. Drink now through 2028. 1,080 cases made. $75 (Arrives GT 12/14/22)

Wine Enthusiast 94 Points
2020 Matthews Winery Cabernet Sauvignon

The aromas are thoroughly captivating, with notes of scorched earth, cocoa, black currant, graphite and bittersweet chocolate. Plush, polished, seamless fruit flavors follow. There's a sophistication and intensity to it all that is mesmerizing. $32 Internet Price $27.49 (Available GT and VRW)

Antonio Galloni, Vinous 96 Points
2019 Plumpjack Oakville Cabernet

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is a sumptuous, heady wine. It possesses tremendous richness and pure power from the outset. Inky dark fruit, mocha, espresso, leather and licorice infuse the 2019 with notable character. This deep, potent Cabernet delivers the goods, big time. $168 (Arrives GT 12/14/22)

Wine Advocate 97 points * 19 Chateau Brane-Cantenac, Margaux

Derived exclusively from the château's holdings on the deep gravel soils of the plateau of Brane, the 2019 Brane-Cantenac has turned out brilliantly and merits a special effort to seek out. Wafting from the glass with aromas of wild berries, pencil shavings, violets, sweet loamy soil and cardamon, it's medium to full-bodied, layered and concentrated, with lively acids, ripe tannins and a beautifully seamless, perfumed profile. Retaining all the estate's signature elegance but with an extra dimension of depth and intensity, it's the finest Brane-Cantenac of the modern era and one of the great successes of the 2019 vintage. $89 (Arrives GT 12/14/22)

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Taste 2017 Dehlinger Altamont Pinot, 2018 Beaulieu Vineyards Tapestry Reserve and 2018 Cliff Lede Magic Nights Napa Cabernet at Vintage Reserve Wine (VRW) for $15 per person.
Friday, December 16th. Available 12:00 noon -5:45 PM

Antonio Galloni, Vinous 93 Points
2017 Dehlinger Pinot Noir Altamont

The 2017 Pinot Noir Altamont is a wine of real breadth. Dark cherry, plum, lavender, spice and hard candy all flesh out in the glass. Rich, plush and enveloping, the Altamont captures all of the natural intensity of the year. A touch of stems adds character, but is not especially evident. $62

James Suckling 94 Points
2018 Beaulieu Vineyards Tapestry Reserve

This is layered, with chewy tannins and attractive blackcurrant and blackberry character. Chocolate and walnut highlights. Full and flavorful, but not heavy in any sense of the word. Cabernet sauvignon, merlot, petit verdot and cabernet franc. Better in a year or two. $65.

Wine Advocate 94+
2018 Cliff Lede Napa Cabernet Sauvignon Magic Nights

Blended of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot and 3% Merlot, the deep garnet-purple colored 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Magic Nights prances out of the glass with showy notes of crème de cassis, blueberry coulis and chocolate-covered cherries plus hints of garrigue, pencil lead and beef drippings. Full-bodied, the palate is jam-packed with muscular, energetic black fruits, supported by firm, ripe tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and savory. $110

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Taste 2020 Smith and Hook Cabernet, 2019 Kenefick Ranch Chris’s Cuvee Napa Cabernet and 2018 Merus Napa Cabernet at (VRW) for $15 per person.
Saturday, December 17th. Available 12:00 noon -3:45 PM

Wine Enthusiast 92 Points
2020 Smith and Hook Central Coast Cabernet Sauvignon

This widely available Cab is always hedonistically satisfying, clicking all the rich and delicious buttons for a reliably enjoyable experience. Aromas of cassis, caramel and black cherry cola on the nose lead into a creamy palate where polished tannins present hefty blackberry flavors, with marjoram, wood smoke and sagebrush elements adding complexity. $25

2019 Kenefick Ranch Chris’s Cuvee Cabernet

Winemaker Notes: Aromatics of raspberry hard candies, underlined by fine dark chocolate shavings and cigar box. The palate is dark berry preserve supported by woven dusty fine tannins. Good to drink now and will cellar well for the next 10-15 years. $65

ANTONIO GALLONI 95 POINTS
2018 Merus Napa Cabernet Sauvignon

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon is a dense, full-throttle wine. A blast of inky dark fruit, chocolate, spice, new leather, lavender, graphite, and dried herbs makes a strong opening statement. There's not a ton of subtlety, but the 2019 is undeniably beautiful and vivid. It's unapologetically flamboyant though, and will be appreciated most by readers who enjoy this style. $155

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Vintage Reserve Wine (VRW)
1552 E. Champlain Drive, Ste 109 Fresno, CA 93720
Via Montana Center (NE Corner Shepherd and Champlain-Two doors south of Big 5) www.vintagereserve.biz 559-878-3953
Tuesday-Friday 12:00 Noon-6:00 PM
Saturday 12 Noon-4:00 PM

The Grape Tray (GT)
6023 N. Palm Avenue Fresno, CA 93704
Opus One Center (NW Corner Bullard and Palm)
www.grapetray.com 559-226-6828
Monday-Friday 10:30 AM-5:30 PM
Saturday 10:30 AM-4:00 PM