On deck for wine tasting next week at VRW:

Jeb Dunnuck 96 Points
2020 DuMOL Chardonnay Charles Heintz Vineyard Isobel

Layers of tropical fruit and herbs, along with medicinal herbs and saline, are found in the 2020 Chardonnay Charles Heintz Vineyard Isobel. The palate is rich, with compact concentration of green apple skin, lemon oil, and salty mineral earth. A long, persistent wine that is full of character, drink over the next 20 or so years. $75

Wine Advocate 94 Points
Louis Jadot Savigny-les-Beaune 1er Cru La Dominode Domaine Louis Jadot Pinot Noir 2020

The 2020 Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru La Dominode (Domaine Louis Jadot) is excellent, offering up aromas of raspberries and plums mingled with sweet spices, woodsmoke and raw cocoa. Medium to full-bodied, velvety and concentrated, with lively acids and a long, penetrating finish, it's seamless and complete. It's another fine rendition of a cuvée that's regularly among the domaine's high points. $75

Wine Spectator 94 Points
FERREN Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 2020

Seamless, showing round lemon curd, ripe peach, melon and baked apple flavors, with hints of brown sugar, spices and salted butter. Before the flavors settle, this reveals a freshness from the mouthwatering acidity and savory minerality that turns up the intensity and focus, creating more verve on the long, expressive finish. Drink now. —M.W. 272 cases made. $70

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WOW-Aged in the cellar to perfection!
2016 Miner Family SLH Sierra Mar Pinot Noir

Producer Notes: Sierra Mar, meaning Mountain Sea in Spanish, sits at just over 1,000 feet and is one of the highest altitude vineyards in Santa Lucia Highlands. This high elevation paired with the naturally thin soils pave the way for low yields of highly intense fruit. This powerful wine offers dark fruit and violet aromas with a smooth, toasted oak finish. $75 Internet Price $63.99 (GT and VRW Insider Price $32 per bottle)

Wine Spectator 91 Points
Bisci Verdicchio di Matelica 2021

Aromatic, with apple blossom and peach skin notes, this lightly zesty white reveals mouthwatering acidity, a briny streak of salinity and a pretty range of ripe Honeycrisp apple, pickled ginger and nectarine accents. Drink now through 2026. 7,226 cases made, 1,000 cases imported. $24 Our Price $16.99 (Available GT)

Wine Spectator 92 Points
SCHRAMSBERG Brut North Coast Mirabelle 31st Bottling NV

Plush and expressive, featuring fresh apple and cherry flavors, with brioche and hazelnut accents that glide on the alluring finish. Drink now. 8,600 cases made.—Tim Fish. $30 Our Price $25.95 (Available GT and VRW)

2021 Fait Main Napa Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker Notes: his unapologetically juicy, hedonistic wine celebrates all the corners of the Napa Valley. The nose shows rich strawberry, blackberry and chocolate notes that open up on the palate to a silky ripeness with excellent density. Velvety tannins support the full body and allow the long, fruit-filled finish to bloom. $120 (Available GT and VRW) Delicious!

2022 CADE Napa Sauvignon Blanc

Winemaker Notes: Our 2022 CADE Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley, has aromas of green apple, green melon, guava, floral, honeydew melon, lemon, pineapple, ripe pear, and yuzu. On the palate are flavors of lemon curd, key lime pie, grapefruit, lemon zest, and citrus. The wine is bright and fresh and has a remarkable vibrant acidity on the finish. $38 (Available GT and VRW)

Wine Spectator 92 Points
2019 Hahn Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands SLH Reserve

Elegant and burnished, with concentrated dark cherry, plum and berry flavors backed by rich acidity and medium-grained tannins. Asian spice notes and underbrush accents fill the finish. Drink now through 2026. 1,540 cases made. $43 (Back in stock GT and VRW)

Wine Enthusiast 95 Points
2019 Beringer Knight’s Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

Rich, softly tannic and saturated with black fruits, tobacco and dark chocolate, this full-bodied wine has a long life ahead. Ample flavors are gently but firmly held by fine-grained tannins that will need time to resolve and let more complexity shine through. Best after 2037. $50 Our Price $44.99 (Available GT and VRW)

Jeb Dunnuck 94 Points
2020 Chateau Kirwan Margaux

Lots of smoky oak, ripe blackcurrants, blueberries, tobacco, and chocolaty notes emerge from the 2020 Château Kirwan, a richly textured, medium to full-bodied Margaux. A wine that blossoms with time in the glass, it's a plush, sexy, yet brilliantly balanced 2020 offering velvety tannins and a great finish, and while the oak is preset right on opening, it integrated beautifully with air. This beauty is going to put a smile on your face any time over the coming 20-25 years. $65 Our Price $59.99 (Available GT)

Wine Spectator 92 Points
SUAVIA Soave Classico Monte Carbonare 2020

Silky and mouthwatering, this well-honed white expands on the palate with rich flavors of pineapple, blood orange granita, clover honey and lime blossoms, while remaining graceful and focused throughout. Delivers delicate spice and mineral notes on the long finish. Drink now through 2028. 3,500 cases made, 1,500 cases imported.—Alison Napjus. $30 Our Price $TBD (Arrives GT 4/27/23)

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Taste 2022 Cade Napa Sauvignon Blanc, 2021 Roar Garys’ SLH Pinot and 2019 Duckhorn Napa Cabernet at VRW for $15 per person.
Thursday, April 20th. Available 12:00 noon -5:45 PM

2022 CADE Napa Sauvignon Blanc

Winemaker Notes: Our 2022 CADE Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley, has aromas of green apple, green melon, guava, floral, honeydew melon, lemon, pineapple, ripe pear, and yuzu. On the palate are flavors of lemon curd, key lime pie, grapefruit, lemon zest, and citrus. The wine is bright and fresh and has a remarkable vibrant acidity on the finish. $38

2021 Roar Garys’ Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir

Winemaker Notes: Leather, tobacco, and cola in a dense, masculine cloak of ripe dark berries makes one imagine sipping this in an old 19th-century library. This wine has a refined richness that stands out, and ages beautifully. $80

James Suckling 92 Points
2019 Duckhorn Napa Cabernet Sauvignon

Aromas of wet stone, gravel and blackcurrant. Full-bodied with fine, velvety tannins. Juicy, bright and fresh. Lovely dark fruit, with gravel and wet-stone notes adding very nice definition. Chocolate finish. Drink or hold. $75

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Taste 2020 Maldonado Parr Vineyard Chardonnay, 2016 Miner Family Sierra Mar SLH Pinot Noir and 2019 Cade Howell Mt Estate Cabernet at (VRW) for $15 per person.
Friday, April 21st. Available 12:00 noon -5:45 PM

Wine Spectator 92 Points
Maldonado Chardonnay Sonoma County Parr Vineyard 2020

Packs flavors of salted butterscotch, dried honeysuckle and peach preserves that are generous and ripe, but the fresh acidity, floral highlights and notes of spices provide wonderful restraint and plenty of complexity on the finish. Drink now. 1,000 cases made. $38

2016 Miner Family SLH Sierra Mar Pinot Noir

Producer Notes: Sierra Mar, meaning Mountain Sea in Spanish, sits at just over 1,000 feet and is one of the highest altitude vineyards in Santa Lucia Highlands. This high elevation paired with the naturally thin soils pave the way for low yields of highly intense fruit. This powerful wine offers dark fruit and violet aromas with a smooth, toasted oak finish. $75

Wine Advocate 94+
2019 Cade Howell Mt Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

The 2019 Cade Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is blended of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 3% Malbec. Deep garnet-purple in color, it charges out of the glass with vibrant black cherry preserves, wild blueberries and mulberries scents, giving way to a core of cassis and star anise plus a waft of chocolate box. Full-bodied, concentrated and packed with bright black fruits, it has a fine-grained texture and long, energetic finish. $135

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Taste 2018 Patz and Hall Sonoma Coast Pinot, 2019 Louis Martini Napa Cabernet and 2019 Sojourn Oakville Cabernet at (VRW) for $15 per person.
Saturday, April 22nd. Available 12:00 noon -3:45 PM

2018 Patz and Hall Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

Winemaker Notes: Eighteen small, independent family-owned vineyard sites come together in this gorgeous display of Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. This is an approachable Pinot Noir showing alluring freshness and purity. The nose displays intense aromas of Bing cherry, strawberry, dried rose petal and licorice notes. Nicely dense and full on the palate, the fresh acidity and bright red fruit flavors resolve on a juicy, detailed finish. This 2018 offering has the essential elegance, purity and complexity that defines great Pinot Noir. $48

Wine Advocate 90 Points
2019 Louis Martini Napa Cabernet Sauvignon

Martini's 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley comes from a multitude of Gallo-owned properties and includes about one-fourth purchased fruit. Marked by notes of almost peppery-spicy oak and ripe cassis, it's full-bodied, ripe and generous, still not that rich or textured but a clear step up from Martini's Sonoma County Cabernet, with a long, mouthwatering finish. $50

Jeb Dunnuck 93 Points
2019 Sojourn Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville is sunny with cassis, violet candy, and sweet tobacco. The palate is full and reveals a gripping structure that lifts cleanly off the palate. Black plum and graphite fill out the mid-palate, with dried herbs on the finish. Hold 2-4 years and drink 2024-2032. $90

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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
Tuesday-Friday 10:30 AM-5:30 PM
Saturday 10:30 AM-4:00 PM