On deck for wine tasting next week at VRW:

Jeb Dunnuck 96 Points
2019 Kenzo Estate Ai Napa Cabernet

Checking in as a blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot, and 1% Malbec, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Ai boasts a rocking bouquet of red and black currants, smoked tobacco, iron, chocolate, and baking spices. Full-bodied, concentrated, and mouth-filling, it brings loads of fruit, has moderate acidity, ripe tannins, and a great finish. It's rock star bottle of wine to enjoy over the coming 15-20 years. $300

James Suckling 95 Points
2021 Paul Hobbs George Menini Estate Chardonnay

This is a dense and very limey chardonnay, with lemon-curd and crushed-stone aromas and flavors. It’s full-bodied and foursquare, with a solid structure and intense flavors. A mouthful of fruit. Chunky. Honeysuckle and nettles at the end. Agile for a big wine. Drink now or hold. $90

Jeb Dunnuck 95 Points
2020 Paul Hobbs Pinot Noir Goldrock Estate

The 2020 Pinot Noir Goldrock Estate takes on a darker fruit profile, with ripe black cherry, fresh potting soil, and root beer spice. In line with the nose, the palate is more grounded in nature, with black raspberry and layers of incense and spice that unfold harmoniously through its long finish. This is worth holding a couple years and drinking over the following 10 or more years. $90

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Taste 2015 Sauternes: Chateau Rieussec and Chateau Suduiraut at Vintage Reserve Wine (VRW) for $20 per person.
Tuesday, October 3rd. Available 12:00 noon -5:45 PM

Wine Advocate 96 Points
2015 Chateau Rieussec Sauternes

A blend of 86% Sémillon and 14% Sauvignon Blanc, the 2015 Rieussec reveals a bright, pale straw-gold color and is a little closed at this youthful stage, yet it offers wonderful purity and depth, featuring notes of lemon marmalade, orange blossoms, beeswax and acacia honey with hints of preserved kumquats and peach compote. Very elegant and fine in the medium to full-bodied mouth, it features a racy backbone cutting through the earthy and citrus layers, finishing long and spicy. $45/375ml.

Jeb Dunnuck 99 Points
2015 Chateau Suduiraut

A huge success in the vintage is the 2015 Château Suduiraut and this gem goes a long way towards showing how successful the sweet wines were in 2015. Offering a massive array of orange peel, honey, marmalade, flowers, and toasted nuts, this incredible wine hits the palate with a thunderous display of opulence, richness, and length, all while staying fresh, elegant, and seamless. It has a huge mid-palate and is reminiscent of the 2003, only with more freshness and delineation. $45/375ml

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Taste 2021 Paul Hobbs Crossbarn Sonoma Coast Chardonnay, 2019 Ehlers Napa Merlot and 2019 Ehlers Napa Cabernet at Vintage Reserve Wine (VRW) for $15 per person.
Wednesday, October 4th. Available 12:00 noon -5:45 PM

James Suckling 93 Points
2021 Paul Hobbs Crossbarn Sonoma Coast Chardonnay

A crisp and complex chardonnay with sliced apple, pie crust and hints of white peaches. Medium body. Lovely length. Delicious flavors. Excellent complexity. $27

2019 Ehlers Napa Merlot

Winemaker Notes: The Merlot is our crowd pleaser! Blended with Cabernet Sauvignon, which adds structure to the refreshing personality of the Merlot. The 2019 Ehlers Estate Merlot is medium ruby in color. Aromas of raspberry, red berry mix jam, fresh herbs, and vanilla. The palate is earthy mineral with forest floor, balanced smokiness, and red berry fruit. Great acidity and firm tannin structure. Concentrated flavors with a medium body. Ready to drink now. It will age exceptionally well for 10-15 more years. Unfined/Unfiltered. $69

2019 Ehlers Estate Napa Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker Notes: The 2019 Ehlers Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is a luscious wine and a great representation of the Napa Valley. Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc from our Estate vineyard dominate the blend, accompanied by Cabernet Sauvignon from carefully selected Howell Mountain and Napa vineyard sites. Deep purple, concentrated aromas of blackberries, mineral notes of graphite and smashed rocks, cedar, tobacco leaf, cassis, and dry herbs spice mix. Ample mouth feel, full-body, with firm tannins and great acid structure, that helps accentuate the flavors of berry compote, spices, and oak flavors like mocha. Very long finish. Enjoyable now but will age well for 15-20 more years. Unfined/Unfiltered. $77

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Taste Syrah: 2020 Unknown Brother Santa Barbara, 2020 Alban Patrina and 2022 Tensley Colson Canyon at Vintage Reserve Wine (VRW) for $15 per person.
Thursday, October 5th. Available 12:00 noon -5:45 PM

2020 Unknown Brother Santa Barbara Syrah

Winemaker Notes: The wine opens with a bouquet of lavender, wild blueberries, camphor oil, and bergamont. On the palate it is fresh and savory, with black cherry, Herbs de provence, melted licorice, and white pepper. Unique to this vintage are the spice notes of cardamon, cinnamon stick, graham cracker crust, and cloves that add depth and complexity. We held onto this vintage a little longer in bottle to allow all the components to mesh together. The wine gets better with air, so decanting is highly recommended. $60

2020 Alban Patrina Syrah

Notes from John Alban: This wine is among my favorites for this offering yet produced. It is dark, full of black and blue berries, coco powder, and immediately pleasing and pure. It is, in our opinion, a wonderful and delicious expression of our farm and farming. $60

Jeb Dunnuck 96-98 Points
2022 Tensley Syrah Colson Canyon Vineyard

The 2022 Syrah Colson Canyon Vineyard ratchets up the intensity and has a saturated purple hue as well as a killer nose of ripe black and blue fruits, graphite, ground pepper, and crushed stone-like minerality. Rich, concentrated, and powerful, it shines for its purity, has building tannins, and a great finish. $50

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Wine Spectator 93 Points
Green & Red Zinfandel Napa Valley Chiles Mill Vineyard 2017

A wine that suggests a sense of place, this is refined and just a hint rustic, which adds to the authenticity. Notes of cherry and pomegranate are laced with hints of white pepper and bay leaf. Drink now through 2030. 910 cases made. $42 Our Price $29.99 (Back in stock GT 10/3/23)

Wine Spectator 93 Points
Green & Red Zinfandel Napa Valley Chiles Canyon Vineyards 2021

Refined and elegant yet zesty, this Zinfandel has detail and presence, with layered raspberry and cherry flavors accented by tarragon and white pepper. Ends with fine-grained tannins. Drink now through 2032. 750 cases made. $32 Our Price $25.29 (Arrives GT 10/3/23)

Wine Advocate 98-100 Points
2020 Spottswoode Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

Tasted blind, in a lineup that included vintages back to 2010, a barrel sample of Spottswoode's 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon stood out as being one of the most exciting efforts. Full-bodied, ripe and rich without being overbearing, it delivers concentrated black cherry and cassis fruit framed by supple, velvety-textured tannins. It's long on the finish, with an attractively soft, dusty-loamy texture and no overt signs of a fire-troubled Napa vintage. $255/750ml and $540/magnum (Available GT)

Jeb Dunnuck 96+ Points
2021 Pisoni Estate Pinot Noir

The 2021 Pinot Noir comes entirely from the Pisoni Vineyard in the southern portion of the Santa Lucia Highlands. It was only partially destemmed and was raised in 68% new French oak. It's a truly gorgeous effort offering serious aromatics of cassis, darker raspberries, spicy oak, graphite, and crushed stone. Incredibly pure, vibrant, and precise aromatically, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a stacked mid-palate, lots of building tannins, and a great finish. This concentrated, focused, age-worthy beauty needs at least 2-3 years to integrate its structure and tannins and will evolve brilliantly over the following decade. Bravo! $110 (Limited)

Jeb Dunnuck 98+
2019 Shafer Hillside Select Napa Cabernet

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is another magical vintage for this cuvée. All Cabernet Sauvignon from hillside vineyards on the eastern side of Stags Leap, it offers a vivid purple hue as well as extraordinary notes of cassis, black raspberries, violets, camphor, and spring flowers, with perfectly integrated background oak. Full-bodied but not massive, it’s flawlessly balanced on the palate and has ultra-fine tannins, a seamless, elegant mouthfeel, and a great, great finish. It’s another 30- to 40-year wine from this incredible team that readers will absolutely love. $375 (Limited)

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Taste 2021 Pinot Noir: Flowers Sonoma Coast, Ken Wright Eola Amity Hills and Sea Smoke Southing Sta. Rita Hills at Vintage Reserve Wine (VRW) for $15 per person.
Friday, October 6th. Available 12:00 noon -5:45 PM

Wine Spectator 93 Points
Flowers Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 2021

This has racy, mouthwatering acidity coursing underneath the core notes of mulberry, bitter cherry and blackberry. Shows the streamlined tang of a coulis, while offering a range of additional bramble, anise and savory tea details through the finish. Delicious. Drink now through 2029. 27,000 cases made. $55

Wine Spectator 93 Points
Ken Wright Pinot Noir Eola-Amity Hills 2021

Grace meets structure and tension in this Pinot, which offers deep blueberry and raspberry flavors highlighted by crushed stone, forest floor and dusky spices. Ends with fine-grained tannins. Drink now through 2032. 2,261 cases made. $38

2021 Sea Smoke Southing Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir

Winemaker Notes: Each year, our goal for Southing is to create the ideal marriage of complexity and elegance. Southing exhibits aromas of fresh strawberry, rose water, Rainier cherry and subtle baking spices. The fine tannins and minerality are enhanced by our estate vineyard’s characteristic cool climate acidity. $125

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Taste 2021 Black Stallion Napa Chardonnay, 2019 Black Stallion Napa Cabernet and 2018 Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet at Vintage Reserve Wine (VRW) for $15 per person.
Saturday, October 7th. Available 12:00 noon -3:45 PM

James Suckling 92 Points
2021 Black Stallion Napa Chardonnay

Aromas of white peaches, quince, pear skin, beeswax and jasmine. Full-bodied and dry with chalky texture and vivid freshness to it. Hints of salted butter and crushed stones at the end. Drink now. $27

James Suckling 92 Points
2019 Black Stallion Napa Cabernet Sauvignon

A fragrant nose of mulberries, plums, cedar, cloves and vanilla. Medium-to full-bodied with fine, firm tannins and vivid acidity. Structured, with fruity character and a creamy texture. Chewy finish. Try from 2023. $36

2018 Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet

Winemaker Notes: Ruby in color, the 2018 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon has notes of cassis, caramel, juniper, and pomegranate. Lifted and vibrant on the nose, this wine is fresh on the palate with a juice, fruit-forward core. Its silky mouthfeel will provide drinking pleasure through 2044 given proper cellaring conditions. Blend:94.8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4.2% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc. $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