On deck for wine tasting next week at VRW:

Vinous 94 Points
2021 Walter Hansel Cahill Lane Pinot Noir

The 2021 Pinot Noir Cahill Lane Vineyard is a nuanced, sensual wine. Bright red/purplish fruit, blood orange, spice, mint and hard candy infuse the 2021 with lovely depth. This mid-weight, pliant Pinot is a real charmer. Bright acids and sweet floral accents are wonderful complements to a core of Russian River fruit. $46

2021 Hourglass HG III Proprietary Red

Winemaker Notes: The 2021 HGIII is the most complex and layered vintage to date. Explosive aromatics of blackberry, Bing cherry and pomegranate intertwine with savory layers of pink peppercorn, fennel and crushed rose petals. The palate presents rich tones of crème de cassis, black cherry and baker’s chocolate, which evolve into secondary characteristics of red currant, vanilla bean and pipe tobacco. A beautiful balance of precise natural acidity with a weighted yet broad, silky mouthfeel. $105/magnum

The Wine Independent 93 Points
2022 Pride Mountain Vineyard Chardonnay

The 2022 Chardonnay has delicately played, soft-spoken scents of apple butter, lemongrass, and persimmons with hints of sea spray, marzipan, and beeswax. The medium to full-bodied palate is elegant and refreshing, with a silky texture and a pure, citrusy lift on the finish. $48

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Taste 2019 Tolaini Al Passo Toscana, 2018 LUIGI PIRA Barolo Marenca and 2015 Altesino Brunello di Montalcino at Vintage Reserve Wine for $15 per person. (We will open one magnum of 2015 Altesino for this tasting)
Tuesday, February 20th. Available 12:00 noon -5:45 PM

James Suckling 93 Points
Tolaini Al Passo Toscana 2019

A firm, polished red with subtle blackberry, blueberry and violet aromas, as well as some cedar, following through to a full body with fresh acidity, chewy tannins and a linear finish. Needs a couple of years to open. Try after 2024. $27

Wine Spectator 93 Points
LUIGI PIRA Barolo Marenca 2018

This Barolo flashes its fruity side, with bright cherry and raspberry flavors accented by rose, tobacco and a hint of black pepper. Firms up yet remains vibrant, with a lingering, spicy aftertaste. Best from 2025 through 2042. —B.S. 200 cases imported $78

Wine Advocate 95
2015 Altesino Brunello di Montalcino, Magnum

The Altesino 2015 Brunello di Montalcino shows beautiful depth and latitude, with broad fruit aromas of dark cherry and cassis that recall the warmth and golden sunlight of the vintage. The wine is deceivingly streamlined in terms of mouthfeel, but that slim and buttoned-down backbone supports a broad range of flavors and sensations, from lavender essence and camphor ash to moist soil and toasted spice. All of these elements are delivered with impressive harmony and unity, and I expect that this wine will continue on a slow, steady and satisfying aging trajectory over the next 10 years or more. Fruit is sourced from across 21 hectares of vines with tufaceous limestone soils and Alberese rock, which contributes to the freshness and balanced structure of the wine. The wine was bottled in June 2019 (with 150,000 bottles made), and this wine was released in January 2020. $130/magnum

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Taste Chardonnay: 2019 Iconoclast Russian River, 2022 Kistler Sonoma Mountain and 2019 Arista Winery UV El Diablo Vineyard at Vintage Reserve Wine (VRW) for $20 per person.
Wednesday, February 21st. Available 12:00 noon -5:45 PM

2019 Iconoclast Russian River Chardonnay

Winemaker Notes: Iconoclast Chardonnay is thoughtfully crafted. Nine months of aging in French oak reveal hints of apple pie spice. With crisp acidity, a great mid-palate and perfect balance all of which epitomize the high quality of Russian River Chardonnay. $30

2022 Kistler Sonoma Mountain Chardonnay

Winemaker Notes: The wines from 2022, the second of three consecutive cooler vintages for Kistler, offer a distinct character of freshness and a perfect sense of being just ripe throughout. The growing season could very well be described as being verdant. Good rains that moved them away from but not entirely out of the drought in the winter led to a cool wet spring and a mild summer with wetting rains across both seasons. Naturally low crops and a clement tone to the late summer weather led to good concentration and acid retention in the fruit. The winery avoided the pronounced Labor Day heat wave, finishing the last of our picks as it settled in thereby capturing the fresh nature of the vintage. $90

Jeb Dunnuck 95 Points
2019 Arista Winery Chardonnay UV El Diablo Vineyard

The 2019 Chardonnay UV El Diablo Vineyard is flush with fresh green apple fruit, Meyer lemon, dusty earth, and flinty reduction. Full-bodied and rich with texture, the palate is ripe with pineapple candy, vanillin, and baking spice. This was a solid wine to start the flight. Drink over the next 15 years. $100

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Taste 2021 Jaffurs Petite Sirah Thompson Vineyard, 2021 Turley Hayne Petite Syrah and 2020 Jaffurs Syrah Upslope at Vintage Reserve Wine (VRW) for $20 per person.
Thursday, February 22nd. Available 12:00 noon -5:45 PM

Jeb Dunnuck 93 Points
2021 Jaffurs Petite Sirah Thompson Vineyard

The 2021 Petite Sirah Thompson Vineyard is a perennial winner. Coming all from the Thompson Vineyard in the Alisos Canyon region of Santa Barbara County and brought up in 18% new American oak, its deep purple hue is followed by a beautiful array of red, black, and blue fruits interwoven with cedarwood, flowery incense, and peppery herbs. It's rich and full-bodied, with beautiful fruit and fine tannins. This is one incredibly classy Petite Sirah that has plenty of up-front appeal yet, I suspect, the balance and structure to evolve for well over a decade. $45

Wine Advocate 96 Points
2021 Turley Hayne Petite Syrah

The 2021 Petite Syrah Hayne Vineyard comes from vines planted in 1953. Opaque ruby-black in color, this has some rubbery touches on the nose that give way with time to blackcurrant, garrigue, cocoa powder, laurel leaves and charcuterie. The palate is lighter on its feet than the nose leads you to believe, with alluringly floral flavors and soft herbal undertones. It has a surprisingly refined texture, impressive freshness and a very long finish. Offer it 3-5 years in bottle. $90

Jeb Dunnuck 99 Points
2020 Jaffurs Syrah Upslope

Lastly, the 2020 Syrah Upslope is the flagship of the estate and comes from a cellar selection of the single vineyards. It was co-fermented with 98% Syrah and 2% Viognier and aged in 60% new French oak. Offering the purity of the Larner Vineyard as well as additional peppery, gamey nuances, its deep purple hue is followed by a smorgasbord-like array of red, blue, and black fruits as well as full-bodied, unctuous layers of peppercorns, gamey meats, iron, and bouquet garni. With just about off-the-charts purity, a deep, layered mid-palate, and perfect balance, this awesome Syrah can be enjoyed any time over the coming 15 years or so. $80

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Wine Advocate 92+
2021 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Klamm Riesling Kabinett

The 2021 Niederhäuser Klamm Riesling Kabinett is from volcanic soils and comes pure and refined yet intense and spicy on the nose, with notes of crushed stones and salts. Lush and racy on the palate, this is a light yet intense and juicy, piquant and stimulatingly grippy Kabinett that is also a bit too rich for the predicate, but it's a fascinating Riesling again. 9% stated alcohol. Screw cap. Tasted in July 2022. $30 Our Price $25.99 (Available GT and VRW)

2021 Pride Mountain Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker Notes: Blackberry, currant and plum lead to seductive flavors of cedar box and summer savory. The tannins are mouthfilling and luxurious in the way that only mountain fruit can achieve. The balance is precise, offering enough tension to intrigue the senses and welcoming you to another sip. The acid that so elegantly frames the richness of this wine will allow it to age gracefully and completely. Drink early and often but be sure to lay down enough to appreciate its progression for the next 10 – 25 years. 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7.5% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 1.5% Cabernet Franc $82 (Arrives GT 2/21/24)

Jeb Dunnuck 92 Points
2021 Pride Mountain Vineyards Merlot

Lots of red plums, darker chocolate, and tobacco notes emerge from the 2021 Merlot, a beautifully textured, medium-bodied Pomerol look-alike that has fine tannins, notable purity, and a great finish. It's beautifully done and an utterly delicious, satisfying Merlot to drink over the coming decade. $69 (Arrives GT 2/21/24)

Wine Spectator 90 Points
Bodegas Beronia Rioja Reserva 2018

A classy red, fresh and fragrant, with notes of bay leaf, pepper and tar-tinged mineral accenting crushed cherry and blackberry fruit flavors. Shows good focus, with lightly chalky tannins in a medium-bodied frame. Tempranillo, Mazuelo and Graciano. Drink now through 2026. 50,000 cases made, 3,500 cases imported. $25 Our Price $17.49 (Available GT and VRW)

Wine Advocate 93 Points
Bodegas y Viñedos Raúl Pérez Bierzo Tinto ‘Ultreia St. Jacques’ 2021

The biggest volume of the winery is the 2021 Ultreia Saint Jacques, which represents some 170,000 bottles, and according to Raúl Pérez, it's the most difficult wine to make here. They now work a lot to produce this wine, a blend of 11 wines selected from the 17 they made. It's a wine that represents Bierzo and is from a year when they used more grapes from sandy soils. It has 13.16% alcohol and a pH of 3.66; it's serious and restrained but juicy and easy to drink. Seventy percent of the wine matured in barrel and the rest in troncoconic oak vats. $30 Our Price $19.99 (Available GT and VRW)

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Taste Cabernet Sauvignon: 2018 Kiona Red Mountain, 2019 Stags Leap Winery Napa and 2018 Taub Family Rutherford at Vintage Reserve Wine (VRW) for $15 per person.
Friday, February 23rd. Available 12:00 noon -5:45 PM

2018 Kiona Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker Notes: This authoritative wine shows why Red Mountain has a reputation as a powerhouse Cabernet Sauvignon producer capable of going toe-to-toe with the world's best. Fine-grain tannin, pure red and dark fruit, and deep color abound. Red Mountain produces balanced Cabernet Sauvignon with impeccable geographical specificity and intrinsic appeal. $25

James Suckling 93 Points
2019 Stags Leap Winery Napa Cabernet Sauvignon

Lovely aromas of blackcurrant, blackberry, ground spice and anise. Full-bodied with fine, silky tannins. Juicy and vibrant on the palate with lovely balance and intensity. Drinking well now, but can definitely age. Drink or hold. $60

Wine Enthusiast 93
2018 Taub Family Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon

Well structured and dense with fruit and oak-spice flavors, this full-bodied wine wraps significant velvety tannins around black cherries, black currant and mint notes. Perfumed with cedar and cinnamon on the nose, the wine is smooth on the midpalate and lingers on the finish $70

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Taste 2022 Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc Russian River Valley, 2021 Elk Cove Five Mountain Pinot Noir and 2021 Merry Edwards Russian River Pinot at Vintage Reserve Wine (VRW) for $15 per person.
Saturday, February 24th. Available 12:00 noon -3:45 PM

Wine Spectator 95 Points
Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc Russian River Valley 2022

A stunning white, this leaps out of the glass with aromatic mango, orange blossom and salted ripe melon flavors. Gains complexity from grilled peach, lemon oil, savory litsea oil and toasted herb elements, with a fleshy, creamy texture and fresh acidity. Drink now through 2029. 15,000 cases made.—M.W. $50

Wine Advocate 94 Points
2021 Elk Cove Five Mountain Pinot Noir

Medium ruby-purple, the 2021 Pinot Noir Five Mountain has deep aromas of cranberries, red cherries, black tea leaves, charcuterie and bitters. The medium-bodied palate explodes with concentrated, perfumed fruits. All that generosity is supported by silky tannins and bright, mouthwatering acidity that calls you in for another sip on the long, layered, spicy finish. What a lovely expression this vintage! $55

James Suckling 93 Points
2021 Merry Edwards Russian River Pinot

Lots of focused tannins and dark fruits such as cherries and strawberries. Hibiscus. Very clear and precise. Full to medium body. Very fine and clean tannins. Orange peel. Linear and racy finish. $56

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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