On deck for wine tasting next week at VRW:

2022 Caterwaul Napa Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker Notes: Our 2022 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon continues to deliver complexity and depth representative of fruit that is usually destined for single-vineyard bottlings. Inky dark purple in the glass, this wine lends aromatics of ripe cherry, dusky violets, and baking spice. The near-sweetness of roasted meats on the nose causes a mouthwatering reaction. Rich, opulent and full-bodied, the initial impact rewards the sip with a coating of dense marionberry compote, toasted oak and baking chocolate. Fine tannins frame and blend with a balanced acidity to create a lasting finish. This wine is clearly ready to shine out of the gate, and has the horsepower to drink well into the future if a bottle can be tucked away in the cellar. $55

2021 Leviathan Proprietary Red

Winemaker Notes: The 2021 Leviathan reveals distinct aromas of blackberry bramble, black cherry, and chaparral. Savory spices and star anise meld with mineral, graphite, bay, and laurel reflective of our rocky Northern California terrain. With finely structured tannins, this wine is silky and elegant-yet persistent. It is approachable now and built to cellar for 10-plus years. 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 10% Petite Sirah, 6% Syrah, 6% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc. $40

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Taste 2023 Rose: La Bernarde Cotes de Provence Les Hauts de Luc, Tablas Creek Patelin de Tablas and Roger Domaine du Carrou Sancerre at Vintage Reserve Wine (VRW) for $15 per person.
Tuesday, July 16th. Available 12:00 noon -5:45 PM

2023 La Bernarde Cotes de Provence Les Hauts de Luc Rose

Winemaker Notes: Bright and minerally focused, displaying blood orange rind, wild strawberry and delicate floral aromas in the glass. Energetic and precise on the palate, offering raspberry, red currant, pomelo, nectarine and crushed rocks. $21

Wine Enthusiast 93 Points
2023 Tablas Creek Patelin de Tablas Rosé

Soft peach, watermelon and rose petal aromas hold their poise for days on the nose of this blend of 71% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre, 8% Vermentino and 1% Counoise. The palate is energetic and and stony in texture, offering crisp pomegranate and orange peel flavors. $28

2023 Roger Domaine du Carrou Sancerre Rose

Winemaker Notes: This wine comes from the highest single vineyard in all of Bué, and this cold climate shows in the gorgeously pure and tense flavors of crushed red berries, pomelo zest, and cherries. The saline finish is pure, silky and endlessly refreshing. 100% Pinot Noir. $28

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Taste 2022 Aubert Chardonnay Sonoma Coast UV-SL Vineyard and 2021 TOR Cabernet Sauvignon Vaca Ridge at Vintage Reserve Wine (VRW) for $30 per person. (Limited: We will open one bottle of each wine for this tasting)
Wednesday, July 17th. Available 12:00 noon -5:45 PM

Lisa Perrotti-Brown,
The Wine Independent 97-99 points
2022 Aubert Chardonnay Sonoma Coast UV-SL Vineyard

The 2022 UV-SL Vineyards Chardonnay was tasted as a barrel sample. Super intense notes of lime leaves, green mango, and green apples jump from the glass with hints of wet pebbles, honeysuckle, and allspice. The full-bodied palate is so light on its feet, with vibrant citrus and mineral sparks and a lively backbone to lift the long yeasty/zesty finish. This vineyard is named after one of Sonoma’s most reputable vineyard managers, Ulises Valdez Sr. (UV), who passed away recently. The site is on Stoetz Lane (SL), only six miles from the Pacific Ocean, up on the hills around Graton and Occidental. Aubert and Valdez Sr. collaborated on the planting of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir here. There's a real mix of heritage clones here, making it quite complex. Around 2,000 cases will be made. CA Market Price $108-$230.

Jeb Dunnuck 94 Points
2021 TOR Cabernet Sauvignon Vaca Ridge

The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Vaca Ridge is a big, ripe, sexy wine offering both red and blue fruits with some chocolaty oak and spicy, incense nuances. A blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Cabernet Franc, it has good mid-palate depth, ripe, velvety, yet building tannins, and a great finish. It's certainly impeccably made, and I love its purity and overall approachable, textured style. I would drink bottles over the coming 10-12 years, but I wouldn't be surprised to see it keep longer. It's another great value in this lineup. $150

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Taste Pinot Noir: 2021 Carmel Road MONTEREY, 2022 Alma Cattleya Sonoma and 2022 Rochioli Russian River Valley at Vintage Reserve Wine (VRW) for $15 per person.
Thursday, July 18th. Available 12:00 noon -5:45 PM

2021 Carmel Road MONTEREY PINOT NOIR

Our 2021 Monterey Pinot Noir has bright cherry aromas that are layered with notes of wild strawberries and black tea. On the mouth, you get juicy black cherry flavors and notes of cola with hints of vanilla, toasted oak and well balanced tannins. A silky texture leads to a long finish. $18

2022 Alma Cattleya Sonoma Pinot Noir

Winemaker Notes: Harnessed within its medium ruby core, this Pinot Noir packs pure aromas of berry pie, pomegranate, and spicy sandalwood. Rich and textured on the palate, the senses are dazzled with fruit driven flavors of macerated blackberry and mulberry that pair seamlessly with more savory notes of dried herbs and hints of fresh earth. The youthful acidity and fine-grained tannin offer an exciting and approachable finish to this luscious wine. $30

Wine Spectator 92 Points
2022 Rochioli Pinot Noir Russian River Valley

Plump and juicy, this lush crowd-pleaser offers delicious cherry and raspberry compote notes laced with singed vanilla, red tea and sandalwood accents. Drink now through 2029. 1,321 cases made. $98

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2023 Château du Seuil COTEAUX D’AIX EN PROVENCE ROSÉ La Chapelle

Winemaker Notes: This is a lacy and silky rosé with fresh-picked red berry and orange zest notes. Lively redcurrant, raspberry and nectarine add complexity, leading to a juicy and zippy sea spray finish. $18 Our Price $16.99 (Back in stock GT and VRW)

James Suckling 94 Points
2021 Amici Napa Cabernet Sauvignon

Aromas of blackcurrants, iodine, oyster shell, and dark chocolate. Medium- to full-bodied with polished fine tannins that run the length of the wine with chocolate, hazelnut, and blueberries. Give it time to come together. Best after 2025. $50 Our Price $44.99 (Available GT and VRW)

Wine Enthusiast 93 Points
2021 Bravium Anderson Valley Pinot Noir

This beautiful expression of Pinot Noir from Anderson Valley emits immediate aromas of bright red cherry, raspberry and red plum complemented by earthy tones of roses, violets, damp forest floor, fresh mountain air and river-rock minerality. This depth and complexity follows through onto the palate, where fine-grained tannins create a silky texture. Elevated acidity maintains a sense of freshness from start to lingering finish. $32 Our Price $28.99 (Available GT and VRW)

2021 MacMurray Ranch Estate Russian River Pinot Noir

Winemaker Notes: The MacMurray Estate Vineyards Russian River Valley Pinot Noir opens with aromas of lavender and boysenberry, giving way to flavors of dark cherry, pomegranate and vanilla. This luscious wine has a silky mouthfeel, framed by subtle hints of oak from barrel aging. $30 Our Price $28.29 (Available GT and VRW)

Tasting Panel 93 Points
2021 Raeburn Sonoma Chardonnay

We've long been fans of this 100% barrel-fermented wine aged in sur lie for nine months in French and Hungarian oak, but this vintage displays a surge of aromatics and flavors that is truly impressive. Ripe pear and lemon blossom perfume the air as the luxe mouthfeel of honeyed melon caresses the tongue. Intermingling notes of wet stone, charred caramel and yellow apple connect to an arch of bright acidity. The finish is juicy, with a twist of tangerine. $20 Our Price $14.99 (Back in stock GT and VRW)

Wine Advocate 96 Points
2021 Aperture Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon

The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon comes from Aperture's estate vineyard in Healdsburg and their newest vineyard acquisition, Farrow Ranch in Alexander Valley, plus some of the original single vineyards in the Aperture program like Oliver Ranch. It is blended with 6% Petit Verdot, 5% Merlot, 3% Malbec and 1% Cabernet Franc and was matured for 16 months in 55% new French oak. It has vibrant, layered aromas of blueberry compote, lavender, aniseed, milk chocolate and nutmeg with undertones of cast iron and tobacco leaves. The medium-bodied palate is elegantly styled, pairing deep flavors with a weightless feel due to its bright acidity and velvety tannins. It has a long, latent finish and deserves 3-5 years in bottle. 4,480 cases produced. $80 (Available GT and VRW)

Wine Enthusiast 92 Points
Morgan Cotes du Crow's 2020

This is a smashing deal every vintage, and this year's blend of 58% Grenache, 35% Syrah, 4% Mourvèdre and 3% Tempranillo doesn't disappoint. Fresh but savory aromas of roasted red fruit and baking spice drop into a tightly wound palate of snappy red currant and light pepper that rides a zippy acidity through the finish. $22 Our Price $18.49 (Back in stock GT 7/17/24)

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Taste 2023 CRAGGY RANGE Sauvignon Blanc Martinborough Te Muna, 2022 Luli SLH Pinot Noir and 2022 Hartford Court MacLean's Block Pinot Noir at Vintage Reserve Wine (VRW) for $15 per person.
Friday, July 19th. Available 12:00 noon -5:45 PM

Wine Spectator 94 Points
CRAGGY RANGE Sauvignon Blanc Martinborough Te Muna 2023

Fresh and precise, with lime, mango and passion fruit notes that are accented by crunchy sea salt, litsea oil, dried chamomile and fresh lemon zest on a mouthwatering, fleshy frame. Drink now. —M.W. $26

2022 Luli SLH Pinot Noir

Winemaker Notes: The 2022 Luli Pinot Noir embodies the combination of elegance and richness. This wine possesses a deep ruby hue and a mélange of exuberant aromas. Notes of Bing cherry and wild raspberry mingle with hints of cedar spice and delicate violets creating an enticing bouquet. The palate displays the broad textual notes common from these rugged hillsides of the Santa Lucia Highlands. Decomposed granite soils stressed the vines and 2022 was a particularly low yielding year. Vibrant flavors of juicy plum dance alongside muddled raspberries and layered tannins. This Pinot Noir wonderfully captures the cool, foggy weather of the Santa Lucia Highlands. $26

Lisa Perrotti-Brown,
The Wine Independent 95 POINTS
2022 Hartford Court MacLean's Block Pinot Noir

The 2022 Maclean's Block Pinot Noir is medium ruby-purple in color. Scents of ripe blackberries, mulberries, and boysenberries leap from the glass, followed by nuances of licorice, tar, and underbrush. The medium to full-bodied palate is bursting with blackberry and savory layers, supported by fine-grained tannins and a lively line, finishing earthy...It is named after Don & Jennifer Hartford's son MacLean. MacLean's Block is on a vineyard located on a gentle east-facing slope, east of the town of Occidental. $80

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Taste DOMAINE CHANDON Blanc De Blancs Los Carneros By The Bay Carneros Vineyard Reserve NV, Roederer Brut Collection 244 and 2014 Gaston Chiquet Millésime Carte d’Or Premier Cru Brut at Vintage Reserve Wine (VRW) for $15 per person.
Saturday, July 20th. Available 12:00 noon -3:45 PM

Wine Spectator 92 points
DOMAINE CHANDON Blanc De Blancs Los Carneros By The Bay Carneros Vineyard Reserve NV

Unabashedly California is style, with bold and generous baked apple, Meyer lemon and yeast roll flavors that build richness on the long finish. Drink now. 15,000 cases made.—Tim Fish $32

James Suckling 94 Points
Roederer Brut Collection 244

The first impression is as invigorating as a sea breeze. I love the interplay of mirabelle, grapefruit and lychee fruit with minty freshness and waxiness from lees contact. And all this is welded to a beautifully proportioned palate with plenty of structure, the acidity bright and the mousse animating. Very salty finish that pulls you back for more. A cuvee of 41% chardonnay, 33% pinot noir and 26% pinot meunier. Of these, 15% fermented in oak and 85% in stainless steel. The final blend contained 36% reserve perpetual and 10% reserve wines of the 2012 - 2018 vintage from oak. The dosage is 7 g/l. $70

Antonio Galloni, Vinous 94 Points
Gaston Chiquet Millésime Carte d’Or Premier Cru Brut 2014

The 2014 Brut Millésime Carte d’Or is fabulous. Bright and beautifully sculpted, the 2014 is so impressive right out of the gate. Lemon peel, dried herbs, flowers, mint and sage all develop over time. Translucent and so expressive, the 2014 is a real knock-out. Disgorged: November, 2020. $75

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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