BUY: Korbin Kameron Cabernet Sauvignon Mt Veeder 2004

Coho Headwaters Meritage

Coho Headwaters Meritage 2005 – 94 Points.
A delicious blend of Cabernet, Merlot, and Petit Verdot features the best of Napa at an affordable price! This wine has already aged gracefully in just one year of bottle time. It now displays deep layers of ripe fruit flavors that include blackberry, plums, and a hint of cherry floating across a super SILKY SMOOTH texture (thanks to the amazing quality Merlot!). Hints of caramel toffee shine through with the toasty oak as well as a coconut (from the oak barells) and tannins on the delightful finish. Enjoy tonight (after decanting 1/2 hour) with any meat or hard cheese or buy a few extra bottles because this gem will age gracefully for the next 3 – 5 years, peaking around 2012 in our estimate. 94 Points.

John Anthony Cabernet

John Anthony Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 – 94 Points.
(update 1/09) This wine has aged well and has picked up more dense fruit and leathery tannins.  Very impressive!  In the beginning of this tremendous experience, rich blackberry and cassis aromas unfold into black cherry and dark plum. This seductive new Cabernet is young and bright, but serious and well balanced.  Perhaps even bigger and more ageworthy than the 2004 vintage, this is showing incredible finesse and polish with ripe, integrated tannins.  Blackberry, plum and cassis flavors in the front & mid palates meld into toasty oak and sweet hints of coconut on the delightful finish lasting a full 30 seconds. Enjoy now (after decanting one hour) + buy enough to age for the next 5 years, peaking around 2010 in our estimate! This is an amazing new release from these talented young vintners and a winery to watch for years to come. This is a truly delicious wine.  94 points.

Alexana Pinot Noir

We love this new discovery because it captures the best of both ‘worlds’ from Oregon + California Pinot Noir! Rich, supple and graceful with captivating aromas of blackberry and bright cherry, perfumed with typical Oregon minerality, cinnamon and lavender oil with distinctly robust ‘California style’ fruit flavors (after decanting one hour). An expressive, open textured palate is layered with succulent sweet red fruit with hints of peppercorn and spice. The refined and lithe tannins last beautifully on the palate with a poised and polished finish. This sensational new discovery is guaranteed to thrill for the next 3 – 5 years, peaking around 2014 in our estimate. 94 points
BUY: Alexana Pinot Noir Revana Vineyard 2006

Set among the foothills of the Andes, Andeluna Cellars is a remarkably beautiful place to behold and is the source of the spectacular Limited Reserve Malbec 2004 we just rated “Outstanding 94” points. This guaranteed thriller is:

• BOTH elegant + exotic tasting (see notes below)
• Sourced from vineyards originally planted by world famous winemaker Michel Rolland, directly next door to his own vineyards.
• A “Steal” (!) at only $39 due to the Argentine Peso’s exchange rate (one currency where US dollar is still strong!)

THE WINE INSIDERS “OUTSTANDING 94” RATING: “Remarkably elegant yet exotic tasting, this is the finest quality Malbec we’ve discovered this year! Lusciuos deep flavors of plum, dried black cherries and currant provide a base for soft, savory spice seasonings deftly melded together with elegant and plush tannins that bode well for aging 3 – 5 years, peaking around 2010 in our estimate. Rich notes of dark chocolate emerge gracefully on the smooth finish. Enjoy tonight after decanting ½ hour with grilled beef or game! 94 points.

WINE SPECTATOR REVIEW: “Argentina’s red wines are emerging from obscurity to capture the fancy of American wine lovers, delivering vivid fruit flavors and plush textures…Argentina’s top Malbecs are rich, fleshy, fruit-driven wines, with flavors of blackberry, blueberry and plum that are accented by signature notes of meat or game and spices. They generally show plenty of toasty, chocolaty oak, plush textures and a good balance between acidity and tannins.”

This delicious Pinot Noir is sourced from the owner of the Durell vineyard, famous as one of Kistler’s most highly rated!  We love this new micro-production discovery because it combines the elegant minerality of Burgundy’s finest Pinots combined with seductively bold California fruit.

THE WINE INSIDERS “OUTSTANDING 94″ RATING: The Sand Hill “Durell” Pinot Noir 2005 is a deliciously elegant, well crafted Pinot that is both built-to-last and a candidate for the most perfectly food-friendly Pinot of the year! This is a classic boutique production Pinot featuring a full-bodied, powerful style but also has a seamless integration of dark berries, creamy oak, tannins and alcohol that is still restrained enough to let the delicate fruit shine. This beauty can be savored young, although we envision this wine hitting its peak in 5+ years. 94 points.

Turley lovers will recall that this “Aida” vineyard was the original home of Turley’s highest rated Zins (consistently scoring R. Parker ‘Classic 95 – 96’) until Vineyard 29 snagged the rights to these tasty grapes a few years ago. Plus, don’t miss this exclusive opportunity to sample the only Zinfandel produced by rock star winemaker Philippe Melka (Bryant Family, Hundred Acre, etc.) recently named “Winemaker of the Year.”

THE WINE INSIDERS “OUTSTANDING 94” RATING: “This is the most complex, age-worthy serious collector Zinfandel in Napa today!  This black beauty begins with an intense raspberry and dried cranberry signature that seems to run from year to year, along with dark blueberry combined with vanilla, caramel, espresso beans, and mouth watering toffee on the long lasting finish. On the finish this wine has great structure and a galaxy of memorably flavors containing dried strawberries, mocha and chocolate dust reminiscent of a decadent raspberry chocolate torte. Decant if popping the cork pre-2009 because this BIG boy will easily last until 2014, peaking around 2011 in our estimate.” 94 POINTS

This wine is currently available for $79 (click here)

“(8/1/8) We pulled a 2003 vintage of this wine out of our cellar for a BBQ with some friends and were VERY, VERY impressed with the development. I was a big fan of this vintage upon release and can assure you it’s aged into a remarkable Zinfandel. I’m confident that fewer than 5% of serious wine collectors and less than 20% of wine lovers would even identify this wine as a Zin because it reminds me more of a perfectly aged Napa Cabernet. It was graceful with perfectly balanced fruit. A truly exciting experience to sample this wine aged to perfection. Note: personally, I rarely enjoy a Zinfandel more than 3 – 4 years after the vintage but this gem was still shining at age 5 and probably had at least another year or two of vibrant life in it. I rated this wine a solid 96 points!”

Current release:

VINEYARD  29 “AIDA”  ZINFANDEL 2005

This “Aida” vineyard was the original home of Turley’s most renowned Zins until Vineyard 29 snagged the rights to these tasty grapes! As if that wasn’t enough, this is still the only Zinfandel produced by rock star winemaker Philippe Melka (Bryant Family, Hundred Acre, etc.) recently named “Winemaker of the Year”

THE WINE INSIDER “OUTSTANDING 94” RATING:  “This is the most complex, age-worthy serious collector Zinfandel in Napa today!  This black beauty begins with an intense raspberry and dried cranberry signature that seems to run from year to year, along with dark blueberry combined with vanilla, caramel, espresso beans, and mouth watering toffee on the long lasting finish. On the finish this wine has great structure and a galaxy of memorably flavors containing dried strawberries, mocha and chocolate dust reminiscent of a decadent raspberry chocolate torte. Decant if popping the cork pre-2009 because this BIG boy will easily last until 2014, peaking around 2011 in our estimate.”

Currently this wine is available for $79 (Click Here)

This is Brown’s finest bottling since their legendary 2002 Cabernet! Combining the best Napa Cabernet and Napa Zinfandel from their estate, they’ve created a sumptuous and decadent blend in the Brown Chaos Theory 2005 that will leave fans of the Prisoner begging for more. Just released, this is one amazing wine and it’s no surprise considering Brown has been one of the very top Zinfandel producers in California with a secret Cabernet that has wowed the lucky insiders who have managed to get their hands on some. The deft blending of their best lots clearly demonstrates that Brown is on top of their game right now.

Currently this wine is available for $49 (Click Here)

THE WINE INSIDERS “OUTSTANDING 94” RATING: “Simply stated, we believe this is the BEST EVER Caymus Napa release! Thick, weighty texture that is oh so silky smooth then featuring rich flavors of ripe, dark plums and semi sweet cocoa then finishing with a deliciously savory hint of toasted caramel that lingers pleasantly for a full 30 seconds. Enjoy now after decanting ½ hour or anytime over the next 5 years, peaking around 2012 in our estimate.”

94 points TheWineInsiders.com

Currently this wine is available for $69.97 (Click Here)

THE WINE INSIDERS “OUTSTANDING 94 POINTS: Deep dark berry perfumed nose of cedar and leather, which follows seamlessly onto the rich and creamy palate of intense dark fruits, currants, vanilla and layered with long chocolaty tannins. The finish goes on and on. This is one sexy Cabernet that will age well for 3 – 5 years, peaking around 2012 in our estimate!

94 points TheWineInsiders.com

Currently this wine is available for $29.50 (Click Here)