We outdid ourselves here with the wine selections in this quarter’s club offerings. These ultra rare wines from the elite Napa cult producers were a no brainer to add to this club set. Honestly, we were suprised we were able to get our hands on these wines.
The scores quickly came in and our Tasting Panel was able to assemble a really fun and unique wine club shipment for our members. We hope you enjoy them as much as we did while sampling together. Purchase these wines on our website or join the club to secure this selection.
Club Allocation:
Club Elite will receive TWO of each wine.
Club Flight will receive ONE of each wine.
2019 Lamborn Cabernet Blend 2200′, Howell Mountain Napa Valley
Winery Price: $79.00
Winemaker: Heidi Barrett
Why We Love This Wine:
100% estate and organically grown Howell Mountain, Napa Valley Cabernet and Zinfandel blend. This environment produces Howell Mountain Zinfandels and Cabernet Sauvignons of the highest quality and intensity, with all winemaking by Heidi Barrett of Screaming Eagle fame.
Sommelier Tasting Notes:
Like a fragrant country summer evening, the nose offers attractive cherry, raspberry, and blueberry notes with an underlying hint of orange zest. Accentuated with an oak regimen from both French and American cooperage, the rich fruit aromas are complemented with subtle river rock and dust nuances. Similar to the nose, rich and silky layers of vine-ripened berries and tart cherry give way to dark chocolate and a luscious mouthfeel with moderate tannins. Now that these Cabernet vines are fully mature they are producing some very dense and concentrated fruit, so evident in this scintillating wine are producing some very dense and concentrated fruit, so evident in this scintillating wine.
2015 Schweiger Vineyards Dedication Red Blend, Napa Valley
Winery Price: $115.00 (allocation members only)
Winemaker: ANDY SCHWEIGER
Why We Love This Wine:
Schweiger Vineyards is proud to remain independent and family owned. Their Proprietors Fred & Sally Schweiger have lived and worked on this land since the 1960s; it’s not uncommon for visitors to be welcomed by both in their tasting room. They are one of the distinguished multi-generation wineries with a father/son grower/winemaker team who have been working together for over 20 years. Their winery is located 2,000 feet above the Napa Valley, a 15-minute drive from downtown St. Helena.
Sommelier Tasting Notes:
Dedication® is a testament to Andy’s winemaking skill and passion. Each year, this blend evolves to represent the best fruit from our various blocks, creating a true “cream of the crop” wine. The valley saw 45% less fruit in 2015, making this wine even more limited production than usual. On the nose, the 2015 Dedication is earthy like damp woods in the morning, with waves of strawberry licorice, chocolate raspberries, and cedar.
2015 David Arthur Vineyards Proprietary Red, Pritchard Hill Napa Valley
Winery Price: $80.00
Winemaker: Nile Zacherel
Why We Love This Wine:
The origins of David Arthur Vineyards and the Long Family Ranch date back to when the Long family started visiting the Napa Valley in the 1950’s. Don Long, a butcher by trade owned a small grocery store in Portola Valley, near Stanford University and had long been interested in the California wine country. With a keen eye for business opportunities, Don began steadily investing in Napa Valley real estate leading to the acquisition of nearly 1,000 acres atop Pritchard Hill in St. Helena, California. Don’s youngest son, David Arthur, founded the winery with his then wife, Joye Dale, in 1985 with the purchase of 30 French oak barrels. David and Joye’s daughter, Laura Long, now works side by side with her father running the day-to-day operations of the winery and vineyards.
Sommelier Tasting Notes:
This Bordeaux-style blend allows their team to weave together the rich, concentrated elegance and power of their mountain-grown Bordeaux varietals as well as the best of surrounding vineyards within the Napa Valley. The wine is aged an average of 20 months in French oak barrels, blended with meticulous care and bottled at their vineyard estate. The result is a complex array of aromas and flavors that deliver plush, mouth-filling structure with soft, elegant tannins.
A dark cerise color offering an array of fruit and spice aromas; bright cherry, red raspberry, baked cassis, and plum followed by notes of anise, baking spices, garrigue and cherry cola. The palate is soft and plush with fine-grained tannins offering beautiful acidity and structure. The finish is long and silky with flavors of candied plum, tamarind, brown sugar and molasses.