This cuvee of 41,832 bottles possesses a Bordeaux-like austerity, as well as abundant quantities of sweet cassis, cedar, and spice notes in the complex bouquet. The dark ruby color is followed by a dense, concentrated wine with an emphasis on elegance and symmetry as opposed to power and flamboyance. 

'A blend of 96% Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance Malbec and Petit Verdot, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon from Keever Vineyards is a rounded, sexy wine that boasts a deep purple color as well as terrific notes of cedary spice, black currants, chocolate and hints of licorice. Raised in 70% new French oak, it has tons of fruit, ripe, polished tannin, and a great finish. Drink it anytime over the coming 10-15 years.' - Jeb Dunnuck

ALC ~ 15.2%

The Consortium Cabernet exhibits a dark crimson core with purple and garnet reflections on the rim. Classic Napa Cabernet aromas of blackcurrant, blackberry liqueur, fresh boysenberry, and black cherry are infused with notes of wet violets, coffee, fresh leather, tobacco, and the ideal touch of high-quality vanilla bean and baking spices. The oak aromas impart just the right nuances and are perfectly integrated and balanced without being overbearing as many Napa examples often are. On the palate, the wine is medium-plus in body and captures pitch-perfect balance with the ideal freshness, soft, silky texture, and integrated, polished tannins that are wrapped around layered flavors of soft black fruit, leather, tobacco, cedar, cocoa, and subtle exotic spices. This incredibly young wine is already stunning in its youth but will be hitting a sweet spot as the weather cools in the next few months. Its peak should lie in the next 5-7 years although this beautifully structured wine could even surpass a decade in the cellar if kept well.

Trained under the likes of Thomas Brown, John Giannini created Cresta Velia in 2010. The wines are made at Outpost, on Howell Mountain, and both his 2015 and 2016 releases are brilliant wines, although production is tiny.

The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain has a huge, fruit forward, decadent style as well as terrific purity in its cassis, blueberry and violet aromas and flavors. 

The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon has a deep garnet-purple color. Its nose begins a little reserved, slowly revealing a quiet intensity of freshly crushed blackberries, chocolate-covered cherries, cassis and aniseed with compelling nuances of black tea, cigar box, truffles and charcuterie, plus, with coaxing, gentle wafts of red roses and crushed rocks emerge. The medium to full-bodied palate is simply arresting, offering a a myriad floral and earth sparks amidst a black fruit core and with seamless, firm, very fine-grained tannins. Well-knit freshness brings forth layer after layer of delicate nuances on the very long, mineral-laced finish. The team at Eisele, led by Frédéric Engerer (of Chateau Latour) and beautifully orchestrated by winemaker Hélène Mingot, have knocked it out of the park this vintage with this singular expression that both embraces the site's heritage and reveals parts unknown.

94 Points, Wine Advocate A deep ruby robe, with darker black fruit and mineral aromas on the nose. The palate brightens into a ripe strawberry, raspberry and boysenberry core, layered with notes of black licorice and nutmeg. Fluid and smooth, this wine blends rich fruit complexity, elegant freshness, and well-integrated tannins. This vintage is delightful at release, but also worthy of cellaring another 2-6 years.

Purlieu’s sister label, Le Pich, gets its name from a Wappo Indian term meaning “golden eagle.” They are hunting birds, and you can often spot them above our vineyards as they soar, glide, circle and arc. They are beautiful birds — stately and impressive, but not haughty or boasting, with a nimbleness that’s inspiring. We hope that our Le Pich wines live up to the character of their namesake.

“Winemaker Benoit Touquette compares the 2016 vintage to 2014 with its purity and balance. The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon shows the fresher style of the vintage beautifully and offers up a complex array or crème de cassis, blueberries, crushed rocks, violets, and lead pencil shaving-like notes. This full bodied beauty has awesome purity of fruit, a seamless texture, perfect balance, and a great, great finish. Give bottles another 2-4 years, and it’s going to evolve gracefully for 20 years of more. It’s pure class.” - Jeb Dunnuck

Sustainably Farmed, produced and bottled in Napa, California.

ALC 14.1%

Riverain Vineyards is a boutique winery hand crafting wines with grapes from Cardiac Hill in Bennett Valley, Tench Vineyards in Oakville, and Gamble Vineyards in Yountville, CA.

Even better than the blockbuster 2015, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard offers incredible purity and precision paired with full-bodied power and richness. Thrilling notes of blueberries, liquid violets and tons of crushed rock and minerality all flow to a ripe, sexy seamless Cabernet Sauvignon that does everything right. A wine of incredible poise and stature, it has enough tannin to warrant 2-4 years of bottle age and is a 20 to 30 year wine. 

ALC 14.8%

The 2017 Tench Vineyard EE Red Wine checks in as 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Petit Verdot and is one of the few wines that has the potential to match what was achieved in 2016. A total thriller, it has awesome notes of plums, blueberries, earth, chocolate, and espresso, with even a hint of truffle developing with time in the glass. Deep, dense, shockingly powerful and layered, yet still light and balanced on the palate, with sweet tannins, it should drink nicely right out of the gate yet age well.

Exudes richness in its inky fruit and overall soft contours. Crème de cassis, lavender, plum, violet and licorice shape this super-expressive, beautiful wine.

Beautiful density in its blueberry and cherry fruits, notes of blood orange, violets, and incense, full body, and sweet, supple tannins. It has more density on the mid-palate than most 2017s and will certainly over-deliver at the price.

Benoit's unrivaled work ethic and tenacity continues to show in every new vintage!

'The base 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon is brilliant, and as Cabernet Sauvignon goes, it’s a value that’s hard to beat! Classic black and blue fruits, damp earth, violets, and tobacco notes all emerge from this medium to full-bodied effort that stays pure, impeccably balanced, and vibrant on the palate. It’s the real deal, and if it was from Napa, it would sell for 3-4 times the price.' ~ Jeb Dunnuck