2013 Ryan Cochrane Wines Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills "Fiddlestix Vineyard" - Wine of the Day

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2013 Ryan Cochrane Wines Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills "Fiddlestix Vineyard"

$43

There’s a reason I started with this vineyard when I made my very first wine. Fiddlestix just seems to deliver something special every single year. Welcome to this year’s installment! On the nose there’s just-ripe strawberry, wild cherries jubilee, anisette, dark roses, cigar box and just a touch of leather. On the palette, the strawberries and wild cherries remain, joined by ripe currant, candied raspberry, caramelized vanilla, and crushed flowers. This is a lighter-bodied wine than the past couple vintages, but is still quite rich with a round, smooth, full-bodied mouthfeel that envelopes your palette which yields to a cascade of sparkling acid. The finish just seems to...well...never finish.

2013 Essere Franco Cabernet Sauvignon - Wine of the Day

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2013 Essere Franco Cabernet Sauvignon

$110

This wine hails from a single vineyard, the Reverence Vineyard in the Coombsville AVA of Napa Valley.  Aged 18 months in 80% new French Oak. With aromatics of black cherry and dried tobacco leaf, this wine will jump out of the glass as you taste its complexity with firm and silky tannins. A big bodied Napa Valley Cabernet with an elegant finish.

Only 87 cases produced.

2013 Agnitio Pinot Noir Walala Vineyard - Wine of the Day

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 2013 Agnitio Pinot Noir Walala Vineyard

$70

The 2013 growing season was early, even and all-around excellent. A warm, dry spring brought early bud break, helped with canopy vigor and berry size, and created ideal conditions for flowering and fruit set under sunny skies. With the exception of one heat spike in late June and early July, temperatures were consistently in the zone for optimal vine activity, resulting in notably healthy vines as fruit went through veraison and began to ripen. This vintage gave us the extraordinary gift to pick what we wanted, when we wanted.

The 2013 Walala Pinot Noir is our 1st release from our own estate vineyard. The exceptional site, Walala is comprised of 17 acres of vineyard surrounded by 1900 acres of forestland. A unique site for Pinot Noir in the “True Sonoma Coast”. This wine has a great violate color with amazing depth and clarity. The nose shows notes of cassis, blackberry, and cloves associated with hints of pomelo and honeydew. Bright forest fruit flavors hits the palate. The finish is of lively fruit with lengthy spice and concentration.

GV Cellars 2013 Sangiovese Solano County Green Valley - Wine of the Day

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GV Cellars 2013 Sangiovese Solano County Green Valley

$21.40

Two clones of Sangiovese, from two separate blocks on the GV Cellars Estate, come together to form this harmonious, food-friendly wine. Red fruits, mineralogy and balanced acidity make this wine the perfect compliment to pizza and other tomato sauce based foods.

2013 Calstar Russian River Valley Pinot Noir - Wine of the Day

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2013 Calstar Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

$30

Bright ruby violet, the wine leads with juicy fruit on the nose: cranberry, raspberry and pomegranate.  Notes of dark, unsweetened chocolate, bay leaf and sweet baking spices round out the profile.  In the mouth, the light body is carried by ripe, big red fruit notes that follow the aromas.  There is an impression of sweetness from the cola and vanilla notes but the wine is totally dry.  A long, juicy finish of strawberry, coffee and cherry rounds out the wine and brings the fruit into balance

2013 Playground Cellars Playground Proprietary Red - Wine of the Day

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2013 Playground Cellars Playground Proprietary Red

$48

Only 25 cases available!!! This has been the find of the year.  85% St. HelenaCabernet Sauvignon and 15% Oak Knoll Merlot.  We keep hearing the same reaction from people when tasting this amazing wine from the barrel “I want to drink all of this now”.

Blackberry all the way with leather and violets living in harmony. A faint hint of orange blossom points to the fresh fruit while the tannins showcase the French Oak

2013 Nobelle Wines Belle Rivière - Wine of the Day

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2013 Nobelle Wines Belle Rivière

$36

Marsanne, the most underestimated Rhone white varietal, expresses its full potential here, with a traditional rhone yeast and a classic batonnage twice daily for six weeks. It can take as much aging in oak as a chardonnay, up to 36 months in big vats! Some of the most exclusive Marsannes in the world are made this way.

This vintage reminds me of white fruit: peach, pear and especially quince which is my favorite fruit. As you taste it, a fresh zest apple comes up front, followed by a dense mouth feel with a lot of weight. Served chilled at 45F, this 2013 Marsanne can age beautifully for the next 10 years.

2013 Ryan Cochrane Wines Chardonnay Santa Maria Valley "Solomon Hills Vineyard" - Wine of the Day

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2013 Ryan Cochrane Wines Chardonnay Santa Maria Valley "Solomon Hills Vineyard"

$34

 

This is my very first Chardonnay and I made it about as simply as you can. That said, there’s nothing simple about this wine! Pressed directly into barrels, it went through both primary and secondary fermentation on its own. All in all, this was fermenting for 8-9 months non-stop. I just stirred the lees every two weeks and that was about it! It’s a total olfactory wine. The powerful nose contains hints of crisp pineapple, melty banana, green apple, vanilla bean, creme brulée and that classic marine-influenced Santa Maria je ne sais qois that is synonymous with the region. On the palette, the wine pays off the nose perfectly with an added twist of Meyer lemon and peach juice to boot. Full malolactic fermentation added a plushness up front, but there’s great acid on this wine that carries it through and builds to a nice crisp snap on the finish, which just goes on and on and on. Thine lips shalt smack!

GV Cellars 2013 Queensland Solano County Green Valley - Wine of the Day

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GV Cellars 2013 Queensland Solano County Green Valley

$29.96

This estate blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Syrah - or Shiraz as the Aussies call it - has medium tannins and a robust structure. With a rustic nose of wet red bricks and a finish of graphite and currents, this southern hemisphere-styled wine will be a favorite with bolder dishes of lamb or beef.

2013 Agnitio Pinot Noir Sun Chase Vineyard - Wine of the Day

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2013 Agnitio Pinot Noir Sun Chase Vineyard bottle image on Qorkz

2013 Agnitio Pinot Noir Sun Chase Vineyard

$60

The 2013 Sun Chase Pinot Noir is our inaugural release of Pinot Noir. An incredibly vibrant wine, the aromas are complex and rich. Plums, black cherries, blackberries and flowers all jump from the glass, finishing with notes of cloves and sweet tobacco. This Pinot Noir has great structure and a strong backbone, with balanced mouthwatering acidity, soft tannins, and a long finish. This is definitely a wine to hold on to for a few years.

2013 Playground Cellars Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon - Wine of the Day

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2013 Playground Cellars Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon

$60

This Howell Mountain Cab comes to us serendipitous by being in the right place at the right time, with the vineyard between contracts only for the 2013 season we were able to score enough for two barrels. This is a quintessential Howell Mountain Cab.

Grabbing your senses on the nose with berries, roses, leather, and white pepper, the palate is then enhanced by dark chocolate, nutmeg, plums and toasted oak.

2013 Oak Cliff Cellars Rogues Blend - Wine of the Day

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2013 Oak Cliff Cellars Rogues Blend

$29

A proprietary red blend that marries three primary varietals native to the Rhone Valley of France: Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre (GSM). This classic-style blend resembles the Southern Rhone Chateauneuf du Papes blends in which the spice of the Grenache, lavender fragrance and perfumed berries of the Mourvedre and the dense, tannic fruit of the Syrah are united in a way that creates an earthy, yet explosive combination of flavors suitable for pairing with a wide variety of savory dishes or by itself.

2013 Ascension Cellars Trinity GSM Grenache, Syrah & Mourvèdre - Wine of the Day

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2013 Ascension Cellars Trinity GSM Grenache, Syrah & Mourvèdre

$56

Our vibrant, ruby red gemstone wine is a beautifully bodied southern Rhône-style Grenache blend. Roses, red strawberries and bing cherries encompass the classic elements and style of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, swirling with sour jamminess and spontaneous bursts of rose water, crushed blood red oranges and white pepper on the finish.  

Trinity GSM is an enjoyable companion for medium bodied cheeses but our wine is invariably invited to stay for dinner with entrees of salmon, duck, pheasant, goose, pork, turkey and pasta.

2013 Ryan Cochrane Wines Pinot Noir Santa Maria Valley "Solomon Hills Vineyard" - Wine of the Day

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 2013 Ryan Cochrane Wines Pinot Noir Santa Maria Valley "Solomon Hills Vineyard"

$43

The nose explodes right out of the glass, unleashing aromas of rich red berries, black licorice, sandalwood, fresh flowers, black tea with lemon and mushroomy earth. On the palette, I’m getting garden strawberries, bing cherries, spice cake, orange marmalade, tea and underlying wet forest floor. The wine has a beautiful light garnet color, which alludes to its medium-light bodied character and perfect balance. The wine starts off with a bright and showy mouthfeel, but morphs into something much more complex as an effervescent acidity takes over with a nice snap at the end. This wine lingers on the tongue 4 evah!