Taste 2020 Sella & Mosca Cannonau di Sardegna Riserva, 2019 Rocca di Frassinello Maremma Toscana Le Sughere di Frassinello and 2020 ANTINORI Chianti Classico Marchese Antinori Riserva at Vintage Reserve Wine for $15 per person.
Tuesday, January 2nd. Available 12:00 noon -5:45 PM

James Suckling 94 Points
Sella & Mosca Cannonau di Sardegna Riserva 2020

Clean and focused with blackberry and dark-bark aromas and flavors. Medium to full body and firm, creamy tannins with length and focus. Lavender and berries with chocolate undertones. Very polished and flavorful. Drink or hold. $20

Wine Spectator 90 Points
Rocca di Frassinello Maremma Toscana Le Sughere di Frassinello 2019

There's depth to the concentrated black cherry and blackberry fruit, shaded by vanilla, earth and graphite notes. Dense and muscular, with a long finish. Sangioveto, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2023 through 2028. 15,000 cases made, 7,000 cases imported. $21

Wine Spectator 95 Points*#7 Wine Spectator Top 100
ANTINORI Chianti Classico Marchese Antinori Riserva 2020

A sleek, elegant red, with fine purity to the aromas of cherry, black currant, iron, olive and tobacco. Shows new oak on the palate, lending both spiciness and structure offset by ample fruit and texture. Ends with a balanced, complex finish. Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Best from 2026 through 2047.—B.S. $50

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Taste Cabernet Sauvignon: 2021 Frei Brothers Alexander Valley Reserve, 2019 Lancaster Winemaker’s Cuvee and 2018 Dana Estate Vaso at Vintage Reserve Wine (VRW) for $15 per person.
Wednesday, January 3rd. Available 12:00 noon -5:45 PM

2021 Frei Brothers Alexander Valley Reserve Cabernet

Winemaker Notes: For their Cabernet Sauvignon, they turned to the Sonoma County region that’s most renowned for the grape, Alexander Valley. In the warm, sun-drenched days and cool, crisp nights, our Cabernet Sauvignon ripens slowly, developing its signature rich, complex character and classic fruit notes of blackberry, blueberry and plum. $24

Jeb Dunnuck 93 Points
2019 Lancaster Winemaker’s Cuvee Cabernet

The 2019 Winemaker's Cuvee is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 5% Malbec, and the rest Cabernet Franc and was aged for 15 months in 50% new French oak. It is rich with aromas of lavender, tobacco, and boysenberry compote and delivers ripe fruit through the mid-palate, with notes of blackcurrant, leather, and baking spice. This red has immediate appeal, but it will continue to evolve over the next 10 or more years. $105

Jeb Dunnuck 94 Points
2018 Dana Estates Vaso Napa Cabernet Sauvignon

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Vaso is cut from the same cloth, offering beautiful purity and richness. It’s slightly more pure and darker than the spicier 2017 and has notes of cassis, redcurrants, dark chocolate, tobacco, and violets. Full-bodied on the palate, it has silky tannins, terrific overall balance, and just loads of character and charm. It’s in the running for the greatest Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon under $100

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Taste Pinot Noir: 2022 Belle Glos Clark and Telephone Santa Maria, 2021 Ponzi Laurelwood District and 2021 DuMOL MacIntyre Vineyard Russian River Estate at Vintage Reserve Wine (VRW) for $20 per person.
Thursday, January 4th. Available 12:00 noon -5:45 PM

2022 Belle Glos Clark and Telephone Santa Maria Pinot Noir

Winemaker Notes: Dark scarlet red in color, with aromas of blackberry, cherry and boysenberry highlighted with layers of cocoa. A rich and opulent wine offering flavors of marionberry accented by hints of dried fig and cholate covered blueberry this wine is velvety with supple, refined tannins and a silky, lush finish. $50

Wine Advocate 96 Points
2021 Ponzi Laurelwood Pinot Noir

The 2021 Pinot Noir Laurelwood District has a pale ruby-purple color and slowly unfolding aromas of cranberries, tangerine peel, pipe tobacco and forest floor. The medium-bodied palate is powerful and generous with concentrated fruit, grainy tannins, plenty of refreshing acidity and a long, spicy finish. Best after 2024. $50

Vinous Media 100 Points
DuMOL MacIntyre Vineyard Russian River Valley Estate Pinot Noir 2021

The 2021 Pinot Noir MacIntyre Estate Vineyard is magnificent. Dark, plush and exceptionally vivid, the 2021 is a drop-dead gorgeous beauty. The mix of Calera and Swan clones yields an unctuous, rich Pinot that does not taste like a wine from sandy soils. The 2021 is sensational. I don't think I have ever tasted a wine like this before here. A rush of dark blue/purplish fruit, gravel, spice and menthol builds into the huge, structured finish. Unforgettable. $105

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Austin Hope Troublemaker Red Blend 16

Winemaker Notes: Troublemaker Blend 16 has an opaque purple color. The nose is bursting with jammy boysenberry and blackberry, along with a fresh hint of raspberry. These fruit aromas carry through to the palate and are accentuated by underlying tones of peppercorns, dried tobacco and roasted coffee. Velvety tannins and balancing acidity bring out the vibrant fruit character of this complex blend. $20 Our Price $12.95 (Three cases available GT)

Wine Advocate 93 Points
Bodegas y Viñedos Raúl Pérez Bierzo Tinto ‘Ultreia St. Jacques’ 2021

The biggest volume of the winery is the 2021 Ultreia Saint Jacques, which represents some 170,000 bottles, and according to Raúl Pérez, it's the most difficult wine to make here. They now work a lot to produce this wine, a blend of 11 wines selected from the 17 they made. It's a wine that represents Bierzo and is from a year when they used more grapes from sandy soils. It has 13.16% alcohol and a pH of 3.66; it's serious and restrained but juicy and easy to drink. Seventy percent of the wine matured in barrel and the rest in troncoconic oak vats. $30 Our Price $19.99 (Arrives GT 1/3/24)

2019 Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet

Winemaker Notes: The 2019 Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon has notes of red cherry, raspberry, blackberry, iris, vanilla and clove. Ruby in color, this elegant wine has great acidity and lift on the mid-palate. Black currant and warm baking spices linger with a deep and fruity finish. It will provide drinking pleasure through 2047 given proper cellaring. Blend: 95.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2.5% Cabernet Franc, 1.9% Merlot, 0.4% Petit Verdot. $90 (Available GT and VRW)

Jeb Dunnuck 95 Points
2019 Arista Winery Chardonnay UV El Diablo Vineyard

The 2019 Chardonnay UV El Diablo Vineyard is flush with fresh green apple fruit, Meyer lemon, dusty earth, and flinty reduction. Full-bodied and rich with texture, the palate is ripe with pineapple candy, vanillin, and baking spice. This was a solid wine to start the flight. Drink over the next 15 years. $100 (Available GT)

2022 Domaine Hippolyte Reverdy Sancerre Rose

It's hard to imagine a wine as refreshing and enlivening as Reverdy’s Sancerre, but the domaine's Sancerre rosé gives their classic white a serious run for its money. Vigneronne Julie Guiard uses direct-press Pinot Noir vinified in stainless steel to create this snappy, saline expression of Sancerre's stony soils. While its delicate aromas of tart cranberry and white cherry set it apart, it makes for an all-star apéritif just as much as her iconic blanc. $35 Our Price $28.99 (Available GT)

Wine Advocate 95 Points
2021 Lucia Pinot Noir Soberanes Vineyard

The 2021 Pinot Noir Soberanes Vineyard saw a touch more stems and was fermented with 35% whole clusters, with the aging spanning 11 months in 45% new French oak. It needs air to show at its best and gives up beautiful red and black fruits as well as black tea, spicy herbs, and foresty, earthy nuances. With more moderate acidity, a round, supple, layered mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and a great finish, it's going to benefit from a year or two of bottle age and evolve gracefully over the following decade. It's another brilliant wine. $70 (Available GT)

Wine Spectator 94 Points
VILMART Brut Champagne Grand Cellier NV (2023 Review)

A sculpted Champagne, rich but still elegant, with well-honed acidity and a panoply of flavors set on the raw silklike mousse. Delivers grilled macadamia nut and biscuit, white cherry and nectarine fruit, crystallized honey, lime blossom, star anise and smoke accents. Long, salty finish. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Disgorged January 2023. Drink now through 2033. 700 cases imported. —Alison Napjus. $89 Our Price $66.95 (Available GT and VRW)

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Taste 2021 MCBRIDE SISTERS COLLECTION Central Coast Chardonnay, 2019 St. Supery Napa Cabernet Sauvignon and 2020 Dominus Napanook Proprietary Red at Vintage Reserve Wine (VRW) for $15 per person.
Friday, January 5th. Available 12:00 noon -5:45 PM

Wine Spectator 90 Points
MCBRIDE SISTERS COLLECTION Chardonnay Central Coast 2021

Creamy and lush, with flavors of lemon meringue, lemon curd and crème anglaise that show accents of marmalade and apricot pastry, plus fresh grace notes of tangerine, candied ginger and toasted, buttery brioche. A fresh thread of acidity keeps all the flavors in focus. —M.W. $17

Wine Enthusiast 94 Points
2019 St. Supery Napa Cabernet Sauvignon

Luscious and ripe black fruits ride an effortless texture in this seamless and well-balanced wine. Minutely grained tannins weave through dark plums, spearmint, cocoa and black cherries. While enticing and drinkable, the wine should have a long, more complex life ahead. Best from 2027–2040. $58

James Suckling 95 Points
2020 Dominus Napanook Proprietary Red

Aromas of currants, blackberries, fresh mushrooms and flowers. Medium-bodied with compacted fruit and integrated, fine tannins. Ripe fruit with reserve. Attractive and alluring. Excellent structure. 88% cabernet sauvignon, 7% cabernet franc and 5% petit verdot. Give it at least five years to open and soften, but very attractive now. $100

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Taste 2021 Mer Soleil Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay, 2021 Sea Smoke Southing Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir and 2019 Scarlett Napa Cabernet Sauvignon at Vintage Reserve Wine (VRW) for $20 per person.
Saturday, January 6th. Available 12:00 noon -3:45 PM

2021 Mer Soleil Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay

Winemaker Notes: Taking its name from the sea and sun – the two forces of nature that shape its exotic character – this wine is as dramatic as the place where it is sourced. With morning fog, bright sunshine and gusting winds, the Santa Lucia Highlands (40 minutes south from Monterey, California) has an extended growing season. Grapes stay on the vine longer, leading to the development of intense aromas such as custard and toasted almonds, rich fruit flavors and enlivening lemon/lime. $20

2021 Sea Smoke Southing Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir

Winemaker Notes: Each year, our goal for Southing is to create the ideal marriage of complexity and elegance. Southing exhibits aromas of fresh strawberry, rose water, Rainier cherry and subtle baking spices. The fine tannins and minerality are enhanced by our estate vineyard’s characteristic cool climate acidity. $115

Jeb Dunnuck 93-95 Points
2019 Scarlett Napa Cabernet Sauvignon

Beautiful, sweet cassis and blue fruits as well as lots of violet and floral notions emerge from the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon, a full-bodied, rich, concentrated barrel sample with wonderful purity of fruit, a good sense of freshness, and serious length on the finish. This promising, elegant yet powerful wine is going to shine with short-term bottle age and keep for two decades. $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