August 30th 2019 Newsletter - The Grape Tray

August 30th 2019 Newsletter

Campo Viejo Cava Brut Reserva

Winemaker Notes: A noble and austere sparkling cava. Greenish yellow in colour with golden glints, it's clear and star bright. A persistent, elegant stream of bubbles rise to form a perfect rosary on the surface. Complex aromas of white fruits with hints of wood. Fresh, well-balanced and elegant on the palate with an excellent final sensation. $10 Our Price $7.95 (Great Value)

Campo Viejo Cava Brut Rose (Penedes, Spain)

Winemaker Notes: A bright sparkling pink color. Pleasant and powerful on the nose with a strong presence of ripe red berries. Round and full on the palate. $10 Our Price $7.95 (Great Value)


2017 Boen RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY PINOT NOIR

Winemaker Notes: This Russian River Valley Pinot Noir is rich in ripe fruit flavors and balanced by bright acidity and judicious hints of toasty oak. $31 Our Price $22.99

2017 Roar Rosella’s Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir

Winemaker Notes: Perfumed and floral, with blackberry, cherry, and vanilla aromas, this wine from our home ranch delivers abundant fruit balanced by savory leather and dried herbs. Dense boysenberry and raspberry anchor a velvety palate and a long, seamless finish laced with oregano, dusty earth, and rose petals. $63 (Arrives 9/4/19)

2018 Nickel and Nickel Truchard Chardonnay

Winemaker Notes: The 2018 Truchard Chardonnay is a beautiful marriage of youthful vibrance and refined elegance. Gorgeous aromas of tropical fruits, citrus, and wet stone leap from the glass with the very first swirl. The same tropical and citrus notes follow on the palate, with pear, peach blossoms, and a touch of spice to round out the flavor profile. This wine is weighty, with an oily-textured component that is inherent to the vineyard. A harmonious mix of acidity and volume, this wine is full and fresh. $60 Our Price $47.75

2017 J. Lohr PURE PASO Proprietary Red

Winemaker Notes: The Cabernet Sauvignon component was selected from highly pigmented blocks, primarily from Shotwell. We chose Petite Sirah fruit that demonstrated a jammy, blackberry character and saturated color from the Home Ranch. Missouri-sourced oak from coopers Demptos and Nadalie provided a torrefaction and roasted lactone barrel signature. The final blend is a balance of the two primary varieties, so that neither has a dominant character; they harmonize. World-class Cabernet Sauvignon 70.5%. Historic Petite Sirah 29.5 %. Two classic varieties that each express a true Paso Robles sense of place. $37 Our Price $24.99

2018 Stewart Napa Sauvignon Blanc

Winemaker Notes: This wine opens with a fragrant array of boxwoods, nettles, and gooseberries, reminiscent of a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. The palate is textured and anchored with layers of Key lime and grapefruit, leading to a lengthy finish with fresh, balanced acids. $25

2017 Talbott KALI HART CHARDONNAY

Winemaker Notes: Kali Hart is our most fruit-forward expression in the Talbott portfolio of wines. In the winery, we let the grapes guide the way with minimal influence, resulting in a rich and bright wine. Aromas of vanilla and brioche lead to dense fruit characteristics of bosc pear, pineapple and melon, giving this wine a lush and inviting palate. This Chardonnay has a soft, clean finish with a hint of minerality and hard spice notes. $20 Our Price $14.99

Antonio Galloni, Vinous (92-95) pts
Shafer Vineyards 2016 Relentless

The 2016 Relentless is every bit as stellar as it was last year. Silky, nuanced and beautifully persistent in the glass, the 2016 is super-refined. A natural tendency towards extroverted power is nicely tempered in this super-polished and highly nuanced Syrah/Petite Sirah blend from Shafer. Drinking window: 2020 – 2030. $95

Jeb Dunnuck 95 Points
2016 Paul Hobbs Russian River Chardonnay

The 2016 Chardonnay Russian River Valley is a beauty that shines on all accounts. Aged 10 months on lees in 45% new French oak, it reveals a gold, slightly green-tinged color to go with awesome notes of caramelized citrus, freshly crushed rocks, spice, and a distinct salinity. It’s clean, medium to full-bodied, beautifully layered, and just a head-turning Chardonnay well worth seeking out. These latest releases from Paul Hobbs are pretty much sensational across the board and Hobbs’ finds a rare mix of purity and elegance matched to richness and concentration that hits all my sweet spots. Hobbs commented that 2016 was a perfect vintage where everything came together easily, and the resulting wines have a terrific sense of elegance, purity an balance that make them already irresistible, yet will also allow them to age gracefully. In addition, the lineup is easy to understand; Hobbs makes an appellation blend Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and two single vineyards of each variety. $60 Our Price $48.95

Jeb Dunnuck 95-97 Points
2017 Bevan Wildfoote Vixen Stag's Leap Cabernet Sauvignon

This beauty has a huge nose of blue fruits, flowers, peach pit, and violets. It's full-bodied, has a forward, sexy profile, and no hard edges, as well as more mid-palate depth than most in the vintage. It's a beautiful, sexy example of this cuvée that's going to drink nicely right out of the gate. $200 (Arrives 9/12/19)

Jeb Dunnuck 96-99 Points
2017 Bevan Tench EE Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville

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. $200 (Arrives 9/12/19)

Jeb Dunnuck 95-97 Points
2017 Bevan Tench Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville

Sexy wine that has exotic notes of blueberries, spring flowers, peach pit, and liquid violets. With a touch of chocolaty oak, full body, terrific tannin quality, and a great finish. $200 (Arrives 9/12/19)


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