IMMEDIATE INDULGENCE Chateau Montelena "Estate" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Magnum

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Leonard Knight
6 years ago
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2005 Chateau Montelena "Estate" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon is a young, vibrant, dense ruby/purple - colored wine with lots of classic cassis fruit and a touch of earth

1 2005 Chateau Montelena "Estate" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon is a young, vibrant, dense ruby/purple - colored wine with lots of classic cassis fruit and a touch of earth undertones. It offers relatively soft and silky tannins by the standards of Montelena, but they re there. It is fullbodied, rich and impressive. Cabernet Sauvignon from the northern end of the Napa Valley in Calistoga tends to be the St.-Estèphe of Napa. This wine is certainly one of the great ones. Forget it for another 3-4 years and drink it over the following Points (RP) Opening Bid: $150 Buy it Now: $250

2 2004 Didier Dagueneau Blanc Fume de Pouilly Silex The 2004 Blanc Fume de Pouilly Silex leads off with an amazing aromatic amalgam of pineapple lime grapefruit passion fruit peppermint white currant chalk dust and a diverse array of herbs and flowers. Carpeting the palate with more of the same it also adds hints of resin and rich suggestions of caramelized parsnip. Plush polished and remarkably poised this wine's luscious richness of fruit somewhat sublimates obvious minerality but then arguably certain sorts of effusive fruit and perfume constitute precisely the terroir character of flint soils in the Loire. Certainly this remains transparent and not without delicacy of citrus and flowers as well as a certain lightness of touch even as it finishes with ravishing refinement and memorable length Points (RP) Opening Bid: $180 Buy it Now: $300

3 Opening Bid: $350 Buy it Now: $ Saxum James Berry Vineyard Proprietary Red Utter perfection and one of the most profound Rhone Ranger wines I have ever tasted is the 2007 James Berry Vineyard Proprietary Red a blend of 41% Grenache 31% Mourvedre and 28% Syrah (15.8% alcohol). It would be an amazing wine to insert in a tasting of the most profound 2007 Chateauneuf du Papes. As with many prodigious wines the extraordinary freshness purity equilibrium and singularity of this effort is breathtaking. Its dense purple color is accompanied by an extraordinary incredibly pure all enveloping intense sweet nose of black raspberries kirsch spring flowers spice box and pepper. Full-bodied with not a hard edge to be found it is stunningly concentrated with unreal purity a voluptuous texture and remarkable freshness for a wine of such power depth and concentration. This 2007 will be approachable young although I would not be surprised to see it close down given the relatively elevated proportion of Mourvedre and it should drink well for years. 100 Points (RP)

4 2004 Pride Mountain Vineyards Claret Reserve A blend of 89% Sonoma and 11% Napa fruit, the 2004 Reserve Claret is composed of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. More coffee, toffee and caramelized red and black fruit aromas jump from the glass of this dense plum/purplecolored wine. It reveals a slightly lighter edge than the Cabernet Sauvignon. Medium to full-bodied with beautiful fruit, it is more compact than the Cabernet, but is also a great example of Northern California viticulture. This fullbodied beauty will benefit from another 2-3 years of cellaring, and should age effortlessly for years thereafter Points (RP) Opening Bid: $210 Buy it Now: $350

5 2008 Booker Vineyard Alchemist (Syrah / Cabernet) The 2008 The Alchemist (65% Syrah, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot, 10% Tempranillo and 5% Granache) possesses an inky/ruby/purple color along with notes of barbecue smoke, asphalt, graphite, blackberries, kirsch, loamy soil and minerals. Intense and fullbodied as well as impeccably wellbalanced, this superb effort coats the palate, but is never heavy or overbearing. It should drink well for a decade or more. Booker Vineyard has quickly established itself as one of the top sites in the Paso Robles region for Rhone varietals. Their red wines are nearly off the chart in terms of their aromatic complexity with stacked and packed personalities as well as brilliant balance Points (RP) Opening Bid: $150 Buy it Now: $250

6 2009 Clos St. Jean Chateauneuf-du-Pape Deus-Ex-Machina The 2009 Chateauneuf-du-Pape Deus-ex-Machina is an extroverted, open and insanely perfumed effort that boasts killer blackberry and kirsch-styled fruit to go with layers of spring flowers, exotic spice and graphite. As are all of these efforts, it s full-bodied, deeply concentrated and textured on the palate, with masses of sweet tannin. It will be better in a couple years and evolve gracefully for two decades, but it s hard to resist right now - 99 Points (RP) Opening Bid: $240 Buy it Now: $400

7 2009 Clos St. Jean Chateauneuf-du-Pape La Combe Des Fous A wine that blew me away, and the best bottle of this I've tasted, the 2009 Chateauneuf du Pape Combe des Fous gave up exotic and intense aromas and flavors of ground pepper, kirsch liqueur, incense, white chocolate and crushed flowers. About as seamless and sexy as they come, this extraordinary Chateauneuf boasts incredible concentration, no hard edges and insane length on the finish. Much more forward and open than the 2010, drink it over the coming 10 to 15 years - 99 Points (RP) Opening Bid: $210 Buy it Now: $350

8 2012 Stags Leap Cabernet The Leap The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate The Leap was aged 20 months in 50% new French oak. This is a beautiful wine, offering up an opaque purple color and a beautiful nose of floral-infused blackberries and blueberries, as well as cassis. This is a wine of great intensity, with a multilayered mouthfeel and deep, pure richness. This stunner should drink well for years Points (RP) Opening Bid: $135/bottle Buy it Now: $225/bottle

9 2007 Fisher Vineyards Coach Insignia, Cabernet Sauvignon This venerable winery has produced a beautiful 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Coach Insignia. Its deep ruby/purple color is accompanied by notes of charcoal, background wood smoke, black currants, and a hint of graphite. Elegant and medium to full-bodied with sweet tannin, a seductive texture, and surprising opulence Points (RP) Opening Bid: $120/bottle Buy it Now: $200/bottle

10 2012 Caymus 40 th Anniversary Cabernet Sauvignon 1-Liter They appear to be immune to some of winedom s less than intelligent trends and fads that we see from time to time, and the result is a spectacular 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon 40th Anniversary offering. Its dense purple/black color is followed by copious quantities of crème de cassis and blackberry fruit, silky tannins, a voluptuous texture and stunning purity as well as length. This fullbodied effort is a fabulous example of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon as well as a tribute to this amazing family. It is so good now, why wait? However, I m sure that like most vintages of Caymus, it will last for years. Amazing! - 96 Points (RP) Opening Bid: $120/bottle Buy it Now: $200/bottle

11 2014 Beringer Private Reserve Napa Valley Chardonnay ml. bottles per Lot Extremely complex white showing dried apples, toasted oak, smoke and toffee and lime undertones. Full-bodied, dense and layered with superb texture and tension. A vibrant Napa chardonnay that combines both intensity and tension. Complex and long. Drink or hold - 95 Points (JS) Opening Bid: $90/Lot Buy it Now: $150/Lot

12 Three 750 ml. Bottles Scarecrow Winery Wine lover s Gem 2011 Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon A notable success in an extremely irregular vintage (even more so for Napa s valley floor vineyards), the 2011 Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon possesses a deep ruby/plum/purple color, and a slightly lighter weight and less of a serious foundation of structure than the However, the wine s purity and hints of kirsch, black currants, berry fruit and toasty oak are well-displayed and wellintegrated into this seamlessly constructed effort 93 Points RP 2010 Scarecrow M. Étain Cabernet Sauvignon A wine that captures the essence of the vintage, Scarecrow's 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon M. Etain literally bursts from the glass with vivid, beautifully articulated fruit. Black cherries, raspberry jam, plums, espresso, menthol and rosemary are just some of the many nuances that take shape in the glass. The 2010 is rich, fullbodied and beautifully layered from start to finish. Another year or two in bottle should help the firm 2010 tannins soften a touch. The 2010 includes 5% Petit Verdot in the final blend. 94 Points RP 2012 Scarecrow M. Étain Cabernet Sauvignon The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon M. Etain is in essence a second wine, but it sure doesn t taste like one. Its deep purple color is followed by pure black raspberry and blackcurrant fruit, dusty, loamy soil notes, extraordinary depth of fruit, ripeness and good acidity. This opulent, round beauty is ideal for drinking over the next decade or more. One of the classic wines of Napa Valley, Scarecrow s Cabernet Sauvignons are made by well-known winemaking consultant Celia Welch. This historic vineyard in Rutherford, which owns some of the oldest vines in all of Napa, continues to turn out some of Napa s most profound Cabernet Sauvignons. 94 Points RP Opening bid: $600 Buy it Now: $900

2012 Kapcsandy Family Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vin State Lane Vineyard

2012 Kapcsandy Family Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vin State Lane Vineyard A Cabernet Sauvignon Dry Red Table wine from USA,Yountville,North Coast,California,USA Rating: 100 The bottled 2012s are all