January High End Red
 2007 is shaping up to be a phenomenal year for Napa Cabs, and we've finally gotten on the list to offer you some wine from the amazing Lewis Cellars!
This month, we offer a choice of two classic Napa Cabernets, both from Lewis Cellars: 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillstone Vineyard Napa Valley and 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley.
Lewis Cellars is a small, family owned and operated winery in the Oak Knoll AVA. Each year, Randy and Debbie Lewis produce 8,500 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, and Chardonnay. The winery sources its red grapes from Oakville, Rutherford, St Helena, and Calistoga, and Chardonnay from Carneros, Oak Knoll, and Russian River Valley. Lewis Cellars is one of the most consistently impressive producers in California. Since debuting their label in 1994, Randy and Debbie Lewis have continued to pinpoint great vineyards to source their wines.
This is the fourth release of Lewis' Hillstone Cabernet, made from a grapes grown in a small hillside vineyard at the Rutherford home of Carol and George Biel. In 2004 and 2005 less than 4 barrels of "Hillstone Vineyard" were produced, exclusively for the Biel's Hillstone Restaurant Group. In 2006 and again for 2007, production was expanded to 10 barrels, increasing availability for a limited time. Planted in 1993, the vines at Hillstone Vineyard are rooted in cobbly, light loam soils, terraced on a steep, west-facing slope in Rutherford. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged in all new French oak, the 2007 Hillstone is big and brooding with brambly oak spices, tobacco and Turkish coffee. Ripe and round at its black-fruited core, the wine is polished with fine, sinewy tannins.
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Dec. '09 High End Red Wine
 We were lucky enough to score a few bottles of Sean Thackrey's stunning single vineyard blend, Orion! Orion is an inky Rhône-style blend with an intense dark fruit nose punctuated by hints of graphite and earthy sweetness. Full-bodied, this is a boutique gem that's hard to find, even harder to get your hands on and worth every penny.
Parker gave the wine 98+ points and raved: "As for Thackrey's flagship wine, Orion from the Rossi Vineyard is a cuvée from a field blend of old vines planted in 1905. This wine, like so many of its previous renditions, has an inky purple/black color and a superb nose of blueberry and black raspberries intermixed with forest floor and floral undertones. Its striking aromatics are followed by a full-bodied wine with a multi-dimensional personality, terrific texture, purity, silky tannins, and a blockbuster finish.
Everything is in perfect balance. The wine is superbly pure, very expressive, and a real attention grabber, but at the same time it is classic in every sense. This is a beautiful example of a wine that pays homage to pre-Prohibition pioneers and their field blends, which have fortunately been preserved in this legacy wine. Drink it over the next 15 or more years.
One of California's most iconic and mystical winemakers, Sean Thackrey has logged in 20 or more vintages of consistently stunning wines that perhaps say it all with the simple quote on his label: -Sean A. Thackrey, Vintner, Bolinas, California."
Finding information to share about Sean Thackrey's wines is about as challenging as locating Thackrey's Bolinas property, which is located an hour north of San Francisco in western Marin County. Thackrey's rustic winery-in-a-eucalyptus grove is only accessible via a twisting road that ends at the Pacific's edge.
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High End Red, November '09
This month, we return to Priorat to present one of my favorite wines - 2006 Clos Erasmus Laurel Priorat, the second bottling from Clos Erasmus.
 Although this wine is technically a second bottling, I'd put it up against most Priorat producers first bottlings in a blind test. It has the striking minerality that Priorat is famous for, gobs of black fruit flavors, amazing complexity and length.
Clos Erasmus was begun with the purchase of some old vines of Garnacha by Daphne Glorian, who happened to be in the area visiting some friends. What started as a fun project in 1990 soon became a very serious endeavor as Priorat rapidly ascended to world-class wine status. Clos Erasmus is now considered a benchmark of the region and has the first wine recently received consecutive 100 Point scores from the Wine Advocate (2004 & 2005), the only wine of Spain to ever achieve such critical accolades.
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October High End Club
 This month, we present one of my favorite red wine blends, one that I purchase for myself year after year after year - Justin Isosceles - a well-balanced blend of Cabernet, Cabernet Franc and Merlot from on of Paso Robles' most celebrated wineries.
This year's blend - the 2006 vintage - contains 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc and 5% Merlot, aged in 65% new French oak barrels, and delivers a fuller bodied wine than some recent vintages.
Justin Isosceles has been one of the closest things to a no-brainer domestic Bordeaux blend over the fifteen years. Add the fact that it so much less expensive than most of its Napa brethren and you have a relatively great bargain for a world class wine.
Full of mocha, anise, graphite and highlighted with some lovely white floral laces the nose is wildly expressive for a wine this young. Rich and loaded with plump, lush flavors of blackberry, coffee bean, pastilles, kirsch and hardwood smoke. This is a perfect wine for grilled meats and strong flavored California cuisine or for those that would like to impress their Napa-driven Cabernet friends.
The 2006 Isosceles is inky purple with a slight red hue around the rim. Aromas of blackberry, black plum, leather, mocha, and cassis combine with light layers of caramel, vanilla and a touch of smoke resulting from the extended oak aging. The entry is filled with red and black fruit. A balance of softness and acidity segues into a mid palate with length and weight. Seamless, integrated tannins marry with ripe fruit, and flavors of red currant, butterscotch and hint of pencil lead on the finish of this wine. The 2006 Isosceles is very young, and will continue to evolve from now through 2025.
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In 1877 the 9th bonded winery in California was established. That same winery is now home to Ghost Block, and Oakville Winery. The Bonded Winery #9 portfolio of brands is owned by a family that has been harvesting grapes in the Napa Valley for more than 100 years. The vineyards, in both the Oakville and Yountville appellations, are a sprawling 635 acres and 100% of the acres are certified organic.
