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An explosive yet nuanced nose of anise, toasted black peppercorn, saline, and violet aromatics is stunning even before the first sip. Delivering on the promise of the nose, the texture is voluptuous as French oak nuances weave amongst a bevy of concentrated red and black fruit tones. Learn More

Made with 70% Cabernet Franc, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot. The resulting wine shows all of the classic perfumed Alma notes of lavender, cacao, black olive, scorched earth, graphite and dusty herbal nuances. However, the 2009 also displays the dense and incredibly powerful black fruit that Cabernet Franc is capable of producing in warmer vintages. Learn More

Cappella is a proprietary blend of two clones of Cabernet Sauvignon with Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Merlot. The gravelly soil at Cappella produces fruit that is very elegant in structure. The resulting wine exhibits beautiful purity of fruit with fine grained and lengthy tannins. Learn More

The Oak Knoll Cabernet site exemplifies its provenance with incredible balance. It is not "over-the-top." The lot from the Rutherford AVA contributed richness and a regal Cabernet purity.

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This wine is all ripe red fruits, but still has the density and backbone from the Mourvedre and a slight amount of Syrah. The 20% stem inclusion adds so much spice and character. Fans of California Pinot and Chateauneuf Du Pape should buy this in bulk! Learn More

Dark and brooding with the essence of cassis. Tight and coiled as the winemaker would hope at this “baby” stage. Great expansion of fruit on the attack shows its potential. Sweet and substantial tannins build early and help define this young wine. An absolutely refined and classic Desafio. Learn More

This wine is so sexy and seductive! Just a pure, feminine wine that is true to its variety. At its best from Booker, Ripper is from a North facing block and is not a massive, dark, heavy wine. It is a bowl full of red fruits with the perfect amount of acid and a generous amount of mid-palate weight. Learn More

Fulldraw is new to the line-up with fruit sourced from the vineyard immediately adjoining Booker. The soils are pure white calcareous shale, and getting a crop is almost impossible. Thus making it both a widely unique site as well as borderline unsustainable due to the miniscule yields. Learn More

Smoky potpourri, white pepper, and violet fragrances mark the nose of this Larner Vineyard Grenache. The mouthfeel is seamless, even as it moves from earthy notes of sage and pine sap at the attack to juicy dark red tones of redcurrant and flambéed cherries towards the finish. Learn More

Vertigo aims to be a traditional Rhone blend, a “G-S-M”. Booker ferments a portion of this wine whole cluster and uses stem inclusion to add a bit to its character in terms of tannin and spice. Booker named this wine ‘Vertigo’ in jest for one of Booker's steepest hillsides that grows Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre. Learn More

Perfumed aromas of rose petal, macerated strawberries, and cacao bean arise from this richly garnet-colored wine. Lovely, fine tannins grace the palate as notes of ground pepper, dark cherry, and flint accumulate towards a long finish. This is my first Grenache from one of my favorite sites, Bien Nacido Vineyard, and it fully displays the power of that property while retaining the supple elegance of the Grenache grape. Learn More

Earth and fruit are both complexly expressed in this nearly-opaque, massive-yet-controlled Pinot from the always impressive Pisoni Vineyard. A melange of dried red flower and black fruits explode on the nose, and the palate bristles with textural notes of potpourri, dark cherry, and watermelon seed.

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There is serious weight to this powerful wine, yet it remains distinctly balanced with a ripe red fruit component that is grounded and structured by muscular tannins. As evinced by its popularity in my portfolio, the pleasures of this wine are immediate, but there is much to admire behind the scenes. Learn More

The ruby-red color of this wine is lovely in the glass, as are the aromas of framboise, sweet jerky, and flint. Hints of redcurrant and blackberry emerge towards a finish that envelops the palate. Velvety, expansive, and brightly textured. Learn More

On the nose, there is strawberry laced with iron, lingonberry and lavender, and the palate finds fresh-toned red fruit in harmony with earthier, more mineral tones. The mouthfeel is pure satin with an integrated acid through-line. Learn More