High Rollers Cabernet Club Fall 2023
2020 Aperture Soil Specific Proprietary Red Wine, Alexander Valley
San Francisco Wine Panel Score 94+ Points
Aperture’s Bordeaux blend is always a gorgeous wine and the 2020 is a knockout. The nose offers intense, brightly focused aromas of blackberry, blueberry, cedar, clove, black olive and graphite which rise above a tighter core of dark cherry. It is firm, gutsy, bright and focused on the palate, with enough polish to smooth away any rough edges. The finish is youthfully tight yet very long, and it delivers concentrated fruit flavors stylishly married to dark oaky and earthy spice notes. Already a pleasure to drink, this beauty will be superb with dark meats and it should grow ever finer for several more years. A blend of 33% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Malbec, 28% Merlot & 11% Cabernet Franc. 2,189 cases produced.
2015 Arns Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Howell Mountain, Napa Valley
San Francisco Wine Panel Score 96 Points
Beautifully aromatic and impressively evolved, the aromas of this splendid Cabernet are a perfume of red currant galete, dark sour cherry, cedar, tobacco leaf, canela, sweet vanilla, toffee, baking spice and graphite. It is palate-coating and luxuriously elegant in the mouth, where cherry, red currant, cedar, sweet tobacco and baking spice flavors rise above undercurrents of laurel and graphite. The finish is plush and long and the wine begs for service with classic sauced meat entrees. It will undoubtedly yet improve and should easily hold its current charm and beauty for another eight to ten years. 300 cases made.
2018 The Lerner Project Cabernet Sauvignon “RMS” Diamond Mountain, Napa Valley
San Francisco Wine Panel Score 98+ Points
Winemaker Russell Bevins has crafted a great wine from this classic vintage, one that grows in dimension and beauty as it airs. The nose and the flavors that follow are an ultra complex medley of violet and dark rose poised above deeper layers of black cherry, sour dark cherry, red currant jam, black raspberry, blueberry, Cassis, black fig, Boston Brown Bread, laurel, star anise and graphite. The wine’s ultra-long, focused finish is never less than grand in scale, and airing reveals gorgeous elegance while the intense, sweet-natured flavors are more than a match for its notably strong spine of tannin. Terrific now if decanted, it has years of evolution ahead and will be alive and well to greet its 20th Birthday. Blended with 13% Cabernet Franc and 12% Merlot. 720 cases produced.
2020 Pilcrow Cabernet Sauvignon Ghost Block Yountville, Napa Valley
San Francisco Wine Panel Score 95 Points
From its deep purple color to its lingering finish, this is a notably ripe, clean and polished 2020 Cabernet of immediate appeal. The nose is a harmonious medley of black raspberry, blueberry, Cassis, red currant, violet, toffee, tobacco leaf and star anise. The mid-palate flavors are a focused and delightfully elegant reprise of the aromas and they swamp the wines substantial tannins to continue the impression of polished richness without a pause. The finish layers-in brighter flavors of cherry pit and red apple skin in counterpoint to the wines sweet-natured, oaky spice. The result is a terrific, notably charming dinner wine. 175 cases produced.
2016 Whitehall Lane Cabernet Sauvignon Leonardini Estate Napa Valley
San Francisco Wine Panel Score 95+ Points
Stored in the winery’s own private library, this bottling has clearly been aging gently. The aromas open as a rich, complex, surprisingly youthfully mix of blackberry, Mulberry, black fig, tobacco, coffee bean, toffee, black tea leaf, graphite, baking spice and star anise scents. It is gutsy and boldly rich on the palate where dark sour cherry, cherry pit and hazelnut notes join the blue and black fruit and spice flavors promised in the nose. This flourish of flavor does much to soften the grip of the remaining tannin, leaving the wine’s emphasis on the fruit and licorice notes. It is built for service with dark, fatty meats and should further improve for another two years and possibly beyond. 1300 cases produced. $89.95
2018 White Lane Cabernet Sauvignon Estate St Helena, Napa Valley
San Francisco Wine Panel Score 94 Points
This winery debut introduces a vineyard that showcases St Helena’s unique medley of pretty fruit and dried herbal spice. The nose opens with vivid fruit aromas of red plum galette, black cherry, cassis and blueberry, poised above savory scents of laurel, dried sage, dark tobacco, black tea leaf and pencil shavings. On the palate it is notably ripe and forthcoming yet truly elegant, with a supple texture and a streamlined mouth feel which combine to submerge it’s polished tannins. The focused fruit notes promised by the nose are well represented in the mouth, where notes of red rose, toffee and toasted rosemary add depth which becomes even more evident in the delicious, lingering finish. Expect several more years of attractive development. 110 cases produced.