Wine & Spirits - Summer 2023 - 97

US New Releases
zin and barbera rally around. All plum and
prune juice on the palate, it's got the dark
tannic fortitude for Italian sausages. -P.J.C. §
tomato spice and woody stemminess that
lasts. The acidity is integrated into the fi nish,
keeping the fl avors lifted and dynamic.
Trevor Sheehan makes this wine at Precision
Wine Company; last year, his 2020 Rutherford
Cabernet performed equally well. Serve
this one with lamb and olive tapenade. -J.G.
(2,500 cases) §
92 | Calla Lily
$65
2019 Napa Valley Ultimate Red Cabernet
Sauvignon ^ This is a project from Cary
Gott, focused on a vineyard in Pope Valley.
His 2019 is an easy and generous cabernet,
playfully cool. The fruit is brisk and clean, the
fi nish lasting in umami notes of black mushroom,
bitter plum-skin tannins and touches
of dark chocolate. -J.G. §
90 | J. Lohr
$60
2020 Paso Robles El Pomar District Shotwell
Vineyard Malbec ^ Rich and purplefruited,
this starts out a bit brooding and
monolithic. After a day of air, cocoa and violet
scents frame a deep core of purple plum
fruit, the wine well-structured for barbecue.
-P.J.C. (250 cases) §
88 | Goldschmidt
$20
2021 Alexander Valley Fidelity (BEST BUY) ^
Here's a $20 red from California that off ers
ripe fruit-compote fl avors, fl oral notes and
some chocolatey oak richness, all in check
and balanced. A blend focused on cabernet
sauvignon and merlot, it's warm but not
thick, with a rough shod feel that makes it
feel real. -J.G. (2,500 cases) §
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
NAPA VALLEY
89 | J. McClelland
$60
2019 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ^
Red-fruited with strawberry and herbal
notes, this wine's tannins have yet to integrate
with the fruit. It's blunt in the end,
needing cellar time to come together. -J.G.
(1,240 cases) §
88 | Precision
$42
2021 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
(BEST BUY) ^ This is a savory cabernet with
black-olive tones to its tannic extract. Meld
its oaken savor with a steak and the wine will
turn warm and welcoming. -J.G. §
SONOMA COUNTY
91 | J. Lohr
$100
2019 Paso Robles Signature Cabernet Sauvignon
^ A massive Paso cabernet, this is all fi g
and plum from its fi rst moments in the glass,
that fruit scent adorned by cedar and pine
tips. With air, an intriguing soil note brings
complexity to the formidable tannins, framing
fruit compote and caramelly oak fl avors.
For brisket. -P.J.C. (500 cases) §
91 | Opolo
$24
2021 Paso Robles Summit Creek Cabernet
Sauvignon (BEST BUY) ^ There's plenty of dark,
rich, chocolatey fruit inhabiting the middle
of this big, juicy wine, with hints of violet and
bell pepper at the edges. The fi nish is fi rm
and chewy, the tannins lean and refi ned, with
the give for a lean cut of beef. -P.J.C. §
91 | The Counselor
$36
93 | Clos de Napa
$65
2021 Yountville Napa Valley Cabernet
Sauvignon ^ Rich, robust and generous, this
wine's ripe plum fl avors have a dark complexity
built on inky plum tannins, a sundried2021
Alexander Valley River Pass Vineyard
Cabernet Sauvignon (BEST BUY) ^ Leave
it to Nick Goldschmidt to come up with an
elegant single-vineyard cabernet for $36.
He makes the Counselor from three blocks
at the 7-acre River Pass Vineyard within the
Passalacqua Ranch. It starts off with purple
plum scents, perfumed in their ripeness, then
lasts on plum and blueberry fl avors, rich and
silken. -J.G. (3,100 cases) §
PINOT NOIR
94 | Eden Riſt
PASO ROBLES
92 | Ancient Peaks
$72
2019 Santa Margarita Cabernet Sauvignon
^ A brash wine loaded to the hilt with
cabernet accoutrements: My fi rst note reads
" pretty baller. " Menthol, cedar, cola and dark
plum come together in a red that's stylishly
powerful and forward; its tannins are a bit
over the top; give it some cellar time to let
those tannins smooth out. -P.J.C. §
$64
2019 Cienega Valley Terraces Pinot Noir ^
From two terraced blocks on the property,
this wine's fruit ferments mostly as whole
clusters (more than three quarters), a portion
of it in an amphora. Winemaker Cory
Waller locates a fl orality at the heart of this
wine: aromas of sandalwood and lavender
giving way to generous, sun-warmed plum
fl avors. The suede-like texture has a dusting
of fi ne, dark tannins and the wine has the
stuff to age. -P.J.C. (725 cases) §
SUMMER 2023
WINE & SPIR IT S
97
https://www.jlohr.com/wines/2020-shotwell-vineyard-malbec https://www.jlohr.com/wines/2019-signature-cabernet-sauvignon https://www.thecounselorwine.com/ https://www.tri-vin.com/
Wine & Spirits - Summer 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - Summer 2023
