 While we generally avoid the 'critter labels' that so often look better on the outside than they taste on the inside, we had to admit this one is the total package. Great juice, and an adorable label especially if you're a cat person. Bargetto is a long standing family winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains, best known for their outstanding estate grown Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs established mostly by vineyard cuttings off of Mount Eden Winery (the legendary property originally established by Martin Ray). For their 'fun wine' they source some Zinfandel and Petit Sirah from nearby older vineyards, along with some bits and bobs from their home vineyards. The wine itself is dedicated to their adopted black and white winery cat, Tux, and does not require a formal occasion to be enjoyed to its fullest. Warm, deep black fruit and dried black spices jump from the glass pretty quickly, getting some sweeter raspberry into the mix as it opens up. The Petit Sirak is on full display on the palate showing a lot of initial grip, getting lusher as it opens up and showing more dark berries over time. The mixed bag of varieties that are added in small amount give the blend a bit of tartness to the finish, so it isn't quite that classic Californian field blend through and through. Great grilling wine for both Zin fans and more Cab-centric palates.
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 Back-to-back Insider's Picks with Cabernet Sauvignon wines, yet VASTLY different. While we will argue a good dry rose is great any time of the year, Spring and Summer definitely qualify as rose 'season', and there are oceans of them to pick from. Provencal ones are great and are a solid benchmark to start from, but not nearly the only game in town. Most every red wine growing area, especially in Europe, makes a dry rose from the grapes they use, and it can be argued that most every red wine grape is capable of being used to make a very nice rose. So don't let this Austrian rose come as a surprise to you when you taste it. Almost peachy fruit on the nose with soft rose petal and strawberry leaf notes, light and fresh at first and getting a bit darker as it opens up. The Cabernet Sauvignon comes through on the body, a bit rounder on the palate with some of the currant and darker fruit notes coming through especially on the tangy finish. There isn't aggressive minerality here, but it still has a long nervy and mouthwatering finish that makes it refreshing sip after sip, and will hold up very well to all kinds of rose-appropriate cuisine.
 The Languedoc has long been known as the bulk wine capital of France, and most of the time customers would be wise to give the stink-eye to a 'Vin de France' Cabernet Sauvignon from here. This is one of the exceptions that deserves a closer look under to hood to see the uniquely outstanding quality. A Kermit Lynch import (already a good sign) Traverses de Fontanes started as the home wine project for Cyriaque Rozier, long time winemaker and vineyard manager at Chateau La Roque. This acclaimed house has long been seen as the premiere winery in Pic Saint Loup, and one of the main reasons the appellation was formed within the Languedoc. Over time Cyriaque has turned his property formerly dedicated to olive groves into terraced rows of vines dug into the clay and limestone soils. The oldest vines are uniquely Cabernet Sauvignon, a grape not allowed under the Pic Saint Loup designation, but the quality pulled from the vines cannot be denied. Plump, plummy red fruits with no oak presence are dark and warm, less pencil-lead and earthy than a Bordeaux but not fruity or modern either. The palate has loads of texture and fine tannin structure to give the flavors lots of dry tones without hitting any astringency. You want to decant this for the aromas to build and fully reach their potential, not because it needs to soften at all. There is a little hint of tart minerality from the soils appearing in the finish that also signal its origins a bit. A great value for a mostly Old School Cab Sauv, durable and approachable, great to have on for any meals when you aren't quite willing to break out the REALLY good stuff.
 We're two-handing the wines this week for the Insider's Pick! With very good reason, as we have grown to love this Central Coast bakery-turned-winery extraordinaire. The Viognier is brand new to us and extremely limited (<100 cases made), so we wanted to see just how awesome it was before we bought more, and decided to share with all of you. The Syrah is a longtime favorite, and we figured the best way to help you guzzle it down as frequently as we do is to share it out as well. The Viognier comes from a small vineyard in the Santa Rita Hills planted to vines cloned from the Alban Vineyard (the first and arguably most successful grower of Viognier in the Central Coast), then aged for 9 months in large glass demijohns before bottling unfiltered. Unctuous, loads of skin texture to bring up the intensity, slowly building the floral notes and ginger-spiced citrus that Viognier is so known for. More Condrieu-like with a little less acidity, maintaining a more subtle power that gives the palate more access to the drier flavors. The Syrah is also very Northern Rhone in style, with lots of peppery red fruits and savory black olive notes, almost Cote-Rotie level silky tannins that leave a lasting tart meaty flavor on the surprisingly fresh finish.
 Portuguese wines are one of the areas for tremendous wine growth over the last few decades, improving in exposure, diversity and quality while still maintaining some of the best values around. Outside of the Douro most regions are not known by consumers for creating much of quality, so for adventurous winemakers like Susana Esteban there are numerous opportunities to make an impact. Galician born, trained in the Douro, Susana found her calling in the Alentejano region in Southeast Portugal and is considered among the fiercest advocates for the older vineyards of their native varieties. This is a true 'field blend' of mixed grapes from one of her younger parcels (a mere 45 years old), but shows of the unique regional style found in the cooler higher altitudes and meticulously kept dry farmed sites. Pretty lime and citrus zest aromas, fresh and almost fruity but always keeping a mineral tangy note even as it opens and gets warmer in the glass. Round and lovely palate that gives all the fruit aromas a juicy flavor, with little prickles of acidity popping up here and there, finishing super clean with a bit of lime and salinity. Lovely wine for warmer weather fish and seafood dishes, citrusy poultry, and will really elevate just about everything around it.
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The Best of the Best.We offering free tastings on these wines in the store every Thursday and Friday, and a 10% discount off the retail price through the duration of the day. Come on by and give them a try! Archives
May 2025
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