INSIDER'S PICK: 2019 HEATHEN WINES 'CUVEE CREMISI' RED BALLARD CANYON SANTA BARBARA COUNTY $38.99

Even though we will not be doing the public tasting portion of the Insider's Pick until further notice, we will still be offering the wine for purchase with the usual 10% discount. The wines will still be ones we highly recommend, and the tasting notes will still be our own. We will be returning to doing just the one wine on Thursdays and Fridays until further notice. We hope you are able to come by and get some wines to enjoy.
If a customer comes to us and says 'hey, would you like to try my new wine label?' we usually would respond with a healthy dose of side-eye and a heartfelt 'maybe'. If that customer is an accomplished Level 3 Master Sommelier, educator, heretic and all-around smartypants like Heath Porter, we listen. We listen even closer when we hear the fruit is from a choice site in Ballard Canyon and vinification was done via his friends at  Melville Winery. Once we got to taste it, we were all in. Primarily Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon with equal doses of Sangiovese and Cabernet Franc, this was built with the same fun spirit and 'no rules/all taste' mentality those 'other' brands used to have early on before they became formulaic and lost all sense of personality or distinction. The single source gives the wine character: Ballard Canyon is a cool climate pocket in Santa Barbara, bringing better acidity and tension to the fruit, as well as the use of Sangiovese and Cabernet Franc to pop the palate and brighten the aromatics. Immediately pleasurable aromas from the get-go filled with intense dark cherry, cassis, and spiced black fruits that get warmer and richer as it opens up. The palate is where this really steps away from the competition, showing great life and brightness that bring complexity and interest to the fruit, not a plodding sweetness that hits like a soggy sponge. Completely fun to drink if you just want to kick back and not think about it, but full of thought-provoking context if you do. 

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