We got a couple of deals on some well-known Cabernets and Chardonnays.  Hope everyone is off to a wonderful start to this Memorial Day Weekend.  Wines to arrive the 1st of June.  Let us know if you are interested in the wines below! 

All the best, Rex & Michele

2013 Kata Cabernet Sauvignon, Beckstoffer Bourn Vineyard ~Napa Valley
$140 per, $135 per on 3
lowest price we found on internet is $155 and goes to $220
 
James Suckling: 97 Points   This is a fascinating red with so much high-toned blackberry, blueberry and stone. Asphalt and tar. Lavender and violets. Full-bodied yet agile and lively. It's seamless and formed. Incredible depth and refinement, yet posture. Cabernet sauvignon and 20% petite sirah. Give it two or three years, but so great now.
 
Vinous: 96 Points   T he 2013 Kata Beckstoffer Bourn Vineyard is dense and powerful, but at the same time, the aromatic upper register that makes this wine so compelling is much less expressive than it was last year. Perhaps the 2013 is still recovering from its bottling over the summer. There is plenty of depth to the explosive, inky blue and black fruit, mocha, chocolate, spice and leather notes. Today, the 2013 is showing just the barest hint of what it showed from barrel.-AG
 
Wine Advocate: 95 Points   A new entry, this wine emerges from a Beckstoffer-owned vineyard right next to his more famous Dr. Crane Vineyard in St. Helena. A blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon and 17% Petit Verdot, the wine has a dense purple color and a big, sweet kiss of pen ink and graphite as well as blueberry and blackberry fruit. Sweet tannins, an opulent, full-bodied mouthfeel, super-duper purity and a multi-layered finish of close to 45 seconds make for a terrific Cabernet Sauvignon from this great vintage. Drink it over the next 20+ years.-RP

2012 Merrvyale Vineyards PROFILE ~Napa Valley
$150 per, $145 per on 6
lowest price we found on internet is $164 and goes to $230
 
Falstaff Magazin: 95 points
James Suckling: 93 points
 
Wine Enthusiast: 92 points    Muted initially before slowly unlacing faint baking spices and rose, this wine is jammy, with a plushness of oak and weight. It offers a structure and power dotted in cedar, tar and leather, finishing in pleasing waves of coconut and chocolate.

Wine Advocate: 92 points  
The flagship wine at Merryvale is their Profile, and the 2012 Proprietary Red Blend Profile carries a blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Malbec, 10% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc. Beautiful blueberry, white flowers, black and red currants, as well as some incense and camphor jump from the glass of this stunningly proportioned, complex wine. The mouthfeel is medium to full-bodied with superb purity, enticing texture and oodles of beautiful ripe fruit that cascade over the palate. I think of it as a gracious and somewhat restrained, but authoritative Napa Red Wine. It should drink well for 12-15+ years.
 
Wine Spectator: 91 points   Well-centered on pure, rich blackberry and boysenberry flavors, this is presented in a supple manner, accented by gravel-laced tannins. Ends with a dusty, loamy aftertaste. Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Drink now through 2026. 1,400 cases made. -JL
 
2013 Hess The Lion Cabernet Sauvignon ~Mount Veeder
$139 per, $135 per on 6
lowest price we found on internet is $146 and goes to $220
 
The Wine Advocate: 96 Points  The last bottled wine I tasted is also spectacular, and rivals the finest wines ever made at Hess - the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate The Lion. It is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot and obviously a cuvĂ©e meant to be the best Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated wine they produce. They didn't make it in 2009, 2010, 2011 or 2012, so this is the first vintage in some time. Inky purple in color it offers notes of lead pencil shavings, white flowers, blueberries and blackberries. The Mt. Veeder hallmark of blue fruits and white flowers definitely comes through in this supple, opaque purple wine that is full-bodied, built like a skyscraper and super-impressive. If this is what we can continue to expect from Hess Collection, they are on a quick, express elevator to the top. There are 431 cases of this gorgeous wine.
 
Wine Enthusiast: 92 Points    A new, high-end offering from this producer, this wine is made to celebrate and luxuriate in the appellation, which it does in its ying-yang of dark chocolate and cedar. Bright acidity uplifts a soft, creamy texture and firm, subtle tannin, allowing the blackberry bramble to speak.
 
2015 J Rochioli Vineyard Chardonnay ~ Russian River Valley 
$45 per 
Average Price is $50, highest is $62

Vinous: 92 POINTS  
The 2015 Chardonnay Estate is a gorgeous introduction to the year and the Rochioli estate. Orchard fruit, honeysuckle, mint and lemon confit grace the palate in an exquisite, understated Chardonnay built on finesse and suppleness. The flavors are bright and precise throughout. This is a classy, polished wine from Rochioli. (Vinous)

Wine Enthusiast: 91 points
 Golden-honey colored, this wine has toasty toffee oak and full-bodied richness, with a stark layering of citrus and baked apple. Concentrated and thick, it shows its youth and should benefit with time in both the glass and in the bottle.

Robert Parker
:   90 POINTS  The 2015 Chardonnay offers notes of spiced apples, warm peaches and honeysuckle with a touch of ginger. Medium-bodied, it has an elegant palate with some savory characters and a lively backbone, finishing with a pleasant herbal lift. 2,089 were cases made.

Wine Spectator: 90 points
   Exhibits a rich, smoky core of anise and oaky flavors that pair well with fig, melon, citrus and apricot flavors. The perfumed citrus orchard aromas are especially enticing. Drink now through 2020. 2,089 cases made. -JL
 
2014 Pahlmeyer Vineyards Chardonnay ~Napa Valley  
$62 per
Average Price is $76, highest is $102

Tasting Panel Wine.com
: 95 points  A masterful essay in Napa Chardonnay in a deep, ripe, creamy style; ripe pear fruit, lush toasty oak and soft notes of vanilla; lovely balance and intensity.

The Wine Advocate: 94 points The 2014 Chardonnay is light gold-colored with a greenish hue and beautiful, fresh tropical fruit flavors of pineapple, pear, honeysuckle and a touch of citrus. It is not as dense and concentrated as the 2013, but I love its vibrancy and beautiful subtleties and nuances. It is another top-notch effort from Pahlmeyer to drink over the next 7-8 years.

Wine Enthusiast : 93 points From the Pahlmeyer Estate and the Atlas Peak Vineyard, this wine is made in a huge, sultry and seductive style. Tingly acidity supports a reductive style of rich oak and honeycomb that delves into concentrated layers of baked peach and apple pie. This should stand up well to cellaring; hold until 2022-2029.

Wine Spectator : 91 points A bit edgy, with wood and pear notes joined by citrus and melon details. The buttery flavors slowly come together on the finish.
2015 Plumpjack RESERVE Chardonnay ~Napa Valley 
$43 per 
Average Price is $52, highest is $68
 
Too New to Review
Producer notes: "Our Chardonnay grapes are sourced from two vineyards in the Napa Valley -- one in Los Carneros and the other in St. Helena. The cooler Carneros site imparts this wine with fresh green apple, Bosc pear, and lemon zest on the nose, while the warmer St. Helena site lends some tropical and melon notes. The Carneros vineyard also gives this wine a beautiful, bright, lively acidity, which is balanced by the creamy, rich texture of the St. Helena fruit. Fermented and aged in 66% stainless steel and 34% French oak. The touch of oak adds subtle layers to the nose and palate with traces of toasted almonds, vanilla, flint, and spice. By foregoing malolactic fermentation, we are retaining the bright, lively malic acid, which helps to accentuate the fruit on the palate, and gives this wine its balance and drive. 2,298 cases produced. Alcohol 14.6%."
 




Rex Perry, 972-904-9917 rex@masutawineconsulting.com
Michele Mercy 214-906-5251  michele@masutawineconsulting.com
Francis Silmon 817-271-2720  francis@theclassiccafe.com