Stephen & Walker, 2013 Oak Knoll Cabernet Sauvignon —

Inveigling quality from start of sip to summation; one of those Cabs that makes you stop and reconsider your position on Cabernet even if you think yourself a ‘Cab person’.  Celestially structured fruit at its epicenter with atmospheric acidity and texture.  Easily age-worthy, but quite communicative now.  Indeed a new translation of Cabernet but a wine, standalone, that sings a song demanding attention with every parcel of its personhood.  When poured by Mary in the S&W tasting room, I had a hard time interpreting this bottle as its voice and consistency was so much better structured than most if not all the Cabs I’ve recently tasted.  (MM93)

Landmark Vineyards, 2013 Carneros Chardonnay —

Another Chardonnay that orders me and makes me shut my mouth.  No more defamations.  Everything from the apple and pair suggestion that I hope for and the comforting acidic envelopment.. love, just Burgundy love.  It’s a cosmic accost, a wine that challenges you and silences you if have that Chard’ aversion that so many claim to have.  And I’m one of them, or was.  Not with this bottle.  Believable, non-contrived, convincing and coated in charisma, from nose to palate and finish…  You’ll search for Chardonnays of this fold, but such effort’s imbued in implausibility.  They’re not there.  This bottle boasts distinction and dimension; deliciously dualistic.  (MM94)

Sanglier Cellars, 2012 Alexander Valley Merlot —

Confrontationally wooing with is vocal gravity, how it evades criticism and any fashionable dismissal of Merlot.  You’re greeted with depth and versatility, dark fruit and gothic texture to this interpretation of the embattled Bordeaux type– but this wine won’t let you stop sipping, nor will it allow that banishment.  There’s composition in what you sip here; coherence and a theatric savoriness that’s unusual for Merlot.  There’s no warrant for hesitation here, and no call for any stereotyping.  This bottle continues narratively in its development and kindness, with flavor flashes repeating and subduing any Merlot stubbornness.  Rather, while tasting your thoughts dance, calypso, salsa, tango.. you’ll change.  (MM93)