California Wines
California Wines
With a history of wine production that dates back to the 18th century, California currently sits as one of the world’s most prolific and reputable wine regions. With an area as vast as California, you can expect a colorful collage of terroir profiles, a series of microclimates, and micro-environments that give the wine a unique, memorable appeal. The region’s produce is far from homogenized in that sense, and it would take you countless hours to sample all of it.
While the region boasts scars from the Prohibition era, it went through what can only be described as a viticultural Renaissance sometime after the 1960s. At that point, California went from a port-style, sweet wine region to a versatile and compelling competitor on the world market. Today, no matter which way your taste in wine leans, you can find a new favorite producer among California’s most talented.
Notable sub-regions include legendary names like Napa Valley and Sonoma County, places that any wine lover worth their salt would die to visit. California’s quintessential warm climate allows for incredibly ripe fruit expressions, a style that provides a stark contrast to Old World-inspired, earthy classics. Even where inspiration was clearly taken from staple French appellations, Californian winemakers put their own unique spin on the wine, making it feel like a unique, standalone piece, rather than a derivative.
A New World region rises to join its viticultural forebears. Its meteoric rise to fame has been nothing short of stunning, and today California can compete with the world’s most prominent wine regions.
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1980 Heitz Cabernet Sauvignon Martha's Vineyard90DEC1980 was a challenging vintage, and Heitz's Martha's Vineyard - an attractive middle-weight - is drinking at the apogee of its maturity. Red and black fruits, cocoa powder, cigar a..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $419.00 -
1985 Dunn Napa Cabernet Sauvignon94WSIntense and concentrated, packed with ripe cassis, cherry and currant flavors that are rich and elegant. The acidity and tannins are crisp and juicy, offering great potential for t..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $299.00
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1986 Dominus93RPI did not pick this out as Dominus in the blind tasting, largely because it came across as such a young, rich, blockbuster wine. One of the richest, densest, most concentrated offe..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $359.00 -
1986 Joseph Phelps Insignia94RPThis surprisingly rich, dark garnet-colored Insignia displays notes of cedarwood, tobacco leaf, black currants, graphite and damp earth. Medium to full-bodied with remarkable densi..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $359.00 -
1987 Heitz Cabernet Sauvignon Martha's Vineyard96JG(Cabernet Sauvignon “Martha’s Vineyard”- Heitz Wine Cellars) The 1987 Martha’s Vineyard hails back to the time when the labels stated 13.5 percent alcohol, ..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $529.00 -
1987 Silverado Napa Cabernet Sauvignon92WSSmooth, ripe and harmonious, with layers of black cherry, plum, currant and anise, finishing with a smooth texture and a long, lingering aftertaste.--1987 California Cabernet horiz..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $239.00 -
1989 Dominus92RPThe 1989 is undoubtedly the Cabernet Sauvignon of the vintage. The color is a dark ruby/purple and the nose offers up sweet, fragrant scents of black fruits, cedar, herbs, and spic..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $395.00 -
1990 Mondavi Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon94RPThis wine is just beginning to drink spectacularly well. The rustic, big, thick 1990 is Californian in its orientation. It is loaded with flavor, but the tannin is coarser when com..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $1,335.00 -
1991 Joseph Phelps Insignia100RPAn extraordinary dense plum/purple color is followed by a seductive as well as explosive bouquet of white chocolate, creme de cassis, spring flowers, licorice and a touch of graphi..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $669.00 -
1992 Stag's Leap Cabernet Sauvignon Cask 2396RPAll of the other current and up-coming releases are outstanding. The 1992 Cask 23 (as of November 16, there were still magnums and 750 ml. formats available at the winery) boasts a..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $275.00 -
1994 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon99RP1994 produced 4,863 cases from a blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Cabernet Franc. This is one of the great vintages of the 90s, and Spottswoode hit the bull’s-eye with ..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $359.00
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1995 Araujo Eisele Cabernet Sauvignon98RPI believe the 1995 is the finest produced under the Araujo regime. It is close to perfection. The wine combines extraordinary power and richness with remarkable complexity and fine..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $429.00 -
As low as $1,799.00 -
As low as $349.00
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1996 Pahlmeyer Merlot97RPThe 1996 Merlot (3,000 cases) is a worthy rival. Bottled unfined and unfiltered, this blend of 93% Merlot and 7% Cabernet Franc tips the scales at a heady 14.6% alcohol. Could it b..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $249.00 -
1996 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select93RPA drought year produced the 1996 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select, which is slightly more compact than great vintages, but nevertheless impressive. It offers further evide..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $419.00 -
1997 Araujo Eisele Cabernet Sauvignon92+VMFull ruby-red. Expressive nose combines black raspberry, currant, black cherry, chocolate, tobacco and sandalwood. Lush and sweet but fresh, with a firm edge of acidity giving shap..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $649.00 -
1997 Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red98RPThe finest proprietary red produced by Pahlmeyer to date is their 1997 (a blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and the rest Petit-Verdot, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec). Produ..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $589.00 -
1997 Philip Togni Cabernet Sauvignon98RPThe 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon has to be one of the great buys left for profound Napa Cabernet. He’s done the aging for you, and of course the wine is still an adolescent in ter..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $845.00 -
1999 Pahlmeyer Merlot94WSA mouthful of wine that packs in lots of rich, deep, plush and concentrated flavors, with tiers of currant, blackberry, raspberry and wild berry fruit. Well-integrated tannins smoo..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $175.00 -
2001 Dominus98RPA brilliant showing for Christian Moueix’s well-known Napanook Vineyard, the 2001 Dominus is a blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 10% Petit Ver..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $435.00 -
2001 Joseph Phelps Insignia98+RPStill a young wine at age 12, the 2001 Insignia exhibits a dense purple color along with a sweet bouquet of camphor, blackberries, cassis, incense and spring flowers. Full-bodied, ..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $319.00 -
2002 Carter Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Vyd100RPA perfect wine, the 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To-Kalon Vineyard comes from further north in the Oakville Corridor on the valley floor. One of the youngest wines in this t..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $675.00
