Best Buys $10 And Under

94 points Wine Spectator
A dynamic blend, combining deep structure with finesse and polish, this features black cherry and cassis flavors laced with toasty spice, red licorice and a hint of dusty herbs as it builds tension toward refined tannins. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2030

98+ points Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate needs a lot of swirling and coaxing to unlock notions of blackcurrant pastilles, warm black plums and mulberries, plus hints of black olives, tilled soil, mossy tree bark and violets with emerging baker's chocolate and star anise hints. Full-bodied, rich, concentrated and with impeccable poise, it has beautifully ripe, grainy tannins and just enough freshness, finishing epically long and earthy.

97 points Vinous
The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon is dazzling. What a wine! Ample and creamy, the 2019 possesses striking resonance to match its elegant, refined personality. A healthy dollop of Franc adds freshness to a core of dark red cherry, red plum, mocha, spice and new leather flavors. There is a level purity here that is just remarkable. This is the first vintage that includes a small portion of wine aged in amphora. I especially admire the aromatic presence and vibrancy in the 2019.

Utah?€?s first distillery since the 1870's, High West Distiller is located in the Wasatch Range of the Rocky Mountains in Old Town Park City, Utah. Rich and earthy on the palate with balanced flavors of candy corn, honey and sweet corn bread. Finishes with vanilla with a hint of caramel apple. 46%abv

Intricate layers of black cherry, plum, currant, and wild berry mingle with a hint of spice. The soft, delicate, elegant tannins of this Bordeaux varietal carry these aromas and flavors to a long, silky and lingering finish.~Winery Notes
Blend: 89% Merlot, 8% Malbec, 2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Petit Verdot

Since "Whiskey" is made from grain, and buckwheat is technically not a grain, this is technically not a whiskey. But for "not a whiskey", this sure drinks like one. Notes of vanilla and a hint of smokiness accentuate the grainy and nutty character of the buckwheat, making for a "not whiskey" that will please every lover of "whiskey". One and Only Buckwheat is made by Catskill Distilling Co. in Bethel, N.Y. with Catskill Mountain water and New York grown grains. 42.5%abv.

Distiller Notes
Warm toasted burnt sugar notes with spice, sweet, smoky. During the 1970s and 1980s, Michter’s Original Sour Mash Whiskey was the distillery’s single most popular product. While the “Sour Mash” moniker originated from the whiskey production process of the same name – whereby some previously fermented mash is used as the starter for the new mash to be fermented, much like making sourdough bread – Michter’s Original Sour Mash earned distinction for its unique taste. With its unique grain selection, it cannot be categorized as a rye or a bourbon.

If you can imagine the caramel, vanilla and fruity notes of Maker's Mark turned all the way up, you'd have a pretty good idea of what Maker's Mark Cask Strength is like. One of the better regarded cask strength Bourbons. 55.8%abv.

#14 Whisky Advocate Top 20 Whiskies of 2021

2021 San Francisco World Spirits Competition Gold Medal Winner

Named for the finery one would wear for special occasions back in the day, the six-year-aged Bib & Tucker bourbon has a nose of antiques, new saddle leather, chamomile-soaked butterscotch drops and warm cinnamon-kissed cedar. If that doesn’t bring up images of Americana, the flavor profile mirrors the nose, urging on that sense of peace, harmony balance: all the good things you taste and should feel while sipping a great bourbon.

Winery Notes:
"This Merlot blends the craftsmanship of California winemaking with the exotic tradition of dark rum barrel aging, resulting in an incredibly bold sensory expression. Ruby red in color, it opens with rich, sweet aromas of molasses, cocoa powder, maple, and black plum. Flavors of jammy plum and blackberries with complex nuances of toasted coconut, baking spices, and rich vanilla follow. Ripe tannins and concentrated flavors carry through to a long, and lush finish. A superb accompaniment to rum cake, pasta Bolognese, Korean short ribs, Jamaican jerk chicken, spicy coconut curry, dark chocolate, brie with fig jam, and a white, sandy beach at sunset."

100 points Jeb Dunnuck
The flagship 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon checks in as 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot brought up in 40% new French oak. With an essence of Cabernet like character in its darker currants, green tobacco, cedar, graphite, and floral aromas and flavors, this gorgeous wine is full-bodied and has bright yet integrated acidity, polished tannins, and a great, great finish. It’s just gorgeously put together and a magical, flawless wine. It’s going to take a decade to hit maturity but will evolve for 40-50 years in cold cellars. It is as good as it gets in classic, age-worthy Cabernet Sauvignon!(1/2021)

100 points James Suckling
This is incredible on the nose, offering hot stones, blackcurrants, iodine and wet earth. Full-bodied with a tight center palate, then it opens with a tannin structure that is weightless and spreads across the palate. Totally integrated on the palate. This is a magic-carpet wine. Really incredible. One of the reference points for the vintage. Drinkable now and please try a bottle, but it’s one for the cellar. (5/2021)

99 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Very deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Dominus slowly emerges from the glass with profound notes of blackcurrant cordial, ripe black plums, boysenberries and Black Forest cake with hints of violets, star anise, cracked black pepper, raspberry leaves and pencil lead, plus a touch of garrigue. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers impactful black fruit layers, creating a beguiling sense of richness that is beautifully countered by invigorating freshness and great poise, framed by super ripe, plush tannins and beautiful tension, finishing on a lingering fragrant earth note and, finally, lots of mineral sparks. For all that it is at the moment, one cannot help but feel that this 2018 is holding something back. Give it a good five years in bottle, at least, and then get set for what I suspect will be a mindblowing transformation over the next 30 years+. (LPB) (2/2021)

97 points Vinous
The 2018 Dominus is wild and exotic from the first taste. Lifted aromatics make a strong opening impression. There is something exuberant about the 2018 that is hard to describe. The 2018 is not a huge Dominus, nor is it massively structured, but the intensity of the flavors is remarkable just the same. Dark raspberry, spice, leather and cedar are some of the many notes that open over time. (AG)

What: Sparkling
Where: California
"Korbel Sweet Rose is made from a complex selection of both red and white grape varietals. The blend is especially designed to have very bright fruit flavors and aromas of raspberry and vanilla. The harvesting of red varietals early in the ripening process helps achieve the desired style for this cuve. The varietal composition of Sweet Rose is Pinot Noir and Zinfandel with a dosage level of 6.0%.

Excellent With:
Fresh fruit or appetizers such as grilled prawns and mango salsa, or with a selection of ripe cheeses."

Limited release, artwork by Eniko Katalin Eged. Rustica is a Golden Russet and Roxbury Russet highlight that showcases their ability to create a crisp, complex and balanced cider. Minimal sulfur use, Unfined, Unfiltered. 93 Cases. 8% abv

Apples: 50% Golden Russet and 50% Roxbury Russet

Tasting Notes: Rustica has stunning aromatics with lightly perfumed with a fresh apple scent and a citrusy electricity. It is silky and full on the mid-pallet, acid-driven, and dry with lighter tannins and subtle herbal notes. A refreshing cider, lightly tannic and perfect for pairing with rotisserie chicken and veggies.

Limited release, artwork by Keya Tama. This Wild Rose tastes like a breeze drifting over a hay field lined with wild berry bushes. It's one of our favorites! Minimal sulfur use, Unfined, Unfiltered. 114 Cases. 6.2% abv

Apples: Redfield, Somerset Redstreak and Tremlett's Bitter

Tasting Notes: This cider boasts a well-rounded mouthfeel and a rich color derived solely from apples. It features extremely smooth yet well-developed tannins, offering a unique textural dimension rarely found in cider. On the palate, you'll experience tart cherry and cream notes, while the nose hints at guava and citrus.

Natural

A carbonic maceration, fermented with indigenous yeast, no filtering or fining. Estate grown grapes.

Vegan friendly.

A fine, delicate dry Rosé, blended from Hudson River Region Gamay Noir, Cayuga, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay & Riesling.

Vegan friendly.

Winemaker Notes:
"Aromas of apple pie, Bosc pear and white peach are accented with oak spice, a hint of vanilla, toasted nuts, and a touch of butterscotch and light caramel. This wine has the distinctive Sonoma-Cutrer balance between elegance and richness for a medium-bodied, mouth-filling wine. The creamy richness has flavors of ripe apple, pear, peach and melon balanced with a bright acidity with lots of finesse. There is a long, silky finish highlighted with notes of roasted nuts and barrel spice."

The wine was then aged sur-lies in French oak. Barrels were a mixture of new and one-year-old through neutral oak.

The Sonoma Coast is as much about lifestyle as it is about the celebration that this wonderful grape deserves. Our winemakers are selective about the fruit that goes into this wine to ensure that vintage after vintage, we are producing an exceptional Chardonnay. This wine has all of the elements of a classic Chardonnay. It is a wine you serve when you want to show people you care about them. Or, sometimes it’s just for you - because you have earned it.

Organic / Natural / No Sulfites Added

Lot # 1 – Direct press of destemmed grapes to tank for 24h settling off gross lees, transfer to neutral burgundy for alcoholic and malolactic fermentation over 30 days.(50% of final blend)

Lot # 2 – Destemmed to holding tank, 48h of skin maceration in reductive environment and cooling, press to racking tank for 24h settling off gross lees, transfer to neutral burgundy for alcoholic and malolactic fermentation over 30+ days (20% of final blend)

Lot # 3 – Destemmed to stainless tank, full fermentation over 8 days with full skin contact and punch down protocol, kept very reductive, press directly to neutral burgundy for ageing. (30% of final blend)

All lots aged for 11 months in neutral burgundy with regular topping on full lees and reductive environment.

Unfiltered w/o sulfur addition. 10% abv

Organic

44% Trousseau Noir, 22% Gamay, 18% Valdiguié,13% Cabernet Pfeffer and 3% Poulsard from a variety of organically farmed sites around the North Coast AVA of California. All components fermented separately, partially carbonic for brightness and all whole-cluster, adding a spicy aromatic component. Delicate, lean and red-fruited.

Jolie-Laide is a one-man operation based in a Sebastopol winery where winemaker Scott Schultz makes only 500 cases of wine a year under his own label. The name Jolie-Laide translates loosely to "Pretty-Ugly", a French term of endearment to describe something that is unconventionally beautiful. Scott makes some of the most unique and highly sought-after wines in California that are true to their name.

Scott's passion for wine was ignited when moved to Napa from Chicago in 2007. Having had extensive experience in the restaurant business, he switched gears upon his arrival in California to lead the wine program at Thomas Keller's Bouchon. Working a harvest and as a cellar master are a few of Scott's many achievements. He now works with Wind Gap, Ryme Cellars, and formerly Arnot-Roberts. They all share both a winemaking space and similar philosophies in discovering unconventional beauty. Scott Schultz does what he loves, and he does it well. It shows!

Organic / Natural

This is my first year working with this vineyard. My sweet friend Evan Lewandowski helped me secure Sauvignon Blanc from the beautiful Mee Vineyard in the Talmage Bench region of Mendocino.

These grapes were harvested on September 5th 2022. We pressed immediately. The juice fermented with native yeast in stainless steel tank over a period of 2 weeks. It was then transferred into neutral barrel where malolactic fermentation occurred. The wine was bottled on May 31st 2023. - Winery

Organic / Natural

White Horse is Bloomer Creek's light-hearted tribute Cheval Blanc, the great Saint-milion blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot. The Cabernet Franc for White Horse comes from Bloomer's Auten and Barrow Vineyards (vine age ranges from 9-25 years), the Merlot comes from Barrow Vineyard and was planted in 2015. Vinification is similar to the 2019 Cabernet Franc, with a blend of destemmed, crushed and whole cluster fruit fermented in open vats over a three week period. The wine is matured for two years in oak before bottling, unfined and unfiltered.

90 points Vinous
The 2021 Sémillon is sweetly scented, with dusty white flowers, vivid yellow apple and chamomile forming its bouquet. This is suave and opulent on the palate, yet perfectly balanced by brisk acidity, as a mix of ripe tropical fruits and florals cascade throughout. The 2021 finishes with remarkable length, both crisply refreshing and potent, with kiwi and mango notes that linger. I love the inner sweetness here, in spite of its zero grams of residual sugar. What a treat.

Limited release, artwork by Mattis Kun, coloring by Olivia Yi. Made with heirloom apples blended with locally grown grapes. Minimal sulfur use, Unfined, Unfiltered. 103 cases. 9.4% abv

Blend: 51% Northern Spy, Dabinett, Rhode Island Greening Apples and 49% Marquette Grapes

Tasting Notes: Notes of sour cherry and raspberry with a touch of natural effervescence. Sessionable and versatile with food. Enjoy chilled or at cellar temp.

Often considered the missing link between Dutch Genevers and modern dry gins, Old Tom Gin was the prevalent style of Gin in 18th century England. In their quest to recreate this historical, full-bodied expression, Greenhook has crafted this special, overproof bottling from pot distilled corn, juniper, and botanicals inspired by the spice trade of the prevailing time period. Aged for one year in bourbon casks before being finished in Oloroso sherry casks. Works excellently for an Old Fashioned. 50.1% abv.