Meadowrock Cabernet – SOLD OUT!

We tried to tell you – it was going to go fast! BUT a good spy is always prepared. And we have and even better deal for you…

At 98-points, just two ticks off perfection, and UNDER $40?!

Looking for light, breezy, coastal Californian Pinot?

Well, this ain’t it.

If you’re more into the full-throttle, hedonistic, lavish style that still brings in all the elegance and class you hope for in a “top shelfer,” this is the one for you.

Guarachi always brings the heat, with top notch estate vineyards, winemaking, and as usual, big scores. This one is no exception.

We’ve become big fans of Guarachi here at Wine Spies HQ, because they continually produce sure-bets like this single-vineyard 2023 Pinot. If you liked the Domaine Della or Kelly Fox in the past, this fits right in between those in style. And clocking in a hair over 50% OFF makes it a heluva deal.

Founder Alex Guarachi had his sights (and feet) set on a professional soccer career, when he suffered an unfortunate injury during a university championship game. Looking for an alternative to regularly getting hurt, he eventually found himself importing wine from his native Chile and getting a feel for what makes truly world class bottlings. He launched Guarachi Family Wines in 2007 and then decided that, in order to get the quality levels he truly envisioned, he needed total control from vine to glass. So, in 2013 he purchased Sun Chase Vineyard in the Petaluma Gap.

Talk about a SCORE. It turns out that Sunchase, at 1,400 feet above the valley floor, is the highest elevation vineyard in the Petaluma Gap, benefitting from all of its amazing cool maritime influences—which Pinot Noir vines happen to LOVE.

In another fabulous score, Guarachi landed Julian Gonzalez to take the lead on making his wines. If that name sounds a bit familiar, it’s because Gonzalez was Lead Winemaker for all Paul Hobbs consulting programs from 2007 to 2016. Working with the master, Gonzalez (who also spent some time at Dominus Estate) has multiple perfect-scoring, 100-point wines under his belt.

The biggest score of all of this is the wine itself. Folks, words do not do the nose justice… but we’ll try! The purity of the floral aromas alone is mind-boggling: roses, violets, rooibos tea, all underscored by ripe raspberry fruit that’s at once refined and also wild. In the mouth? One shot after another, drilling straight lasers of plush red berry fruit - candied raspberry, red whips, and juicy red cherry, with spectacular acidity, subtle and well-integrated oak notes, and a thread of elegant minerality. Total class, perfectly aged, and drinking like a champion.

Time for you to score, Pinot lovers. Just stock up before we run out! Like with the Cabernet, there isn’t much to go around.

98 Points – The Tasting Panel “The maritime climate of the Sonoma Coast, known for its cooling winds, along with the steep, 1,400-foot elevation of this coveted vineyard – the highest in the Petaluma Gap AVA where it is situated, created an ideal environment for crafting this stellar three-clone Pinot Noir. Black fruit, fennel, and sandalwood feels glossy as it settles on the palate. Black cherries and Worcestershire perform a duet, savory and deep. The balance of low and high notes, acidity, minerality, and inner strength, makes the finish of chocolate-covered rose petals more noteworthy.”

96 Points – Wine Enthusiast “Aromas of macerated cherry, blackberry liqueur and black tea waft on the nose of this Pinot. The palate has a charming earthy richness and flavors of spiced berry gastrique, forest floor and sandalwood that echo across the finish. Best from 2028-2040.”