Club Select®
For our Spring Club Select Allocation, our goal as always is to wow you with great wines of exceptional value from around the world. We feel like this curation meets the bar on both fronts. This collection of 6 unique wines represents a journey of wines not readily available at your local wine shop or liquor store. We feel this is a truly unique collection of wines and we hope you love them.
We begin this wine journey in France's Loire Valley with a brilliant Sauvignon Blanc from Sancerre. We move next to California with 96-point Pinot most Cab lovers will love. Then it's on to a gem from Spain's Rioja region, a classic from Tuscany, and a brilliant Cab / Malbec blend from one of Argentina's most storied wine producers. We finish our tour with another Cabernet blend, this time from Australia and another world renown producer.
Membership = $300 per allocation
Each allocation is assembled to bring you maximum value for your money. The cost of Club Select is $300 per allocation, which is a fraction of what these wines would cost individually.
We thrive to provide the best experience and guarantee to replace any wine that does not live up to its billing. Subscribers can pause or cancel membership at any time.
2019 Henri Bourgeois Sancerre d'Antan
Vital Statistics
Henri Bourgeois, Sancerre, Loire Valley, France
What Others Are Saying
Vivino: 4.3
Drink Now - 2030
"In Sancerre, flint soils are in the minority and typically give wines that are not as tender as those on chalk-based vineyards. This provides an upright structure, meaning they are usually last in a lineup at a winery. And yet, while the 2019 Sancerre Cuvée d'Antan is very direct, with its firm line on the finish, it's still full-bodied, silky-smooth and amazingly rich. It's fermented entirely in older oak barrels and spends a year on lees, which certainly has something to do with its delectable texture. There's the merest hint of smokiness on the finish too. "
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-Wine Spectator - 96 points
"Creamy, mineral and pretty varietal at the same time, mixing brioche with gooseberries, lime and flint. Flavorful on the palate with a medium to full body, all very linear. Fresh and a tad saline followed by a lengthy, pure finish."
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-James Suckling - 94 points
Why did this wine make this allocation?
We have yet to run into a Sancerre we didn't like. We love the minerality that is always there. Not all are created equal and this one nearer the top end of the spectrum. Great balance of citrusy fruits balanced by that tell-tale flinty minerality.
2019 Belle Glos Las Alturas Vineyard Pinot Noir
What Others Are Saying
Vivino Score: 4.4
Drink now through 2026
"Firm lines of graphite and loamy earth streak through the opulent aromas of black plum and dried violet on the nose of this brooding Pinot Noir. The palate is a whirlwind of exuberance, as leathery tannins wrap around more graphite minerality, dried violet and lavender, with stewed plum and a touch of bittersweet cocoa on the finish."
Wine Enthusiast - 96 points
"The 2019 Pinot Noir Las Alturas captures all the signatures of the Belle Glos style and yet has quite a bit of freshness too. That makes for a compelling Pinot for readers who enjoy big, large-scaled wines. Sweet spice, rose petal, lavender and spice are nicely kicked up here. Best after 2023"
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- Vinous - 93 points
Why did this wine make this allocation?
This is a Pinot Noir for Cabernet lovers. Lucsious fruit and soft spice and velvetty tannin just deliver a great glass of wine every time. This is a rare occasion that we want to share a wine that is likely on your grocery store shelf, but we just love it and want to share it with you. This is our everyday Pinot. It never disappoints.
2018 Marqués de Cáceres 'Gaudium' Rioja DOCa
What Others Are Saying
Vivino: 4.3
Drink by 2032
"Well up to the standard of previous Gaudiums, the 2018 release is wonderfully focused, fine, layered and well balanced. Pairing Tempranillo with 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, it's a wine inspired by classed growth Bordeaux as much as Rioja. Polished and perfumed, with bramble, cassis and capsicum flavours and top class 50% new French oak. 2025-40"
- Tim Atkin - 96 points
"Colour, deep cherry, garnet rim. Aroma, aged wood nuances, ripe fruit, cocoa bean, cigar, toasty, dark chocolate, aromatic coffee. Flavour, flavourful, spicy, toasty, powerful tannins."
- Guia Penin - 94 points
Why did this wine make this allocation?
Like the 2016 offering that we loved, this is a big wine made bigger with 2 years of aging, 18 months in new French oak barrels. The dark fruit, chocolate, tobacco, and coffee are complimented by sturdy tannins. There's a lot going on with this wine from nose to long finish. It's definitely not for the faint of heart.
2017 Antinori Badia A Passignano Chianti Classico DOCG Gran Selezione
Marchese Antinori
Italy
What Others Are Saying
Vivino Score: 4.3
Drink now through 2031
"A linear, nervy red with black-cherry, milk-chocolate and walnut aromas and flavors. It’s medium-to full-bodied with a racy finish. Drink or hold."
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- James Suckling - 95 points
"The Marchesi Antinori 2017 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Badia a Passignano reveals the soft and generous side of this vintage with ripe aromas of blackberry, plum, spice, sweet tobacco and campfire ash. The wine is giving and rich to all the senses and it ends with softly integrated tannins and a fleshy, fruit-forward style. Serve it with a platter of real Tuscan rosemary schiacciata with slices of culatello."
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- Wine Advocate - 93 points
Why did this wine make this allocation?
The wine governing bodies of Toscana added a new top tier classification of "Gran Selezione" for Chianti Classico wines beginning with the 2010 vintage. A Gran Selezione needs to be 100% estate grown grapes within the Classico region of Chianti, with a minimum alcohol level of 13%, and minimum aging of 30 months. We believe that this offering from Antinoi is a perfect example of what this new classification delivers. Beautiful ripe red and black fruits, wet tobacco, chocolate, balanced acidity, and silky tannin. As with all Sangiovese wines, serve with your favorite Italian dishes.
2018 Nicolás Catena Zapata
Vital Statistics
Catena Zapata,
Valle de Uco, Mendoza, Argentina
What Others Are Saying
Vivino: 4.4
Drink Now - 2036
"The 2018 Nicolás Catena Zapata was produced with 65% Cabernet Sauvignon from Gualtallary (Adrianna vineyard, with the Cabernet Sauvignon interplanted with some Cabernet Franc) and 35% Malbec from Altamira (Nicasia vineyard). They no longer use grapes from Agrelo, and this is also a lot higher in Malbec than in other recent vintages. So, it has a very different profile, a charge that started in 2017, with more contained ripeness and more freshness, and the wine is intense, keeping some of the Cabernet character (tobacco, blackberries) and the floral notes from Malbec. It comes through as balanced and harmonious, with very fine tannins and a long finish and perfect ripeness. This aims to revive the style of Bordeaux before phylloxera, from massal selection of ungrafted vines."
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- Wine Advocate - 96 points
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"The high-altitude fruit has lent nerve and vibrant red fruits to this red blend, this fruity cabernet that's direct in its expression, while the malbec provides that soft sweetness. A red to cellar for at least five years."​
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-Descorchados -95 points
Why did this wine make this allocation?
The high-altitude fruit has lent nerve and vibrant red fruits to this red blend, this fruity cabernet that's direct in its expression, while the malbec provides that soft sweetness. A red to cellar for at least five years.
2020 Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz
Vital Statistics
Penfolds
McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley, Padthaway,
Australia
What Others Are Saying
Vivino: 4.3
Drink Now - 2042
"Looking in on the 389 can be ("'can be," she says, parenthetically) a good insight into what we can expect from the upcoming Grange. Now, they are very different wines, no question, however, stylistically they have much in common and the illumination into the season that birthed the wines in each instance. Here, the 2020 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz has consummate polish and sleek tannins, imbued as they are with graphite, black tea, licorice and resin. The fruit is pure and black and chewy... gorgeous wine. And it lives for decades. This has always been a collector's dream and continues so through this vintage. Highly recommended."
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- Wine Advocate -96 points
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"Very rich, ripe and intense, this has plenty of depth and is one of the strongest statements of Penfolds’ house style. Rich vanillin and sweetly spicy American oak on the nose, with chocolate, blueberry, violet, blackberry and iodine notes. The palate delivers quite approachable and supple texture, smoothly fleshy and inviting. Flavors of blackberry, blackcurrant and mulberry abound. Deep and ripe finish with nutty tannins to close. A blend of McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley and Padthaway."
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- James Suckling -96 points
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Why did this wine make this allocation?
This has been called the "Baby Grange," a reference to Penfolds' 100-point flagship wine that comes in around the $800 per bottle mark. But this really stands on its own and could be a flagship wine for so many other producers. It's big, bold, and absolutely ageable for decades. Ripe dark fruits, chocolate, vanilla, and lots of savory notes, not to mention those chewy tannins. Take a bite into this beauty or cellar it for a decade or two. This is a brilliant specimen.