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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $103.30
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Red
750ml - Case of 3
Bottle: $1113.81
The 2011 Promontory is just starting to enter its first plateau of maturity. Dark, dense and layered, the 2011 is...
VM
96
WA
94
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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $77.16
91-93 The 2011 Geyserville impresses for its silkiness and texture. Sweet dark berries, flowers and mint are some of...
WA
93
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Red
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $68.11
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Red
750ml - Case of 3
Bottle: $3418.29
Mindlblowing nose with spearmint, cloves and blackberries. Floral, too. Full body with phenomenal detail featuring...
JS
99
VM
96
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $819.94
A dark, voluptuous beauty, the 2011 Second Flight is laced with plum, grilled herbs, tobacco, smoke, violets and...
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94
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94
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Red
1.5Ltr - Case of 6
Bottle: $536.12
Possibly the Cabernet Sauvignon of the vintage is Shafer’s 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select. Last year I...
WA
96
JS
96
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $266.78
Possibly the Cabernet Sauvignon of the vintage is Shafer’s 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select. Last year I...
WA
96
JS
96
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $439.79
The 2011 Grenache Dark Blossom is probably the best Grenache-based blend in the vintage. A blend of 75% Grenache,...
WA
97
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $247.62
A frankly toasty version, with a cocoa and cedar frame surrounding fresh plum and blackberry compote flavors. Reveals...
WS
88
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $238.66
Mature smoky notes accent the dried berry and dark fruit flavors, flanked by burnished cedar and tarry hints. Merlot,...
WS
89
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Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $246.70
Rounded and easy in feel, with a mocha frame caressing steeped plum and black cherry fruit flavors. Tobacco and loam...
WS
92

2011 United States California

Of all the New World wine countries, perhaps the one which has demonstrated the most flair for producing high quality wines - using a combination of traditional and forward-thinking contemporary methods - has been the United States of America. For the past couple of centuries, the United States has set about transforming much of its suitable land into vast vineyards, capable of supporting a wide variety of world-class grape varietals which thrive on both the Atlantic and the Pacific coastlines. Of course, we immediately think of sun-drenched California in regards to American wines, with its enormous vineyards responsible for the New World's finest examples of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot based wines, but many other states have taken to viticulture in a big way, with impressive results. Oregon, Washington State and New York have all developed sophisticated and technologically advanced wine cultures of their own, and the output of U.S wineries is increasing each year as more and more people are converted to their produce.

California as a wine producing region has grown in size and importance considerably over the past couple of centuries, and today is the proud producer of more than ninety percent of the United States' wines. Indeed, if California was a country, it would be the fourth largest producer of wine in the world, with a vast range of vineyards covering almost half a million acres. The secret to California's success as a wine region has a lot to do with the high quality of its soils, and the fact that it has an extensive Pacific coastline which perfectly tempers the blazing sunshine it experiences all year round. The winds coming off the ocean cool the vines, and the natural valleys and mountainsides which make up most of the state's wine regions make for ideal areas in which to cultivate a variety of high quality grapes.