Phil Long Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley

perfectly refreshing

clean and quietly resonant

and the name (and the wine) are indeed meant to intrigue

serious but never self-important

you taste the place—the breath of the Andes

Clearly cut from a more traditional cloth

I don’t want to take away from the Rhone Rangers

this is a blend that leans into Carignan’s rustic grace rather than polishing it away

This drinks like a $25 California Zinfandel

Boutinot Uva Non Grata feels like a quiet provocation poured into a glass — southern French fruit with its elbows on the table

a wine that leans into texture and energy rather than polish

it offers notes of ripe kirsch