Happy Birthday, America!! Land of the free, home of the brave, and the only place in the world we want to be.

Between the cookouts, drinks and fireworks today we ask you to focus on this for just a moment.

Your eyes do not deceive you…

As you may know, we’re MAJOR fans of Miner. Had to, sorry.

The feelings must be mutual. How else could we land a winery-direct library deal like this?! There’s nothing minor about it - from the savings (near $50 OFF) to the score (94 POINTS!) to the exclusivity. It’s all here.

Straight from the winery’s cold, dark caves and into the safety of your home. For…no, that simply can’t be right.

Under THIRTY dollars?! For a perfectly aged, ready to drink NOW library red. These are the kinds of Wine Spies exclusives we live for. NOBODY else has it. Nothing on the store shelves comes close at this price. It pays to be a local…

Miner is a fixture on the Silverado Trail. Despite having one of the largest caves in the valley, they own just 1/2 an acre of Cabernet planted in front of the winery. But longstanding relationships with growers up and down the valley ensure that year over year, decade over decade, they hold it down and make some damn fine wines up and down the portfolio.

This one? It was made by master winemaker Gary Brookman who ran the show from 1997 through his retirement in 2022. He also took over Grace Family Vineyards from Heidi Barrett from 2001 through 2014. With his own Brookman project, Gary is one of those lesser-known cult winemakers behind some of the top labels. A quiet force.

And it shows here with a few years on it, there’s some serious complexity and a sturdy structure. With red currant, black plum, cedar and mesquite spices. There’s still a good core of fresh fruit, with layers of well-integrated oak, barrel spice, and savory components at play.

Such reliable winemaking, from a family-owned winery, has been cellared perfectly in their impeccable caves for a decade. And now it’s released into the wild, heading to your doorstep for the remainder of its (long) life.

94 points - Decanter “This 2019 Miner Family Winery Red is decidedly dark-fruited, with rich, scorched-earth nuances and dark chocolate notes, perfumed rose petals, and a full-bodied richness framed by fine-grained tannins and an ironstone mineral finish with a hint of smoked paprika. Drink 2026-2036.”