By now, you know we are INFATUATED with Medlock Ames. Obsessed. They simply DO NOT MISS.

Sold out at the winery, released at $100, but $35 for you, beautiful Operatives? Bring. It. On.

Medlock always brings big scores, and this vintage is no exception, with 95 points on this today! That’s all gravy, but there is one problem. Most of their wines are sold straight out of the tasting room or to their wine club members. Or, occasionally, from your favorite in-the-know websites for wine deal reconnaissance… so get it while you can!

Oh, and this is our very first 2023 vintage Cabernet offer, which is ALL THE HYPE in Napa-Sonoma circles. As Vinography wrote, “The 2023 vintage has been heralded as nothing less than epic, with some folks calling it the vintage of a lifetime… 2023s have great acidity and wonderful juicy fruit, but they also have some surprising structure, especially amongst the darker red grapes.”* THIS!

** And while $100 is certainly on the lower end for this quality tier, the $35 is unmatched. Untouchable. UNCONTESTED.** For a wine whose “special select” designation truly speaks of what’s in the bottle.

Chris Medlock James and Ames Morison, college best friends who left the hustle of NYC for the rolling hills of eastern Sonoma County, knew what they wanted from the beginning. Driving around Chalk Hill Road, their vision was realized at Bell Mountain Ranch. Of course, we dig their obsession with farming organically, without using pesticides, and their commitment to sustainability.

Ames was the original winemaker, but today they have Abby Watt at the helm and Jean Hoefliger overseeing as a consultant. Abby worked at the vaunted Hartford Court before leading the charge here, and of course, Hoefliger puts his stamp on many outstanding high press-darling wines from AXR, The Debate, Alpha Omega, Harbison, Michel Rolland, and on, and on.

If you’ve had previous Medlock Ames Cabs, you know what to expect, but turn that up a notch in 2023. This falls in line with the textbook style - inky, saturated, and structured, but similarly polished and soft with a drink-me-now approachability. Jam-packed with a broad horizon of black, blue, and red fruits that saturate - nay, DRENCH your palate with all manners of come-hither blackberry jam, boysenberry, and creme de cassis. Toasty, sweet oak and shockingly soft tannins fall into the mix with terrific balance and harmony, with a touch of wild herbs and baking spices in the mix too.

This flat-out decimates most anything in its path, at prices many times that $35.

95 Points – Decanter “The Bell Mountain Special Select is crafted entirely from estate-grown fruit on Bell Mountain in Alexander Valley. Aged for 20 months in 33% new French oak, it is a fantastically savoury red wine—full-bodied and expressive of its rich dark berry fruit character, woven into a fine tapestry of cedarwood spice. On the palate, the tannins are firm and powerful, offering excellent grippy texture. There is real power and tension here. From the exceptional 2023 vintage, the wine reveals increasing complexity with air: loamy earth, crushed fennel seed, dried rose petal, and garrigue emerge, culminating in a long, vivid, and mineral-driven finish. Drink 2025-2040.”

93 Points – James Suckling “An exciting, fresh and well-balanced wine with an unusually light, agile feel despite its good concentration. So lively in blackberries, raspberries, black cherries, light toast, chocolate, and cherries. Good acidity and moderate tannins keep it singing through the finish. Drink now or hold.”