As Borat would say, wawaweewa!!!

We did have a hunch the Buccella Mica were not going to last long, but THIS?! 3 vintages - 2008, 2009, AND 2010 - all that wine… POOF!

Been on emails and the phone since dawn, begging the winery for more, that’s how much we like you dear Operatives, alas, we squeezed out every bottle they had, and didn’t take ANY for our own stashes we swear. They are in utter awe too and are thankful for the love for these rare library stashes that by all practical means shouldn’t even exist.

Just before we were giving up and hanging up, they ask ‘we may have some 2011 too’ is that of interest?

Of interest? HELL YEA, WE SAY.

Coincidentally, just this week Antonio Galloni published his 2011 Napa Cab retrospective on Vinous, raving “The top 2011s were always gorgeous. Today, with the added benefit of bottle age, the best 2011s are showing especially well… It was pretty clear to me at the outset that there would be some special wines in 2011, regardless of what anyone else thought, and there are. It was the same thing the year before, in 2010, when some observers wrote off the vintage before tasting the wines… The 2011s are intensely aromatic and savory to a degree that was uncommon a decade ago.”

Last couple of impressions of this wine on CellarTracker are from 2020-2021 by a happy CheviotCellar: “Perfectly in its prime. Nose is intriguing and welcoming, rich black cherry and dark berries. There’s real purity and balance here. Taste is full of berry fruit without being overdone, no over extraction, and quickly gets dry. If only all California cabs could show this restraint! …Last of 4 bottles and still drinking great. I love the depth and richness of the dark fruits. They’re also nicely balanced with graphite, olive, and woodsy notes, so the wine stays interesting and multi-dimensional… We look forward to finding some of the newer vintages.”

No wonder Food & Wine famously wrote “Buccella has swiftly become a top Napa Valley Cabernet producer… Celia (Masyczek) Welch makes some of the most sought-after wines… an icon, known for making big, intense, classic Napa Cabs for clients like Scarecrow, which has a waiting list for the waiting list.”

For those who know, this is the “baby Buccella.” Some of you are old enough to remember when Buccella hit the scene 20 years ago. An OG cult wine that sells for $225 or so today. They rose to fame first with Mark Herold, then Celia Welch and remain a pillar of the modern Napa Valley scene, initially lauded as “Sexy, Pomerol-styled reds that bring to mind the brilliant Hundred Acre from Jayson Woodbridge… Kudos to proprietors Bill and Alicia Dean for such an impressive beginning.”

And the praise continued rolling in for the next two decades.

Mica is their second wine, delivering the super-lush power and style Buccella is known for - without the $200+ price tag! Originally destined for restaurants only, it’s not available anywhere, including via the winery. Certainly not on store shelves anywhere. Worth every bit of $135.

And for this VERY LAST MICA today, we have a VERY LAST SURPRISE.

It’s an even better deal at $49, thanks to the vintage being an insiders’ favorite (we hear you Antonio!) rather than the more popular press darling trio of 2008-2010 we just went through.

Seize the day, and thanks again for sharing our enthusiasm!