$25 Cabernet with 94 points doesn’t ever last long around these parts. But if you’re looking for another insanely good value, this is right in the same ballpark.

“…a full-bore full-bodied effort that shows intensely concentrated black fruit…”

Thank you, Wine Enthusiast, you nailed it!

Like me at age 40, it’s almost aging backwards. We’ll swear under oath that it still packs a youthful and powerful core of black fruit, ample structure, and all the components of a high performance and finely tuned Cabernet.

While not subject to the “Napa tax”, this sells for $54 straight from the winery. That’s pretty reasonable for the quality you get here, but from us, at $28 it’s a shining example of both the aging potential and sheer brilliance that comes from just north of Napa Valley.

Sol Rouge is the passion project of Bryan Kane and his wife Jill. After making a small fortune in Silicon Valley they set sights on making world-class wine. And they spared no expense in the process. From the vineyard, planting using high vine density planting - which costs 4-6 times as much as a traditional vineyard - to obsessive monitoring during fermentation to develop the perfect color, extraction, and structure without additives.

They were among the pioneers making quality wine in Lake County, and the first to get 90+ points on ALL of their wines (12 in total) in 2015. Since, they have been churning one massive hit after another, all the way to 97 points, laying claim to the highest-scoring wine ever made from Lake County - an honor bestowed upon their Petite Sirah.

This effort shows the same obsession, and it’s obvious when you taste it. It’s bold and complex with ripe blackberry, cassis, and black cherry, complemented by subtle vanilla, cedar, and spice. Full-bodied with a rich, velvety texture and flavors of dark fruit, chocolate, and espresso. Long and lingering too, with hints of black pepper and tobacco. A garlicky herbed lamb roast and this? Now we’re talking!

It hails from the Red Hills and like many of their wines, scores consistently in the 92-93 point range year in and year out. Score talk aside, Sol Rouge reds are simply fantastic since Kane soaked up all kinds of vinous wisdom working alongside other top winemakers at Siduri, Roessler, ROAR, DuMol, Copain and the like. He also borrowed heavily from the philosophy of legendary winemaker Denis Malbec.

Best news last - we bought all they had - will run out eventually, but hopefully may last the day.

92 Points – Wine Enthusiast

“This wine is a full-bore full-bodied effort that shows intensely concentrated black-fruit, black-pepper and wood-smoke aromas, followed by a wave of super ripe flavors. An attractive charcoal and iron-like quality comes out with time in the glass. Firm tannins keep it well wrapped up, but this is not necessarily an ager; enjoy through 2021.”