Dagmar is a name of Scandinavian origin, meaning ‘day’ or ‘maiden’, and ‘Ichor’ is the mythical blood of the gods. It’s supposed to give mere mortals like us magical properties. As far as we can tell, those include feelings of euphoria, jubilation, and well-being.

And one more thing.

The swell feeling of superiority knowing you paid WAY less than the release price. Because while the winery dropped this at $99, we’re breaking it out for a healthy $60+ OFF.

Dagmar is a small project we hadn’t heard of, but they are firmly on our radar after tasting a couple. This Cabernet-based blend of Bordeaux varietals is sourced from two prime spots – 70% from Howell Mountain and 30% from Mount Veeder. Cabernet leads the charge at 52%, with Cab Franc at 38% and the balance from Merlot, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.

Round, polished, and expansive, this godly juice carries an abundance of blackberry jam, ripe summer cherries, a chunk of German chocolate cake, some freshly tanned leather, and baking spices. Plus, with 2016 being a near-perfect vintage, this wine is drinking in a prime window right now. Like we just can’t get enough prime.

The curious bunch we are had to dig a bit deeper to understand why these wines are sooo yummy. It turns out that the winemaker here is Michael Quinn, and you may have heard the name through his Michael-Scott Wines that he has made since 1996. Prior, he cut his teeth all over the Valley, including Charles Krug, and nowadays Duckhorn owned Stanley Ranch. All we can add is the experience pays off.

A mere 8 barrels were made, and we bought all we could. Sadly, it often isn’t enough in these cases. If it’s still available when you’re reading this, make haste!