We’ve got a ton of fun name-throwing ahead, fair warning.

CARDIAC HILL sounds intense? Well, it IS giving serious Northern Rhône vibes for starters. And for just $20? We’re getting some real palpitations.

Why does Cardiac Hill get pulses racing?

It’s a special steep block of the Jemrose Vineyard, which alone is a place that gets vinos giddy since only a few names have access to it, say, do Russell Bevan, Shane Finley, or Michael Browne sound familiar? They all made the namesake Jemrose wines, other labels bearing the site include Donelan, Myriad, and Deerfield Ranch.

Vinography has the backstory, “Jemrose is the dream of James Mack and his wife Gloria. After a career in advertising, Mack purchased about 20 acres of vineyards in Bennett Valley, the smallest of Sonoma’s AVAs. For the first few years after purchasing the property in 2002, Mack and consultant winemaker Andy Smith (of DuMOL and Larkmead) made some limited bottlings from select vineyard blocks to get a sense of what they were able to do with the four vineyards that made up the property.”

And Carica has been a super under the radar promising gem of a find since incarnation in 2005, shortly after which they were introduced by Wine Spectator as “When Charlie Dollbaum wanted to start his own commercial winery after making homemade wines for years, he turned to a friend, Dick Keenan, who had what he thought was an excellent vineyard. According to Dollbaum, an oncologist, he ‘begged’ Keenan, an attorney, to sell him his grapes. The begging paid off. The two formed a partnership, starting Carica, a small winery in Sonoma, with an impressive pair of new releases worth trying.”

12 years of age at the winery cellar did this Syrah WONDERS. Per the review below in its youth it already had the Northern Rhône bones of longevity and balance, yet with time, what bloomed is a pure perfumed goodness. With dried blueberries, plum sauce, apricot chutney, tapenade, fresh green peppercorns, and espresso bean, in aromas and flavors that arrive in a satin envelope of sweet round tannins. There is so much life and complexity left here that one wonders how much longer it will continue to develop, yet at this price it’s tempting to drink it all, and at this rate, our personal stashes may soon be depleted.

This once was a screaming value at roughly $40, but with the added benefit of cellaring to silkiness, $20 is a joke for the quality here.

90 Points – Wine Spectator

“Tightly structured and appealingly gamy, with a core of lively acidity and tannins buoyed by complex flavors of smoky plum, olive and pepper. Best from 2018 through 2028.”