You’ve found ME’s The Flag – HIGHLY LIMITED inaugural 95 pointer vintage!

It’s serious stuff. What about the price? At $210 from the winery, it stands up there with some serious competition. At our sub-$100 price? The competition withers away…

The bottle alone hints at what’s to come - weighing in at around 5 lbs, it’s the thickest glass we’ve seen. With enough wax to melt into a candle enclosing it, and a beautiful silkscreen label…

A sexy package might entice us, but what’s inside is all that matters. AND OH BABY!

Before we completely gush about this, let’s rewind. First, we learned that the name actually goes back to co-founder Ames Morison’s great-great-grandfather, who was behind the local “Russian River Flag” newspaper back in the 1800s. Such legacy. Such pride. Such pedigree.

Of course, like all the ME gems, it’s overseen by consultant extraordinaire Jean Hoefliger, whose magic is so in demand that he comes with his own (tech sheet!) worth a read if you want to see just how prolific his span of work is.

And it’s the inaugural vintage of The Flag, only made in vintages that warrant one. Per Medlock Ames’ brilliant day-to-day winemaker Abby Watt, The Flag is “a rich, tannic, and bold statement of Bell Mountain Vineyard” and we could only get our hands on a few cases, so you’d be wise to jump on it.

It’s not a wildly extracted fruit bomb bruiser but rather an insanely complex future classic. Think Vérité La Joie, from a vineyard that’s practically next door - but the going rate for one of those is in the $500s. ’Nuff said.

Get it in your locker quickly… only 10 barrels made!

95 Points – Decanter “Considered the flagship wine of the Medlock Ames estate. Enticing and fresh, leading with red and blackberry fruits, freshly turned earth, cedarwood, green tobacco, and sagebrush. Full-bodied with terrific fruit density and granular tannins, it provides a solid foundation for this satiny, dark-fruited wine, which overflows with juicy plum, black cherry, blackberry, and chocolate shavings. Silk-like, seamless and delicious. Called ‘The Flag’ in reference to Ames’ great-great-grandfather, John Gilson Howell, who wrote for the Russian River Flag newspaper in the 1860s and 1870s. Drink 2023-2035.”

94 Points, Cellar Selection – Wine Enthusiast “This is a complex and full-bodied wine, named for a local newspaper that ran in the Russian River Valley in the mid-1800s. Youthful tannins are chewy and grip with force, densely layering over bolts of blackberry, compost and a twist of dairy earthiness. The oak helps tell a complete story and this wine will do well in the cellar. Enjoy best from 2029-2034.”