“2021 led to structured, age-worthy wines at Vérité and Anakota.” – Wine Advocate

That, with 96/94+ points and, what, under $50?! Get real.

But it is… you’re looking at it.

HINT: Visit the App today for HIDDEN GEMS in the 2021 Anakota lineup!

Per Wine Advocate, “The winemaker behind the Anakota high-elevation mountain vineyard sites in Knights Valley is no other than Pierre Seillan, the Bordelais guru who makes the fabulous wines of Vérité… I would suggest that these may be, potentially, the longest-lived wines being made in Knights Valley, even exceeding the potential age-worthiness of the Peter Michael Les Pavots cuvées that are made in this microclimate on the Sonoma side, but near the Napa County line.”

Vérité’s 2021s go for $500+, and we were lucky enough to get a 6-pack of each allocated, all long gone. And Les Pavots? In the $200-300 range. So, THIS is an INSANE value proposition Ops, seriously.

Cut of the same cloth as Seillan’s best, this dense, purple-colored beauty opens with an extraordinary nose of dark chocolate ganache, melted licorice, creme de cassis, a bazaar’s worth of exotic spices, and stony minerals. It hits the palate with silky opulence and a splendid, finesse-driven medium-bodied richness, and intense delineation through fine-grained tannins, with vibrancy and freshness to spare. Offering superb purity and a finish that goes on for nearly a minute, it could easily be mistaken for a Napa mountain Cab blind. The longer you can wait, the more it has to give.

The core, with 85% high elevation Cabernet driving it, comes from a pair of eminent Anakota sites that put them on the map, Helena Montana, and Helena Dakota, each also bottled as single vineyards that cost around $200 per bottle. The balance is Coyote Hills, and Franz Creek fruit, two vineyards too small to make wines of their own but add mighty fine complexity to it.

As much as this offer is about value, it’s also about access. Because Anakota, per Jeb Dunnuck is “par with the finest Bordeaux blends coming out of California today.”

Won’t last long.

96 Points – James Suckling “A classic California Cabernet with great structure, abundant black fruit flavors and a lingering finish. This is built for further aging, and its blackcurrant, black cherry and dried blueberry flavors will mature and evolve. Full-bodied, firmly tannic and nicely layered. Drinkable now, but best from 2030.”

94+ Points – Jeb Dunnuck “The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Anakota is sourced from 32- to 35-year-old vines and has the addition of 12% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. It saw 12 months in 30% new French oak. In the glass, it pours a deep red color and opens to aromas of black plum, polished leather, graphite, and violets. It’s full-bodied, with refined, ripe tannins, even acidity, and a graceful and long finish with hints of cocoa and dusty earth. It’s open and inviting now but has a good deal of structure underneath. Drink 2025-2045.”