“Kimberly has obviously picked up a few lessons from her mentor, Russell Bevan, as these are all full-throttle, complex, savory, mouth-filling, delicious wines.” – Robert Parker

The Kraken and Godzilla. King Kong. And… MORGADO!!

This wine just seems like it should be included in that pantheon of supernatural entities because it’s massive in stature, powerful, and hulking compared to its peers.

The one obvious difference? It’s very real.

Very much here right in front of you. Very much deserving of the 95-97 points from Jeb. A pleasure bomb built to thrill and if you’ve had these wines before, you already know the deal. (And you probably aren’t even reading this still ‘cause you’ve already hit the ‘buy’ button.) Our price is absolutely, certifiably not a figment of your imagination. Below $50 for this caliber is truly unbelievable but believe it!

Proprietor Kimberly Hatcher is a force of her own. The San Francisco firefighter-turned-winemaker comes from the Russel Bevan school of winemaking perfection. After all, it’s still made at Elyse under Bevan’s watchful eye. The protege learned more than a few tricks from the Master, and she turns them all loose in this wine. It almost seems the apprentice has now become a Master.

Leaning into the Bevan connection offers some prime fruit sources. Sugarloaf is one of his favorites, along with a select few other top names like Argot, Chappellet, PerUs, Rudius, Purlieu, and Venge. It’s a rugged pile of rocks in Southern Napa. As an interesting fact in this video:

Bevan points out how they thin the foliage around the Cab Franc clusters early in the season. This allows the sun to hit the grapes immediately and helps curb the pyrazines that can sometimes dominate Cab Franc. The result is more “noble qualities” such as blueberry, tobacco, and sweet flowers, along with those “big, chocolatey fruits” Jeb loved come from. The more you know!!

This combines that lovely Cab Franc with juicy Merlot and the resulting blend pushes boundaries harder than my three-year-old son. Think juicy chocolate decadence and lush fruit complexities. Chalky tannins, toasty sweet oak (100% new), and stony minerality firm up the complexity. It all adds up to an incredibly satisfying, hedonistic treat.

At almost half off, this is quite possibly the deal of the century. You will not find this much wine for this little price. Get to it!

95-97 Points – Jeb Dunnuck

“The 2019 Red Wine Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard is cut from the same cloth as the 2018 and has a rich, full-bodied, nicely layered style revealing big, chocolatey fruits as well as notes of scorched earth and graphite. As with all the wines from Morgado, it brings loads of pleasure and is already a joy to drink.”