What Vinous calls “gorgeous, minimalist wines…” is right here for a tiny price.

Unsurprisingly, our TINY lot went fast so thank goodness we planned ahead. On to the next vintage!

BIG DAY! BIG BASIN! You have no idea how long we’ve been working, hoping, and begging to land these.

Not only are we BIG FANS, but the wines are also tremendous. And although ‘the Basin may seem Big’ the production is tiny. Oh, and the press is BIG too, always is with Big Basin, no matter what the wine or the vintage or the vineyard really, they consistently hit big, especially for these tiny prices we were able to get them to.

Bradley Brown studied under John Alban. Oh, and so did Manfred Krankl of Sine Qua Non. It’s that kind of an inner circle of Rhône Rangers we’re in today.

This blend is modeled after, and a doppelganger for a fine Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Yet with 95 points and way down to 27 bucks, you cannot find a Châteauneuf-du-Pape anywhere near this deal!

Antonio Galloni’s Vinous says it best: “Proprietor Bradley Brown and his team make gorgeous, minimalist wines from a number of sites, mostly in the Santa Cruz and Gabilan Mountains. Picking early for freshness, aging in neutral vessels, and a high percentage of whole clusters in the reds are some of the hallmarks of the house style.” And Jeb Dunnuck echoes that “Brown continues to fashion some incredible wines from a number of vineyards in the Central Coast. All of these new releases are noteworthy and have elegant, refined, and pure characters without losing a beat with regard to fruit or texture. They’re highly recommended.”

Problem is tiny quantities – you know the drill.

95 Points – Antonio Galloni’s Vinous

“The 2019 GSM Gabilan Mountains is a dense, powerful wine. Readers will have to cellar this for a year or two to allow the full breadth of its aromatics to emerge. Rose petals, sweet red berry fruit, blood orange and spice start to reveal themselves with some aeration. The 2019 was done with 100% stems and aged in a combination of concrete and neutral oak. In a word: fabulous.”