Abe Schoener's Scholium Project is definitely one of the most interesting, outrageous and original Cult Wine endeavors taking place in California today.

We've previously offered a number of his sometimes luscious and always cerebral wines and have been blown away by the responses.

From the "Old School Wine Geek" to the "Napa Cabernet Afficianado," so many of you have enjoyed these wines and come back for more, only to find them sold out. The diversity of Scholium die-hards is a true indication that these wines uniquely mix California muscle with Old World finesse.

One of our specialties at Crush is finding rare, high-quality New World Cabernet Sauvignon for under $100. These are wines that have the palate impact of bottlings that sell for 50-200% more.

Small production wonders from this difficult-to-navigate category have been delighting our customers for the last year and a half.

Of note lately is the 2002 Peacock Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon.

We can�t tell you too much about this wine because its exact origins must be kept a secret. Yes, this is 007 meets the wine business.

What we do know is that 2005 Shelter Sauvignon Blanc from Napa Valley is blended from the top vineyards of one of the most famous winemakers in the region. Superstar vintners obviously don't want you to know where their extra juice goes, so it is sold with the promise that its identity will kept on the DL.

Back Up the Truck! Purist's Willamette Pinot
2006 Amalie Robert Pinot Noir Dijon Clones

Sounds downright Burgundian to us...

...but the motto actually doesn't belong to any producer in Burgundy. Instead, we find ourselves in Oregon with the soil- and vintage-signed wines of Dena Drews and Ernie Pink at the Amalie Robert Estate. These have been some of our favorite Willamette Pinots for over three years.

California Icon
2007 Joseph Phelps Insignia
Small Parcel - Outstanding Pricing

"I would not be surprised to see it become the greatest Insignia to date." - Robert Parker

Parker doesn't mince words, and I won't either: We're Burgundy fanatics with a serious Côte d'Or obsession. But at the same time, I can't pass up a deal on a simply iconic, time-tested wine - especially with cold weather, the holidays and strong cravings for steak and red wine just around the corner.

The Cult Cab of Washington
2007 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon
"Perfection" for the 4th Time in Just Six Years?

It seems impossible that Quilceda Creek could surpass its own sky-high standards - yet here we are, staring down the (wine) barrel at what many speculate could well be its best wine yet.

Here's a staggering bit of trivia: Since 2002, Quilceda Creek’s Cabernet Sauvignon has averaged 99.6 points from Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate. As you well know, we are not a fan of point scores, but still...  this howling streak of near-perfection is pretty mind-blowing.

And we're not the only ones to think so: Over the last few decades Quilceda Creek has become a true blue chip estate, with consistently rising demand (and prices) that humble the rather rapid life cycles of countless glossy Napa estates. And with the pre-review gossip calling the 2007 one of the estate's best ("exceptional" is the word the rather modest Golitzins use), things are unlikely to cool down.

Ancient Vines and a History Lesson
2009 Bedrock Dolinsek Ranch Heirloom Red
"What makes Bedrock exciting is the authenticity and individuality of its wines."
- James Laube

Put your preconceived notions of California wine on hold. This is not about cool-climate Pinot, Burgundy-beckoning Chard or even cult Napa Cab. Today we present a field blend of 100-year-old Zinfandel vines with everything from Alicante Bouschet to Tempranillo to Teroldego thrown in...

Yes, proprietor Morgan Twain-Peterson is definitely doing something different here. And in just a couple of years his Bedrock Wine Co. has become one of the most important new wineries in California, using historic, old vine sites as his cornerstone - his bedrock, if you will.

Bedrock (noun): the solid rock underlying unconsolidated surface materials (as soil). Or, in this case, as vines. This offbeat mix is what was planted here in 1910, and this is what Morgan still harvests here in 2010, never mind the region's feverish market for Cab, Chard and Pinot.

12 Rows of Vines
2008 Arnot-Roberts
Cabernet Sauvignon Clajeux Vineyard
Sonoma's New "New World" Cabernet

I wasn't lucky/old enough to taste epics like the 1952 Beaulieu Cabernet Private Reserve Georges de Latour or the 74 Heitz on release, but tasting this wine makes me think that the days of Cabernet that lasts, that inspires after decades, are not lost in California.

Leaving Arnot-Roberts I couldn't help but think over the diversity of wines I had just tasted: a Jura-inspired Trousseau sampled out of tank, a skin-fermented, white field-blend from the old-vine Compagni Portis vineyard... and a slew of Syrahs and Cabernets.

Côte Rôtie-Inspired, Ultra-Rare Cali MAGS
2009 Bedrock Syrah Old Vines 1.5Ls
One of the Oldest Vine Syrah Cuvées Made in the World

We're talking 121-year-old vines. A single barrel of wine. The debut vintage, and bottled only in magnums. This is the most limited production wine made at Bedrock, and we're the only ones who have any right now.

Today we share the debut-vintage, old-vine Syrah magnums only with those of you who have supported our California program. There's only a handful of these to go around, so reply quickly if you have any interest!

The 2009 vintage was the first in which Bedrock proprietor and winemaker Morgan Twain-Peterson made an old vine Syrah from his eponymous Bedrock vineyard site. He has called it, simply enough, "Old Vine Syrah."

Make Your Own Judgement
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1977-1988
A perfectly stored collection
of one of Napa's legendary wineries.

Forever immortalized by the 1976 Judgement of Paris tasting, Stag's Leap wines of the 70s and 80s represent a special time in Napa's viticultural history.

I have had many great wines from what some consider California's golden age.

These are wines from a different era... for those of you used to the high-octane, saturated wines of current-day California, these bottles will feel like they're from a different world.