2019 Slam Dunk Red Wine California 750 ml

There are three words a bargain hunter might use to describe this kind of value on a big, lush old-vine red sourced from NDA-protected vineyards and conceived by one of Napa’s greatest winemakers: slam dunk deal.

Reminiscent of Wine Access favorites like Three Wine Company’s heritage releases or David Phinney’s high-octane blends, the 2019 Slam Dunk Red Wine—co-produced by Wine Enthusiast 40 Under 40 Tastemaker Maayan Koschitzky, star importer Kimberly Jones, and liquid mastermind David Green—is pure sun-ripened California lusciousness. We have it at a price made possible thanks only to a trio of insiders tapping their networks to get the best grapes at friends-and-family rates.

The magic of a slam dunk lies in harnessing years of practice and development into a moment of sublime elevation over the competition, supercharged by power and speed. A similar process, benefiting from a combined 70 years of expertise in the wine business, accounts for this label’s massively delicious, fruit-forward package, designed to accentuate any (and every) “slam dunk” moment in life. Bramble, violets, and blackberry pie are all housed in a broad structure built for instant gratification, cushioned by silky tannins, and ripe for picking up by the case.

This past spring, the dream team behind Slam Dunk was, like pretty much every other basketball fan in the country, glued to the TV watching ESPN’s smash hit docu-series, The Last Dance.

Capturing the Chicago Bulls’ dramatic 1997-1998 championship run led by Michael Jordan, the show is a paean to one of history’s greatest athletes at the top of his game, and to the sensational poetry in motion of Jordan’s dunking. The series was a reminder that no one ever moved to the basket with the same mix of athleticism, grace, and power, electrifying audiences and putting fans on their feet.

They watched and wondered: What’s the equivalent of that in a wine glass? Together Maayan, Kimberly, and David hatched a plan to create a wine as crowd-pleasing as Jordan’s iconic dunk, and at a price just as dominant. Perfectly blended, easy-drinking, and over-delivering in every sense, Slam Dunk is just that—a perfect score made to toast the best moments in life, from impressing the boss to winning a championship ring. 

Maayan, Kimberly, and David managed to work with winemakers around California and offer great value but without the residual sugars, jamminess, and oak stave treatment. They tapped connections with longtime farmers they knew on a first-name basis in the Central Valley and Sierra Foothills. They agreed not to advertise the sources, in exchange for some of the finest heritage grapes in California: vines touched by hands dating back generations, stamped by dusty Golden State history.

Maayan let us taste this wine in its earliest stages, before it even had a price or name, and we bargained for a big slice of the production. Now that it’s disappearing from shelves in a few select states, we wished we had asked for even more. For now, buy as much as you can—it’s selling like Jordan merch in the ’90s!