KELLY MARTIN

Well, the fruit was great and Jim Barbour told Kelly and Sharon they should make their own wine. They did, with Celia Masyczek as the wine maker, one of the great wine makers in Napa, and was selling it retail for $75 a bottle, the going price for wine of this quality (more about the quality later). But they sold the property in order to move their family back to the Bay area, and with the wine just being a side business, they still have some inventory of the only two vintages they produced. We were fortunate to be able to buy this wine at a very reasonable price.

In the past two months, on four separate occasions I've tasted both vintages. In fact, in a blind tasting of six similar wines, three of us picked the Kelly Martin wines first and second.

The 2002 has great fruit, lots of blackberries, raspberries, and other rich red fruits, with great mouth feel, elegance, and softness. When first opened, it has big tannins and fruit, but both soften within 15 minutes in the glass. This is a beautiful wine to drink right now. It combines the best elements of Bordeaux (elegance) with Napa Valley (great fruit). It will age for a few years, but why wait? The blend is 85% Cab, 8% Merlot and 7% Cab Franc, which, besides the fact that 2002 is a soft vintage, explains why it is so soft and elegant right now.

The 2003 is a classic California Cabernet. It has huge fruit and tannins, and is big, bold, jammy, and fun to drink. Surprisingly, after an hour of decanting, it softened to such an extent that I enjoyed it as much, maybe even a little more, than the 2002. Although it is drinking fabulously right now, once it fully opens, this is a wine that will improve with age. I think it will be at its best in 3-5 years and will drink really well for at least 5-8 more years. The blend is 94% Cab, 4% Merlot and 2% Cab Franc.

I rate wine based on how it drinks today, not how I think it will drink in the future. I rate both wines at 93. That said, I think, in 1-3 years, the 2003 will be a 94 point wine.

At $75 a bottle, which was the initial retail price, although the market price for similar Napa Valley Cabs of this quality, I think the wines were pricey.

At $50 a bottle these wines are a good value and we would have bought these wines at that price.

Kelly Martin produces exactly the type of wines (high quality Secret Napa Cab at a reasonable price) we would normally be featuring on our website, if the winery was still in business. Since the winery went out of business, it has become a wonderful opportunity for our members to purchase the wine at a significant discount.

While we don't normally buy wine, due to the unique circumstances involving Kelly Martin, we've purchased some of both vintages and we're offering the wine for sale to our members at a very reasonable price. This is an opportunity that we simply couldn't pass up.

Because we were able to buy the wine at a large discount, we can offer to sell you these wines in 6 bottle lots for: (a) $42.50/bottle for a purchase of 6 bottles; (b) $40/bottle for a purchase of 12 bottles; and, (c) $37.50/bottle for a purchase of 24 bottles. You can mix and match the vintages anyway you wish. If you wish to pick up the wine, rather than having it shipped, or if you wish to purchase other than 6, 12, 18, or 24 bottles, please call Miles at 619-233-7078 or email Miles@SecretNapaWines.com .

This truly is a one-time opportunity.