Miner’s flagship Bordeaux-style red, The Oracle is drawn from two formidable Napa Valley vineyards, Stagecoach and Volker Eisele, and led by Cabernet Sauvignon with Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot behind it. The full-size bottle carries a $150 suggested retail price. We landed at $49.99 for the half bottle. Same Oracle, same 2019 vintage, same 96+ score, just in a format that makes opening one remarkably easy. The 2019 growing season gave Miner the kind of conditions The Oracle can exploit. A wet start left plenty of moisture in the soils, while a long, warm summer extended hang time deep into fall. Harvest stretched through November 1, allowing each component to come in on its own schedule. The payoff is ripeness and concentration without sacrificing the structure and freshness that keep everything in line. Miner then gave the 2019 22 months in French oak, 60% new, before bottle age took over from there. More than half a decade later, the wine has had something no amount of cellar technique can manufacture: time. The blend has had years to settle into itself, while the tannin and acidity Miner points to for graceful aging give it plenty of runway ahead. Someone else did the waiting. All that’s left is deciding when to pull the cork.