97-100 Point Wines:

Perhaps there's a subtle added touch of leafy complexity to the 2020 Maya that the Cabernet Sauvignon doesn't show, but otherwise, this 60-40 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc is reasonably similar, with black... Read More

Bright telltale ruby color introduces a complex and layered aromatic profile of earthy minerality, Parma violets, rhubarb root, red currants and wild strawberries. Graceful and bracing palate with firm, velvety and refined tannins,... Read More

Bright red fruits, creamy and deliciously textured - full, ripe and round but so well controlled. Vibrant and vivid yet balanced and sleek, you want to drink this now with great acidity and cool blue fruit touches and stony minerality.... Read More

The 2023 Châteauneuf Du Pape Blanc stopped me in my tracks and has an incredible sense of class. Fabulous stone fruits, honeyed orange, white flowers, and a beautiful sense of minerality all define this brilliant white,... Read More

A wine for laying down par excellence, Morgon Côte du Py owes its typicality to the composition of the soils rich in blue stones resulting from the degradation of schists rich in iron oxide. A powerful wine with noble tannins... Read More

I also tasted the 2017 Pingus, which had a tough competition with the bottled 2016 and a barrel sample of the 2018 (and the fermenting 2019, but that doesn't really count). 2017 was a weird vintage for the zone, as the year... Read More

The 2019 Dominus is blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot and 4% Cabernet Franc, aged in 40% new French oak. Impressively dark-hued in the glass, it yields scents of cherries and cassis on the nose—or is it black... Read More

An excellent wine, even if not a great Dominus, the 2020 Dominus delivers waves of dark fruit—think predominantly cassis. A blend of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc, it's full-bodied and richly textured,... Read More

The 2023 Pinot Noir Estate Vineyard comes from Calera and Swan vines planted in 2005. Grapes were harvested on September 14 and 22, and the wine was matured for 15 months in 37% new French oak. For me, this is the wine of the... Read More

Despite weighing in at under 14% alcohol (13.84% to be precise), the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain comes across as full-bodied and expansive on the palate, redolent of pine needles, blueberries and cherries. Possessing... Read More

I prefer this wine to Fèlsina's top-shelf Fontalloro. The 2018 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Colonia is irresistibly angular and tight, opening a profound view onto what makes Sangiovese so expressive and unique,... Read More

The 2017 Vintage Port, not quite bottled when seen but the final blend, is a field blend (with typical grapes like Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesca, Tinto Cão, Tinta Roriz and Tinta Barroca) aged for approximately 20... Read More

The organic G.D. Vajra 2021 Barolo Bricco delle Viole first shows a fragile side, but it eventually rolls onto much greater momentum and focus as it opens in the glass. This is always one of my favorite wines from this excellent... Read More

From one of the most sought-after crus sites today, the G.D. Vajra 2021 Barolo Ravera opens to a vibrant ruby color. The wine takes its time opening, especially when tasted young, but that delay bodes well for its future bottle... Read More

This is one of the icon wines of the appellation. The Il Marroneto 2017 Brunello di Montalcino Madonna delle Grazie shows an elegantly streamlined appearance with shiny ruby highlights. This warm-vintage expression does not have... Read More

The 2015 Gran Reserva 904 Tinto offers great aromatic complexity, with notes of wild strawberry, red cherry, plum, blackberry and cranberry combined with aromas of tobacco, brioche, ground coffee, caramel, cedar and cinnamon blossom.... Read More

Deep nose, but really fresh at the same time. Currants, blackberries and chili-pepper chocolate with cedary and meaty undertones. This is really juicy, with a tight, tensely framed palate, underscored by lots of creamy, dusty... Read More

The only one of the Mt Brave wines that isn't 100% varietal, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Mt. Veeder includes 4% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Malbec. Offering hints of sage and lavender entwined among waves... Read More

The 2021 Chardonnay is very ripe in style with scents of banana chip, apple pie, jasmine, allspice and brown sugar. The full-bodied palate is packed with ripe, spicy fruits and plenty of refreshing acidity, and it finishes long... Read More

Extremely rich, ripe and creamy, this luxurious wine ferments and ages in 90% new French barrels, and a majority of the grapes come from Old Wente clone vines from Atlas Peak AVA vineyards. Aromas of butterscotch, vanilla bean,... Read More

The 2018 St Henri Shiraz is a terrific effort, perhaps rivaling the top-flight wines under this label in 1976 and 1986. Remarkably fine and silky in texture yet simultaneously dense and concentrated, it showcases the amazing fruit... Read More

The current release. A tour de force, despite the sheer morass of palate-staining fruit. The malty oak is evident, yet operates as a welcome adjunct to corral and compress the swashbuckle of coffee grinds, beef bouillon, mint,... Read More

The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Mondavi Heritage Clone To Kalon Vineyard comes from a single block of vines planted to what has become known as clone 31. If there is any complaint here, it's that the vibrant raspberry and mixed... Read More

All Cabernet Sauvignon from specific hillside blocks on the estate, Shafer's 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select spent 28 months in 100% new French oak. It's a big, ripe wine, weighing in at 15.5% alcohol, but it remains... Read More

The Tenuta San Guido 2022 Bolgheri Sassicaia reveals a beautiful fruit profile with fresh blackberry, tart cherry and Mediterranean tones of blue rosemary blooms and lavender sachet. I tasted this wine several times over the course... Read More