94 Points! I loved the 2023 Cabernet Franc Estate, which is based on 90% Cabernet Franc, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Petit Verdot and Malbec, all raised 18 months in 50% new French oak. Ripe red and black berry fruits, cedary herbs, spice, and floral nuances all emerge from this beauty, and it's medium to full-bodied, pure, balanced, and elegant, with finely polished tannins and outstanding length. This terrific wine will evolve nicely over the coming 10-15 years. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! In the same ballpark as the Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2021 Cabernet Franc Caitlin's Select has lots of red and black fruits as well as those classic Franc underbrush, savory herb, and graphite-like nuances. Medium to full-bodied, balanced, and complex, with perfectly integrated tannins and acidity, it's another fabulous wine from this estate that will evolve for 15+ years if well stored. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! The Roundstone 2023 Swartland Red Blend reflects a forward-looking approach to climate resilience and site authenticity. The blend (52% Syrah, 25% Grenache and 23% Cinsault) leans on varieties well proven in the Swartland’s warm, dry conditions. The vineyards are farmed with a strong regenerative focus: tight spacing with no tractor work, permanent mulch under vine with hay bales, self-seeding cover crops and no-till soil management. The 20-hectare block includes 16 hectares of vines interwoven with four hectares of preserved fynbos corridors to support biodiversity and prevent erosion. Despite a challenging, cloudy vintage, the wine shows generous ripeness with plummy fruit and blackberry at the core. The palate is velvety yet composed, with a structural firmness on the finish that reflects the grip of the ancient Swartland soils. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

94 Points! A terrific Condrieu, the 2023 Condrieu Deponcins has tons of sautéed peach, honeyed orange, and perfumed floral and spice nuances on the nose. It's medium to full-bodied, ripe, round, and beautifully textured on the palate, with a good sense of freshness as well as a kiss of minerality on the finish. - Jeb Dunnuck

Villard makes four different Condrieu wines and three are single vineyards. Villard owns three hectares in the Poncins vineyard in Saint-Michel-sur-Rhône and makes two wines from this parcel. DePoncins comes from 25 year old vines. Aged for 11 months, without racking, in 30% new barrels and 70% in barrels that are three to five years old. Great intensity and minerality.

95 Points! Gorgeous plump blueberries swell and bound across the nose and palate with tightly wound tar-infused tannins and a refreshing acidity. Exuding effortless charm and elegance. - Decanter World Wine Awards

93 Points! They consider the 2023 La Servil a paraje wine, despite coming from a large vineyard with different soils. It's always a floral and expressive red, and in a year of low yields, the larger size of the grapes compensated and gave the wines more texture and more tension, resulting in a subtle and fine vintage for the reds. It fermented completely destemmed and matured in foudre for 18 months, as they are extending the time in oak for all their wines (the 2024s will be two years). All the 2023 reds are around 14% alcohol, but they're very balanced and fine-boned. In this case, it showcases the sandy, elegant soils that resulted in finer tannins. All the reds are very pure, fresh and mineral, with a strong stony sensation. I think there is more elegance this year. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

94+ Points! The red 2024 Matas Altas Tinto is a pure Monastrell from different old vineyards (the same ones used for the 2023), the youngest of which dates from 1967, all ungrafted and dry farmed in their village Fuente-Álamo and planted with field blends, mostly Monastrell but with other varieties, on limestone soils with different textures: marl, sand and gravel. It fermented with 10% full clusters—the same for all the reds from this vintage—and indigenous yeasts. It's the youngest of the reds and has a clean, perfumed and elegant nose, not really fruity, more austere/stony but still the gentler of the reds. They want to pick the grapes when they are ripe to give them time to develop aromas and flavors. Here, they also want to expand the élevage to 18 months, but in 2024, it was only one winter, in 8,000-liter oak foudres and some barrels. It's fine-boned and balanced, with abundant, chalky tannins, and it's more powerful than the 2023. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

94 Points! The 2024 Malbec Terroir Uco Valley was made from grapes grown in Gualtallary and Paraje Altamira. Aged 90% in concrete and 10% in large barrels for 15 months, it offers a primary expression with notes of pennyroyal, violet and mountain herbs alongside red cherry fruit. Dry and marked by a chalky texture and intense flavor, it delivers a compact palate with gentle grip. The 2024 is a pure, primary Malbec with uncommon intensity. - Joaquin Hidalgo, Vinous

95 Points! A tense, minerally yet perfumed wine. The nose shows vibrant stone fruit such as peaches, subtle smoke, ferns, lemon peel, seaweed and chalk. Medium- to full-bodied and smooth, with weight and concentration, a silky texture and vibrancy. Focused and slightly peaty finish. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

94 Points! An engaging red, with sleekly layered cherry and raspberry flavors highlighted by roasted sage, fresh violet and pepper flavors that end with refined tannins. - Wine Spectator

94 Points! The 2024 Zinfandel Katusha's Vineyard emerges from vines in Lodi planted in 1915. Dark and explosive, the 2024 offers up a heady mix of blackberry, sage, scorched earth, tobacco, incense and licorice. This burly, potent Zinfandel has so much sheer character. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous

94 Points! They purchased this vineyard in 2014, and coming from the coolest section of Lodi, the 2024 Zinfandel Katushas’ Vineyard pours a jeweled ruby hue with youthful pepper spice, crushed berries, pressed roses, and sweet tea leaf. Slight reduction should dissipate with a few more months in bottle, after which this should really sing. Medium-bodied, with stony earthiness and restrained warmth, it carries a more serious tone stylistically and should easily evolve for another decade. - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com

90 Points! The 2024 Pinot Gris was blended with 4% Gewürztraminer and 2% Muscat and fermented in stainless steel. It has understated aromas of peach, apricot, bread dough and spice. The medium-bodied palate is concentrated, textural and savory with gently honeyed flavors. Bright acidity balances 3.6 grams of residual sugar, and it has a long, flavorful finish. - Erin Brooks, robertparker.com

94 Points! The 2023 Côtes Du Rhône La Reserve Blanc is all Clairette Rose, which is a later ripening variety compared to Clairette and a variety that brings a touch more richness and texture. Beautiful notes of honeyed melon, minty, sappy herbs, and spice all define the aromatics. These carry to a medium to full-bodied white that has a layered, balanced profile, beautiful freshness, and one heck of a finish. This is one Côtes Du Rhône Blanc that would have no problem standing in a lineup of top Châteauneuf du Pape Blanc! Drink bottles over the coming 2-4 years. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! A juicy and fruity red with blackberry and some dark chocolate and graphite character. Lead pencil, too. Medium-bodied with creamy and integrated tannins and a juicy finish. Savory and delicious. Some iodine. A blend of grenache, shiraz and mourvedre. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! The 2021 Plexus comprises 48% Shiraz, 28% Grenache and 24% Mourvèdre. This is the first wine that John Duval made when he left Penfolds; the first vintage was 2003. This is polished and juicy, the long and mild 2021 season on show here. There are notes of raspberry pip and cocoa, a hint of chocolate-covered licorice and tobacco, brine and star anise. It's a lovely wine, as ever. And it's potentially a superstar release, given the inherent balance and length of the season and, therefore, the wine too. - Erin Larkin, robertparker.com

93 Points! This quite serious 2021 Red Plexus is a Rhone blend of Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvèdre with an almost Gigondas feel. It delivers exceptional value with its brooding blackberry, meat stocks and licorice aromas, plus a dusting of spices. Dry with excellent focus and concentration, the cooler 2021 vintage provided a tighter and tannic package delivering waves of meaty olive tapenade and peppery complexity. The length is excellent, but it needs a little time to blossom. - Angus Hughson, Vinous

93 Points! Beautifully perfumed notes of violet and lavender add an effusive quality to the core of blackberry, kirsch and fresh plum, with accents of star anise, sage, masala chai and tapenade, plus a touch of bittersweet chocolate that lingers on the long finish, where the plush tannins add further elegance. Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvèdre. - Wine Spectator

94 Points! Always one of the most singular wines in a vintage, the 2023 Châteauneuf Du Pape Vin De La Solitude comes from the la Solitude lieu-dit on 50% galets roulés and 50% sandy safre soils. Based on 25% Grenache, 22% Syrah, 20% each Mourvèdre and Counoise, 7% Cinsault, 2% Clairette Rose, and 4% other permitted varieties, it was vinified with whole clusters in truncated tanks and aged 15 months entirely in neutral barrels. It offers meaty black cherries, black olives, roasted garrigue, and Provençal spice, reminding me of a street market in the south of France with its meaty, complex, incredibly Provençal style. Medium to full-bodied, it has building tannins and outstanding length. With 233 cases produced, give it a year or two and drink over the following 10-12 years. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! A supple and perfumy version, with an expressive mix of red plum, rooibos tea and sandalwood smoke. Salty, sanguine tones move in, and everything is grounded by wet paving stone and graphite. The tannins are glossy, with just a hint of graininess on the bitter-edged finish. Finessed and delicious. Counoise, Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Cinsaut, Clairette, Bourboulenc, Roussanne and Roussanne. - Wine Spectator

94 Points! Another ripe, sexy, exuberant Gigondas, the 2022 Gigondas Vieilles Vignes reveals a vibrant ruby/purple hue as well as youthful aromatics of black raspberries, sandalwood, ground pepper, and herbes de Provence-like nuances. This sunny, medium to full-bodied 2022 has sweet tannins, a supple, elegant mouthfeel, and a great finish. It's a beautiful wine in the vintage that I suspect will drink nicely over the coming decade. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! The 2007 Valpolicella Superiore from the celebrated Monte Lodoletta vineyard is rock-tight with a midnight black appearance and aromas that emerge with fierce determination. The fascinating aromatic medley includes dark spice, prune, Spanish cedar, tar, black licorice, balsam herb and blackberry tart. The mouthfeel is plush and rich with super-tight tannins that grip nervously to the finish. It has only started its bottle evolution and requires more time to soften and develop. Drink 2017-2035. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com, 2013

94 Points! The 2022 Syrah Valenti Ranch is a super-classic Mendocino Ridge wine. It offers a beguiling mix of dark Syrah fruit along with a host of savory/earthy undertones, all framed by beams of tannin that lend energy. Complex and pedigreed to the core, the 2022 is an absolute delight. In a word: gorgeous. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

95 Points! This is a step up, with lushly textured flavors of crushed plum, currant preserves and mulled black cherry driving along nicely, underscored by licorice, black tea and warm earth. Even with the earthy flash, this stays refined and focused, with latent energy on the finish as well. No rush here, either. Drink now through 2040. - Wine Spectator, 2023

95 points Luca Maroni! 90 points James Suckling! Roasted cherry, licorice and walnut on the nose, with a touch of muscovado sugar. It’s full-bodied, rich and flavorful with ripe, broad tannins. Drink now.

Sourced from Barbera grapes that have been lightly dried for a short period of time (not as long as Amarone) to concentrate their flavor and intensity.