Wines

94 Points! A gorgeous nose of hazelnuts, cherries, raspberries, button mushrooms, tea leaves and vanilla bean. It’s vibrant and fruit-forward, with zesty and racy acidity and tight-knit tannins. Tight, cool finish. From Yamhill-Carlton (including the Shea and Highland vineyards) and Chehalem Mountains. Try after 2026. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! The 2022 Pinot Noir VGR is youthfully flinty to begin, requiring plenty of air to reveal blackberry, rhubarb, cinnamon stick and woodsy undertones. The medium-bodied palate offers expansive, layered flavors. It’s balanced by juicy acidity and has a long, nuanced finish. It will benefit from 2-3 years in the cellar or some time in a decanter. - Erin Brooks, robertparker.com

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97 Points! Transparent and minerally, showing dark-cherry and forest-floor aromas with some ink and blood undertones. Medium-bodied with beautiful integration and excellent length that goes on for minutes. Firm tannins. Vivid. From ungrafted vines planted in the 1970s. - JamesSuckling.com

94 Points! This wine is expressive and bright, a part of the 00's assemblage series, crafted from different sites in the Willamette Valley. Aromas of woodland berries and pine boughs offer a fresh contrast to the forest floor and red cherries. Ripe red strawberries, and mint leaf on the forepalate, finishing with layered darker fruits, rich forest floor and salty ocean minerality. - Decanter Magazine

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94 Points! Pouring a deeper ruby red color, the 2023 Pinot Noir Pommard 1er Cru Clos des Epenots is a lovely wine with a ripe feel, featuring notes of black raspberries, fresh violets, and a darker, earthy, and floral bouquet. The palate is rounded and supple, with ripe tannins and a fruity character, although gentle earthy notes are also present. It’s a pretty style for this site to drink over the coming 15 or more years. - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com

93 Points! Pure seduction from the first tilt of the glass, the 2023 Pommard Clos des Epenots 1er Cru mixes crushed violet and lavender with dried black cherries, nuances of stone dust and allspice. It's surprisingly juicy, blending tart raspberry with autumnal spices and crunchy mineral tones, all offset by a core of tantalizing acidity. A youthfully nervous feel is balanced by lasting freshness as rosy inner florals linger through the long, classically dry finish. -Eric Guido, Vinous Media

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93 Points! A medium red color, the 2019 Pinot Noir Platt Vineyard is spicy and classic on the nose, with notes of dried cherries, baking spices, anise, and dried alpine herbs. Well-balanced and complex on the palate, this medium-bodied red takes on a good deal of character, with a core of ripe concentration and a long-lasting finish. As this was held back for release, it’s already in a good place for drinking now or over the coming 6-8 years. - Audrey Frick, jebdunuck.com

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93 Points! Very structured, balanced and complete. Ripe black cherries, blueberries, toast and baking spices. This is the most widely available Alma Rosa pinot, made from mostly hillside, estate-grown grapes with no stems included. Aged in 30% new oak barrels. Drink now or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

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93 Points! The effusive nose of candied citrus, ripe pear and brioche pulls you into this fresh and creamy champagne that hits all the pleasure buttons for a non-vintage Brut. Then the chalky freshness at the finish pulls you back for another sip. Excellent balance! 100% pinot noir. Drink now. - JamesSuckling.com

92 Points! Incredible value for a blanc de noirs (100% Pinot Noir) grower Champagne from the grand cru vineyards of Bouzy. It shows gorgeous aromas of stone fruit, citrus and strawberry, with complex brioche nuances, remarkable balance, ongoing elegance and a rich, refined, persistent finish. - Stacy Slinkard, Decanter Magazine

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50+ year old vines from the highest elevation vineyard in Maranges with red clay and chalk soil. 30% whole cluster fermented with indigenous yeast, aged in 228L barrels (20% new).

92-94 Points! The 2023 Maranges La Fussières 1er Cru Rouge is blended with 30% whole bunch. This has an understated bouquet with light earthy red fruit with sous-bois and mineral scents. It opens succinctly in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with finely chiseled tannins, very poised, airy and transparent yet with real weight and presence on the finish. Bon vin! - Neal Martin, Vinous

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93 Points! The 2022 Pinot Noir Yamhill-Carlton is declassified estate fruit from relatively younger vines, including both free-run and press wine, all direct to barrel. It pours a bright red hue and balances the freshness from the early picks with depth from the press wine. The nose is bright and spicy, showing cranberries, cinnamon, dried herbs, and potpourri. On the palate, it’s elegant, medium-bodied, and framed by fine tannins, and leans into mineral notes on the finish. About ten years ago, they began incorporating 10-20% whole clusters, inspired by the old Cristom wines, and implemented restrained use of new oak. Elegant and charming now, it should drink well over the next 10 years. - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com

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Very typical of Nuits-St-Georges, with a dark plummy fruit, notes of earth and mineral, and an almost savoury edge to it - slightly rustic, yet still very refined. The grapes from this 0.4ha parcel were fermented as 60% whole-cluster, which imparts a slight edge of herbs or menthol to the wine, but this amplifies in a good way the slightly sauvage character. Delicious. 94 Charles Curtis MW, Decanter Magazine

"Background hints of wood and menthol are present on the super-spicy aromas of black cherry, raspberry and a plenitude of floral wisps. The sleek, intense and very rich medium weight plus flavors possess a caressing mouthfeel that possess notably better punch on the youthfully austere, balanced and impressively persistent finale. This is sufficiently compact that it's going to need at least a few years of keeping first." 92-94 Points, Allen Meadows, Burghound Learn More

94 Points! The 2023 Pinot Noir Cumberland Reserve opens with aromas of raspberry liqueur, mocha, floral perfume, and savory notes of fresh sage. Medium-bodied, it offers ripe, detailed tannins, balanced acidity, and a long finish. While this vintage hints at opulence, the wine remains beautifully balanced and refreshing. It’s a stunning introduction to the vintage and a benchmark for the region as an appellation wine. - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com

94 Points! Bright and seductive, this pinot offers fresh cherries, crushed wild berries, violets, wet rocks and subtle spices on the nose. Racy and mouthwatering, with spicy and minerally tension, it has a medium body, a dusty texture to its tannins and a lingering and racy finish. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! The 2023 Pinot Noir Cumberland Reserve is incredibly fresh, with a bouquet of dusty dried flowers, lavender pastille, nuances of cedary spice and wild blueberries. Ripe wild berry fruits and crisp mineral tones glide across the palate over a layer of pure silk. The finish is long and tense, yet remains remarkably fresh as violet tones resonate over a bed of silken tannins. The Cumberland Reserve represents amazing value. Already enjoyable, it will also excel in the cellar. - Eric Guido, Vinous

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93 Points! The 2022 Pinot Noir Estate is bursting with strawberry, raspberry and orange peel aromas, and with time it reveals touches of cinnamon, bitters and wildflowers. The light-bodied palate is finely astringent and refreshing with complex, bitters-laced flavors and a long, spicy finish. - Erin Brooks, robertparker.com

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93 Points! From a steep, south-facing hillside near Trout Gulch Vineyard in Aptos, the 2022 Pinot Noir Lilo Vineyard is a beautiful example of an undersung vineyard source. It was fermented with 20% whole clusters and aged in three- to four-year-old barrels for 14 months. Lush yet composed aromas of dark fruit, conifers and allspice lead to a seamless and refined palate. The finish perfectly balances ripe fruit, succulent acidity and subtle, drying tannins, making this an impressively well-made Pinot Noir, much less at this price point. - Matthew Luczy, robertparker.com

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93+ Points! (I tasted a blend of Bouchard's three barrels) Good deep red. Wild, soil-driven aromas of brown spices, licorice, pepper, wild herbs, celery seed and toasted bread, plus a light yeasty quality. Big, silky and rich, with a flavor of clafoutis Unusually round and generous for young Bonnes-Mares. Quite horizontal on the back end, finishing with extremely sweet, fine-grained tannins for Bonnes-Mares and superb persistence. I would not be surprised to see this rate a score at the high end of my projected range. - Stephen Tanzer, Vinous Media

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93+ Points! (like the Chapelle, this is also made from fruit purchased from Damoy) Bright dark red with ruby tones. Sexy aromas of black fruits, spices, dried flowers, licorice, espresso and chocolate. Juicy, penetrating and high-pitched in the mouth, with lovely floral and mineral lift to the complex flavors of red and darker fruits, leather and pepper. In a very upright, firmly structured style, and not at all exotic. Prost uses more tight-grained Vosges oak for this cuvee, which makes for a longer, slower oxygenation during elevage. - Stephen Tanzer, Vinous Media

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93 Points! Blueberry, plum and flower aromas with some new leather. It’s full-bodied with lots of fruit and density. Flavorful and stylish at the finish. A little tight now. Try after 2022. - JamesSuckling.com

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93 Points! A wonderful vintage by all accounts, the 2024 crop sizes were good, and this wine is comprised of five different blocks from throughout the estate. It spends one year in French oak, and it's fresh and juicy right out of the gates with aromas of fresh crushed strawberries, mint leaf and pine sap. - Decanter Magazine

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93-95 Points! The 2020 Mercurey 1er Cru Les Champs Martin unwinds in the glass with scents of freshly baked bread, wet stones, white currants, confit citrus and crisp green orchard fruit. Full-bodied, ample and seamless, it's layered and racy, with broad shoulders, bright acids and a long, mineral finish. Its elegant profile belies considerable reserves of chalky structuring extract that will make this a wine for the long haul. - William Kelley, robertparker.com

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93-95+ Points! The 2020 Mercurey 1er Cru Clos de Champs Martin Cuvée Carline unwinds in the glass with a deep bouquet of wild berries, vine smoke, raw cocoa, cloves, anise and peonies. Medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, it's layered and complete, with a tightly wound core of vibrant fruit framed by beautifully refined tannins and concluding with a long, saline finish. Less demonstrative than its 2019 and 2018 predecessors, I suspect it will emerge as the finest of the trilogy in the fulness of time, but it will require patience. - William Kelley, robertparker.com

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94+ Points! From a site on the other (southern) side of the appellation, the 2020 Sanford & Benedict Vineyard Pinot Noir saw quite a bit more stems and was fermented with 40% stems and brought up in 20% new oak. It has a wonderful nose of ripe red and black currants as well as subtle woodsmoke, dried herbs, and forest floor. This carries to a pure, medium-bodied, balanced Pinot Noir with ripe tannins, nicely integrated acidity, and a great finish. It opens up nicely with time in the glass and will no doubt benefit from another year or two of bottle age. These latest releases from Gavin Chanin are pretty much straight-up brilliant across the board. - Jeb Dunnuck

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91-93 Points! The 2023 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills is herbal and lifted on the nose, leading to a dark-fruited, silky palate that combines svelte richness with delicious freshness. As always, this is shaping up to be an overperforming overview of the Sta. Rita Hills from a uniquely pretty vintage.

Gavin Chanin entered the wine world through an eight-year stint at Au Bon Climat, quickly becoming protégé of the late Jim Clendenen. Chanin founded his namesake label in 2007, an era that allowed him to secure contracts for old-vine plantings from some of the region's most historic vineyards while newly established sites were more in vogue. Much of the straightforward practicality learned from Clendenen is employed in the cellar: the Chardonnays are whole-cluster pressed, barrel fermented and aged on lees for 14 months, then racked and returned to barrel for another four months before bottling. Heavy-toast François Frères barrels are the norm—favoring the Bertranges forest for Chardonnay and Vosges for Pinot Noir—and range from 10% to 50% new. Pinot Noir generally includes 30% to 50% whole clusters, with slightly higher percentages of new wood. Across the spectrum, the wines continually balance supple generosity with focus and refinement, delivered through a deceptively slender frame despite their richly flavored nature. - Matthew Luczy, robertparker.com

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