Wines

99 Points, James Suckling's #1 American Wine of the Year! An amazingly complex, dynamic wine that demands your attention from the first sniff to the lingering finish. Aromas of redwood forest, rosemary, purple flowers and black cherries, then black tea, pomegranate, dark cherry, dried raspberry and wild mushroom flavors. Fine-grained moderate tannins and crunchy acidity give it such a firm backbone. Drink now or hold. - Jim Gordon, JamesSuckling.com

99 Points! Spellbinding aromas of rose petals, strawberries, citrus and bark, with hints of lemongrass. Medium-bodied, tight and structured, this offers a captivating combination of linear intensity and calmness, so classy and sophisticated. A continued benchmark for American pinot noir. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

From the winery:

Sourced from a steep ridge in the Alisos Canyon of Santa Ynez with an incredibly diverse terroir that's loaded with limestone and fossils. Planted to original budwood from Château de Beaucastel, we got advice from other producer friends of ours in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Bandol who insisted that "Counoise is the grape of the future" for their Mediterranean climates. 

We fermented in whole bunches and were super happy with the results. The floral aromatics of Counoise were a perfect marriage with the mineral-rich terroir of Alisos Canyon. After aging it for ten months in neutral French oak barriques, we bottled it without fining or filtration.

This juicy red has the joy and freshness we love in Cru Beaujolais, the structure and chewiness we look for in old-styled producers of the Southern Rhône, and the tightrope elegance that brought us to Santa Ynez.

93 Points! Moving to the Chardonnay, the 2018 Chardonnay Sonoma Coast is a terrific appellation wine that does everything right. Buttered stone fruits, toasted almonds, brioche, and honeysuckle notes all emerge from the glass, and this puppy is medium to full-bodied, has bright yet integrated acidity, and delivers a clean, lengthy finish. Drink it over the coming 4-5 years. These are terrific wines are now made by Joe Nielsen, who previously made the wines for Donelan. - Jeb Dunnuck

From the winery: A standard-bearer for the Napa Valley. Our sixteenth vintage of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon combines thoughtfully selected hillside and valley floor vineyards.

This appellation Cabernet is blended from a combination of hillside and valley floor vineyards. The 2020 vintage is 85% Cabernet 14% Merlot, and 1% Cab Franc.

Soil: The geology and soils of Napa Valley are complex and primarily comprised of broken down or decomposed rock that has been carried downhill from the eastern Vaca range and the western Mayacamas range into the base of the valley, where they ultimately intermingle with the silt, clay and gravel deposits of the Napa River flood plain.

Aging: Aging sur lies with bi-monthly bâtonnage coats the tannins and integrates the wood. The 2020 vintage matured 30 months in 45% new French oak barrels (Taransaud & Demptos). Non-filtered.

99 Points! So well layered, delicious and vibrant, combining a rich texture with full, ripe fruit flavors and wonderful accents of lemon curd, flint and baking spices. A great wine from a great vineyard in an outstanding vintage. While generous and full-flavored, it also retains great balance, minerality and a slight sense of restraint in the vivid acidity. Fresh and compelling. - JamesSuckling.com

94 Points, Wine Spectator's #10 Wine of the Year 2024! Oozing with character, this succulent and mouthwatering white offers a fleshy, juicy mix of perfectly ripe peach, mango and lemon bar flavors, with fresh herbal accents of lemon verbena and vetiver. Offers accents of freshly grated ginger, tangerine and crunchy sea salt on the finish. Drink now through 2036. - Wine Spectator

95 Points! The 2022 Chardonnay Russian River Valley is also a bright silver straw color and has a slightly deeper tone. Revealing notes of smoky wet stones, lemon balm, green apples, and fresh flowers, it has a bit more medium-bodied richness. with a lovely. light-on-its-feet feel in this vintage. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! Fragrant, focused and precise, offering flavors of lemongrass and lemon blossoms, with Meyer lemon and green papaya accents, plus a touch of tangerine. Shows green tea, lemon balm and white pepper notes on a mouthwatering frame, with a hint of salinity that lingers. - Wine Spectator

91 Points! A juicy and berry-oriented Rioja with a stony edge to the black cherries and plums. Firm, bright and pretty succulent on the palate with medium body. Well-balanced even though it is not complex. Drink now. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! Aromas of dark berries, plums, graphite and herbs. Concentrated and structured with a core of dark fruit supported by a compact, focused finish. Precise, firm tannins add definition and longevity, making this a wine built for aging. - JamesSuckling.com

A reflection of the rugged location of our originally farmed,
low-yield vineyard, this Chardonnay is an expression of its place: lean and crisp with resilient character. Sitting on gross lees until bottling, at which point it’s bottled unfined and unfiltered. Winemaker: Justin Willett

96 Points! The 2012 Brut Millésime blends 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Noir, with Chardonnay mainly from Montagne de Reims and a small portion from Côte des Blancs, giving it a slightly unusual yet eternally sleek Chardonnay bent. It spent a decade on the lees. Its nose is a smoky wonder, combining ripe, almost tropical fruit with a gorgeous toasty sense of grilled almonds. An overtone of candied orange peel flashes up momentarily. The palate brings wonderfully golden plum fruit, ripe yet fresh, juicy and utterly aromatic, verging on apricot and always surrounded by a toasty, warming frisson of grilled nuts, pervaded by a streak of finest freshness. This is immensely youthful, captured with brilliantly pure fruit and lasting expression that rings long in a toasty umami echo. - Anne Krebiehl MW, Vinous

96 Points! A graceful Champagne that waltzes across the palate, with a fine, plush mousse carrying a lovely range of ripe black cherry, pureed raspberry, candied ginger, Mandarin orange peel, grilled nut and pastry flavors enlivened by a vibrant spine of lemony acidity. To a certain extent, the precision and elegance belies the focus and breadth on display, so sip this slowly and enjoy as it opens in the glass and expands on the palate, echoing on the finish. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Drink now through 2040. - Wine Spectator

96 Points! A Champagne of great intensity and concentration, pure citrus oil, candied lemon and toasty exotic fruit. It's exceptionally soft and satin-like, creamy and comforting, then a stony, saline intensity draws out the finish. For the first time in the history of Rare Champagne, the house has released a vintage that is older than its previous release. This 2012 comes after the 2013 was released in 2023. Cellar master Émilien Boutillat says this is because when tasting the 2012, he and the team found a connection between this and the iconic 2002, so it deserved a little bit of extra time in the cellars before release. – Decanter

#PiperRare

98 Points! Originally a part of the legendary Piper-Heidsieck Champagne house, Rare is moving their Champagne Millésime to a new brand and want it to stand alone. (Think Delamotte and Salon.) The 13th vintage for this cuvée, the 2013 Champagne Millésime is a blend is 70% Chardonnay with the rest Pinot Noir, with the majority of the blend coming from the Montagne de Reims Grand Cru and Premier Cru. A bright yellow hue, its aromatics are exquisite and well-balanced, with fresh notes of key lime, candied apple, fresh croissant dough, fresh pineapple, and honeysuckle. Medium to full-bodied, it fills the palate with a rounded and supple texture and a pillowy mousse. It’s long on the palate and has a silky personality as well as a long, pristine finish. It has fantastic balance of decadence and freshness, and I could drink this all day. It’s going to have a long drinking window. Drink 2024-2044 and beyond. Disgorged December 2022. - Audrey Frick, JebDunnuck.com

#PiperRare

92 Points! Light, green-tinged yellow. Mineral-accented aromas and flavors of candied orange, pear, white flowers and ginger. Juicy and precise, presenting lively citrus and orchard fruit flavors underscored by chalky minerality. Dry and incisive on the finish, which shows outstanding clarity and persistence. - Josh Raynolds, Vinous

93 Points! Medium amber with a green rim. Aromas of burnt orange, tobacco, toffee and herbs, with a hint of potpourri adding an exotic component. Broader and deeper than the Charleston, offering sappy orange marmalade, chestnut honey and toffee flavors underscored by tangy acidity. Shows a sweet, nutty quality on the smoky, gently spicy finish. I like this wine's heft and thrust. - Josh Raynolds, Vinous Media

95 Points! This smells like apricot tarte tatin with notes of toasted nuts and caramelized bananas. Very crisp and concentrated this has tremendous energy in spite of the intense maturation character, the touch of sweetness pushed way into the background. Super-long finish that’s both rich and refreshing. Drink or hold. - Stuart Pigott, JamesSuckling.com

96 Points! Dark cherries, nervy energy and a gentle floral note on the nose. The medium-bodied palate shows tension and an elegant expression of fruit—subtle yet tasty—framed by fine-grained tannins. Savory and delicious. From an extremely old vineyard rooted in deep clay soils in the village of Valtuille de Abajo. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

95 Points! The 2023 Las Gundiñas Lomas de Valtuille combines Mencía, Trousseau and up to 10% Doña Blanca from a centenary vineyard. It fermented with 100% whole clusters and aged for up to 11 months in barrel. This opens with appealing herbal aromas of sour cherry, a distant hint of violet and a touch of rosehip. The palate is firm and structured, with broad flavor intensity. The fresh vintage aligns well with the style and the whole-cluster character leaves a compact, slightly austere finish that promises to improve in bottle. - Joaquin Hidalgo, Vinous