Wines

91 Points! With 50% coming from 2020 vintage and the rest from the Solera begun in 2013, the NV Champagne Blanc De Blancs Solera Brut displays a bright yellow hue and is very well-detailed in its aromatics of lemon curd, brioche, and ripe pear. Medium-bodied and graceful, it delicately rounds out the palate with a supple texture and a delicate mousse, as well as fresh acidity. Easygoing but very attractive, it can be enjoyed over the next 6-7 years. Disgorged December 2022, with 3 grams per liter of dosage. - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com

91 Points! The A. A. Badenhorst Family Wines 2025 Swartland Secateurs Chenin Blanc is sourced from 34 vineyards and blended progressively during harvest, with fruit picked between 11% and 14% potential alcohol. Fermentation unfolds naturally as fresh juice is added to active tanks over several weeks without temperature control. The wine matures in a mix of old casks, concrete and large barrels..."This wine feeds a lot of people," says Adi Badenhorst. The 2025 shows bright freshness, with honey and yellow flower layered over clean orchard fruit aromatics. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

From the winery: Our second label wine, KEOLA is comprised of barrels and lots from the same vineyards that make up our top-tier Aaron cuvées. These barrels are declassified lots and extra barrels that simply don't find their way into our flagship wines, thus we blend them into KEOLA, our everyday drinking red that massively overdelivers for the price point. Juicy, vibrant and intensely aromatic, its a medium-bodied, absolutely delicious wine that goes with any place, any dish, and any time of day. Comprised mostly of Petite Sirah, Syrah, and Mourvèdre it's a rich and savory, with a blue/red fruit profile and notes of grilled meats and sage/underbrush. The palate is luscious and juicy, loaded with flavors of macerated cherries, cocoa powder, toasty oak, and licorice. Aged for 18 month is 100% French oak, 50% new, it's a wine that will certainly age in the cellar, but we recommend cracking it open now and enjoying it through the remainder of this year!

92 Points! A good value, the 2023 Keola Red offers juicy darker fruits, peppery herbs, and sappy, floral notes. Based on 45% Petite Sirah, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 25% Syrah aged 18 months in 25% new French oak, it's medium to full-bodied, ripe, round, and supple, with no hard edges. This is a pleasure-bent, impeccably made red to drink over the coming 5-6 years. ..As always, Aaron Jackson makes a ripe, powerful style of wine that brings ample fruit and texture while staying nicely balanced. - Jeb Dunnuck

Sourcing:

Petite Sirah - Dusi Vineyards (Templeton Gap District), St Peter of Alcantara (Willow Creek District next door to Pesenti Vineyard)
Syrah - Maison Mason (Willow Creek District next to notable vineyards like Terry Hoage, Paderewski). And Caelesta Vineyard (Templeton Gap)
Cabernet - Old Bailey Vineyard (Adelaida District, oldest vine Cab on the westside, own rooted in 1969 and right next door to HMR Vineyard and planted around the same time).

92 Points! The white 2019 Le Domaine is mostly Sauvignon Blanc, with 30% Verdejo, and comes from a warm year (not as warm as 2017) when Sauvignon Blanc achieved perfect ripeness. The wine has good ripeness, 13.5% alcohol, very good freshness, a subtle nose that is not that varietal (as it's often the case) and a soft palate with great balance and purity. It finishes with a faint bitter touch. The oak is neatly integrated. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

91 Points! The 2023 Kerner is delicately floral in the glass, with a whiff of sweet spice and candied lime forming its bouquet. This is built on energy with vibrant acidity and a combination of saline minerals and tart citrus, adding a zesty character throughout. The 2023 reverberates with tension through the long and cheek-puckering finale with hints of chamomile and lemon zest. - Eric Guido, Vinous Media

91 Points! This has a bright, citrusy, leafy profile with yellow plums and ferns. Tart on the palate with zesty acidity, light body and dairy flavors. The lemony finish is polished yet not long. Drink now. - JamesSuckling.com

92 Points! Salty and spicy with white-pepper and flinty aromas, this is light-bodied yet very savory and crisp with a polished finish. Drink now. - JamesSuckling.com

91 Points! The smart buy in the Ackerman lineup is the suave, polished 2018 Memoir Red Wine. A blend of 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% each Cabernet Franc and Merlot, and 6% each Malbec and Petit Verdot, it seamlessly marries cedary oak notes with cassis and dark chocolate flavors. Medium to full-bodied and less opulent and weighty than many of its Napa counterparts, it's still velvety-plush but also marked by ample freshness and length. - Joe Czerwinski, robertparker.com

98 Points! Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon bursts with open-knit, expressive scents of black cherry compote, warm cassis, and cinnamon toast with nuances of clove oil, roses, and dark chocolate. The full-bodied palate is rich, plush, seamless, layered, long, and decadent. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent

97 Points! A gorgeous wine from Chris Phelps, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Sleeping Lady Vineyard sports a dense purple hue as well as awesome aromatics of cassis, violets, flowers, and spicy oak. It’s young and unevolved, with medium to full-bodied richness, silky tannins, flawless balance, and a great finish. It ranks with the finest wines I’ve tasted from this vineyard. All Cabernet aged 20 months in 70% new French oak, it has two decades or more of prime drinking ahead of it. - Jeb Dunnuck

92 Points! Intense cinnamon spice on the nose, together with vibrant aromas of cherry jelly and pressed flowers. Medium-bodied with a graceful attack, firm light tannins and crisp, brilliant and juicy acidity that packs a punch. Overall it’s crunchy in style. Licorice in the aftertaste. Drink now. - JamesSuckling.com

from the winery:

When it comes to making Viognier, we aim for a very different style than what is typically produced in California, showcasing what can be done with the variety on the extremes of the coast. Effusively aromatic but not at all heavy like most Viognier, it bursts forth with a bright, vibrant, floral personality that is unlike any Viognier you’ve ever tasted. White flowers, citrus, unripe pineapple, and minerals dominate the aromas, while the palate is distinctively atypical for Viognier. A lemony freshness with notes of pomelo, barely ripe white nectarine, sweet white grapefruit, and pineapple core, braced by tremendously fresh acidity and super mineral finish.

250 cases produced
Fermented & aged 6 months 80% stainless steel & 20% neutral French oak
No malolactic fermentation
Drink now thru 2032
Alc: 14.0%

91 Points! Based on the 2020 vintage, complemented by reserve wines from 2019, the latest rendition of Agrapart's NV Brut 7 Crus is charming and unusually giving at this early stage, offering up aromas of white flowers, sweet orchard fruit and ripe citrus, followed by a medium to full-bodied, ample and pillowy palate. - William Kelley, robertparker.com

97–98 Points – James Suckling
“A serious Aile d'Argent with sliced green mangoes, pears and green apples. Full-bodied. Framed with phenolics and minerals. Complex and real. A touch of flint and cedar at the end. Super finish. A blend of 63% Sauvignon Blanc, 29% Sémillon, 7% Sauvignon Gris and 1% Muscadelle.”

94–96 Points – Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent
“The 2025 Aile d'Argent pops from the glass with vivacious notes of Bosc pears, white peaches, and pink grapefruit, giving way to hints of honeysuckle, orange peel, and beeswax with a touch of jasmine tea. Medium-bodied, the palate is satiny-textured and crisp with intense orchard fruit flavors and a long, fragrant finish. The blend is 63% Sauvignon Blanc, 29% Sémillon, 7% Sauvignon Gris, and 1% Muscadelle. It has a pH of 3.13 and the alcohol is 13.6%. It is due to age in French oak barrels for 9 months, 45% new. No malolactic was performed this year.”

93–95 Points – Jeb Dunnuck
“A blend of 63% Sauvignon Blanc, 29% Sémillon, 7% Sauvignon Gris, and a splash of Muscadelle, the 2025 Château Mouton Rothschild Aile D'Argent Blanc offers bright green citrus, crushed stone, minty herb, and savory aromatics, with an incredibly mineral-driven character. On the palate, it's medium-bodied, with bright, racy acidity and a clean finish. This exotic, complex, perfumed white is going to benefit from a few years in the cellar and I suspect have a long drinking window.”

92 Points! The white 2023 Blanco was produced with 85% Viura, 15% Garnacha Blanca and 5% Tempranillo Blanco, which is the taste they have found works for them, without adding yeasts and putting the wine through malolactic fermentation and using some skin contact for the fermentation. They use grapes from eight vineyards, most of them from the Montes Obarenes, except a little bit from Remelluri. In 2022, a very warm and dry year with a tendency toward less acidity and higher pH, they decided to use less skin contact, perhaps 10%. They aged the wine in concrete, oak vats and 500-liter barrels, working the lees less and less as the élevage advances. Despite everything, it has a moderate 12.8% alcohol and a pH of 3.29, a clean and floral nose, with perhaps some hints of yellow fruit, and a tender and velvety palate with tasty flavors and a dry and chalky finish. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

92 Points! A well-spiced Champagne, with a subtle underpinning of roasted hazelnut enriching flavors of poached apricot, cherry glâcée, crystallized honey and tangerine peel. A spine of citrusy acidity and a touch of salinity animate the expressive profile through the creamy finish. Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir. Drink now through 2030. - Wine Spectator

92 Points! The aromatics leap out of the glass, showing a mix of lemon verbena, lemongrass and lemon balm flavors, plus a touch of wild fennel. Vibrant, juicy fruit flavors are at the core, led by citrus notes of Meyer lemon, pomelo and tangerine, with a touch of salted lime. Sleek and juicy on the finish, with details of peppery white flowers. Drink now.  - Wine Spectator

94 Points! Brilliant acidity behind rich, ripe and creamy flavors. The wine is luscious, fresh, layered and long in the finish. Full-bodied, toasty and concentrated but sleek and elegant, too. Drink now or hold. - JamesSuckling.com