America

90 Points! I loved the 2019 Syrah Estate, which includes 5% of Petite Sirah and was brought up mostly in French oak, with a splash in American oak. Ripe black and blue fruits, vanilla, peppery herbs, and some chocolate notes all give way to a plump, round, fruit-forward effort that has supple tannins and a great finish. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! The 2021 Please Fasten Your Seatbelt Syrah is also outstanding, with a darker, peppery, classic California Syrah style. Blackberries, pepper, spring flowers, and chalky mineral notes all give way to a wonderfully pure, medium to full-bodied Syrah with ripe, integrated tannins and outstanding length. All varietal from a mix of vineyards throughout the Central Coast (Caliza, Fulldraw, G2, Larner, Piazza Bella Vista) that was 80% destemmed and aged 18 months in 73% new French oak, it will evolve nicely for 8-10 years. - Jeb Dunnuck

95 Points! The 2021 Zinfandel Saitone Vineyard has a light touch of reductive lift on opening before revealing its more potent liqueur of ripe fruits and Luxardo cherry, boysenberry and raspberry preserve, black pepper, and lavender. Full bodied, it offers more lift on the palate, with tangy red berries, crunchy fresh herbs, and wildflowers. It is long on the palate, with lift and a savory appeal. Drink 2025-2035. - Audrey Frick, JebDunnuck.com

95 Points! A youthful hue of electric ruby with purple highlights, the 2021 Zinfandel Pagani Ranch is highly aromatic and jumps out of the glass with wild strawberries, pink peppercorn, blueberry, and minty herbs. Medium to full-bodied, with a velvety texture, ripe tannins, and supple richness in its notes of violets, cherry, and cedar, it’s a well-balanced and potent style to drink 2025-2035. - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com

94 Points! Brooding and dark, yet light on its feet, this Zinfandel overflows with flavors and aromas of blackberry and plum, licorice, black pepper and briar patch, finishing with big but smooth tannins. - Wine Spectator

From the winery: Our CRU Cabernet is deeply rooted in the vineyards of St. Helena that surround our estate, with about 60% of the fruit coming from neighboring growers. Each year, we hand-select the balance of the blend from different parts of the valley to layer together a delicious, well-rounded and beautifully balanced wine that expresses the nuance and character of the Napa Valley. Fourteen vineyards play a role in the CRU bottling, including valley floor and mountain Cabernet and Malbec, valley floor Petit Verdot and Merlot, and bench land Cabernet Franc blocks, which all contribute to the juicy approachability and great structure of CRU Cabernet. 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot, 1% Petite Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 3% Malbec.

93 Points! Supple and jammy, with rich and multilayered berry cobbler and toasty spice flavors that expand and flesh out on the zesty finish. Drink now through 2029. - Wine Spectator

92 Points! Youthfully compact in feel, this has some juicy, coiled up energy behind its core of blackberry and red currant fruit. Brambly grip and a roasted apple wood edge help drive the finish. Some short-term cellaring should let this round into form. Best from 2025 through 2035. - Wine Spectator

The (Gamble Family) Mill Keeper Red Wine Napa Valley 2019 is a Bordeaux blend in the Gamble Family style. Tom’s focus is on the classic cabs of the Napa Valley and not the 15%+ bruisers we see from many $200+ a bottle operations today. With its soft tannins, balanced acidity, and full, lengthy finish, this wine is a fine snapshot of what Napa used to be and, who knows, may become again someday as the next generation moves into town making more truly Bordeaux-inspired reds. Hints of cocoa and barrel spice complement the mid-palate of dark fruits and you smell and taste the ‘Franc’ notes of this blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Cabernet Franc, 15% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 1% Malbec aged 20 months in 40% new French oak.

A ridiculously good value-priced blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay from the Gamble Family Estate in the heart of the Napa Valley!

The (Gamble Family) Mill Keeper White Wine Napa Valley 2021 is a blend of fresh, lively Sauvignon Blanc and round, fruity Chardonnay. As some of you may recall from these pages before, the Gamble Family Sauvignon Blanc is one of the best in the valley. But did you know that Gamble’s Chardonnay fruit is the foundation of the Beringer Reserve Chardonnay program? Crazy, right?

Together, that blend of 70% Sauvignon Blanc, 30% Chardonnay aged in 21% new French Oak for 10 months delivers an easier, rounder hypothetical mash-up of those two wines. The Sauvignon gives vibrancy and focus, and the Chardonnay provides an ample middle. What a ‘white wine’ for the money!

91 Points, Wine Spectator's #1 Wine Value of the Year! Offers a friendly mix of loganberry and damson plum allied to a bright, racy frame, with a nice piercing savory thread running through the finish. Drink now through 2028. - Wine Spectator

93 Points! The 2021 Petite Sirah Thompson Vineyard is a perennial winner. Coming all from the Thompson Vineyard in the Alisos Canyon region of Santa Barbara County and brought up in 18% new American oak, its deep purple hue is followed by a beautiful array of red, black, and blue fruits interwoven with cedarwood, flowery incense, and peppery herbs. It's rich and full-bodied, with beautiful fruit and fine tannins. This is one incredibly classy Petite Sirah that has plenty of up-front appeal yet, I suspect, the balance and structure to evolve for well over a decade. - Jeb Dunnuck

93 Points! Precise and expressive, with handsome flavors of blackberry, bay leaf and espresso that build richness and structure toward refined tannins. Drink now through 2031. - Wine Spectator

93 Points! The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley is spicy, showing off a gentle peppery tinge and dusty rose tones that give way to dried black cherries. This is wonderfully crisp and refined, with silky textures and depths of dark red fruit propelled by juicy acidity. It tapers off long and structured, yet the tannins are quite sweet. The 2021 finishes with a pleasant crunch and a lingering licorice tinge. - eric Guido, Vinous Media

93 Points! The NV Old Vine Red Lot 74 is primarily Zinfandel, with some Syrah, Petite Sirah, Carignan, Grenache and Barbera. Spicy and easy to drink, it has aromas of red and black cherries, mint, bitter chocolate and allspice with earthy undertones. The medium-bodied palate is finely chalky and refreshing, with spicy fruit and an easygoing finish. This will be enjoyable with almost any dish at the table and, as always, overdelivers for the price. - Erin Brooks, robertparker.com

100 Points! In 2002 very small yields produced only about 3,000 cases at 14.7% natural alcohol and a blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Cabernet Franc. This wine is going from strength to strength since I first tasted it prior to bottling. Now a perfect wine, the incredible perfume of blueberries, black raspberries and cassis, along with white flowers and camphor is extraordinarily fragrant and intense. That is easily matched by the magnificent full-bodied richness and compellingly layered mouthfeel of this wine that is rich, full-bodied and a still youthful vintage that remains capable of another 25-30 years of cellaring. This is a dramatic vintage for Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, and it is always fascinating to taste a top winery’s 2001 and 2002 next to each other because they are both such great years. However, the 2002s tend to be the more flamboyant wines, and the 2001s the more structured and broodingly backward. - Robert Parker, robertparker.com, 2016

100 Points! The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon CCS (14.6% alcohol and 175 cases) is absolutely out of this world. I have given more perfect scores to this cuvée than any of the other Schrader wines. Made from Clone 4 with slight additions of Clone 6 and 337, it is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, like all these wines from the Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard. This wine has a glorious nose of licorice, cedar wood, vanillin, creme de cassis, blackberry and graphite. Super-rich and velvety, with sweet, supple tannins, an opulent full-bodied mouthfeel, and a skyscraper-like finish, this prodigious wine is drinking beautifully, and just now coming into its adolescence. It should go on for another 20-25 years. - Robert Parker, robertparker.com, 2015