America

94 Points! From the highest-elevation vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands, at its southern, warmer tip, the 2023 Pinot Noir Cortada Alta exudes feral features of honeysuckle, sagebrush, pine, and wild rose. The exposure to the winds can make the tannins abrasive, though when well-managed as they are here, the wine remains super structured yet supple. Ultimately, it’s both feral and funky in all the right ways, as enjoyable as it is contemplative. It should drink well another 10 years or more. - Virginie Boone, jebdunnuck.com

93 Points! The 2023 Pinot Noir Cortada Alta Vineyard is another high point in Russell Joyce's portfolio, offering a uniquely balanced and energetic expression of the Santa Lucia Highlands. It leads with a bright, fragrant bouquet of red and blue fruits, damp earth and crushed stones. The palate is slender and focused, containing a surprising saturation, considering its lithe frame. It concludes with an elegant, ethereal finish with fine-grained tannins. - Matthew Luczy, robertparker.com

93 Points! Light-bodied, fresh and tangy, offering green-apple and lime-zest aromas, followed by energized acidity and a touch of key lime pie on the palate. Great balance, focus and precision. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! A bright silver/yellow hue, the 2024 Chardonnay Aries is delightful and airy while still delivering refreshing ripe fruit, pear, apple, lime, and lemon sherbet. Medium-bodied, with weightless freshness, sneaky density, salty earth, and wet stones, these wines kick ass.  - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com

93 Points! The cooler temperatures seemed to benefit the Calistoga source of Coup de Foudre's 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon. Dominated by ripe cherries, it still has some of the herbal streaks found in the 2022 but fewer of them, morphing them into attractive tomato or tobacco-leaf nuances. It's full-bodied and reasonably silky in feel, with ample length and a dusting of fine-grained tannins on the finish. - Joe Czerwinski, robertparker.com

94 Points! A firm, structured and intense red with potent black fruits wrapped in muscular tannins. Iron, floral, black-cherry and star-anise flavors. Very focused and powerful yet poised, ready for extended aging for those with patience. - JamesSuckling.com

92 Points! A sleek and flavorful red with aromas of dark raspberries, licorice, orange peel, toasted hazelnuts and bay leaves. Full-bodied with a fine-tannin frame. Excellent balance. 92% merlot, 7% cabernet sauvignon and 1% cabernet franc. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

91 Points! The 2021 Red Blend Estate opens with a dark and brooding blend of crushed ashen stones, grilled herbs, violet pastille and blackberries. This is juicy and round in feel, with vibrant acidity and masses of ripe red and blue fruits. It finishes long and finely structured with dusty tannins, leaving hints of licorice and confectionary spice to fade. - Eric Guido, Vinous

93 Points! Cassis, currants, tobacco, and lead pencil notes define the 2022 Ballentine Vineyards Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. Darker earth and graphite emerge with time in the glass, and it's medium to full-bodied, beautifully balanced, with ripe tannins and impressive purity. This killer value shows authentic Napa character and will drink well for a decade. - Jeb Dunnuck

93 Points! Luscious and forward, showing black cherries, plum skin and blackberries with vanilla bean, bay leaves, tobacco and toasty spices on the nose. Flavors of ripe black fruit, tar and vanilla. The palate is broad and creamy but framed with a judicious amount of new French oak. A blend of two estates in Calistoga and St. Helena. Drink now. - JamesSuckling.com

91 Points! Ripe, rich and complex, with layers of juicy plum, blackberry, anise, coffee and wild berry. Turns supple, with a sense of elegance and finesse. Firms up on the finish, where the tannins fold in. - Wine Spectator

95 Points! The 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve Georges de Latour is produced from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon that was aged in 60% American oak and 40% French. Fifty percent of the oak was new. Medium brick colored, it opens with expressive scents of stewed tea, redcurrant jelly, potpourri and dried mint with touches of dusty soil, bay leaves and smoked meats. Medium-bodied with well-sustained intensity in the mid-palate, it has a satiny texture and beautifully pure, perfumed red fruits with a mineral kick on the long finish. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, robertparker.com 2019

93 Points! A coastal mountain Cabernet from older plantings from the 1960s and 1970s, the 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon Paysan Old Vines is light-bodied and delicately structured, with ripe berry fruit, quenching acidity, and dusty, herbal, sage-like undertones. The oak is nuanced and unobtrusive, the tannins still young but softening in the glass. A fine wine for the table, classic in style and approach, drink now through 2035. - Virgnie Boone, jebdunnuck.com

95 Points! Probably the raciest, most vibrant version of Hyde chardonnay made by any winemaker. Vivid stone fruit and baked apple aromas, then a brilliant texture saturated with green apple, creme brulee and lemon zest flavors. Well balanced, fresh and linear in style. Medium-bodied. Drink now. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! The intense, sleek, mouthwatering mix of yuzu, pineapple, lemon curd and fresh ginger flavors is refreshing and distinctive, with notes of crunchy sea salt, fresh lime and jasmine, all on a sleek and crisp frame. Drink now through 2035. - Wine Spectator

From the winery:

We are proud to source the Chardonnay for this wine from Hyde, one of California's most famous and historic Chardonnay vineyards, founded by Larry Hyde in Carneros in 1979. Tucked away in the southern part of Napa Valley, the entire estate is a gorgeous expanse of rolling hills with southeast exposure and saline morning fog. The parcels of Musque clone Chardonnay and old Wente that make up this bottling were planted between 1979 and 1992. This wine was fermented and aged in 100% new French oak, then bottled as this single-vineyard wine.

93 Points! The 2025 Rosé Ode to Lulu is vividly fruit forward, with a rush of crushed white cherries and wild strawberries complicated by nuances of chlorophyll and wet stone. This splashes across the palate with ease, soft yet stimulating with a solid core of citrus-infused green melon. A sweet herbal resonance lingers over hints of tangerine, as the 2025 leaves the palate completely refreshed. There is a good amount of richness and character here, but also exceptional balance. - Eric Guido, Vinous

92 Points! The 2025 Ode To Lulu Rose is a bright medium pink color and remains classic and refreshing, with notes of white strawberries, white peach, sour cherries, lime, and saline earth. Medium-bodied, it has bright acidity and a chalky structure. Made mostly from old-vine Mourvèdre with less Grenache and more Carignan in this vintage to preserve freshness, it’s killer as always. Drink over the next several years. - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com

94 Points! Supple and elegantly complex, with nuanced flavors of raspberry and cherry framed by hints of forest floor, dusky spices and cinnamon as this gathers richness toward polished tannins. - Wine Spectator

93 Points! The 2023 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley is aromatically stunning, with a cascade of sweet rose and lavender giving way to dusty dried strawberries and spice. Energetic yet also silken and supple, it reveals depths of bright red fruit and subtle mineral tones. A tinge of tart cranberry lingers, framed by gently grippy tannins as a nuance of licorice tapers off. As of 2023, the Willamette Valley Pinot Noir now makes use of the new Bridge Vineyard, making it about 61% estate fruit. - Eric Guido, Vinous

93 Points! Pouring a bright ruby red color, the 2023 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley has a fruity and savory profile, with notes of ripe wild berries, light gamey richness, purple flowers, and forest earth. Medium-bodied, it has a plushness but a lovely lightweight feel on the palate. Drink over the coming 12-15 years. For this cuvée, they conducted small trials with a small part of the whole cluster, involving about 5% in this vintage. After speaking with Mikey Etzel and Damien Lapuyade, who brings his experience from Evening Land to the production, I anticipate seeing subtle shifts in this direction moving forward. - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com

94 Points! Spicy, red-fruited and mineral-driven, showing aromas and flavors of bright cherries, spiced orange peel, cranberries and rose petals. Bright and juicy with long, fine tannins. Wonderful energy and good value. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! A delicate and pretty Pinot, with elegantly multilayered flavors of cherry and strawberry that take on accents of rose petal and dusky spices. Ends with refined tannins. - Wine Spectator

94 Points! The 2023 Syrah Estate Grown is an excellent wine, especially for $36. Fleshy and expressive, it coats the palate with serious concentration. There are no hard edges here, just velvety blue fruit, leather, clove, crushed rocks and a lift of fresh mint. This midweight Syrah really impresses for its vibrancy, palate presence and immediacy. - Billy Norris, Vinous

93 Points! Fermented with one-third whole clusters, the 2023 Syrah Estate exudes a lovely balance between high-toned energy and grounded depth. The nose is classically bright, savory and herbal before the palate takes a deep, darker-fruited turn, showcasing a beautiful, velvety texture supported by sturdy tannins. It finishes on a lifted yet weightless note with impressive precision. - Matthew Luczy, robertparker.com

93 Points! The Stolpmans' largest-production syrah offers a really vibrant blueberry and blackberry character laced with mineral and chalk notes, for which they credit the limestone soil. Full-bodied with moderate tannins. Good concentration and length. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

From the winery:

This wine is 100% Chardonnay, and is the new version of what was our Bien Nacido Chardonnay.  Over the last 10 years the Bien Nacido Vineyard has been shrinking due to virus and economic considerations, and a couple of the blocks that we used to get from are now sadly gone.  Luckily, Block 18, which is directly behind the winery, has remained healthy, productive and yields high quality grapes.  This is the first year that we have worked with the Maria Vista Vineyard.  It is a beautifully farmed vineyard about 5 miles west of Bien Nacido, so slightly cooler site, and sits directly across the road from Presqu’ile Vineyard and Winery.

The grapes for this wine were harvested in four separate picks between September 10^th and September 24^th, at sugars ranging from 21.7 to 24.0° brix, all with great acidity.  Each lot was whole cluster pressed, chilled overnight in tank, and transferred to barrel the next day.  For Chardonnay, we use exclusively Francois Freres French oak Burgundy barrels, of which about 25% were new, 25% were two year old, and the rest neutral.  It went through complete malo in the barrel and was aged on the lees for 9 months.

This is classic Santa Maria Valley Chardonnay, with aromas of apples, pears, citrus and a nice dollop of toasty French oak.  The Maria Vista component, coming from a cooler climate gives the wine a nice bit of minerality as well.  

93 Points! Another impressive wine at a remarkable price point, the 2023 OVR Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon grown at the family’s McDowell property in Mendocino County. It’s dry, refined, and tastes of classic Cabernet, offering green olive, currant, and a hint of soy around fine, well-integrated tannins, with tension and vibrancy able to punctuate through its full-bodied core and oak and subtle power. Drink now through 2033. - Virginie Boone, jebdunnuck.com

Incredibly, only $39.98 at checkout!

93 Points! A perfectly fine, classic, and easy-drinking Cabernet Sauvignon from the Jericho Canyon Vineyard, rife with blue-black and red-fruit nuance, rich toasty oak spice, scorched earth nuances with powerful chewy tannins that resolve through notes of dark chocolate and anise on the full-bodied finish. - Decanter Magazine

93 Points! Matured for 12 months in 29% new French oak, the 2022 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley has open-knit aromas of red and black cherry, tea leaves, earth, spice and floral perfume. The medium-bodied palate features elegant, nuanced flavors. It has a silky frame of tannins, vibrant acidity and a long, layered finish. - Erin Brooks, robertparker.com

96 Points! The nose is very savory, earthy and botanical, with red roses, sandstone and minerals. The palate is dense and concentrated, with fresh, pure fruit flavors. Full-bodied and structured with a long finish. This is drinkable now but built to age. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! This is the 30th Anniversary bottling of the wine known colloquially as Mt Jeff, with fruit from four of the five Cristom estate vineyards, with only Marjorie not playing a role in this bottling. Pure Willamette character on the nose, with forest floor, tart cranberries, and mint leaves, is balanced by a kiss of sea salt. The palate is a melange of juicy red berries, salty mineral glimpses, and savoury amaro herbals. A classic, after all these years. - Decanter Magazine

93 Points! Dynamic and sinewy in structure but framed by handsome flavors of black cherry and raspberry that are accented with black tea and forest floor. Finishes with refined tannins. - Wine Spectator

93 Points! The appellation blend from this notable estate, the 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley checks in as 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot, 3% Merlot, and the balance Cabernet Franc. Deep purple-hued, it offers beautifully pure aromatics of crème de cassis, graphite, crushed stone and violets. I love its overall purity, it's medium to full-bodied, has a layered, fresh, focused mouthfeel, and enough tannins to keep it drinking nicely for 10-15 years if well stored. - Jeb Dunnuck