California

93 Points, Wine Spectator's #2 Wine Value of 2025! Marking the first vintage for former winemaker Michael Coode, the 2022 is supple and elegantly structured. Coode fermented the juice in tanks, with twice-daily pump-overs, and then aged the wine for 14 months in a combination of new and used French oak. - Wine Spectator

92 Points! Tobacco, cedar, turned earth and leather aromas lead to a full body packing spiced plum, red cherry and savory bay flavors over chunky tannins. Grown in the hilly Sage Canyon area of Napa, the wine offers all the savory notes of merlot blended with 9% cabernet franc and 8.7% petit verdot, with most of the tannin coming from the latter two. -JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! Another beautiful wine as well as a smoking value, the 2021 Merlot Blueline Estate (75% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon, and tiny amounts of Petit Verdot and Malbec) has lots of up-front plum and black cherry fruits supported by lead pencil, chocolate, and savory herb aromas and flavors. It's medium to full-bodied, has a ripe, supple mouthfeel, good mid-palate depth, and outstanding length. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! Arietta's 2018 Merlot Hudson Vineyard shows the cool, savory style of Carneros. Dried herbs, licorice, menthol, gravel and spice lend striking aromatic complexity throughout. This is an especially savory, nuanced style. The 2018 is a fabulous wine that will challenge readers' conceptions of what Napa Valley Merlot is all about. The Arietta wine emerges from the oldest vines Merlot vines at Hudson, planted in 1986. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media