Napa

95 Points! In 1969, Joe Heitz made a cuvée that was more outstanding than his Napa Cabernet, but not a single-vineyard bottling. In 2018, after the winery was bought by Gaylon Lawrence Jr., the team at Heitz discovered four bottles and decided they should set out to recreate Joe’s experiment. It is the boldest of the bunch: a delicious hedonistic pleasure filled red with excellent balance and teeming with pure dark fruit notes, rich earthen spices, dried purple florals, cedarwood, tobacco, and dark chocolate — a firm acid backbone frames fine-grained tannins. There is plenty of richness, balanced by tension and energy. Lawrence Wine Estates Master Sommelier and CEO Carlton McCoy calls it the ‘uber Napa cuvee’ and the best multi-site expression of Heitz for the vintage. - Decanter Magazine

93 Points! Expressive, with a bold menthol note followed quickly by boysenberry and blackberry compote flavors wrapped in black licorice. The long finish has a tug of earth amid a generally velvety feel, while the menthol note curls around the fruit. Distinctive. Drink now through 2038. - Wine Spectator

93 Points! The appellation 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon checks in as 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, and smaller portions of Malbec, Merlot, and Petit Verdot. It's another fabulous wine from this estate, offering pure cr me de cassis, classy oak, new leather, and graphite-driven aromas and flavors. With medium to full-bodied richness, plush, integrated tannin, and the vintage's fresher, focused style, it tastes like it costs three times the price. Drink bottles over the coming decades. Bravo. - Jeb Dunnuck

93 Points! Aromas of ripe blackcurrants, dried raspberries, spices, cedar and bark. Full-bodied with a mellow, fruit-forward character and creamy texture to the tannins. Delicious and smooth with a velvety finish. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! Boysenberry and açaí berry fruit gives this a slightly exotic profile, but it's finely stitched with apple wood, sassafras and singed anise notes to keep it honest. The polished finish lets a chaparral note chime through the flashy fruit. This should have fans for sure. - Wine Spectator

93 Points! The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Roberto Corona Vineyard, from a site on the Oakville bench, is the richest of these 2009 Cabernets from Rivers-Marie. It bursts from the glass with jammy, opulent fruit and a big, full-bodied personality. Blue and black fruit, mint, licorice and sweet spices wrap around the finish. The 100% new oak comes through here. I am not sure this wine needs all the oak and makeup. There is plenty of pedigree already. - Antonio Galloni, robertparker.com

93 Points! Readers looking for a peek at the quality of this domaine should unquestionably check out the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Les Petits Morlet, which can be thought of as the entry level blend from winemaker Luc Morlet. It reveals a dense purple color as well as a classy nose of blackcurrant liqueur, smoked herbs, chocolate, violets, and new leather. These carry to a ripe, full-bodied, sexy 2018 that delivers serious amounts of fruit, a lifted, perfumed, already complex style, and the ability to evolve for 10-15 years, if not longer. - Jeb Dunnuck

93 Points, Wine Spectator's #33 Wine of the Year 2023! Alluring for its sleek polish and precision, this sparkler has tiers of Asian pear, strawberry, fresh almond and ginger flavors that unfurl slowly. Drink now. - Wine Spectator

93 Points! I loved the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon, and readers looking for a great Napa Valley Cabernet under $100 shouldn't hesitate. Deep purple-hued, with classic Cabernet dark red and black fruits, leafy tobacco, chocolate, and graphite, it's medium to full-bodied, has a pure, elegant mouthfeel, integrated acidity, and polished tannins. It's already impossible to resist yet will cruise for 10-15 years in cold cellars. - Jeb Dunnuck

93 Points! The 2017 Red Blend is a Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend, mostly from mountain sites in Napa Valley and about 11% from Knights Valley in Sonoma. Bold and punchy, the 2017 offers an intriguing combination of inky dark fruit and structure. More than that, though, the 2017 offers tons of pure drinking pleasure at a mid-tier price. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

93 Points! Another pretty, perfumed wine from Evyn Cameron that has loads to love, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon RLC is 100% varietal and was aged 22 months in 70% new barrels. It offers more red and blue fruits, violets, and flowery incense to go with medium to full-bodied richness, a supple, elegant mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and outstanding length. It’s a great value in high-end Napa Cabernet. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! An incredible value, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon TD-9 includes slightly more Merlot and is 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 11% Malbec and the rest Petit Verdot. Round, sexy, full-bodied, and opulent, it has terrific aromatics of red and black currants, tobacco, chocolate, and lead pencil shavings. Drink this hedonistic yet balanced, elegant beauty over the coming 10-12 years. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Malbec and 3% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple colored, it skips out of the glass with lively notes of wild blueberries, black cherries and menthol, plus hints of pencil shavings and bay leaves. Medium to full-bodied, it has a serious structure with flirtatious, flamboyant fruit, offering plenty of layers and an earthy finish. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, robertparker.com

93 Points! Checking in as a mix of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% each of Malbec and Petit Verdot, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon is medium to full-bodied, elegant, and nicely textured, with perfumed notes of violets, toasted spices, tobacco, and assorted darker, almost blue fruits. Aged 22 months in 70% new French oak, it’s another smoking value from winemaker Anna Monticelli. - Jeb Dunnuck Learn More

93 Points! Lots of lemon-zest and celery aromas with some crushed stone here, following through to a medium-bodied palate with sliced grapefruit and dried lemon at the end. Fresh and tangy. Drink now. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! Readers looking for a great Napa Valley Cabernet under $100 should snatch up the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley from Zeitgeist. Just about all Cabernet (there is 1% Cabernet Franc) sourced from a slew of great sites (Sleeping Lady, Oakville Station, Lewelling, etc.), it offers a medium to full-bodied, upfront, yet impeccably balanced, classic style as well as impressive notes of blue fruits, violets, and flowers. The oak is nicely integrated and it has plenty of mid-palate depth, followed by a great finish. - Jeb Dunnuck

93 Points! The 2019 Petite Sirah Palisades Vineyard is laced with the essence of crème de cassis, blueberry, spice, leather and licorice. The tannins are especially suave for this Calistoga site, where the wines have often been bigger. A cool end to the season and long macerations probably explain most of the wine's personality. The 2019 spent about two weeks on the skins following the alcoholic fermentation and was aged partly in larger format 600L barrels, again, with the goal of reducing the impact of tannins from oak. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

96 Points! From a rocky vineyard in Rutherford, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Firehouse Vineyard is a regal, majestic Cabernet that has beautiful notes of crème de cassis, black raspberries, and toasted spices, with an almost mountain fruit-like quality in its aromatics as well as its structure and texture on the palate. Medium to full-bodied, seamlessly constructed, tannic and backward, yet also perfectly balanced, do your best to hide bottles for 4-5 years and it should cruise over the following two decades. - Jeb Dunnuck

93 Points! A pretty nose of black fruit, dark cherries, leather, cloves, cedar and tobacco. It’s full-bodied with fine tannins and fresh acidity. Fruity and creamy with a flavorful finish. Plenty of chocolate and hazelnut in the aftertaste. Better after 2023. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! Blended of 98% Zinfandel, 1% Malbec and 1% Petite Sirah, the 2018 Zinfandel Reserve is deep garnet-purple in color. It explodes with notes of baked plums, blueberry compote, kirsch and spice cake plus hints of Chinese five spice, fruitcake and sandalwood. The full-bodied palate is decadently fruited with loads of spicy red and black fruit preserves layers and a chewy texture, finishing long and lively. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, robertparker.com