Specials

95 Points! Last of the Chardonnays, the 2022 Chardonnay John Sebastiano Vineyard comes from a great vineyard on the eastern side of the appellation and was brought up in 28% new French oak. Ripe melon, salted citrus, crushed stone, and white flowers all define the aromatics, and this beauty hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a pure, focused, chiseled mouthfeel, integrated acidity, and a great finish. It’s California's answer to a great Chablis! Drink bottles over the coming 7-8 years. - Jeb Dunnuck

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97 Points! I have heard gruner veltliner dismissed for supposedly not being elegant, but this is an extremely elegant example! Very complex nose of snow peas, green beans, wild herbs and green pepper. On the medium-bodied palate, this remarkable gruner veltliner has a discreet succulence, but what makes it amazing is the way it glides so gracefully over the palate, then splash lands in a deep pool of wet stone minerality. Underplayed power and concentration! Drinkable now, but best from 2025. - JamesSuckling.com

95 Points! Bright and minerally, with white stone fruit character and hints of lemon rind, chamomile, subtle spices and crushed stones. Pure and refined, with a medium body and a seamless, lingering, silky feel. Delicate and focused, with plenty of freshness that shows citrus blossom and white almond undertones. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

94 Points! A precise and dynamic white, with compelling lemon and apricot flavors highlighted by crushed stone and zesty spice tones that sail on the finish. Drink now through 2027. - Wine Spectator

94 Points! Rich mulberry and raspberry fruit mingle with toasty cedarwood. Medium-bodied with a firm bed of fine-grained tannins, it delivers crunchy red fruits layered with savoury cardamom and coriander accents. As it evolves, more savoury notes of pine forest emerge, complemented by vanilla-laced cherry wood. The supple fruit is beautifully balanced by a well-integrated framework of acid tension, lending freshness and structure. - Decanter Magazine

94 Points! So full-bodied, broad and ripe-tasting. It gives a mouthful of indulgent fruit flavors on an agreeable texture. Moderate to full tannins lift dark plum, dried cherry, subtle vanilla bean and cocoa accents. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

95 Points! 2021 is the first vintage Jean Hoefliger started working with Conn Creek as a consultant. The 2021 Anthology (75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot, and 5% Merlot) displays a deep garnet-purple color, offering a wonderfully savory nose of black olives and beef drippings, giving way to a core of red currant jelly, black raspberries, and fresh plums. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers intense, muscular red and black fruit layers with a firm, grainy texture and just enough freshness, finishing long and minerally. Nice! - Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW

94 Points! The blend consists of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon from select sites in Napa Valley, 15% Cabernet Franc from Spring Mountain, 5% Merlot from St. Helena, and 5% Petit Verdot from Atlas Peak. It has a vibrant dark berry fruit character with loamy earth, green tobacco, plenty of lush fruit on the back end, and gentle yet firm tannins. The finish is distinctly black-fruited and laced with graphite. Founded in 1973, Conn Creek Winery is situated on the eastern side of Napa Valley, just off the Silverado Trail. With Jean Hoefliger as a consultant winemaker, there is a new emphasis on elegance and refinement. - Decanter Magazine

96 Points! A high percentage (75%) of new wood has given this wine a very fine polished character. Along with the structure, it has brought out impressive aromas of black fruits, cinnamon spice and power. The wine is has a fresh black-fruit aftertaste. - Wine Enthusiast

95 Points! Lovely depth to the nose of this young Bordeaux with black currant, ink and walnut aromas that follow through to a medium to full body with a solid core of polished and integrated tannins. This will drink beautifully in 2026 and onwards. - JamesSuckling.com

94 Points! The 2021 Lynch-Bages has a wonderful bouquet with intense blackberry and bilberry fruit, retaining the estuarine element I remarked upon from barrel. The oak here is seamlessly integrated and gains complexity with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins, very supple and focused, a little more peppery toward the finish with impressive grip and depth in context of the vintage. This is a superb achievement in a tricky season. Chapeau, Jean-Charles Cazes. - Neal Martin, Vinous Media

95 Points! Slight hints of wax, earth and lemon show on the still-shy nose. The palate is equally reticent, tightly coiled but speaking of concentrated citrus freshness that verges into zestiness. The bone-dry nature makes it hard to sense ripe citrus slumbering at the core but the fruit will reveal itself with bottle age. Concentration, purity and power promise a future firework, discernible now in the tangerine zestiness on the finish. - Wine Enthusiast

95 Points! A selection of the best lots from the winery's Oakville estate, aged in 100% new oak, Groth's 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve is a great wine at a realistic—for Napa Valley—price. Textbook notes of cedar and vanilla gently cosset black cherries and hints of dried herbs. It's full-bodied, creamy and lush in texture, showing more concentration, tannin and length than the winery's regular Oakville Cabernet. - Joe Czerwinski, robertparker.com

95 Points! Ripe and with a bit of flash thanks to its glossy toast, this red delivers a violet-accented core of cassis and plum reduction, with black licorice, sweet tobacco and singed alder notes. Solid and steady through the lengthy, polished finish, with a hint of flinty minerality lurking in the background. Drink now through 2040. - Wine Spectator

95 Points! The 2021 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, with 2% Merlot in the blend, is deep garnet-purple in color. Scents of creme de cassis, plum preserves, and boysenberry slowly emerge from the glass, revealing underlying hints of tar, rose oil, and cast-iron pan. The full-bodied palate is laden with expressive black fruit preserves flavors with earthy accents and a firm frame of ripe, grainy tannins, finishing long and fragrant. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, MW

95 Points! The cool climate of the vineyard really shines bright in the light-bodied, nuanced 2023 Chardonnay Escolle Vineyard, which offers lengthy, crisp, and subtle characteristics of gravel, green apple, and a hint of citrus and spice. Structured to age another 10 years, it captures the power and intensity of the appellation from a perspective of equal finesse. - Virginie Boone, jebdunnuck.com

97 Points! Anthem's tightly coiled, concentrated 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard recalls the site's rocky soils in its hints of crushed stones on the nose, backed by black cherries, sage, cedar and dried spices. It's full-bodied and dense, possesses plenty in reserve for the long haul and boasts a long, tannic finish. - Joe Czerwinski, robertparker.com

95 Points! The 2020 Châteauneuf Du Pape La Côte Ronde is an even split of Grenache and Syrah, and as usual, was brought up all in new oak. It has an awesome nose of cassis, blackberries, graphite, ground pepper, and violets, with its new oak perfectly integrated into the wine. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has impressive tannins, terrific overall balance, and a great finish. This brilliant effort will keep for 10-15 years. - Jeb Dunnuck

97 Points! The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Perseid from Meteor Vineyard is heady and explosive right out of the glass. A rich concoction of raspberry jam, spice, mocha, dried flowers, menthol and licorice blasts out of the glass. Deep, unctuous and full-bodied, the Perseid is just stunning in its beauty. It is also one of Napa Valley's under the radar gems. I don't hear much about the Meteor Cabernets, which is a real shame. The 2018 Perseid is a total stunner. Don't miss it. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

95 Points! The 2021 Chardonnay Sta. Rita Hills offers a richer, nicely oaked profile that includes honeyed stone fruits, toasted spice, crushed stone, and salted citrus-like nuances. It's rich, medium to full-bodied, and has a concentrated, mouth-filling profile that's grounded by a beautiful spine of vibrant acidity. It benefits from air, and this is another awesome Chardonnay from this team that readers will absolutely love. - Jeb Dunnuck

95 Points! The 2019 Savitar Shiraz was my pick of the bunch. This is serious, precise and driven and, again, sourced from Whites Valley, as is the 2019 GAM Shiraz. The maturation rolls out in 100% French oak. The extract here is savory and firm; the fruit is driven by tannins, and they really screw down the fruit and compress it in the glass. It’s tight. One can see that the longevity of this wine may outweigh that of the others, making it quite a layered and exciting wine to drink—certainly now, but in the future too. - Erin Larkin, robertparker.com

94 Points! Classically dense and modern, the 2019 Savitar is a massive crowd-pleaser that will knock your socks off. There is immense colour - it's almost black as the ace of spades. The nose is hit with wave after wave of dark fruits, liquorice, blackberry, chocolate and spice. It's big but balanced; luscious flavours and sweet oak provide a long, supple finish. An excellent vintage of Savitar. - Angus Hughson, Vinous Media

95 Points! It’s really hard to believe that this is a 2020, such is the youthful energy of this extraordinary wine. I love the intense lemon blossom aroma in the nose. Concentrated, creamy and very elegant, this high-end Savennieres isn’t difficult to understand. Less fundamentally mineral than the very best, but still plenty of wet stone at the long silky finish. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold.- JamesSuckling.com

97 Points! Aromas of bark, dark cherries and flowers, too. It’s medium- to full-bodied with purity of fruit that runs the length of the wine. It goes on for minutes. Very fine tannins. From organically grown grapes. Needs three or four years to completely come together, but gorgeous. Drink after 2026. - JamesSuckling.com

95 Points! There's a fruity side to this red as well as a spicy side, with cherry, strawberry and black pepper flavors throughout. Floral, iron and underbrush accents add depth, yet it's the beam of pure cherry that prevails. Shows prodigious length on the finish. - Wine Spectator

94+ Points! Following a challenging harvest for Sangiovese, the Fattoria le Pupille 2020 Poggio Valente generates aromas of wild cherry, pressed violet, balsam herb and grilled rosemary. There is a lot of good freshness (this was the difficulty of the vintage), and the wine has good tannic support for a rich core of fruit. Poggio Valente is not dominated by oak, and that is also what sets it apart. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

95 Points! The 2021 White Blend, a blend of Albariño, Chardonnay, Viognier and Pinot Gris, has intense aromas of peach, lemongrass, fresh citrus, honey and flint, opening to new aromatic nuances with each return to the glass. The medium-bodied palate is bursting with perfumed fruit, loaded with juicy acidity, and it finishes with a touch of anchoring texture. It's a delicious yet serious white with alluring generosity that keeps you coming back for more. - Erin Brooks, robertparker.com

95 Points! The 2019 Chardonnay Bennett Valley waltzes out with alluring notes of fresh apricots, honeydew melon, and grapefruit, with hints of orange blossom and powdered ginger. The medium-bodied palate is tight-knit and elegant, with a seamless backbone and loads of savory nuances to accent the stone fruit layers, finishing long with a spicy kick. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent

97 Points! A complex nose of raspberries, redcurrants, blueberries, spices and dried herbs. It’s medium-bodied with elegant tannins. Round, juicy and layered on the palate, offering great harmony and balance. Fresh, yet complex with a savory finish. Old-vine character. The vines are more than a century old. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

The oldest Malbec vines in Chile, planted 1890!