Specials

91 Points! The smart buy in the Ackerman lineup is the suave, polished 2018 Memoir Red Wine. A blend of 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% each Cabernet Franc and Merlot, and 6% each Malbec and Petit Verdot, it seamlessly marries cedary oak notes with cassis and dark chocolate flavors. Medium to full-bodied and less opulent and weighty than many of its Napa counterparts, it's still velvety-plush but also marked by ample freshness and length. - Joe Czerwinski, robertparker.com

94 Points, Wine Spectator Top 100 2024! Ripe and structured but fresh in feel, with a lovely, pure beam of cassis driving through, supported by mouthwatering apple wood, savory and iron details along the way. This red offers cut and drive, with the fruit lingering the longest thanks to a light hand with the toast. Very Rutherford. Drink now through 2038. - Wine Spectator 

94 Points! Black cherry, bark and earth on the nose with some dark-mushroom character. It’s full-bodied with very soft tannins and a juicy, savory finish. Wet-earth and forest-floor character comes through nicely at the finish. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! Featuring black cherry, blueberry, mint, iron and Tuscan scrub flavors, this solid red is built for aging, with ripe fruit returning on the long finish. All the components are there -- this just needs time. Sangiovese and Merlot. - Wine Spectator

96 Points! Blueberries, violets and shaved graphite with flint, black mushroom and gunmetal undertones. Hints of cedar and bark. Medium- to full-bodied with chewy tannins, yet they are spread out and frame the fruit beautifully. Selection of the best old vines with most over 100 years old. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

99 Points! The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Bruadair Vineyard is utterly brilliant and unquestionably in the running for the best Napa Cabernet Sauvignon around the $100 price point. It sports a deep purple hue as well as a gorgeous perfume of pure crème de cassis, forest floor, leafy herbs, tobacco leaf, and violets, with perfectly integrated background oak. With a deep, layered, multi-dimensional mouthfeel, medium to full body, perfect balance, and ultra-fine tannins, this remarkable, seamless, just about magical Mount Veeder Cabernet benefits from a decant and will evolve for 25+ years. It's even better than the 2018 and 2017, so hats off to this estate. - Jeb Dunnuck

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

92 Points! The 2022 Gigondas Le Mas showed beautifully, with darker strawberry-like fruit as well as peppery, spicy, Provençal nuances. These carry to a medium-bodied Gigondas that's balanced, has fine tannins, no hard edges, and a great finish. Drink bottles any time over the coming decade. - Jeb Dunnuck

91+ Points! A blend of 80% Grenache Noir, 10% Mourvèdre and 10% Syrah, the 2022 Gigondas Le Mas offers up aromas of dark cherries, dark wild berries, flowers, tapenade and garrigue. Medium to full-bodied, enrobing and charming, it's textured and layered, with bright acids and a long, ethereal finish. It's already hard to resist, but it will age gracefully over the next decade. Crafted from vines planted on limestone, clay and marl, it was matured 90% in concrete tanks and the rest in used barrels. - Yohan Castaing, robertparker.com

Gang, this is what actual, delicious Paso Cab tastes like, and why all these big corporate concerns came running here in the first place. This is an approachable, generous wine, with a lush pallet that is framed by integrated tannins, and bright acidity. Hints of blackberry jam on the nose which continues onto the palate where it fills out the mouthfeel. The dark fruit comes through on the pallet with black cherry and plum with a hint of baking spice to round out the experience. This is silky and harmonious, a joy to drink!

From the winery: Radian Vineyard is the most southern and westerly vineyard in the Sta Rita Hills AVA, and it is perhaps the coolest vineyard we work with, being battered by cool winds off the Pacific Ocean year round. In 2022 Radian Vineyard fully embodies the characteristics of the vintage demonstrating its extreme climate through its texture - rustic, deep, and brooding (for Pinot at least). However, Radian always shows off its finesse through the nose. Think of red fruits, florals, and cedar.

92 Points! Coming from vines around the estate and some near Beaucastel, and made at Vieille Julienne, the deeper hued 2019 Châteauneuf Du Pape offers a beautiful, very classic style in its darker cherry and mulled blueberry-like fruits as well as violet and peppery garrigue aromas and flavors. Medium to full-bodied, it has wonderful purity and a great finish. It's beautifully done and well worth seeking out. - Jeb Dunnuck

92 Points! A cabernet that shows structure, yet at the same time it is savory and pure with currant, chocolate and walnut undertones. Juicy with lots of cassis, too. Full-bodied, chewy and savory. Dry. Delicious. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

92 Points! Puente Alto and Pirque come together in this textbook Maipo Cabernet Sauvignon with a twist: it was aged in casks to add elegance to the region’s familiar complexity. Licorice, cassis, blackberry and thyme flavors appear at first followed by caramel. Very precisely calibrated, the firm tannins and expressive flavor underline the accomplished nature of the wine and lengthy, juicy finish. - Joaquin Hiudalgo, Vinous Media

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

From the importer: From 100% Merlot grapes grown at the foot of the inactive Amiata volcano, the San Vito wine exudes an aromatic and intricate character. Sumptuous black fruit aromas unfurl into notes of tobacco, graphite, and oriental spices, enticing the senses. On the palate, it is rich and silky, with well-integrated tannins that linger through a long, persistent finish. Dense in color, the wine showcases a captivating garnet red hue that releases sumptuous fruit aromas to the nose. Prominent notes of blackberries, cassis, and violets stand out, gradually unraveling into more complex nuances of blond tobacco, graphite, and a melange of oriental spices. The sip is impressive yet rich in finesse, with a silky body enriched by well-smoothed tannins that stretch towards a persistent, aromatic finish.

94 Points! The 2018 Crossfire is a solid step up, offering remarkable purity and precision in its abundant crème de cassis, tobacco, flowers, and graphite-like aromas and flavors. Full-bodied, concentrated, and structured, it needs 3-4 years to hit its sweet spot and should evolve nicely through 2038. - Jeb Dunnuck

93 Points! The 2018 Crossfire Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper Vineyard features notes of dark chocolate, cedar, cassis, plum and spice cake. It's all Cabernet Sauvignon from this Oakville site, matured in 80% new French oak (20% second-fill). Full-bodied and plush but still reasonably structured, it's drinking well now but should go for another decade or more. - Joe Czerwinski, robertparker.com

96+ Points! Very deep purple-black in color, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Aida Estate Vineyard gives up warm cassis, black berry and black cherry notes with hints of cedar chest, black pepper, black soil and baking spices plus a waft of tapenade. Medium to full-bodied, firm and tautly built, it has a lovely ripe and coarsely grained texture with oodles of freshness giving lift to the muscular fruit. It finishes on a complex earthy note. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, robertparker.com

96-100 Points! A barrel sample of the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Aida Estate looks to be out of this world. It is a blend of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Petit Verdot, and ratchets up all of the components that the 2014 had, but adds an extra dimension of glycerin, flavor intensity, fragrance, and lusciousness. It is a killer – a flattering, stunning wine that will be pushing perfection when released in a year or so. It should drink beautifully for 25-30+ years. - Robert Parker, robertparker.com

90% Pinot Noir and 10% Chardonnay
Aging : 4 years
Dosage : 9 g/l Learn More

91 Points! Bright and agile red fruit with a hint of dried strawberries that give it a certain amount of generosity. Some cumin spice and white pepper, too. Elegant and medium-bodied on the palate, showing some fine, dusty tannins and a juicy, sweet berry-oriented finish. 72% grenache, 13% syrah, 6% cinsault, 5% mourvedre and 4% counoise. Drink now. - JamesSuckling.com

92 Points! A firm and silky red with cherry, berry and some cedar character. Medium body. Slightly chewy on the finish. But solid. Give it a year or two to soften. Try after 2022. - James Suckling

90 Points! A firm and rather tannic Côte du Py with firm, chewy tannins that are polished and nicely frame the dark-berry and stone flavors. It’s medium-bodied. Slightly austere at the end. Drink or hold. - James Suckling