Specials

92 Points! The 2018 Pinot Noir Gap's Crown Vineyard has aged really nicely, painting a picture of where Jeff Gaffner's style leads with time in bottle. A velvety, plush. mouthfeel is the highlight today. Rich cherry fruit has softened with time, leaving behind echoes of turned earth, cedar and tobacco leaf. This is in a fine place to drink now and over the next couple of years. - Billy Norris, Vinous, 2026

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! An archetypal Alsace dry riesling with a wide spectrum of aromas ranging from lemon and crisp pear to fresh pineapple and candied orange. Very crisp and focused palate with a wonderful freshness that’s hard to resist. Long, ample finish that’s very clean. From organically grown grapes. Drink from release. - JamesSuckling.com

96 Points! The 2023 Gemellaia, a varietal Merlot in this vintage, is dusty and floral, enticing with an array of crushed violets, white pepper, cedar shavings and wild blueberries. It is seamless and supple, with a savory mix of red and blue fruits underscored by crisp mineral tones, as an air of lavender gathers toward the close. It is dramatically long, staining and structured, with a web of fine tannins, yet maintains excellent freshness and verve. The 2023 Gemellaia is simply stunning. No fan of Merlot should be without it. – Eric Guido, Vinous

96 Points! A fresh and perfumed wine with aromas of sandstone, roses and lavender. Silky tannins and refreshing acidity with a long finish that carries flavors of wild blueberry, raspberry and pomegranate. – JamesSuckling.com

95+ Points! A dramatic departure from the history of this wine, the 2023 Gemellaia is composed of 100% Merlot and is an absolutely transcendent expression of the variety. Bounding from the glass with a sophisticated, red- and black-fruited nose with sandalwood, turned earth, underbrush and dark chocolate aromas, the palate is rich and saturated yet equal parts slender and spry. It culminates with a lifted, savory finish that lingers with refined, chalky tannins and remarkable length. This is the only thing like it in the Central Coast, and I look forward to following its evolution. – Matthew Luczy, robertparker.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

97 Points! Limarí is a unique region. Its dry, cold climate characterized by cloudy mornings and sunny evenings, along with its calcareous and clayish soils, give it a distinctiveness compared to other white wine regions around the world. The 2022 Chardonnay Amelia encapsulates all these conditions, especially in a cold vintage. Winemaker Marcelo Pappa aimed to showcase this character by aging the wine for 12 months, with 90% in old French barrels and 10% in new ones. This greenish-yellow wine reveals aromas of lime, herbs, green apple and pineapple. The true difference lies on the palate: a saline, compact and vibrant Chardonnay with a dry, vivid and enduring finish. Undoubtedly one of the finest white wines in South America. - Joaquin Hidalgo, Vinous

97 Points! Very serious and complex aromas of oysters, cooked apples, fresh seaweed and crushed stone. Full-bodied with a phenolic tension and depth. Chewy and impressive, with a phenolic finish. Excellent structure. No malolactic. Super drinkability and possibility to age. Drink now or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

92 Points! An appetizing sense of restraint comes with vibrant red and black fruit in this vivid and well-balanced wine. It's medium-bodied, slightly tannic, supporting complex red cherry, sour cherry, bay leaf and savory tea notes. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

97 Points! Black berry, slate, lead pencil, black currant, and wet earth. Excellent pedigree. Medium to full body with exquisite tannins that run the length of the wine and show intensity and focus. The purity of the cab character shows such clarity and resonates back to the great cabs of the 1970s. A blend of cab from the vineyards: Martha’s, Trailside, Howell Mountain, and Linda Falls. Drinkable but better in four or five years. - JamesSuckling.com

97 Points! Beringer's Private Reserve in the 2021 vintage combines 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Cabernet Franc, 6% Merlot, and 2% Malbec. It was aged 18 months in 65% new French oak. It's a very stylish wine with an excellent balance between its powerful, fine-grained tannins and plump, juicy, black-toned fruits. The bouquet is lovely, too, revealing a wealth of vintage-specific savoury potpourri character in its sagebrush, dried rose petal, and coriander atop candied red berry fruits and fragrant ironstone minerality. Full-bodied, with a deep core of succulent blackberry fruit that is downright silky. Between the dazzling fruit character and perfectly integrated tannin, the Private Reserve has a seamless quality, making it so approachable now but well-endowed with the structure to age gracefully. - Jonathan Cristaldi, Decanter Magazine

97 Points! The 2021 Private Reserve is the most refined of the 2021s from Beringer. The aromatics alone are so alluring. There's 12% Cabernet Franc in the blend this year, and that comes through loud and clear. Crushed flowers, espresso, mint, licorice and red/purplish fruit all grace this silky, super-polished offering. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous

97 Points! So much dark berry, dried berry, matchstick and iodine here. Plus intense aromas of black currants and black berries. So floral. Full-bodied with firm and compacted tannins that are super polished and balanced. Very long and linear. The tightness, focus and complexity harks back to the 1990s but the purity and transparency is today. September 2024 release. 80% cabernet sauvignon, 12% cabernet franc, 6% merlot, and 2% malbec. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! Supple and harmonious, this red delivers cherry, raspberry, rose and mineral flavors on an elegant frame. Balanced and fresh, with a lingering aftertaste echoing the fruit and mineral elements. - Wine Spectator

95 Points! From a vineyard with old vines and schistic galestro soils, the 2019 Brunello di Montalcino Poggiarelli opens to a deep and unique sense of aromatic layering, starting with dark fruit, sweet tobacco leaf, flavored cigarette and spice. The wine is rich with dense fruit flavors and ripe tannins. You taste Sangiovese's skins with a hint of bitterness. However, the truly distinguishing factor of Poggiarelli is the etched mineral notes. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

95 Points! Magnificent black cherry, tea leaf, cocoa and violet perfume. Elegant, round and silky on the palate, with ripe polished tannins, amazing structure and nicely-integrated oak. Fruit-driven and persistent finish. - Decanter World Wine Awards

93 Points! Sleek yet well-structured, with expressive flavors of raspberry and pomegranate accented by crushed stone, rose petal and black tea as this builds tension and polish toward refined tannins. - Wine Spectator

93 Points! Perfumed nose of red currants, sour cherries, frozen raspberries, crushed stone and wild herbs. Medium-bodied with bright acidity. Precise, agile and seductive, with a vibrant core of succulent berries and a lift of white pepper toward the persistent finish. - JamesSuckling.com

96 Points! Very focused, pure and well balanced, showing great poise and freshness for a full-bodied Napa red. This cabernet sauvignon-dominant blend is bold and packed with dark fruit, toasted oak and dark spices. Black cherries, dried blueberries, blackberries, black pepper and chocolate mint. Well concentrated and delicious. Drink now or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

95 Points! One of the valley's great, great values, the 2022 The Bard is based on 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 4% Franc, and the rest a mix of varieties. It has a killer nose of bright red and blue fruits intermixed with spring flowers, graphite, baking spices, and incense. This carries to a beautifully balanced, full-bodied red that has a lively, elegant mouthfeel and fine tannins. It competes with wines at 2-3 times its going rate, especially in a vintage like 2022. - Jeb Dunnuck

99 Points! A fabulous wine of focus and polish with very fine tannins that caress your palate and give great length to the finish. Medium to full body. The aromas of violets and currants are so beautiful. Dreamy. Best ever? A blend of 92% cabernet sauvignon, 4% cabernet franc, 2% merlot, 1% malbec and 1% petit verdot. - JamesSuckling.com

97 Points! Winemaker Chris Carpenter says that his Mt. Brave Cabernet Sauvignon from Mt. Veeder is intended to serve as a counterpoint to the La Jota Cabernet, which is from Howell Mountain, but that each wine showcases a softer expression of mountain Cabernet, and one that is poised for earlier drinking for collectors who stash bottles of the single vineyard Cabernet wines from Lokoya in their cellar. The soils atop Mt. Veeder are volcanic and sedimentary, and two sites provide the grapes for Mt. Brave. One is the Mt. Brave Vineyard, formerly Chateau Potelle Vineyard, and the site is above the fog line on the northern part of Mt. Veeder, where the soils are well-draining, and yields are generally two tons per acre in good vintages. The other is Veeder Peak Estate. Each site is about 24ha. This blend of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Cabernet France, 2% Merlot, 1% Malbec, and 1% Petit Verdot was aged 23 months in 80% new French oak. Super fragrant with black fruits, black cherry, and graphite minerality with violets and cherry liqueur undertones. Full-bodied with pronounced tannins that have a chalkiness about them, balanced by very soft and supple fruit that makes this wine so approachable in its youth. An extended finish is marked by blue fruit and pronounced garrigue, blue agave syrup, sage, and crushed cocao nibs. - Decanter Magazine

95 Points! This is a step up, with lushly textured flavors of crushed plum, currant preserves and mulled black cherry driving along nicely, underscored by licorice, black tea and warm earth. Even with the earthy flash, this stays refined and focused, with latent energy on the finish as well. No rush here, either. Drink now through 2040. - Wine Spectator, 2023

92 Points! Cherry, cassis and pine notes mark the nose of the 2018 Andosol, a blend of 80% Zinfandel and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. Matured largely in tank and foudre, it's medium to full-bodied on the palate, framed by silky tannins, then finishes long and bright, with plenty of red fruit and mouthwatering acids. - Joe Czerwinski, robertparker.com

93 Points! A firm and polished red with cranberry, blackberry and crushed stone character. It’s clear and bright with a darkness and tension. Shows flowers and spices at the end with some dried potpourri and peppercorn. From vineyards in Howell Mountain. Aged three years in cask. A blend of Zinfandel, 20% cabernet sauvignon, and 5% merlot. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

97 Points! Another gem of a wine from this estate, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Aida Estate includes 1% Petit Verdot and spent 20 months in French oak. It has a darker red and blue-slanted fruit profile as well as some classic tobacco, scorched earth, and graphite aromatics. These all carry to a medium to full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon with a seamless, layered, elegant mouthfeel, ripe, building tannins, and a pure, focused style that will benefit from 3-4 years of bottle age. The balance, purity, and sheer class here are top notch, and this will see its 20th birthday in fine form. - Jeb Dunnuck

96+ Points! The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Aida Estate is very close in quality to the 29 Estate bottling, with perhaps a touch more concentration and tannin. There's less herbal nuance to the fruit, leaving black cherries to take the lead, backed by cedary oak and hints of dusty earth, while the palate is full-bodied and structured, leaving little doubt regarding this wine's potential longevity. Thankfully, the considerable tannins are fully ripe, leaving a softly dusty sensation to linger on the finish. - Joe Czerwinski, robertparker.com

96 Points! Dark and brooding in bearing, the 2021 Pichon Baron is a somber, mysterious wine. It is every bit as impressive as it was en primeur. Graphite, leather, spice, mocha and dried herbs meld together in a wine of power, precision and contemporary classicism. It's one of my early favorites in this vintage. I won't be too surprised if it turns out even better than this note suggests. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

95 Points! The 2021 Pichon-Longueville Baron is showing very well in bottle, unwinding in the glass with notes of cassis, sweet berries and violets mingled with subtle hints of orange zest and cigar wrapper. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and layered, with good depth at the core, bright acids and sweet tannins that assert themselves on the gently structured finish, its serious, slightly reserved profile reflects the unusually high (89%) percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2021 concluded its élevage in large wooden vats for a month and a half, saw a touch less racking than normal, and was only fined with a small amount of gelatin, not egg white, as has been the rule at this address for several years now. - William Kelley, robertparker.com

95 Points! Black currant, violet, lemon blossom and black berry aromas. Full-bodied, with chewy tannins and tobacco, black fruit and cedar undertones. It’s tight and chewy, suggesting it needs some bottle age. Some iodine. Oyster shell. 88% cabernet sauvignon. Give this four to five years. Try after 2027. - JamesSuckling.com

95 Points! The 2022 Chardonnay Peake Ranch Vineyard offers a touch more complexity, offering ripe citrus and orchard fruits, spice, tropical flowers, and green almond notes in a medium-bodied, pure, focused, balanced package. It has the fruit and suppleness of the vintage yet brings good acidity and a focused, elegant mouthfeel. I love it today, yet it has the balance and vibrancy to evolve nicely for 5-7 years, if not longer. - Jeb Dunnuck

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