Specials

99 Points! This is a young wine with terrific depth and layers of fruit. It’s full-bodied with notes of eucalyptus, lavender and sage and hints of matchsticks and oranges. It’s linear and tight at the end, with an energetic finish. Very Saffredi in nature. Better than the 2021. 65% cabernet sauvignon, 25% merlot and 10% petit verdot. - JamesSuckling.com

98 Points! This is one of only a handful of wines made on the Tuscan Coast that has managed to interpret the vintage in such an excellent manner. The Fattoria le Pupille 2022 Saffredi (a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot) deftly plays upon the elegance and fruity brightness of the growing season, while also harnessing its freshness and its slightly more streamlined appeal. The wine is nuanced and layered with fine details that recall wild berry, spice, blue flower and blood orange. To my mind, the 2022 stands apart from almost every other past vintage of Saffredi. This is a new direction for the wine that we can all happily embrace. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

98 Points! Menthol-infused dark berry aromas open the door to an intense and juicy mouthful of precisely wrought red and black berries and cherries. Wonderful lip-smacking sapidity and finely integrated tannins complete the package. The 2022 Saffredi is the result of the estate's hard work and it has paid dividends. Elisabetta Geppetti's son, Ettore – in just his third vintage overseeing the winemaking without the experienced hand of ex-consultant Luca d'Attoma – has beautifully interpreted the vintage. He tells me that, unusually, it took the team three harvests at different times to obtain the freshness evident in the wine. It's a stunner. Wow! - Deacnter Magazine

98 Points! This shows really beautiful purity of fruit with polish and sophistication. The currant and cassis aromas are so enticing and really reflect the name of the wine. Medium to full body. Extremely fine tannins. Shows a level of freshness and agility that caresses the palate. Delicate and beautiful. Mostly Howell Mountain. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

96 Points! The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve is brilliant, with a ripe, powerful style that’s going to age gracefully. Deep blackcurrants, dark chocolate, scorched earth, and graphite notes all emerge from this concentrated, powerful Cabernet that has ripe tannins, a big, rich mid-palate, and a great finish. It’s going to benefit from 3-5 years of bottle age and keep for upwards of two decades with no issues. - Jeb Dunnuck

91 Points! The 2017 Pinot Noir (Sonoma County) is a gorgeous wine, especially in its peer group. Effusive aromatics and bright red/purplish berry fruit all race out of the glass. This mid-weight, translucent Pinot has so much to offer. The 2017 is stellar. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous

98 Points! Wild blackberry, cassis, dark chocolate, tobacco and dark spice on the nose. Dried violets, too. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, powdery tannins and a creamy texture. Intense, yet restrained and refined, with a solid core of dark berries and bitter chocolate. Really focused and crafted with exemplary Napa cabernet character. Try from 2024. - JamesSuckling.com

97 Points! The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve is based on 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% each of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, brought up in 90% new French oak. It’s a beautiful wine that shows the vintage’s pure, elegant, yet concentrated style perfectly. Gorgeous crème de cassis, violets, blueberries, and cedar pencil notes emerge from the glass, and this beauty builds incrementally on the palate, with full-bodied richness, a lively, pure, layered texture, ripe tannins, and a great finish. It can be enjoyed any time over the coming 20-25 years. - Jeb Dunnuck

97 Points! The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve is every bit as impressive today as it was last year. It might very well be the finest Private Reserve I have ever tasted. More than anything else, the 2018 impresses with its energy and total sense of finesse. It's a wine that marries power with vibrancy in grand style. As always, most of the fruit is sourced from Beringer's ranches on Howell Mountain. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous

91 Points! Lifted, with cherry cola up front, the 2020 Pinot Noir Anderson Valley has a generous palate of fresh cranberry cocktail, sweet baking spice, and tangy acid on the finish. This red is hard not to love and is full of pleasure. Drink it now or over the next 5-6 years. - Audrey Frick, JebDunnuck.com

98 Points! Lastly, the 2021 The Bard checks in as 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot and Petite Sirah. This beauty has a killer bouquet of cassis, spring flowers, graphite, chalky minerality, and violets. This carries to a full-bodied, seamless, silky, flawlessly balanced effort revealing fine tannins, a good sense of freshness, and a thrilling finish. - Jeb Dunnuck

97 Points! The purity of fruit here is impressive with blackcurrants, bark and black mushrooms. Full-bodied but light-footed and fresh with integrated tannins that melt into the wine. Real transparency and focus. 83% cabernet sauvignon, 7% merlot, 6% cabernet franc, 3% petit verdot and 1% petite sirah. So drinkable but can age as well. - James Suckling

98 Points! Another incredibly concentrated, focused, insanely impressive wine in the lineup is the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain, which offers a powerful nose of darker currants, scorched earth, graphite, and savory herb aromas and flavors. This full-bodied, dense, concentrated, powerful, inward beauty needs 4-6 years in the cellar but will age forever. - Jeb Dunnuck

97 Points! So much black currant, dark fruit, pine cone, bark and pine needle aromas that show a depth and intensity with round, polished and creamy tannins. Medium to full body, with a complex and gorgeously flavored finish. A blend of 82% cabernet sauvignon, 6.5% cabernet franc, 5% malbec, 4% merlot and 2.5% petit verdot. - JamesSuckling.com

98 Points! Intense, vibrant aromas of strawberries and raspberries, together with cola and flowery notes. Milk and mint nuances, too. Shows a lot of licorice elegance and blood-orange freshness on both the nose and palate with firm, velvety tannins and well-packed, brilliant acidity and a polished finish. Good aftertaste and amazing potential. Very classic. Drinkable now, but best from 2025. - JamesSuckling.com

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

91 Points! A fresh, balsamic-tinged version, with a core of cherry, raspberry and black pepper notes. Firm, revealing sweet fruit in the end. A good steak or pasta with ragù will provide a good match. - Wine Spectator

91 Points! The 2013 Dubrul Vineyard Carriage House is another outstanding wine, and in 2013 it’s 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc. Brambly herbs, red and black fruits, spice and a touch of graphite all emerge from this rich, beautifully textured, elegant red from winemaker Kerry Shiels. And while it's already hard to resist, it should easily keep for 5-6 years, if not longer. - Jeb Dunnuck, robertparker.com

90 Points! The bold and oaky 2021 The Ball Buster ripples with fleshy sweet and inviting chocolate blackberry aromas. Coconut oak with generously ripened cherry jam flavors provide upfront impact before settling into a supple, crowd pleasing style punctuated by light tannins. - Angus Hughson, Vinous Media

91 Points! The 2019 Colline Novaresi Spanna offers up scents of sweet dried cherry, mint, tobacco, dried herbs and crushed rose petal. Deceptive in its light-bodied structure, this ethereal red has plenty of depth. The savory, mineral side of Nebbiolo is very much on show. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

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

90 Points! Loaded with ripe, slightly sweet black cherry flavors, which are laced with espresso and toasty oak notes. A style some will enjoy. Drink now. - Wine Spectator

94 Points! Hailing from a warm vintage that was one of the best in what would otherwise have been a fairly ordinary decade, the 1985 Moulin Touchais Coteaux du Layon is starting to take on a deep golden appearance, commencing to amber. It offers a gorgeous, suave texture and a very complex nose that's a touch oxidative but that adds a layer of additional intrigue: it's all nuts, raisins, walnuts, olives, warm pastry, cinnamon, cooked orange peel. It's round and sweet (95g/L) but not unctuous with richness on the mid-palate while retaining enough acidity to refresh the mouth on the long finish. A wine that is very comfortable in its own skin, providing a very relaxing experience.

Moulin Touchais produces sweet Chenin Blanc in the Coteaux du Layon appellation. The wines are most often late harvested, although in some vintages - such as 1997 - a high level of botrytis builds on the fruit. What makes the winery special is its late-release policy: the wines must spend a minimum of 10 years in the underground cellars beneath the village of Doué la Fontaine before release. - Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous Media, 2021

92 Points! The 2019 Cap de Faugères has tightened up a lot on the nose, showing dense black fruit, tar and graphite scents, quite Left Bank in style. The palate is much more expressive, featuring fleshy red berry fruit mixed with allspice, clove and white pepper. Persistent and quite convincing on the finish. Give it time for those aromatics to get their mojo back – which they will. - Neal Martin, Vinous Media

91 Points! The 2019 Cap de Faugeres is terrific, just as it was from bottle. Rich and expansive, the 2019 is so expressive right out of the gate. Succulent red cherry, spice, leather and tobacco all kicked up in this attractive entry-level offering from Silvio Denz. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

98-100 Points! The 2018 Cote Rotie La Mouline is immensely seductive, offering up enticing notes of floral potpourri and red berries on the nose. Those strawberries and raspberries persist onto the full-bodied palate and through the long, lush finish, buoyed by supple, creamy-textured tannins. This is the most complete, compelling vintage of La Mouline I've tasted. - Wine Advocate

99 Points! Just about pure perfection as well as a desert Island wine, the 2018 Côte Rôtie La Mouline comes from a tiny parcel in the Côte Blonde lieu-dit and spent four years in new barrels. Incredible notes of black raspberries, spring flowers, bacon fat, smoked game, violets, and pepper all emerge on the nose. These carry to a full-bodied, round, supple, sexy Côte Rôtie offering ultra-fine tannins, an insane level of purity, no hard edges, and a monster of a finish. As with the other 2018s here, it leads with its fruit and has a supple, ethereal style on the palate... - Jeb Dunnuck

98 Points! Coming from the warmest terroir on Hermitage Hill, the 2006 Ermitage le Meal is a killer wine that oozes Hermitage notes of black raspberries, saddle leather and bloody meat. Complex, full-bodied, and textured, yet with surprising elegance, it’s an awesome wine to drink anytime over the coming two decades. - Jeb Dunnuck, robertparker.com

96 Points! Superdense but really fresh, with a wild array of zesty blackberry, loganberry, linzer torte and briar notes laid over perfectly embedded tannins. Long and pure through the finish, with lots of minerality waiting in reserve. Great length. - Wine Spectator

99 Points! From a warm site and a hot vintage, the 2009 Ermitage le Meal Blanc was harvested on the August 28, and aged in 100% new French oak. Flirting with perfection and a full-bore, exotic, almost over-the-top expression of Marsanne, it has less minerality than the 2010, yet more of everything else with boatloads of caramelized fruits, buttered citrus, white flowers, honey and crushed rocks all soaring from the glass. Rich, layered, exuberant, unctuous and exotic, with stunning freshness despite it's thickness and weight, drink this incredible white anytime over the coming 30-40 years. - Jeb Dunnuck