The 2020 Grand Village has a ripe nose with quite ebullient red fruit and well-integrated oak. It is more opulent than some of its peers, though it maintains delineation. The palate is well balanced with a slightly...

The 2022 from Alexander van Beek and the team at Giscours is a blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 3% each Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. I find a real sense of fragrant harmony but also bright energy here...

A vertiginous tight-rope walk between savory and sweet on the nose, from white tea leaf to tart blackberries to bing cherries to damp earth and gunpowder on the nose somersaults into ripe blackberries, black cherries...

The pedigree and purity of this red are evident immediately from its black currant, blackberry, pomegranate, violet and wild herb aromas. Saturated with red and black fruit and picking up licorice and mineral elements...

A value play in Napa Valley Cabernet, the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley offers sweet red and blue fruits, spicy oak, flowers, and hints of chocolate. Pure, beautifully balanced, and elegant on the palate, with...

Exceptionally silky tannic frame, this is gourmet and mouthwatering, delivering raspberry and blackberry studded with white pepper, cedar and campfire smoke. Softly spoken and welcoming, not the most powerful 2009 but...

Looking better than it did from tank, Cristina's 2020 Chateauneuf du Pape is ripe and rounded, with ample amounts of black cherries and plums, an exception to the overall red-fruited nature of the vintage. Full-bodied...

This shows intensity and richness on the nose with aromas of cassis, crushed blackberries and hints of cedar, tobacco, violets and graphite. It’s structured and focused on the palate, with a medium to full body. It shows...

The 2023 Morgon opens on the nose with a signature Lapierre vibrancy, revealing fragrant lavender, crushed petals and vanilla. Layers of ripe raspberries, licorice and blueberries emerge, accompanied by a subtle wave of...

A tightly focused beam of bitter cherry, damson plum and raspberry coulis streams through, with mouthwatering cut in the form of ocean breeze minerality that runs from start to finish. Iris and rose hip notes fill in the...

Sourced from the oldest vines in the domaine, the Charles Giraud is the flagship bottling of Saint-Préfert. A 60-40 blend of Grenache and Mourvèdre accented by a whisper of clove, it's a voluminous, dazzling wine packed...

Black cherries, blackberries, earth, dark chocolate and a hint of orange peel and anise on the nose open onto a lush and indulgent palate, but with pepper and an almost bracing fresh mintinness at the back that creates...

Sweet berry, plum and cassis fruit, this is ripe with precision, finesse and tension, fragrant rose and black tea aromatics, balanced, easy to share, the finesse of Cantemerle is on full display, chalky with a scrape of...

An assemblage of 45% Grenache, 45% Mourvèdre and 10% Syrah, the 2021 Chateauneuf du Pape Vieilles Vignes follows the domaine's formula of maturing the Grenache in concrete tanks, while the Mourvèdre and Syrah go into...

91+ Powerful but with no lack of focus, the 2022 Morgon Cuvée Château-Gaillard is an expression that intricately mirrors the profound terroir. Driven by its structural elements, the wine boasts tightly woven, powdery...

The Buglioni 2018 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Il Lussurioso pours forth with an inky dark appearance and robust aromas of dried fruit, cured leather, spice, rosemary essence and barbecue ember. The wine's rich...

Moving to the reds and from the cooler Coombsville region of the valley, the 100% varietal 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon reveals a deep purple color as well as a classic bouquet of ripe black (and some blue) fruits interwoven...

Elegant and precise, this version offers a wild, savory and spicy floral note up front. Built around a fresh and juicy berry center, with mineral details on the fringes and subtle forest floor elements chiming in...

The 2019 Cabernet Franc Gran Enemigo Single Vineyard Agrelo also includes 15% Malbec from the clayish soils of Luján de Cuyo. Aged for 15 months in foudres, this purplish wine reveals enticing cigar ash notes alongside...

The 2020 Perricone Core wafts up with a woodland-inspired bouquet, mixing savory herbs with flowery underbrush, crushed wild berries and camphor. It opens with a pretty inner sweetness that gives way to violet-infused red...

The 2022 Etna Rosso wafts up with a perfumed blend of rosy florals and hints of juniper berry. This is vividly fruit-focused, with a wave of ripe wild berries and sweet spices that flow across a stream of brisk acidity...

The 2020 Cepparello is a total stunner, just as it was last year. Deeply colored, layered and explosive in the glass, the 2020 possesses striking textural richness and overall intensity. Black cherry, graphite, plum...

Densely packed with dark plum, boysenberry and black cherry reduction notes, this is nonetheless reserved in style, as graphite, alder, black tea and sweet tobacco nuances flicker in the background. The finish is tightly...

If I had to pick a wine that encapsulates the essence of Calistoga, it might very well be Kelly Fleming's 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate. The darkness, the depth, the brawn, the pure power, the intense savoriness. It's...

There are 1,400 cases of the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon, which offers up charming red-fruited notes of cherries and redcurrants, plus some loamy-earth scents. While it comes across a bit more angular and more coarsely...

Mineral and tangy nose with a minty edge to the red berries and oranges. Lightly mossy and decadent, with an impressive mineral quality on the linear, medium-bodied palate. Really refined and composed with a long, juicy...

Blueberry, blackberry and chocolate aromas yet subtle and perfumed. Full-bodied with chewy tannins and lots of structure. Shows depth and has a purpose. Needs time to come together soon. Try after 2027.

For fans of bigger and more powerful Pinot Noir, the 2010 Bernardus Pinot Noir from their Sierra Mar Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands hits all the right notes. Visually opaque with a deep brick red hue, this wine is...