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...

Illustrious names like de Montille and Péters are behind this French-American co-production. Smoke and tart, red berry notes rise from the glass, revealing streaks of cranberry and Morello cherry. The palate then reveals...

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain is elegant, deep and classy. Inky dark purplish fruit, savory herbs, menthol, licorice and spice. The purity of the fruit is remarkable today. There is plenty of youthful Howell...

The 2018 Pym-Rae can be thought of as a hypothetical mix of the 2016 and 2017, with more sexiness and opulence than the 2017 and a touch more elegance and precision than the 2016. Wonderful cassis, violets, tobacco, lead...

Lifted nose showing aromas of créme de cassis, plums and hints of mint and vanilla. Full-bodied with grainy tannins, ending in a stony finish.

Dark and dense, with plum and blackberry compote notes forming the core while licorice root, juniper and sassafras notes fill in through the finish. There's ample fruit in reserve here and a nice buried minerality. Just...

Limpid violet. Expansive, spice-tinged red and dark berry aromas are complemented by suggestions of pungent flowers, vanilla and a hint of smokiness. Appealingly sweet and broad in the mouth, offering sappy blueberry...

This is so aromatic with redcurrants, flowers and crushed stones. Some bark and rose stem, too. Full-bodied, yet so refined and textured with a lovely finish of fruit and hints of berry and light chocolate. So delicious...

The lush aromatics immediately grab your attention with a tantalizing mix of berries and barrel toast. Already in perfect balance, this young wine weaves its components into a textural mesh highlighted with coffee liqueur...

The 2018 Pinot Noir The Settler Cleary Ranch, aged in 38% new French oak, has a pale ruby-purple color and classic scents of tea leaves, earth, underbrush and laurel with a red berry core. The light-bodied palate has a...

This vineyard is maturing into something special. The pie cherry fruit has a burnished softness, with highlights of plum pudding. It's broad and textured, coating the palate and continuing on through a finish dappled...

Checking in as close to an even split of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, with around 1% each of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, the 2018 Prince Of Hearts Red offers a stunning, Bordeaux-like nose of red and black...

Extreme amounts of cracked black pepper spice up the crumbled lilac, dark-black-plum and snappy red-currant aromas on the dynamic nose of this cool-climate bottling. There's a wild zestiness to the palate, where the...

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Cuvée, which includes a splash of Merlot (3%), shines for its beautiful elegance and purity, with lots of blue fruits, violets, orange blossom, and lead pencil aromas and flavors...

Crisp red fruit, citrus and blueberry brighten a core of biting acidity in this coastal appellation wine, impressive in texture and length. Coated in cinnamon, nutmeg and black tea, it offers the best of the variety's...

Deep, brilliant red. Expressive red and blue fruit, potpourri and allspice aromas show excellent clarity and pick up vanilla and star anise notes as the wine opens up. Sappy and energetic on the palate, offering...

Some of Napa’s most powerful wines come from Howell Mountain. Along with its sister brands Lokoya and Cardinale, La Jota is one of the crown jewels of Jackson Family Wines. The wines from the volcanic La Jota vineyard...

Medium ruby-purple in color, the 2018 Pinot Noir Larry Hyde comes bounding out of the glass with exuberant notes of Morello cherries, pomegranate and raspberry coulis, plus hints of roses, tilled soil and wild sage...

Juicy and dense, with a core of steeped plum and blackberry fruit flavors backed by loam and roasted applewood notes. The finish has a nice kick of fruit and a flash of violet. Drink now through 2032. 6,971 cases made. — JM

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper is a huge, dense wine packed with black fruit, chocolate, leather, grilled herbs and earthy tones. This potent, virile Cabernet offers tons of character. I would...

This Cabernet Sauvignon is crunchy, textured and elegant. The palate is driven by grippy tannins, with lifted elements of herbs, crushed rock and violet lingering over ripe flavors of dark cherry and currant. Enjoy from...

Aromas of spices, such as cloves, dark berries and some herbs. Full-bodied and layered with chewy tannins and a savory finish. Juicy and flavorful. Drink after 2024.

A brisk raspberry aroma meets with bushels of bay leaf and green peppercorn on the excitingly herbaceous nose of this bottling from the appellation's most coastal vineyard. The same pepper and herb tones show on the...

Deep garnet. Fresh red and dark berry, floral and exotic spice qualities on the assertively perfumed nose, along with suggestions of cola, smoky minerals and succulent herbs. Shows superb clarity and spicy lift to the...

Blackberry, dried-blueberry, bitter-chocolate and some volcanic-ash and burnt-orange aromas. Crushed stone and subtle vanilla notes, too. It’s full-bodied with firm, chewy tannins framing a deep core of dark fruit. Dense...

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon / Syrah King Coal Stoneridge Vineyard is another beautifully layered, complex wine from the team at K Vintners, based on 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Syrah. It offers lots of classic Cabernet...

Fantastic vintage, fantastic winemaking and the addition of 10% Merlot make for a magical experience of structure and graceful complexity in this always impressive, collectible wine. Saline, dried herb, cedar, pencil and...

Readers looking for a killer Cabernet that won’t break the bank should check out the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Carbone from Favia. This dense purple-hued beauty boasts classic cassis and blueberry-like fruit intermixed with...