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...

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 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...

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...

94+ The 2018 Chardonnay Sonoma Coast spent 15 months in 30% new French oak. It's pure class, offering bright citrus and pineapple fruit as well as lots of white flowers, salty minerality, and just a touch of background...

Broad but precise in texture, this exudes green and yellow fruits interspersed with salted caramel and fennel. Justin Willett of Tyler Winery partnered with a group of mentors for the Racines label: Étienne de Montille...

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...

Light aromas of honeysuckle, sea salt, white peach and nectarine show on the nose of this classic bottling, from a 2,200-foot-high vineyard. There is a strong streak of limestone flavor to the sip, with warmer hints of...

This winery's Chardonnays have existed on their own unique plane since the days when Greg Brewer was the winemaker. There's a yogurt-like dairy kick to the nose alongside orange peel, dried pear and sea salt. The palate...

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...

Starting with the 2018 Chardonnay Stagecoach Vineyard, which comes from a site on Pritchard Hill, it has a medium gold color as well as a classic Napa Valley Chardonnay nose of buttered stone fruits, hazelnuts, golden...

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 vineyard designate, the 2018 Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard is largely in the same mold, although it was brought up in slightly less new oak (25%) and is just a touch lower in alcohol and higher in acidity. Despite those...

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...

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...