A blend of 58% Syrah, 31% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Petit Verdot, the 2020 Optimus has a deep ruby color and a deep core of red and black cherries, chargrill, thyme, charcuterie and desiccated violet. The full-bodied...

A blend of 45% Syrah, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Petit Verdot, the 2020 Estate Cuvée is another outstanding wine from L'Aventure in the challenging 2020 vintage, offering singular concentration and elegance. Deep...

The 2020 Chardonnay Wayfarer Vineyard is fragrant and layered with lemon verbena, toasted brioche, and white peach. It has detail and definition in its structure, with refreshing acidity and a stony, lifted finish. Drink...

The 2020 Côte a Côte is a beautiful blend of 45% Grenache, 30% Syrah and 25% Mourvèdre and one of the most successful wines I tasted from the challenging 2020 vintage. Deep ruby-purple, it offers pure aromas of...

The EABA is more Syrah-dominated and checks in as 65% Syrah, 22% Mourvèdre, 10% Grenache, and the rest Viognier that saw plenty of stems and close to two years in 50% new French oak. Its inky purple hue is followed by a...

Great flavor concentration and a nicely taut structure define this beautifully balanced wine. It is refreshing and rich at the same time, carrying light lemon zest and green-apple skin accents on a delicious base of...

Perfumed aromas of red and black cherries, red licorice, cooking spice and rose water. Medium-to full-bodied with steady acidity that helps to articulate the dark-fruit and tobacco flavors, but retains freshness...

This inviting, chocolaty wine is super-soft in mouthfeel at first, due to a full body and resolved tannins. But the tannins firm up on the finish to reveal a structure that can help it age well. Milk chocolate...

A very lovely and fresh, bright expression of 100% Napa Cabernet with nicely delineated dark fruit, liquorice, and tobacco notes. A wonderfully textured, medium-to-full-bodied wine with tremendous concentration on the...

(95+ points) The 2020 Pinot Noir Anna's Block is also brilliant, with crunchy black cherry and mulberry fruit as well as notes of iron, loamy earth, and darker herbs. This is a broader, more powerful, medium-bodied Pinot...

Handsomely structured, with appealing apple and citrus flavors highlighted by yeast roll and spice notes. Expands on the polished finish. Drink now. - TF

Although not labeled as such, Beringer's Private Reserve Chardonnay has been sourced for decades from the Gamble Ranch in Oakville. Planted around 1976 to Clone 4, the grapes are picked ripe and barrel fermented at...

The 2020 Chardonnay The 35 from John Sebastiano, is a potent, savory wine that very much reflects the wild personality of this site. Savory and mineral notes abound, while fruit is very much pushed into the background...

Black olives with some fresh basil and lemongrass aromas that follow through to a medium body with a juicy center palate. Savory and delicious. A little simple this year but well done for the vintage. Drink now.

This has a well-defined violet note out front, followed quickly by dark currant plum reduction flavors lined with graphite and backed by sweet tobacco. Shows solid grip too, with a lingering twang of iron. Very solid for...

The 2020 Chardonnay Sanford & Benedict Vineyard segues from wafts of matchstick and saline to baked peaches and apples, pie crust, beeswax and loads of spicy undertones. The palate is mouthwatering, full, ripe and savory...

Fragrant and so scented on the nose, inviting and cool. The classic blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Cabernet Franc is smooth and supple on the palate, crisp and crunchy yet smooth and silky and also slightly chewy...

A golden hue in the glass, this bottling from a vineyard first planted in 1976 offers bold aromas of lemon peel, crushed almond and a hint of cheese rind on the nose. There's tremendous tension to the palate, where salted...

Aged for 11 months in 35% new French oak and predominantly from the Laguna Ridge neighborhood of the Russian River Valley, the 2020 Chardonnay Four Hearts Vineyards is lifted, with flinty reduction and a touch darker...

Great depth comes with impeccable balance in this beautifully proportioned wine that is silky and bracing at the same time. Bright acidity mingles with ripe Bosc pears, cream and toast flavors that linger nicely on the...

Aromas of blackcurrants, black cherries, hints of graphite, wet earth, and lavender. Sandalwood. Full-bodied with an impressive and refined structure that runs deep and vertical in the wine. Chewy. Hints of chocolate and...

Pouring an opaque red, the 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Au Paradis is lush and refined with aromas of cassis, espresso, violets, and sweet tobacco. Full-bodied, this refined profile continues on the palate, with a ripe...

(92-94 points) The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Altagracia was tasted as a finished blend barrel sample. Deep purple-black in color, it has a fragrant nose of potpourri and Indian spices over a core of kirsch, warm cassis and...

Incorporating 5% Merlot and brought in before the Glass fire, the 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Cuvée is an outstanding effort that certainly appears to be smoke-free. Cassis, ripe plums, graphite, and tobacco define the...

The 2020 Chardonnay Estate has rich aromas of peaches, honey, chamomile and baker's yeast with gentle herbal tones. The palate offers bright freshness and nutty, honeyed fruits, and it finishes long and textural.

I know the reds get all of the attention here, but the whites are absolutely at the same level, and I don't know anyone doing white blends like this at the same level. A blend of 32% Roussanne, 26% Viognier, 25%...

Bottled in March 2022, the 2020 Chardonnay Ma Douce kicks off with gregarious notes of creme caramel, baked pears, and passion fruit, plus suggestions of cedar chest and spice cake. The medium to full-bodied palate has a...

The 2020 Chardonnay Bien Nacido Vineyard Block UU is a regal, elegant wine. Citrus, white flowers, mint, white pepper and jasmine are all finely cut in mid-weight, racy Chardonnay that captures all the best this...

The Turnbull Wine Cellars Oakville Reserve is an explosively aromatic wine with heady blackberry and black cherry notes, kirsch, and toasty oak spices. A full-bodied and opulent style of Oakville Cabernet, extremely...