2018 Wine

jamessuckling.com, 100 points: This is amazing. The vibrancy and energy in this wine is stunning. The complexity of aromas are breathtaking with flowers, blackcurrants, raspberries and peaches. Full-bodied, yet ever so refined and polished with...

Wine Enthusiast, 97 points: Editors’ Choice. This is such an outstanding wine at any price, but here we’re talking about outstanding value as well. Notes of iron and crushed rock lead to a lengthy balance of juicy red fruit and clove. With small...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 96 points: The 2018 Vin Perdu is a blend of 38% Syrah, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Petit Verdot, 11% Cabernet Franc and 6% Merlot. Deep garnet-purple in color, it comes skipping out of the glass with bright, cheery notes of baked...

jebdunnuck.com, 97 points: Another head-turning wine from this project, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Project 18 got a handful of expletives in my notes. A plush, sexy, full-bodied 2018 delivering pure dark fruits, hints of menthol and tobacco, a...

jamessuckling.com, 97 points: Extremely perfumed and crystal-clear with violets, plums, raspberries, walnuts and black olives. It’s medium-to full-bodied with very fine tannins that are extremely polished and refined. The length is long and very...

Decanter, 93 points: If you want to taste a textbook Gevrey-Chambertin, this is a very representative blend combining fruit from over 30 different parcels across the appellation. With an average vine age of 45 years, it's a sweet, glossy...

jamessuckling.com, 98 points: Aromas of blackberries, black olives, green olive, and violets. It’s really aromatic. Full-bodied, yet so precise and polished with creamy, layered tannins that caress your palate. It’s extremely persistent and goes on...

jamessuckling.com, 97 points: Intense aromas of black fruit, cocoa powder, black olives, dried violets, tar and cigar box. Some black peppercorn, too. It’s full-bodied with firm, chalky tannins. Incredible intensity and purity of fruit with gorgeous...

Wine Enthusiast, 96 points: This is the first vintage of the Australian producer's foray into Napa Valley. It is tightly structured yet supple, bursting in bright currant and strawberry flavors. Savory components of sage, dried herb and black pepper...

jebdunnuck.com, 96 points: (96+ points) Emerging from the talents of Marie Lefévère (of Château Sansonnet and Château Moulin du Cadet), the 2018 Château Soutard-Cadet clocks in at 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc brought up in new barrels. Its...

Wine Enthusiast, 95 points: An incredible showcase for the appellation, this combines grapes from the producer's estate Westside Farms with Dutton, Woolsey Road and Rochioli Allen, among others. Together it is broadly floral, earthy and richly...

TheWineCellarInsider.com, 95 points: Earthy, robust, animalistic, meaty, fruity and fresh, this is already a delight. The ripe berries are accompanied by layers of herbs, pepper, spice and garrigue. Full-bodied with layers of ripe plums and cherries, the...

jebdunnuck.com, 95 points: The 2018 Hourglass Cabernet Sauvignon Blueline Estate shows the classic, more focused, elegant – yet also concentrated – style of the vintage brilliantly. Sporting a dense purple hue as well as killer notes of crème de...

jamessuckling.com, 93 points: Very attractive blackberry and blueberry character with cedar and dried flowers. It’s full-bodied with tight, chewy tannins and enticing, transparent fruit underneath. Flavorful finish. Drink after 2022.

Wine Spectator, 95 points: Very lush, with warmed plum sauce, cassis and linzer flavors gliding through slowly, but persistently, while cast iron and mesquite notes add range along the way. Stays on the dark side of the spectrum, with a flash of...

jebdunnuck.com, 94 points: Starting with the 2018 Pinot Noir Estate Sta. Rita Hills, which comes from vines around the estate and saw 40% stems, it reveals a medium ruby hue as well as a great bouquet of ripe cherry and raspberry fruits intermixed...

Wine Enthusiast, 97 points: Only a slight quiver of smokiness intrudes on the wet chalk and lemon nose of this wine. The palate is striking in its serenity and balance, an apt representation of the ripe 2018 vintage. It offers immense juiciness but...

jebdunnuck.com, 93 points: Moving to the reds, the appellation 2018 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast was just about completely destemmed (2% stems) and spent 10 months in 18% new French oak. Lots of spice box, earthy forest floor, cherries, and redcurrant...

Decanter, 100 points: Finely textured, with a nuanced perfume that fills the glass and takes you to the intense underbrush of Tuscany. Succulent and yet savoury, this has a lilting freshness that is overlaid with ripe berry fruits, sage and...

Wine Spectator, 92 points: Supple and expressive, with elegantly structured raspberry and cherry flavors that gather appealing layers of clove and spice tea. Drink now through 2028. 7,647 cases made. — TF

jebdunnuck.com, 98 points: The 2018 The Bard is beautiful and certainly in the same realm as the 2015 and 2016, both magical wines. This cuvée reveals a deep purple color followed by a beautiful perfume of crème de cassis, blackberries, roasted...

jamessuckling.com, 96 points: Subtle currant, light sandalwood and some cherry aromas. Full-bodied, yet fine-tuned and polished with tannins that melt beautifully into the wine. Long and focused. Beauty and balance to this. Better after 2022.

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 96 points: The 2018 Lytton Springs is a blend of 72% Zinfandel, 18% Petite Sirah, 8% Carignane and 2% Mataro. The nose is lush and open, with aromas of aniseed, red and blue berries, blood orange and earth plus touches of tobacco...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 98 points: This wine brought to mind precise imagery of tailcoats, striped dress pants, wingtip collar shirts and other gentlemen's fashion choices from the Roaring Twenties. Sporting a retro but classic personality, the Marchesi...

jamessuckling.com, 95 points: This has a deliciously ripe and perfumed nose of blueberries, cloves, potpourri and gravel. It’s full-bodied with firm, chewy tannins and fresh acidity. Creamy and elegant with a driven, focused finish. Cooler and more...

jamessuckling.com, 99 points: Blackberry and black chocolate with mint, conifer and clove. Sweet tobacco, violets and flowers, too. Some graphite. Cool and complex. Full-bodied with ultra fine, dusty tannins and a wonderful, extremely long finish...

Wine Enthusiast, 94 points: The gentle nose on this wine combines the slight flintiness of reduction with ethereal dried yarrow. The palate is multi-dimensional with yeast, lemon, chalk and saltiness. Subtle texture and scented freshness are...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 97 points: The site-specific 2018 Malbec Appellation Gualtallary comes from specific soils, two plots that they believe transmit the maximum expression of limestone to Malbec, giving a structured wine with fine-grained tannins but a...