2018 Wine

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, 95 points: Another St. Helena release, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Ceanda checks in as 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot and Merlot, all brought up in French oak. Black fruits, chocolaty herbs...

Wine Enthusiast, 97 points: This is a muscular wine with a velvety backdrop—classic for the vintage and appellation. Silky tannins glide across a foundation of turned earth, crushed rock, clove and tobacco. The wine is hugely structured and grand...

jebdunnuck.com, 97 points: Lots of cassis and black raspberry fruits as well as classic Mount Veeder notes of lavender, violets, bouquet garni, and rocky, mineral-like notes emerge from the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon. A deep, full-bodied mountain...

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...

jamessuckling.com, 98 points: Extraordinary aromas of white peaches, apricots, vanilla and flowers. Full-bodied and very sweet with so much sweet and dried fruit, such as apricots and tangerines, yet it maintains citrusy freshness and texture, with a...

The Tasting Panel Magazine, 95 points: With 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot blended in, this Cab exudes a plethora of floral notes, with dried violets and earth in the forefront. Bold, elegantly appointed and generously built...

jamessuckling.com, 97 points: This is another rock-star chardonnay from here with dried-apple, pear-skin, crushed-stone and peach-pit character. Full body. Creamy texture. Phenolic form and a long, flavorful finish. Drink or hold.

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...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 98 points: 98+ The 2018 Pinot Noir Wayfarer Vineyard has a medium ruby color and slowly opening perfume of garrigue, dried orange peel, prosciutto and rose petals with mineral-laced cranberry and red and black berry fruits. The...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 98 points: The 2018 Cheval des Andes is a blend of 70% Malbec and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon fermented in small lots in 3,000- to 8,000-liter tanks and matured 40% in 225-liter oak barrels, 40% in 400-liter oak barrels and the remaining...

jamessuckling.com, 95 points: A red with plenty of blackberry, black-olive, floral and oyster-shell character. It’s full-bodied, yet layered, extremely polished and beautiful. A dusty texture. Hazelnut and walnut undertones. From organically grown...

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...

jamessuckling.com, 97 points: Gorgeous aromas of plums and currants with some wet earth, mushroom, bark and incense undertones. Woody. Medium-to full-bodied with such beautiful depth and length. So subtle and long. Fabulous harmony. One of the best I...

jamessuckling.com, 98 points: There’s real purity of fruit to this with blackberry, blueberry and dark chocolate, as well as crushed-stone undertones. It’s full and focused with structure and purity. Transparent energy to this. Needs a couple of...

Vinous, 97 points: Siepi, Fonterutoli’s Merlot/Sangiovese blend, is absolutely gorgeous in 2018. Rich, pliant and creamy, Siepi offers all of the seductiveness of Merlot with the bright acids and grip of Sangiovese. Inky blue/purplish...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 95 points: The 2018 Calcáreo de Granito de Tupungato was produced with grapes from Gualtallary (Tupungato Winelands); it will eventually show Gualtallary on the label, but for now it says Tupungato. The wine has the wilderness of...

jamessuckling.com, 98 points: Beautiful aromas of lime curd, dried pear, grilled white peach and flint on the nose. So exotic on the nose. Some cream and honey, too. It’s medium-bodied with bright, tangy acidity. Creamy and focused with lingering...

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 93 points: The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Coombsville is a lovely wine from winemaker Julien Fayard. It offers the darker fruits and mineral tones of the best Coombsville Cabernets. Deep ruby-purple, the nose blossoms to pure cassis...

Wine Enthusiast, 97 points: Marrying 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine is focused, soft and rounded in feel, with an underlying structure that should lend well to aging. It shows integrated notes of cedar, dried herb and slate that...

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...

Decanter, 96 points: Grown on varied lieux-dits around the appellation on a mix of soils, this was fermented in concrete then aged for 24 months in foudre. All whole bunch, which is evidenced by the pleasantly stemmy aromatics. Very...

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...

Wine Enthusiast, 93 points: Tightly woven aromas of lime pith, acacia and crushed chalk make for an enticing nose in this single-block expression. There's a great sizzle on the sip, where vibrant flavors of yuzu, sea salt and lemon juice meet with...

jamessuckling.com, 98 points: So aromatic and fresh with dried flowers, sweet tobacco and hints of straw. Red fruit, cloves and green peppercorns. Medium-to full-bodied with fine tannins that are very fresh and refined. Fine, silky and beautiful...

Vinous, 96 points: The 2018 Bòggina C (Bòggina Classico) is another superb wine from Petrolo. Here, Sangiovese is aged in oak, which gives the wine more mid-palate depth and broader shoulders, which, frankly, the wine seems to benefit from...

Decanter, 96 points: Decanter World Wine Awards 2021. Hints of honey, hay and marzipan on the nose. Rich broad palate with oily, gentle texture and a chalky acidity. Honey flows into the finish.

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...