Wines

98 Points! This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon features big, round, silky, and lush blackberry flavours with sagebrush nuances and dark chocolate. It is full-bodied with a rich, dense black and blue fruit core, complemented by tantalising acidity. Dazzling in its opulence, it is perfectly balanced by superb, fine-grained tannins and bright minerality. Favia is the project of husband and wife duo viticulturist Annie Favia and winemaker Andy Erickson. - Decanter Magazine

98 Points! Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Coombsville explodes with bombastic notes of creme de cassis, black cherry preserves, and boysenberries giving way to nuances of cedar, graphite, and lavender oil. The full- bodied palate is jam packed with intense black and blue fruit layers supported by a solid line of firm grainy tannins and amazing tension, finishing long and with wonderful purity. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, MW, TWI

From the winery: I selected clone 548 Chardonnay from Peake Ranch for its tendency towards focused citrus flavors and distinctive minerality. After hand picking at night, the fruit was gently pressed as whole clusters, the juice was settled overnight, then transferred to barrels for a native fermentation. The slow conversion of grape sugars gives complexity and increased mouthfeel. A lengthy primary and secondary ferment was encouraged by occasional stirring of the yeast lees. Like an “old world” Chardonnay from an esteemed vineyard, this wine hid its true qualities for months in the barrel. Allowing the wine to develop gradually before bottling in the spring, after the next vintage, let this late bloomer shine.

From the winery: The first grapes for Fennell Family Wines, the Pinot Noir from Peake Ranch, were just beautiful. Made from two very complementary clonal selections of Pinot: clone 667 provides excellent structure, dark fruits and richness, and clone 115 gives bright red fruits, spice, and high-toned floral aromatics. After hand picking at night, the fruit was destemmed with whole clusters added in layers for complexity. Cold soaking in open-top bins provided slow extraction before fermentation began naturally. Gentle punch downs allowed the tannin profile to build while cooling the warm, fermenting cap. The wine was pressed shortly after dryness and moved to barrels for malolactic fermentation and aging. Bottled after ten months in barrel, this wine has developed well with time in bottle.

91 Points! The 2023 Chardonnay soars from the glass with striking aromatics. Hints of apricot, lemon peel, white flowers and crushed rocks follow. Effortless and gracious, the 2023 is a winner. The blend of sites picked at different levels of ripeness yields a Chardonnay of notable complexity, while a touch of Hungarian oak adds an attractive spicy character. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

95 Points! The 2021 Big Easy is fabulous. In fact, this is one of the finest editions I have tasted of Fess Parker's Grange-inspired wine. Succulent red-toned fruit, mint, plum, rose petal and a kiss of new American oak build into the heady, sumptuous finish. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

'Serious' box wine from the gang at Field Recordings! A blend of grapes, a blend of vintages, the key here is drinkability. This crisp yet flavorful white wine deserves a spot in your fridge, this wine is a true summertime 'cellar saver'...

99 Points! The 2022 Red Wine Life And Death is Grenache-dominated yet includes 22% Syrah, 13% each of Mourvèdre and Graciano, and 8.5% Petite Sirah, all of which was fermented with 25% whole clusters and brought up in 70% new oak. It offers a sensational perfume of black raspberry and black cherry fruits intermixed with camphor, lavender, white flowers, and peppery, almost garrigue-like nuances. With full-bodied richness, remarkable purity, and a massive, yet somehow elegant, seamless mouthfeel as well as incredible length, it's a masterpiece of a Rhône-like blend from California's Central Coast that could come from nowhere else. The fruit sourcing here is a mix of Bien Nacido, Stolpman, Alta Mesa, Sanger, and Rancho Boa Vista, and the marriage of richness, purity, and finesse is something to behold. This beauty will evolve for 15-20 years if well stored. - Jeb Dunnuck

100 Points! Another singular, as well as absolutely perfect, wine from this remarkable family team, the 2022 Syrah Life And Death is 100% Syrah from Bien Nacido and Stolpman vineyards, aged 21 months in 61% new oak. It has a deep ruby/purple hue as well as a classic Bien Nacido nose of blackberries, pepper, iodine, and iron notes, with perfectly integrated background spicy oak. Deep, pure, elegant, and beautifully balanced on the palate, it has full-bodied richness, integrated acidity, and a seamless profile. This is stunning stuff that will benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age and can be enjoyed over the following two decades. - Jeb Dunnuck

93 Points! A beautiful shade of reddish violet in the glass, this appellation blend is clean and brisk on the nose with raspberry, pomegranate and currant aromas. It's tightly focused on the sip, where hibiscus and raspberry flavors are wrapped in chalky tannins. A lemon-rind bite adds to the palate, which is still quite young but already easy to quaff. - Wine Enthusiast

93 Points! A blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot and 5% Malbec, Flora Springs's 2021 Trilogy offers up an intriguing bouquet of ripe cherries, fine sandalwood and a hint of mint too. While not a huge blockbuster wine, it's medium to full-bodied, nicely proportioned and silky in feel, with a lingering finish. - Joe Czerwinski, robertparker.com

93 Points! An estate-grown wine from the heart of cabernet country, this gorgeous, fruity and handsomely spiced wine has it all. Plush, ripe black cherries, dried plums, almost-sweet baking spices like cinnamon, vanilla and velvety tannins that don’t keep you from drinking it soon. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

98 Points! The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley Estate has a Mouton-like vibe in its ripe, sexy red and black currants as well as notes of chocolate, tobacco leaf, truffle, and damp earth. Much more broad, round, and expansive compared to the Red Mountain release, it has supple, velvety tannins, no hard edges, and a great finish. It's not far off the heavenly 2018 and will shine for 30 years as well. Readers will love being able to compare these two great vintages over the coming decades. - Jeb Dunnuck

96 Points! Lots of Bordeaux-like currants, cedar pencil, chocolate, and leather nuances emerge from the 2021 Cabernet Franc Tinaquaic Vineyard, an incredibly well-balanced, medium to full-bodied red that has fine tannins and a great finish. It might be one of the finest Bordeaux blends I've tasted from this estate, and if you were to put this in a blind tasting of top Bordeaux, you might just shock your friends – and yourself. - Jeb Dunnuck

95 Points! The 2021 Chardonnay Bien Nacido Vineyard Block UU has a ton of density and power. Racy and deep, the 2021 packs a serious punch. This mineral, savory Chardonnay has so much to offer, but it also needs time to come together. Citrus, orchard fruit and savory notes abound in this very serious Chardonnay from Foxen. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

94 Points! Fermented and aged in a combination of tank and puncheon, the 2024 Chenin Blanc Ernesto Wickenden Vineyard Old Vines is concentrated, crystal-clear and most importantly, absolutely delicious. Lemon oil, ripe pear, chalk and white pepper blossom in the glass with real lift. Energetic and lively, the 2024 confidently marches across the palate. A rounded, lightly creamy finish wraps things up with a pretty little bow on top. - Billy Norris, Vinous

93 Points! Fermented in equal parts stainless steel and neutral puncheons, the 2024 Chenin Blanc Ernesto Wickenden Vineyard is a beautiful representation of the variety sourced from vines planted in 1966. It opens with an airy, ethereal bouquet that gradually blossoms with dried jasmine, tangerine, crushed stone and citrus peel aromas. The palate is broad, textural and glossy yet enlivened with invigorating acidity that runs through the vibrant, mouthwatering finish. - Matthew Luczy, robertparker.com

93 Points! Warm slate, lemon flesh and pith, hard apples, chamomile and white tea are nervy and long in this brisk chenin blanc, the concentration of fruit and savory notes making for a fascinating expression of the variety. As lively and mouthwatering as it is right now, there is a bright midterm future ahead as well. Drink or hold. - James Suckling.com

From the winery: Our 2021 Pickberry Merlot comes from the firm, clay-based soils, about 600' up the northern slopes of Sonoma Mountain. Mother Nature pushed ripeness faster on us than in previous years, trading out lighter herbaceous notes of previous vintages for a focused fruit profile. The wines massive structure coupled with Pickberry's signature blue fruit and intense menthol notes is just right on.

Great value here from the famous Bedrock Vineyard (Shhh....)! From the winery: A punchy, spicy blend of zinfandel (80%), barbera (15%) and Alicante Bouschet (5%). The Zinfandel and Alicante were sourced from the Bedrock Vineyard in Sonoma. The fruit was from adjacent blocks so we picked both on the same day, co-fermenting them together. Traditionally this fruit has always been the base for our red table wine. We then blended in a few barrels of Barbera to level up the acidity and aromatics.