Wines

97 Points! Lots of classic darker, herbal notes define the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard, a rich, medium to full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon from winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown. With air, more chocolate, espresso, and spice notes emerge from the glass, and this medium to full-bodied, textured, ripe, yet also elegant 2019 is going to drink brilliantly for another 20 years or so. - Jeb Dunnuck

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99 Points! From the C1 Block of Beckstoffer To Kalon, winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown has worked with these Clone 4 Cabernet vines since 2005. This is a block bottling like many of the Schrader wines. Lush, generous fruit but with structure – all the elements amplified but on equal proportions. Explosive nose of rich black fruits, black olive, dried wild herbs and baking spices. Incredibly textural with pixelated three-dimensional tannins finishing with pops of dried tobacco and purple-red florals. A joy to drink but among the most collectable and cellar worthy wines of the vintage. The 'CCS' on the label refers to the initials of proprietor Carol Colesworthy Schrader. - Decanter Magazine

98 Points! Throws off a range of sassafras, chaparral and anise aromas before yielding up a prodigious core of açaí berry, plum and blackberry compote. Offers a nice interplay of power and purity, with tarry violet and loamy incense accents. While tannic through the finish, this terrific version reveals a subtle ripple of acidity and a hint of iron. Best from 2024 through 2040. - Wine Spectator

98 Points! The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard CCS from the To Kalon Vineyard in Oakville is another heavenly wine in the lineup. I always find another level of purity in this cuvée, and the 2019 offers remarkably pure crème de cassis-like fruits as well as notes of white flowers, incense, toasted spice, and unsmoked tobacco. Full-bodied, deep, round, and plush on the palate, I love its tannins, it brings incredible richness while staying perfectly balanced and fresh, and it’s just already a joy to drink. - Jeb Dunnuck

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98 Points! The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard RBS, which is also from Clone 337 but from different blocks on the Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard, saw oak with 90% new Darnajou and 10% new Taransaud. This wine seems slightly more expansive, shares the black ruby/purple color with all of it siblings, and has a boatload of crème de cassis, incense, licorice, graphite and vanilla along with plenty of spice box and forest floor. This is a killer, full-bodied, super-duper, opulent Cabernet Sauvignon to drink over the next 20 years. - Robert Parker, robertparker.com

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97 Points! Lots of classic darker, herbal notes define the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard, a rich, medium to full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon from winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown. With air, more chocolate, espresso, and spice notes emerge from the glass, and this medium to full-bodied, textured, ripe, yet also elegant 2019 is going to drink brilliantly for another 20 years or so. - Jeb Dunnuck

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94+ Points! Closed and slightly hard to read on this occasion, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon To Kalon Vineyard Monastery Block is full-bodied and impressively concentrated, with ripe black fruits, smoky oak, scorched earth, and graphite-like aromas and flavors. One of the more firm and inward wines in the lineup, it needs to be forgotten for 3-4 years and it should be long-lived. - Jeb Dunnuck

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98 Points! A fine, effusive quality from the sandalwood, violets, black pepper and blackberry concentrate. Quite a denser and more muscular expression, yet you won’t feel any chew from the tannins, as they melt into the dark fruit. Long and focused. - JamesSuckling.com

97 Points! Revealing a vivid purple hue as well as a powerful, more black-fruited, iron, tobacco, and scorched earth-like aromatic profile, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon To Kalon Vineyard Monastery Block is full-bodied, has a rich, powerful attack, great mid-palate density, and brilliant tannins. Coming from a famous block located on the western side of this great vineyard, brought up in new barrels, it's another 2019 that has a rounded, supple, approachable style while also bringing impressive density, depth, and structure. - Jeb Dunnuck

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97 Points! Lots of violets, flowery incense, cassis, and spice notes emerge from the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard RBS, a full-bodied, silky, elegant 2019 that shines just as much for its purity and balance as its richness and depth. Possessing good acidity, a lively, vibrant mouthfeel, supple tannins, and a great finish, it has plenty of up-front appeal yet should easily evolve for a solid 20 years if properly stored. - Jeb Dunnuck

97 Points! Another historic site and another opulent wine from Thomas Rivers Brown. Cabernet clone 337 delivers a fresh, high-toned, juicy red teeming with black fruit, black pepper and toasty cedar. Lush dark fruit is round and rich on the palate, framed by ultra-fine, satiny tannins and tangy blood orange acidity. - Decanter Magazine

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99 Points! A big, muscular, powerful wine, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard T6 boasts a monster note of blackcurrants, fresh plums, scorched earth, tobacco, and chocolate. This all carries to a full-bodied 2019 with the ripe, savory, concentrated style of the vintage, building tannins, no shortage of fruit, and a great, great finish. It's certainly one of the biggest, richest, more structured wines in the lineup, yet the balance is spot on and everything is in the right places. It's going to take at least 7-8 years for this puppy to shed some of its considerable baby fat and hit maturity, but I wouldn't be surprised to see it evolve for 20 or 30 years. - Jeb Dunnuck

97+ Points! The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon T6 Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard is made from Clone 6, an old California heritage clone that's notoriously shy-bearing. It boasts lovely aromatics, layering dried spices and exotic florals over super-ripe cherries, while the full-bodied palate is all silk and cashmere, finishing incredibly long and elegant. - Joe Czerwinski, robertparker.com 

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97 Points! This is a fantastic new wine, with crushed berries, stones, and oyster shell with moss and pine needles. Full and linear, with agile acidity that gives the wine energy. It’s salty and lively. So focused and mouthwatering. So attractive now, but will age beautifully. - JamesSuckling.com

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92 Points! Elegant in style, with notes of gently warmed strawberry puree, cherry preserves and red licorice infused with rose hip and sandalwood on the charming finish. Drink now through 2027. - Wine Spectator

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From the winery: The object of Pleiades is to be delicious, delight the jaded, irritate the wine police and go well with anything red wine goes well with. 

Each component is crafted and aged in small quantities by traditional Thackrey artisanal practices. We produce premium single-sourced varietal wines, then age them individually before blending them into the final composition. Sangiovese, Tempranillo, Carignane, Pinot Noir, Viongier, and Petite Sirah all play a role in this performance. 

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97 Points! I loved the 2018 Chardonnay UV- El Diablo. This beauty has a wonderfully pure, elegant style that carries both richness and freshness. Giving up notes of white peach, white flowers, lemon blossom, and honeysuckle, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, bright yet integrated acidity, a stacked mid-palate, and a great finish. It shows the more supple, silky style of the vintage and is already drinking nicely, yet I still think it will be even better with another 6-12 months of bottle age. It should evolve nicely for 7-8 years or more. - Jeb Dunnuck Learn More

96 Points! From just outside the town of Windsor, the 2020 Chardonnay UV - El Diablo Vineyard is energetic with aromas of green apple, lemon verbena, and delicate savory herbs. The palate is juicy and long, with lemon curd and snappy acidity, balancing out with a clean finish. Drink over the next 15 years. - Jeb Dunnuck

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94 Points! I loved the 2023 Sauvignon Blanc, a vibrant white offering ample Meyer lemon, honeyed flowers, and crushed stone-driven aromatics, as well as a crisp, clean sense of reduction. Medium-bodied, nicely concentrated, and elegant, it might be my favorite of the lineup. I love it today, yet it should have at least a decade of longevity, if not more. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! A solid sauvignon blanc with Meyer lemons, light grapefruit, peach stones and just a touch of flint on the nose and palate. Creamy texture. So caressing. Very Loire-like in a Touraine sort of way. Made from old vines planted in the 1940s and 1960s. Nine months or less in concrete tanks, used large barrels and 80-gallon stainless steel drums. Made by the fourth generation of the Mondavi family. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

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A flurry of fruit and spice, the 2020 Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon is a wonderful snapshot of what Paso Robles has to offer. Before diving into the glass, you will notice the rich color this wine exudes, then aromas of blueberry, cocoa, and toasted coconut. Bright, red cherry-like acidity awakes the palate and transitions to a juicy and elegantly tannic mid body. Flavors of blackberry and blueberry carry all the way through to a lingering finish of toasty oak and cocoa powder. A Cab lover’s dream!

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97 Points! All elegance and silk, this beautifully balanced wine offers a lively texture, with subtle lemon, toast and kiwi flavors on a full body. The mouthfeel is graceful and mouthwatering, backed by acidity that perfectly meets the generous fruit flavors. Making a wine of this caliber in thousands of cases is quite an accomplishment. Best from 2027 - 2032- Wine Enthusiast

96 Points! A vibrant, agile and poised Chardonnay with aromas of pears, apples, sweet spices, jasmine and hints of stones. It’s medium- to full-bodied with precise definition on the palate. Fresh acidity and crunchy fruity at the center and a velvety touch to the edge, bringing volume and a voluptuous character throughout. Lively and long finish. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

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93 Points! The 2021 Chardonnay Tina-Louise Shea Vineyard lifts from the glass with a savory blend of freshly sliced green apples, split pine and contrasting hints of mint. Round, pliant textures and succulent ripe orchard fruits wash across the palate as confectionary spice comes forward toward the close. This tapers off potent and long yet remarkably fresh, leaving touches of young kiwi to fade. - Eric Guido, Vinous Media

93 Points! Lovely nose of golden apples, baked pears, sweet spices, blanched almonds, warm herbs and some lemons. Medium-bodied with bright acidity. Fresh lemon character at the center and a caressing, silky texture enveloping the palate. Well-balanced, lively and precise. - JamesSuckling.com

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91 Points! Lifted, with cherry cola up front, the 2020 Pinot Noir Anderson Valley has a generous palate of fresh cranberry cocktail, sweet baking spice, and tangy acid on the finish. This red is hard not to love and is full of pleasure. Drink it now or over the next 5-6 years. - Audrey Frick, JebDunnuck.com

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93 Points! After a decade, the 2014 Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet remains remarkably youthful, just beginning to shed its baby fat. Savoury notes of coriander, cedarwood, and sage leap from the glass. Medium-bodied, with taut, elongated tannins with crisp edges and an assertive presence. There’s so much power here that the dusty red currant fruit and violet perfume are somewhat muted, lingering in the background, waiting for the tannins to soften. A wine still evolving, with plenty of life ahead. - Jonathan Cristaldi, Decanter Magazine

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