Wines

95 Points! Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon tumbles out with plum preserves, blackcurrant cordial, and stewed blackberries notes with hints of bay leaves, graphite, and fragrant earth. The full-bodied palate is firm and grainy textured, supporting the tight-knit fruit, finishing long with a minty lift. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent

93 Points! A blend of all the vineyards they work with (of which there are seven), the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley sports a deep purple hue to go with classic Napa notes of blue fruits, chocolate, spicy oak, and tobacco. It's full-bodied, opulent, sexy, and undeniably delicious. - Jeb Dunnuck

99 Points! The 2019 Estate Red is another magical wine from winemaker Sam Kaplan. Based on 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot, and the rest Merlot and Malbec, all from the estate on Howell Mountain, it offers up a dense purple hue to go with stunningly pure cassis and darker currant fruits, full-bodied richness, ultra-fine tannins, and a complex, nuanced style in its leafy herbs, flowers, scorched earth, and classy oak aromas and flavors. It’s brilliant any way you look at it. Hide bottles for 4-5 years, count yourself lucky, and enjoy over the following three decades. - Jeb Dunnuck

97 Points! The 2019 Au Sommet Cabernet Sauvignon is magnificent. A classic mountain wine, the 2019 offers up an exciting mix of dark fruit, gravel, graphite, savory herbs, chocolate and menthol. The bouquet alone is mesmerizing, but there is plenty of fruit depth, complexity and overall structure, too. Quite simply, the 2019 is one of the best wines I have tasted from John Schwartz's Atlas Peak estate. Sadly, there is no 2018 or 2020. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

91 Points! Consumers take note: Barnett's 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain District is more complex and structured than the MMV bottling yet also less expensive. Sage and bay leaf join black cherries and a hint of vanilla on the nose, while the full-bodied palate is soft and easy drinking but with decent backbone and length and plentiful soft, dusty tannins on the finish. The blend includes 12% Petite Verdot. - Joe Czerwinski, robertparker.com

93 Points! A focused nose, showing tangy and deep cabernet character with rich berry fruit and a hint of tobacco leaf. Cassis, sandalwood and dark chocolate, too. This is a full-bodied red with a tight yet silky structure. Some black fruit and dark olives in the middle with nice length. Sustainable. 100% cabernet sauvignon. Slightly chewy now, so drink from 2024. - JamesSuckling.com

95 Points! Energizing tannins and vivid fruit acidity power the massive black fruits and intricate oak spices in this muscular but polished wine. Plump blackberries, baked blueberries, black currants and cedar all add to the compelling flavors. Built to improve and gain complexity with age, this wine should drink best from 2027–2037. - Wine Enthusiast

94 Points! The Rutherford Reserve leads with black fruits, toffee and oak spices. Full-bodied with ripe sweet blackberry and black cherry notes, building tannins that are a bit granular. The wine has plenty of grip and is built on 90% Cabernet Sauvignon with 10% Petit Verdot, aged 21 months in 80% new French oak. It is nicely balanced with a pH of 3.64 and is one not easy to put down. - Decanter Magazine

92 Points! The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford Reserve is packed with dark fruit, chocolate, grilled herbs, leather and incense. In 2020, winemaker Trevor Durling added 10% Petit Verdot to add body, a decision that paid off handsomely. This is a very fine wine for the year. Chocolaty tannins linger on the close. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

91 Points! A good value from the team of Far Niente, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley checks in as 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, and the rest Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Franc, all of which was raised in 50% new oak. This deep purple-hued, medium to full-bodied effort has pretty cassis and violet aromatics, a round, supple mouthfeel, some building tannins, and outstanding length. It's impeccably made and undeniably delicious. Drink bottles over the coming 7-8 years or so. - Jeb Dunnuck

The finest Bella Union yet! The 2021 vintage was VERY kind to the team at Far Niente..."Bella Union was founded by the partners of Far Niente to specialize in the art of blending Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. The cornerstone of the blend is our 25-acre vineyard in Rutherford, along Bella Oaks Lane, a country road that was historically called Bella Union. The vineyard is planted primarily to Cabernet Sauvignon in well-drained loam, and the vines range from 20 – 30 years of age. Classic varietals of Malbec, Cabernet Franc
and Petite Verdot sourced from select Napa Valley vineyards complete the blend."

98 Points! Wild blackberry, cassis, dark chocolate, tobacco and dark spice on the nose. Dried violets, too. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, powdery tannins and a creamy texture. Intense, yet restrained and refined, with a solid core of dark berries and bitter chocolate. Really focused and crafted with exemplary Napa cabernet character. Try from 2024. - JamesSuckling.com

97 Points! The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve is based on 98% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% each of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, brought up in 90% new French oak. It’s a beautiful wine that shows the vintage’s pure, elegant, yet concentrated style perfectly. Gorgeous crème de cassis, violets, blueberries, and cedar pencil notes emerge from the glass, and this beauty builds incrementally on the palate, with full-bodied richness, a lively, pure, layered texture, ripe tannins, and a great finish. It can be enjoyed any time over the coming 20-25 years. - Jeb Dunnuck

97 Points! The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve is every bit as impressive today as it was last year. It might very well be the finest Private Reserve I have ever tasted. More than anything else, the 2018 impresses with its energy and total sense of finesse. It's a wine that marries power with vibrancy in grand style. As always, most of the fruit is sourced from Beringer's ranches on Howell Mountain. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous

98 Points, Dunnuck's #1 Cabernet Value of 2019! A blend put together by Bevan from the single vineyards, the Ontogeny cuvée is year-in, year-out one of the greatest values in Cabernet Sauvignon. His 2019 Ontogeny is no exception, revealing a dense purple hue as well as rock star notes of crème de cassis, violets, tobacco leaf, and chocolate. It’s a big, classic Bevan wine and has remarkable purity, silky, polished tannins, and not a hard edge to be found. Don’t miss it! - Jeb Dunnuck

95 Points! The star of the show is the 2022 Ontogeny, a broad, layered, richly textured 2022 that has gorgeous cassis and blue fruits as well as integrated oak, some classic Cabernet graphite, iron, and smoked tobacco. It’s rich, full-bodied, and wonderfully complex, with ripe tannins and a great, great finish. I love it today yet it should cruise over the coming 10-15 years in cold cellars. - Jeb Dunnuck

97 Points! The 2003 Melbury comes from a slopeside site on the northern side of Lake Hennessey, opposite the Rutherford valley floor. Winemaker Bob Levy compares the 2003 to the 2006 because of the wet winter and spring and the summer’s heat spikes. A brilliant effort from sedimentary soil with rocks over compacted clay, it is a gorgeous wine offering raspberry, black currant, spring flower and blueberry characteristics along with a dense purple color, a full-bodied, multilayered mouthfeel and sweet tannin. This stunningly rich hillside Cabernet Sauvignon should reach full maturity in 4-5 years and keep for 15-20 years thereafter. - Robert Parker, robertparker.com

98 Points! The 2003 Pluribus (the debut vintage of this cuvee) performed spectacularly. Created from some of the estate’s youngest vines planted in decomposed white tufa volcanic soils at an elevation of 1,100 to 1,300 feet on Spring Mountain, it offers a stunning blue/purple color, copious quantities of blueberries, black raspberries and violet-infused fruit intermixed with hints of foresty flora. Rich, full-bodied and pure, this beautiful 2003 is several years away from full maturity, but it should keep for two more decades. - Robert M. Parker, Jr. , robertparker.com, Jun 2013 

98+ Points! The 2007 Pluribus (the highest elevation vineyard of all these parcels) exhibits tell-tale Spring Mountain characteristics of acacia (or is it violets?) flowers interwoven with blueberry liqueur, black raspberries, cassis and crushed rocks. A wine of great intensity and full-bodied power yet with a freshness and delineation that are remarkable, this stunning wine should drink well for 25-30 years. - Robert M. Parker, Jr. , robertparker.com 

97 Points! The 2011 Pluribus is absolutely magnificent. It represents a synthesis of the preceding wines in the range, marrying the freshness of the Melbury with the greater textural resonance found in the other Cabernets. This site, which is at elevation on Spring Mountain, benefitted from more favorable conditions than vineyards on the valley floor. The result is a distinctive, potent Cabernet Sauvignon that is has aged impeccably and is in the zone today. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media, 2021

97 Points! All the best qualities of the vintage come through in the 2012 Pluribus. Pliant and inviting, with striking depth, the 2012 has a lot to say. This is another subtle, understated wine from Bond that is presently holding back quite a bit. Even so, its potential is evident. Today, the 2012 is super-impressive. -  Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

98 Points! The gem of the 2014s is the 2014 Pluribus, which comes from a 7-acre site on Spring Mountain. This incredible wine offers a full-bodied, seamless, perfectly balanced profile as well as heavenly notes of black and blue fruits, white chocolate, and licorice. With a world class texture, fine, fine tannin, and a great finish, it’s a tour de force in Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon that’s as good as anything out there. - Jeb Dunnuck

97+ Points! Very deep purple-black colored, the 2014 Pluribus offers up notions of crushed black plums, black currant cordial and pencil shavings over a meaty core of chargrill and beef drippings plus hints of Chinese five spice and underbrush. Full-bodied and firmly framed with chewy tannins and a lively backbone, it features plenty of earthy and savory layers, finishing long and minerally. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, robertparker.com

97 Points! Bottled in early 2018, the deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Quella gives aromas of blackcurrants, black cherries and mulberries with touches of tobacco, new leather, iron ore and truffles plus a hint of tree back. The palate is full-bodied, muscular and laden with earth and mineral layers, finishing with persistent savory notes. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, robertparker.com

97 Points! The 2015 Quella is a darker, more mineral-laced wine and offers a classic Quella bouquet of black fruits, black truffle, tobacco, and dried earth. It’s full-bodied, deep and layered on the palate, with ripe, present tannins and terrific elegance as well as purity. It has the balance and texture to shine today, yet the class to evolve for 20 years or more. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! The 2003 St. Eden comes from an 11-acre rocky knoll on the northern side of the Oakville Crossroad that consists of pure red soils. It is the most evolved and forward of these 2003 Bond wines. Lots of cedar, chocolate, roasted herb, lavender and spice box notes emerge from this complex Pauillac-like effort. Medium to full-bodied and fully mature, it is more evolved than its siblings, revealing sweet tannin as well as a spicy, earthy finish. - Robert Parker, robertparker.com, 2013