Wines

94 Points! The 2023 Chardonnay Willamette Valley opens with a gentle whiff of sweet spice that gives way to mineral-infused nectarine and a hint of sage as it blossoms in the glass. Rounded textures and ripe orchard fruit sweep across the palate. Saline concentration and nuances of tart citrus add form toward the close. A caking of chalky, salty concentration lingers as this tapers off remarkably fresh and full of lively tension. - Eric Guido, Vinous Media

94 Points! A bright yellow-green hue, the 2023 Chardonnay Willamette Valley takes things to the next level. It offers a silky, rounded feel with notes of fresh pear, wet stones, lime oil, floral perfume, and hints of almond. Medium to full-bodied, it has a refreshing spine of acidity and a salty, mineral texture. There’s concentration and extract, although it remains leaner than the Black Label. Drink over the next 8-10 years. - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com

99 Points! The nose is like diving into a pool of violets and discovering a wealth of earthy, spicy nuances. Like a great Cote-Rotie on ice but with only a few similarities such as incredible finesse despite very deep, fine tannins. The finish is like climbing a mountain, going and going until you suddenly realize you’re standing on the peak of Everest. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

97 Points! So floral that you think you’re standing in a garden on a summer evening! Underlining deep black-cherry and blueberry fruit. Really fantastic concentration and freshness on the medium-bodied palate. The fine tannins build wonderfully at the simultaneously driving and brilliant finish. Doesn’t want to stop! From 50 to 90-year-old vines in a vineyard with chalky soil, gently sloping towards the east. Limited production. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

97 Points! The fantastic violet nose leaps out of the glass before you home in on notes of gingerbread and dried thyme. There’s astonishing licorice and red-fruit intensity on the very compact, vibrant palate. As it flows, the earthy dimension expands, very fine tannins building to a breathtaking crescendo. From vines planted in the 1960s, ’50s and ’30s in an east-facing site. Drinkable now but best from 2027. - JamesSuckling.com

97 Points! The 2022 Blaufränkisch Ried Schwemmer is from deeper, calcareous, loamy soils on top of limestone, from vines planted in the 1930s, 1950s and 1970s. Tiny violet petal scents, small but fragrant, set the tone here, putting an aromatic accent on darker fruit. The palate comes in with poise, putting it freshness even before presenting its dark, juicy blueberry fruit and density with a disarming, self-evident matter-of-factness. This is fruit, rock, purity and poise, with exquisite freshness, structure and clarity. - Anne Krehbiel, MW, Vinous Media

95 Points! A hypnotic nose of allspice, cloves, cinnamon and summer flowers with touches of licorice and wild berries. Superfocused and energetic, this has the kind of concentration and energy that a red wine needs in order to age for decades. However, it also has a ton of berry fruit on the compact, medium-bodied palate. Very fine tannins drive the extremely long, linear finish. Drinkable now but best from 2026. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! Absurdly concentrated for an entry-level wine. Deep blueberry and black-cherry fruit fills out the compact and structured medium-bodied palate. Generous fine tannins and notes of licorice and baking-spice aromas. Long, powdery and fresh finish. This is a unique solera-type blend of several vintages from 2022 to 2012. Blaufrankisch plus pinot noir, merlot and zweigelt. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

97 Points! A smoking good dessert wine, the 2014 Billet Doux offers stunning notes of ripe quince, honeyed peach, toasted bread, and exotic flowers. It brings loads of richness and depth, yet always has a sense of purity and elegance, as well as lightness on the palate. It’s another gorgeous sweet wine from Morlet that will stand up to some of the great Sauternes out there. - Jeb Dunnuck

97 Points! From the same vineyard as the Ma Douce Chardonnay on the second ridge from the coast in Fort Ross-Seaview, the deep red/ruby 2021 Pinot Noir Coteaux Nobles comes out swinging. Packed with layered aromas of sassafras, framboise, roses, cedar, Asian spice, and coriander, it’s medium to full-bodied and propels through the palate with ripe tannins, a long finish, and a plush feel, although it also retains a more vertical spine of fresh acidity throughout. - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com

98 Points! All four of the flagship Cabernets from Morlet are absolutely world class. Starting out, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Coeur de Vallee comes from To Kalon, which was a vineyard that excelled in 2018. Revealing a dense ruby/purple color as well as a flat-out awesome nose of crème de cassis, black raspberries, flowery incense, dried tobacco, and classy new leather, this carries to a full-bodied, opulent, seamless 2018 with incredible tannins, flawless balance, and a blockbuster of a finish. It’s classic To Kalon with it’s rich, powerful, yet weightless style. While unquestionably very different wines, I kept thinking of a great 1982 Bordeaux while tasting this beauty, as those show a similar level of class, richness, and balance. Enjoy bottles any time over the coming 2-3 decades. This is the finest vintage I’ve tasted for this cuvée. - Jeb Dunnuck

Situated on the foothills of Knights Valley, near Calistoga, our vineyard is comprised of rocky clay loam Red Hills soil and benefits from its proximity to Mount Saint Helena. The warm and windy climate is ideal for the long ripening of the red Bordeaux varietals. Handcrafted using classical winemaking techniques, this special wine is dedicated to our son, Paul Morlet. It is ‘My Knight’ or ‘Mon Chevalier.’

99 Points! The 2018 ‘Mon Chevalier’ always seems to me to have one foot in Napa and one foot in Sonoma. Boasting a ruby/purple color, it’s slightly more reserved and stately (knightly, if you will), with building aromas and flavors of blackcurrants, toasted bread, dried violets, baking spices, and loamy earth. These carry to a pure, full-bodied, multidimensional Cabernet that’s flawlessly balanced, has ripe yet certainly present tannins, a notable sense of minerality, and a great, great finish. It’s just another incredible wine from Luc Morlet that can be drunk today with ample pleasure or cellared for 20-30 years if, for some reason, you feel the need to delay gratification. - JebDunnuck.com

99 Points! Composed of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the “home” estate, very close to Colgin's Tychson Hill vineyard, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Morlet Estate has a deep garnet-purple color, striding confidently out of the glass with classic notes of cassis, baked plums, ripe blackberries and pencil lead, plush nuances of tobacco leaf, black olives, violets and bay leaves with an exotic touch of cardamom. The full-bodied palate explodes in the mouth with crunchy black and blue fruits, supported by firm, grainy tannins and bags of freshness, finishing long with loads of mineral sparks. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, robertparker.com

98 Points! The Morlet Estate cuvée was first produced in 2016 and comes from vines just beside the winery, right off Highway 29, north of St. Helena. It might be the most Bordeaux-like wine in the lineup with its textbook Cabernet notes of cedar pencil, green tobacco, and bouquet garni nuances, yet it still brings that classic Napa Valley fruit and richness, with loads of red, blue, and black fruits all present. Full-bodied, concentrated, and nicely structured on the palate, this beauty is balanced, has integrated acidity, ripe, building tannins, and a great finish. As with all these 2018s from Luc Morlet, it’s an incredible bottle of wine that’s almost impossible to find fault with. While it’s thrilling today, 2-4 years of bottle age are warranted, and it should evolve for decades. - Jeb Dunnuck

99 Points! The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Passionnement is another wine that flirts with perfection. A selection of the top barrels in the cellar, it has beautiful purity in its red and black fruits as well as notes of tobacco leaf, new leather, unsmoked tobacco, and sandalwood. Full-bodied, rich, concentrated, and powerful, it’s a stunning wine on every level that will benefit from just short-term bottle age and keep for 20-30 years. - Jeb Dunnuck

99 Points! Composed of mostly Semillon, along with 31% Sauvignon Blanc and a small but fragrant addition of 1% Muscadelle, the 2021 La Proportion Doree comes from 30-year-old, dry-farmed vines and was barrel fermented. It pours a bright yellow color and takes on another gear in the glass, cascading open with generous aromas of fresh currants, candle wax, jasmine, and a lift of white pepper spice. Medium to full-bodied, its structure offers fantastic definition, and it has a concentrated, rich texture, an even spine of acidity, and exceptional length. This is a stunning textural blend to enjoy over the coming 10-12 years. - Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com

98 Points! The 2019 Pinot Noir is an outstanding and memorable wine, a tremendously light, bright, and complex reflection of the great site from a great vintage. Lovely aromatics of orange peel, cranberry, and Bing cherry wrap around a supple mid-palate of earthy rose and violet, the tannins unobtrusive and the acidity balanced. Lengthy, the wine takes on different nuances along the mid-palate, showing more forest and black tea, adding a quiet density that stretches to a formidable finish. This wine wows now but should drink well for another 20-25 years. - Virginie Boone, jebdunnuck.com

93+ Points! The 2019 Pinot Noir Estate was fermented with 35% whole clusters and aged in 50% new French oak. It has a lively, fragrant, focused nose with potpourri, blood orange, bay laurel and evergreen aromas. The palate is slim and high-toned, supported with structured acidity that softens with aeration. - Matthew Luczy, robertparker.com

94 Points! A heady nose opens with lucid layers of spices and herbs, olive brine, violets, fresh ground peppercorn, currants and blackberries. There's polished dark chocolate oak influence. The palate is chiseled, silky and slinky but with curves and shape, sculpted by fine, savory, pepper-flecked tannins. This is a complete and detailed wine now but has the potential to cellar several more years. - Wine Enthusiast 

93 Points! This wine offers a rich and seductive nose of blackberries complemented by notes of cigar box, milk chocolate and subtle hints of pepper. Well defined with satiny tannins, it has a linear and precise structure that leads to a subtle, dark fruit-driven finish. -JamesSuckling.com 

92 Points! Notes of chocolate-covered espresso bean, rosemary and sage mingle with huckleberry, blueberry and cassis flavors in this intense red, showing plenty of freshness and finesse. Accents of cumin and tobacco linger on the long finish, where the tannins remain firm but plush. Drink now through 2034. - Wine Spectator 

92 Points! The 2021 Shiraz Cliff Edge is rocky and purple on the nose with crushed granite, blackberry, white pepper and raspberry compote. Not hugely complex, but it is hugely satisfying. This is a concentrated, cool-climate Shiraz. It's a great (super) value. - Erin Larkin, robertparker.com

100 Points! Along with the Château Lafite, the 2016 Château Mouton Rothschild is the wine of the vintage from the Médoc and is a truly profound, magical, blockbuster wine in every sense. It’s based on 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, raised in new French oak. Boasting a saturated purple color as well as an extraordinary bouquet of thick black fruits, lead pencil shavings, new saddle leather, and burning embers, with just a hint of its oak upbringing, this beauty hits the palate with a mammoth amount of fruit and texture yet stays fresh, pure, and light on its feet, with a thrilling sense of minerality as well as building tannins on the finish. It’s one of the most profound young wines I’ve ever tasted, and while it will probably keep for three-quarters of a decade, it offers pleasure even today. Bravo! - Jeb Dunnuck

97 Points! Still remarkably dark, intense and youthful in appearance, this Mouton shows more flamboyant characters on the nose than other vintages, with spices, cigar-box and blackcurrant leaf all to the fore. Rich, dense and fleshy palate with plenty of stuffing for further ageing. An impressive Mouton which lives up to the ‘star’ billing for the 1995 vintage with nearly all of the components in great balance. The only question mark regards the firm, slightly drying tannins, which still need to fully integrate. I suspect they will, but the 1995 may not quite reach the height of the 1996. Harvested 12 September to 27 September. 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc. - Andy Howard MW, Decanter Magazine, September 2021 

99 Points! Decadent and rich aromas of black cherries and plums with wet earth and sandalwood. Turns to dried mushrooms. Full-bodied, tight and closed with big, polished tannins, yet this is very closed and shy right now. Despite this, underneath it shows such depth and beauty. Tangy acidity. This is a combination of 2005 and 2009. - James Suckling

99 Points! The crème de la crème from the northern Médoc is the 2015 Mouton Rothschild and this incredible wine flirts with perfection. Made from 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, and 3% Petit Verdot, this inky purple-colored effort offers sensational Cabernet flare in its crème de cassis, graphite, lead pencil shavings, floral, and Asian spice aromas and flavors. It is full-bodied, dense, and incredibly concentrated, yet still has the sexy, opulent, seductive style of the vintage front and center. It will be a candidate for perfection in 10-12 years and is going to be one of the longest-lived wines in the vintage. Hats off to Philippe Dhalluim and his team for this incredible effort that’s a step up over just about every other northern Médoc out there! - Jeb Dunnuck

99 Points! This is incredibly complex, with all the cabernet descriptors, from mint and lead pencil to blackberry, blackcurrant and menthol. It changes all the time in the glass, just as in the nose. Yet, it remains cool and classy. Full-bodied with very fine, tight tannins that run the length of the wine, carrying on and on and on. Well-framed and compact wine. Never-ending procession of currant, berry and black cherry fruit, together with licorice, earth and just a hint of black truffle. 90% cabernet sauvignon, 9% merlot and 1% petit verdot. Give this until 2028 to show its true greatness. - James Suckling, jamessuckling.com

98+ Points! The 2019 Mouton Rothschild is the most dramatic of the Médoc first growths, soaring from the glass with aromas of cassis, blackberries and violets mingled with rich aromas of cedar, cigar wrapper, licorice, loamy soil and spices. Full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, it's deep and powerful, with huge levels of concentration and an ineffably complete, seamless profile, concluding with a long, resonant finish. Plenty of ripe tannin is hidden by its ample core of fruit, and despite its youthful polish, this will require plenty of bottle age to realize all its potential. This blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot tastes in many respects like the 2016 Mouton's more sun-kissed cousin. - William Kelley, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

98 Points! A deep intense nose, this is another brilliant Pauillac First Growth in 2019, all different in style and true to themselves. The tannins are ripe and fleshed out, taking a confident hold around well-textured blackberry and cassis fruits that are fluid, supple and frankly delicious. This is pure Mouton, you couldn't mistake it, with its touch of mocha and chocolate, and its core of freshness. Has a feel of the 1996 about it. - Jane Anson, Decanter