America

98 Points! Aged in 100% new oak, the 2022 Monte Bello blends 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc, selected from 18 of 21 lots by blind tasting. After assemblage, the wine spent 21 more months in barrel. The vineyard starts at 1,600 feet and goes up to 2,700 feet at top, and is spread out across 4 different ranches, Klein, Rousten, Torre and Perrone, the wines getting more tightknit and ageable as the vines move up the mountain. By the end of harvest, Monte Bello is split into 55 different blocks, which are then picked and fermented separately. Year after year, this is a “wow” wine, herbal, lightly spiced in oak, with a lovely creamy, velvety texture and a backbone of well-resolved tannin supporting a medium-bodied, balanced spirit of mountain garrigue. These wines typically age 20-25 years or more. - Jeb Dunnuck

97 Points! The limestone soils, and the short distance to the Pacific Ocean as well as the seriously high elevation, (ranging from 1600-2700ft) means that the Santa Cruz Mountains, produce a very different Cabernet than much of California. The 2022, drought vintage, a third straight year, meant tannic, tiny fruit on the Montebello estate. The wine was fully destemmed and only pumped over half as often as a typical vintage for Montebello. Its a tightly wound iteration in its youth with 100% new American oak for 20 months. Expressive on the nose, with taut black fruits, fresh pine needles and mineral notes of wet clay and roasted herbs. The palate is fresh and medium weight, (13.8%abv) with so much lively freshness in its youthful exuberance. Salty ocean notes open the palate chasing taut early season blackberries and plum skins. The palate opens overtime revealing dried mint, and alpine meadow herbs that buoy the fruit expression and carry this masterfully made wine toward its zenith, but… don’t touch it for another 10 years for the best result. - Decanter Magazine

98 Points! This shows really beautiful purity of fruit with polish and sophistication. The currant and cassis aromas are so enticing and really reflect the name of the wine. Medium to full body. Extremely fine tannins. Shows a level of freshness and agility that caresses the palate. Delicate and beautiful. Mostly Howell Mountain. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

96 Points! The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve is brilliant, with a ripe, powerful style that’s going to age gracefully. Deep blackcurrants, dark chocolate, scorched earth, and graphite notes all emerge from this concentrated, powerful Cabernet that has ripe tannins, a big, rich mid-palate, and a great finish. It’s going to benefit from 3-5 years of bottle age and keep for upwards of two decades with no issues. - Jeb Dunnuck

98 Points! Intense, Bold, Citrus Fruit, Lime, White Blossoms, Chalky, Medium to Full bodied, Refreshing Acidity, Subtle Oak, Satiny Texture, Ready to Drink. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, MW

96 Points! From the Hyde Vineyard in Carneros and brought up 16 months in 65% new French oak, the 2023 Chardonnay Goldberg Variations No. 6 Hyde Vineyard offers pure tropical fruits, white flowers, minty herbs, and some spicy nuances. Medium to full-bodied, it has a soft, supple, layered mouthfeel, integrated acidity, remarkable purity, and a great finish. It's certainly a slightly softer expression compared to the Central Coast releases, but shines for its incredible purity and finesse. - Jeb Dunnuck

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

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

90 Points! The 2024 Pinot Gris was blended with 4% Gewürztraminer and 2% Muscat and fermented in stainless steel. It has understated aromas of peach, apricot, bread dough and spice. The medium-bodied palate is concentrated, textural and savory with gently honeyed flavors. Bright acidity balances 3.6 grams of residual sugar, and it has a long, flavorful finish. - Erin Brooks, robertparker.com

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

98 Points! Aromas of seaweed, fresh and dried strawberries, salt and white pepper. Medium- to full-bodied, showing persistence, intensity and structure, with firm, muscular tannins. Long, lightly chewy finish. Needs three to four years to soften, but a solid wine. Best in 2028 and beyond. - JamesSuckling.com

98+ Points! In contrast, the 2021 Syrah Il Padrino Bien Nacido Vineyard is more masculine and feral, with ripe black fruits, cracked black pepper, leather, iron, and spring flowers, and a certain bloody character developing with time in the glass. Medium to full-bodied, it has a similar level of polish but is a touch more concentrated and lengthy on the palate, with ripe, building tannins and awesome length. Drink this spectacular Syrah over the coming 10-12 years. - Jeb Dunnuck

98 Points! Lastly, the 2021 The Bard checks in as 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot and Petite Sirah. This beauty has a killer bouquet of cassis, spring flowers, graphite, chalky minerality, and violets. This carries to a full-bodied, seamless, silky, flawlessly balanced effort revealing fine tannins, a good sense of freshness, and a thrilling finish. - Jeb Dunnuck

97 Points! The purity of fruit here is impressive with blackcurrants, bark and black mushrooms. Full-bodied but light-footed and fresh with integrated tannins that melt into the wine. Real transparency and focus. 83% cabernet sauvignon, 7% merlot, 6% cabernet franc, 3% petit verdot and 1% petite sirah. So drinkable but can age as well. - James Suckling

98 Points! Another incredibly concentrated, focused, insanely impressive wine in the lineup is the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain, which offers a powerful nose of darker currants, scorched earth, graphite, and savory herb aromas and flavors. This full-bodied, dense, concentrated, powerful, inward beauty needs 4-6 years in the cellar but will age forever. - Jeb Dunnuck

97 Points! So much black currant, dark fruit, pine cone, bark and pine needle aromas that show a depth and intensity with round, polished and creamy tannins. Medium to full body, with a complex and gorgeously flavored finish. A blend of 82% cabernet sauvignon, 6.5% cabernet franc, 5% malbec, 4% merlot and 2.5% petit verdot. - JamesSuckling.com

98 Points! Even better, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon The Estate is straight-up awesome and will stand up to anything in the vintage. Pure creme de cassis, crushed stone, liquid violets, and classy oak all emerge from this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, which is full-bodied, concentrated, and flawlessly balanced. There are a scant six barrels produced, but if you see a bottle, buy it. It will probably take a decade to hit maturity, but it will evolve for well over two decades. - Jeb Dunnuck

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

100 Points! A full-bodied, structured red with blackcurrant, violet, dark-chocolate and burnt-orange aromas. Walnut husk, too. Such precision and elegance. Firm, smooth tannins and a long finish. Really complex at the end. A stunning wine from Stags Leap District. Drink from 2023. - JamesSuckling.com

98+ Points! From the estate property around the new winery in Stags Leap, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Moonracer (there are normally small amounts of Merlot and Cabernet Franc in the blend) offers a glorious Napa Cabernet nose of crème de cassis, lead pencil shavings, dried flowers, and chocolate that develops beautifully with time in the glass. It doesn't lose a beat on the palate either and is full-bodied, with a layered, focused texture, building structure, and a great, great finish. It's a serious, age-worthy wine that needs 4-5 years of bottle age yet will evolve like a First Growth from Bordeaux. - Jeb Dunnuck

100 Points! The head-turning 2022 Quilceda Creek ‘Columbia Valley’ Cabernet Sauvignon has 10% Mach One Vineyard fruit blended in, with the remainder coming from the famed Champoux Vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA. The nose is beyond alluring with toasted walnut and gorgeous purple rose petals that combine with boysenberry cordial, Turkish coffee and shades of dark licorice. The crazy complex aromatics bring you back to the glass for more enjoyment. Pillowy and opulent on the mouth, the seamless texture leads alongside outstanding weight and finesse.  This is a perfect wine in a vintage that shows what can be accomplished in a slightly cooler year. Savor this remarkable achievement over the next twenty plus years to come. - Owen Bargreen

91 Points! The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is a gorgeous, entry-level wine for the estate. Dark cherry, plum, mocha, licorice, spice and gravel are all pushed forward. This is an unusually forward wine although there is plenty of the typical savory/graphite notes that are so typical of this site. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous

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

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

99 Points! An enticing aroma of violets, cherry blossoms, fresh blue and black fruit and great structure define this beautiful, age-worthy wine. Subtle layering of fruit and oak spices between firm, fine-grained and supportive tannins gives it a calm intensity. So elegant and polished. Hints of cinnamon and graphite accent blackcurrant and blueberry flavors that linger and grow in a long finish. Already attractive to drink, but best after 2029. - JamesSuckling.com

97+ Points! The 2021 Opus One is one of the most elegant, polished Opus Ones in recent memory. Pliant and supple, with super-refined tannins, the 2021 has a ton to offer. It boasts gorgeous textural depth and resonance, not to mention superb balance. Dark red/purplish fruit, flowers, spice and mint caress the palate, framed by silky, ripe tannins that are the hallmark of a superior vintage. I can't wait to see how the 2021 develops. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media