Jeb Dunnuck (100)

Pure perfection in Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Scarecrow’s 2018 reveals a dense purple hue as well as an incredible bouquet of pure crème de cassis, toasted spices, chocolate, darker currants, and graphite. This carries to a full-bodied, dense, off-the-charts sexy 2018 that has the vintage’s purity and freshness backed up by flawless balance, a layered mouthfeel, and building yet elegant tannins. This cuvée is hard to resist given its texture and wealth of fruit, but it will ideally be given 3-5 years and should evolve for 30 years or more.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

Just pure gold, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard CCS is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, sourced from one of California's greatest terroirs, that was brought up in 100% new French oak. This dense purple-colored effort has a magical bouquet of pure crème de cassis, smoke tobacco, white flowers, crushed stone, truffle, and hints of chocolate. Possessing full-bodied richness, this beauty builds incrementally on the palate, showing lots of ripe, polished tannins, no hard edges, and a rare mix of power, structure, and elegance that's something to behold. Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, or red wine for that matter, just doesn't get any better. Hats off to winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown for yet another majestic, singular wine that’s as good as it gets.

James Suckling (100)

The subtle and nuanced aromas to this are so enticing with perfumed, floral, blackcurrant and blackberry character. Roses, too. Some lavender. Full-bodied yet so refined and polished with the most transparent and polished texture. Firm and seamless. So beautiful now. Give it three or four years to come around, but this already sings.

Wine Advocate (100)

Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Screaming Eagle soars out of the glass with vibrant notions of ripe blackberries, black cherries and fresh red and black currants plus wafts of licorice, candied violets, cedar chest and clove oil with a beguiling touch of sea spray. Medium-bodied with jaw-dropping elegance, the palate is finely textured and yet built like a brick house with a super taut backbone and exquisitely knit acidity. The intense black and red fruit flavors are accented by layers of mineral and floral notions, finishing with incredible length and depth. Undeniably stunning. “I loved it!” winemaker Nick Gislason told me when I asked him for his thoughts on the 2018 vintage. “Everything is just really perfumey with a lot of verve and a lot of freshness. It’s a wholesome vintage, if that makes sense? The canopies were big and healthy; there was a lot of life in the vineyard. After 2017, it felt like the bloom that comes afterward.” He went on to say, "We made a little 2017 red. Only four barrels of the Cab! Ten barrels of The Flight. Only from grapes that came in before the fires—mainly Merlot and a couple of blocks of Cabernet." Whereas Screaming Eagle is mainly sourced from Cabernet Sauvignon grown on the western side of the estate, there is one plot of old Merlot (1980s plantings) on the eastern side of the vineyard that continually makes the backbone of this Second Flight/The Flight. This is planted on very gravelly, well-drained soils. Gislason explained, “The Cabernet Sauvignon for The Flight is always about being fresh, light and perfumey, without the firmer tannins that Cabernet can sometimes give. There is a ‘fresh’ end of the property that this tends to come from. There is some other Merlot on the other side of the property that doesn’t have the acidity, perfume or brightness we’re looking for. We don’t use this in The Flight.”

James Suckling (100)

This is an incredible wine with such depth and energy and ethereal, mind-blowing sensibility. It sent shivers down my spine tasting it. It just shines on the nose, like bright sunlight breaking through a dark sky. Aromas of raspberries, citrus, violets and dark earth. Full-bodied with extremely fine tannins that go vertical and endless, from top to bottom. A monument for merlot-based wines. Drinkable now, but needs six to eight years to come around.

James Suckling (100)

This is a very thoughtful Seña that shows unique aromas of warm earth, mushrooms and conifer, turning to dark berries and black olives. The palate is more glamorous with ultra-fine tannins that envelop your palate. Shows power and vibrancy at the end. Toned muscles. It’s a very intellectual wine that harkens back to the 2015. Blend of 55% cabernet sauvignon, 18% malbec, 15% carmenere, 7% cabernet franc and 5% merlot.

James Suckling (100)

This is a very thoughtful Seña that shows unique aromas of warm earth, mushrooms and conifer, turning to dark berries and black olives. The palate is more glamorous with ultra-fine tannins that envelop your palate. Shows power and vibrancy at the end. Toned muscles. It’s a very intellectual wine that harkens back to the 2015. Blend of 55% cabernet sauvignon, 18% malbec, 15% carmenere, 7% cabernet franc and 5% merlot.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

Pure perfection, the prodigious 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select reveals an even deeper purple/blue hue as well as extraordinary notes of unsmoked tobacco, crushed rocks, graphite, crème de cassis, and blueberries. With a massive, full-bodied profile and a texture that builds incrementally on the palate, it has a stacked mid-palate, ultra-fine (yet lots of them) tannins, flawless balance, and a monster of a finish. It’s tight and closed at the moment, so hide bottles for a solid 7-8 years. It should age at a glacier pace.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is another perfect wine, although readers will need to have patience, as it’s still a baby. Deep purple-hued with a perfumed, vibrant bouquet of blue fruits, graphite, spring flowers, and lead pencil, it’s full-bodied, sensationally concentrated, has perfectly integrated acidity, tannin, and alcohol, not a hard edge to be found, and an incredible finish. This monumental Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is 7-8 years away from maturity and will have 40-50 years of overall longevity.

Vinous (100)

The 2018 Sloan is a flat out stunner. Rich, dramatic and full-bodied, with striking energy, the 2018 is viscerally thrilling right out of the gate. Black cherry, plum, mocha, licorice and gravel all build as this towering, statuesque Cabernet shows off its pedigree. The 2018 is simply magical, and just as breathtaking from bottle as it was as a barrel sample last year. It is the very finest Sloan I have ever tasted. I can't wait to see how it ages.

Wine Advocate (100)

I fussed over scoring this wine more than I'd like to admit—tasting through three samples under different conditions at various intervals and testing my impressions blind against wines in its peer group. Most importantly, I tasted this 2016 vintage against the 2015 vintage over and over again. I confess to a few nights of restless sleep as a result. Ultimately, my decision to award 100 points to the 2016 Solaia came on impulse and with the most natural sense of purpose. I had also given the 2015 vintage a perfect score, and intellectually, it seemed impossible not to pick a favorite among these two stunning expressions. I will also state, outright, that the wines are very different, principally because the 2015 vintage shows more overall opulence and sweetness that extends to the pronounced textural richness of the mouthfeel. The 2016 vintage, on the other hand, is more chiseled and sharp with mineral shadings of campfire ash and graphite at the rim of its dark fruit. The mouthfeel is more streamlined and tight at its core, suggesting that the wine will unfold and soften beautifully with time. I feel like 2015 is the Dolce & Gabbana of the situation and the 2016 is the Armani Privé. The personalities of the two wines are distinct, yet my admiration for each is identical.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate has shut down slightly since I tasted it last year, yet it’s still a magical, perfect wine. A blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, and the balance Petit Verdot, it offers incredible notes of pure crème de cassis, blueberries, camphor, crushed rocks, and lead pencil shavings. This rich, full-bodied beauty always reminds me of a great vintage of Château Margaux with its beautiful complexity, power, and elegance. As I wrote last year, do your best to give bottles 4-5 years of bottle age and it should evolve for three decades or more.

The Wine Independent (100)

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon, with 9% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot in the blend, is deep garnet in color. It strides confidently from the glass with classic notes of cassis and blackberry preserves followed by wafts of cedar chest, pencil lead, wild sage, crushed rocks, and lilacs, plus a hint of black truffles. The medium to full-bodied palate is super-intense, with loads of earth-tinged black fruit layers and a firm structure, finishing long and refreshing.

James Suckling (100)

OMG. This is really the most amazing young Taylor's I have ever tasted. Full-bodied and lightly sweet with super power and intensity. So racy and focused. Yet this has such muscle and intensity. Needs at least eight years to show you everything it has to offer. Drink in 2025.

James Suckling (100)

OMG. This is really the most amazing young Taylor's I have ever tasted. Full-bodied and lightly sweet with super power and intensity. So racy and focused. Yet this has such muscle and intensity. Needs at least eight years to show you everything it has to offer. Drink in 2025.

James Suckling (100)

OMG. This is really the most amazing young Taylor's I have ever tasted. Full-bodied and lightly sweet with super power and intensity. So racy and focused. Yet this has such muscle and intensity. Needs at least eight years to show you everything it has to offer. Drink in 2025.

James Suckling (100)

Such a deep yet complex and sophisticated nose, showing discretion, perfume and finesse. A hint of violet extract to the black cherries, crushed blueberries and cocoa powder aromas, together with Spanish cigars that slowly evolve to truffle, black pepper, incense and freshly chopped herbs. Juicy, yet really composed and dry, with medium to full body and abundant, immaculately fine-grained tannins that unwind evenly on the palate. A style that is restrainedly plush and refined, showing superb precision, cohesion and length, when you give it enough time in your glass. If Las Beatas is the fine Burgundy, then this would be Telmo Rodriguez’s Rioja answer to world-class Bordeaux. Decant it to let the complexity come through. Drink through the next 20 plus years.

Vinous (100)

The 2016 Trinoro is one of the most extraordinary wines I have ever tasted from Trinoro and proprietor Andrea Franchetti. Deep and yet also silky, with exceptionally refined tannins and exquisite balance, the 2016 has so much to recommend it. Dark raspberry jam, white chocolate, mint and rose petal notes are all finely knit in this sublime, exquisitely beautiful wine. The finish alone boasts mind-bending intensity and persistence.

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (100)

The 2016 Tertre-Rôteboeuf is flat-out stunning and also one of the wines of the vintage. Rich, deep and explosive, the 2016 possesses remarkable depth and intensity from the very first taste. The 2016 is exotic, full-throttle and unapologetically hedonistic. At times, Tertre-Rôteboeuf can be a bit rough around the edges, but the 2016 is totally sublime. In a world in which so many wines are copycats, Tertre-Rôteboeuf is an original. And the 2016 is a great, emotionally moving Tertre-Rôteboeuf. This is a magnificent effort1 from François and Nina Mitjavile. Don't miss it!

Vinous - Antonio Galloni (100)

The 2016 Tertre-Rôteboeuf is flat-out stunning and also one of the wines of the vintage. Rich, deep and explosive, the 2016 possesses remarkable depth and intensity from the very first taste. The 2016 is exotic, full-throttle and unapologetically hedonistic. At times, Tertre-Rôteboeuf can be a bit rough around the edges, but the 2016 is totally sublime. In a world in which so many wines are copycats, Tertre-Rôteboeuf is an original. And the 2016 is a great, emotionally moving Tertre-Rôteboeuf. This is a magnificent effort1 from François and Nina Mitjavile. Don't miss it!

Decanter (100)

Straight off you see this is a vintage with big shoulders and textured, muscular tannic grip, not giving as much today as it will be in another five years time, but one that makes you happy to wait. This is expressive and nuanced with subtle kicks of spice and cut herbs alongside the concentrated cassis and graphite. Rich with a ripe round mouthfeel, there is alcohol here but it is balanced by so many other qualities that you barely notice. Great stuff. These were tasted blind but it stood out heads and shoulders above the rest. Clearly an exceptional bottle in a great vintage.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

Another heavenly Pomerol in the vintage, the 2018 Château Trotanoy checks in as 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc brought up in (I suspect) lots of new French oak (although it's certainly not apparent). Revealing a dense purple hue as well as a smorgasbord-like bouquet of blackcurrants, dried flowers, cured meats, violets, tobacco, and chocolate, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a sexy, seductive texture, building yet sweet tannins, and just a rich, concentrated, yet flawless profile on the palate that's already impossible to resist. Nevertheless, a good 7-8 years of bottle age are warranted, and this magical elixir is going to evolve for 40 years or more.

Jeb Dunnuck (100)

Another heavenly Pomerol in the vintage, the 2018 Château Trotanoy checks in as 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc brought up in (I suspect) lots of new French oak (although it's certainly not apparent). Revealing a dense purple hue as well as a smorgasbord-like bouquet of blackcurrants, dried flowers, cured meats, violets, tobacco, and chocolate, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a sexy, seductive texture, building yet sweet tannins, and just a rich, concentrated, yet flawless profile on the palate that's already impossible to resist. Nevertheless, a good 7-8 years of bottle age are warranted, and this magical elixir is going to evolve for 40 years or more.

Jeb Dunnuck (La Muse) (100)

Including the highest percentage of Merlot (at the moment anyway), the 2016 La Muse checks in as 93% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and the balance Malbec that spent 15-16 months in roughly 90% new French oak. This magical wine shows how good Merlot (and Sonoma) can be and offers extraordinary notes of crushed violets, spring flowers, scorched earth, graphite, black cherries, and crème de cassis. As elegant and seamless as they come, it’s full-bodied, perfectly balanced, has an incredible spine of acidity and tannins, and a finish that won’t quit. It has the class and purity to drink well even today, but it’s not going to hit prime time for at least another decade and will keep for 3-4 decades. Bravo!

Vinous (100)

The 2016 Barolo Ravera is bursting with all of the tension that is the most singular characteristic of this site. Freshly cut flowers, white pepper and mint lend energy to a wine that is very shy and tightly wound today. Then again, it is Ravera. Macerated dark cherry, lavender, mint, crushed rocks and sage race out of the glass in a potent, stunning Barolo endowed with magnificent purity and translucency. The 2010 is quite simply a stunning, breathtaking wine. Don't miss it.

Vinous (100)

The 2016 Barolo Ravera is bursting with all of the tension that is the most singular characteristic of this site. Freshly cut flowers, white pepper and mint lend energy to a wine that is very shy and tightly wound today. Then again, it is Ravera. Macerated dark cherry, lavender, mint, crushed rocks and sage race out of the glass in a potent, stunning Barolo endowed with magnificent purity and translucency. The 2010 is quite simply a stunning, breathtaking wine. Don't miss it.

Vinous (100)

The 2016 Barolo Ravera is bursting with all of the tension that is the most singular characteristic of this site. Freshly cut flowers, white pepper and mint lend energy to a wine that is very shy and tightly wound today. Then again, it is Ravera. Macerated dark cherry, lavender, mint, crushed rocks and sage race out of the glass in a potent, stunning Barolo endowed with magnificent purity and translucency. The 2010 is quite simply a stunning, breathtaking wine. Don't miss it.

The Wine Independent (100)

In 2016 it was extremely dry at Vieux Chateau Certan so they had to delay the harvest. They marked the vines on which the berries had dried and didn't harvest them. The blend in 2016 was 85% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon and it has a deep garnet-purple color. It pops with scents of vibrant black plums, juicy blackberries and redcurrant jelly, leading to hints of licorice, wood smoke, crushed rocks, and violets, plus a hint of cumin seed. Full-bodied, rich and seductive, the palate has a firm frame of ripe, rounded tannins and seamless freshness supporting the dense, muscular fruit, finishing long. The fruit is so primary - it's in a time capsule. This was the first vintage bottled using their own bottling line.

The Wine Independent (100)

In 2016 it was extremely dry at Vieux Chateau Certan so they had to delay the harvest. They marked the vines on which the berries had dried and didn't harvest them. The blend in 2016 was 85% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon and it has a deep garnet-purple color. It pops with scents of vibrant black plums, juicy blackberries and redcurrant jelly, leading to hints of licorice, wood smoke, crushed rocks, and violets, plus a hint of cumin seed. Full-bodied, rich and seductive, the palate has a firm frame of ripe, rounded tannins and seamless freshness supporting the dense, muscular fruit, finishing long. The fruit is so primary - it's in a time capsule. This was the first vintage bottled using their own bottling line.

The Wine Independent (100)

In 2016 it was extremely dry at Vieux Chateau Certan so they had to delay the harvest. They marked the vines on which the berries had dried and didn't harvest them. The blend in 2016 was 85% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon and it has a deep garnet-purple color. It pops with scents of vibrant black plums, juicy blackberries and redcurrant jelly, leading to hints of licorice, wood smoke, crushed rocks, and violets, plus a hint of cumin seed. Full-bodied, rich and seductive, the palate has a firm frame of ripe, rounded tannins and seamless freshness supporting the dense, muscular fruit, finishing long. The fruit is so primary - it's in a time capsule. This was the first vintage bottled using their own bottling line.