The final masterclass of the day at the 2026 Decanter Fine Wine Encounter New York began at 4pm.

Despite a full day of tasting already behind them, attendees packed the room for a retrospective look at Heitz Cellar hosted by Master Sommelier Carlton McCoy, president and CEO of Lawrence Wine Estates, which owns this benchmark Napa Valley winery, among others.

The lineup of wines spanned nearly five decades, and guests were encouraged to taste while McCoy and I discussed the history of this iconic producer.

One of the more interesting topics was how little the winemaking itself has changed over the decades.

McCoy explained that Heitz continues to ferment its Cabernet Sauvignons in large neutral wooden tanks, blocks malolactic fermentation in the reds, and ages wines in large oak foudres.

The objective, he said, is to preserve freshness and 'express site character above all'.

While some American oak was used in the first few decades of Heitz’s founding, today, it’s French.

Scroll down for notes and scores of the 10 Heitz Cellar wines at the DFWE NYC 2026 masterclass

Heitz Cellar, Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville 1979

Heitz Cellar, Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville 1985

Heitz Cellar, Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville 2010

Heitz Cellar, Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville 2021

Heitz Cellar, Trailside Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford 1999

Heitz Cellar, Trailside Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford 2013

Heitz Cellar, Trailside Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford 2021

Heitz Cellar, Linda Falls Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain 2015

Heitz Cellar, Linda Falls Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain 2016

Heitz Cellar, Linda Falls Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain 2021

Standouts from the line up

It was a rare opportunity for Masterclass attendees to experience mature and current Heitz releases side by side, including the 1979 and 1985 Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons.

I've tasted the 1979 Martha's Vineyard on three separate occasions, and it continues to impress for its freshness, complexity, and unmistakable aromatic profile.

The bay laurel, mint, and eucalyptus notes that have become synonymous with the wine remain remarkably vivid nearly 50 years after harvest.

Two of the three oldest wines stood out on the day: the aforementioned 1979 Martha's Vineyard as well as the 1999 Trailside Vineyard.

The 1985 Martha's Vineyard, poured from magnum, showed a touch of cellar funk on the nose, but broadened beautifully across the palate.

The younger wines were equally compelling, though still firmly in their developmental phase.

Martha's Vineyard

Located in Oakville, Martha's Vineyard remains one of Napa Valley's most famous Cabernet Sauvignon sites.

When founder Joe Heitz first put ‘Martha’s Vineyard’ on the label of his 1966 bottling, it was the first time in Napa that the name of a site appeared on a wine label.

Martha's Vineyard takes its name from Martha May, the wife of vineyard owner and grape-grower Tom May.

The Mays purchased the Oakville property in the early 1960s. The roughly 34-acre (13.7ha) vineyard is known for producing wines marked by freshness, structure, and the distinctive bay laurel and eucalyptus character that has become its hallmark (eucalyptus trees line the perimeter).

While the fruit from Martha’s was exclusively sold to Heitz for decades, McCoy revealed that, for the first time in the vineyard's history, Heitz will not purchase the entire crop from Martha's Vineyard.

'I'm excited to see what other producers do with this exceptional fruit,' he said.

Trailside Vineyard

Purchased by Heitz in 1984, Trailside Vineyard is planted to 85 acres (35.3ha) in the Rutherford AVA, divided into 16 distinct blocks, based on a diversity of soil types, of gravelly loam and clay-loam.

The site is farmed organically, with biodynamic inputs. Several Cabernet Sauvignon clones are planted, along with Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Musque clones.

Trailside often shows a rusticity and dusty mineral character of red fruits, plus notes of sage, dried herbs, and fine tannins.

The 1999 Trailside, from a small, concentrated crop, showed the power and intensity possible from the site. Judging the wine on colour alone, you would think it was produced in the last five years.

The flavours, though, were so profoundly layered with loamy earth and tobacco nuances, along with the site’s characteristic freshness, that, save for those emerging secondary notes, it was almost hard to believe the wine was 27 years old.

Linda Falls Vineyard

Linda Falls represents Heitz's mountain-expression Cabernet Sauvignon.

Purchased and planted in 2002, at 1,500 feet (457m) elevation on Howell Mountain near the Linda Falls Preserve (a popular hiking destination with locals), only seven acres of the 42-acre (16.9ha) property are planted to vines.

The volcanic soils and higher elevation produce a markedly different profile from the valley-floor vineyards.

Dark fruit, conifer accents, crushed-stone minerality, and a firmer, more robust tannic structure define the wine, marked by the freshness so characteristic of Heitz and perfectly in place with the wines, thanks to the deft cellar work of winemaker Brittany Sherwood.

The library vintages across all three vineyard sites tasted in this Decanter Masterclass offered a compelling look at the longevity of Heitz Cellar’s iconic Cabernet Sauvignon wines.

Heitz Cellar masterclass: Five decades, back to 1979

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As so often happens in Bordeaux, great vintages come in pairs.

Just a year on from appraising the finest wines of 2015, we are now examining the very best of 2016.

In similar fashion to 2009/2010, 1995/1996, 1989/1990, 1985/1986 and, although separated by an abysmal vintage, the otherworldly 1959/1961, so often these legendary pairs are qualitative peers but stylistically polar. That is also true with 2015 and 2016.

While the rhetoric of my equivalent article in last year’s Bordeaux guide was based on the famous ‘rule of fives’ (years ending in ‘5’ are reputed always to produce good quality in Bordeaux), 2016 has been proposed by many as ‘the greatest global wine vintage ever’.

We are certainly not here to examine that claim, but we are here to surmise where it might sit among the pantheon of the finest vintages ever produced in Bordeaux.

The growing season

The 2016 vintage was marked by a particularly long hang time (relatively slow, extended ripening season) that led to much better phenolic ripeness of flavour compounds and tannins in the grape skins, seeds and stems.

Although the winter had been cold and wet, the summer was hot and dry, and critically it had a much higher average number of sunshine hours, but without the mercury tipping off the scale.

September saw rain arrive at the optimum moment, before an Indian summer, allowing the grapes to mature both slowly and fully.

At some châteaux, harvest didn’t begin until October – a real rarity these days – and this was crucial to the harvest’s success.

Market performance

Although the 2016 en primeur campaign (in spring 2017) was an incredibly successful one for most UK merchants, the price performance has been modest since.

Merchant Bordeaux Index reports that what could broadly be considered the ‘top 20 wines of the vintage’ have increased, on average, just 1% (excluding storage) against a broad selection of (non-vinous) commodities that have seen growth of closer to 50% in that period.

There are exceptions, though, of course.

Up to late-March 2026 (according to Bordeaux Index’s LiveTrade platform), Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion is the best price performer, at 72% up from its primeurs release.

In terms of ‘super seconds’ (top-rated wines among the second growth to fifth growth estates), châteaux Pichon Comtesse, Montrose and Beychevelle have seen rises of 48%, 38% and 24% respectively.

At the other end of the scale, with Châteaux Pavie and La Mission Haut-Brion being the biggest fallers once again, we are no closer to addressing the question we posed last year: ‘Does an estate’s classification affect the price?’

In the case of relatively newly promoted Pavie, these continued price falls suggest the market is unwilling to pay its ambitious release prices.

Conversely, a fall in the price of Château La Mission Haut-Brion – trading at almost half the price of neighbouring Pessac-Léognan first growth Château Haut-Brion – would appear to indicate that the 1855 classification is more relevant than ever, despite the two now being very much qualitative peers.

Standout appellations

While this could be a relatively futile exercise in this tasting, if I were forced to pick just two communes that performed particularly well in 2016, I would suggest Pomerol and Margaux.

St-Estèphe would run a close third; however, the former two showed not necessarily the very apex of the tasting, but a higher median quality than in other vintages, with some wonderful surprises further down the classification ranking.

See more of Gareth Birchley's revised notes and recommendations from Bordeaux's 2016 vintage

Testing impressions

So, what do the wines taste like today?

Unlike its predecessor, there is far less opulence in these wines. They are, generally speaking, linear, precise, occasionally backward in terms of their development, but impeccably balanced.

Across the board the tannins are fine and beginning to integrate perfectly, leaving silky, pure wines that will be incredibly long lived.

I would suggest that, at 10 years old, there are only a handful that are beginning to show signs of marked evolution and therefore ‘drinkability’ for those seeking claret with full maturity.

The best examples will evolve at a glacial place and, dare I say it, under perfect storage conditions, still provide pleasure close to their 100th birthday.

I say that not based upon huge tannin structure that needs to be resolved over decades, but due to the wines’ sublime balance, which will mean, for the most part, 2016 will drink well every day of its life.

Birchley’s pick: 25 Bordeaux 2016s, 10 years on

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Readers should bear in mind that the 2023 growing season offered Napa producers the luxury of time: a long, relatively mild growing season with extended hang time for grapes and above-average yields – the kind of year that’s being widely described as ‘the vintage of a lifetime’.

And while official narratives can be rhapsodic, a more straightforward description might be that 2023 represents the ideal Napa Valley vintage: a year when the vines had everything they needed without the pressure of damaging heat or rain.

Many 2023s will end up among the era’s greats, but a small percentage of wines bear surprising lightness, likely a result of overcropping and extraction choices that over-taxed the tannins, leading to dilution.

I’ll add that there is also a compelling argument that the denser, more inherently concentrated 2021s may give the 2023s a run for their money, even if only long-term cellaring will settle the matter.

Rain at the right time

Nevertheless, the stage was set for an exceptional vintage, with winter rains helping ensure the vines were in a really good place to kick off the year, with good moisture in the soil.

More than 457mm of rain fell across Napa Valley between October and December of 2022 – double the typical amount.

Another 324mm fell in January, 121mm in February, followed by 249mm in March, just before bud break.

Temperatures from December 2022 through the end of March 2023 hovered between 10°C and 18°C in the daytime, dipping to 2°-7°C at night.

That coolness held consistent from spring through summer and into harvest. Daytime highs ranged from the low to mid-20s°C from June through October, with only one day over 38°C in early July.

Peak highs reached about 36°C just a few times between August and October. Most notably, September was unusually cool, with no days above 32°C, meaning growers had to be extra patient, hopeful for an Indian summer with no rain.

Thankfully, nothing beyond a centimetre or so of rain fell in October.

Canopy management

Rombauer Vineyards’ Richie Allen recalls a cold spring, with bud burst quite delayed, which put back flowering and pushed harvest out several weeks into late October and early November.

‘It never got quite warm, and we thought it was going to be another 2010 or 2011, with tons of rain and everything not getting ripe,’ he says.

Instead, Mother Nature was kind. Orin Swift’s Dave Phinney said 2023 reminds him of 1997 in Napa when there was ‘no weather pressure or rush to free up fermentation tanks’.

Nickel & Nickel winemaker Joe Harden says: ‘It was a dream for winemakers. If you managed your canopy, kept enough leaves to the end to maintain dappled sunlight, you got polished, silky tannins and supreme elegance, and it was incredibly welcome after the hot, challenging 2022 vintage.’

‘Abundant’ and ‘friendly’ are the two words that describe the 2023 vintage for Dominus Estate owner Christian Moueix.

‘If you have good growth, you let the ends of the vines grow to get out excess growth and arrive at a certain balance in terms of the size of the canopy,’ he says.

‘In every berry, you have all of the universe of the vintage, and you want each berry to get over the finish line.’

Too much of a good thing

For some, bigger canopies are welcome and easier to maintain. ‘I knew early on that there was a decent amount of fruit,’ recalls Arkenstone’s Sam Kaplan, ‘and I saw cooler days, so crop adjustment was the storyline of the season.’

Consulting winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown agrees that mitigating crop load was essential to success.

‘If there’s a downside to 2023, it was a big crop year, and if you had a site that couldn’t handle that size of crop, there would be dilution in the wines if you didn’t thin,’ he says.

‘Berries never shrivelled in 2023,’ meaning fruit concentration couldn’t come from selective raisining – it was all about reducing the number of bunches appropriately.

Indeed, during the four months I spent visiting producers and eventually tasting more than 600 wines, I found that just 10% of wines or so felt somewhat diluted, lacking the structured, ripe tannins I’d expected to find in abundance across all wines.

And while certainly pleasant, they lacked the integrity of the vintage and resulted in my lowest-scoring wines (having said that, low scores were very rare, likely because of the calibre of producers who presented wines).

Marcus Notaro of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars says that as late as September, there were ‘some lingering green berries through veraison, so you needed extra-long hang time’.

He adds: ‘For us, we had a nice combination of ripe grapes – not super-sugar-loaded grapes, because of the coolness, but the length of time let us get the tannins to a nice, ripe level.’

Jonathan's wines of the vintage

• Kinsman Eades Anjea, Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Yountville) (100)
• Dalla Valle Vineyards, MDV Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley (100)
• O'Shaughnessy Estate Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Mt Veeder) (99)
• La Pelle Wines Reserve, Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (100)
• Monsieur Etain (by Scarecrow) Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Rutherford) (98)
• Merryvale Profile Napa Valley (St Helena) (98)
• Robert Mondavi Winery 60th Anniversary Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (98)
• The Debate Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Oakville) (100)
• Bryant Estate Bryant Family Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (99)
• Freemark Abbey Sycamore Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Rutherford) (98)
• Cathiard Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (100)
• Facets Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (95)
• JCB Surrealist Napa Valley (97)
• Larkmead Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Calistoga) (96)
• Nickel & Nickel Winery, Element 28, Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon (99)

Back to the old ways

Over and over, during the many weeks I spent tasting at wineries, winemakers across the valley commented on the psychological shift required after 2022.

‘We felt deeply scarred by the 2022 vintage,’ said Brown. ‘We had a really wet winter, so there was plenty of groundwater, and we had a pretty big fruit set, and we just kept holding our breath for bad things to come, and they never came. You had to learn to be patient again. You had to pay attention to tannin maturity because if you harvested any grapes too early, you’d be harvesting unripe tannins.’

Jason Moulton, winemaker for Whitehall Lane, was reminded of 2016, when ‘the crop load was heavier, but you had perfect [flavour and tannin] extraction during fermentation, to the point that you’re not forcing a post-ferment protocol to extract more’.

Michael Scholz, vice president of winemaking and vineyards for St Supéry, noted that the moderate temperatures ‘allowed vines to keep working through the season without stopping for any heat spells’, thereby aiding both ‘flavour and phenolic development, giving us great flavours, ripe tannins that were not big and not so aggressive, and above all, vibrancy and freshness in the wines’.

‘We learned that tannins and colour are heat sensitive, and when we don’t have those issues, we have darker-coloured wines with beautifully fine-grained, resolved tannins,’ said Freemark Abbey winemaker Kristy Melton.

Cathiard Vineyard winemaker Justine Labbe echoed that sentiment, noting, ‘we had integrated tannins right after fermentation’, a structural factor that has clearly played out even with time in bottle.

For Sullivan Rutherford Estate winemaker Jeff Cole: ‘This vintage felt like the way Napa Valley operated years ago, when you weren’t thinking about picking Cabernet in September.’

Luc Morlet of Morlet Family Vineyards, was reminded of the excellent 2016s, which benefited from rains that finally ended the drought years of 2013-2015.

‘The wines have energy and freshness that will make them a true vanguard that we’ll be able to cellar for multiple decades.’

Cristaldi’s pick of the top 2023 Napa Cabernets to buy – and to keep

The wines below includes a representative selection scored between 93-100 points. For all of Jonathan Cristaldi's scores from the vintage, click here.

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Buying a fantastic bottle of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from an exceptional vintage, while ‘on a budget’, may require a bit of a mental recalibration.

Most of us think of budget-buys as great bottles under $30 or $40 per bottle.

And while those exist, certainly in supermarkets and many retail shops, for most high-end producers of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, you have to approach buying on a budget with the mindset that somewhere between $50 and $100 is more the norm.

Here are a few reasons why: The cost of grapes alone is formidable.

The California Grape Crush Report cites a 2023 weighted average of over $8,770 per ton of Napa County Cabernet Sauvignon, before barrels, bottle, labour, and sales even enter the frame.

Bear in mind that one ton of grapes amounts to roughly 150 gallons of wine, or about 60 cases (720 bottles).

Factoring in additional production costs means that you’re looking at a per-bottle price of around $85 and up.

But The Valley’s best grapes cost winemakers between $15,000-$60,000, per ton. And these costs trickle down to the bottle price, which has been steadily trickling up since the early 2010s.

Meanwhile, broader Napa Valley pricetags have climbed too – the average basic tasting fee ranges between $40 and $100+ per person.

Tightening the lens

So, here’s the practical takeaway from my 2023 Napa Cabernet taste-through.

While the median price per bottle of all the Napa Cabs I tasted is around $150, a solid value-play would steer us into the under‑$100 lane.

So, I tightened the lens again to $85‑and‑under (around 70 wines total), and then chose the best bottles on quality, not just thrift.

What emerges is a consistent pattern: the best values tend to be broadly sourced Napa Valley blends rather than single-vineyard wines or those bearing a single appellation on the label.

They come from largely tried and true producers who have extensive holdings or long-term grape contracts that allow them to source from multiple sites throughout the valley to create harmonious blends that, simply put, don’t break the Napa Valley bank.

20 featured 2023 Napa Cabernets at $85 and under

1. St. Supéry Estate Vineyards & Winery Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (91, $63)
2. Black Stallion Estate Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley (92, $35)
3. Argot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley (93, $75)
4. The Vice, The House, Cabernet Sauvignon, Batch #181, Napa Valley (94, $36 )
5. Charles Krug, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley (94, $40)
6. Raymond Vineyards, Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley (94, $50)
7. Force & Grace, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley (94, $55)
8. Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (94, $55)
9. Ashes & Diamonds, Cabernet Sauvignon, No. 2, Napa Valley (97, $70)
10. Materra, Cunat Family Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley (94, $72)
11. Freemark Abbey Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley (94, $75)
12. Cliff Lede, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley (94, $80)
13. Rombauer, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley (94, $80)
14. Jax Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville, Napa Valley, (94, $80)
15. Merryvale, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley (94, $82)
16. Mi Sueño Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley (94, $85)
17. Burgess, Contadina Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley (95, $50)
18. Blackbird Vineyards, Arise Red Wine Napa Valley (95, $60)
19. Pott Wine Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley (95, $80)
20. Louis M. Martini, The Gryphon Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley (97, $85)

For all of Jonathan Cristaldi's scores from the vintage, click here.

More from this report

For all of Jonathan Cristaldi's scores from the vintage, click here.

Napa Valley 2023 Cabernet Sauvignons: 100-points

Napa Valley 2023 Cabernet Sauvignons: 99-points

Napa Valley 2023 Cabernet Sauvignons: 98-points

Napa Valley 2023 Cabernet Sauvignons: 97-points

Napa Valley 2023 Cabernet Sauvignons: 96-points

Napa Valley 2023 Cabernet Sauvignons: 95-points

More from this report

Spend enough time outside the wine industry and a curious pattern emerges: almost no one thinks about buying wine to open decades from now.

Among the parents of my daughter’s friends and most people I meet outside professional wine circles, the idea rarely even comes up.

Wine is something to drink tonight, maybe this weekend, perhaps next year – but 20 or 30 years down the road? That seems almost unimaginable.

Part of the hesitation is practical. Many people assume that aging wine requires a wine cellar.

In reality, all it takes is a thoughtful purchase and a cool, dark place to store a bottle properly. If you want to make the effort truly worthwhile, look for wines in large formats – magnums, double magnums, or even larger.

These bottles age more gracefully because the ullage (volume of air to liquid) is so small, making oxidation even slower, while the flavors and textures evolve more slowly and beautifully over time.

Buy a bottle from the birth year of your grandchild, store it carefully, and hold onto it for two decades or more.

But don’t wait 20 years to tell the story. When your grandchild is eight or nine years old, show them the bottle and explain why you bought it.

Tell them about the people who grew the grapes and the place where the wine was made.

Explain that wine is simply fermented grape juice that – if all goes well – transforms with time into something extraordinary.

The joy of old bottles

One day, perhaps at a wedding, an anniversary, the purchase of a first home, or another milestone worth celebrating, that bottle will be opened.

The cork will ease out, the wine will swirl in the glass, and the aromas will rise: savory, expressive, captivating. The flavours will be layered and complex, the textures deep and hauntingly delicious.

That is the gift of aged wine—the taste of something remarkable shared at a moment that matters.

I would not have understood this myself had it not been for the family I married into.

My wife’s parents quietly held onto special bottles for decades, keeping them at proper cellar temperature until the right occasions arrived.

When we married, they brought some of those bottles out, and the experience added a certain magic to the evening.

I can still remember one in particular: a bottle of 1982 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Carte Or Brut we enjoyed over dinner at Gary Danko in San Francisco in 2008 (a 26-year-old Champagne!).

The wine had turned a deep golden hue, the bubbles were fine and persistent, and the aromas exploded from the glass – toasted hazelnuts, truffle, and something wonderfully savoury and complex.

I remember the elegance of my soon-to-be bride, her joy and joie de vivre, and the pride her mother took in sharing a bottle she had patiently saved for years.

That is what a well-chosen bottle can do. It captures time, preserves a story, and waits quietly for a moment when life deserves to be celebrated.

I hope you consider creating that kind of memory for your children or grandchildren.

To help you get started, here are a few 2023 vintage wines worth buying – ideally in large format – and setting aside for the future.

18 Napa Valley 2023 Cabernets to cellar

1. Dalla Valle Vineyards, MDV Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley (100)
2. Harlan Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Oakville) (100)
3. Lokoya Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Spring Mountain) (100)
4. The Debate Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Oakville) (100)
5. Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Oakville) (100)
6. Ad Vivum Sleeping Lady Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Yountville) (99)
7. Bond Pluribus Red Wine Napa Valley (99)
8. Cliff Lede Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (99)
9. Colgin Cellars IX Estate Red Napa Valley (99)
10. Louis M. Martini Bruadair Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Mt Veeder) (99)
11. O'Shaughnessy Estate Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Mt Veeder) (99)
12. Annulus Cellars Vine Hill Ranch Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Oakville) (99)
13. Stony Hill Côte Rouge Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Spring Mountain) (99)
14. Spottswoode Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (St Helena) (98)
15. Corison Winery Sunbasket Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (St Helena) (98)
16. William Selyem Beckstoffer Vineyard To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
17. Mt. Brave Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Mt Veeder) (98)
18. Impensata Las Posadas Vineyard Proprietary Red Napa Valley (Howell Mountain) (97)

For all of Jonathan Cristaldi's scores from the vintage, click here.

More from this report

In past vintage reports, we have published separate features highlighting select Napa Valley sub-appellations – often eight or so of the valley’s 17 nested AVAs – typically focusing on those regions that submitted enough wines to warrant deeper exploration.

This year, with the 2023s, we are taking a slightly different approach, highlighting the 'Stars of the AVAs' in a single list, again guided by the regions with the strongest representation in submissions.

These are wines worth seeking out because they capture, in crisp detail, the defining characteristics of their respective appellations.

Top Coombsville 2023 Cabernets

Coombsville is situated at the southern end of Napa Valley, and among the coolest of the sub-AVAs, strongly influenced by marine air and fog drifting in from San Pablo Bay.

The best Cabernet examples tend to be dark-fruited yet bright and energetic, with lifted aromatics, ultra-fine tannins, and a sense of tension and length that distinguishes the wines of this windswept corner of the valley.

• Favia Cabernet Sauvignon (98)
• La Pelle Wines Ceniza Cabernet Sauvignon (98)
• Paul Hobbs Nathan Coombs Estate Cabernet Sauvignon (98)
• Rewa Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon (98)
• AXR Bennett Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (97)

Top Stags Leap District 2023 Cabernets

Vines in the Stags Leap District AVA are planted from near valley floor elevations up to about 123 metres, with the craggy, exposed palisades of Stags Leap rising dramatically above the region.

The wines are often defined by finely sculpted tannins with a polished, fine-grained texture, supported by a typically volcanic mineral edge alongside red-fruit notes and warm spice nuances.

• Cliff Lede Poetry Cabernet Sauvignon (98)
• Stag's Leap Wine Cellars SLV Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon (98)
• Robert Mondavi Winery WH Vineyard, The Estates Cabernet Sauvignon (96)
• Chimney Rock Estate Cabernet Sauvignon (94)
• Lithology Steltzner Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (96)

Top Oakville 2023 Cabernets

Cabernet Sauvignons from Oakville characteristically deliver concentration and depth, layered with complex aromas, flavours, and textures.

The best examples combine muscular structure with a sense of poise and refinement, achieving a balance between power and perfumed elegance that has made the AVA synonymous with some of Napa Valley’s most celebrated wines.

• Amici Cellars Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (100)
• Harbison Estate Horseshoe Cabernet Sauvignon (100)
• Harlan Estate Cabernet Sauvignon (100)
• Dalla Valle Vineyards Estate Cabernet Sauvignon (99)
• TOR Wines Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (99)

Top Rutherford 2023 Cabernets

Cabernet Sauvignon grown on the benchlands and ancient riverbeds of Rutherford often expresses the hallmark 'Rutherford dust', a quality evident both aromatically and on the palate.

This signature character can appear as dusty earth, dried rose petal, or unsweetened cocoa powder, lending savoury nuance to wines that typically show generous fruit and structured tannins.

• Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon (99)
• Dana Estates Helms Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon (99)
• J.H. Wheeler Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon (97)
• St. Supéry Estate Vineyards & Winery Rutheford Estate Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (96)
• Whitehall Lane Winery Millennium MM Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (96)

Top Mount Veeder 2023 Cabernets

High on the western Mayacamas range, Mount Veeder’s steep slopes and rugged terrain produce some of Napa Valley’s most structured mountain Cabernets.

The wines typically display powerful, muscular tannins and a deep forest-berry profile, underscored by earthy woodland notes and a spectrum of blue- to black-fruited intensity.

A distinctive graphite-like minerality often runs through the best examples, giving the wines both gravity and lift.

• Pott Wine Incubo Cabernet Sauvignon (99)
• Lokoya Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon (98)
• Mt. Brave Cabernet Sauvignon (98)
• Pilcrow Archer & Byrd Cabernet Sauvignon (98)
• Hess Collection 'The Lion' Cabernet Sauvignon (97)

Top St. Helena 2023 Cabernets

Situated near the narrow 'hourglass' point of Napa Valley, the St. Helena AVA tends to experience warmer daytime temperatures and relatively limited wind flow.

The resulting wines often show a ripe, dense fruit profile with generous texture, yet without angular tannins, offering a plush, approachable expression of Cabernet Sauvignon.

• B Cellars Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (100)
• Stewart Cellars NOMAD Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (97)
• Rombauer Stice Lane Cabernet Sauvignon (96)
• Patria A. Price Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (96)
• Whitehall Lane Winery Leonardini Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (95)

Top Howell Mountain 2023 Cabernets

Perched above the fog line, Howell Mountain encompasses an array of slopes, rolling hills, and diverse microclimates.

Its well-draining, rocky soils encourage small berries and concentrated fruit.

The wines are known for their formidable tannic structure, often presenting a broad, textured mid-palate supported by excellent fruit concentration and a distinctive mineral elegance.

• Arkenstone Estate Red (100)
• Salty Goats Wine Co. Cabernet Sauvignon (99)
• La Jota Vineyard Co Cabernet Sauvignon (98)
• Sylvan Lake Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon (98)
• Moone Tsai Wines Hillside Blend Red Wine (97)

Top Calistoga 2023 Cabernets

At the northernmost end of Napa Valley, Calistoga sits at the foot of Mount St. Helena, nestled between the Mayacamas and Vaca mountain ranges.

The AVA is typically warmer during the summer months than most other parts of the valley, allowing tannins to ripen fully.

The best wines offer ample mouthfeel and complexity while maintaining balance, delivering richness without excessive heaviness or over-concentration.

• Hourglass Bluelne Estate Cabernet Sauvignon (97)
• Donelan Cabernet Sauvignon (97)
• Venge Vineyards Igneous Cabernet Sauvignon (96)
• Baldacci Family Vineyards Stella Knight Vineyard (94)
• Davies Vineyards Oliven Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (94)

For all of Jonathan Cristaldi's scores from the vintage, click here.

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The wines for short-term pleasure

For the most part, the 2023 Cabernets are built for a long life.

However, they are also immensely joyful, easy to drink, and expressive in their youth, thanks to the long growing season, which produced refined tannins that are already well integrated at this early stage.

I combed through my notes to find those wines that speak most clearly of pure deliciousness—the kind that are very hard to put down.

This short list highlights some of my easy-drinking, enjoy-now favourites, though they should drink beautifully over the next three to seven years.

• Schrader Cellars Old Sparky To Kalon Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Oakville) (100)
• Argot Sage Ridge Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (97)
• To Kalon Vineyard Company HWC Napa Valley (Oakville) (98)
• Tres Perlas Barber Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (98)
• Fait-Main Wines Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Oakville) (97)
• Castello di Amorosa Manley Lane Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Rutherford) (93)
• B Cellars Star Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Rutherford)
• Clos du Val Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Stags Leap District) (94)
• Desiree Wine Company Out of Sight Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (St Helena) (93)
• Coronet Wines Lady Liberty Vineyard, Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (95)

The wines with mid-term appeal

We’re moving into wines you may be tempted to drink right away, but which will benefit from additional time in bottle.

So when that shipment arrives, do your best to hold off – or buy enough that you can pop a cork now and hold the rest for a few more years before diving in.

These wines possess immensely powerful, chewy tannins, and while they soften with a solid four to six hours of decanting, you really owe it to yourself to tuck them away until the tannins integrate further and the drinking experience becomes pure enjoyment.

• Morlet Family Vineyards Cœur de Vallée Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Oakville) (100)
• Nickel & Nickel Winery Element 28, Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (99)
• Paul Hobbs Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (St Helena) (99)
• Pott Wine Incubo Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Mt Veeder) (99)
• Rudd Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Oakville) (99)
• Venge Vineyards DLCV Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Oakville) (99)
• Bure Family Wines Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (St Helena) (98)
• Burgess Quartz Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (98)
• Dominus Napa Valley (98)
• Vine Hill Ranch VHR, Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Oakville) (98)

The wines for long-term reward

And now we arrive at the pièce de résistance – the moment de vérité. The wines that follow are the true heavyweights of the vintage: deep, structured, and destined for long lives in the cellar.

Even where there is surprising early charm, these wines possess the structural hallmarks of longevity: a firm tannic backbone, a vibrant spine of acidity, judicious use of oak, and layers of flavours and spice that unfold with complexity and precision.

Not all the usual Napa icons appear here, either—several newcomers have earned their place, signalling brands to watch and collect over the coming years.

And because the 2023 vintage produced such a wealth of cellar-worthy Cabernets, be sure to see the section on wines to buy for your grandchildren for additional long-haul candidates.

• Pahlmeyer Pièce de Résistance Napa Valley (100)
• AXR AxR1 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (100)
• Harbison Estate Horseshoe Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Oakville) (100)
• Keplinger Wines Vine Hill Ranch Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Oakville) (100)
• CADE Winery Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Howell Mountain) (99)
• Cardinale Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (99)
• Pilcrow Granite Lake Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Howell Mountain) (99)
• Estate 8 Iconic AVA Mt Veeder, Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Mt Veeder) (99)
• Favia Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Oakville) (99)
• Simon Family Estate Reserve, Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (100)
• Beaulieu Vineyard Georges de Latour Private Reserve, Cabernet Sauvignon (98)
• Freemark Abbey Sycamore Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Rutherford) (98)
• Julien Fayard Wines Sleeping Lady Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon (Yountville) (97)
• Spottswoode Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (St Helena) (98)
• Gamble Estates Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Oakville) (99)

For all of Jonathan Cristaldi's scores from the vintage, click here.

More from this report

Andy Howard MW, Beatrice Bessi and Robert Mathias tasted 137 wines, with 16 Highly recommended and 80 Recommended

Right Bank Bordeaux: Panel tasting scores

137 wines tasted

Exceptional 0

Outstanding 0

Highly recommended 16

Recommended 80

Commended 41

Fair 0

Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit their current-release red grand vin from Lussac St-Emilion, Puisseguin St-Emilion, Montagne St-Emilion, St-Georges St-Emilion, Lalande-de-Pomerol, Fronsac, Canon-Fronsac, Côtes de Bourg, Blaye, Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux, Francs Côtes de Bordeaux, Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux or Côtes de Bordeaux (APs St-Emilion and Pomerol were not included)

A patchwork quilt of value wines

Although no wines were rated Outstanding (95 points and above), there was still much to enjoy in this tasting.

A wide range of appellations were tasted, generating 16 Highly recommended wines (90-94pts) from eight different appellationss.

APs ranged from those on the opposite side of the Gironde to the Haut-Médoc (Côtes de Bourg, Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux); Fronsac and Lalande-de-Pomerol (west and north of Libourne); the St-Emilion ‘satellites’ of Lussac, Puisseguin, Montagne and St-Georges; plus the Castillon, Francs and Sainte Foy Côtes de Bordeaux appellations further east.

The ‘satellite’ APs performed strongly, accounting for 10 of the 16 Highly recommendeds.

Bordeaux continues to offer a unique package for wine drinkers, combining (at the less-exalted level) attractive pricing, capacity to both drink well in youth and age, and a fresh, medium-alcohol style in tune with current trends.

Many of these qualities were on show in these wines.

2023 finds favour

Robert Mathias MW saw plenty of positives: ‘There was a lot of approachability in the recent vintages, and charm in many of the wines. The satellite APs are a good hunting ground for early-drinking, easygoing reds.’

Beatrice Bessi felt there were ‘very pleasant discoveries in Blaye, Castillon, Lussac, Puisseguin and Montagne’.

Merlot (unsurprisingly) dominated the blends in these Right Bank wines and was generally handled well, with subtle, restrained oak (when used).

Château Coucy’s Origines (Montagne) also stood out as a single-varietal Cabernet Franc aged for 11-12 months in amphora.

Considering vintages, Bessi was most impressed by the 2023s, while Mathias noted that in 2022 there were some wines ‘where you saw younger vines and poorer terroirs resulting in some vines being blocked due to the drought’.

However, Mathias concluded: ‘The best wines stood out for their freshness, completeness and energy. While they didn’t reach the heights of more famous APs, they’re still to be commended.'

See all notes and scores from the Right Bank Bordeaux tasting

The judges

Right Bank Bordeaux panel tasting results:

Wines were tasted blind

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Setting the scene

The masterclass coincided with publication in Decanter’s March issue of an interview with Barrett, where he recalled the early days of Montelena and the impact that the victory of the estate’s 1973 Chardonnay at the legendary competition had – both on Montelena itself and on California more widely.

After a reception to welcome guests – where Montelena’s only non-Napa wine was served, the 2022 vintage Potter Valley Riesling, made from Mendocino fruit – the masterclass proper commenced.

This featured three vintages (2020, 2014 and 2009) of the famous Chardonnay, all poured from magnum, and three vintages of its Estate Cabernet Sauvignon: the incredibly youthful and exuberant 2021; the ‘Goldilocks’ 2017 vintage, where everything went right; and the fascinatingly evolved 2007.

Montelena's territory

The pair explained that the Calistoga AVA, where the estate is situated, at the foot of California’s Mount Helena (hence Montelena), has unique properties.

Located at the northern end of Napa, it’s both a valley appellation and a mountain appellation, said Barrett. (It’s also a great place to visit, he added, more relaxed and welcoming than some other parts of the county.)

The Montelena fruit grows on geologically diverse soils and enjoys the afternoon sun.

And yet despite the obvious California generosity of fruit flavour, there is a hallmark acid line to these wines that keeps them fresh for decades.

Also, explained Crafton, a marked sense of place and vintage.

‘We work hard on the winemaking side to make ourselves disappear,’ he said. ‘We want you to taste the character of the year, and the place.’

History makers

Bo Barrett was only 18 when his father Jim established Chateau Montelena in 1972, but remembers clearly the excitement when the team in California found out that the 1973 Chardonnay was the top-scoring white at the Judgement of Paris.

‘The phone was ringing off the hook, with everyone wanting to buy our wine,’ he recalled.

‘Without the Judgement of Paris, we’d just be a red wine estate, and it would have taken much longer for us to get to where we are today.’

The original intention was for the estate to produce a single wine, the Estate Cabernet, but it produced a Chardonnay at the start too, to help with cashflow.

After the triumph in Paris, it was inevitable that Chardonnay would take its place permanently alongside the Cabernet.

Chardonnay thankfully remains firmly in the fold today, and the estate has doubled down on its commitment to the grape, buying a new vineyard three miles south of the current one.

The winemaking style with the Chardonnay is to never use malolactic fermentation, and again this serves to accentuate the purity of fruit, the precision and the freshness.

‘At the end of the day, we want tasting our wines to make you happy,’ said Crafton. And judging by the audience reaction, and smiles as they left the class, the team at Montelena continues to achieve that goal.

The Montelena masterclass wines:

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A seismic tasting 50 years ago

When a small group of California wines triumphed over France’s finest at the 1976 Judgement of Paris, few could have imagined the global shockwave it would set in motion.

Staged by the late Steven Spurrier (Decanter Consultant Editor for 25 years), the tasting event was meant to be a bicentennial celebration, pitting upstart American producers against benchmark French estates.

Instead, it redefined the hierarchy of fine wine and altered the course of California’s future.

The result – Burgundy’s most esteemed whites being bested by a Napa Valley Chardonnay from Chateau Montelena (a bottle of which now sits in an exhibit in the Smithsonian in Washington, DC) – cemented not only the estate’s reputation but also the credibility of an entire region.

Half a century later, the story still reverberates.

The event remains a symbol of innovation, resilience and the restless spirit that continues to drive Napa Valley.

For Bo Barrett (current CEO and son of Jim Barrett, the late winery founder), who was just 18 when the winning 1973 Chardonnay was bottled, the tasting was a catalytic moment – one that transformed his family’s modest dream into a global legacy.

In this conversation, exclusive to Decanter, Barrett looks back on the early days of Montelena, his father Jim’s improbable leap from law to wine, and the unvarnished realities behind a victory that helped reshape the American viticultural dream.

Decanter, in conversation with Bo Barrett

You were only a teenager when your father bought Chateau Montelena in 1972. What do you remember about those early days?

I remember that it was all quite remarkable.

Two factors stand out in my mind that led my dad to Montelena. The Vietnam War was going really badly at the time, and top income tax rates in the US were extraordinarily high.

My dad was a real estate and tax attorney for a company that built malls around the world, and when he saw that President Nixon had introduced new incentives to revive American agriculture – which was struggling – he spotted an opportunity.

The administration had just expanded major investment tax credits and accelerated-depreciation rules for agricultural projects.

In effect, if you were a high earner, you could either hand a huge portion of your income over in taxes, or you could invest that same money into American agriculture instead.

My dad’s business partner always called Montelena ‘the tax dodge that got out of hand’.

Were you with him when he first set eyes on Montelena?

I was with him on the second trip.

My dad was a pilot, and we’d fly around together looking at pomegranate and citrus groves, cattle ranches, all these different things.

I was probably 17 when I came with him on his second trip to check out Chateau Montelena.

This lake was totally overgrown. It was a total jungle. The vineyards were completely run down.

When did you realise this wasn’t just a family project but might be your life’s work?

I didn’t know I was going to be a farmer until that first summer. I came up and started working in the vineyard and kind of just took to it.

The vineyard manager was an Italian-American named John Roll. He’d ploughed with a mule for Madame [Hélène] de Pins at Beaulieu vineyard.

He taught me how to hunt deer, collect abalone and forage for mushrooms – all this good stuff. He taught me the joy of the mason, which is the pride you take in a hard day’s work.

What do you remember about that famous 1973 Chardonnay around bottling time?

From the summer of 1973 and all the way to ’76, my whole family was here. The bottle that’s in the Smithsonian – I know I filled that bottle.

My brother Mike put the nitrogen on the bottle, and my little brother Kev put the bottles in the case. My whole family’s fingerprints are on that bottle.

Tell us about the day that Steven Spurrier visited the winery.

I remember [the winemaker] Mike Grgich being very nervous and making us get the cellar pristine, super-spiffy clean. It was a VIP tour, same as when Robert Mondavi was coming – everything had to shine.

We had to pull the magic disappearing act: all the staff go away, no one’s around. I wasn’t there watching Steven taste.

Mike probably sent me to the vineyard. Honestly, we didn’t pay that much attention until later.

What about when the results of the Paris tasting came in?

When the telegram came in, we were in the cellar working, filling barrels, and the doors were wide open.

Grgich was out in the gravel parking lot, dancing and waving this piece of paper and yelling, ‘We won! We won!’ So we turned off our pumps and walked out. We were all joining him in this little Yugoslavian victory dance.

It was a hell of a surprise. George Taber [then a Time magazine reporter and the only journalist present at the event, and subsequently author of the 2006 book on the topic] called my dad, and my dad gave him a quote. He didn’t want to insult the French: ‘Not bad for kids from the sticks.’

In what ways and how quickly did things change for Montelena after the article in Time came out?

It was immediate. Suddenly, we had distributors calling from all over the country.

The people who had said, ‘No, we don’t carry California wines’ the week before called us up and said, ‘Hey, we’d like to sell your wine.’ The phone was lighting up.

We didn’t have a general manager, but the California ‘attention’ didn’t change that much.

The first immediate change was that the rest of the country recognised that California was making good wine.

You’ve said before that the Judgement of Paris was a catalyst rather than a miracle. What do you mean by that?

All the ingredients were there: the land, the light, the people, the willingness to do the work.

If there had never been Prohibition, California would’ve buried Europe a century ago.

The most important thing is, it made quality such a driving force for everybody’s goal and mission.

So it had that drive towards improved quality, which then drove consumers to seek out a superior product. And so it became a self-perpetuating thing.

How do you see the next 50 years for Napa Valley?

It’s going to be as tough as the last 50. Work harder than anybody, pick the steep hill and keep climbing.

When you think about legacy, about Chateau Montelena’s place in history, what comes to mind?

I do think about what we’ve accomplished with just trying to do the right thing – to make something special out of a special place. The drive to express American excellence is what we’re the proudest of.

And I just hope that the people who fall in behind us in this business understand that you have to do the hard work and keep your nose to the grindstone and have the right philosophy, which is always to reward people’s faith.

They’re taking a bet on buying your product and your job is to make that bet pay off.

Three of my four grandparents were immigrants. The other was born in a covered wagon. No wine experience at all. The opportunity that was presented to us by this great country – it’s been a good thing.

We’re just quiet about it. People ask, ‘Are you going to retire?’ I say, hell no. I love what I do.

I’ve got a beautiful place, friendly people to work with and a fantastic crew. It’s a nice little ship. I don’t want to give it up.

Benchmark Napa: A taste of modern-day Montelena

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Paul Masson is often misremembered as a maker of California ‘jug wine’ and missed altogether for his outsized impact on California viticulture and the state's wine evolution.

It was the Burgundy-born Masson who brought Burgundian cuttings of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Burgundy to the Santa Cruz Mountains, specifically a site he planted in Saratoga, California, way back in 1896.

The vines, originally from Louis Latour, are among the groundbreaking Pinot Noir plantings that would lay the genetic groundwork for many of the now-famous ‘California heritage clones.’

Famous names like Mt Eden, Swan and Martini have their origins in Masson’s early plantings.

The Santa Cruz Mountains, however, have not become identified with a single variety.

Instead, it is this region’s great diversity that radiates, and perhaps makes it somewhat of an enigma in terms of how consumers and even wine collectors understand the place.

Cabernet, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah shine together here in ways that strike me as completely unique to a cool California coastal appellation.

A cool all its own

So what is it about the Santa Cruz Mountains that allows it to sufficiently ripen Cabernet and Syrah crating elegant expressions of these varieties, alongside the more delicate Burgundian varieties of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay?

‘There are a few things that set the Santa Cruz Mountains apart from other cool climate regions in California,’ says Cole Thomas, winemaker at Madson.

‘The first is that we experience ocean wind much differently. Most of California’s cool-climate regions experience very high prevailing ocean winds, whereas our vineyards do not.

‘We have perpendicular ridge lines and tall redwoods that moderate wind speeds. This makes a massive difference in how the fruit ripens because the vines do not shut down during the warmest and windiest time of the day.

The result is ripe skin tannins earlier.

‘The other key difference is the elevation vs proximity to the ocean. It is rare to have both such a high elevation and ocean exposure together. It seems many places don't have both,’ Thomas concludes.

Fog among the vines

Comparing the Santa Cruz Mountains to another cool-climate appellation where he grows Pinot and Chardonnay, Mendocino County’s Anderson Valley, Rhys Vineyards winemaker Jeff Brinkman notes how that ocean proximity affects peak temperatures in each region.

‘One difference that is quite important is the way both regions accumulate heat during the growing season. On paper, they have a similar average temperature, but that doesn’t tell the whole story,’ Brinkman explains.

‘In the Anderson Valley, mornings are often foggy, but it’s a higher-elevation fog that doesn’t linger in the vineyard.'

He continues: 'The daily high temperature occurs in the early afternoon, and there’s often a late-afternoon ocean breeze that cools things off quickly. It has a larger swing in daytime high-to-low temperatures.'

This diurnal shift means warm-to-hot days and very cool nights as ocean winds and fog move into the valley.

‘The Santa Cruz Mountains are totally different,’ Brinkman continues. ‘The day-to-night swings are much lower because of the proximity to the ocean, the elevation, and the fog is often right in the vines.

Think of it as a very gradual curve with the daytime high spread over a much longer span of the afternoon.’

Classic Cabernet Sauvignon

Marty Mathis is the second-generation winemaker and grower at the winery his mother, Kathryn Kennedy, founded in Saratoga.

Having returned to the region in 1947, Kennedy, who graduated from Stanford at the age of 19, decided to plant a vineyard in the early 1970s, as California's fine wine boom was underway.

Clone 8 Cabernet, planted on its own roots because Kathryn couldn’t afford the grafting, went into the ground in Saratoga in 1973.

The wines made over the years by Kathryn and, now, her son, Marty Mathis, are among the country's most ethereal.

They are beguiling, elegant, and with a long-lived ageability to rival the iconic brands at the top of the mountain from them, Ridge and Mount Eden.

‘This part of the Santa Clara Valley had a wine reputation which in some ways predated Napa Valley,’ says Marty Mathis, of his mother’s decision to plant at home.

‘In 1885, wines from this part of the Santa Clara Valley were often labelled as Medoc. They included Cabernet, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Though the use of Merlot in this part of California seems to have faded away after prohibition,’ Mathis explains.

Geographic outlier

The Kennedy wines are certainly a product of this cool climate appellation, but as they sit at the foot of the mountains, they're an outlier geographically, yet they show a consistent mountain style of the region.

Mathis believes it's about the soil. ‘The soil is fairly rich in the top, 18-24 inches,' he says.

But below that is a low fertility mix of Clay, sand, sandstone, and quartz pebbles. This provides less vigorous vines and a more mountain-style yield.

Mathis continues: ‘We have two bodies of water that can provide cooling breezes during the most intense heat waves.

'Obviously, the powerful Pacific Ocean flows cool air over the mountains, but we also receive cooling breezes from the south San Francisco Bay when the wind blows from the interior.’

Such savoury Syrah

For a region built on Pinot Noir, it is now best known these days for the Cabernet and Cabernet-based wines of Ridge and the neighbouring Mount Eden.

In my tastings, Syrah, which has proven difficult to market, may just be the region’s most compelling wine.

These are wines of staggering complexity, floral refinement that meets a gamey, umami depth with ferrous minerality and undeniably elegant red fruits.

This variety finds a sweet spot in coastal conditions, where sufficient heat and a long growing season allow the necessary phenolic ripeness at lower sugar levels.

The finished alcohols are often listed between 12.8-13.8%. The acidity and tannin, with varying use of whole bunch maceration, craft ageable wines evocative of the Northern Rhône with dazzling freshness and lifted ‘New World’ fruit.

‘I think the intersection of shallow sedimentary soils and cool climate is key for our Syrah,’ says Brinkman of Rhys Vineyards.

‘The cool climate provides the savoury elements we typically have. I'm thinking specifically of the olive, game, and peppery components. The shallow soils, to me, provide the briny element, good acidity, and naturally lower yields needed for good Syrah.’

Madson’s Cole Thomas is in full agreement, saying: ‘Syrah needs a bit more elevation to ripen. The best sites sit above the fog-line and experience warmer daytime temperatures than most of our Pinot Noir and Chardonnay sites.

'Still, these sites are cool, and sugar accumulation can be a challenge. We typically harvest in late October or early November. Again, poor sandstone soil limits yield and intensifies flavour, while the coolness provides delicate aromatics and freshness in the wine.’

Charming Chardonnay

The elegance that balances depth in the Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnays sticks out across producers and styles.

Perhaps no producer is as synonymous with the variety there as Thomas Fogarty, perched high on the northern flanks of the Santa Cruz range.

It produces six or seven bottlings from an array of single vineyards across its deeply forested estate, a Heritage Oak and Fir preserve.

Here, the vines rub shoulders with the intense and endemic mountain chaparral: California bay, eucalyptus, black sage, Monterey pine and a variety of fragrant manzanitas.

The Fogarty single blocks, eight in all, are planted on a mix of sites. The oldest Chardonnay vines are at Damiana, which sits at the very top of the estate, over 2,000 feet above sea level.

This original block was planted in 1978. The first vineyard was carved out among the trees, after clearing low brush and shrub land.

This approach has informed the others, mostly planted from the early to mid 1980s.

Nathan Kandler leads the winemaking at Thomas Fogarty, and uses a similar approach across all the Chardonnays, allowing the single vineyards to really show their diversity.

‘Most of the differences in the wine stem from soil and exposure in the vineyards,’ explains Kandler.

‘The heterogeneous nature of the various sites leads to pretty amazing differences in the variety of Chardonnays we make. The rootstock and the clonal selection are pretty static.

'The soils, however, range from volcanic basalt to sandstone and shale mixes.’

25 wines from Santa Cruz

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Last week, Ornellaia and Sassicaia – two of Italy’s gold-standard red wines – launched their newly bottled 2023 flagships.

Both wines are situated on the Tuscan coast, in a winemaking zone known as Bolgheri – a comparatively new wine region, established as a DOC in 1994, and known for its red wines made from ‘international’ varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot.

For decades this duo have been Italy’s shining stars on the international wine market, gaining a foothold at a time when Bordeaux dominated the fine wine scene.

Two wines, two styles

While Ornellaia in the past plied a trade in muscularity – perfectly combining the classic structure of Bordeaux with the generous fruit made possible by the Tuscan summers – recent vintages have revealed a more sensitive side to its repertoire, with less focus on power and more attention paid to achieving harmony and balance.

It’s the result of extensive trials in the vineyard, and meticulous attention to detail in the cellar.

Ornellaia 2023 is composed of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 7% Petit Verdot. Technical director Marco Balsimelli notes that the quality of the estate’s Cabernet Franc vines is currently superb, and he envisages using more in the blend in the future – but not at the expense of Merlot.

Sassicaia is renowned for its freshness and lightness of touch, which derives partly from its historic lofty hillside vineyards surrounded by cooling woodland.

Vinified for private consumption by the family since the 1940s, the Tenuta San Guido estate refused to change Sassicaia’s stylistic direction even when it fell out of vogue in the 1990s in favour of bigger, brasher wines.

Since head of winemaking Carlo Paoli joined in 2009, Sassicaia has taken another step forward. The Sassicaia 2023 is a blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and 13% Cabernet Franc.

Are the 2023s buyable?

These 2023s are impressive in their early drinkability. Neither wine is a blockbuster in the classic sense – but neither should they need to be; if you want that, there are many other wines around the world (as well as a few from Bolgheri).

What these 2023s offer is a lovely combination of finesse, precision and aromatic appeal, capturing all the energy and vitality of this beautiful coastal location. They’re perfect for the ‘modern’ drinker who prizes freshness and balance over power and extraction.

The beauty of the vintage transparency these wines offer is that each year is notably different, so you really can pick and choose depending on your personal tastes: the 2022s from Ornellaia and Sassicaia are more compact and deeper in fruit; the 2021s more fleshy and similarly aromatic; the 2020s more structured; and the 2019s silkier.

2023 first taste: Bolgheri’s superstars

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• These new Brunello di Montalcino 2021s caught our expert’s attention
• Rethinking ripeness in Napa Valley: A fresh perspective on the region’s evolution
• Three Barolo producers having a breakout moment

Having tasted extensively across the contrasting 2022 and forthcoming 2023 vintages of Napa Cabernet – the former early-drinking, riper with softer tannins, and the latter a cellarworthy year marked by vivid, fresh fruit and structured tannins – it made me consider the concept of ‘ripeness’

I asked a handful of Napa’s top winemakers to reflect on their approach and perspectives on ripeness in any growing season.

I wanted to know what it means to achieve ripeness today. How do farming choices shape ripening, whether ripeness is measured beyond numbers, and what does it mean in the context of balance?

What emerged was a familiar wine-world paradox: everyone agrees that achieving ideal ripeness – and ultimately a balanced wine – is paramount. Yet no one agrees on any fixed definition of that ideal.

‘The American palate has evolved towards less sweetness and more appreciation for acidity, bitterness, and a diversity of flavours,’ says Julien Fayard, of Fayard Wines, Covert, and Gemstone.

‘Culturally, as the food in our country changes, so do the wines. Napa is following a slower path, but reinventing and re-adjusting itself to better align its wines with what we’re eating today.’

For Aron Weinkauf of Spottswoode, it’s more personal and subjective. ‘I appreciate more subtlety, beauty, and freshness than I did 25 years ago,’ he says, echoing many others interviewed for this article.

Across conversations, the notion of achieving an ideal ripeness reveals no straight line to a target number. Instead, it follows a curving path, with overlaps between freshness and richness, hedonism and restraint, lab numbers and intuition – shaped by farming decisions, soil, vine material, climate, and stylistic preferences.

Evolution of the Napa style

From the higher-acid, tannic, long-lived wines of the 1970s, to the full-bodied, lush, sweet-fruited, richly oaked wines of the early aughts, and back toward a more nuanced middle ground today, the winemakers I spoke with consistently traced Napa’s ripeness conversation to historical planting decisions in the vineyard.

Rebekah Wineburg of Quintessa points to the 1990s as a defining moment: ‘The phylloxera crisis forced wide-scale renewal of vineyards,’ she says, explaining how it brought new clones and rootstocks selected to enhance physiological ripeness and bold flavour development.

At the same time, she continues, winemakers were ‘rejecting the vegetal flavours’ of earlier wines and seeking a style aimed at pleasure and immediate appeal.

By the 2000s, vineyard design and winery tools reinforced that shift. ‘Winemakers were chasing concentration, and the path to it seemed clear: lower yields, later picks, and absolute selectivity,’ Wineburg says. Advances in cellar technology made later harvesting feel safer – and, for a time, stylistically rewarding.

The alcohol fallacy

Rarely was ripeness framed in terms of potential alcohol levels.

Matthew Crafton, President and Winemaker of Chateau Montelena, explains: ‘I’ll see a picking window where the potential alcohol is in a good place, and the flavours are really nice’, explains , ‘but wait a day or two, and those numbers shift, and so do the flavours. You’re not measuring alcohol for balance—you can’t use alcohol as a proxy for ripeness.’

Meanwhile, Jean Hoefliger, of JH Consulting and AXR asserts: ‘You can’t be fooled into thinking a wine should always sit at a specific alcohol level.’

‘One of the greatest wines ever made – the 1947 Cheval Blanc, which came in at 14.4% ABV. Which was over two points higher than was typical for that wine. As for Napa Cab, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, consumer desire for more immediately approachable, pleasurable wine led to picking late, no acid or tannin additions, and ultimately to higher-alcohol, flabbier wines. That trend is now in reverse.’

Weinkauf emphasises how changes in vine material alone have altered ripening dynamics. ‘Today’s vine structure and vine vigour are very different. Trellis and vineyard infrastructures have changed.’

He notes that vertical shoot positioning differs radically from California sprawl or head-trained vineyards, with implications for yield, flavour concentration, and tannin development.

Climate change has added further complexity. Since 2015, Napa has experienced three of its warmest vintages on record. Nile Zacherle of David Arthur Wines argues that growers must adapt structurally, ‘rethinking row orientation and canopy architecture so wines are not shocked by climatic swings’.

Tasting ripeness

Despite access to unprecedented amounts of data, none of the winemakers describe ripeness as something determined solely in the laboratory, either. ‘Ultimately, it still comes down to taste,’ says Celia Welch of Scarecrow fame, and Celia Welch Consulting, with winemakers leveraging data as ‘checkpoints,’ above all else – as Rebekah Wineburg put it.

‘I literally ask myself: Do I want to eat this grape? Is it delicious?’ says grower, winemaker, and winery owner Steve Matthiasson.

As Aron Weinkauf explains, ‘we do measure sugar per berry,’ but he stresses that those numbers are weighed alongside ‘evaluating vine health, watching the weather, and tasting.’

Grapes growing on the vine give tangible cues such as ‘firm clusters versus limp, flaccid ones’, says Zacherle, ‘and a healthy canopy is one that provides dappled sunlight,’ for even-keeled ripening, ‘as harvest approaches.’

Wineburg describes ‘brown flavours’, bruised fruit, and a loss of freshness in grapes that are overripe.

By contrast, Jonah Beer of Pilcrow Wines (pictured above) frames under-ripeness biologically, suggesting that until the vine believes the seed can survive, ‘the vine keeps the acid high and sour’ in grapes.

Farming towards balance

‘Vines are pretty great at adapting to and reading their environment,’ says Weinkauf, ‘but our actions as the farmers can confuse them.’ He avoids early watering and excessive intervention, preferring to ‘guide rather than control’.

Matthiasson describes a season-long approach – cover crops, compost, pruning, shoot thinning, leaf thinning, irrigation – designed to deliver fruit that ‘makes the winemaking job easy’ and improve wine quality ‘without having to harvest later at higher potential alcohol’ (his Cabernet-based wines usually come in around or under 13% alcohol).

Chelsea Barrett talks of site-specific decisions. ‘In high-vigour blocks, we may plant permanent cover crops and [grow] larger canopies’, to control ripening, while ‘in lower-vigour sites, we might drop down to one cluster per shoot’, aiming at finding balance.

Fayard, by contrast, notes that, ‘we have been steadily lowering our alcohol by picking slightly earlier’. He adds that increasing yields at certain sites has improved hang time, slowed sugar loading, and led to ‘lower alcohols and better refined tannins’.

As an example, Fayard cited his Les Vins Julien line of wines, which are made with deliberately lower alcohol levels (as low as 11%).

Pendulums, preferences, and diversity

At a broader level, Napa’s ripeness story follows more of a pendulum swing. From pre-Parker elegance to power-packed Cabernets, now veering back toward a newer version of balance, based on how the growing season shapes a vintage. ‘There is no wrong or right, just diversity of style and taste,’ says Beer.

‘Remember those crazy-ripe Cabernets that had alcohols in the high 16% range?’ asks Welch, echoing Hoefliger that: ‘In recent years, the trend seems to be in the opposite direction.’

Continuum’s Tim Mondavi describes how smarter farming has changed the equation. He says: ‘In the past, we harvested late, in order to ameliorate the harshness of the wines.’

But better farming has allowed him to achieve ideal ripeness earlier in the season, thereby mitigating pressure from potential late-season extreme heat or fire.

‘Harvest is unpredictable,’ says Chelsea Barrett, ‘you make the best decisions you can with imperfect information,’ which is why better farming often comes with some capital-intensive technological improvements.

During the major heat event of 2022, wineries that had spent money to install vineyard misters kept canopy temperatures 15-20 degrees cooler on extremely hot days, thereby limiting sugar spikes and staving off higher potential alcohol levels.

‘We observe various movements – organic, biodynamic, regenerative farming, natural winemaking, on and on – but we do not commit to any single philosophy,’ concludes Fayard. ‘Instead, we prioritise transparency and customising our farming approach to each site.’

Wineburg summarises the collective mood best: ‘Ripeness is important, of course,’ she says, ‘but the intent has shifted.’

And that recalibration – toward balanced wines, expressive of site – suggests Napa Valley will never abandon its signature ripeness so much as refine it, just as regions such as Bordeaux and Burgundy did over generations.

Related articlesHeitz Cellar: Six decades of a Napa Valley icon

Meet the next generation at four legacy Napa Valley wineries

Mining for value in the Napa Valley: Over 20 of the best wines for under $75

Think of Bordeaux and an exclusive selection premium wines is likely to spring to mind – first growths, en primeur offerings and world-famous châteaux don’t tend to scream ‘value’.

Likewise in Burgundy, you’re unlikely to treat the grands crus of Romanée-Conti, Corton and Montrachet as casual purchases for mid-week quaffing.

But as with most wine regions, you can still find value-for-money bottles and enjoy something truly special without breaking the bank.

To back up this claim, we’ve pulled together a number of wines from across Burgundy and Bordeaux, all on the shelf at under £30 per bottle* – and some below £20.

There’s something for everyone here; sparkling, white, red and sweet, and several offerings from well-known areas including St-Julien, St-Estèphe, Beaujolais, Chablis and Sauternes.

Alongside individual producers, our selection also showcases some great-value supermarket own-brand labels.

*The Sauternes listed is available in half bottle format

Best value Burgundy and Bordeaux: 14 top picks

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The road that winds its way to Heitz Cellar and the historic property, which includes a barrel house built in 1898, is a trip back in time. A quiet slice of the old Napa, tucked amid sprawling oak trees away from the tasting room traffic on the Silverado Trail.

Founded by Joe and Alice Heitz in 1961, Heitz quickly established itself among America’s great producers.

A pioneer in many ways, Heitz created America’s first single vineyard-designate, the 1966 Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, becoming the first to champion terroir in Napa and the US.

‘There have only been three winemakers in Heitz’s history,’ Carlton McCoy MS tells me. ‘Joe, his son David and Brittany Sherwood.’

Joe passed the baton to David in the late 1970s. Sherwood, the current director of winemaking, has been at the helm since 2018, when the property was acquired by Lawrence Wine Estates, of which McCoy is CEO. (She worked for six years alongside David Heitz, taking the lead in the cellar with the 2016 vintage.)

See Jonathan Cristaldi’s pick of Heitz Cellar across six decades

Less about the barrel

The ‘Heitz style’ has always been about flavour from fruit, eschewing extraneous tannin from over-extraction or overt oak.

‘Joe felt that it [overtly tannic wine] was just an excuse, a lazy way of making Cabernet,’ McCoy explains.

‘Oak can give you an illusion of opulence and pedigree, but you’re not assessing the density and length of the wine. So we taste the wines a year after harvest, before they see any oak.

‘That’s when we choose the single-vineyard wines over the Napa Valley designate. It’s also when we decide on ageing regimes and oak to finish the wines, based on what we think they need.’

The single-vineyard Heitz wines are released four years from harvest, and the Napa Valley designate is released three years after harvest.

‘At some point in the transition between Joe and David, I can only imagine as an attempt to “modernise”, they began using a higher proportion of barrique and, more importantly, a much greater proportion of new barrique,’ says McCoy.

‘For us, it was critical to return to the original style, but with larger casks. We have reduced the proportion of barrique and new barrique and now use a much larger percentage of 1,000- to 2,000-litre foudre.

‘We also still use the large casks that are 10,000 to 20,000 litres. We think the wines are fresher, and it allows us to secure density in the mid-palate, which you lose in smaller barriques.’

As the rest of Napa Valley moved towards new oak, and plenty of it in the form of smaller barriques, David Heitz veered Heitz Cellars a little in that direction, before correcting course after a few years.

‘We’ve taken it back even further,’ McCoy explains, in terms of minimising the oak impact.

‘We have to ask the question, if Joe were still here, would he be making the wines the same way? No, he wouldn’t; he’d want to focus on making the wines better.’

For McCoy, Sherwood and the Heitz team, that improvement is mostly gained in the vineyards, through a series of small tweaks to polish what is already renowned as classic.

Freshness in the vineyard

‘We’re making wines now that are closer to the alcohol levels from the 1970s. But we’re not doing it by picking early,’ McCoy clarifies, ‘it’s a combination of factors that help with the maturity of the fruit.’

By moving completely to biodynamics – conversion began after the 2019 vintage and Demeter certification was achieved a few years later – and significantly reducing irrigation, as well as bringing in a reduced- or no-till approach and interplanting between vine rows, the team at Heitz is seeing a concentration married to freshness in the fruit as it’s harvested.

This means that much of the work is done before the winemaking begins.

‘When you irrigate and have a big crop hanging on the vines, it slows down the maturity of the fruit,’ McCoy says.

‘For Cabernet, it’s not about picking earlier; it’s about balancing phenolic, or physiological, ripeness [relating to the grape skins, seeds and stems] with lower sugars [ie, potential alcohol].

‘After 24° Brix [a standard measure of sugar content in solution], it’s no longer sugar accumulation, it’s the concentration of sugar through dehydration and raisination.’

The Heitz team is committed to picking at a level of 24°-24.5° Brix at most, and aiming for full phenolic ripeness at that sugar level.

They achieve fruit concentration through lower yields [quantity of fruit per vine] and largely by dry-farming. This means the fruit comes in balanced yet concentrated.

The Heitz Cellar vertical

If there is a signature of the Heitz wines, it’s that they are shot through with forest character, whether it’s described as bay leaf, pine resin, spearmint or even eucalyptus.

The lively and elegant arboreal essence is the calling card for Heitz, both in the wines made today and indeed back to the 1969-vintage Lot C-91.

As a central part of our preparation for this article, McCoy presented a dazzling array of Heitz wines, 43 in all, for me and Decanter’s Napa correspondent Jonathan Cristaldi (see his tasting notes on a selection of 10 of them, below).

A dramatic case was immediately made regarding Heitz’s freshness as we nosed our first wine, the 1978 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon: remarkable, and still exuberant, 47 years in.

The throughline was pronounced as we tasted a range of vintages, some of them regarded as hot, others rainy, wet and difficult.

Yet a consistency was evident: balanced, fresh and light on their feet, even in hot years; lively throughout, persistent forest elements that framed taut, fresh violets and blue/black fruits in each and every vintage.

In his day, influential US critic Robert Parker would write off an entire vintage, particularly one like 2011, yet today this is a Heitz wine that’s showing dazzingly, overtly floral, fresh and vibrant.

Many of the farming changes at Heitz were initiated in 2019, and McCoy believes this work will be clear to see in the wines moving forward.

The Linda Falls Vineyard Cabernet from that vintage is now tasting focused and precise, with a pronounced clarity and heightened fruit intensity.

And going back, the 1979 Martha’s Vineyard designate bottling is perfect (as per Cristaldi’s 100-point score), showing elegance and structure that is evocative of Barolo, or even Burgundy, with that forest-driven complexity and brilliant tension – a timeless Napa Cabernet that sets a benchmark for the region among the world’s great wines.

Restoring balance

For McCoy, one of the primary missions is to set a course for a return to a classic Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon: more honest, authentic and balanced.

Joe Heitz had a notoriously difficult relationship with Robert Parker, famously once sending him a box of handkerchiefs after Parker had described the Heitz wines as lacking in aromatics.

Yet it’s Parker’s outsized impact on Napa’s wines as a whole that McCoy feels as if he’s still pushing back on today.

‘Philosophically, my biggest challenge with so-called modern Napa is that it wasn’t driven by the winemakers, or climate,’ says McCoy. ‘The style that came about in the late 1980s is thanks to one man. It’s a style that is still very much around today.

‘But the fact is, wineries did what they did at the time in order to stay afloat. It may seem hard to believe, but the wrong score from one guy could essentially put you out of business back then.

‘A lot of wines, and this isn’t just in Napa, but throughout the world, were made to cater to one man’s palate. And this is the result: you have a lot of winemakers who don’t like to drink the wines they’re making. That’s a real tragedy, in my opinion.’

McCoy concludes that ‘freshness’ is perhaps an overused term. ‘But we’re talking about a balance between acidity and the rest of the structure of the wine. Your mouth waters, and you want more. That’s been missing in too many wines for too long.’

The team at Heitz wants to remind the wine world why Napa was considered great in the first place.

A taste of Heitz across six decades: Cristaldi’s 10 highlights

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Umbria is the perfect winter escape: the only landlocked region in Central Italy, its quaint medieval villages acquire an enchanting aura when the air gets crisp while the sun keeps shining. A warming aroma of wood-fired delicacies often drifts through narrow alleys, preluding the cozy embrace of local trattorias and country houses.

While in the past this region was best-known for its whites, especially Orvieto, a bold red for chilly days has taken centre stage over the last two decades: Montefalco Sagrantino.

The red Sagrantino grape is almost exclusively grown within a five-township area centred on the picturesque town of Montefalco, in the heart of the region. Montefalco’s tidy, verdant hills mirror the backdrops of 15th century artworks by masters such as Benozzo Gozzoli and Perugino, still visible in the village church of San Francesco.

Yet Montefalco Sagrantino wines showcase intensity and heft rather than Renaissance-style serenity and poise. Almost extinct in the 1970s due to its hard-to-tame nature, the variety was rescued by the Caprai family of the namesake winery, who discovered that Sagrantino contains some of the highest levels of tannins and polyphenols of any grape anywhere in the world.

A rapid rise

Marco Caprai began conducting clonal selection, improved canopy management, and introduced ageing in small oak barrels, paving the way for the achievement of DOCG status for Sagrantino di Montefalco in 1992 (the name changed to Montefalco Sagrantino in 2009) – and its subsequent revival.

As the demand for brooding, powerful reds boomed from the late 1990s onwards, total plantings soared from only 66 hectares at the moment of the DOCG’s birth to over 380 in 2022 [according to Consorzio vini Montefalco], currently scattered among 65 small- to medium-size producers.

Innovative approaches

Most Sagrantino di Montefalco are deep-coloured, brimming with sweet red and black fruits, spice, chocolate, and distinctive balsamic or botanical touches.

With their high alcohol, noteworthy mid-palate concentration and dusty tannins requiring several years to soften, they convey a sense of warmth and exuberance – sometimes at the expense of finesse and detail.

Yet several producers are striving to achieve greater balance and finesse, often by adopting innovative approaches.

‘Sagrantino can be a beauty and a beast at once’, says Giampaolo Tabarrini, a cult vintner who crafts classically concentrated yet weightless expressions. Tabarrini believes high alcohol from late harvesting is unavoidable in order to obtain full tannic maturity.

Nonetheless, he collaborated with the oenology university of Perugia to create a custom fermentation tank that allows for extremely long and gentle macerations, contributing to an uncanny sense of elegance.

Marco Caprai, meanwhile, has worked together with globetrotting winemaking superstar Michel Rolland to conceive the methode integrale, consisting of a whole-berry fermentation in French oak barrels, also aimed at obtaining a softer texture.

Other producers rely on more conventional winemaking to emphasise the grape’s transparency of terroir. Filippo Antonelli, produces two single-vineyard Sagrantino with very distinct personalities; Chiusa di Pannone and Molino dell’Attone.

The latter represents an especially contemporary take: the schistous, east-oriented parcel shapes a wine that showcases noteworthy refinement and approachability without giving up on Sagrantino’s signature power.

Antonelli says: ‘In Montefalco, there has long been a tendency to make a single super-selection of Sagrantino. Instead, we should focus more on single-vineyard expressions, as different soils and expositions result in diverging profiles.’

A must-have in any serious cellar

Despite remarkable efforts to offer earlier-drinking styles, Sagrantino di Montefalco remains one of Italy’s most cellar-worthy reds.

Between eight and 15 years from its release is enough time for the tannins to soften without totally losing their enticing gripping effect. At this stage, a mix of earthy flavours and rich fruit makes it a perfect match for ground game or red meats seasoned with mushrooms or truffles in a typically Umbrian fashion.

Yet the best Sagrantino di Montefalco can hold up for even longer, entering the vini da meditazione category along with the likes of Amarone, as the high polyphenol content keeps the structure intact while the edges become rounder.

Although finding older vintages outside of cellar shops and a few top-tier restaurants in Italy can be challenging, late-release versions are increasingly widespread. Almost all producers wait longer than the 33 months mandated by the appellation’s regulations, with most examples currently on the market belonging to the 2019 and 2020 vintages.

A few wineries go even further: the 2018 Carapace Lunga Attesa by Tenute Lunelli – a Montefalco estate run by the namesake family of Ferrari Trento fame – is a prime example of ready-to-drink, fireside Sagrantino with a lovely balance between brightness and slowly rising tertiary complexity.

Beyond Sagrantino

Sagrantino isn’t the only key player in Montefalco: roughly two thirds of the appellation’s total production (roughly 35% of Umbria’s total output) are still represented by Montefalco Rosso, the area’s historical Sangiovese-based red with dollops of Sagrantino and other varieties.

While most Montefalco Rosso are simple and meant to offer an affordable alternative to Sagrantino, top-notch renditions like the 2023 Tenute Lunelli Ziggurat and the 2021 Tenuta Bellafonte Maestà Quattro Chiavi Riserva show greater breadth and depth, giving Sangiovese from the coveted Tuscany region a run for their money.

The white Trebbiano Spoletino variety is also on the rise. Tabarrini’s oak-aged 2023 Adarmando and Antonelli’s amphora-aged 2023 Vigna Tonda are just two of several high quality expressions, reflecting the grape’s noteworthy potential, both in terms of complexity and versatility.

As Antonelli says, ‘few areas in Italy excel with both white and reds’ – a testament to Montefalco’s evolving wine landscape.

Cosy up to these six Montefalco Sangrantino:

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Of all the many thousands of wines tasted by Decanter every year, only a small handful ever gain the very highest score of 100.

This year, in fact, a mere 30 wines (tasted between 1 October 2024 and 30 September 2025) gained that coveted triple-digit score. In the immortal words of Cilla Black, let’s look at what they are and where they come from.

Top-scorers by country

As two countries that feature heavily both online and in print, the bulk of this year’s top-scoring wines came from France and the US.

France had the higher number of 100-point scores by far – 15 wines (50%) versus 12 (40%) from the US – while Italy with two 100-point wines and Australia with just one made up the difference.

Top-scorers by region

Drilling down into the regions things get a little more interesting. We can see that the French wines are split among several regions, with Bordeaux taking the largest share of 100-point wines (nine wines overall or 30% of the total).

However, the largest single region for top scores was California, with 11 wines (36.7%) that received a 100-point score.

The Rhône Valley was the third most-awarded region with five (16.7%) of the top scores, while Western Australia, Burgundy, Oregon, Tuscany and Piedmont all picked up one perfect score apiece.

Top-scorers by appellation

The most-awarded appellation overall was the Napa Valley, which had 10 wines with a 100-point score (mostly from one standout vintage, which was also the case with many of the Bordeaux wines as we’ll explore below).

There were three wines from Châteauneuf-du-Pape as the second highly rated appellation – though probably not wines you would expect – followed by Cornas, Pauillac, Pessac-Léognan, Pomerol and St-Emilion which all had two 100-point scores this past year.

The remaining appellations were Barolo, La Tâche, Margaret River, Margaux, Sonoma County, Toscana, and Willamette Valley with one 100-point wine apiece.

And now let’s briefly look at those wines.

France

Bordeaux

Many of the vintage reports published this year have focused on the very difficult 2024 vintage, which has not yielded many exceptional wines overall.

However, Bordeaux editor Georgie Hindle also reviewed the recently bottled and shipped 2022 vintage from Bordeaux which was a different story altogether.

In her report published in March, she said of the vintage: ‘The 2022s have emerged as wines out to please. As a group they are highly charged and powerful with an impressive amount of fruit, tannins and alcohol, yet they are refined and balanced with a sense of classicism.’

She gave six wines a score of 100-points – three each from the left and right banks.

She also gave a perfect score to the ‘monumental’ 2016 vintage of Château Latour, finally released from the estate’s cellars this spring.

Two wines from the 2015 vintage, Château Margaux and Château Lafleur confirmed in their majesty 10 years on.

Rhône Valley

Matt Walls covers the Rhône extensively for Decanter and this February he wrote about an especially memorable tasting at Château de Beaucastel in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, which yielded three 100-point wines.

These were not the estate’s reds though – but rather its ‘masterpiece’ of a white wine, the Roussanne Vieilles Vignes.

Tasted while scenes from Netflix’s Drops of God adaptation were filmed in the background, Walls was thoroughly seduced by what he calls ‘one of France’s greatest Mediterranean whites’, with many high scores given including three digits for three vintages: 2020, 2014 and 1988.

There was room for a couple of top-scoring reds though, notably two 2010 Cornas from Domaine Clape and Vincent Paris, which are among Walls’s favourite vintages from that appellation to drink now.

Burgundy

For a region with such a sterling reputation, there was just one wine that claimed a ‘perfect’ score in 2025. Maybe the standards of expectation from the Côte d’Or are that much higher?

Nonetheless, the unsurprising top-scorer was from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, with the domaine’s La Tâche 2022 getting the seal of approval from Charles Curtis MW during his in-bottle tasting this spring.

US

Napa Valley

Like Bordeaux, the bulk of top scores for Napa Valley this year came from the 2022 vintage, which was also not necessarily a straightforward growing season but from which some true gems have emerged.

Jonathan Cristaldi wrote in his report: ‘Compared to more structured, long-ageing vintages such as 2021 or 2019, the 2022s are approachable, plush and opulent.

‘Tannin structure varies, with some wines showcasing excellent granular grip and ageing potential while others exhibit a smoother, more fruit-driven profile that leans toward early drinking.’

Cristaldi ultimately gave six wines from the 2022 vintage 100 points, alongside another four from the 2021 – giving Napa its rather awesome tally of 10 top-scores this year.

Sonoma and Willamette Valley

The only US wines breaking Napa’s stranglehold on the crown were a Pinot Noir and Chardonnay duo.

In her report on the wines from the Sonoma Coast in 2022 (there’s that vintage again), Ana Carolina Quintela gave 100-points to the Cuvée Elizabeth Pinot Noir from Occidental. A true ‘wow-moment wine’ she noted.

And our North America editor, Clive Pursehouse, awarded his very first 100-point wine to the ‘captivating’ Bethel Heights’ The High Wire Chardonnay 2023 from Willamette Valley in Oregon.

Best of the rest

Italy

A rather diplomatic split of one 100-point score each for Italy’s premier regions of Piedmont and Tuscany this year.

Michaela Morris dished out a top-score to Giacomo Conterno’s Montfortino Riserva 2019 in her review of that newly-released batch of wines.

And Italy editor, James Button, couldn’t help but give 100-points to the ‘impeccably harmonious and long-lived’ 2006 Masseto during a vertical of the Super Tuscan at the start of the year.

Australia

And to wrap things up, while reviewing the wines being released through La Place de Bordeaux this autumn, Hindle gave top marks to the Cloudburst Chardonnay from Margaret River.

She wrote: ‘Round, utterly moreish from the first sip – this is engaging, mouthwatering, alive and so utterly enjoyable. I’d never tire of drinking this wine.’

Decanter’s 100-point wines of 2025:

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‘This is my first 100-point wine after nearly 4,000 in my three years at Decanter’

Born in 1925, May-Eliane de Lencquesaing grew up in Bordeaux’s Médoc region, daughter of Edouard-François Miailhe and Victoria-Charlotte Desbarats.

Her family ties to wine ran deep. Her father and uncle revived her grandfather’s brokerage business after World War I, investing in the region when confidence and sales were low.

They bought and ran Bordeaux estates including Château Palmer, Château Ducru-Beaucaillou and Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande.

‘I grew up among the vines – I learned by listening to my father and uncle,’ May-Eliane recalls. ‘I have loved everything about grapes and wine since I was a child. It’s in my blood.’

Scroll down to see notes and scores for 12 superb wines from Glenelly

Family influence

Her Bordeaux was one scarred by the vine-root louse phylloxera, two world wars and low demand.

‘I understood not just the wines but the climatic problems and economic uncertainties as well. I knew difficult times – for the wines and the markets.’

In the 1940s, May-Eliane’s university studies were cut short by her father, who decided she should work in the family office in Bordeaux city, where she learned business, teamwork and management.

An admired yet authoritarian figure, her father was to prove a key influence in her life, although her paternal uncle Louis – more relaxed, less controlling – and her four grandparents also shaped her early interests, between them instilling a love of soils and a passion for conversation, music and literature that would stay with her all her life.

In early May 1948, May-Eliane was introduced to Captain Hervé de Lencquesaing, and her father arranged for them to be married just six weeks later.

She left Bordeaux aged 23 for a life as an army wife, seemingly never to return to the gravel croupes, bustling chais and stately châteaux of her youth.

Return to Pichon Comtesse

Her years with Captain de Lencquesaing were eventful beyond wine, and included time in the USA which she enjoyed immensely, finding great warmth and intelligence in the post-war Midwest.

He retired as a general in 1974, and they were ready for a settled life in Pas-de-Calais in northern France, where May-Eliane was engaged in local politics.

But there was still the issue of her father’s estate.

After nearly 20 years in probate (he died in 1959, aged 61), the inheritance included châteaux, a Champagne house, real estate in Paris and tracts of Landes woodland.

‘The most iconic lot, Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande in Pauillac, fell to me through the luck of the draw,’ May-Eliane recalls. ‘It was precisely what I had hoped to avoid, knowing the responsibility it entailed.’

It was far from her only challenge. ‘I was the first woman,’ she says. ‘There was no one else.’

Corinne Mentzelopoulos had not yet joined Château Margaux; Philippine de Rothschild would not arrive at Château Mouton Rothschild for another decade.

The Médoc wine world was profoundly hostile to the idea of a woman in charge. ‘I had to rely not on truthful men but on the men who lied to me the least,’ she recalls. Her experience in French politics helped, however.

‘In their eyes, I knew nothing. When I joined their conversations, they would stop talking. But when they realised I wasn’t going away, they had no choice but to accept me.’

Work ethic

May-Eliane recognised the need to study modern winemaking if she was to earn respect in the Médoc, and aged 53, she enrolled at Bordeaux University, studying under Professors Emile Peynaud and Pascal Ribéreau-Gayon.

‘I was in Pichon, leaving at 6am for classes, returning at 6pm to work on the administration,’ she says.

Her wines enjoyed great commercial and critical success, from the inaugural 1978 onwards, and she engaged in an intense programme of travel and tasting. ‘I was the one presenting the wines, pulling the cork. It was important that I was there,’ she insists.

But away from her husband and family, she struggled.

‘I was anxious and terribly lonely. My children did not understand my work at all. They thought I was having fun, living in a beautiful château, having dinner parties. My family did not support me; neither did my neighbours in Bordeaux.’

Eventually, General de Lencquesaing joined her in the Médoc, and Pichon Comtesse became a key property in the story of Bordeaux’s renewal in the 1980s.

She was hands-on and in charge of every detail, bringing to bear the fortitude and attention to detail of an army wife with the work ethic and business acuity of her father and uncle.

‘I knew how the flowering had been, and the budding and the maturation. I was never in Arcachon [on the nearby coast] in the summer like everyone else.’ She soon gained the epithet La Générale.

In this busy period she was the recipient of many honours and awards, and at the age of 69 was chosen as the 1994 Decanter Woman of the Year (since renamed the Decanter Hall of Fame award).

No one could have known then that, a decade later, she would be embarking on a new project on the other side of the world, or that she would subsequently be celebrating the conclusion of the 2025 harvest with her winemaking team at Glenelly, in Stellenbosch, at the age of 100.

Uprooting

By the early 2000s, despite its success, the future of Château Pichon Comtesse was uncertain.

The family’s jewel since 1925 (by chance, the same year as May-Eliane’s birth), it was to be sold in a move that surprised many.

‘It was a very difficult decision,’ she says. ‘My son Hughes could have taken it on, but he and his wife decided to stay in Paris. My daughter Violaine had an excellent palate but did not have a relationship with the workers.’

May-Eliane’s respect for her staff at Pichon was a crucial aspect of her time there.

‘If I have been successful it is because I always had a strong relationship with the workers. I would fly back from Chicago or Los Angeles and I would see them in the pouring rain in the vineyard, soaking wet and covered in mud.

‘I was full of admiration. “Thank you for doing the work you do,” I told them, “I’m going to tell you about the work I have been doing.” We talked. I knew them, I knew their families.’

Pichon Comtesse was finally sold to the Roederer Champagne group in 2006, and subsequently May-Eliane was able to devote herself to the development of the Glenelly estate in South Africa, which she had purchased in 2003.

Prior to this, May-Eliane’s first venture beyond Bordeaux had been a collaboration with Washington state’s Château Ste Michelle in the 1990s, though she withdrew from the proposed arrangement when the parent company demanded a fixed annual production volume in the contract.

Glenelly, Mandela & the Huguenots

As president of the International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) in the 1990s, May-Eliane met many South African winemakers who were winning trophies with their Bordeaux blends, and Nelson Mandela’s victory in the nation’s 1994 presidential elections deeply moved her.

Her successor at the IWSC, Anton Rupert, a major name in South African wine, urged her to consider the Cape for her new project, pointing out its French Huguenot roots.

‘I told him I couldn’t start planting a vineyard at my age. He said, “Do it in honour of Mandela.” So I did.’

She chose Glenelly in Stellenbosch’s Simonsberg zone (pictured, above), drawn to its decomposed granite soils, varied slopes and reliable water supply – a foresight that proved crucial given the challenges of drought in the Cape winelands.

Though it had previously been planted with vines, Glenelly was a fruit farm when she bought it, and this allowed her to start from scratch with the knowledge she had gained in Bordeaux.

She hired young winemaker Luke O’Cuinneagain as cellar master and (much to his surprise) retained long-time agronomist Heinrich Louw, whose deep understanding of the estate she knew would prove invaluable.

Now living in Switzerland, May-Eliane still travels to Glenelly for several months each year. With her grandchildren helping in its running, it’s likely to remain in family hands.

In 2022, Dirk van Zyl took over as cellar master, maintaining important winemaking tenets such as wild yeast fermentation, while taking the bold move to pick not on the basis of technical analysis, but on the taste of the berries in the vineyard.

‘Heinrich is doing everything right in the vineyards in terms of sustainability, cover crops and so on,’ May-Eliane notes, ‘but if we are going to find more finesse in the wines, it will be through Dirk.’

A century into an exceptional life, May-Eliane de Lencquesaing continues to question and refine. Even now, her work is defined as much by what might still be possible as by what she has already achieved.

At 100, she’s still looking to the future.

See Jason’s pick from Glenelly’s admirable portfolio

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At a time when everything is a curated projection of a fictional self, it’s no wonder that we’re increasingly seeking a true sense of connection and a glimmer of humble authenticity – in wine as in life.

It was a genuine sense of connection – transcending individual narratives and fragile egos – that I experienced when I sat down with Marco António Pérez Ramirez of Piedra Sagrada, to taste through the project’s five vintages released so far.

Upon tasting the wines, amazement and wonder added to the intrigue: it turned out I was about to taste some of the most distinct, characterful – and overlooked – expressions of Cabernet Sauvignon I had ever come across. And certainly one of the most memorable wines of the more than 1,200 I assessed in 2025.

But how did this small, unassuming unicorn come to be? It turns out this is a story about much more than wine.

Tragedy and resilience

Piedra Sagrada is the brainchild of Arturo Pérez Rojas, now the name of the 3.8hectare plot the prominent Chilean agricultural engineer and oenologist planted in 2000. Born in Santiago, Pérez Rojas became Chile’s Secretary of State for Viticulture in 1970, a post created by newly-elected president Salvador Allende.

The pair’s hopes to support and transform the country’s wine sector were short lived; in 1973, on a fateful September day, Allende was murdered and a coup d’état placed dictator Augusto Pinochet at the helm of the country. Poet Pablo Neruda would be poisoned 12 days later.

The danger was real and Pérez Rojas, wife Tela and four children – Arturo, Marcela, Lorena and Marco – fled the country. Their exile in France, which the couple hoped would be a brief stint, became a decades-long detour during which Pérez Rojas fought to rebuild something resembling a career.

Some jobs were out of reach because his qualifications were not recognised in France (Pérez Rojas eventually attained new degrees in oenology as well as economy); while he was not considered for others because he was overqualified.

The longing for his home country and his roots and, crucially, his belief in its potential as a fine wine country, remained a constant throughout Pérez Rojas’ turbulent trajectory – a yearning he passed on to his children and, to an extent, shaped their identities growing up in France.

With the end of the millennium approaching, Tela’s sister offered the couple the opportunity to buy a 4.5ha plot in Pirque, 50km south of Santiago, in the Maipo Valley, for them to build a house and retrieve a physical footprint in Chile.

Upon looking at the unassuming plot, Pérez Rojas not only knew that he had to buy it but also that this was the ideal site not for a house but for a vineyard.

Conjuring a Grand Cru

Marrying a strong emotional connection to the Chilean wine landscape with painfully proven technical expertise, Pérez Rojas set out to analyse the terroir and define the planting strategy for his vineyard. He settled on a high-density massal selection of Cabernet Sauvignon, planted on its own rootstock.

While planting, an impressive boulder, displaying an ancient face-like carving , emerged – its evocative presence gave the wine its name: Piedra Sagrada, ‘sacred stone’.

The first fruit was harvested in 2005 and – until the production of Piedra Sagrada’s first vintage in 2014 – sold to powerhouse Concha y Toro.

These were years of learning and fine-tuning, during which the vineyard was subdivided into seven plots – according to vine behaviour, maturation cycle and fruit profile – now tended to differently both in the vineyard and in the cellar.

They also consolidated the founder’s belief in the singularity and potential of the site, crystallising the dream of Piedra Sagrada.

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Pérez Rojas’ passing in 2013 meant that he could not see his quest come to fruition. His children embraced their duty and emotional commitment to their father’s dream – not least because it was so deeply entwined with the family’s history and identity. Given the opportunity to sell the vineyard they refused.

Arturo, Lorena (both emergency physicians), Marcela (an architect) and Marco (a classical composer), were determined but not equipped to steer the ship.

Marco called upon longtime friend and leading wine consultant Éric Verdier, who promptly agreed to help.

Today, with Verdier consulting and winemaker Sergio Hormazábal Baglietto supervising on site, the siblings endure long haul flights to help with the harvest and oversee projects for Piedra Sagrada’s own winery (having previously relied on rented space) – a gravity-fed facility as their father envisioned.

The origin of Piedra Sagrada weaves the individual and collective histories of a family and of two countries – its name fortunate because it evokes both its terroir (with its own complex lineage of pre-colonial symbolism and post-dicatorship reckoning) and the intersecting, personal mythologies of all those involved.

A new benchmark

Piedra Sagrada reveals a different, essential take on Cabernet Sauvignon; a new reference point to which I will return when tasting Piedra Sagrada’s counterparts in Chile and beyond. And who are they?

As the tasting notes below highlight there’s incredible structural nuance, an indelible terroir imprint that comes through in a distinctly saline, at times almost metallic edge to the acid backbone and tannins.

It’s clear there’s a relentless commitment to terroir – and to vintage as an extension of terroir expression – which means that winemaking decisions are made in response to the specific character of each year and each micro-plot.

As such, time in wood varies greatly. Overall, however, the approach is light-handed and focused on detail rather than power.

Piedra Sagrada is not a wine for those who seek a stylistic-led approach to winemaking – or indeed brand-building.

It’s safe to say that the making of this wine was as much about finding closure and regaining ownership of a personal and collective trajectory, as it was about establishing a new Chilean ‘Grand Cru’ (which it has undoubtedly become).

Piedra Sagrada’s success legitimises the effort and brilliance of lives derailed by history’s cruel hand.

I’ll finish with words written by Neruda on a letter to Pérez Rojas, dated 31 March 1973, which remains in the possession of his children:

‘Vines and wine are one of the vital centres of Chile. In your initiative I see […] this territorial blessing, its cultivation, its work, its art and its science.’

Piedra Sagrada: Five first released vintages tasted

Wines are listed in score order

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Few names are as synonymous with contemporary St-Emilion as Château Pavie – one of just two St-Emilion estates currently with the top rank of premier grand cru classé A – and Gérard Perse, its late owner and former self-made supermarket mogul turned wine empire builder.

An unrelenting dream with quality and hospitality at its heart has seen the Perse universe evolve and expand from wine estates to hotels, restaurants, brasseries and now even an ice cream parlour all nestled among the cobbled streets of the medieval village, the crown jewel of the Right Bank region.

Scroll down to see notes and scores for Georgie’s top picks from Château Pavie

Historic and contentious

It’s not hard to see Pavie’s clear terroir credentials, given that vine cultivation here dates back to the 4th century – supposedly the oldest alongside Château Ausone.

It’s a rare and relatively extensive single block, comprising the famous limestone plateau and sweeping south-facing slopes that tumble into an amphitheatre of vines dropping from 85m to 20m and basking in the full sun above the Dordogne valley.

‘Wine is of course the main job,’ says Henrique Da Costa, son-in-law of Perse, who has for more than two decades been part of the family team running the estate with Perse’s daughter Angélique (pictured, below).

‘But it’s also everything around it – in order to give guests the full experience, you need gastronomy, you need hospitality. Quality, quality, quality – that was always Gérard’s rule.

And it shows. From the meticulously tended vines and beautifully adorned commemorative bottles to the magnificent marble-clad reception and tasting rooms and five-star accommodation.

Pavie’s success story is as impressive as Perse’s, with slick marketing and a bucketful of options for any wine lover wanting to enjoy the delights of the region.

But the estate and its methods have not been without controversy.

At times branded flashy and excessive, its wines have divided critical opinion, but there’s no doubting the perseverance of a man on a mission and a team dedicated to perfection.

A radical transformation

When Gérard Perse (pictured, below) purchased Château Pavie in 1998 from the Valette family, it was a shadow of its potential, having lost much of its prestige through the 1980s and early ’90s.

Though the terroir was hallowed, the vineyard was tired, the winery outdated and much of the equipment obsolete. But Perse had already spent five years learning the rhythms of St-Emilion.

He and his wife Chantal (who worked with him from the beginning, managing the hospitality and restaurant side of the business) had bought Château Monbousquet in 1993 – what he later called his ‘laboratory for experimentation’ – and Pavie-Decesse in 1997, on the limestone plateau just above Pavie.

‘By the time Gérard came here,’ says Da Costa, ‘he knew exactly what he wanted to do. Monbousquet was where he learned. Pavie was where he applied everything.’

He saw potential not problems and came in with a spare-no-expense attitude.

When he arrived, more than 15,000 vines were missing or dead and the old cellar wasn’t fit for purpose. Within months, he tore it down and rebuilt it, installing wooden vats and temperature control.

That first new vat room was barely finished when the 1998 harvest began, yet it marked the start of a new chapter. A second, marble-clad cellar would follow in 2013, cementing Pavie’s place among Bordeaux’s most advanced wineries.

Birth of a modern legend

Replanting began and so did viticultural changes, including large-scale green harvesting. ‘People said, “He’s crazy, cutting bunches”,’ Da Costa recalls with a smile.

‘But Gérard didn’t care – he stayed focused on his way. He wasn’t making wine for Parker or for points; he was making the wines he loved, with the structure and power to last decades.’

The early vintages – 2000, 2003, 2005 – were monuments to that philosophy: dark, rich and unapologetically full-bodied.

They were also among the most polarising wines Bordeaux had ever seen. Robert Parker hailed them as masterpieces of modern St-Emilion; British critics called them excessive.

They were wines of texture and ambition, designed not for immediate charm but for longevity.

‘We know that the wine can support [new oak] for a long time, there’s no question. These are wines that are meant to live 20, 30, even 50 years,’ says Da Costa.

Pavie’s south-facing exposure naturally lends itself to generosity. ‘It’s a warm terroir, so, yes, the wines are rich – but that’s Pavie, that’s its character,’ he adds.

Monbousquet had already introduced Perse to the US market through merchant Jeffrey Davies, who championed the wines early on.

‘He admired the US,’ Da Costa says. ‘He told us many times, if he were younger, he would have gone there. But his style wasn’t for anyone else. It was his taste, his vision.’

The St-Emilion amphitheatre

Château Pavie’s 42ha form a natural amphitheatre of south-facing slopes with 11 distinct soil types, from hard limestone to heavy clays and sandy gravels – among the steepest in St-Emilion.

The varietal mix has shifted gradually over time – today about 50% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon – enhancing freshness and structure.

The vines are planted at 7,000 per hectare, and massal selections (propagated via cuttings from existing estate vines) are used for replanting.

The vineyard is farmed organically, but not certified, with cover crops and horses working the steepest plots.

A team of 25 vineyard workers tends the 21 parcels, which have an average age of 30 years (the oldest are 75 years old), each responsible for the same rows year after year.

‘They know every vine by heart,’ Da Costa says. ‘That’s why Pavie is so consistent – it’s not just the terroir, it’s the people, the team, the knowledge.’

This also explains the vineyard’s immaculate presentation and the subtle refinements in the wines over the past decade.

Cellar & craft

Precision is the cornerstone of Pavie’s winemaking. Grapes are handpicked, sorted twice and vinified by parcel in small oak vats. Fermentations are long and cool, with gentle pump-overs to preserve fruit purity.

‘We’re softer in the cellar now,’ Da Costa explains. ‘We still want intensity, but not heaviness. It’s about balance.’

Press wine never makes it into the grand vin. Ageing lasts 18-24 months in 60%-70% new oak, down from the 100% last used in 2005. ‘It’s about integration, not dominance. You should never taste the wood – it should just be part of the harmony.’

The technical direction is led by Laurent Lusseau, supported by long-serving cellar master Jean-Baptiste Pion (pictured, below), who joined in 1998.

‘Many of the team have been here from the beginning,’ Da Costa notes. ‘That’s what gives Pavie its soul.’

Evolution & refinement

Over the past two decades, Pavie has undergone a quiet stylistic evolution.

Shorter macerations, cooler fermentations and slightly earlier picking have brought greater freshness and precision.

The result is a more balanced expression – still unmistakably Pavie in style and power with signature freshness, but more nuanced in texture.

‘We’re still making wines that can age,’ Da Costa says, ‘but now they also have an accessibility earlier in life. That’s important for the next generation of drinkers.’

Recent vintages – 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022 – exemplify this balance: bold yet refined, polished yet nuanced. And the older wines, once accused of excess, have aged into graceful classics.

‘Tasting the 2000s now, you see how they’ve mellowed,’ Da Costa reflects. ‘They’re still strong, but they’ve become elegant. Time has proven the style.’

Recognition & independence

Château Pavie has grown physically, too. In 2002, the national appellation authority INAO approved the integration of Château La Clusière and part of Pavie-Decesse, both sharing identical terroirs.

In 2022, the remaining 3ha of Pavie-Decesse and 2ha of Bellevue-Mondotte joined Pavie after 15 vintages of comparative tastings to confirm compatibility.

The estate’s second wine, Arômes de Pavie, has its own style and personality, being produced from dedicated old-vine parcels since 2017, while a wider Bordeaux blend,

Esprit de Pavie, uses fruit from nearby Castillon and declassified lots, further broadening the estate’s reach.

In 2012, Pavie’s transformation reached its pinnacle when it was promoted to the level of premier grand cru classé A, joining St-Emilion’s elite estates at the top of the region’s official classification listing.

To mark the occasion, Perse released a special commemorative black-labelled bottle (pictured, above).

A decade later, a limited-edition enamelled design marked the 2022 St-Emilion reclassification, symbolising continuity through change.

The classification triumph was both recognition and closure – less about competition, more about proving that the work, the vision, could achieve something lasting.

Beyond the bottle

To further understand Pavie’s influence today, one must look beyond the vineyards. The Perse family has built one of the region’s most comprehensive and self-contained visions of wine, culture and hospitality.

In the Place du Clocher, the flagship restaurant La Table de Pavie (pictured, above), led by chef Yannick Alléno, holds two Michelin stars and is striving for a third – a feat yet to be achieved in Bordeaux.

Dishes draw inspiration from the immediate surroundings with thoughtful and innovative red wine pairings.

Meanwhile, the renovation of the Hostellerie de Plaisance has transformed it into one of the most elegant hotels in the region, with an Instagram-worthy terrace overlooking the town, while the nearby L’Envers du Décor remains one of the village’s busiest bistros, beloved by winemakers and visitors to the town alike.

For Da Costa, this expansion is entirely consistent with the ethos of the wines. ‘We built hospitality purposely,’ he says, ‘to show what St-Emilion can be, and with Pavie at the heart of it all.

‘St-Emilion needed energy again,’ he continues. ‘Gérard Perse gave it that. He wanted people to come, to taste, to stay – to experience everything this place could offer.’

Legacy & reflection

Looking back after more than two decades, Château Pavie’s journey feels almost cinematic – from controversy to cult classic.

‘Gérard Perse was a visionary,’ says Da Costa. ‘He showed that conviction matters more than consensus. He made the wines he loved, and he never apologised for that.’

Even those who once bristled at the flash and ambition now concede that Perse turned a sleepy estate into a powerhouse – one that continues to thrive in his memory.

A taste of Château Pavie: Hindle’s pick of the vintages

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In the spring of 2006, the wine world was a very different place; the insatiable demand for Burgundy was barely a twinkle in the milkman’s eye, Bordeaux was the undisputed deity of the wine world, and the entire known wine universe was ruled by one Robert M. Parker Jr.

History

When ‘Bob Parker’ released his first report on the 2005 vintage, titled; ‘Is 2005 the perfect vintage?’, ahead of the much-awaited En Primeur campaign, lovers of fine wine across the globe frantically contacted their bank managers to lay hands on any and everything that came their way.

Of course, the campaign was a roaring success, even with the relatively lofty prices, but there came a twist… when the great man, who had fuelled massive hype and demand through his comments, released his ‘in-bottle’ review, all and sundry were flabbergasted to read that there were only two ‘perfect’ 100 point scores from the hundreds reviewed.

He went on to qualify that ‘the perfect vintage’ referred, not necessarily to the absolute highs, but the exceptional median quality and homogeneity present, left and right, from top to bottom and everywhere in between.

In more recent years we have seen similar comments made about 2009, 2010, 2015, 2016 and 2022. As a great château owner once joked: ‘We don’t have bad vintages in Bordeaux. We have good vintages, great vintages and vintage of the century… but we can only use that every five years’.

The question on every Bordeaux lover’s lips is: ‘Where does 2005 sit in the pantheon of ‘vintages of the century?’ that are already so numerous in the first three decades of the new millennium.

Notes and scores for 23 Bordeaux wines from 2005 below

Weather conditions

The growing season was textbook and pleasingly effortless, dry being the predominant word but with some timely rain. Hot of course, but with no heatwaves as in 2003.

The cool nights gave the grapes a little refresh button after a day of basking in the sun, aiding in a gradual and gentle course to perfect phenolic ripeness. This long, slow ripening helped bring great balance to the wines.

Nonetheless, a few wines are showing their inherent ripeness; Château la Conseillante, Chaâteau Pontet-Canet, Château Palmer, Château Giscours to name a few.

As we would possibly expect in a vintage famed for evolving so slowly, there are more than a few wines that remain unresolved and very youthful.

Although some château exhibited the quirks common in warm vintages, many showed a beautiful purity and classicism, on the left bank especially.

Alcohols hover around the 13% mark, a pleasing number for the traditionalists among us, and a clear example of a benchmark vintage that, in the most part, refuses to succumb to anything flabby or excessive.

While tasting these wines 20 years on showed substantial stylistic differences, the homogeneity in terms of quality, seems to ring as true today, as it did for Robert Parker 19 years ago.

This does beg the question… in this benchmark vintage, are the First Growths and peers a significant enough step up, or, would other properties, not so lauded in the 1855 Classification, bring a similar amount of pleasure without the additional price tag?

Price and value

Scouring for prices on WineSearcher reveal the most expensive wine to be Château Cheval Blanc at around £900 a bottle (Margaux next at £859), and the cheapest Château Batailley at £65 (next Gruaud-Larose at £80).

Undoubtedly the First Growths of 2005 are among the very best wines produced this century. However, I would argue in a homogenous vintage like 2005, many others, such as Château Montrose and Château Figeac, hit far above their ‘classification’ and make for a very tempting proposition at a significantly lower price point (around £118 and £175 respectively).

While I would not peddle 2005 to be greater than the likes of 2009, 2010, 2015 and 2016, there is no doubt that 2005 Bordeaux is a truly great vintage.

Although some 2005s remain in their gangly unresolved stage of youth, others are showing glimmers, to say the least, of their potential elegance, gravitas and greatness.

See all 23 Bordeaux 2005 wines re-tasted 20 years on

All of the wines were tasted as part of the Berry Bros. & Rudd 2005 Bordeaux 20 years on tasting in London. 

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Classic red wines to pair with lamb

Here are six key grape varieties behind some of the most popular red wine styles to pair with lamb:

• Pinot Noir
• Tempranillo
• Cabernet Sauvignon
• Syrah / Shiraz
• Grenache
• Sangiovese

Cabernet Sauvignon-driven red wines are commonly considered a classic match with roast lamb served medium or ‘well done’, bringing a sumptuous balance of cassis fruit, tannic structure and acidity to the table.

There’s also something alluring about a comforting lamb stew on a cold, wintry evening with a bottle of hearty red. Alternatively, young lamb served pink might take you into Pinot Noir territory.

Choosing a wine to drink with lamb

Food and wine pairing can divide the room, of course. This is a highly subjective pursuit, and even wines from well-known grape varieties and regions will vary in character according to winemakers’ decisions.

Caveats aside, it’s useful to consider the intensity and make-up of the dish.

‘Lamb has quite a delicate texture, but is also quite rich and fatty,’ said master sommelier Kathrine Larsen-Robert MS, head of wine for Europe at members’ club 67 Pall Mall.

‘As such, pairing with a wine which has nice acid structure is important. Depending on the cut of lamb, and thus how full in flavour it is, I would go for a wine which is light to medium in body.’

Wine with slow-cooked lamb shoulder

Larsen-Robert said some Pinot Noir wines at the riper end of the fruit spectrum pair well with the richness of slow-cooked lamb shoulder.

‘With a slow-cooked roast lamb shoulder, I would go for something with lots of acidity to cut through the rich sauce, but also with lots of fruit sweetness. This could be a Pinot Noir from New Zealand, for example.’

Speaking to Decanter in 2024, Larsen-Robert added: ‘I really like Felton Road Block 3 Pinot Noir, from a young vintage such as 2018 – great sweetness and fruit concentration, [and] great acidity to cut through the juicy texture and richness of the lamb.’

Decanter experts have also previously recommended Grenache blends, such as those of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, with a slow-roast shoulder of older lamb. If you have them in the cellar, wines with a few years of bottle age may sing alongside the meat’s gamey character.

Herbaceous notes of ‘garrigue’ on some Syrah / Shiraz or Grenache wines, from southern France to South Australia and California, may add extra depth to a dish with lots of Mediterrean herbs, like thyme, rosemary and sage, too.

Wine with a rack of lamb and lamb chops  

‘A rack of lamb is a more muscley, firmer cut, but it also has a fuller flavour because it is close to the bone,’ said Larsen-Robert.

‘Thus, I would pair with something fuller in structure and flavour, such as a Pauillac [from Bordeaux’s Left Bank].’

Individual lamb chops can offer a rich, fatty cut that is also full in flavour by virtue of being close to the bone, Larsen-Robert said.

‘I would go for a juicy wine with strong tannic structure, but that also possesses good fruit purity and freshness, such as Barolo or Barbaresco.’

‘You could also choose a more traditional style of Brunello [di Montalcino] without too much oak or extraction.’ Examples include ‘a Sesti from 2015 – a vintage showing good evolution now but which also has nice fruit concentration’.

A study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry in 2021 found that fatty molecules known as lipids, found in various foods including meat and cheese, interact with tannins to reduce the sensation of astringency on the palate.

Rioja with lamb: perfect harmony

Rioja is often lauded as a great match for lamb. This Spanish wine region is known for grilled lamb cooked over an open fire made from vine cuttings.

‘It’s extraordinarily good – the meat is young and tender and harmonises perfectly with the local Tempranillo-based wines,’ wrote food and wine expert Fiona Beckett in this Decanter article on pairing Rioja with food.

Tempranillo is also a driving force behind the great red wines of Ribera del Duero, where it’s also known as Tinto Fino.

‘Lechazo asado (suckling lamb roasted in a clay dish in a wood-fired oven) pairs well with hearty crianzas and reservas from Ribera del Duero,’ wrote Noah Chichester in his food and wine lover’s guide to the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route.

Vega Sicilia and Pingus are two Spanish wine icons here, but there are plenty of other producers to watch.

Cabernet Sauvignon with roast lamb served medium to well-done

Roast lamb served medium to well-done will be richer in flavour and not quite as tender. Cabernet Sauvignon is often considered a strong choice, with many wines delivering bright fruit, tannic structure and a backbone of acidity.

In Bordeaux, Frédéric Braud, chef at Château d’Issan in Bordeaux’s Margaux appellation, previously recommended the estate’s 2010-vintage grand vin with a slow-cooked roast leg of lamb.

Some ‘second wines’ from the top-rated 2016 vintage at Médoc grand cru classé estates have entered their drinking windows, while the Cru Bourgeois classification can be a source of great-value options.

Good Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot blends are found across the globe. Regions to look for include:

• Hawke’s Bay – New Zealand
• California – USA
• Coonawarra & Margaret River – Australia
• Stellenbosch – South Africa
• Argentina and Chile – South America

Syrah / Shiraz wines are also good options for roast lamb. Some wines will offer a touch of pepper spice in the glass that can also work beautifully with the texture of the meat.

Decanter recently revisited the highly regarded 2015 vintage in the Northern Rhône, a Syrah heartland. Not only does the vintage deserve the hype, but many wines are ‘opening up and drinking well already,’ wrote Rhône correspondent Matt Walls.

Alternative wines to pair with lamb dishes

There are plenty of other potential pairings across the wine world, and discovering new styles is all part of the fun.

Decanter's regional editor for Italy, James Button, recently reviewed this good-value Nero di Troia red wine from Puglia. 'Mid-weight, textural and with some grippy tannins, it's a perfect match for beef or lamb,' he wrote.

Rosé wines with lamb

Some fuller-bodied rosé wines can work well with lamb dishes, depending on the ingredients accompanying the meat.

Food and wine expert Fiona Beckett explored this concept with chef Michel Roux Jr’s recipe for spiced lamb shoulder, recently featured in Decanter’s perfect pairing series.

Gastronomic rosé Champagnes are also an option for the table. ‘Pink Champagne is versatile when it comes to food pairing,’ wrote Natalie Earl, Decanter’s regional editor for France. ‘Richer styles can stand up to bigger flavours and richer foods.’

Five offbeat wine and lamb pairings to try this weekend

By Fiona Beckett | As featured in Decanter magazine April 2026 issue

• Vintage rosé Champagne or English sparkling rosé with rack of lamb, served pink
• Assyrtiko or Greco di Tufo white wine with grilled lamb marinated in garlic and herbs
• Crianza or Reserva Rioja with Rogan Josh lamb curry
• Orange wine with slow-cooked lamb with Middle Eastern spices
• Tavel rosé with grilled lamb

See the full pairing suggestions, and read more about uncommon wine and lamb combinations, in Fiona Beckett's article: Offbeat wines to pair with lamb.

Best wine with lamb: Bottles tasted by our experts

The following wines cover a range of price-points and have been tasted by Decanter’s experts.

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Guado al Tasso is owned by the Antinori family, who have been making wine in Tuscany for several centuries – hosting the masterclass was 26th-generation Alessia Antinori, daughter of Piero, and the company’s head oenologist and CEO, Renzo Cotarella.

The estate is framed by the three key roads of Bolgheri: the ancient Via Aurelia which runs parallel with the coast, running north/south; the iconic cypress-lined Viale dei Cipressi, which runs eastwards from the Via Aurelia; and the Via Bolgherese, which runs north/south from the Viale dei Cipressi and parallel with Via Aurelia, and leads to the village of Bolgheri itself.

It’s along the latter that many of the area’s wineries can be accessed, including Guado al Tasso.

The lineup

Guado al Tasso, Bolgheri Superiore 1998 (magnum)

Guado al Tasso, Bolgheri Superiore 2007

Guado al Tasso, Bolgheri Superiore 2013

Guado al Tasso, Bolgheri Superiore 2022

Guado al Tasso, Matarocchio, Toscana 2007 (magnum)

Guado al Tasso, Matarocchio, Bolgheri Superiore 2013

Guado al Tasso, Matarocchio, Bolgheri Superiore 2016

Guado al Tasso, Matarocchio, Bolgheri Superiore 2021

Tasting notes below

A new home for Cabernet Franc

‘Bolgheri is a wonderful area for international varieties…for Cabernet Franc it’s one of the best places in the world,’ exclaimed Antinori’s head oenologist of over 40 years.

And this masterclass turned out to be a celebration of Bolgheri’s zeitgeist variety, appearing in Guado al Tasso’s Bolgheri Superiore from 2007 and taking the stage solo in the super-premium Matarocchio.

The first release of Guado al Tasso Bolgheri Superiore was the 1990 vintage, but there was no initial follow-up in 1991 due to unfavourable conditions.

In its original guise it was a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 10% other grapes, including Syrah and Petit Verdot.

Cotarella calls 1998 the wine’s first great vintage, noting that it was the warmest summer until 2022. However, it was the 2007 vintage that proved to be a turning point for the estate.

2007 yielded some seriously good Cabernet Franc, and so the decision was made to to incorporate some into Guado al Tasso’s Bolgheri Superiore, Cotarella explaining that the idea was to replace the Syrah in order to produce a more refine, vibrant and ‘more authentic’ wine.

Since then, the blend has slowly shifted towards a larger portion of Cabernet Franc, arriving at 31% in the 2022 vintage. Cotarella explains that he aims to make Guado al Tasso a ‘drinkable but not simple’ wine, and favours what he describes at the softer entrance but also more backbone that the variety brings to a blend.

The birth of Matarocchio

‘When we bottled 2007 Guado al Tasso we didn’t use all the Cabernet Franc because we didn’t want to change the character too much.’

Left with such high quality fruit, the team decided to bottle a single-variety wine, but were hesitant to release it commercially until they were sure they could replicate the success.

Cotarella compares this process of patience to the cautious release of Solaia in the 1970s.

The wines

The masterclass was divided into two flights: Guado al Tasso Bolgheri Superiore, followed by Matarocchio.

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Camartina is a Super Tuscan you need to know – but there’s a pretty good chance you haven’t heard of it.

While the likes of Tignanello, Ornellaia and Sassicaia have dominated this illustrious category for decades, Camartina has kept a lower profile; a kind of ‘if you know, you know’ wine rather than an international superstar – despite winning plenty of plaudits along the way.

Camartina is the flagship wine of the Querciabella winery, located in Ruffoli, overlooking the Chianti Classico commune of Greve in Chianti. The estate was founded in 1974 by Giuseppe Castiglioni, who had lofty ambitions for his wines right from the start.

Notes on 40 years of Querciabella’s Camartina listed below

The Tachis factor

Castiglioni brought on renowned winemaking consultant, Giacomo Tachis, who had already proved his worth elsewhere by almost single-handedly creating the new category of Italian wines which collectively became known as the ‘SuperTuscans’.

Tachis had played a leading role in commercialising Sassicaia (which had originally been a wine for private consumption by the Incisa della Rocchetta family), and developing Tignanello and Solaia during his time as head oenologist at Antinori, where he was still working while consulting for Querciabella.

Camartina’s first vintage was 1981. It was designed to capitalise on the waves being made by those early Super Tuscans, using Querciabella’s finest Sangiovese plots blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and sometimes a little Merlot.

Back then, achieving fully ripe Sangiovese was not a given, and so these international varieties helped to give the wine a richer, glossier feel.

Camartina achieved early success but Castiglioni and Tachis – not ones to stand still – began to iterate and evolve the ‘recipe’.

The development of Camartina can be split into five key ‘eras’…

1981-1998: Sangiovese sings

The first era is typified by the original blend of 70-80% Sangiovese, 20-30% Cabernet and up to 10% Merlot, as conceived by Tachis. The earliest iteration of Camartina was very similar to Tignanello in this regard, highlighting the Tachis influence.

In 1988, Querciabella became certified organic, a decision driven by Castiglioni’s vegetarian son, Sebastiano. It became one of the first wineries in Italy to gain certification.

In the late-1990s, Castiglioni retired and Sebastiano took the reins at Querciabella. What followed was a period of transformation that would set the stage for the years to come.

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1999-2003: Chrysalis moment

This brief but very dynamic period for the estate was marked by the end of Chianti Riserva production in 1999 – until it was brought back 12 years later – and the departure of Tachis.

Tachis’ last full vintage, 1999, saw the Sangiovese in Camartina reduced to 60% and the Cabernet increased to 35%, signalling the beginning of a ‘chrysalis moment’.

The wine emerged at the end of this era in 2003 fully formed but almost unrecognisable from its former self. Cabernet Sauvignon was now the dominant variety in the blend (70%), giving the wine a flashier, more generous character in comparison to the relative delicacy of the Sangiovese-dominant years.

A side-effect of this change was that production had to be dramatically reduced, as there just wasn’t enough Cabernet Sauvignon to maintain Camartina’s former 35,000- to 39,000-bottle production at its height. Going forward, production would be between around 10,000 and 18,000 bottles, sometimes dipping even lower, depending on vintage.

It’s easy to think that the omnipotence of the US critics at this time had a part to play in the decision to make such a drastic change towards a Cabernet-driven wine.

But Querciabella’s current winemaker, Manfred Ing, explains that the key factor was a desire to clearly distinguish Camartina from the estate’s Chianti Classico, which was undergoing a transformation of its own towards a purer Sangiovese expression by 2004.

A new millennium dawns

In 2000, Querciabella embarked on a biodynamic path. Already certified organic, and inspired by Nicolas Joly of Coulée de Serrant, Sebastiano was keen to take the next step towards a holistic wine estate, with sustainability, quality and transparency being the ultimate goals.

2000 was the maiden vintage for Palafreno, originally a Merlot/Sangiovese blend but today 100% Merlot.

Marking the end of this era, as well as the proud first phase of Querciabella’s history, founder Giuseppe Castiglioni passed away in 2003.

2004-2009: Status quo

The third era is a relatively stable period for Camartina. The new formula of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Sangiovese proved its worth as the consistency and quality from vintage to vintage was admirable – but there was more to come.

2010-today: A fresh pair of eyes

The fourth and most recent era marked the arrival of consultant Luca Currado and winemaker Manfred Ing, both from Vietti in Piedmont. With them came a recalibration of winemaking, including the introduction of micro-vinifications, which Ing explains allows for ‘more laser focus’ on each parcel before blending.

French oak vats are utilised for the Cabernet, while the estate’s best Sangiovese, found in both the Chianti Classico Gran Selezione and Camartina, is treated to submerged-cap fermentation in cement tanks, which is, says Ing, ‘more about infusion than extraction…something I learned a lot about in Piedmont’.

Around 40-50% whole-bunch fruit is used during fermentation , ‘giving a different layer of complexity’.

Since Currado and Ing’s arrival, there has also been a gradual move towards incorporating oak tonneaux for ageing the Sangiovese, while the Cabernet remains in barriques. The percentage of new oak has also been reduced, around 20% – even for the Cabernet – and the toasting is typically medium-light to minimise oak impact.

Patience is key for Ing and his team. ‘We prefer to be more patient with our picking,’ he says, explaining that waiting for optimal phenolic maturity can be risky but they make the winemaking process much easier to follow and the results are better.

Veganism and higher plots

In 2010, Sebastiano became vegan and, in line with his personal philosophy, banned all animal products at the winery, even manure.

The team stopped using the small selection of biodynamic preparations they had been using before, and began using a diverse selection of over 30 different cover crops (‘green manure’) instead. The winery became certified vegan in 2012.

Today run by Mita Castiglioni and her children, Andrea and Selene, Querciabella retains its organic and vegan philosophies, combined with the forward-looking vision that has always characterised the estate.

In 2020, Querciabella purchased plots in high altitude Lamole and began incorporating some of its fruit into Camartina and the Gran Selezione for the first time.

As an evolution of the previous decade, it’s perhaps too early to say for sure, but the results so far look pretty spectacular.

This year marks Camartina’s 40th anniversary with the release of the 2021 vintage. And it’s never been better!

Our Italy editor’s tasting notes for 20 vintages of Querciabella’s Camartina:

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That this is a list should come as no surprise. The title, dear reader, gives it away. What matters most, however, is what you do with it.

The search for value in Napa Valley is not a fool’s errand; it can still be done!

As someone who has written wine recommendation lists for years across various publications, I’ve found they usually fall into one of two camps: wonderfully practical and helpful, or gloriously hedonistic and almost useless.

Scroll down for Jonathan’s best value Napa wines under $75

What I can promise is this: I’ve tasted every wine on this list, rated it, and logged each one into Decanter’s online reviews. These are wines worth your attention – delicious, even enviable.

Not that I envy a wine for simply being wine; rather, I imagine consumers envying those fortunate enough to already own or drink them.

Still, take a cue from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1933 advice to his 11-year-old daughter: ‘Don’t worry about anybody getting ahead of you – worry about efficiency [and, intriguingly, ‘horsemanship’ – Ed.].’

Efficiency matters here because you do need to worry about wines that have become impossible to find. At the time of publication, each wine is still available directly from the winery.

Though, I can’t guarantee you’ll find these in local retail shops or restaurants, especially if you live outside the US 

But let’s say you reside in a fashionable London neighbourhood, a posh Parisian arrondissement, or near a charming enoteca in Dogliani in Piedmont – print this list, hand it to your local wine buyer, and demand they import as many as possible.

The task ahead

Because here’s the truth: finding excellent Napa Valley wine that travels beyond Napa, that you can drink now, and that costs under $75 a bottle, is no small feat. (And yes, I fully expect my inbox to fill with suggestions for other sub-$75 wines I’ve missed, forgotten, or couldn’t squeeze in.)

But remember my caveat. These wines must:

• The wine must be available outside of Napa Valley.
• It must be excellent, more than a casual ‘sure, I’ll have a glass.’ These are bottles you’ll want to finish to the last drop. At least, I do.

Napa Valley has around 475 physical wineries and over 1,000 brands, so a list of 25 is but a drop in the proverbial bucket.

Wallace Stevens found 13 ways of looking at a blackbird; I’ve found 25 Napa wines under $75 in the past six months that are as enticing as they sound.

Here they are – from whites to reds.

Cristaldi’s pick of the best Napa wines for under $75

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Set against rolling hills with views of Mt St. Helena, a luxurious Napa Valley estate near to downtown Calistoga that includes almost 2.7 hectares (6.6 acres) of Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards has recently found a buyer after being listed at $13.475m (£10.04m).

Lying on site of a former school, the sprawling 18.6-hectare estate (46 acres) features vines that gently slope down to a natural, spring-fed lake.

It also features heritage oak trees and an outdoor swimming pool, plus several buildings ranging from a main residence to a poolside cottage and bell tower, showed a listing by Arthur Goodrich and Federico Parlagreco, of Sotheby’s International Realty – St. Helena Brokerage.

A wine cellar underneath the main house is capable of storing at least 5,000 bottles, and has a ‘tasting nook’, according to the listing.

News of the recent sale constitutes the most expensive residential property deal in this part of California wine country since 2023, according to Mansion Global. The estate was previously listed at $18.5m a few years ago, and at $14.95m earlier this year.

A report by San Francisco Standard linked the purchase to a company managed by philanthropist Lyna Lam, wife of crypto billionaire and leading Silicon Valley entrepreneur Chris Larsen.

Listing agent Goodrich told Decanter it was his policy not to comment on the identity of buyers or sellers, however.

Of the luxury vineyard market in Napa Valley, he said, ‘It is definitely an ideal time to be buyer in wine country and while the wine industry may be experiencing a slowdown, these events are typically cyclical in nature.’

It wasn’t clear how involved the new owners wished to get in the vineyard operation, if at all, but the listing noted that the estate is eligible for a micro-winery permit.

Its Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards are split into four distinct sites and collectively produce 1,200-plus cases annually.

Highly regarded winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown is in charge of producing wine from the estate’s harvest, with vineyards managed by Hardin-Clark, and the listing said this has resulted in a growing wine club.

Alongside the underground cellar space in the main residence, there is a library wine collection going back to the property’s first vintage in 2002.

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Terra rossa. It’s the dense red, iron-rich soil that defines Coonawarra in South Australia and helped to build its reputation as one of Australia’s top regions for Cabernet Sauvignon.

But it’s not the only one…

David’s pick of the 2022 Coonawarra Cabernet listed below

In recent decades, Margaret River in Western Australia has earned highest praise from critics for its Cabernets. While major international trophies have also been awarded to Cabs from the Clare Valley, McLaren Vale, Langhorne Creek and the Barossa.

Against such fierce competition, Coonawarra producers have renewed their intent to stand at the forefront of Australia’s Cabernet conversation.

Wynns Coonawarra Estate, the region’s oldest winery, established in 1891, places an authoritative stamp on each vintage with an annual event to herald its new premium wines. Wynns Day, on the first Wednesday of May each year, provides a valuable barometer of what changes are at play in Coonawarra.

Two years to remember

Wynns Day has been especially telling with the two most recent vintage releases of Cabernet Sauvignon.

Optimal conditions saw the 2021 Coonawarra vintage celebrated as a milestone, thanks to a long, slow ripening period. It produced grapes with high perfume, concentrated and complex flavours, and superb tannin structure that will ensure elegant cellaring.

Good winter rains and a long, slow grape ripening period also placed high expectations on the 2022 vintage. Wynns’ recently released suite of premium 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon wines show this promise has been realised.

Vintages and vineyards

‘We’ve enjoyed two very even, very well balanced vintages that really suit the Wynns style of medium-bodied, aromatic and fruit-forward wines,’ says Wynns senior winemaker Sue Hodder.

She notes the winery keeps reaping benefits from two decades of vineyard revitalisation achieved by the company’s recently retired viticultural maestro Alan Jenkin.

Large-scale vine improvement processes and redevelopment of Wynns Coonawarra vineyards began in 2002. They inspired many other Coonawarra vignerons to also bulldoze vast tracts of diseased old vineyards and replace them with superior new vines.

Going solo

The improvements have now given rise to some superior single-vineyard wines, best illustrated by Wynns’ Single Vineyard series of elite Cabernet blocks, which in 2022 was the Childs vineyard (a portion of which also goes into the elite multi-block cuvee Wynns John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon).

Other wineries have followed suit, with launches that highlight special blocks and stand in stark contrast to blended Cabernets.

They include Parker Estate, releasing its taut, muscular Block 95 Cabernet Sauvignon, and also its First Growth Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from the Scarlet North section of the estate’s large Abbey Block.

Creating new styles

New plantings have introduced impressive new grape clones to the region. Balnaves steered trials of Entav Cabernet and Merlot clones from southern France, which capture the charm and heady fruit perfume of classic Cabernet wrapped in lean muscle.

‘It shows the potential for a new path forward in modern Cabernet style,’ says proprietor Kirsty Balnaves.

Attention to detail in the vineyard is translating to new peaks of excellence in the wines, with the work of stalwart winemakers driving recent offerings forward. Veterans such as Paul Gordon at Leconfield are cleverly reading old-vine assets.

Winemaker Emma Bowen continues the rich and luscious Cabernet style favoured by her father Doug at Bowen Estate. While the Zema family ensure generosity and exuberance in their full-bodied, fruit-driven wines at Zema Estate.

Blended expression

Penfolds approaches its Coonawarra output from a different perspective, having both its own vineyards and purchasing fruit from independent growers, to construct the strongest possible vintage expressions in its Bin 707, Bin 407 and Bin 169 wines.

Penfolds chief winemaker, Peter Gago, holds Coonawarra fruit in special regard. ‘When the vintage conditions are right, Coonawarra Cabernet stands apart as being truly unique and immediately recognisable,’ says Gago.

The other important consideration for Coonawarra Cabernet is its dominant presence in blends, especially premium quality Cabernet/Shiraz wines. These include Penfolds, Yalumba with The Caley, and especially The Redman, a superb flagship blend of 79% Cabernet and 21% Shiraz wine from Redman Wines.

‘It’s an important statement from us, involving the best barrels from the winery, to express both power and elegance by pushing Cabernet’s best attributes to the forefront,’ explains winemaker Dan Redman. ‘It demonstrates just how good Coonawarra Cabernet is.’

Vintage report: Coonawarra 2022

After an even fruit set and mild growing season, the 2022 Coonawarra vintage produced high-quality fruit and good yields. With no prolonged heat waves, the grapes ripened at a steady rate, allowing winemakers to pick at optimum levels for ripeness and flavour.

Cabernet picking concluded in the second half of May, with firm tannins that will translate into wines with good cellaring potential. Cabernet Sauvignon was a standout. According to Wine Australia, the reported crush of Coonawarra wine grapes was 36,122 tonnes in 2022 (down 28% from 2021, but in line with the five-year average crush) at a value of more than AU$40.8 million.

Vinehealth Australia data showed the total vineyard area in Coonawarra as 5,831ha, including 29ha of new plantings in 2021-2022, almost all of them Cabernet Sauvignon.

Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2022: 15 top wines to try

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Margaret River 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon vintage rating: 5/5

A classic year for Cabernet, slightly on the warmer side; aromatics and vibrancy coupled with structure to go the distance.

Cabernet Sauvignon 2022

The 2021 and 2022 vintages in Margaret River were like chalk and cheese when it comes to Cabernet.

Across the board, 2022 was a great year in Margaret River. It didn’t matter which end of the 213,000ha region you looked at.

From the northernmost vineyards in Yallingup, through to the southernmost plantings in Karridale (about 100km away), the conditions provided minimum challenges to vignerons and ideal ripening conditions for Margaret River’s Cabernet-based red wines.

Fifty-five wines were submitted in this category, and those not included in the final report were largely still good, if not very good, wines.

Those wines that reached greater heights offered finesse and complexity, elegance and nuance, vibrant acidity and fully ripe tannins, as well as a distinct personality in the glass. Of course, wines must also be balanced, have sizeable length and a well-defined structure.

We are talking about Cabernet, after all. If I were to define 2022 in one sentence, it would be highly aromatic and well-structured with plenty of vibrancy.

Pure Cabernet potential

‘Great wines don’t come from perfect weather. They come from consistent flowering, healthy vines, and harmony in the vineyard,’ says Cullen Wines’ Vanya Cullen.

While the season was warm, it was largely a calm one for Cabernet growers, thanks to an even pace of development from flowering, to uniform fruit set and on to a warm summer.

Keith Mugford at Moss Wood adds: ‘On Boxing Day, the temperature hit 41.2°C, our hottest day since 1985, followed by a balmy 24°C night. It was a summer of extremes. Despite the heat, ripening remained steady.’

These drier conditions assisted with disease pressure and a good concentration of flavour in the fruit, and with the ability for winemakers to make considered decisions.

‘We let the fruit hang a little longer in 2022, intentionally, to build flavour. Acidity holds in Margaret River, so we could afford to wait,’ says Flametree Wines’ Cliff Royale.

For Phil Hutchison, Senior Winemaker at Leeuwin Estate, the key word for the 2022 vintage is consistency. He explains: ‘2022 gave us one of the most consistent Cabernet harvests in recent memory. Everything just lined up: the weather, the ripeness, the tannin.’

It’s a word also used by Domaine Naturaliste’s Bruce Dukes, who says: ‘2022 was a clean, consistent year. No real pest pressure, no extreme heat, no rush, just pure Cabernet potential.’

Decanter vintage ratings – Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon

2021 3/5: A cooler year with summer rain. Still, wines of beauty and understated elegance from those who were proactive in vineyard management.

2020 5/5: A benchmark year. Near-perfect conditions for Cabernet, it would have taken mismanagement to miss the mark.

2019 4/5: A slightly cooler year, with great, elegant wines of nuanced complexity, starting to shine with time in the bottle.

2018 5/5: Another of the most recent great, classic years in Margaret River. A mild spring followed by a warm and consistent summer ensured good yields and great flavour.

2017 4/5: Slightly cooler conditions with no heat extremes. The best wines are finely detailed and show finesse and longevity.

Vintage comparisons

The vintage has been compared to several other classic vintages, including 2018. ‘It’s probably not as structural,’ says Hutchison. ‘It’s not a blockbuster year, it’s a classical year. And those are often the ones that stand the test of time.’

‘It reminds me of 2019 or even 2012 – a vintage that may not shout early on, but will go the distance in the cellar,’ explains Cherubino.

It’s also a vintage that has taken time to find its voice. ‘It was a quiet vintage,’ explains Cullen. ‘Not loud and showy, but deeply expressive if you take the time to listen.’

Good things come to those who wait, as they say, and the 2022 Cabernets are drinking beautifully at this point.

Stylistic evolutions

While there are regional and producer differences, overall these wines show a more youthful approachability and less oak influence than previous years.

‘Our 2022 Cabernet didn’t see any new oak at all; it just didn’t need it,’ states Cherubino.

A vintage of excellence means less work in the winery.

Fraser Gallop’s Ellin Tritt (pictured, above) sums it up: ‘It was one of those vintages that just flowed. No big challenges, just a joy to work with. The tannins were ripe, the berries were concentrated, and the wines are looking fabulous now.’

Click here for more reviews of the Margaret River 2022 Cabernet Sauvignons

Margaret River 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon

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Margaret River 2023 Chardonnay vintage rating: 5+/5

A ‘perfect’ year for Chardonnay, unanimously considered to be one of the greatest vintages of the past decade.

Chardonnay 2023

If 2022 was a great year for Margaret River Chardonnay, then 2023 proved to be exceptional, thanks to consistent quality across the board.

Wineries that craft reliably excellent wines continued to do so, while ‘solid’ producers were gifted brilliant conditions to elevate their wines.

From a total of 73 wines submitted for tasting, an astonishingly high proportion achieved gold medal level (95-points in Decanter terms) or higher.

And while we can only publish a selection of them here, it’s worth noting that few entries were lower than a silver (90-94pts).

I don’t consider myself a generous scorer, but I’ve given these wines multiple passes and found them expressive, powerful, textural and complex, with persistence and an excellent line of fruit.

Looking for nuance

Undoubtedly, the 2023 Chardonnays are some of the Margaret River region’s best yet – and it’s a vibrant vintage in its youth. I’ve tasted some of these previously, and they’ve unfurled further with just a few more months in bottle.

While many possess fruit sweetness, delicacy and power, in tasting them I was particularly on the lookout for nuance.

Chardonnay is often referred to as a ‘winemaker’s grape’ for good reason, so a diversity of style is justified, as long as there is respect for the fruit, a sense of place in the wine, balance, harmony and clarity.

Margaret River doesn’t struggle for acidity (especially when the Gingin clone is concerned), and philosophies vary on malolactic fermentation, oak regimes and the use of solids in the winemaking process.

Regardless of philosophy, the techniques and choices in the winery should enhance rather than distract, and integrate to complete the wine’s story.

The greatest iterations have an unbreakable harmony and seamlessness to them.

Decanter vintage ratings – Margaret River Chardonnay

2022 5/5: A fantastic year on the warmer side. Effortless, though picking dates proved crucial and yields varied.

2021 4/5: The best wines are outstanding, however there were challenges with rain events and labour shortages due to COVID-19 which didn’t ensure a smooth vintage for all.

2020 5/5: An early, warm, and dry vintage with little disease or pest pressure. Low yields and high quality meant allocations were tight for those in demand.

2019 4/5: A late vintage and little Marri blossom proved challenging for yields, however cooler conditions favoured Chardonnay with intense fruit and acid retention.

2018 4/5: A classic, warm and dry year, providing long hang time. Cabernet Sauvignon really shone this year, but Chardonnay wasn’t far behind.

Conditions & comparisons

While Margaret River is lucky to enjoy a relatively consistent Mediterranean-type climate, the term ‘dream vintage’ has been used by multiple winemakers for 2023. ‘It’s probably one of the standout vintages of the last 25 years,’ says Larry Cherubino of Cherubino Wines.

Growing conditions were near perfect, with even flowering, consistent fruit set and moderate summer temperatures allowing gentle and even ripening.

There were no weather events, there was low disease and pest pressure, decent yields, a wet spring and well-timed top-up rains.

In comparison to other recent vintages, Cliff Royale of Flametree Wines explains: ‘2022 sits just behind 2023 (see vintage box below). Not because it wasn’t good, just because 2023 was exceptional.’

‘We’ve had three great vintages in a row – 2021, 2022, 2023 – ascending in terms of concentration of fruit and balance,’ adds Vanya Cullen of Cullen Wines (pictured, below).

‘2023 had elegance, balance and fruit power, and was great straight away. Whereas 2022 was more reserved.’

‘2023 was a graceful vintage,’ concludes Phil Hutchison, Leeuwin Estate. ‘I think it showcases this beautiful fruit purity, beautiful aromatics.

‘It’s one of those vintages that is going to be talked about a lot more down the track. It will easily be in the top five of the last 20 years, without doubt.’

Looking ahead

Margaret River is a wine region that produces two per cent of the nation’s total wine production, yet this is almost all premium production.

There’s no question that Margaret River is a name that should shine on the international stage.

However, let’s remember that premium does not equal heavy. One evolution I would like to see continue is that of lighter bottles on the tasting table.

While several wineries have made the jump to lightweight, there is scope for the figure to increase substantially in the coming years.

Click here for more reviews of the Margaret River 2023 Chardonnays

Margaret River 2023 Chardonnay

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With a legacy as rich as the soil that nurtures its vines, Cabernet Sauvignon stands an international aristocrat amongst grape varieties, gaining the utmost respect from connoisseurs and wine lovers alike.

The grape variety thrives in a multitude of climates and regions, making it a global ambassador of fine red wines which intertwine history, terroir, and craftsmanship.

From famed Bordeaux to the sun-kissed Napa Valley, its signature notes of blackcurrant, plum, and hints of herbaceousness carry a sense of place with each sip.

Scroll down to see 15 top-scoring Cabernet Sauvignon dominant wines from DWWA 2025

In this year’s Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA), the variety proved its versatility and adaptability with stellar examples from around the world.

China claimed one of the 50 Best in Show medals, with a Cabernet Sauvignon blend from Ningxia. The list also joined wines from California in the US, Stellenbosch in South Africa and Margaret River in Western Australia.

New World Cabernet Sauvignon wines impressed at DWWA 2025 with Australia, Chile and China receiving Platinum medals. Gold medal were also awarded to Italy, Romania and Serbia.

To celebrate International Cabernet Sauvignon Day, we highlight 15 top-scoring Cabernet Sauvignon dominant wines from DWWA which are well worth looking for. Discover more award-winning wines at awards.decanter.com →

Celebrating International Cabernet Sauvignon Day: 15 to try

Argentina

Etchart, Estate, Cafayate, Salta 2024

Gold, 96 points

Understated and classy with blackcurrant and cherry fruit supported by a gravelly mineral character. One to watch with its youthful acidity and deeply intense structure and tannins. Alcohol 14%

Australia

Xanadu, Reserve, Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia 2022

Best in Show, 97 points

We’ve known it since the beginning, back in the 1960s; that was the moment when John Gladstones first suggested that Cabernet Sauvignon and Margaret River might make a fruitful partnership, and when his recommendations were taken up by the region’s pioneering amateurs. This, the fifth appearance for Margaret River Cabernet in our Best in Show selection, confirms it yet again: Cabernet feels very much at home in these rangy, coastal vineyards with their sustaining maritime warmth. Dark opaque black-red, with aromas in which fruits are rendered savoury by notes of pepper, spice, earth, dry leaves and autumn’s plenty, this wine compels from the first approach to the glass. The palate is deep, textured and pure, as the fruit steals out from beneath the camouflage of those other allusions to command the palate. The acidity is relatively soft; it’s the inner freshness of the fruit itself that brings the wine its lift and life. It’s so approachable you might almost underestimate its qualities; the longer you spend with the wine, the more they’ll tell. Alc 14%

Fermoy, Wilyabrup Reserve, Margaret River, Western Australia 2022

Platinum, 97 points

Quintessential and stylish, exuding pure cassis, blackberry and briary fruit which garnishes the elegant framework of structure and tannin and seeps into the mouth-wateringly juicy acidity. A fine mineral undertone ordains the long, visionary finish. Alc 14%

Chile

Miguel Torres, Los Inquietos 02, Maule 2022

Platinum, 97 points

Capacious cherries, plums, blackberries and eucalyptus unlock the potential of this effortlessly stylish Cabernet Sauvignon: The polished elegant structure, silky smooth tannins and pervading acidity emphasize and celebrate the potential of the region in equal measure. Alc 14.5%

China

Dongfang Yuxing Winery, Geruihong Yeguangbei, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia, China (Mainland) 2022

Best in Show, 97 points

China is a relative newcomer to the world of wine, though in other respects its civilisation pre-dates that of Mediterranean Europe (and the Chinese made mixed alcoholic beverages even earlier than the Georgians wines). Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised, then, both at the speed at which its wine creators are learning, and the level of their accomplishments. Both were on show this year with not one but two Best in Show wines. This wine from Helan Mountain in Ningxia is a cunning blend which few in Europe would have thought of: Cabernet Sauvignon with 9% of freshening Dornfelder and 6% of Cabernet Gernischt (Carmenère). It works well. The wine is a dark, opaque black-purple with fresh and alluring scents of blackcurrant and wild plum. The palate offers a seductive plunge of fruit and spice, settling on something more akin to dark chocolate but – and this is key – with the authority and detaining discipline only carefully extracted tannins can bring. It’s a revelation. Alc 15.6%

Li’s Estate, Family Reserve, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia, China (Mainland) 2022

Platinum, 97 points

A tantalising complexity of blackberry fruit compote and succulent prunes garnished with cedar and black pepper spice and hints of green herbs. Rousing and rich with immersive tannins and a lick of warming tar on the finish. Alc 15.5%

France

Château Haut Breton Larigaudière, Le Créateur, Margaux, Bordeaux 2022

Gold, 95 points

Lavish oak overlays a smouldering cassis fruit and graphite intensity with impeccably fine-tuned tannins and vivacious acidity. One for the long haul but delicious now. Alc 13.8%

Israel

Golan Heights Winery, Yarden, Golan Heights, Galilee 2021

Platinum, 97 points

Stand-out luscious black fruit aromas with a charming underpinning of floral scent. Flourishing with plush oak modernity and sleek satin tannins, the striking flow of flavour proceeds diligently to the finish line. Plenty of ageing potential. Alc 14.5%

Italy

Mazzei, Tenuta Belguardo Riserva, Maremma Toscana, Tuscany 2021

Gold, 95 points

Ample cassis, black plum compote, brushwood and mint aromas permeate the fine structure and smoky tannins buoyed along by an enticing acidity. A joy to drink. Alc 14%

Romania

Crama Ceptura, Magnus Monte, Dealu Mare, Muntenia & Oltenia 2023

Gold, 95 points

A highly accomplished, classic Cabernet Sauvignon, rippling with ripe blackcurrant, graphite, tar and bell pepper characters. Bold and full with vigorous tannins and a bristling acidity. Alc 14%

Serbia

Despotika, Krunski Dokaz, Oplenac, Šumadija-Great Morava 2017

Gold, 95 points

Tobacco and cigar box oak overlays a lattice of cassis and bramble fruit with an absorbing structure, finely meshed tannins and attractive acid backbone to sustain. Alc 15%

South Africa

Knorhoek, Simonsberg-Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa 2021

Best in Show, 97 points

Three of South Africa’s three previous appearances in our Best in Show selection have involved Stellenbosch and a member of the Cabernet family … so no one will be surprised to see that this year’s laureate is, once again, a Stellenbosch Cabernet. Why is the combination so successful? There isn’t the space here to delve into the intricacies of terroir (and in any case we should remember that this 17,500-ha zone constitutes around 18% of South Africa’s planted vineyard total on its own), but in sensual terms the answer seems clear — and this wine exemplifies the appeal perfectly. It’s an opaque dark black-red, with perfectly calibrated oak-aged fruit that conveys an urbane and well-mannered refinement typical of Bordeaux back in France but rare outside it. The fruit qualities are ripe but not overly so, with ample inner freshness; it’s a balanced, digestible wine which cries out for fine cooking and polished glasswear. Technically speaking, there’s enough ripe acidity and deft tannin to carry the fruit with poise and ease yet save it from simplicity, and credit to its creators for getting the wine to this state of approachable maturity in just four short years. Alc 14%

Nederburg, Private Bin Two Centuries, Coastal Region 2021

Gold, 96 points

Beaming with violet, cassis and blueberry power supported by sleek, form-giving tannins with a splash of racy acidity providing energy and lift. Astoundingly long and generous. Alc 14.2%

United States

Kenwood Vineyards, Six Ridges, Alexander Valley, California, United States 2021

Best in Show, 97 points

We’re thrilled to see a wine from Alexander Valley join the nine California red-wine peers that have already featured in our Best in Show selection. This distinctive zone clearly offers Cabernet of significantly different style to Napa: amply fleshed, yes, but with a savoury, mountain wildness to that flesh, and with a different acid emphasis. The blend here, with its seasoning of Petite Syrah, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, surely also plays a role in lending this wine its intriguing complexities. It’s black-red in colour, with open, affably fruity aromas lent depth by a dry-forest warmth; on the palate the wine has both breadth and depth as well as a compelling inner sweetness. The acidity is low but soft, while plump tannins with that distinctive savoury nuance bring the wine resolution and balance. Alc 14.5%

L’Ecole Nº 41, Cabernet Sauvignon, Walla Walla Valley, Washington State 2022

Gold, 95 points

A sophisticated display of blackcurrant, cedar and graphite fragrance, with an array of sleek tannins, a silky texture and delectable spicy lift on the finish. Alc 14.5%

Search all DWWA 2025 results

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Actor Kyle MacLachlan grew up in rural Yakima, Washington, and went to college in Seattle at the University of Washington.

MacLachlan starred in Dune, Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks early in his career, a resume that set him up as a cult figure of sorts.

A very successful actor, in both film, television and theatre, he has spent much of his life living between New York City and Los Angeles.

Yet MacLachlan always felt deeply drawn to home and – despite a vocal appreciation for a fine cup of coffee – believes in the state’s potential as a world-class place to produce fine wine.

Notes and scores for Pursued by Bear wines below

No place like home

For MacLachlan, the idea of making a Washington wine was a way to spend time with his father (who passed away in 2011). ‘My return to Washington was motivated by a few different things,’ he says.

‘A big reason was to spend more time with my dad, to be honest. He was getting older. When I was growing up, he was a gentleman farmer with orchards and gardens. He loved it. I knew he’d love those elements about the growing and making of wine, too.

He continues: ‘I always say that men’s relationships with their fathers are about doing things together, you’re not talking, you’re facing forward, doing something. Wine was something we could do together. I’d pick him up, and we’d drive to Walla Walla, and work on this. It was lovely for us to be able to do that for the first few years of this project.’

MacLachlan definitely had a Washington wine ‘a-ha!’ moment.

‘Indeed, it was a single vineyard red blend, a 1995 vintage from the Elerding Vineyard, near where I grew up in Yakima, made by Wineglass Cellars (which since closed in 2015) in the Rattlesnake Hills appellation,’ he recalls.

‘When I tasted that, I’ll be honest, I was sceptical, but it was delicious. Not long after that, I tasted a 1999 Dunham Cellars Syrah for my wedding reception, made by Eric Dunham (MacLachlan’s first winemaker). I knew there was something serious here.’

The Bard’s wine

In 2005, MacLachlan partnered with Eric Dunham at Walla Walla’s Dunham Cellars to release his wine Pursued by Bear, a nod to the odd stage direction in Shakespeare’s A Winter’s Tale.

It was initially a single Cabernet Sauvignon project, sourced from two vineyards in the broader Columbia Valley appellation, using 100% new French oak.

‘Growing up, there was no winemaking world here in Washington. Some of the earlier wines we produced at Pursued by Bear were quite good. It was validating, not just for me, but for my sense of pride in my home state.

‘I made 300 cases in my first vintage, at Dunham Cellars. I remember telling Eric, well, that was fun. And the winemaker Eric Dunham said: “No, now you have to sell it. And now you have to start thinking about the next vintage”.

‘Early on, I could pop in and pop out, and it was fun, but it was more something I did when I could. In 2014, I started getting really serious about it. I started paying attention to the different cooperages, the vineyard sources.’

Truth be told, MacLachlan doesn’t talk about his wines like your typical celebrity who has started a wine brand. He’s decidedly tuned in to things on both the growing and production side.

Citing cooperages, vineyards and appellations like someone who is clearly paying attention to how all of those things can impact the wine. He’s paying attention and learning as he goes.

A sense of place, and home

MacLachlan explains: ‘Eric [Dunham] introduced me to the wine community in Walla Walla, and I fell in love with it all. I have some credibility, too, because I’m not just some actor from Hollywood, dropping in to do a vanity project. I grew up here.’

In 2008, MacLachlan added a Syrah, the Baby Bear, which coincided with the birth of his son. He has added the Twin Bear bottlings since then, including a Chardonnay and a Cabernet Sauvignon. The Twin Bear wines will be designated as single-appellation or single-vineyard wines.

These days, MacLachlan collaborates with long-time Washington winemaker Dan Wampfler, who currently makes the wine (alongside his wife, Amy) at Abeja Cellars, having also worked at Dunham Cellars and Columbia Crest.

While deferring to Wampfler – ‘I work with people who are really smart’ MacLachlan explains – he is involved in blending decisions.

‘I sit with them a couple times a year for blending,’ says MacLachlan, as well as weighing in on the oak selection.

A Washington boy through and through, MacLachlan knows that the region may have a style, or as he calls it, a ‘Washington profile’, while at the same time boasting a diversity of terroirs and vineyard sites.

‘We’ve been sourcing from the Sagemoor group in White Bluffs, and Les Collines in Walla Walla, which has a new vineyard manager, though the vineyard has been a prominent one here in Washington for a long time.’

MacLachlan assumed sole proprietorship of the brand in 2016. The same year, Pursued by Bear launched an entry-level red wine and a Chardonnay (which came online in 2023), aimed at larger production and national distribution, called Bear Cub.

‘That was the year that I seemed to have gotten very excited about this project, and started sourcing fruit from a number of different vineyards,’ he explains. ‘My exuberance led to us having more wine than we knew what to do with, which became sort of a problem, which we solved by making more wine.’

While the industry is experiencing a difficult moment, MacLachlan is fully committed to his home state and the wines that can be produced throughout Washington.

He’s navigated partnering and then going solo, growing the brand and notably developing relationships with growers and winemakers that show his belief in Washington’s wine community.

As Dorothy said, there’s no place like home.

The current releases of Pursued by Bear:

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Cadence on Washington’s Red Mountain

The 175th anniversary of Bleasdale winery shines necessary light on one of Australia’s most significant yet least celebrated wine regions of renown – Langhorne Creek.

The region is located in the southern reaches of South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula, near the mouth of Australia’s longest river, the Murray River.

This big, bountiful district has broad alluvial soils that benefit from irrigation off flooding local rivers during winter.

Scroll down for 10 wines from Langhorne Creek

It has provided grapes that characterise the generous, open-hearted flavours beloved in some of Australia’s most popular commercial wines – such as Wolf Blass Wines – but mostly kept anonymous as a secret blending agent.

Bleasdale has led the charge to change this perception…

Starting out

The Langhorne Creek region’s potential was first realised by Frank Potts, a young carpenter and surveyor’s assistant who was among the first English settlers to arrive in South Australia in 1836.

After travelling south from the fledgling city of Adelaide to find his own patch of land, Potts signed the deed to a 48.5ha property on the banks of the Bremer River in 1850.

Planting Shiraz and Verdelho vines, he established Bleasdale to make fortified wines that were exported to England.

Since then, Langhorne Creek has produced wine grapes on a vast scale – across 5,800ha – making it larger than McLaren Vale.

It flourished after a surge of vine planting in the 1970s and again through the 1990s, but this also brought challenges to shift from the initial pursuit of tonnage to instead pursue excellence.

Hidden in plain sight

Such abundance saw 75% of the annual harvest sold to companies outside the region, though it rarely saw Langhorne Creek credited on wine labels.

Most famously, Barossa-based Wolf Blass Wines won consecutive Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophies – the premium accolade of the annual Melbourne Royal Wine Awards, for one-year-old red wine – for its Cabernet-Shiraz blend in 1974, 1975 and 1976, thanks to the ripe roundness of Langhorne Creek fruit that supplied the generous belly of these wines.

The wins sparked a rush of outsider winery buyers wanting access to this ‘secret’ ingredient for superior red wine blends, but this change in fortune also saw more Langhorne Creek growers retain fruit for their own wine brands.

Changing fortunes

Bleasdale led the charge, making the most of its historical vines that had been bolstered by significant plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache and Malbec vines, which remain a core asset to the winery today.

The turning point in Langhorne Creek’s fortunes came when Bleasdale issued its first single-vineyard wines from the 2010 vintage. This raised the price of Bleasdale’s top-tier wine from AU$30 to AU$90 (£14 to £44).

‘We saw value as being the key to selling our wines, but compared to the wider commercial market, we greatly under-valued our wines for far too long,’ says Robbie Potts, co-proprietor and brand ambassador, who started working in the Bleasdale vineyards in 1980.

‘I think that robbed us of the respect we deserved,’ he adds.

Robbie is the fifth-generation Potts family member at the helm of Bleasdale, which has won 50 Australian wine show trophies in the past decade.

Stepping up

Other longstanding grape-growing families also began to see opportunities. The Adams family, owners of the famous Metala vineyard, planted in 1891, formed the Brothers in Arms label to sell their own wines.

They have also revived the Metala wine brand, which was owned for many decades by Treasury Wine Estates but bought back by the Adams family in 2022.

The Case family followed a similar line, establishing Kimbolton Wines in 1998 and building a solid reputation on outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz.

They also experimented, taking the plunge to graft Montepulciano onto some Shiraz vines.

Not only has the variety provided some exciting new wines, but it also hints at the role alternative grape varieties could play in shaping Langhorne Creek’s viticultural future.

In the vineyards

Changes to viticulture in the region elevated success in many Langhorne Creek wines, as noted by former winemaker Paul Hotker.

He led the Bleasdale winemaking team for 17 years until 2024 and won Bleasdale its own Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy for the 2018 Wild Fig Shiraz-Grenache-Mataro blend.

‘When I first came to work in Langhorne Creek, having moved from Western Australia, I held a very positive perception about the vineyards’ potential to make amazing wines.

But there were several obstacles – over-cropping, traces of salinity in the water,’ says Hotker.

‘One by one, these problems have been overcome, and there is a shared understanding among all the winemakers in Langhorne Creek to strive for quality by chasing specific criteria. It has meant stronger communication between growers and winemakers, and clearer understanding of this region’s great assets,’ he adds.

‘This region’s investment in research and development is huge – on sourcing the best clones and varieties, pest management, GPS mapping and water usage – because our focus is on continued excellence and improvement.’

Malbec takes centre stage

Bleasdale’s new crop of celebration wines, constructed to mark the winery’s 175th anniversary, are fitting examples of this progression.

The new super-premium Mainsail Malbec 2022 – named to honour the seafaring and boat-building heritage of founder Frank Potts – recognises the Potts family’s long-held belief that their ancient-vine Malbec can be celebrated as a single-variety wine of the highest order.

Originally planted for use as a blending agent in fortified wines, Malbec was the first table wine that Bleasdale produced in 1961.

It has since become the distinctive standout variety of the winery and the Langhorne Creek region.

For Nicole Brasier, appointed as senior winemaker at Bleasdale in December 2024, working with Malbec is one of the main reasons she applied to join the winery.

‘We have our own Potts clone of Malbec – that’s how unique it is,’ says Brasier.

‘Yes, our Malbec has great strength of flavour, but we pick the fruit so that it always captures freshness and vibrancy. The Bleasdale style is always made with restraint so that the fruit carries all the power – not the oak or the tannins, but instead that delicious even flow of supple flavours.’

Cabernet character

Other celebration wines released in Bleasdale’s 175th year include a nine-year-old fortified Verdelho and three different commemorative magnums of 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon.

Each represents different fruit parcels and oak maturation treatment: The Celebration Magnum (AU$75/£36), the Anniversary Magnum (AU$125/£60) and the Limited Release Magnum (AU$175/£85).

‘Cabernet is definitely the unsung hero of this region,’ says Brasier.

‘It’s never mentioned in the first breath of great Australian Cabernet regions, but Langhorne Creek has something very distinctive of its own. It has unique drive, supported by elongated tannins with a chalky edge, and such a plush character. It’s so easy to fall in love with these wines.’

On show

The rising tide of respect for Langhorne Creek wines can be matched to the transformation of the area’s regional wine show, which was recognised as a formal part of Australia’s wine show circuit in 2014.

That strengthened the credibility of 23 local producers and highlighted the region’s diversity – especially its alternative Mediterranean grape varieties.

The show even shone a light on the region’s far-reaching external influence by including a class for multi-region blends featuring mostly Langhorne Creek fruit.

Greg Follett of Lake Breeze Wines has won the most trophies at the Langhorne Creek Wine Show, particularly for his Cabernet and blends.

‘If our success is consistent, it sure says a lot about what our vineyards produce,’ says Follett. ‘It’s no wonder that Langhorne Creek locals have strong belief in the merits of this region.’

The ripples from such achievements resonate strongly with leading winemakers in other regions, especially McLaren Vale’s Drew Noon MW.

He waxes lyrical about the expressive, intensely flavoured Langhorne Creek fruit that he buys for his flagship Reserve Cabernet and Reserve Shiraz.

‘It’s simple,’ explains Noon. ‘I don’t need to buy this fruit. I buy it because it’s outstanding.’

Langhorne Creek: 10 top wines to try

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Seven decades after the inaugural 1951 Grange, the 2021 vintage of Penfolds’ renowned multi-region South Australian Shiraz looks set to be one of the greats.

Priced at £600 (AU$1,000 / €700), it was the highlight of the 2025 Collection, presented to critics in London last month by Penfolds chief winemaker Peter Gago.

With a history as long and rich as Penfolds (it celebrated its 180th birthday last year) and with an ever-increasing number of wines in its international portfolio (close to 40), there’s a high chance of one or more anniversaries coinciding with each vintage.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores of the new Grange release and 23 other wines in the 2025 Penfolds Collection

Marking milestones

This year, in addition to Grange marking 70 years since the inaugural 1951 vintage, Penfolds’ home vineyard in Adelaide – first planted 181 years ago – sees the 40th anniversary of its Magill Estate Shiraz with the 2023 vintage.

And, not to be outdone, the 2024 Bin A Adelaide Hills Reserve Chardonnay celebrates its 30-year milestone. Next year, Penfolds’ top-tier Chardonnay Yattarna (Bin 144) will likewise clock up its three-decade anniversary.

This follows the February launch of Grange La Chapelle, a partnership between Gago and Caroline Frey, his counterpart at Domaine La Chapelle, in France’s Rhône Valley.

The inaugural 2021 vintage is an equal blend of this latest release of Grange and Syrah from the hill of Hermitage. The 2022 and 2023 vintages are in bottle and the French half of the 2024 is about to be sent back to Australia for blending.

This year’s collection also welcomed a new French Winemaking Trial wine, the 2022 FWT 543. It’s a Gallic take on the quintessential Australian blend, combining Bordeaux Cabernet and Syrah from the south of France.

‘Some of our most revered wines started life as experiments – including Grange,’ Gago reminded critics in London. ‘When we get everything right, all our ducks in a row, hopefully they earn their stripes and upgrade to Bin status.’ (Grange has officially been Bin 95 since 1964.)

And a big part of getting it right for FWT 543, reveals Gago, is ultimately sourcing the Syrah from the northern Rhône. ‘But we crawl before we walk.’

Bin 169 Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon, only made in exceptional vintages, is a notable omission from this year’s collection: ‘Coonawarra in 2023 had a bit of a rough patch for Cabernet,’ notes Gago.

Consequently Bin 707, the top-tier multi-region Cabernet, has no Coonawarra fruit, though some did make it into its little brother Bin 407.

Highlights of the 2025 Penfolds Collection

The 2021 vintage is roundly considered exceptional in South Australia (Brian Croser of Tapanappa in the Adelaide Hills, a veteran of 56 vintages, says it’s one of the best of his career), giving fresh, concentrated, ageworthy wines.

So it’s no surprise the new-release Grange is a corker, up there with 2018, 2010 and 1990.

If you are a collector, investor or Aussie icon hunter, you’ll want this: expressive and exotic, supple yet generous, with statuesque tannins. And the hardest thing won’t be the price tag (£600/€700) but how to ignore its siren call from the cellar for the next three decades.

Much of this year’s collection is from the very wet, cold and late 2023 vintage, which challenged growers with disease pressures and low yields.

But Penfolds prides itself on its long-term relationships with grower families (some supplying fruit for more than 100 years), as well as its organoleptic blind tastings to classify parcels by quality and then determine blends.

Grange’s white wine counterpart, Yattarna (£135/€155), sourced from marginal cool-climate regions, is pristine and focused in 2023, with bright fruit and a structure to ensure it ages well over the next 20 years.

‘Baby Grange’ Bin 389 Cabernet Sauvignon-Shiraz (£70/€80) is a strong buy from 2023, while the Bin 28 South Australian Shiraz (£30/€35) from the 2024 vintage really punches above its weight both in quality and value.

Looking at Penfolds’ international portfolio, the 2022 ‘Wine of the World’ Bin 149 Cabernet Sauvignon (£60/€70) is exceptional, taking its name from the 14.9% of South Australian fruit that joined the Napa Valley component in its inaugural 2018 vintage.

From Bordeaux, the 2022 FWT 585 Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot-Petit Verdot (£65/€75) is improving year on year, and Gago says is close to being upgraded to Bin status.

When you can buy them

This year’s Penfolds Collection comprises 24 wines, all of which Decanter has tasted and rated.

St Henri 2022, along with Grange 2021, Yattarna 2023, Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 and RWT Bin 798 Barossa Valley Shiraz 2023 will be released on Bordeaux’s La Place on 8 September.

The 19 other wines in the 2025 Penfolds Collection will be released in Australia on 7 August and available globally from 20 September.

Penfolds Collection 2025: Tasting notes and scores of 24 wines

Tina Gellie tasted 19 of the 24 Penfolds Collection 2025 wines in June as well as the 2025 Bin 51 Riesling and 2023 Magill Estate Shiraz in August. David Sly tasted the 2021 Bin 98 Quantum and 2023 CWT Cabernet Sauvignon-Marselan in Adelaide in August and Georgie Hindle tasted the 2022 St Henri Shiraz in Bordeaux in July.

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Ask someone to name a grape that makes red wine and there’s a high chance they’ll name Cabernet Sauvignon.

One of the most-planted red grape varieties in the world, it can be found making some of the world’s most prestigious wines as well as those found in supermarkets at bargain prices.

20 of the best Cabernet Sauvignons recently tasted by Decanter are listed below

Origins and characteristics

The offspring of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon seems to have emerged in south-western France – likely around Bordeaux – in the 17th Century.

It is often noted that the grape was first expressly planted and produced at the Pauillac estates of Château Mouton Rothschild and (now stablemate) Château d’Armailhac.

Cabernet Sauvignon grows happily in a variety of climates, its thick skins protect it reasonably well from rot and it can give high yields.

Like Chardonnay, these attributes as well as the prestige of the variety in its native region, have seen Cabernet Sauvignon planted worldwide.

Although it is used to produce wines at every price level, Cabernet Sauvignon is of course renowned for its star turns in regions such as Bordeaux, Napa, Bolgheri and elsewhere.

It shares several key traits with its parents. Like both of them, it has high levels of pyrazines, which give it tell-tale herbaceous aromas of green bell pepper.

Outside of Europe, the usually riper expressions of Cabernet are known to exhibit notes of mint or eucalyptus.

A late-ripening variety, it is capable of giving a great deal of colour and tannins, with aromas and flavours of ripe black fruit.

It’s full-bodied nature often sees it undergo oak ageing, especially in new oak, which can last from 1-2 years and sometimes even longer. This treatment gives it additional aromas of vanilla, cedar, tobacco and smoke.

Its inherent qualities make it very well-suited to ageing. At their apex, wines made from Cabernet Sauvignon can be among the longest-lived table wines, capable of ageing for many decades, even a century or more.

Team player

Occasionally made in glorious isolation – usually in warmer non-European regions such as Napa Valley, Coonawarra or Maipo – Cabernet Sauvignon is more often found with a supporting cast around it.

In its ancestral home of Bordeaux’s left bank, Cabernet Sauvignon is usually found with its frequent dance partner Merlot, its parent Cabernet Franc with an occasional sprinkling of Petit Verdot and even Malbec.

This is the famed ‘Bordeaux blend’ – occasionally known as ‘Meritage’ in North America – which has become a standard for fine wines of its type on nearly every winemaking continent.

There are also local twists. In Australia, for example, Cabernet and Shiraz form a potent pairing.

Sometimes Cabernet takes a minor role such as in Penfolds Grange. Sometimes its the lead variety, such as Yalumba’s The Signature blend.

In the Cape, meanwhile, there’s a spin on the Bordeaux blend where Cabernet might find itself paired with Merlot, Syrah and Pinotage.

And, in Italy, Cabernet often forms the base of many Super Tuscans, where it might find itself given a little extra local flavour blended with Sangiovese – such as in Tignanello.

Below are a selection of 20 of the top-rated Cabernet Sauvignon wines – both mono-varietal or where it comprises at least 50% of a blend – that have been tasted by the Decanter team and our expert contributors in the past year.

Click here to see more than 10,000 reviews of Cabernet Sauvignon by Decanter

Decanter Cellar: 20 of the best Cabernet Sauvignons

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It’s fair to say that the use of oak is among the most important influences on a wine’s flavour and overall character.

In recent years, many winemakers have been dialling back their oak use, in search of more freshness and ‘terroir transparency’, but what if you could change the flavours imparted by the oak itself?

Scroll down to see notes and scores of 12 glittering Cabernets from Silver Oak

The fundamentals

To make a wine barrel, the oak is first turned into long, narrow staves, which are then left outdoors to ‘season’, the purpose of which is mostly to dry out the wood.

After the staves have been shaped, bent and bound together to form a barrel, the inside is ‘toasted’, using a small fire to heat the wood, caramelising its natural sugars and bringing out complex compounds.

The two main types of oak used in winemaking are French and American.

French oak (mostly Quercus petraea and Q. robur), which typically has a tighter grain, is generally considered to add a subtle, refined taste profile to wine, with hints of vanilla and spices such as clove, cinnamon and nutmeg.

American oak (mostly Q. alba), on the other hand, is known for its bold aromatics and flavours, which include vanilla, coconut, caramel and dill.

In search of more nuance in home-grown barrels, the team at Silver Oak in Oakville (fittingly) in Napa Valley and Healdsburg in Sonoma has added the roles of cooper and researcher to that of winemaker.

Close scrutiny

In 1973, the Duncan family, Silver Oak’s owners, partnered with American oak cooperage A&K in Higbee, Missouri.

After taking a 50% stake in the company in 2000, they acquired it outright in 2015 and immediately began making changes (including renaming it the Oak Cooperage) and conducting precision trials of both seasoning and toasting.

In the process, director of winemaking Laura Oskwarek (pictured, below) has made a pivotal discovery: the time spent seasoning American oak is more critical to its effect on wine than the toasting process.

‘Seasoning is important because it finds the balance of all the compounds that we like, which are then going to be affected by toasting,’ she explains. ‘Our trials have taught us that there is a definite minimum and maximum amount of seasoning that works for us.

‘We discovered there was a “too long” period of seasoning where it didn’t deliver what we wanted in the finished wine, and a “too short” period where improper seasoning occurred,’ Oskwarek continues.

‘Under-seasoning can result in barrels with a very “raw” style that doesn’t elevate the wines and can be too dominant. Extended seasoning, in the realm of 36 months, strips so much character from the wood that we find the barrels are too “soft” and don’t offer much added structure.’

Ultimately, they settled on 24 months – just over two winters – as the sweet spot, delivering a ‘Goldilocks’ balance.

‘The fluctuation that the wood experiences, in terms of temperature, rain, humidity and microbial impacts, is the most dynamic over two winters,’ Oskwarek says.

The trials have enabled the creation of American oak barrels that behave more like French oak. Yes, you read that correctly.

Toasting success

My tasting notes reveal wines that have more savoury characteristics and a freshness that I believe will enhance their ageability.

‘The idea that American oak imparts sweet herbal notes has more to do with a lack of seasoning in the barrel,’ Oskwarek says.

‘With proper seasoning, followed by toasting, we find the more favourable and classic notes of American oak, like toasted coconut, vanilla and sweet baking spice. Of course, the level of toasting affects those sweeter notes.

‘Most importantly, a properly seasoned barrel with a moderate toast can do wonders for elevating the red fruit character in red wines like Cabernet. For us, American oak complements our style.’

Toasting trials have revealed that very light toasting is universally unwelcome. Without the deeper sweetness and caramelisation that’s achieved through longer toasting, the wood imparts bitterness to the wine.

‘We found that with American oak, a medium-plus toast was an excellent complement,’ explains Oskwarek. ‘The aromas became darker, with added sweetness, and there was a fuller mid-palate. The trade-off, however, was more tannin.’

The first Silver Oak wines to benefit from these fine-tuned American oak barrels will be from the 2023 vintage, set for release in 2027.

Ongoing explorations

The team recently tasted the 2022 cooperage trials ahead of bottling the 2022 Napa Valley and Alexander Valley Cabernets.

‘We included an additional trial on this vintage of a heavy toast, and it turned out to be a great success as a component of our barrel programme,’ says Oskwarek.

‘This discovery has taught us that there is still much to learn about how toast can enhance our wines, and we will be continuing to run trials as we aim to achieve the best toast profile for each of our Cabernets, the way we did with our seasoning trials.’

There’s a major analytical component alongside Silver Oak’s sensory evaluations.

Independent wine laboratory ETS Labs runs oak ‘aroma panels’ for Oskwarek, using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry to measure levels of nine different aroma compounds.

Oskwarek then compares the data with sensory assessments of each trial on each vintage. ‘Our hope is to find trends and connections between the science and what we perceive,’ she says.

The aroma panels reveal the chemistry that underlies the different seasoning and toasting regimes.

‘We see how toast levels affect the expression of lactones [esters that contribute to aromas such as coconut, vanilla, caramel and dried fruits] and vanillin within the wines – how an increase in toast levels enhances some compounds while decreasing other compounds,’ she explains.

‘Each toasting profile brings something a little different aromatically and texturally to the wines.’

Breadth, depth & character

Oskwarek can run these experiments because the winemaking team blends before barrelling down (the process of transferring a finished wine from fermentation tanks into barrels), so the oak trials are carried out on the final blend, rather than on the various components.

‘After acquiring the cooperage, we immediately began to understand how best to craft American oak barrels that complement our wine style,’ she says.

‘By the 2021 vintage, we had confidence in our seasoning preferences; by the 2022 vintage, we had discovered that we had yet to hit a toasting maximum preference.’

She says that they’re still exploring how barrels with increased time over the fire may complement the wine in the long run.

‘Currently, we have staves from forests that we own seasoning, and we will soon make barrels from that wood,’ Oskwarek concludes.

‘Our story is very much rooted in tradition, but our curiosity drives us to continue exploring how to move the needle on quality.’

Cristaldi’s view: Two sides of Silver Oak – Napa & Sonoma

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Following on from a vintage as superb as 2021 would be a tricky task at the best of times, but when the subsequent vintage, 2022, turned out to be extremely arid, prompting plenty of concern during the growing season, the difficulty level ramped up a notch for winemakers in Tuscany’s coastal Bolgheri DOC.

Tasting through the vast majority of 2022 Bolgheri Superiore to be released this year – some on more than one occasion – the vintage character is clear: density, concentration, slightly firm tannins, but also loads of freshness.

‘Vintages like 2022 are a bit more complicated,’ Gianluca Putzolu (director, Le Macchiole) tells me. ‘But from the complicated vintages we make the best wines!’

In fact, almost everyone I spoke with in Bolgheri was bullish about the 2022s, despite the tricky season. One or two suggested the quality for them is better than even 2021.

Scroll down for the top Bolgheri releases

See all 103 wines from the report

2022 in Bolgheri

‘When a vintage is not naturally easy, we pay more attention to the choices we make,’ Fabio Motta tells me. And that really sums up 2022, where attention to detail was key.

The winter of 2021/2022 was worryingly dry, meaning that there was very little left in the tank for the parched vines to tap into during the hot summer months. In fact, there was no rain between February and mid-August.

The hot conditions accelerated ripening, but then things came to a halt as many vines were under hydric stress. With no rain on the horizon, summer temperatures higher than in 2021, and bunches which were no longer actively ripening, growers were rightly becoming quite concerned.

Finally, some mid-August rains quenched the vines and kickstarted ripening. Those rains, confirms Marco Balsimelli (Ornellaia, Masseto) ‘allowed the vines to restart the growing, the ripening process.’

He describes 2022 as having ‘a fresh character…a different style [to 2021] but not less quality.’

Many of the wines in 2022 ooze vintage character. The firmer tannins are a hallmark of an unsteady, stop-start ripening where it was touch and go whether they would fully ripen before harvest, while the deep, rich fruits and compact frames evoke the extreme heat of the summer which in many cases led to smaller berries and reduced yields.

But it’s the succulent freshness found in so many wines in 2022 which belies the vintage’s drought conditions – a miraculous recovery from the brink of despair.

The reason for this freshness, in the form of relatively low pH and high acidity, is due to the vines shutting down as the heat and drought of the summer became too much for them.

This helped to preserve the acidity in the grapes, which was still abundant when the vines commenced ripening following the August rains.

Yet we must also commend the teams working in the vineyards and cellars in Bolgheri, who are now seasoned pros when it comes to dealing with increasingly extreme vintage conditions. ‘Now, we are more prepared,’ says Argentiera’s oenologist, Nicolo Carrara.

The Bolgheri consorzio states that the harvest started early, on average around the third week of August. Both Masseto and Sette Cieli confirm that picking began in August. Elena Pozzolini (Sette Cieli) tells me that it was their earliest harvest since the notoriously hot and dry 2017 vintage.

Canopy management is a vital tool these days for combatting the scorching effect of the sun’s rays, while humidity also needs to be managed carefully.

At Guado al Tasso, new plantings are trained higher off the ground to allow more air to circulate and prevent diseases such as peronospera. ‘20 to 30 centimetres changes a lot,’ states Marco Ferrarese, winemaker and estate director.

A lighter touch

Ferrarese states that his next goal is to reduce the potential alcohol of the wines by planting at lower densities than in the past, and using different rootstocks which maintain more vigour, chasing freshness and fragrance over concentration and power. ‘If you reduce the alcohol, you change everything.’

Martina Chiappini at Chiappini agrees, explaining that she is working on reducing the alcohol content by picking slightly earlier than in the past, as well as using a lighter extraction to ‘underline freshness’.

This is a sentiment followed at Campo alla Sughera, too. Winemaker Francesco Gagliardi tells me that, ‘2022 was more challenging – hotter than 2021, with intermittent rain…extraction was lower to maintain a good balance.’

And Elena Pozzolini, winemaker at Sette Cieli, says she has had a lighter touch in the cellar since the very hot 2017 vintage, employing what she describes as ‘more of an infusion’ rather than numerous punch downs. Harvest in 2022, she recalls, began in August – as it did in 2017.

Some wineries had to be very selective in the vineyard in order to maintain high quality, such as at Podere Il Castellaccio, which reports producing just 800 bottles of Il Castellaccio Bolgheri Superiore 2022 from the less than 1ha of alberello (bush)–trained Cabernet Franc vines.

Bringing the fruit into the cellar, some applied a lighter than usual touch. ‘2022 was more challenging – hotter than 2021, with intermittent rain,’ explains Francesco Gagliardi, winemaker at Campo alla Sughera. ‘Extraction was lower to maintain a good balance.’

‘The world of wine is changing,’ Chiappini concludes.

An emerging style

Cabernet Franc has taken a large portion of the limelight in the last few years, and rightly so. In Bolgheri, it has found the perfect conditions to show its best side, and to me, wines such as Podere Il Castellaccio’s Il Castellaccio Bolgheri Superiore and Le Donne Fittipaldi’s Magnetic Bolgheri Rosso represent an emerging style where Cabernet Franc and amphorae play a more dominant role.

And we now see Cabernet Franc pioneer Le Macchiole introducing some Tava amphorae to Paleo’s traditional barrique ageing regime. I’m sure there will be more to follow.

Bolgheri Rosso 2023

In addition to the new Bolgheri Superiore wines – predominantly from the 2022 vintage – hitting the market this year, there are a host of Bolgheri Rosso and Toscana IGTs, mostly but not exclusively from 2023.

These tend to be additional wines from the same wineries releasing their Bolgheri Superiore; sometimes styled as a ‘second wine’ a lá Bordeaux, and sometimes a different expression entirely.

2023 was a very different vintage compared to 2022. Early spring frosts led to some losses, and then conditions became warm and wet. Unlike the dry spring of 2022, the persistent rain ensured that underground water reserves were topped up, but also led to breakouts of peronospera (downy mildew) in the vineyards, which required viticultural teams to be on constant standby.

2023 was a year when peronospera was running rampant throughout Europe’s vineyards, and even the best ventilated sites in Bolgheri were at risk. Yet Bolgheri was less affected than some other areas of Tuscany thanks to its proximity to the coast and the hills, which provided constant breezes.

A very hot start to August affected early-ripening Merlot production for some estates, but then things cooled down following some rain, extending the growing season for the other varieties. ‘There was beautiful maturation in all our parcels’, states Francesco Gagliardi (winemaker, Campo alla Sughera).

August rain and even some flash floods in September reduced yields of late-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon – Campo alla Sughera and Sette Cieli both report significant losses of Cabernet, as the rains led to grapes splitting. Just as in the spring, careful selection in the vineyard was necessary.

‘In 2023, we didn’t do much delestage [racking of the must and returning to the same vessel]. We worked with extraction to manage the concentration,’ says Gaia Cinnirella, Masseto’s winemaker, explaining that during the 2023 harvest period, they tasted the grapes in the vineyards every day, and picked plot by plot.

Selection in the vineyard was critical in 2023 and yields were down, but overall quality was high and wines are wonderfully aromatic, with a plumper character compared to 2022.

‘I believe 2023 is better even than 2021… nature did fantastic work,’ comments Carlo Paoli (general manager and production manager, Tenuta San Guido). Indeed, tasting Guidalberto 2023 and some barrel samples of Sassicaia 2023, he may have a point.

Top-rated Bolgheri Rosso releases in 2025:

Gaja, Ca’Marcanda Camarcanda, Bolgheri 2022 (95 points)

Cipriana, Bolgheri 2023 (93)

Le Macchiole, Bolgheri 2023 (92)

Gaja, Ca’Marcanda Magari, Bolgheri 2023 (91)

Dario di Vaira, Clarice, Bolgheri 2023 (91)

Grattamacco, Bolgheri 2023 (91)

Guado al Melo, Rute, Bolgheri 2022 (91)

Le Donne Fittipaldi, Bolgheri 2023 (91)

Le Donne Fittipaldi, Magnetic, Bolgheri 2023 (91)

Podere Prospero, Bolgheri 2022 (91)

Bolgheri’s white resurgence

Bolgheri DOC may be best known for its star-studded red wines, but in fact in its first 10 years of existence – from 1984 to 1993 – it was a white-wine-only denomination; red and rosé wines were added to the regulations in 1994.

Since the advent of red Bolgheri DOC, the whites have fallen to the wayside, but today there is something of a resurgence. Vermentino is the leading protagonist, but Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier are also permitted.

And in addition to Bolgheri DOC whites, you can find a whole host of Toscana IGT examples, which are able to lean on other varieties and winemaking methods not permitted under the DOC regulations.

2024 – the newest vintage for the whites – is described by Martina Chiappini as a year of ‘quality and quantity’ for the whites, and it plays to the fresh aromatics which are sought after in these breezy, coastal white varieties.

Guado al Tasso takes this to the next level by using Vermentino clones from Corsica, which I’m told have more aromatic potential than the traditional Tuscan Vermentino.

Bolgheri’s whites are perfect for lunchtime sipping in the sunshine with a plate of fried fish – save the reds for the evening!

10 delicious whites from Bolgheri to seek out:

Ornellaia, Poggio alle Gazze, Toscana 2023

Campo Alla Sughera, Arioso Vermentino, Toscana 2024

Chiappini, Le Grottine Vermentino, Bolgheri 2024

Giorgio Meletti Cavallari, Borgeri Bianco, Bolgheri 2024

Campo Al Noce, Vermentino, Bolgheri 2024

Donna Olimpia 1898, Bolgheri 2023

Grattamacco, Vermentino, Bolgheri 2023

Michele Satta, Giovin Re, Toscana 2024

Poggio al Tesoro, Solosole Vermentino, Bolgheri 2024

Tenuta Meraviglia Botro dei Fichi Vermentino Bolgheri 2024

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In recent years with warmer vintages, it has become easier to appreciate the freshening power of St-Emilion’s famous limestone plateau.

The beating heart of Bordeaux’s Right Bank, this geological marvel is defined by its calcium-rich, asteriated limestone (calcaire à astéries, or ‘starfish limestone’), forming the backbone of wines known for freshness, salinity and ageworthy elegance: a rocky hotspot that’s essentially grape royalty!

Scroll down for notes and scores of 14 gems from the plateau of St-Emilion

Lay of the land

While the plateau stretches 17km from St-Emilion to Castillon, just 8.2km fall within the appellation.

Its porous limestone beneath clay or loam acts like a sponge – draining excess moisture in wet seasons and releasing it during drought.

This fosters balanced vine growth and low pH/ vibrant acidity in wines, yielding reds with notes of mint, chalk and graphite.

Historically, the western plateau near St-Emilion town centre (see map, below, light yellow section), where top estates such as Châteaux Beau-Séjour Bécot, Canon and Clos Fourtet reside, benefited from early recognition in the 1950s classification. With its eroded quarries and thinner topsoils, it produces refined, ageworthy wines.

The eastern plateau, generally cooler, with thicker soils and later harvests, is now catching up in acclaim, home to estates such as grand cru Château Rocheyron, grands crus classés Châteaux de Pressac and Laroque, and premier grand cru classé Château Valandraud.

But a tasting of 14 wines for this article – mostly western plateau, some a mix of plateau with clay-limestone slopes – confirmed how, until recently, winemaking often masked terroir.

Bordeaux consultant in soils, viticulture and winemaking Xavier Choné highlighted Valandraud’s previously modern, oaky style as an example. Similarly, a recent tasting of Beau-Séjour Bécot 2010 showed how too much oak dulled the limestone freshness.

Recent vintages, however, especially since the arrival of consultant Thomas Duclos (from the 2017 vintage), now express the plateau’s finesse more transparently.

This shift toward more hands-off winemaking and lighter oak use across the appellation has allowed the limestone terroir to shine.

St-Emilion plateau origins

The plateau’s limestone formed from marine sediments laid down millions of years ago. Tectonic uplift exposed the seabed, creating the current landscape.

Erosion is greater on the western side, resulting in a purer limestone profile, according to experts.

Tasting the plateau

The tasting revealed nuanced differences between eastern and western plateau wines. Also present, French sommelier Ilona Garnier praised the ‘sheer freshness and delicate salinity’ of the Château Canon 2016, from vineyards near the village.

By contrast, the 2020 from Château Rocheyron – just 6km east near St-Christophe-des-Bardes – offered refinement but with more noticeable acidity.

Why such contrast? Mathieu Raveraud, property manager at Rocheyron, attributes it to its cooler brown, calcareous loam over limestone and clay, which leads to later ripening – about a week behind western areas.

Viticulture professor Cornelis (Kees) van Leeuwen, who worked with Château Cheval Blanc and created detailed vineyard maps, notes that later-ripening, cooler soils likely contributed to the east’s lower initial rankings back in the 1950s.

Describing the limestone’s ‘aromatic signature’ can be elusive.

While ‘wet stone’ and ‘mineral’ seem too vague, Edouard Moueix of Château Bélair-Monange offers a more evocative palette: ‘Gun flint, stone, graphite, pebble, shell, sand, stone dust, metallic notes and salinity,’ with textures like ‘chalk, talc, sandpaper… and powder.’

Nicolas Audebert, director of Château Canon, favours ‘minty freshness’ and ‘elegant tension’, while Matthieu Cuvelier (pictured, above), second-generation owner of Clos Fourtet, has it as ‘chalky’, ‘saline’ and ‘freshening acidity’.

The four terroirs of St-Emilion

The St-Emilion wine council notes that the appellation boasts about 700 wine-growers across nearly 5,500ha.

Its vineyards span four main soil types: the limestone plateau; clay-limestone slopes; a gravel terrace in the region’s northwest (home to top estates such as Château Cheval Blanc and Château Figeac), near Pomerol; and a sandy plain by the Dordogne river, where simpler wines are often produced.

Underground advantage

Duclos emphasises the role of centuries-old underground quarries in the west.

‘It’s very clear that the quarries buffer the soil temperature and water to an enormous degree,’ he explains, meaning that their presence enables soil temperatures to remain more stable and allows for the extraction of excess water.

These ‘perforated’ plots, he adds, begin their annual growth cycle early, regardless of winter weather, and ‘a vine that lives regularly produces fine and aromatic things – with style and robustness’.

Canon’s Audebert concurs that the starfish limestone acts as a ‘natural sponge’, regulating water via capillary action. ‘The result is a rather low but remarkably well-regulated water supply,’ he says.

Thinner topsoil on the western side allows roots easier access to limestone, promoting moderate vine growth and concentrated aromas.

At Clos Saint-Martin, with one of the appellation’s smallest grand cru classé vineyards at 1.33ha, director Sophie Fourcade says western limestone is ‘deeper and more porous’.

Other plateau zones may have harder rock and more clay, which influences both water management and mineral breakdown. Still, both sides benefit from low-pH (acidic) soils.

According to van Leeuwen, this not only brightens wines’ colour, but enhances freshness. Clos Fourtet’s Cuvelier believes the acidity boosts ageing potential while adding balance and ‘ethereal finesse’.

Limestone also aids nitrogen regulation. Arnaud d’Arfeuille of Château La Serre (just east of the town, but on the edge of the plateau) explains that calcium carbonate slows organic mineralisation, ensuring just enough nitrogen for healthy vines and strong bud formation.

Elevation helps, too: the plateau vines of Canon and Bélair-Monange (both in the west), perched at up to 87m and 88m respectively, enjoy drying winds that help prevent disease.

Estates with at least 85% limestone plateau

All western plateau except where marked as eastern (E) or both

• Château Beau-Séjour Bécot (85% plateau) • Château Canon (90% plateau) • Château Grandes Murailles (final vintage in 2021, thereafter part of Clos Fourtet) • Château La Clotte • Château La Couspaude • Château La Serre • Château Rochebelle (E) • Château Sansonnet (E/W) • Château Trotte Vieille (W/E) • Château Villemaurine • Clos Fourtet • Clos Saint-Julien (90% plateau) • Clos Saint-Martin • Les Astéries (JCP Maltus; made at Château Teyssier)

Limestone & climate change

As climate change accelerates, the St-Emilion plateau’s water retention becomes even more valuable. ‘It helps the vines effectively resist water stress,’ says Audebert.

Its cooling effect during hot summers and draining capacity in wet years ensure that grape quality remains high. Eastern-side estates once considered too cool now benefit.

‘Cooler clay is no longer a handicap,’ says van Leeuwen, citing estates such as Châteaux Gaubert and Rocheyron.

‘These terroirs, sometimes considered [to ripen] too late in the past, now provide us with grapes with a crisp fruitiness not marked by overripeness – particularly helpful for Merlot,’ adds Raveraud at Rocheyron.

Plotting the plateau: the role of limestone

Philippe Raymond of the St-Emilion wine council wasn’t able to compile a complete list of the châteaux that have limestone plateau soils.

As he explains, many producers have plots on the plateau and the hillsides, meaning it’s difficult to estimate the plateau or hillside share in a blend.

In addition, some châteaux have plots on the plateau to make a cuvée and vinify elsewhere (for example, the JCP Maltus Les Astéries bottling, vinified at Château Teyssier further south).

But he confirms at least eight châteaux have ‘verified’ 100% limestone plateau vineyards: Clos Fourtet, Clos SaintMartin, Gaubert, La Couspaude, La Serre, Le Chatelet, Sansonnet and Villemaurine.

Scores of St-Emilion estates include plateau grapes to varying degrees, from the likes of Châteaux Beau-Séjour Bécot, Canon and Trotte Vieille with mostly limestone plateau grapes, to estates such as Château Bellevue with about 10% limestone plateau grapes – and many in between.

From the ground up

The tasting underscored how subtle differences can emerge even between similar blends from vineyards just kilometres apart.

Comparisons included estates fully on the western plateau, such as Clos Fourtet, with others, such as Châteaux Ausone, Bélair-Monange and Fonplégade, that mix plateau and slope-grown grapes.

As viticulture and winemaking increasingly prioritise terroir expression, the role of the limestone plateau has become unmistakable.

Fonplégade co-owner Denise Adams describes the limestone as ‘not just another prominent component of our blend – it is the guiding thread’.

While clay-limestone slopes bring ‘roundness, richness and notes of red and black fruits’, the plateau contributes ‘tension, freshness and a more exotic floral and fruity aromatic profile’.

Ageing: how do St-Emilion wines with grapes from the limestone plateau mature?

Matthieu Cuvelier, Clos Fourtet: ‘The limestone plateau undeniably produces wines with excellent ageing potential. These wines are built on acid balances that always yield freshness and length, and aromas range from fruit to flowers, with the appearance over time of truffle, camphor and saffron notes.’

Edouard Moueix, Château BélairMonange (pictured, above): ‘After a few years in bottle, the stone notes keep supporting the dominating fruit notes of redcurrant, strawberry and blackberry, but also more floral ones such as hawthorn, lime blossom and acacia. With time the palate gains length, with powdery and rock crystal sensations.’

Nicolas Audebert, Château Canon: ‘Distinctive characteristics include minty freshness. Regardless of the vintage, bottle ageing allows for optimal wine development, preserving its original essence.

‘The terroir always takes over, allowing the expression of the limestone to develop over time, but with complex and evolved tertiary aromas appearing, albeit subtly, after 10 years of ageing, which will become more dominant over time.’

Rock of ages: 14 wines from St-Emilion’s plateau

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Georgie Hindle, Vincenzo Arnese and Robert Mathias MW tasted 55 wines, with 11 Outstanding and 28 Highly recommended

Médoc grand cru classé 2016: Panel tasting scores

55 wines tasted

Exceptional 0

Outstanding 11

Highly recommended 28

Recommended 16

Commended 0

Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit their 2016 vintage red wines from any appellation in the Médoc, including grand cru classé and second wines

Scroll down to see the top-scoring wines from the Médoc grand cru classé 2016 tasting

Positive outlook

It’s fair to say that expectations were high going into this Left Bank grand cru classé tasting, with the 2016 vintage hailed as one of the region’s finest in recent decades, celebrated for its balance, structure and ageing potential.

What began as a wet, soggy spring turned into a long, hot and exceptionally dry summer with refreshing rains just before ideal harvest conditions set in.

The result: concentrated reds with ripe tannins, bright acidity and intense fruit, drawing comparisons to 2005 and 2010 but distinguished by vibrant freshness.

A clearly successful tasting, with 20% of wines achieving the Outstanding rating, reassuringly identical to the St-Emilion GCC 2016 panel tasting in our 2023 Bordeaux guide (with 11 outstanding out of 59 wines).

Robert Mathias MW noted: ‘There’s a really good minimum level of quality. I maybe expected a little more charm, but equally I do like the seriousness of the 2016s.

‘Tannins are a bit chunky, sometimes heavy-handed in extraction and oak, yet freshness and balanced alcohol were positives. The best were excellent. I think 2016 is the first vintage in the new “modern” era of Bordeaux.’

Secondary rewards

Mathias highlighted St-Julien’s consistency and northern Médoc’s strength (Margaux was more variable), adding: ‘Second wines are drinking now, for sure, and for another five years, which is impressive, while the grands vins are more muscular and tightly coiled.

‘These are impressive wines which are fun to open to see how they develop in the glass,’ he continued. ‘But there’s not necessarily a rush to pull the cork on many of the top cru classé wines – in fact they’re quite closed.’

Vincenzo Arnese agreed: ‘Second labels are more approachable and ready now. There were a few dry wines but also real freshness across the board, with low alcohols. Some wines truly shone – and they’ll have impressive ageing abilities.’

The tasting underscored 2016’s excellence, and yet not everything was perfect.

Roughly 10% of the wines showed faults, notably cork taint and oxidation – a significant reminder of the challenges posed by traditional closures, even at the highest level.

See all recommendations from the Médoc grand cru classé 2016 tasting

What to eat with Médoc 2016, by Fiona Beckett

Given the judges’ conclusion that many of these wines are still quite closed, it’s going to be a question of what food would go best with the second wines at the moment.

Does the ‘new era of Bordeaux’ mean a new era of food pairing? Not necessarily – it’s still hard to beat the classics – but there is a growing realisation that many of the cuisines that might have been regarded as inimical to appellations such as St-Julien, Margaux and Pauillac are no longer so.

Dishes like Korean bulgogi or braised short rib, for instance. Of course, there’ll always be a place for these wines with what I would call gentleman’s club food: homely dishes like steak pie and shepherd’s pie.

Top Bordeaux can shine with a fair amount of rusticity, too. I’ve enjoyed Pauillac with cassoulet.

Traditional options are so familiar that it’s easy to overlook the elements that can throw or skew a mature wine.

An over-reduced jus, a hotter-than-usual horseradish sauce or a strongly flavoured vegetable such as red cabbage can all take their toll on a good bottle. Avoid if you can.

Médoc grand cru classé 2016 panel tasting results

Wines were tasted blind

The judges

Georgia Hindle is Decanter’s Regional Editor for Bordeaux, and Editor of Decanter Premium online

Vincenzo Arnese is the director of wine at Raffles London at the OWO. Born in Naples, he worked at top hotels in Italy, Switzerland and Australia, and later Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester. A DWWA judge, in 2022 he won the coveted title of Taittinger UK Sommelier of the Year

Robert Mathias MW is senior buyer at wine merchant Lay & Wheeler, having previously worked in similar roles for Bordeaux Index and Bibendum Wine. He is a Senior Judge for Bordeaux and Burgundy at the DWWA

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The 2022 vintage from Howell Mountain delivered wines that reflect the AVA’s signature power, structure and high-altitude freshness, yet with a notable degree of elegance and accessibility, despite the challenges of the vintage.

These included the significant heat dome that settled over Napa for a week from Labor Day on – many wines benefited from the higher elevation above the fog line.

There, longer days of sunlight and warmer nights helped vines ripen at an even-keeled pace, and temperatures never reached the soaring levels as that of the valley floor below.

To read all coverage of the Napa Cabernet 2022 vintage use the code NAPA22 for a 20% discount off an annual Premium subscription

Howell Mountain 2022: The top-performing producers

Arkenstone

Impensata

Nickel & Nickel

Ink Grade

Howell Mountain wines in 2022 lean towards a dark, mineral-rich fruit profile, with dominant notes of blackberry, blackcurrant, cassis and spiced plum, often accented by blueberry, redcurrant and cherry pit.

Many wines reveal a distinct mountain herbal quality, with nuances of bay laurel, sagebrush, unsmoked tobacco and wild thyme, as well as earthy elements like loamy soil, graphite and ironstone.

The spice spectrum is broad and engaging, featuring white pepper, cedarwood, allspice, cinnamon and espresso bean, often layered with florals like violets, lavender and pine resin.

Napa Valley Cabernet 2022: Full vintage report and top-scoring wines

Tannins remain a key defining trait of Howell Mountain wines, with most expressions exhibiting firm, mineral-rich, and structured tannins that contribute to serious ageing potential.

Wines that underwent extended maceration tend to feature mocha-rich, chocolatey tannins, reinforcing Howell Mountain’s signature grip.

Acidity remains bright and energetic, providing lift and ensuring these wines stay fresh despite the warmth of the vintage.

Howell Mountain at a glance

Climate Located above the fog line on the eastern side of the valley, the AVA is warmer and drier than other AVAs. This mountain appellation has more hours of sunshine and very little, if any, maritime influence.

Soils Predominantly volcanic, shallow and infertile. Drainage is high, and soil fertility is quite low.

Elevation 427m-792m

The most structured wines, particularly those from estate sites with deep volcanic soils and extended ageing in new oak, will benefit from long-term cellaring (10- 20+ years). These often showcase a tightly wound, coiled power that will unfurl beautifully over time.

Wines like Ink Grade’s The Prophet’s Water, Ipmensata’s Las Posadas Vineyard red, and Cade Reserve Cabernet stand out for their firm, age-worthy mountain tannins and mineral depth.

Some wines, especially those showcasing more red fruit, higher acidity and gentler tannins, are beautifully balanced for near-term drinking (up to 8 years). Examples include Nickel & Nickel’s Hawk’s Cradle Cabernet and Ink Grade’s Third Circle.

If you prefer opulent, instantly plush Napa Cabernets, Howell Mountain’s profile remains firmly structured, savoury and mineral-driven – more about power and restraint than lush fruit-forwardness.

Whether drinking now or laying down for the long haul, these wines represent some of the most complex, terroir-driven expressions of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

Click here for scores and reviews of all 650+ 2022 Napa Cabernets tasted

Cristaldi’s 2022 value picks from Howell Mountain

Ramond Vineyards, District Collection Cabernet Sauvignon

Stressed Vines Cellars, Cabernet Sauvignon

Nickel & Nickel Haw’s Cradle Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon

Howell Mountain 2022: The top-scoring Cabernets

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The 2022 vintage in Oak Knoll District demonstrates why this AVA is one of Napa’s most versatile and exciting sources for Cabernet Sauvignon.

The region’s cooler climate and alluvial soils helped preserve balance and energy, ensuring freshness despite the heat.

To read all coverage of the Napa Cabernet 2022 vintage use the code NAPA22 for a 20% discount off an annual Premium subscription

Compared to riper, more opulent expressions from further north, Oak Knoll’s signature finesse, bright acidity and finely structured tannins are fully present in 2022, even as the wines carry more muscle and depth than in some prior vintages.

Oak Knoll 2022: The top-performing producers

Kanpai Wines

Eleven Eleven

Ashes & Diamonds

Sequoia Grove

Black Stallion Estate 

Napa Valley Cabernet 2022: Full vintage report and top-scoring wines

Expect black cherry, blackberry, cassis and pomegranate framed by lifted floral, herbal and mineral nuances.

Cool-climate spice and savoury notes of bay laurel, spearmint, white pepper, tobacco and cedarwood enhance complexity.

The tannins are more pixelated, fine-grained and elongated compared to some broader Napa Cabernets, providing structure without excess weight.

Black Stallion’s Gaspare Vineyard and Materra Cunate Family’s Vine 1 are densely packed wines; both will reward upfront and also age for up to 12 years.

Consumers looking for mid-term drinking with balanced fruit and structure, and wines of immediate pleasure, should look at Clif Family’s Valle di Sotto, or Sunshine Valley Vineyard’s Cabernet, as both are bright, fresh wines with food-friendly appeal.

For collectors and sommeliers, the best Oak Knoll wines are likely to last little more than a decade, so buy to drink now and often, as opposed to cellaring long-term.

Oak Knoll at a glance

Climate One of the coolest appellations in Napa owing to its southern locale and proximity to the bay, Oak Knoll can hold onto marine air and fog until late morning, leading to a cool to moderate climate.

Late afternoon breezes frequently occur, maintaining slightly cooler temperatures than the upper, northern parts of the valley.

Soils The valley’s largest alluvial fan, formed by Dry Creek, is Oak Knoll’s defining feature. The northwest area is composed of volcanically derived soils, with stony or gravelly consistency. The south and east areas transition from gravel to silty clay loam.

Elevation Oak Knoll spans quite the range, from 40m to 305m.

Click here for scores and reviews of all 650+ 2022 Napa Cabernets tasted

Cristaldi’s 2022 value picks from Oak Knoll

Kanpai Wines, Hi No Tori Cabernet Sauvignon

Patent Wines, Cabernet Sauvignon

Oak Knoll 2022: The top-scoring Cabernets

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In 2022, Calistoga’s wines reflect the AVA’s characteristic warmth, intensified by the extreme heat dome that defined the vintage.

However, despite the challenges, consumers should look for names like J. Davies, Arkenstone, Perliss and Venge. These producers harvested grapes from sites in the northern end of Calistoga, where there’s a cool wind corridor.

Their wines achieved balance, maintaining freshness and structure, while showcasing the appellation’s hallmark boldness.

Scroll down for notes and scores for the the top-rated Calistoga 2022 Cabernets

The wines predominantly lean into a dark-fruited profile, with blackberry, black cherry, cassis and plum as the dominant fruit expressions.

Some wines introduce red-toned elements – raspberry, red cherry, pomegranate and strawberry fruit leather – offering an energetic lift. Blue fruit notes also emerge in select bottlings, adding brightness.

Calistoga 2022: The top-performing producers

Arkenstone

Perliss

B Cellars 

Venge Vineyards

Impensata

J Davies Vineyards

Larkmead

Napa Valley Cabernet 2022: Full vintage report and top-scoring wines

The influence of oak ageing contributes layers of mocha, dark cacao, espresso and Mexican chocolate, while spice aromatics range from cedarwood, sandalwood and warm brown spices to exotic nuances like white pepper, sassafras and Indian spices.

The wines deliver power, density and opulence, yet many also reveal surprising finesse and freshness.

Tannins vary from super-fine and pixelated to firm and powdery, with many wines showing elongated, structured finishes that support their fruit concentration.

While some wines are immediately approachable, others remain coiled and structured, requiring time to unwind.

The interplay of plush fruit, layered complexity and structural integrity suggests that many wines will be enjoyable in the near term.

Calistoga at a glance

Climate Calistoga sees the most rain in the Napa Valley and has the highest diurnal variation, meaning the difference in temperatures from daytime highs to nighttime lows. The region is cooled at night by breezes from the Pacific Ocean through the Chalk Hill Gap.

Soils There is a uniformity of volcanic origin to the soils in Calistoga, though they may vary from heavier clay-silt in the valley’s centre to stony, cobbly soils on the hillsides.

Elevation Calistoga has a serious range in elevation, beginning at 92m and peaking out at up to 370m at the higher elevation sites.

Click here for scores and reviews of all 650+ 2022 Napa Cabernets tasted

Cristaldi’s 2022 value picks from Calistoga

Jax Vineyards, Estate Block 3 Cabernet Sauvignon

B Cellars, Kenefick Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon

Larkmead, Cabernet Sauvignon

Calistoga 2022: The top-scoring Cabernets

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Many wines from 2022 are ready to enjoy sooner than usual, thanks to silky tannins, generous fruit and plush textures.

Unlike more structured vintages like 2021, 2019, 2018 and 2016, which demand years of cellaring, 2022 delivers immediate pleasure, while still offering the potential for medium-term ageing.

It’s a vintage defined by plush fruit, soft tannins and upfront drinkability.

Savvy consumers looking for the best value from the vintage should be thinking about wines to buy and drink early, and often.

To read all coverage of the Napa Cabernet 2022 vintage use the code NAPA22 for a 20% discount off an annual Premium subscription

What defines value in 2022?

While top-tier bottlings will always command high prices, buyers will find exceptional quality at more accessible price points – think $50 to $100, though up to $150 can be considered a value wine from the right producer and appellation.

But value in 2022 isn’t just about price, it’s about smartly crafted wines that deliver balance, freshness and pleasure, even in a warm year such as this.

Those wines simply labelled as Napa Valley AVA offer the best bang for your buck, but there are plenty of value gems to be found from Coombsville, Oak Knoll, Stags Leap District, Oakville, Rutherford, Howell Mountain, St. Helena and Calistoga, where careful farming and winemaking decisions allowed quite a number of wines to retain freshness, structure and balance, despite the vintage’s heat issues.

Napa Cabernet value 2022: The best Napa Valley AVA bottlings

Maxville Winery, The High Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Grounded Wine Co., Steady State Cabernet Sauvignon

Raymond Vineyards, Reserve Cabernet

The Vice, Batch #142

Honig Vineyard & Winery, Cabernet Sauvignon

AXR, Cabernet Sauvignon

J Davies Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon

Macauley Vineyard, Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

Shafer, One Point Five, Cabernet Sauvignon

Ackerman Family Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon

Flora Springs, Trilogy Red Wine

Force & Grace, Cabernet Sauvignon

Gallica, Cabernet Sauvignon

Jayson by Pahlmeyer, Cabernet Sauvignon

Sequoia Grove, Cabernet Sauvignon

Silverado Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon

Stone the Crows, Three Twins Vineyard, Fallen Feather Cabernet Sauvignon

Keever Vineyards, Inspirado

Michael Mondavi Family Estate, Animo Cabernet Sauvignon

Purlieu, Le Pich, Cabernet Sauvignon

Spottswoode, Lyndenhurst Cabernet Sauvignon

Black Stallion Estate, Cabernet Sauvignon

Whitehall Lane, Cabernet Sauvignon

Click here for scores and reviews of all 650+ 2022 Napa Cabernets tasted

AVA breakdown

Coombsville

Cooler temperatures preserved vibrancy and structure, leading to wines with refined tannins and mineral depth – standouts include Di Costanzo’s Caldwell Vineyard, Farella Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon and Castello di Amorosa’s Butala Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon.

Oak Knoll

Wines from Kanpai Wines (Hi No Tori) and Patent Wines showcase this region’s ability to produce supple, red-fruited and elegant Cabernets with food-friendly acidity.

Stags Leap District

A classic for silky tannins and perfume-driven Cabernets, with Cliff Lede’s Wild Fantasy Red Wine, B Cellars’ Stagecoach Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon and Chimney Rock’s Clone 4 Cabernet Sauvignon offering excellent refinement and balance.

Oakville & Rutherford

These AVAs still deliver power and richness, but smart picks like Favia’s Oakville Cabernet and Force & Grace from Rutherford maintain structure and freshness for long-term value.

Howell Mountain & Calistoga

Mountain-grown fruit offers impressive structure and ageability – wines like Nickel & Nickel’s Haw’s Cradle Vineyard Cabernet (Howell Mountain) and Larkmead’s Cabernet Sauvignon (Calistoga) provide depth and energy.

The 2022 vintage presents an excellent opportunity to buy and drink now, while also cellaring selectively.

Wines from Coombsville, Oak Knoll and Stags Leap offer refinement and freshness, while Howell Mountain, Rutherford and Calistoga selections provide depth and structure at more reasonable price points.

Value in 2022 isn’t just about price, it’s about smartly crafted wines that deliver balance, freshness, and pleasure, even in a warm year.

Napa Valley 2022: The top value Cabernets

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Known for its ageability, Napa’s Cabernet Sauvignon is typically a wine to lay down for years.

In the heat affected 2022 vintage, you’ll find wines of warmth and generosity that won’t need time to come into their own, Jonathan Cristaldi offers a guide on wines to open now, what to sit on for a year or two and which wines produced in this hot year are built for the long haul.

Scroll down for Jonathan’s suggestions on when to drink his favourite Napa 2022 Cabernets

Short-term pleasure

These are wines for the hedonist. Immediately pleasurable, these 2022 Cabernets may get better, but are certainly ready now.

They offer a mix of just-ripe red and black-fruited profiles, typically are medium-to-full-bodied, and have plump, soft tannins that are so well-integrated the drinking experience is effortless, like accepting an invitation to dine at The French Laundry on someone else’s dime.

Paul Hobbs Cuvee Sophia Proprietary Red, Napa Valley (Coombsville)

Perhaps the most approachable at the pull of the cork this wine will ever be, with plenty of tannins for potential cellaring, but really, it is accessible early on.

Amici Cellars Hirondelle Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley (Stags Leap District)

With softer tannins than typical vintages, this is a wine to enjoy early and often.

Moone-Tsai Cor Leonis Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

Balanced valley-floor juiciness and rich fruit with fine, grippy tannins and loads of brown spices, begging for lamb and burger pairings. Those spices will evolve nicely in the next 5-7 years.

Duckhorn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

With early, upfront appeal, the wine’s gentle tannins and integrated cedarwood spices create a smooth, approachable texture, making this an easygoing yet refined Napa Cabernet.

V. Sattui Winery Vittorio’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley (St Helena)

Extremely gentle tannins further enhance its upfront juiciness and approachable, easy-drinking nature.

Grace Family Vineyards Reliquus Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley (St Helena)

Reliquus is crafted from a blend of fruit sourced from Grace Family’s estate vineyards in the St. Helena AVA. Designed to be approachable and easy-drinking. 93/100

Maxville Winery The High Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

Fantastic depth and concentration, supported by a framework of robust, well-structured tannins.

The Vice Batch #142 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

It is a well-structured, food-friendly wine with depth and approachability.

Click here for scores and reviews of all 650+ 2022 Napa Cabernets tasted

Mid-term appeal

These wines are for collectors at ease with their current stash—those content to lay bottles down for a year or two before pulling the cork. That extra time in the bottle will yield a finer integration of tannins, which, in the end, is all about mouthfeel.

Do you favour satin or velvet? Silk or cotton? These are meticulously made wines that arguably ought to have been held back by the winery for another vintage or two – yet when cash flow calls, who can afford the luxury?

Tuck them away and start enjoying their emerging complexities come next summer.

Morlet Family Vineyards Passionnément Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (Oakville)

Full-bodied and densely packed, the palate is layered with robust, compact tannins that thread seamlessly into a long finish, and still, Morlet’s 2022s are all well-suited to pairing with lengthy meals and are a pleasure to enjoy early and often.

Inglenook Rubicon Napa Valley (Rutherford)

Really impressive for its classic dusty mineral and earth character, full body, and balanced tension. Easier-going than 2021 and 2019 and ideal for earlier enjoyment. 95/100

Eleven Eleven XI Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley (Oak Knoll)

From Oak Knoll, where wines enjoyed cooler temps, leading to structure, powerful tannins, and still compact and coiled up.

Dalla Valle Vineyards Maya, Napa Valley (Oakville)

Right out of the gate, at the cork’s pull, it is medium-bodied and so approachable in 2022. This wine is a real treat for collectors because it offers youthful exuberance with easy-drinking upfront appeal, but it has the structure to cellar as well. Best to let 2021 and 2019 keep slumbering.

Realm Cellars The Bard, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley