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Panel tasting results: Napa Valley red and white blends

This extensive tasting of premium non-varietal/blended wines from Napa Valley yielded an extraordinary swathe of impressively high-scoring results.

By Jonathan Cristaldi

Published 7 September 2026 In Tastings

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five bottles of Napa valley wines — (Image credit: Future)

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Jonathan Cristaldi, Jenica Flippo and Cara Patricia tasted 76 wines, with 2 Exceptional, 36 Outstanding and 34 Highly recommended

Napa Valley blends: Panel tasting scores

76 wines tasted

Exceptional 2

Outstanding 36

Highly recommended 34

Recommended 3

Commended 1

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Entry criteria: producers and UK agents were invited to submit their dry, still Napa Valley wines, 2023 reds or 2024 whites, made using more than one grape variety and not labelled as a single-varietal wine

A tour de force tasting

By any measure, this was a very strong showing for Napa blends, with half the field of 76 rated Outstanding or Exceptional, and all bar four scoring 90 points or more, confirmation that the valley’s long, cool 2023 growing season delivered structured reds (and a few whites) with complex flavours and expressive personalities.

‘There’s good concentration and freshness here,’ Jenica Flippo noted of one top performer – a refrain that echoed across a full day of blind tasting.

Critical to note, these wines fall mostly in the luxury-to-super-luxury tier, priced from US$50 to $100, with one third of the blends above $100 per bottle, so the calibre of submissions was high.

‘I was prepared for a parade of heavyweight Napa wines,’ Flippo admitted at the close of the tasting.

However, she added: ‘I found many wines that truly impressed me and upended my expectations, leaving me genuinely excited about the 2023 vintage.’

While the results were remarkably consistent, the blends were consistently variable, showing how far the ‘Napa red blend’ category has expanded beyond yesterday’s Left Bank Bordeaux-inspired ‘Meritage’ wines.

‘This is a wine that can bring Millennials and Gen Z back to Merlot’

Winery and vineyard — Miner Family Winery in Oakville, Napa Valley

Cabernet Sauvignon still led half the wines, but the panel also tasted Merlot-driven cuvées, Sangiovese ‘SuperTuscan’ style wines, Zinfandel field blends, even Tempranillo and a Syrah-Mourvèdre that Cara Patricia likened to ‘a Napa take on a Côtes du Rhône’.

Another Merlot-led red, from Patel, prompted Patricia’s boldest claim: ‘This is a wine that can bring Millennials and Gen Z back to Merlot.’

Where the judges aligned, they aligned emphatically; Miner Family’s The Oracle drew scores within a point of each other.

On the other hand, ripeness proved a dividing force. With the wines’ alcohol levels spanning 12.9% to a heady 16.2%, the panel split over where ripeness tips into excess.

Hill Family Estate’s Like a Hawk at 14.8% alcohol was downright delicious to me; but Patricia noted, ‘I taste the winemaking more than the wine’.

While the number of 2024 whites submitted was small and focused on Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, they held their own in the ratings.

At every price tier, the judges found blends of genuine, pure fruit character, ample structure, freshness and energy.

What to eat with Napa Valley red and white blends, by Fiona Beckett

Although the tasting featured wines other than the Cabernet- and Merlot-based reds with which Napa is most closely identified, we’re still talking mainly about Meritage (Bordeaux) blends here, and high-end Meritage blends at that, many of which will take time to come into their own.

But if you can’t keep your hands off them, what do you pair with them? Keep it simple is my mantra.

The best-quality, simply cooked steak and lamb, maybe with a classic red wine sauce of the Marchand de Vin variety. A good char on your meat helps with tannins that might have a couple of years to go before they’re fully integrated.

Looking ahead to winter, braised beef short rib would be a perfect pairing. Pigeon/squab works well with these kinds of wines, too; as, perhaps more surprisingly, do grilled Portobello mushrooms.

Then there’s cheese – not necessarily a full board, but some rough-cut slivers of well-matured Parmesan or Asiago. Perfect to nibble while you sip contemplatively.

See all notes and scores from the value Napa Valley blends tasting

The judges

Jonathan Cristaldi

Napa Valley correspondent

Jonathan Cristaldi is Decanter’s Napa Valley correspondent. Based in California, he is chief wine critic for both The Somm Journal and The Tasting Panel magazine, also hosting podcast @cristaldiandco

Jenica Flippo

Jenica Flippo is winery ambassador at Opus One Winery in Oakville, Napa Valley. With more than 20 years’ experience as a hospitality professional, she is an Advanced Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers Americas

Cara Patricia

Cara Patricia is co-founder and brand & creative director of Decant Bottle Shop & Bar across its two locations in San Francisco and Napa. A wine consultant, judge and educator, she is an Advanced Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers Americas

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Napa Valley blends: Panel tasting scores

A tour de force tasting

‘This is a wine that can bring Millennials and Gen Z back to Merlot’

See all notes and scores from the value Napa Valley blends tasting

The judges

Napa Valley blends panel tasting results:

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