Mark Aubert’s Tasting Notes: “The alluring 2018 UV-SL is a kaleidoscope of apple oil, lemon confit, crème patissière, and almond croissant lined with a subtle saline note and a touch of talc. With air the tight-knit core grows to reveal seductive flavors of praline, stone fruit preserves, and white flower. Full-bodied and opulent, the compelling UV-SL finishes long and pure. This wine has more to reveal and will age gracefully for 10+ years. The wine is slightly hazy showing our commitment to minimal intervention winemaking.”

Robert Parker 92+ Points: “The latest release of Billecart’s NV Brut Sous Bois is excellent, unwinding in the glass with notes of lemon oil, crisp stone fruit, buttery pastry and freshly baked bread. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and elegantly vinous, with chalky phenolic structure and an enlivening pillowy mousse, it’s impressively deep and concentrated, with fine tension and grip. Early renditions of this cuvée tended to be at their best on release, but this impressive effort appears to be built to age.”

Jeb Dunnuck 100 Points: “The 2020 Grenache is absolutely brilliant, and unquestionably up with the finest examples of this variety out there. Based on 78% Grenache, 12% Mourvèdre, and 10% Syrah raised in 50% new oak, it has a kaleidoscope-like bouquet of kirsch liqueur, ripe strawberries, spring flowers, incense, and ground pepper, to name just a few aromatics. This carries to a full-bodied, multi-dimensional, layered, hedonistic beauty with velvety tannins, a powerful yet somehow still fresh and elegant mouthfeel, and a blockbuster of a finish. It will evolve for two decades.”

Jeb Dunnuck 99 Points: “Another masterpiece from the talents of Celia Welch, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain comes from a site on Howell Mountain and spent 20 months in new French oak. It’s a full-bodied, concentrated, powerful Mountain Cabernet revealing ample smoked black fruits, notes of graphite, tobacco, spicy wood, and bouquet garni, a dense, layered mid-palate, building tannins, and a gorgeous overall profile that will benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age. It will unquestionably have two decades or more of prime drinking.”

Vinous 100 Points: : “The 2018 Cariad is breathtaking right out of the gate. What a wine! Bright acids and beams of underlying structure give the Cariad tons of energy that really drives its feel. Effusive and vibrant in the glass, with tons of pedigree, Cariad is drop-dead gorgeous in 2018. Winemaker Allison Tauziet opted not to use Petit Verdot in this vintage, choosing instead to use a bit more Franc. I can’t really say the wine is missing the Petit Verdot, while the Franc seems to give added aromatic explosiveness. Then again, all of this fruit is sourced from David Abreu’s Madrona Ranch, a stellar site with a stunning array of clones, including some pretty magical Franc.”

FMW 97 Points: The 2021 Hudson Estate Chardonnay is a lush, deep, and concentrated youngster that wows you from the start. The wine’s bold aromas jump out of the glass. On the palate, you’ll encounter lush viscosity and tantalizing richness. The wine is loaded with bold flavors of lemon confit, marzipan, fresh-cut flowers, chamomile, and almonds.  This  Chardonnay is very statuesque and over-delivers from start to finish.

Jeb Dunnuck 97 Points: “Winemaker Helen Keplinger came here in 2014 and has consistently been making beautiful wines. The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper Vineyard offers a pretty, medium to full-bodied, more elegant style as well as a terrific array of red, blue, and black fruits supported by floral and violet notes. It has perfectly integrated background oak, fine, polished tannins, and a great finish. It’s incredibly impressive, and while it already has some appeal, it’s going to evolve for 20 years in cold cellars.”

Vinous 97+ Points: “The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper is a total dream. Sumptuous and racy with notes of blackberry jam, cloves, menthol, licorice and chocolate. The blend of three blocks and three clones (4, 144, and 337) is so complementary. The 2021 is magnificent. An archetype of modern Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2021 is super elegant, polished, and refined from start to finish, What a Knockout.”

Jeb Dunnuck 97 Points: “From a terrific vineyard on the west side of Yountville, and one I suspect will be more well known in the future due to the quality of the farming, the 100% Cabernet 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Bettinelli Sleeping Lady is a pretty, elegant yet full-bodied beauty that has terrific notes of blue fruits, violets, bay leaf, and damp earth. It has an almost mountain fruit-like tension and purity, fine tannins, and a great finish. In short, it’s a thrilling Napa Valley Cabernet that’s going to keep for 25 years or more.”

Jeb Dunnuck 97 Points: “Leading off the Chardonnay, the 2021 Chardonnay Done & Done Rincon Vineyard has gorgeous orchard fruits, pineapple, spicy oak, brioche, and honeyed white flower notes as well as full-bodied richness and depth on the palate. It firms up with time in the glass and shines for its purity, richness, and overall balance, and it’s rare to find this level of richness paired with purity from the Central Coast. It’s an absolutely thrilling Chardonnay to enjoy over the coming 3-5 years.”

Jeb Dunnuck 97 Points: “Tons of auxiliary grapes go into the 2021 Zinfandel Carlisle Vineyard, which is deep red and ripe with cassis, cedar, bourbon spices, and peppercorn. Full-bodied, with both richness and an angular structure as well as silky fruit to balance it nicely, it offers notes of ripe red plum and black cherry, baking spices, mocha, and warming earth and is long on the palate. Drink 2024-2034.”

Jeb Dunnuck 96+ Points: “Another brilliant wine from this family, the 2021 Chardonnay comes all from the estate Pisoni Vineyard in the southern part of the Santa Lucia Highlands. Unfortunately, it’s made in tiny quantities, but I consistently think it ranks with the finest Chardonnay in California. Honeyed lemon, pear, flowers, crushed stone, and a beautiful kiss of toasted walnuts define the aromatics, and it’s medium-bodied, vibrant, and elegant, with a liquid rock-like sense of minerality on the finish. It plays in the more elegant, focused, lengthy style of the vintage and is slightly closed and tight at present. Give bottles another 2-3 years in the cellar and enjoy through 2031. It’s a beautiful Chardonnay.”