| Winery | Special Designation | Vintage | Varietal | Rating | DateTasted | Notes | Buy Again? |
| Hall Wines | Napa Valley | 2017 | Merlot | 94 | 10/26/2026 | This is a massive wine. We grabbed a bottle at Walt in Oxbox Market in Napa yesterday. They were selling the magnums for ungodly price of $100. A lot of Napa wineries are offloading older vintages these days.
The nose has red plum, bright cherry and dark blackberry. There is some green melon, cocoa, leather and burnt sugar pie crust as well.
The palate shows bright acid, med tannins, lovely dark flavors of plum and berry and a long, lingering finish. This is a 17 merlot that is holding its own. It only shows the first beginnings of tertiary bottle characteristics.
It has a mouthful of flavor with almost no missing gaps in flavor. The burnt sugar note on the nose comes through on the palate luxuriously. | y |
| Hall Wines | Eighteen Seventy-three, Napa Valley | 2020 | Cabernet Sauvignon | 96 | 10/26/2026 | Oh jeez, the nose on this wine is ridiculous with fun. It is almost sweet with Kirsch cherry, blackberry, a hint of candied lemon, cocoa, leather, coffee and lilac.
The palate is rich of black cherry, berries, cocoa and brioche bun. There is nothing left to say about this. It is fully concentrated, intense, long finish, high, silky tannins and high acid. And it has so much fruit the palate feels like is is viscous.
Hall was one of a few wineries that had valley floor fruit that was ready to pick before the 2020 fires. And thanks to an early budbreak, warm and dry season, the Glass fire did not impact this wine. Good thing! It is really a richly intense pleasure to taste. | y |
| Markham Vineyards | Oak Knoll | 2023 | Cabernet Franc | 93 | 10/25/2026 | | y |
| Markham Vineyards | Oakville Blue Boots | 2023 | Blend (Red Table Wine) | 94 | 10/25/2026 | 53% Cab, 43% Merlot | y |
| Markham Vineyards | Yountville AVA | 2018 | Cabernet Sauvignon | 94 | 10/25/2026 | Clone 169 | y |
| Markham Vineyards | Brians Block, Yountville Ranch Vineyard | 2021 | Cabernet Sauvignon | 95 | 10/25/2026 | Clone 191 | y |
| Markham Vineyards | Napa Valley | 2013 | Cabernet Sauvignon | 94 | 10/25/2026 | This does not taste like a 13 year old at all. More like an 18 | y |
| Markham Vineyards | Yountville Ranch Vineyard, Napa Valley | 2021 | Malbed | 93 | 10/25/2026 | | y |
| Silverado Vineyards | ABEL Stags Leap District Napa Valley | 2023 | Cabernet Sauvignon | 95 | 10/25/2026 | | y |
| Silverado Vineyards | SOLO Stags Leap District Napa Valley | 2023 | Cabernet Sauvignon | 97 | 10/25/2026 | | y |
| Silverado Vineyards | GEO Coombsville, Napa Valley | 2023 | Cabernet Sauvignon | 96 | 10/25/2026 | | y |
| Sans Liege | The Adversary, Central Coast | 2023 | Mourvedre | 96 | 10/22/2026 | Raspberry, tomato, blackberry, cranberry, cinnamon, cedar, mint, cocoa, vanilla, coriander seed, crushed wet rock, nutmeg, ginger, brioche, black pepper and dried California hillside herbs.
The palate has ample minerals, beautiful berry and herbs with full concentration and intensity that send the finish on this wine into the minute+ range. The tannins, acidity and flavors are a perfect structural storm that will allow this wine to age well.
This wine provides a plush mound of beauty containing earth, berries, herbs, baking spices and baked goods. It has the best of all worlds.
I cooked Bang-Bang salmon, rice and broccoli. This wine paired with beautifully with the mayo, Thai chili sauce and sriracha blend that coated the salmon. | y |
| Bacigalupi | Russian River Valley | 2024 | Pinot Noir | 94 | 10/20/2026 | Bright raspberry, strawberry and cherry fill out the nose. There are some baking spices in there, lilac and wet soil.
The palate shows light tannins, high acid, med+ concentration and intensity and a med+ finish full of bright with acid, raspberry and strawberry. It can use some time. It is very young. We tasted it and then came back to it after an hour. It opened up nicely.
We love these regional blends. Sometimes they are better than the individual vineyard wines. | y |
| Bacigalupi | Bloom Ranch, Russian River Valley | 2024 | Pinot Noir | 94 | 10/20/2026 | This one has cranberry, black pepper, raspberry, fresh cremini mushroom, tomato and a hint of lime.
The palate has medium tannins, high acid, med+ concentration and intensity. And the finish is long. The flavors are lovely, accentuating the berry fruit, crisp acid and warm tomato, which gives is a great bottom end.
Bloom Ranch is obviously a lovely place, with lovely grapes, making lovely wine that has very unique nose and a bright palate with interesting flavors that lay outside of the usual box. | y |
| Bacigalupi | Frost Ranch, Russian River Valley | 2024 | Pinot Noir | 95 | 10/20/2026 | This nose is lovely. There is strawberry, cranberry, pomegranate, loquat, cola, coriander seed, lilac and soil. The nose has full concentration that gives it a kind of Jello feel.
The palate has lovely loquat acidity, minerality, concentrated, intense fruit. And all of these send the berry finish a long way. But the best thing on this palate is viscous texture ? as though someone has removed some of the water from the wine leaving a thick richness of berry fruit that is really amazing. You don?t get this in many wines.
This wine can be described in one word: PLUSH. | y |
| Siduri | Santa Lucia Highlands | 2024 | Pinot Noir | 93 | 10/17/2026 | Cranberry, strawberry and red cherry are primary. Then powdered cherry, pomegranate molasses, mushroom, yellow cake and orange blossom.
The palate has a lovely flavor concentration that leads to a lengthy finish. The body and tannins are medium. But the acid is high, as it should be, balancing the fruit.
Wow, for a regional blend from SLH, this is a 93 point keeper -- at a price point that makes it one you can buy a lot of for everyday sipping. | y |
| Siduri | Garys Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands | 2024 | Pinot Noir | 90 | 10/16/2026 | The nose starts with raspberry, strawberry and black cherry. There is vineyard dust and tart cranberry. The cherry on the nose and palate have the playful taste of medicine. The nose has a darkness like wet wood and mushroom.
The palate shines with high acid, medium tannins and body. The intensity and concentration are med+ with berry/black cherry notes. A hint of bitterness like pink grapefruit pervades the finish, balancing the fruit.
The glory of the Garys, tart fruit, slight bitter citrus and sweet raspberry all come together in a palate with vineyard dust. | y |
| Trader Joes | Platinum Reserve, Paso Robles, Lot #118 | 2025 | Zinfandel | 90 | 10/16/2026 | Black raspberry, cocoa, black cherry, honeysuckle, white pepper and pomegranate molasses.
The palate is almost off dry. It has med+ tannins and body. The flavors, though intense, are a bit on the single note side. It has pleasantly high acid keeping the fruity sweetness at bay. And for the finish it is long.
No matter whether you are drinking Cab, Pinot, Grenache or Zin -- Paso always has its own take on these wines. They always stand out from the rest of the west coast. This Zin is a different animal from Lodi, Amador or Sonoma. And it is a great Zin to check out just to experience the difference. | y |
| Covale Cellars | Quintessence Vineyard, Red Mountain | 2023 | Merlot | 98 | 10/15/2026 | Raspberry, blueberry, boysenberry, cinnamon, cloves, cedar, oak, freesia flower, brioche and cream.
The palate has high acid, balancing nicely with the concentrated, intense fruit. But the flavors and firm tannins are laced with cream cheese frosting, berries and game. The finish is intense, long and a pure pleasure to contemplate/savour.
This merlot has such a great fruit forward character, complete with red and black fruits ? bright and dark. This is one to buy and lay down. It has all the structural components to hold for decades. With a wine like this that is highly drinkable now, it is only going to get better as bottle age character starts to set in. | y |
| Trader Joes | Grand Reserve, Carneros, Lot #20 | 2025 | Chardonnay | 92 | 10/15/2026 | The nose has pear, green apple, honeydew melon, coconut, sweet hay, fig, caramel, toast, wet stone and apricot. Reminds us of a pina colada.
The palate is amazing with high acid, great mineral balance, med+ intensity and concentration. The finish is med long. With that said, the palate has full coverage of flavors and beautiful balance.
Another standout from TJs. For a modest price, this wine has a lot of bang! | y |
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