California Collector Wines

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1990 was the first vintage (4,756 cases produced) and one of the most abundant before the replanting became essential because of phylloxera, and was again made at Robert Pepi. However, the percentage of Cabernet Franc jumped to 10% in the final blend. Mia Klein, who worked with Tony Soter, was part of the winemaking team. This wine performed beautifully, and had that Château Margaux-like finesse, elegance and richness. Beautiful blackcurrant notes, graphite, rose petal and licorice, were all present in this deep ruby/plum-colored wine that came across like a Napa version of a first-growth Médoc. It is medium to full-bodied, with beautiful, integrated tannin, acidity and wood. This should continue to drink well for another 10-15-plus years.Robert Parker | 95 RPStill young and firm, this delivers spicy plum and chocolate flavors; it’s polished, balanced and intense. Approachable now.--Spottswoode vertical. Best after 2000. 4,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

I was also able to taste a barrel sample of the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon, and it’s clearly one of the deeper hued 2022s I was able to taste for this report. Darker currants, hints of cassis, scorched earth, and tobacco all emerge on the nose, and it’s medium to full-bodied, has a classic, elegant Spottswood texture, building tannins, and outstanding length.Jeb Dunnuck | 94-96 JDThe 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon, tasted as a barrel sample, is deep purple-black in color. Intense scents of plum preserves, blueberry pie, and creme de cassis give way to wafts of dried roses, star anise, and powdered cinnamon. The medium-bodied palate is velvety and lively, with bags of juicy black and blue fruit preserves leading to a long and spicy finish on this impressive wine.The Wine Independent | 94-96+ TWIDark, layered and imposing, the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon is a promising wine for the year. Dark red and purplish fruit, spice and rose petals open gradually, wrapped together by firm, large-grained tannins for this site. This core blend represents about 40% of the eventual final blend.Vinous Media | 92-95 VM

Deep garnet colored with a lingering hint of purple, the 2007 Insignia Proprietary Red Wine reveals the most seductive crème de cassis, Black Forest cake and licorice notions with touches of violets, eucalyptus, chocolate box and unsmoked cigars plus a waft of cedar chest. Full-bodied with tantalizing opulence yet compelling restraint, the palate beautifully juxtaposes the rich, ripe fruit with wonderful freshness and a firm yet plush backbone, finishing beautifully perfumed.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RP(14.5% alcohol): Saturated dark ruby! Ripe but reticent aromas of blackberry, boysenberry, bitter chocolate oak, licorice and mocha are very subtle and complex. Wonderfully pliant and balanced wine, with plush purple fruit and violet flavors displaying a smooth grain and superb depth. Spreads out to saturate the middle palate and builds slowly and inexorably on the aftertaste. This fully ripe, complete wine finishes with stylish tannins and outstanding length. There may still be more fireworks ahead for this beauty.Vinous Media | 96 VMAromas of blackberry, leather, lead pencil, and flowers. On the palate this is dense and velvety, with a gorgeous texture. Agile and balanced, this is hard not to drink right now. The finish is long, with notes of coffee and dark fruits. 15+24+23+33. Find the wineJames Suckling | 95 JSYou have to count this as another great Insignia, dry and complex and ageworthy, although the tannins are fierce now, and it may lack just a bit of the glamor of, say, the 2004 or 2001. It's certainly a big wine that floods the mouth with blackberry, black currant, cassis and new oak flavors. The tannins and acids make it aloof, resistant, tough. It wants time in the cellar. Best after 2013. Production was a hefty 13,500 cases.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEPhelps's top red wine is a blend of cabernet sauvignon (88 percent), merlot and petit verdot, all grown at estate vineyards. Most of the fruit comes from the southern districts of Napa Valley—Suscol, a relatively cool site in South Napa, along with Stags Leap and Oak Knoll. That cool tone comes across in red currant flavors, in the quiet presence of a substantial wine. It's sleek with dark tannin that feels youthful and austere, hinting at a Christmas spice that predicts what holiday celebrations might be in store ten years down the line.Wine & Spirits | 91 W&SDense and tight, with a chewy core of mocha-laced blackberry and currant flavors, combining power with a measure of grace. Not shy on tannic strength, this has more power than finesse. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot.--Blind 1997/2007 California Cabernet retrospective (January 2017). Drink now through 2025. 13,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

Deeper and richer than the Jensen, the blockbuster-style 2012 Pinot Noir Selleck Vineyard comes from vines planted in 1975 and wasn’t harvested until October 4. A big, rich, layered Pinot Noir that offers tight, reserved notes of blackcurrants, truffle, crushed rocks, forest floor and sassafras, this beauty hits the palate with full-bodied richness, beautiful acidity and building, fine tannin that come through on the awesome finish. With air, it turns more and more mineral-laced and earthy, showing even a touch of gaminess. This beauty has terrific depth and richness without ever being over the top. Still a baby, give it a few years in the cellar, and enjoy bottles over the following decade. Bravo to Josh Jenson for this smokin’ effort!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPCalera’s 2012 Pinot Noir Selleck Vineyard is virtually seamless on the palate, with deep layers of fruit that nearly bury the tannins. Dark red and purplish fruit, mint, lavender, sage and sweet spices. Nuanced and impeccably balanced throughout, the 2012 captures the sexiness of the vintage yet retains tons of aromatic nuance and finesse. The 2012 will be a fascinating wine to follow over the next decade-plus.Vinous Media | 96 VMCola, sasparilla, cherry blossoms, hard cherry candy and a hint of black currant hit the nose on this rich wine from Josh Jensen. The palate shows brown spice, with clove and peppercorns wrapping around a rhubarb-licorice-thyme character and tart cherries, making for an incredibly distinctive wine.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WE

The biggest, richest wine in the lineup is the 327-case 2013 Pinot Noir Selleck Vineyard, which comes from the 4.8-acre Selleck Vineyard (this is one of the warmer terroirs on the estate). It was harvested from September 24th to October 4th, spending 18 months in 30% new puncheons before being bottled unfiltered. This is a blockbuster, rich, concentrated and textured Pinot Noir that has bright acidity, a huge core of fruit and layers of framboise, red currants, forest floor, mint, dried flowers and exotic spices. Needing air to show at its best, this beauty is up with the 2012 and absolutely one of the finest Pinot Noirs coming out of California. This totally profound wine will be better in a year or two and drink well for over a decade.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPA wild, exotic wine, Calera’s 2013 Pinot Noir Selleck Vineyard is spectacularly rich, flamboyant and intense. Beams of tannin and phenolics give the wine its structural backbone and more than enough structure to handle the intense, super-ripe fruit. Today, the 2013 is very, very young. I can’t wait to see how it ages.Vinous Media | 97 VMFragrant lilacs and plump mulberries mix with black clove, allspice, pine needles and dark earth tones on this bottling by Josh Jensen from this 4.8-acre vineyard. The palate presents hearty sagebrush spice and an easily enjoyable character of black cherry that lead into the more complex pine sap, bay leaf, wild thyme and euclalytpus components.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEAn exuberant style, with an expressive mix of zesty blackberry and wild berry fruit, offering alluring floral scents of violet and spice. Holds focus and glides along gracefully on the finish, where the tannins give the flavors traction. Drink now through 2022. 317 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WSThere is a whiff of menthol sitting atop the overtly spicy and notably ripe essence of red pinot fruit and cherry-scented nose. The very rich, concentrated and sappy big-bodied flavors possess excellent size, weight and power while delivering fine length on the palate coating finish that also evidences just a touch of tannic edginess. This is very firmly structured and very clearly built-to-age, indeed this is going to need it. I should further observe that this manages to carry its elevated level of alcohol quite well, indeed there is only a trace of warmth. Note well though that patience will definitely be required. In sum, if your taste runs to big and bold, this qualifies.Burghound | 91 BH

Wonderful floral aromas with perfumed roses plus hints of blackcurrants and spearmint. Full-bodied and so powerful and muscular but always showing the brightness and beauty of fruit. Winemakers say this reminds them of the 1978, their first year. It certainly has the structure — "those tannins" as they put it. Finish is so impressive with tar, iron and spices. Available in September 2017. Try in 2023.James Suckling | 99 JSAll Cabernet aged 32 months in new French oak, the flagship 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is a beauty that offers just about everything you could want out of wine. Blackcurrants, scorched earth, smoky oak and spice aromatics all give way to a full-bodied, concentrated, structured 2013 that has incredible fruit intensity, yet never seems heavy, over the top, or cumbersome in any way. It needs 4-5 years of cellaring and is going to keep for two to three decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDThe 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select will probably hit the magic three-digit score, but it is a more backward style of wine, although probably even more concentrated than the 2012, and that’s saying something. Fabulous potential of 30-50 years is evident in this profound bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon that is inky blue/black to the rim and offers up notes of charcoal embers, scorched earth, blackberries, cassis, blueberries, a hint of coffee, and background barrique smells. Massively concentrated but incredibly elegant and poised, this is a wine of great energy and vibrancy. It is fabulously deep, built like a skyscraper, and set for an incredibly long life. Try not to consume a bottle for at least another 4-5 years and then watch the magic unfold.Robert Parker | 98 RPAmong the Napa Valley's most crowning achievements in Cabernet, this vintage of Hillside Select is stunning, bright and beguiling in every way. Intensely layered, its interwoven flavors burst in black licorice, dark chocolate, pipe tobacco, gun smoke and garrigue. Spicy oak adds to the power and weight. Drinkable now, it will show even greater finesse in time; enjoy best 2023–2033 and possibly beyond.Wine Enthusiast | 98 WEJust bottled a few months before this tasting, the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is shaping up to be a jewel of a wine. Readers will have to be patient with this big, tannic Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2013 doesn't have the sensuality of the 2012 nor the silkiness of the 2011. Instead, the 2013 is a dense, vertical wine that needs at least a few years of cellaring. This is an intensely savory, mineral driven vintage for Shafer's flagship Cabernet Sauvignon.Vinous Media | 97 VMGraceful and supple, rich and loamy, tilted toward the savory, herbal side of Cabernet, with modest cherry and currant notes. Displays deft balance and hints of anise and underbrush. Complex throughout. Drink now through 2030. 2,400 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

The 2014 Pinot Noir Selleck Vineyard may end up being the greatest vintage for this vineyard to date. Offering a thrilling bouquet of black raspberries, sassafras, mint, ginger, and exotic flowers, this beauty hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a wealth of sweet fruit, ripe, polished tannin and great, great finish. It’s the most opulent and sexy of the 2014s, yet stays beautifully balanced and is going to age gracefully for upwards of two decades. It’s one of those Do-Not-Miss wines from Calera.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDCropped at minuscule yields of 0.63 tons per acre, the 2014 Pinot Noir Selleck Vineyard was my favorite of these single-vineyard Pinot Noirs from Calera. An opaque ruby-black in hue, the wine offers up a rich and complex bouquet of cassis, plums, figs, black truffle and creamy oak. On the palate, it’s full-bodied, rich and powerful, structured around a chewy chassis of tannin but possessing good energy and depth. On opening, this vintage of Selleck is almost brutally primary and atypically concentrated, but it becomes considerably more harmonious with extended aeration: while this will demand patience, it should be superb in the fullness of time. If you must try a bottle young, consider decanting.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95+ RP(Calera Pinot Noir Selleck Vineyard Central Coast Red) The 2014 Pinot Noir Selleck Vineyard is one of the riper, more extroverted wines in this range. I expect the Selleck will, in time, be superb, but it needs at least a few years to shed some baby fat. Today, it comes across as quite ripe and intense. Dark cherry, plum lavender, mint and exotic spice overtones add to the wine’s distinctly bold personality. (Drink between 2022-2034)Antonio Galloni | 94 AGJosh Jensen finds that his Selleck vines produce some of his most concentrated pinot noir. Planted in 1975 on a rocky ridge of decomposed granite and pockets of limestone, the vineyard is 4.8 acres with exposures to the south and southwest. This 2014 is saturated with flavor, deep in its bass notes of cherries, rich and bold. It’s completely savory, almost staunch in its formal structure, a wine of stature to age for a decade or more. (210 cases)Wine & Spirits | 94 W&SWith just over a half-ton harvested per acre due to the drought, this is a potent wine, with nose-tickling dark boysenberry, asphalt and wet stone aromas and brighter lifts of dried sage and raspberry. The soft palate combines vibrant acidity with raspberry and mulberry flavors and a hint of dried herbs.Wine Enthusiast | 92 WE

The 2018 Aubert Pinot Noirs were bottled at the beginning of July 2019. Medium to deep ruby-purple in color, the 2018 Pinot Noir UV-SL sashays out of the glass with flashy black cherries, black raspberries and mulberries scents plus suggestions of violets, dark chocolate, cinnamon stick and cloves with wafts of garrigue and mossy bark. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a taut backbone of firm, finely grained tannins and fantastic freshness supporting the muscular black fruits, finishing on a lingering earthy note.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPThe 2018 Pinot Noir UV-SL Vineyard is one of the very best Pinots I have ever tasted from Mark Aubert. What I like most is the interplay of aromatics, energy and overall freshness, all of which balance the richness Aubert coaxes from Pinot. In the glass, the UV-SL is so beautiful, so vivid and so compelling. A rush of red/purplish berry fruit, sage, mint and lavender builds into the precise, delineated finish. Not only is the UV-SL the most complete of the three Pinots, it is also very clearly the most stylistically aligned with the Chardonnays. I loved it.Antonio Galloni | 96 AGThe freshness to this is complete with very focused and high-tone character that shows precision and intensity. Full body. Phenolic, yet so spread and beautiful. Hints of dark berries, black truffle and spice at the end. Available fall 2020. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 96 JSRefined, with juicy richness to the mouthfilling flavors of raspberry tart, cherry compote and boysenberry. Crisp midpalate, leading to a fresh, spicy finish. Drink now through 2025. 1,074 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

The 2018 Aubert Pinot Noirs were bottled at the beginning of July 2019. Medium to deep ruby-purple colored, the 2018 Pinot Noir UV Vineyard rolls out of the glass with intense notes of Morello cherries, rhubarb, raspberry pie, bouquet garni and lilacs with suggestions of Marmite toast, fungi, fragrant soil and forest floor. Full-bodied, the palate is packed with crunchy red berries plus loads of earthy accents, framed by firm, grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long with a wonderfully spicy kick. Delicious now, this should age incredibly well, generously rewarding those with enough patience to defer their gratification.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98+ RPPowerful and structured, with minerally richness to the fine-edged red fruit and savory spice flavors. The sleek finish offers impressive purity and clarity to the notes of hot stone, flint and underbrush. Best from 2021 through 2026. 993 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WSVery fruity with cherry and dried-strawberry aromas and flavors. Full-bodied, tannic and chewy, yet polished and tight. It needs time to open. Available fall 2020. Better after 2022.James Suckling | 95 JSThe 2018 Pinot Noir UV Vineyard is the darkest and richest of the three Pinots in Mark Aubert’s lineup. Black cherry, chocolate, licorice and herbs are all broad and ample in the glass. The UV is a Pinot of gravitas, power and textural intensity. Ideally, readers should give it a few years in bottle, as the tannins are pretty imposing at this stage, just a few months after bottling.Vinous Media | 93 VM

Layered aromas of dried violets and roses, ripe red and black fruit, coriander and a hint of eucalyptus. Full-bodied with bright, humming acidity that amplifies the flavors of dark fruit and mint. Densely packed flavors of melted chocolate, espresso and overturned earth. Chewy finish. Simply delicious. Best after 2024.James Suckling | 97 JSThe UV site is right in the middle of Russian River, planted to Calera and Vosne-Romanée (suitcase) clones. The 2019 Pinot Noir UV Vineyard was aged in French oak, 60% new, and bottled at the beginning of July. Medium to deep ruby-purple colored, the nose is wonderfully perfumed, featuring notes of red roses, underbrush, wild sage and menthol over a core of pomegranate, black raspberries and wild strawberries. The palate is softly textured and beautifully balanced with full-bodied, generous fruit and just enough freshness, finishing long with a red berry lift.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96+ RPThe 2019 Pinot Noir UV Vineyard is incredibly delicate and refined. Freshly cut flowers, mint, sage, dried rose petals and blood orange infuse the UV with notable brightness and energy to match its soft curves. In the glass, the UV is nuanced and so full of complexity. The 2019 UV Pinot is one of the most elegant Pinots I have tasted from Mark Aubert. I would cellar the 2019 for a few years as it has just been bottled.Vinous Media | 95 VMThis crunchy red delivers flavors of dried raspberry and dark currant, with juicy acidity. Ends with toasty richness on the broad and well-spiced finish, with notes of tarragon. Drink now through 2025. 1,155 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

The 2019 Pinot Noir Laguna Ridge Vineyard is bursting with sweet fruits. The nose explodes to boysenberries and raspberries, with wafts of bergamot, dried flowers and aniseed. The medium-bodied palate is super silky and unabashedly flavorful, with bright bursts of juicy acidity that gives this Laguna Ridge an addicting quality—an indulgent reminder that at the end of the day, wine should be delicious!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPI always love tasting the two Pinots from Kistler and, as usual, the 2019 Pinot Noir Laguna Ridge Vineyard is slightly deeper hued and boasts ripe black cherries, mulberries, and strawberry fruits as well as notes of leafy herbs, crushed stone, and spring flowers. Sappy, medium to full-bodied, and ripe yet structured on the palate, this is the finest vintage of this cuvée to date. Give bottles a year or two in the cellar (although it’s certainly brilliant today) and it should drink well through 2034.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDThis is really crazy, with dried strawberries and magnet shavings. Unique aromas and flavors from the soil. It’s medium-bodied with a compact palate, showing excellent depth and polished tannins. Goes on for minutes. Drink after 2026, but already superb.James Suckling | 97 JSThe 2019 Pinot Noir Laguna Ridge is rich, sumptuous and luxurious right out of the bottle. Silky tannins and soft curves give the Laguna Ridge so much charm and appeal. Here, too, the Laguna Ridge impresses with its superb balance and class. Red/purplish berry fruit, rose petal, lavender, mint, spice and blood orange meld into the racy finish. The Laguna Ridge is easily among the top Pinots of 2019, a year that was not at all easy for this notoriously fickle variety.Vinous Media | 95 VMThis has a core of ripe, focused plum and black cherry puree flavors flecked liberally with singed cinnamon, black tea and mulling spice notes. Keeps a good racy edge through the finish, as the fruit takes an encore. Drink now through 2028. 900 cases made.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

The 2019 Pinot Noir Cuvee Natalie is just slightly lighter in color yet still has a healthy ruby, semi-opaque hue. Made from a mix of Calera and Swan clones and from a cooler terroir, it’s more aromatic and complex, with wild strawberry and cherry fruits, notes of forest floor, sappy flowers, incense, and sandalwood, medium body, beautiful tannins, and a gorgeous finish. This is another brilliant Pinot Noir from winemaker Jason Kesner that ranks with the finest in California and France.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDThe 2019 Pinot Noir Cuvée Natalie Silver Belt Vineyard strikes a fine balance of broody red fruits with spice and mineral tones. The nose offers gregarious cranberry sauce, rhubarb, nori and blood orange, with accents of purple flowers. The palate is vivacious and layered, silky and lifted with a very long, spicy finish. It’s open-knit and accessible although its generous fruits and classy new oak will show best with another 2-3 years in bottle.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPThe 2019 Pinot Noir Silver Belt Vineyard Cuvée Natalie is a very pretty, refined wine. Dried rose petal, mint, sage, sweet red cherry, tobacco and cedar are all beautifully lifted. Layered and yet also translucent, with tons of class, the Silver Belt is pretty impressive in 2019. In some previous years, the Silver Belt has been a bit rustic, but those qualities are not at all evident in the 2019. Cooler temperatures in fermentation seem to have helped quite a bit.Vinous Media | 94 VMAromas of sweet strawberries, plums and short bread with some wet-earth, following through to a medium to full body with a fresh, fluid palate and a lively finish. Pretty acidity at the end with a citrus finish. Lively and firm. Some iron to the fresh-fruit character. Try after 2025.James Suckling | 94 JSPerky acidity leads the way, pulling a mix of lightly mulled red and black cherry and raspberry fruit flavors along, while light cinnamon, sandalwood and dried anise notes peek in. This has range and length, just needs a touch of cellaring to settle in. Best from 2023 through 2029. 900 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

Aromas of tangerine zest and blackcurrants, with the perfume of fresh flowers. Full-bodied with a dusty texture to the tannins. Gorgeous. Nuanced and pure. Cabernet sauvignon with a touch of cabernet franc and petit verdot. Needs three or four years to open.James Suckling | 98 JSAnother incredibly successful 2020, the 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon offers a big, rich, powerful profile offering ample chocolaty dark fruits, some tobacco, eucalyptus, and mint herb nuances, an expansive, layered texture, and building yet polished and ripe tannins. It’s a beautiful wine that should age gracefully for 15-20 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 94 JDThe 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon is a seriously beautiful wine. It offers notable depth and texture at the outset. Black cherry, plum, chocolate, leather and licorice are all amplified. Slightly angular contours linger on the finish, but that is just the personality of the year. This is a very good wine for the vintage. Time in the glass amplifies the intense, bruising tannins. Let’s see where this goes.Vinous Media | 91 VM

Including more Cabernet Sauvignon than Cabernet Franc (it swings back and forth), the 2021 Avoyelles Oakville reveals a dense purple hue as well as sensational aromatics of red, blue, and blue fruits, spring flowers, spicy oak, graphite, dark chocolate, and a beautiful earth, forest floor-like character. Full-bodied, concentrated, and ultra-pure, it’s borderline perfection and a heavenly bottle of wine that needs 3-5 years of bottle age and will blow you away over the following two decades. The blend is 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot, aged 22 months all in new French oak.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDThe 2021 Avoyelles is a bruiser, its mid-weight structure notwithstanding. Strong, savory and floral notes open first. There’s plenty of weight and intensity, but it appears gradually. All the elements are so well balanced in this young, potent Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc blend.Vinous Media | 97 VMI tasted a barrel sample of the 2021 Patria Avoyelles Red, with 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot. It has a deep garnet-purple color and offers up vibrant notes of crushed black cherries, warm cassis, and Indian spices, with hints of charcoal, beef dripping, and crushed rocks. The medium to full-bodied palate is laden with taut, muscular black fruits and firm, grainy tannins with seamless freshness, finishing long with a spicy lift.The Wine Independent | 95-97 TWI

Very intense blue fruits with blackberries and hints of licorice. Flowers, too. Some pepper. Full-bodied with lots of bark, mushroom and forest floor. Creamy and polished tannins. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 97 JSThe 2021 Pinot Noir UV Vineyard is bright, punchy and super-expressive. Bright red/plum, blood orange, rose petal, lavender, spice and strong floral/savory accents add nuance throughout. The 2021 is an absolute joy to taste. The UV was done with entirely destemmed fruit, but its aromatic profile offers quite a bit of whole cluster-like character.Vinous Media | 96 VMThe 2021 Pinot Noir UV was bottled in mid-July 2022. Medium to deep ruby-purple colored, it comes bounding out with youthful scents of black cherries, black raspberries, and wild strawberries, plus suggestions of violets, chocolate mint, wild sage, and fragrant earth. The full-bodied palate is fantastically light on its feet, with beautiful freshness and ripe, fine-grained tannins, finishing long and savory. Planted to the Calera clone in 2001 by late vineyard manager Ulises Valdez Sr., right in the middle of Russian River, the soil on this site is a unique mix of sand and dense clay.The Wine Independent | 96 TWIGorgeous, with an inviting core of raspberry, blood orange and boysenberry puree aromas and flavors that stream through, flanked by singed apple wood, dried anise and black tea notes. Shows serious depth but also drive and freshness, as a racy mineral edge lends energy from start to finish. Best from 2024 through 2033. 949 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WSFrom a vineyard named for Aubert’s frequent collaborator, Ulises Valdez, and still farmed by his family, the 2021 Pinot Noir UV Vineyard (1,000 cases produced, from a Laguna Road site that’s slightly warmer than Aubert’s other Pinot Noir sources) features bold notes of cherries, cinnamon and wood spice. It’s medium to full-bodied and silky across the mid-palate, finishing long and softly tannic. Nicely balanced and structured, it should age well for more than a decade.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94+ RP

The 2021 Pinot Noir Laguna Ridge is bright and beautifully focused from start to finish. Crushed red berry fruit, blood orange, mint, spice, rose petal and white pepper are all finely delineated. The 2021 impresses with its tension and overall energy. A move to picking this fruit earlier has resulted in a Pinot endowed with notable tension. I love the focus here. The 2021 is a stunner.Vinous Media | 98 VMPlenty of strawberry and orange peel character with hints of spice and mineral character. Full yet tight and focused with very fine tannins that run the length of the wine. You don’t see it but it pulls at the end. Excellent pinot. Drinkable but give it three or four years. Drink after 2025.James Suckling | 97 JSA nearly opaque, dark red with a purple tinge, the 2021 Pinot Noir Laguna Ridge Vineyard has a more floral profile of fresh lavender, black cherry, wild black raspberry, and dark earth. Full-bodied and juicy, it has ripe tannins, a good bit structure, and more savory tones on the palate that will need a bit more time, but this is a fantastic and structured wine with meaty fruit of black cherry, smoky earth, and wild herbs. Drink 2025-2040.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JDMedium to deep ruby-purple in color, the 2021 Pinot Noir Laguna Ridge Vineyard explodes from the glass with vivacious scents of Bing cherries, redcurrants, and cranberries, leading to wafts of lavender, rose oil, and crushed rocks with a touch of bay leaves. The medium-bodied palate is bright and breezy, with ethereal flavors and fantastic freshness, finishing with a satiny texture and wonderful lift.The Wine Independent | 96 TWIThe 2021 Pinot Noir Laguna Ridge Vineyard has broody scents of rhubarb, blueberry, lilac and lavender, plus alluring botanical undertones. The medium-bodied palate balances an intense core of layered, briary fruit with loads of grainy tannins, and vibrant acidity gives a shimmery feel to the long, flavorful finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPRipe, vivid and succulent, with tightly focused blackberry, black cherry and boysenberry puree flavors at the core, which is laced with enticing notes of black tea, singed anise and red licorice. Long and focused, with a gorgeous mouthfeel as creamy fruit and the velvety structure meld beautifully through the lengthy finish. Drink now through 2035. 900 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS