Top Collectible Wines

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Needing plenty of air to show at its best, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard is a sensational, gorgeous Napa Valley Cabernet that delivers the goods like only this region can. Pure Cabernet magic on the nose, with deep blackcurrants, smoked tobacco, lead pencil, and a kiss of spring flowers as well as a beautiful Pessac-Leognan-like scorched earth character, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, silky tannins, no hard edges, and a great, great finish. It’s one of those wines that builds incrementally on the palate and it’s only after the second or third sip that you realize how special this wine is. It also offers that rare mix of power and elegance that’s the hallmark of all great wines. It needs a couple hours in the decanter if drinking any time soon. It will benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age and cruise for 20-30 years in cold cellars. Hats off to Paul Hobbs for an incredible Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDA 100% Cabernet from this noted St Helena site that gets plenty of sunshine and warmth. Fresh and inviting aromas of opulent black fruit, sun-scorched wild herbs, iron shaving and flashy oak spices. Broad and mouthfilling blackberry, blueberry compote, crème de cassis, and red currants threaded by tannins that build through a pretty herbs and espresso finish. Juicy acidity helps keep everything light and in balance.Decanter | 97 DECBlackberries, hazelnuts, blackcurrants and flowers. Crushed stones, too. Full-bodied with firm, polished tannins that give a lovely, creamy texture and just the right level of austerity. Hints of citrus, too. Ethereal and weightless. Beautiful and drinkable now, but will age beautifully.James Suckling | 97 JSThe 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard is bright and vibrant, with terrific fruit presence and tons of raciness. Sweet red/purplish berry fruit, rose petal, lavender, mint and sweet spice give this effusive, silky Cabernet tons of immediacy and charm. The 2019 is the most accessible of the single-vineyard Cabernets.Vinous Media | 96 VMThe 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard offers up alluring notes of red raspberries and cherries, accented by hints of baking spices, mocha and dried herbs. There’s even a slightly dusty, savory note, like wind-blown or rain-splashed earth on fresh-picked fruit, and a subtle tinge of pencil shavings. Full-bodied yet fresh, with a supple feel and fine-grained tannins, this is already approachable, yet it finishes with enough length and softly dusty tannins to think it will still be drinking well in 2040. 898 cases made.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPA rich, polished style, with waves of warm cassis and plum sauce underscored by licorice root and warm earth. Shows a swath of dark tobacco and warm earth on the finish, which works beautifully with the fruit. Best from 2024 through 2038. 898 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

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 | 100 JDA blend of 78% Grenache, 12% Mourvèdre and 10% Syrah, the 2020 Grenache is showing well from barrel at this stage. Fruit comes from Slide Hill Vineyard in Edna Valley, the Alta Mesa Vineyard and Larner Vineyard in Santa Barbara County and the G2 Vineyard in Paso Robles. It was made using 70% whole clusters and will be matured for about 21 months in 50% new French barriques and 50% used barriques and 600-liter demi-muids. Opaque ruby-purple in the glass, it has pretty scents of cinnamon, prosciutto, crushed red and black cherries, potpourri and amaro. The medium-bodied palate pairs concentrated, juicy flavors with an uplifted frame of grainy tannins, and it finishes with loads of latent spicy accents. Tasted on May 25, 2022, it is due to be bottled in mid-August of 2022. Around 400 cases and a few magnums will be made, and it will be sold as a three-bottle box set ($330). Magnums will be packed and sold in a box set with the 2020 Andremily EABA.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94-96 RPThe 2020 Grenache is a powerhouse, just as it was from barrel. Blackberry jam, chocolate, licorice, new leather, menthol and cloves are all amplified in this heady, explosive Grenache. There’s not much subtlety here. On the plus side, though, Jim Binns turned out a terrific wine in a year that was brutal for Grenache.Vinous Media | 93 VM

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon CCS is profoundly scented of baked plums, cherry tart and warm wild blueberries with touches of cinnamon stick, cloves, star anise and fertile loam plus an earthy waft of moss-covered tree bark. The palate is a hedonist’s fruit bowl of red, black and blue berry preserves layers in a full-bodied, decadently plush package, with an uplifting line of freshness to balance and an epically long finish. Pure sex in a glass!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RPPacks a wallop, with a broad, deep range of flavors, from exotic, spicy, vanilla- and mocha-accented oak to a dense, vibrant core of wild berry and blackberry that flows smoothly, gaining traction and tannic grip on the finish.—Blind 1997/2007 California Cabernet retrospective (January 2017). Drink now through 2026. 250 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

A new addition to the Place de Bordeaux this year - the eponymous project of husband and wife duo; viticulturist Annie Favia and winemaker Andy Erickson. A beautifully scented nose full of rose and violet touches, the Cabernet Franc nuances leap from the glass - fresh and minty, full of herbal sun-kissed ripe fruit but pristinely delivered. Smooth and driving on the palate, crunchy, crisp flavours give a real bite to the palate - red berries, blackcurrants and raisins, all nicely integrated and balanced. This doesn’t feel super worked and polished, instead it gives crystalline iron-minerality, lifted acidity and fragrance throughout - real signatures of the terroir and the minimal interventionist winemaking style - the grapes speak more than the winemaking. I just love the sense of wildness, a smoked touch with blue fruits, Asian spices and slightly angular tannins but with ripe fruit giving the body and cool acidity giving the freshness. A stunning wine and welcome addition to the Place. Ageing in French oak barrels (50% new).Decanter | 100 DECFrom a north-facing site at elevation, the 2019 Cerro Sur is a bold, savory wine loaded with energy. This Cabernet Franc-based wine is bursting with tension. Floral, spice and mocha accents lend striking aromatic top notes. I am so impressed with the wine’s elegance and total sense of finesse. This is an especially savory wine with strong cool-climate aromas and flavors that are so captivating.Vinous Media | 98 VMThis mostly cabernet franc shows intriguing character of tar, graphite, ink and black berries, following through to a medium to full body with layered and slightly dusty tannins and a succulent finish. So drinkable now, but will improve with age.James Suckling | 97 JSComing from a higher elevation site in Coombsville and mostly Cabernet Franc, the 2019 Cerro Sur has a complex, gorgeous nose of pure cassis, currant buds, flowers, and chocolate. This red, blue, and black fruited beauty is medium to full-bodied, with silky tannins and flawless balance. Brought up in 50% new French oak, it’s an incredible 2019 readers will absolutely love. It will evolve for upwards of two decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDSuperjuicy and vivid, with lots of up-front violet, cassis and plum pâte de fruit notes backed by tasty licorice and sweet spice. Toasted finish, but the fruit wins out easily, with a flash of sweet bay leaf adding nice range. Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink now through 2036. 250 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WSComing in at more than 70% Cabernet Franc—and aged in 50% new French oak—the 2019 Cerro Sur Red Wine is vaguely herbal, with black tea-like notes and hints of sage accenting black cherries and plums. Medium to full-bodied, silky and fine, this displays the hallmark Favia Erickson traits of balance and elegance—there’s absolutely nothing out of place here.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RP

The perfect 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Screaming Eagle is composed of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc. Made in the classic, iconic Screaming Eagle style that the original proprietress, Jean Philipps, first showcased in the early 1990s, before the winery was sold to Stan Kroenke, the inky/purple-colored, seamless 2012 possesses an extraordinary set of aromatics consisting of pure blackcurrant liqueur, licorice, acacia flowers, graphite and a subtle hint of new oak. Full-bodied, opulent and voluptuous, this profound wine is as prodigious as I thought it would be last year when tasted from barrel. It should age effortlessly for 20 or more years.Robert Parker | 100 RPAnother perfect wine is the 2012 Screaming Eagle which checks in as 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc. While just as good as the 2013, it’s made in a very different style and has a lush, opulent, sexy profile as well as the hallmark crème de cassis, white flowers, graphite and spice. With a silky, full-bodied, seamless texture, incredible complexity, ultra-fine tannin, and blockbuster length, this quintessential Screaming Eagle will continue drinking beautifully for 20-25 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDThis shows a very compact palate with superb complexity and precision with aromas and flavors ranging from blackberries and black truffles to black tea and wet earth. It’s full-bodied and finely grained with a light, woody complexity underneath it all. Extremely long and persistent on the palate. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 100 JSThe 2012 Screaming Eagle is shaping up to be a jewel of a wine. Ripe, flamboyant and opulent to the core, the 2012 races across the palate with stunning depth and pure texture. The flavors are dark, bold and expressive. This is one of the darker, more powerful 2012s readers will come across. Because of the long, temperate growing season, winemaker Nic Gislason opted to wait until mid-October to harvest, very late by the estate’s historical standards. Estate Manager Armand de Maigret told me the 2012 reminds him of the 2007. I don’t quite see that parallel, but it will be interesting to taste both vintages from bottle in a few years to find out.Vinous Media | 95-97 VMA seamless, graceful, ebullient effort that’s pure, even exotic, with dusty blackberry and wild berry flavors at the center. Though the fruit is broad and expressive, this is amazingly refined, supple and persistent overall. Tempting now for the expansive fruit definition, this should only gain over the next decade. Drink now through 2029. 820 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WS

Coming from a warmer site in the Russian River Valley (off Eastside Road) planted all to the Montrachet clone of Chardonnay, the 2018 Chardonnay Eastside reveals incredible intensity in its buttered citrus, white peach, nectarine, white flowers, stony minerality, and almond paste-laced aromas and flavors. A rich, powerful, straight- up awesome Chardonnay, it has riveting focus and precision paired with that richness and opulence that Mark Aubert seems to find in just about every vintage. Magical stuff in every sense, I always find it amazing that the Aubert Chardonnays are brought up in new French oak, yet you never find obvious oak, and the wines have an incredible sense of minerality and elegance, yet with power!Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDThe 2018 Chardonnay Eastside Vineyard is a total stunner. Rich, ample and phenolic in feel, the 2018 possesses tremendous resonance in all of its dimensions. Orange peel, spice, mint, toast and hazelnut all build in this creamy, super-expressive Chardonnay. Today, the Eastside Vineyard just dazzles.Vinous Media | 95-98 VMA powerful nose of dried pineapple, lime curd, dried lemon zest, white pepper, clove and a touch of burnt match. Pear blossom, too. Finely crafted, seamless layers of fruit, crushed stones and smoke. It’s full-bodied, tight and compact, elegant and sophisticated all at once. A beautiful wine. Such balance. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 98 JSRestrained but immediately compelling, pretty, creamy nose. The palate dismisses the dairy notes and becomes immediately more flavourful, the acidity growing in intensity and driving through to a long, succulent finish. A beautiful dance between softness and power. This wine truly appeals to me on both a personal and professional level – well crafted and deliciously delivered.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97 RPA vibrantly crisp version, with notes of dried savory herbs to the freshly cut green apple and Asian pear flavors. Offers intense minerality, showing smoky accents on the powerful and well-structured finish. Best from 2022 through 2026. 852 cases made. — KMWine Spectator | 94 WS

The 2018 Sloan is a flat out stunner. Rich, dramatic and full-bodied, with striking energy, the 2018 is viscerally thrilling right out of the gate. Black cherry, plum, mocha, licorice and gravel all build as this towering, statuesque Cabernet shows off its pedigree. The 2018 is simply magical, and just as breathtaking from bottle as it was as a barrel sample last year. It is the very finest Sloan I have ever tasted. I can’t wait to see how it ages.Antonio Galloni | 100 AGI compared the 2018 Proprietary Red to a great vintage of Mouton Rothschild from barrel and I’m still happy with that comparison now from bottle. Sporting a dense purple hue as well as gorgeous aromatics of blackcurrants, chocolate, espresso, tobacco leaf, charcoal, and gravelly earth, this big, full-bodied, concentrated, tannic wine is flawlessly balanced, incredibly precise, and as pure and classy as they come. It needs to be forgotten for at least 5-7 years and will have 30-40 years of overall longevity. Bravo to the team at Sloan for another magical wine. (Drink between 2026-2068)Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDA blend of mainly Cabernet Sauvignon with smaller proportions of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, the 2018 Proprietary Red displays and deep, vibrant garnet-purple color. Baked plums, blackberry pie, crème de cassis and toasty oak notes leap from the glass, followed by hints of tilled soil, Indian spices, mocha and crushed rocks. Big, full-bodied, opulent and velvety, it has a solid structure and a very long, seductively spicy finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98+ RPThis red has an intense and complex nose with lots of ripe black and blue-fruit flavors, together with dark chocolate, vanilla, licorice and tobacco. It’s full and intense, yet incredibly fresh and juicy and holds up beautifully on the palate. The complex and layered tannin structure will need some years to soften and show its best. Has a long and even finish. Rich, but not overdone. Try from 2024.James Suckling | 98 JS

This is a winemaker’s master class in blending and understanding of a long-standing site. Dried herb, cedar and pencil shavings accent lifted red fruit and brilliant acidity on the palate, with a supple yet still youthfully grippy texture that is framed by structured, graceful tannins. Enjoy from 2029–2039.Wine Enthusiast | 100 WESo much earth and spice with walnut and wet earth. Like fog laying over the valley in the morning. Black fruit. Medium-to full-bodied with super-fine tannins that are long and persistent, with graceful progression and length on the palate. So long, with real definition. September 2022 release. From biodynamically grown grapes. Hard not to drink now, but will age wonderfully.James Suckling | 99 JSI was blown away by the 2019 Red Blend from Quintessa, which is up with the crème de la crème of the vintage. Based on Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Carmenère, this full-bodied beauty has a perfectly balanced, seamless, yet expansive and classic 2019 style as well as gorgeous aromatics of cassis, flowers, chalky minerality, and integrated oak. It’s hard to resist already, but I have no doubt this will evolve for 20 years if stored properly.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDDark chocolate, violets and blackcurrants on the nose. Sticky, sweet, full, plush and ripe, fruit is dark - blackcurrant, black cherry and plum with lots of sweet liquorice and some earthy notes that give it a savoury touch. A bold and powerful style, you can feel the alcohol a bit and the wood still but there is good vibrancy and energy with a chiselled frame and generous freshness. Still extremely youthful with the structure fully on show, still settling and finding its refinement. 2% Carménère completes the blend. Ageing 22 months in French oak (60% new). Drinking Window: 2025 - 2040Decanter | 96 DECThe 2019 Proprietary Red Wine is more open and effusive than the 2018 version, with gentle floral nuances set against a backdrop of black cherries and cassis, joined by subtle notes of tobacco, cedar and vanilla. In the mouth, it’s medium to full-bodied, streamlined, silky and lush, nicely balanced and elegant, with a long, softly dusty finish tinged with licorice and caramel. Tasted twice, with consistent notes.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPThe 2019 Quintessa is one of the best wines I have tasted here in some time. Broad swaths of tannin wrap around a core intense dark plum, mocha, licorice and spice. The 2019 clearly needs a few years in bottle to come together. Quintessa is a large, sprawling property with many different exposures. My feeling is that it may not ultimately be suited to making a single large production flagship wine, but that perhaps a series of smaller production wines might showcase the site better.Antonio Galloni | 94 AGSports a very forward set of cassis and creamed plum notes before giving way to a firmer, more authoritative iron, warm earth and singed alder profile. Grippy and dense through the finish, but there’s cut and drive, with a savory edge adding good energy. This just needs some time for the mineral side to settle in with the fruit. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Carmenère. Best from 2024 through 2034. 10,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

Crushed stone, berry and lead pencil. Flintlock and iodine, too. Full-bodied, very tight and focused with incredible depth and intensity. Sculpted and intense. Incredible. Silky and tight tannins. Great finish. Reminds me of the 1978 La Chapelle. This needs three or four years to come together.James Suckling | 100 JSLastly, Colgin only makes a tiny amount of Syrah, but it’s consistently one of the greatest expressions of the variety in California, as well as the world. Their 2019 Syrah delivers the goods and brings a Côte Rôtie-like opulence and elegance as well as full-bodied aromas and flavors of blueberries, violets, smoke game, bouquet garni, and spring flowers. Pure, seamless, and perfectly balanced, you can safely put this up with anything out there. Enjoy bottles over the coming 15 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDSporting a deep garnet-purple color, the 2019 IX Syrah Estate hops up and down with its showy, flamboyant scents of chocolate-covered cherries, mulberries and preserved plums, before bursting into a gorgeous perfume of bouquet garni, candied violets, tar and roses, followed by unsmoked cigars with a waft of Sichuan pepper. The generous, full-bodied palate offers beautifully rounded, pebble-like tannins with invigorating freshness and so many fragrant layers that linger with edifying persistence. An absolute diva of a wine!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98+ RPThe 2019 Syrah IX Estate is deep, plush and super-expressive. The Colgin Syrah is so unique, as it is much a wine of place as it is a varietal Syrah. Huge fruit and captivating aromatics make a strong opening statement. All the elements simply fall into place. In 2019, the Syrah is simply exceptional. All that said, readers need to cellar the 2019 for at least a few years, as today the fruit remains very front and center, and true Syrah notes have not yet started to emerge.Antonio Galloni | 97 AGPotent and polished, with deeply structured blueberry, smoked meat, licorice and fruitcake spice flavors that gather richness and tension toward broad-shouldered tannins. To be released November 2022. Drink now through 2032. 400 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

The 2001 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is the first of these back-to-back perfect wines from Shafer that, at age 13, is still a baby, but, wow, what an amazing wine. A fabulous growing season produced a wine with inky/purple black color, stunning crème de cassis notes, with additional hints of lead pencil shavings, spring flowers, cedar wood and forest floor. It is full-bodied, sensationally concentrated, with a seamless integration of acidity, tannin, wood and alcohol. This is a great, monumental Napa Cabernet Sauvignon that is still an infant, at age 13, going on 14. This has got at least three decades of life left in it, and probably won’t hit its peak for another 5-7 years.Robert Parker | 100 RPNo Cabernet smells better. This is an enormously attractive, well-oaked wine constituted from the best possible fruit. In the mouth, it immediately seduces. Shafer knows it has to rise to expectations with this wine, and the 2001 does not disappoint. The fruit is spectacular, all cassis. The oak is rich, flamboyant and delicious. Structurally, the wine has the best tannin-acid structure Napa is capable of. Immediately delicious now, this wine should develop over the next 10 years.Wine Enthusiast | 98 WEAmazing for its richness, depth and concentration, with a wealth of flavors extending to espresso bean, mocha, dark berry, raspberry and cedar, intense and persistent on the long, detailed finish. An immense wine that’s gracefully balanced.—2001 California Cabernet blind retrospective (June 2011). Drink now through 2020. 2,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WSImpressive bright ruby-red to the rim. Sexy, complex nose melds scents of plum, currant, dried herbs, game, coffee bean, Baker’s chocolate and tobacco; smells sweet! Plush, sweet and broad from entry through to powerful, building finish. Strong plum, currant, tar, graphite, chocolate and spice flavors are complicated by soil and mineral nuances. Quite generous and thick without going over the top. This has reached its peak but should hold for at least another 10 to 15 years owing to its firm, claret-like spine of fully ripe, broad tannins. Actually less sweet on the palate than the nose suggests--and an answer to those tasters who consider Shafer’s flagship wine to be a bit too sweet and exotic. This is downright classic.Vinous Media | 95 VMFrom vines the Shafers planted in the early 1970s, these volcanic knolls at the foot of Stags Leap offer the family’s best wine, distinctive both for its texture and the grace with which it ages. It’s hard to find a better example of SLD tannins, a combination of dusty earth and chocolate richness so refined that it’s hard to tell where the fruit tannins end and the oak begins. The wine is neither overtly fruity nor in any way super-ripe. The power seems to come right out of the ground. This is a great vintage of Hillside Select that will need years to reach its peak, perhaps from 2010 through ’15 or later.Wine & Spirits | 94 W&S

The flagship wine, and one of the first in Napa Valley to emphasize the fabulous potential of Cabernet Franc in specific terroirs, is the 2013 Maya Proprietary Red Wine. This wine usually spends about 22 months in new oak and normally has anywhere from 45% to as much as 60% Cabernet Franc blended with the estate’s Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2013 could well be the finest they’ve made to date, and that includes a lot of profound wines. An incredibly complex nose of charcoal embers, blackberry and cassis, some blueberries as well as white flowers, and a touch of forest floor is followed by a full-bodied wine with sweet, well-integrated tannins, a multi-dimensional mouthfeel, and a finish that goes on for close to a minute. This is absolutely remarkable wine – powerful, dense, but at the sane time, precise and elegant. It’s hard to believe, but I think this wine can probably age and improve for 25-40 years. Don’t miss it if you have access to it.Robert Parker | 100 RPThe 2013 Maya is a bit more expressive today than the Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep, plush and vertical in its shape, the 2013 exudes intensity and pure power from start to finish. The Maya is another wine that will require considerable patience. Hints of black cherry, bittersweet chocolate, cloves, leather and scorched earth give the 2013 much of its brooding, powerful personality, but readers will have to give the 2013 at least a few years in barrel for it to be at its best.Vinous Media | 97+ VMBlack plums, caramel, new leather and bramble on the nose. Sumptuous and chewy mouthfeel, with flavours of raw cacao, bitter cherry and dried sage. The finish is long and driving, showing the brilliant, high-toned structure common in this section of Oakville. More generous at present than the 2013 Cabernet, but still very much a baby. Recommended to cellar for another few years. Drinking Window 2026 - 2051.Decanter | 95 DECAn inspiring effort, this captures a dense mix of gravelly earth, extracted dark berry, cedar, dried herb, anise and crushed rock notes, showing a cleansing minerally edge. Stays trim and deserves time. Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2020 through 2032. 750 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon is monumental, as it always has been. I have been fortunate to taste and drink the 2016 many times. It never fails to impress. All the elements are so well balanced. It possesses tremendous power in every dimension. Black cherry, plum, gravel, spice, menthol and licorice add layers to a wine of real gravitas and vibrancy. It’s a breathtaking Cabernet that will reward those lucky enough to own it with many years of profound drinking.Antonio Galloni | 100 AGSporting a saturated purple color, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon VHR is a total blockbuster that spent 21 months in French oak. It knocks it out of the park with its Pauillac-like bouquet of blackcurrants, tobacco leaf, damp earth, lead pencil shavings, and cedarwood. Hitting the palate with a massive texture and full body, it’s a powerful, full throttle effort that has remarkable balance, ripe tannins, and an opulent, sexy texture that’s a joy to drink. Despite its flamboyant style, it’s perfectly balanced and is a sensational wine. Feel free to drink it any time over the coming 20-25 years. Bravo!Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JD

One-hundred percent Cabernet Sauvignon aged 20 months in 75% new French oak, the 2016 J. Daniel Cuvée Cabernet Sauvignon is deep garnet-purple in color and offers up exuberant notes of crème de cassis, chocolate-covered cherries, wild blueberries, violets and unsmoked cigars with touches of garrigue, fragrant earth, powdered cinnamon, black olives and tree bark. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is built like a brick house, with a solid frame of firm, grainy tannins and seamless freshness supporting the taut, muscular fruit, finishing long and minerally. 950 cases produced.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RPThe flagship 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon J. Daniel Cuvee takes things up to whole other level and is a thrill a minute. Made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, from the Mole Hill, Vine Hill Ranch, and Heimark vineyards that spent 20 months in 75% new oak, it sports a deep purple color as well as a spectacular bouquet of crème de cassis, black raspberries, graphite, and spicy oak. Possessing incredible purity, full-bodied richness, building structure, and a big finish, it’s a quintessential, age-worthy Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon that I suspect will require more than a decade to hit prime time and will keep for 3+ decades. Bravo!Jeb Dunnuck | 98+ JDLail’s 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon John Daniel Cuvée is absolutely fabulous. Dark, powerful and brooding, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon John Daniel Cuvée offers superb intensity and richness in all of its dimensions. Black cherry, plum, graphite, smoke, licorice and dark spice add to an impression of gravitas and pure, brooding power. Game, smoke, tobacco, grilled herbs, gravel and scorched earth undertones add the closing shades of nuance. Vineyard sources are Heimark, Vine Hill Ranch and Mole Hill.Antonio Galloni | 97 AGLove the green olives, blackberries and sweet tobacco. Hints of walnuts and wet earth. Full-bodied yet reserved and very tight with beautiful richness and focus. Dense and exciting. A blend of Oakville and Howell Mountain. Great Napa cab. Try after 2022.James Suckling | 97 JSThis is very solid, with a core of steeped currant and blackberry fruit that weaves into licorice, dark tobacco and loam notes. The finish shows light polish, letting the fruit and earth elements take center stage together. Drink now through 2028. 955 cases made.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard Elysian Reserve has a black/bluish purple color, extraordinary suppleness and velvety integration of tannin, copious quantities of blueberry and blackberry liqueur, graphite and white flowers. It’s amazing wine and would be the equivalent of a great vintage of a Mission Haut-Brion on steroids. Whether it lasts 20 years or 30 or 40 is still up for speculation, but this is a profound Cabernet Sauvignon and one of the most compelling examples of this remarkable vintage. This is an utterly compelling, prodigious effort. Here’s to you, Mike Smith!Robert Parker | 100 RPA magical, majestic wine, the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard Elysian is a tiny barrel selection from this First Growth site just outside of Saint Helena. Dense purple-hued with an undeniable Graves-like bouquet of blackcurrants, unsmoked tobacco, damp earth, cedarwood, and iron, it hits the palate with a full-bodied, powerful style that stays light on its feel, flawlessly balanced, and as pure and seamless as they come. From a great vintage, a great terroir, and a great winemaker, it’s still tight and closed on the palate and needs 4-5 years of bottle age, but it will keep for 30-40 years. It’s an incredible wine!Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDA fabulous, open-knit, hedonistic wine, the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Elysian captures the more exotic, flashy side of this famous St. Helena site. Mocha, espresso, black cherries, smoke, licorice and tobacco flesh out in a totally effortless, unctuous Cabernet. Layers of flavors blossom through to the exuberant finish. There is so much to like and admire here.Antonio Galloni | 93 AG

The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr Crane Vineyard (100% Cabernet Sauvignon) is very deep garnet-black in color and gives a truly profound nose of chargrill, pencil lead, crushed rocks and tar with a core of crème de cassis, licorice, dark chocolate and mincemeat pie with wafts of cardamom and cumin seed. The powerful, full-bodied palate gives a firm, ripe structure to match the incredible concentration of fruit, finishing long and earthy.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RPFrom a rocky site outside of St. Helena, just next to Las Piedras, the stunning 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane (100% Cabernet Sauvignon) boasts a deep, gravelly, intellectual profile that’s reminiscent of the 2015 Haut Brion on steroids. Blackcurrants, chocolate, cold fireplace, and smoke tobacco all flow to a full-bodied, deep, layered, lengthy Cabernet Sauvignon that takes plenty of time to unwind in the glass. This is structured, backward, and deep, with serious power, yet it excels in its complex and layered style just as much. I suspect it will warrant a triple-digit score in 3-5 years and keep for 3-4 decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 98+ JDThis is very flamboyant and luscious on the nose with fresh herbs, such as thyme and sage. Full body and layers of ripe fruit and richness. Polished yet powerful. Drink in 2021.James Suckling | 97 JSThe 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard is also one of the most impressive wines in this flight. Rich, heady and explosive, with tremendous intensity, the 2016 hits all the right notes. Lavender, spice, menthol, licorice and black plum are nicely pushed forward, but more than anything else, I am struck by the wine’s energy and pure power. This is such a gorgeous wine.Vinous Media | 96 VMThis has concentrated richness and a mix of baked plum, mocha and thick cherry compote. From the famous site, it twitches in minerality, from crushed rock to tree bark and cedar. The full-bodied intensity is met by a balance of racy acidity that sizzles around accents of black pepper and leather.Wine Enthusiast | 96 WEWe take a step toward freshness with Realm’s bottling of St-Helena’s Beckstoffer Dr Crane Vineyard. I found this to be the most well integrated wine at the tasting, with its acid and tannin structure, textured body and long finish all working together and pulling equal weight. Boysenberry jam mixes with cocoa nibs and wet gravel. The finish cleans up nicely but still leaves a presence of cedar and coffee. Around 500 cases were produced. Drinking Window 2022 - 2040Decanter | 95 DEC

The perfect 2013 Vecina offers up notes of pen ink, scorched earth, espresso, blackcurrant liqueur and blackberries. It is a fabulously great wine, with supple, well-integrated tannin, decent acidity, and a skyscraper-like mouthfeel, with extraordinary purity and richness. This is an amazing wine to drink over the next 50 years, although I would probably suggest cellaring for five or more at present.Robert Parker | 100 RPThis look back at Vecina continues with the 2013. Ample and creamy yet also tannic, the 2013 is outrageously beautiful today. Raspberry jam, tobacco, smoke, dried flowers and herbs build into a crescendo of aromas, flavors and textures. Although the 2013 won’t be ready to drink any time soon, it is simply thrilling on this afternoon. There is not much more I can say than that.Vinous Media | 100 VMAromas of plums and terracotta with flowers and fresh herbs such as lemon grass. Full body. This young red envelops your palate with polished and velvety tannins that turn to ripe fruit, light smoke, cedar and chocolate undertones. Dusty texture. Salty and savory. Superb intensity. Can’t wait to drink it on release and onwards.James Suckling | 98 JSRemarkably complex, focused and structured, with a rich, fruity entry supported by fine-grained tannins and seductively creamy, mocha-tinged oak. Taken as a whole this is an enticingly complex and ageworthy effort. Drink now through 2030. 460 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WSDark, rich black fruits, pencil shavings and chapparal (California’s garrigue) preface a ripe, ample and substantially-framed wine, the largest-scaled and most obviously ripe of the Bond wines, though savoury, crisp tannins keep things serious. From deep, fine gravel soils in west Oakville, it will be interesting to watch this cuvée’s evolution over the vintages to come. Drinking Window 2018 - 2038.Decanter | 93 DEC

The 2016 Cariad Proprietary Red Wine is blended of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc, 12% Merlot and 8% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple colored, it has wonderful purity of black fruits—preserved plums, blackcurrants and black raspberries—with nuances of iron ore, crushed rocks, fertile loam, cedar chest and tobacco leaf. Full-bodied, concentrated, muscular and built like a brick house, it has very firm, grainy tannins and refreshing acidity, finishing incredibly long and mineral. This should be very, very long lived.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RPThe highlight in this range today, the 2016 Cariad is utterly magnificent. Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot give the wine soaring aromatic intensity and striking savoriness to play off the racy, forward fruit. Time in barrel has done wonders to meld all the elements together. Today, the Cariad is dense, explosive and super-expressive. And yet my sense is that the 2016 still has quite a bit of room to grow. Even at this early stage, the 2016 is a total stunner. The symbiosis of David Abreu fruit and Allision Tauziet’s winemaking makes for an electric, unforgettable 2016. Don’t miss it.Vinous Media | 100 VMAmazing aromas of dark fruit and sweet, subtle tobacco. Complex. Multidimensional. Hypnotic. Full-bodied, very plush and rich on the palate with layers of fruit and tannins. Yet, it remains cool.James Suckling | 98 JSComing from the Madrona Ranch and a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc, 12% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot, the 2016 Cariad is a more powerful, concentrated, burly effort that has a massive amount of black and blue fruits, charcoal, savory herbs, and graphite-like aromas and flavors. This beauty hits the palate with full-bodied richness, loads of tannins, a deep, stacked mid-palate, and a huge finish. Where the Tychson Hill is power married to elegance, this beauty is more power and structure. It needs at least a decade of cellaring.Jeb Dunnuck | 98+ JDRich and very suave in style, with a gorgeous core of pure plum, blackberry and cassis notes sailing through the long finish, which is supported by a well-buried graphite edge that allows the creamy feel to gain the upper hand while keeping everything grounded. A beautiful display of restrained power. Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. To be released March 2020. Best from 2021 through 2035. 750 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WS

The 2019 Dominus is blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot and 4% Cabernet Franc, aged in 40% new French oak. Impressively dark-hued in the glass, it yields scents of cherries and cassis on the nose—or is it black cherries and redcurrants? Subtle notes of mocha, pencil shavings and almost Graves-like earthiness wind through the concentrated, medium to full-bodied palate, giving it a sense of savory gravitas, while the finish is silky and long, leaving a lingering residue of soft tannins and mouthwatering freshness.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPThe 2019 Dominus is shockingly primary. A wine of tremendous density and power, the 2019 is also a wine for readers who can be patient, as it won’t be ready to drink for another 10-15 years! Dark fruit, leather, tobacco, incense, dried herbs and scorched earth lend striking complexity. The 2019 is a huge wine that needs time to come into its own. This is impressive, to say the least.Vinous Media | 98+ VMLots of crushed stone, lead pencil and licorice aromas that are extremely aromatic and bright. Black cherries, cloves and purple fruit, too. Full body and a round and ripe center-palate with a juicy interior. It opens at the end with a savory and juicy finish. Layered and beautiful. Drinkable now, but better in three or four years.James Suckling | 98 JSA loaded wine, though reserved in style, with waves of dense cassis, plum reduction and blackberry preserves moving through authoritatively, while sweet bay leaf, warm loam and tobacco accents fill in the background. The long cast iron spine is deeply buried in the fruit, and this has superior cut and drive. Built for serious cellaring, too. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2024 through 2040. 3,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WSFrom a slightly more challenging year for this estate due to the heavy springtime rains, the 2019 Dominus is a classic blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot, and the rest Cabernet Franc from this team brought up in a mix of new and used barrels. It offers a more ruby/plum and borderline opaque hue as well as a great nose of ripe currants, tobacco leaf, chocolate, and a touch of loamy earth. This round, supple, medium to full-bodied effort has soft tannins, terrific balance, and a great finish. It’s not going to match the all-time greats here, but it’s a charming, endearing Cabernet that will offer incredible pleasure with just 3-5 years of bottle age and drink well for 20+ years or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JD