Wine Ratings

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From a site next to Spotteswood, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon A. Price Vineyard has a complex style in its red and black fruits, new leather, sandalwood, and tobacco leaf-like aromas and flavors. These carry to a medium to full-bodied, wonderfully pure, balanced red with ripe yet present tannins, plenty of fruit and opulence, and a great finish. A blend of 97% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Petit Verdot, it’s another brilliant wine from this label.Jeb Dunnuck | 96 JDMade form 100% Cabernet Sauvingon, the deep garnet-purple colored 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon A. Price leaps with scents crushed redcurrants, blackberry pie and blackcurrant pastilles, plus hints of bouquet garni, tar and truffles. Full-bodied, taut and tightly wound, it has a firm, grainy texture and lively freshness, finishing with fantastic persistence. 190 cases were made.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPThe 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Allen Price Vineyard is soft, succulent and relatively easygoing, both for this wine and the vintage. Inky blue/purplish fruit, spice and lavender all meld together effortlessly. The 2019 is undeniably attractive, even if it does not have the depth of the very best years.Antonio Galloni | 93 AG

From a 20+-year-old section of Hudson selection Old Wente clone vines, the 2019 Chardonnay Hudson (a barrel sample) delivers a full-on exotic nose of tropical fruits, pineapple upside-down cake, beeswax and spiced pears with an undercurrent of cashews and brioche plus a touch of yuzu zest. Full-bodied, the palate is satisfyingly savory and multilayered, with tons of mineral sparks accenting the opulent fruit, and the long, decadent finish is beautifully offset by racy freshness.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97-99 RPAn inviting nose of jasmine, lemon leaf, chalk and beeswax. Full-bodied and light on its feet with delicate expressions of herbs and spices that carry over the palate in layers. Subtle vanilla bean and toasted thyme on the palate. Supremely elegant. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 99 JSThe 2019 Chardonnay Hudson Vineyard is a total knock-out. Ripe pear, white flowers, mint and apple tart are all beautifully lifted. Rich in texture, yet light on its feet, the Hudson is unbelievably beautiful and vivid in the glass. In a word: stunning.Vinous Media | 96-98 VMThere’s unctuous minerality and savoriness to the baked apple and dried pear flavors that are lacy and well-spiced, with toasty and buttery accents on the broad-textured finish. Elegant and complex. Drink now through 2026. 579 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

The 2019 Côte Rôtie La Mouline is a bigger, richer Côte Rôtie. Co-fermented with a solid chuck of Viognier and around 85% destemmed (the same as the La Turque), this full-bodied effort has a kaleidoscope-like bouquet of bloody black and blue fruits, tapenade, salted meat, woodsmoke, and a touch of violets. This cuvée is always an exotic wine, and the 2019 is no exception, offering full-bodied richness, a layered, multi-dimensional mouthfeel, plenty of structure, and a great finish.Jeb Dunnuck | 97-100 JDBright, highly perfumed blueberry, black raspberry, violet and exotic spice aromas, along with a wild touch of blood orange. Juicy and lithe on the palate, offering intense red and blue fruit flavors that stain the palate while showing little in the way of excess weight. Finishes extremely long and sweet, with a building floral note, even tannins and a late jolt of five-spice powder.Vinous Media | 96-98 VMWhile just as aromatic and charming on the nose—where ephemeral floral notes join ripe cherries—as previous years, the 2019 Cote Rotie La Mouline isn’t quite as impressive on the palate. It’s medium to full-bodied, silky and caressing, without the same power, yet it’s supremely elegant.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94-96 RPA little closed, not as open as you would expect at this stage. Medium-bodied, fresher on the palate than the nose, with a good sense of purity and salinity. Massy, ripe tannins and a long finish. Not quite as sprightly and perfumed at this stage as previous recent vintages of La Mouline, but clearly a very good wine. At the beginning of its 42 months in new French oak barriques.Decanter | 94 DEC

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon continues to show brilliantly. (I rated it 97-100 from barrel last year.) It has a quintessential Cabernet nose of pure crème de cassis, crushed stone, lead pencil, graphite, and tobacco that gains depth and richness with time in the glass. Deep, full-bodied, rich, and incredibly textured, yet still fresh, light on its feet, and beautifully balanced, this gorgeous Cabernet shows what’s possible with the variety from Paso Robles.Jeb Dunnuck | 97-99 JDThe 2019 Patrimony Cabernet Sauvignon was made with free-run juice and matured for 30 months in 100% new French oak. It has a deep ruby color and alluring tones of truffle, brown sugar and coffee to begin, opening with time to very pure cassis, boysenberry, tobacco, garrigue and aniseed. The palate is supple and fresh with surprisingly restrained, mineral-laced fruits and a fan of spicy accents across the long finish. This ultra sleek, elegant Cabernet evolves continually in the glass and has the harmonious structure it needs to go the distance in the cellar.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPOpaque in color, the wine opens with intense yet elegant aromas of cassis, toasted espresso and roasted walnut paste. Polished tannins frame the rich sip, loaded with scorched earth, dark cassis and purple-flower flavors, proving very dry yet luxurious, with a lingering finish.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEDeep, rich and plush on the nose showing cassis, blackberries with hints of dark olives, fennel, dark chocolate, cigar box and elderberry characters. Full-bodied and fleshy on the palate with an abundance of tannins, which are extremely fine-grained. Restrainedly opulent, deep, structured and long. Still a hint of white sesame character from the barrels, but will integrate in a year or two. Drinkable but better after 2025.James Suckling | 95 JSInky garnet. Expansive, smoke-tinged dark fruit preserves, oak spices and vanilla on the nose. In a plush, broad style, offering sweet black currant, cherry liqueur, mocha and vanilla flavors and a spicy touch of cracked pepper. Smooth, well-knit tannins add shape to a long, smoky finish that leaves cherry pie and candied licorice notes behind. All new French oak.Vinous Media | 94 VM

The black cassis comes out of the glass, together with iodine, sandalwood and subtle moss and wet-bark undertones, then turning to violets. The palate is mind-blowing, with a cashmere texture that unravels on the palate and continues on for minutes. It’s full of superbly complex, ethereal character and mouth-feel, One of the wines of the vintage. As glorious as it may be to taste now, this is one for your deep cellar. Try in 2029.James Suckling | 100 JSThe 2019 Haut-Brion is seriously impressive. A dark, virile wine, the 2019 impresses with its vertical energy and statuesque elegance. It's a Haut-Brion that will only reveal itself over many years. Today, the density and resonance are super-impressive and also hugely promising. Classic savory and mineral notes start to emerge over time. I can't wait to see how this ages.Antonio Galloni | 98 AGCompared to the La Mission Haut-Brion, the 2019 Château Haut-Brion is more backward and mineral-laced, with a dense purple color as well as notes of blueberry liqueur, black cherries, new leather, scorched earth, graphite, camphor, liquid rock-like minerality, and an almost Hermitage-like burning embers character. It doesn't have the overt power of Mouton, nor the sexiness of Château Margaux, yet it builds slowly and incrementally, with flawless balance, full-bodied richness, ultra-fine tannins, and a magical finish. My money is on this being one of the all-time greats from this address, in the same league as the 2009, 2010, 2015, 2016, and 2018. It will need a solid decade of cellaring and have 40-50+ years of prime drinking.Jeb Dunnuck | 98-100 JDPowerful and confident, there is no mistaking this concentration of ripe damson and black cherry fruits, set against coffee, earth, sage and black chocolate. Tons of tannins on display but extremely fine, to the point that you almost don't notice them, then once the wine has left your mouth you suddenly realise how many there are, and how they are still exerting a pressure. Great persistency, slowing everything down and asking you to stop and think. Clear ageing ability here. Harvest September 10 to October 3. (Drink between 2029-2050)Decanter | 97 DECThe 2019 Haut-Brion is a blend of 48.7% Merlot, 43.2% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8.1% Cabernet Franc, harvested from the 10th of September to the 3rd of October. The estimated label alcohol degree is 14.5%. Displaying a deep garnet-purple color, it comes off incredibly shy and reticent to begin, needing considerable coaxing to reveal notes of dark chocolate-covered cherries, blackberry preserves, woodsmoke and sandalwood, before launching into a full-scale fireworks display of iron ore, cumin seed, redcurrant jelly, red roses, oolong tea and Sichuan pepper scents plus a waft of cardamom. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers the most exquisitely ripe, finely grained tannins with a lively backbone of freshness supporting the tightly wound, earth-laced black fruit layers, finishing very long and minerally. This is one of the most finely structured, tightly knit wines of the vintage. Given time, I wouldn't be at all surprised if it goes atomic and eventually takes top place for the vintage.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 97-99+ RPA beauty, with a remarkably refined feel from start to finish, as the caressing but substantial structure lets waves of steeped plum, mulled raspberry and blackberry preserve roll through repeatedly, picking up singed alder and apple wood, dried anise and sweet tobacco accents through the finish, where a curl of woodsmoke lingers. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2024 through 2038. Wine Spectator | 96 WSLuscious ripe fruits are underlined by tannins to give a wine that is both structured and concentrated. Rich tannins, spice aromas and power are all enclosed in this wine that is ready to age. Drink from 2026.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WE