Also inky black, the 2021 La Joie is packed with loads of licorice, blackcurrant, menthol, and polished leather. Full-bodied and plush, with a rocky texture, massive structure, and tremendous power, it will be a wine to cellar while you’re drinking the 2022s.

Perhaps the finest cabernet franc wine made in California, this tightly wound and precise gem is a classic. While smooth and silky on the surface, it has intense flavors and tannic energy underneath, driving red and black cherries, rose petals, blueberries, graphite and espresso through a vivid palate and a long, lingering finish. Blended with 10% merlot and 3% malbec. Certainly a wine that will benefit from more aging, likely for decades. Best from 2030.

Composed of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot, the 2021 La Joie sports a deep garnet-purple color. It comes galloping out of the glass with energetic notes of fresh red and black currants, mulberries and candied violets, giving way to evocative wafts of cardamom, clove oil, and iron ore. The medium to full-bodied palate is built like a brick house, delivering taut, muscular black fruit and very firm, finely grained tannins, plus a finely knit line of freshness, finishing long and energetic. It’s tightly wound and will require patience to allow the tertiary characters to blossom. Forget it for 5-7 years in the cellar and drink it over the following 30 years+

The 2021 Cabernet Franc, with 20% Merlot in the blend, is deep garnet-purple in color. Wow - what a perfume! Evocative scents of kirsch, dried roses, cinnamon toast, and redcurrant preserves jump from the glass, followed by nuances of cardamom, fertile loam, mint tea, and pencil lead. The full-bodied palate is so bright and fragrant, with firm, beautifully ripe, grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing with epic length and loads of mineral sparks. This is stunning! It is a blend from four mountains, with the Merlot coming from Yverton Vineyard (Spring Mountain) and the Cabernet Franc from Yverton, Wallis, Mt. Brave, and Keyes.

Coming from the northern end of the appellation, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain District is all varietal aged 22 months in 90% new oak, and I couldn't imagine a more majestic, regal wine. This beauty s saturated purple hue is followed by an incredible array of ripe black fruits, smoked tobacco, loamy earth, lavender, and graphite. Winemaker Chris Carpenter has hit an undeniable home run with his 2021s, and this is unquestionably one of the legendary wines in the vintage. Full-bodied and massively concentrated, with velvety tannins and remarkable purity, it will be drinkable with just 4-5 years of bottle age and evolve for 30-40 years in cold cellars.

The 2021 Merlot W.S. Keyes Vineyard reminds me of a great vintage of Petrus, and if there's a better Merlot out there, I don't know of it. Incredible dark fruits (blackberries, darker cherries), leather, damp earth, graphite, and violet notes all emerge on the nose, and it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, building, ultra-fine tannins, flawless balance, and a great finish. It's heavenly today yet will cruise for 15-20 years in cold cellars.

The perfect 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon checks in as 91% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% Merlot, all of which spent 22 months in 80% new French oak. The idea of this release is to showcase fruit from throughout the valley, and to say that winemaker Chris Carpenter succeeded would be an understatement. It boasts off-the-charts richness and depth as well as notes of cassis, toasted spices, graphite, tobacco, and espresso, with perfectly integrated oak. Inky purple-hued, full-bodied, voluptuously textured, and flawlessly balanced, it can be drunk any time over the coming 25 years or more.

Insane aromas of black currants, crushed stones, violets, and sweet dark tobacco. Black truffle. Full-bodied with superb depth of fruit and plush and chewy tannins that give tension and length. It reminds me of the 1975 La Mission Haut Brion because of the stone, iodine and purple fruits. Love. Made from 100% cabernet sauvignon. 883 cases produced. Needs four or five years to come together.

The 2019 Le Désir is just as stunning as the first time I tasted it from bottle. It's pure and layered, with alluring scents of Morello cherries, dried mushrooms, cigars, sage and aniseed wafting from the glass. The palate strikes a fine balance of concentrated fruit, loads of powdery tannins, and energetic bursts of fresh acidity.It has a deep core of concentrated, perfumed fruit with the first faint touches of umami character and a long finish driven by floral and iron tones. I can't get enough of this wine!

The 2019 Le Désir is an exceptional blend of 83% Cabernet Franc, 8% Merlot, 5% Malbec and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon, offering complex, layered flavors, soaring aromatics and very detailed expression. Deep ruby-purple in color, its aromas unfold slowly and offer new nuances with each return to the glass: Morello cherries, warm chocolate, dried thyme, desiccated roses and dried herbs. The full-bodied palate offers concentrated, floral fruits, pixelated tannins, bursts of fresh acidity and a very long finish with layer after layer of detailed flavor.

The 2019 Le Desir is a blend of 83% Cabernet Franc, 8% Merlot, 5% Malbec, and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep garnet-purple in color, it skyrockets from the glass with notes of Morello cherries, black raspberries, and wild blueberries, plus hints of lavender, wild sage, crushed rocks, and pencil shavings, with a touch of red roses. Medium-bodied, the palate is ethereal, so amazingly elegant yet remarkably intense, delivering super fine-grained tannins and beautiful freshness, leading to a long and fragrant finish for this gorgeous wine. 2,500 cases were made.

The 2018 La Muse is a blend of 90% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Malbec, aged 16 months in 100% new French oak barrels. Deep garnet-purple in color, it prances out of the glass with vivacious notes of crushed black plums, mulberries, and juicy blackberries, plus hints of wild sage, damp soil, tar, and aniseed with a touch of raspberry leaves. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has amazing tension, with super fine-grained, rounded tannins and layer upon layer of black fruits and minerals, finishing very long and vibrant. 2,500 cases were made.

The 2001 La Muse is a blend of 87% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Malbec. Deep garnet-brick in color, it strides out with confident cigar box, smoked meats, tapenade, and incense notes over a core of prunes and Christmas cake. The full-bodied plate is jam-packed with multi-layered, rich, spicy, black fruit preserves flavors, finishing with an opulent finish that just goes on and on. This is quintessential La Muse.

A blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Petit Verdot, the 2019 La Joie is deep garnet-purple in color. It has a wonderfully flashy and flamboyant nose of blackcurrant cordial, redcurrant jelly, plum preserves, and potpourri with hints of chocolate mint, tilled soil, chalk dust, and forest floor. The medium to full-bodied palate is very taut and muscular with tons of bright, crunchy black fruits and wonderful tension, finishing with tons of earthy nuances. 2,500 cases were made.

Sublime cabernet franc aromas of currants, flowers and citrus. Full-bodied with incredible purity of fruit and length. You don’t feel the tannins, but they are there. The acidity gives you dynamic reality and perfect length. A truly great wine. 83% cabernet franc, 8% merlot, 5% malbec, and 4% cabernet sauvignon. Best from 2026.

Another riveting wine, the 2019 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon has a Château Latour-like stature and regalness, with full-bodied richness and incredible concentration, as well as structure, on the palate. Cassis, blueberry liqueur, lead pencil shavings, crushed stone, and graphite notes all define the nose, and it hits the palate with incredible power and opulence, yet stays pure, flawlessly balanced, and has a finish that won't quit. This is as brilliant as Cabernet gets, and Carpenter is clearly playing with the best in the business. Give bottles 4-5 years if you can and it will cruise for 30-40 years.

Coming all from the from the Keyes Vineyard on Howell Mountain, the 2019 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon (100% Cabernet Sauvignon) was brought up in 91% new French oak. Incredible crème de cassis, chalky minerality, iron, spring flowers, and black olive tapenade all define the nose, and It's full-bodied on the palate, with building tannins, integrated oak, wonderful sweetness of fruit, and a great, great finish. It opens up beautifully with time in the glass, and while it has classic Mountain structure and concentration, it also has a wealth of fruit and texture, and unquestionably offers pleasure even today. Nevertheless, do your best to hide bottles for 4-5 years if you can. It's a 30- to 40-year wine.

A blend of 90% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 4% Malbec, the 2018 La Muse was matured 16 months in 100% new French oak barrels. Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, the nose delivers a powerful perfume of cherry pie, blackberry preserves and baked plums, followed by suggestions of red roses, cast-iron pan,underbrush and unsmoked cigars, plus wafts of licorice and oolong tea. Medium to full-bodied, the black fruit and exotic spice layers flow so gracefully over the palate, textured by plush tannins and lifted with seamless freshness, finishing epically long and achingly fragrant. The intensity and complexity of aromas and flavors—all waltzing in captivating harmony—cannot fail to make your head spin in the best possible way. Electrifying!

Blackberries, herbs, green pine needles, blackcurrants and lead pencil. Full-bodied with incredible structure and powerful tannins. It goes on for minutes. The structure is something else. Muscular, but the tannins give form and focus to the beautiful fruit. Mountain-grown Latour! Extraordinary. Try after 2026.

Napa Valley’s 2018sAlways one of the standouts from Carpenter, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Mount Veeder is another flat-out awesome wine that couldn’t be better. Revealing a dense purple color as well as extraordinary notes of crème de cassis, blueberries, mountain scrub brush, graphite, violets, and cedar pencil, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, layers of ripe, seamless tannins (it’s a mountain Cabernet), a beautiful sense of freshness, and a great, great finish. This is one for the ages. It needs 7-8 years of bottle age, but it will be one of the great Napa Cabernets over the following 50 years or more.

Chris Carpenter’s finest wine, a generous, stunningly elegant combination of impeccable grape source and brilliant winemaking; rich, deep and loaded with beautiful components. Perfect.

So plush with a mix of red and blue-fruit aromas on the nose, as well as blood-orange and almost violet-like floral notes. The palate is very plush and juicy with such a long, seamless and silky feel. Super intense and very, very plush with deep, deep rich fruit. Mouthwatering. Super long. Super rich.

Sonoma: Another Brilliant Vintage in 2018Tasting like a great bottle of Château Lafite, the 2017 La Joie is based largely on Cabernet Sauvignon and brought up, I suspect, in mostly new French oak. Deep ruby/purple, with a heavenly bouquet of crème de cassis, lead pencil, cedarwood, graphite, and tobacco, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, an incredible sense of elegance and purity, building tannins, and a great, great finish. This majestic, regal Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon is going to require a decade of cellaring to hit maturity (although it’s far from unapproachable today) and will see its 50th birthday in fine form. I followed this bottle for three days and it never showed a hint of oxidation. This is easily my wine of the vintage in 2017.

This is a wine with a magnificent potpourri of fruit, oak and smells and tastes of the earth (both Napa and Sonoma vineyards, from Rutherford to Jess Jackson's mountain estate above the Alexander Valley) from which it sprang. This is natural winemaking at its very best.

...Exudes[s] a sense of being crafted from [a] unique lot of grapes. You get a sense that drinking each bottle is akin to taking an actual guided tour through the vineyards themselves, so unique, intimately preserved and well-structured are they. The 1993 has more-forward fruit, with a distinctly deeper level of plums and berries. But its structure is as well-crafted as the 1992. It is more typically a California Cab. If I had to liken these wines to a personality to embody them, they would be John F Kennedy Jr.---pedigreed, yet classy; stylish; measured, but willing to step forward and take a chance; honed and physically fit; suave, even debonair with a rakish intellect.