Lastly, the 2018 La Joie does everything right and offers a Château Lafite-like style in both its aromatics and its elegant, seamless mouthfeel. Gorgeous blackcurrants, lead pencil shavings, damp earth, unsmoked tobacco, and woodsmoke nuances all develop with time in the glass and this is one of those wines that offers something new every time you come back to the glass. Rich, medium to full-bodied, perfectly balanced, and incredibly elegant, it has ripe, polished, yet substantial tannins, remarkable purity of fruit, and a thrilling finish. Give bottles 4-5 years and it will keep for 30 years or more.

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Helena Dakota Vineyard is even more concentrated and dense, with a massive core of ripe blackcurrants, crushed stone, leather, tobacco, spicy oak, and graphite, and it has this burning ember-like character that reminds me of a great Hermitage. More medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has remarkable balance, ultra-fine tannins, a great spine of acidity, and one heck of a finish. As with the Helena Montana Vineyard, it's a baby that needs at least 4-5 years of bottle age and will have 30+ years of longevity. It's on par with the finest Bordeaux blends coming out of California today.

Napa Valley’s 2018sThe 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain District is a monster of a mountain Cabernet that has a primordial bouquet of blackcurrants, smoked earth, chocolate, and graphite. While Spring Mountain wines tend to be more aromatic and complex right out of the gate, that’s not the case here, and this is going to need bottle age to round into form. Full-bodied on the palate, with a rich, concentrated mouthfeel, it has serious tannins, notable purity of fruit, and a great finish. With air, it picks up more and more classic Spring Mountain floral and exotic notes, and it’s flawlessly balanced, with gorgeous tannins and a great, great finish. This is a brilliant wine in the lineup and unquestionably one of the true gems from Spring Mountain in 2018. Give bottles 4-5 years and enjoy over the following 2-3 decades.

The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon is based on a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot that spent 22 months in 81% new French oak. It’s a wonderfully complete, borderline perfect wine that shows the class of this estate as well as the vintage, revealing a seamless, full-bodied style that carries lots of blackcurrant, graphite, lead pencil, and tobacco aromatics, a deep, layered mid-palate, ultra-fine tannins, and flawless balance. As with most of Chris’s 2018s, it’s a wine that builds slowly with time in the glass, offering a layered, singular character. It’s a gorgeous 2018 that can be drunk today with ample pleasure, but it will ideally be given 4-6 years of bottle age, at which point it should evolve gracefully for 30-40 years.

“The Cab Franc was quite spectacular in 2017. There is a bit more in the blend this year,” Pierre Seillan told me during the tasting of the 2017s with his daughter and one day successor, Helene. A blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot, the 2017 La Joie has a very deep garnet-purple color. It opens a little closed and broody, giving glimpses of blackcurrant cordial, espresso, charcoal and black truffles to begin, before blossoming out to a whole array of preserved black and blue fruits, dusty soil, crushed rocks and iron ore scents plus a waft of roses. The medium to full-bodied palate is built like a brick house, with firm, grainy tannins and a lively backbone supporting the muscular fruit, finishing very long and mineral laced. The alcohol weighed in at just 13.9% this year (14% on the label), making for a particularly elegant but no less impactful La Joie!

Sonoma: Another Brilliant Vintage in 2018Lastly, the 2017 Le Desir is 80% Cabernet Franc, with the balance mostly Merlot mixed with a splash of Malbec. It has a wonderful Cabernet Franc floral character as well as awesome black raspberry, cedarwood, forest floor, violets, rose petals, new leather, and who knows what else. Incredibly complex, it takes lots of air to show at its best and is medium to full-bodied, has a bright spine of acidity, fabulous tannins, and a great, great finish. The elegance of this wine paired with its richness and depth is something to behold. It’s another damn near perfect wine from this estate, and to see this quality from a challenging vintage like 2017 boggles the mind. Hats off to the father-daughter team of Pierre and Hélène Seillan.

The 2017s From Sonoma Another gem that’s going to flirt with perfection in a decade is the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Rockfall Vineyard. Based on 100% Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon aged 20 months in 65% new French oak, its deep purple color is followed by a mammoth-sized bouquet of crème de cassis, lead pencil shavings, scorched earth, and graphite. Showing more spice and tobacco with time in the glass, it has incredible purity of fruit, building tannins, and flawless balance, all making for a majestic Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon that will keep for 30 years or more.

Very deep garnet-purple colored, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain gives up wonderfully expressive crème de cassis, licorice, tar and underbrush notes with hints of charcuterie and bay leaves. Big, rich, full and opulent in the mouth, it has firm, velvety tannins and seamless freshness, finishing very long with spice nuances coming through.

The famous Bosché Vineyard is a spot in Rutherford composed of gravelly, loamy soil and situated just at the base of the Mayacamas Mountains. A blend of 93.8% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6.2% Merlot, the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Bosché Vineyard was aged 28 months in French oak. This vineyard has turned out many a classic wine capable of lasting 30-40 years, and this 2013 is one of the all-time great Bosché Cabernet Sauvignons. It offers an inky ruby/purple color, a gorgeous nose of graphite, black cherry, wood spice and barbecue notes, enormous body and richness, and a heady, full-bodied, long finish of 50+ seconds with moderately high tannins. This is a great classic from Napa, but not one for drinking over the near-term. Give it 7-8 years of bottle age and drink it over the following 50 years.

 It's hard to pick favorites from this brand's always stellar lineup, but this clonal selection
from Machado Vineyard earns very high marks this vintage. Fascinatingly delicious aroma
of cherry compote, black raspberry sorbet and alluring mint show on the nose. The vibrant
palate is addictively quaffable, throwing cherry candy and spearmint clippings atop a
grippy texture.

The Rockfall is one of the most extreme sites on the Stonestreet mountain estate, between 2,000 and 2,400 feet in elevation. Fully exposed to sun and wind, it’s earned the nickname “the solar panel” from the team. Often the first Cabernet harvested each year, the wine reflects the raw character of the site: wild, rugged, and precise. The aromas are earthy and dusty, layered with ground spices like turmeric, black pepper, and a hint of bay leaf. There’s a sense of plushness, but tension is more prominent on the palate, with notes of plum skin, tart blackberry, and a green, briny edge. A deeply expressive wine that feels ready ten years in, but with plenty of life to be lived.

Another high-elevation vineyard, Christopher’s, sits above 2,400 feet on steep, quartz-laced volcanic soils just above Upper Barn. The 2015 wine exhibits incredible depth and concentration, a trait that seems to be characteristic of the dry vintage. Classic aromas of the variety, such as currants, tobacco, and leather, mix with savoury dried herbs and a stony edge. There's a cooling herbal finish of menthol that carries through the palate, balancing the rich aspect of the wine, which features ripe berries and plums. It's a fantastic wine with an opulent feeling, and after 10 years of ageing in the bottle, truly shows off the potential of mountain Cabernets in Sonoma.

The 2022 Cardinale is impressively built. You have to understand—there was a major heat
event near the end of the growing season. But this wine? It shows none of it. Not even a
whisper. If anything, the tannins are slightly more approachable, a touch more supple—but
they're no less stratospheric than what we've come to expect from this bottling. The real
kicker is the mid-palate density and length. The wine has tremendous persistence, tension,
and detail, with dark berry fruit unfurling in layers—blackberry, black cherry, and
mulberry—woven with perfumed rose petals, violets, white pepper, and underbrush. With
air, blue fruit tones begin to emerge, adding lift and intrigue. There's an impressive balance
of spice, minerality, and tension—rare for this vintage. Hats off. In my tasting with
winemaker Chris Carpenter, we spoke at length about how Lokoya expresses Napa’s
mountain sub-appellations with site-specific clarity. But with Cardinale—the Oakvillebased crown jewel of the Jackson Family portfolio—the philosophy is different: the sum
must be greater than the parts. This is not an estate wine. It is a masterful blend, culled
from multiple appellations—typically three to nine per vintage—crafted for harmony,
complexity, and longevity. In 2022, the blend is 96% Cabernet Sauvignon from Diamond
Mountain, Spring Mountain, Howell Mountain, Mount Veeder, Atlas Peak, Stags Leap,
Rutherford, and St. Helena, with 4% Merlot from the Keyes Estate Vineyard on Howell
Mountain. The wine was aged for 22 months in 81% new French oak.

Cabernet Franc has been made continuously at La Jota since 1976, says winemaker Chris
Carpenter. Due to the wine’s growing popularity, additional Cabernet Franc vines were
planted at both the Keyes and La Jota estate vineyards. The 2022 is utterly gorgeous. Most
of the fruit was already off the vine before the late-season heatwave arrived—and if it
wasn’t, it was in cooler zones anyway, Carpenter notes. The wine is dark-fruited, led by
pure blackberry and black cherry wrapped in tobacco, with stunning herbal and floral
aromatics. The palate is full-bodied and precise, featuring firm, fine-grained mountain
tannins that are both powerful and refined. Layers of black truffle and loamy earth add
intrigue, gliding toward a long, savoury finish of graphite and sagebrush. Tension-filled,
pure-fruited, and thrilling

This Merlot hails from the same block in the W.S. Keyes Vineyard that Tom Rinaldi once
sourced for Duckhorn Merlot in the early days. Winemaker Chris Carpenter has a bold
vision for this wine—he wants it to compete on the world stage with the greats, from
Masseto to Petrus. The Merlot grapes here have thick skins, and Carpenter doesn’t hold
back, blending in 20% Cabernet Sauvignon from the same site to amplify structure and
depth. Native ferments occur in stainless steel, and the wine is aged for 22 months in 77%
new French oak barrels. With pH levels hovering around 3.5–3.6, the wine delivers
freshness and precision. It opens with a rush of juicy mulberry, cherry, blackberry, and
blueberry fruit, all vivid and inviting. Then the tannins emerge—firm, soaring, and intense,
yet polished and poised, providing remarkable structure and length. The acid tension lifts
the palate, keeping the wine bright and energetic, never heavy or lingering too long. It’s a
marvel of balance and power, and one that promises to hit its stride two decades from now.

From the Applejack vineyard, planted on grey clay soils at 300m in Gladysdale in '97 by Ray Guerin. 40% whole bunches and 40% less wine in '24. Darkly fruited and more intense than the '23 with aromas of wild blackberry, raspberry, briar, and just a hint of sous bois. On the palate, this is as concentrated and mouth-filling as the bouquet suggests it will be, culminating with succulent, grippy tannins on the long, tapering finish. It's a touch more 'sauvage' and a little less floral than normal but, even in this warmer vintage, one of Australia's most celebrated pinot noirs is in impressive form.

The 2022 Lokoya Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain District is a tour de force, offering a
Latour-like nose of pure cassis, lead pencil shavings, graphite, crushed stone, and new leather. Fullbodied, powerful, and incredibly rich on the palate, this doesn't get much better in the vintage. The tannins are beautifully integrated, and the overall balance and purity are simply awesome. This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon spent 22 months in 85% new French oak, and while it's certainly
approachable with a decant, it will benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age and keep for 25+ years.

The 2022 Caladan Cabernet Franc Napa Valley is a Right Bank-inspired expression from Spring
Mountain that delivers an impressive array of red and black fruits, black cherries, and sappy spring
flowers, along with some classic Spring Mountain wildness and meaty, iron nuances. A blend of
81% Cabernet Franc and 19% Merlot aged 22 months in 63% new French oak, this medium to fullbodied effort shows beautiful concentration and depth, with ripe tannins and a beautifully
balanced mouthfeel. It's a gorgeous, complete wine that will evolve gracefully for 15+ years.

From three blocks in the heart of the vineyard, the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Skysill Vineyard is old school in its complete embrace of sublime earthiness and is a highly impressive wine. Violet aromatics waft from a creamy texture of substantial weight and complexity, the currant and cassis fruit full bodied but subtle. This is structured for aging 20 or more years.

The 2021 Le Desir is based on Cabernet Franc with the addition of 10% Merlot and 3% Malbec. It’s savory and expressive on the nose with aromas of wild, coiled blackberries, cassis, juniper, minty and peppery spice, and dark earth. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins, even, focused acidity, and a long finish, it’s drinking very well now and is a bit more immediate compared to the La Joie. It has notes of black tea through the palate, with a long earth note and its more noble structure making itself known as it lasts long on the palate. It’s going to drink well over the coming 20 or more years. It’s another exceptional wine in the range. This wine has a more rugged, mountainous feel texturally, but it’s done at the highest level. 2500 cases were produced.

A similar saturated dark red color, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Christopher's comes from a northern exposition at 2400 feet elevation on decomposed volcanic soils. it’s layered and deep, with hallmark aromatics of cigar box, tobacco, blackcurrants, wild minty herbs, and leather. The palate has a lovely purity and ripeness to the fruit, with a velvety texture, and its darker mineral and mouthwatering accents emerge after the wine is gone. It’s a lovely wine with considerable complexity that can be enjoyed over the next 15 years.

The 2022 W S Keyes Merlot is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep garnet-purple in color, it needs a little swirling to coax out notes of blackberry pie and plum preserves, giving way to nuances of dusty soil, tobacco, and cinnamon stick. The medium to full-bodied palate is tightly wound with black fruit and minerally flavors, supported by firm, grainy tannins and great tension, finishing on a lingering ferrous note.

The 2022 W S Keyes Chardonnay prances out of the glass with graceful scents of honey-drizzled pears, white peaches, and allspice, followed by hints of baking bread and marzipan. The medium- to full-bodied palate shimmers with vibrant orchard fruit layers, supported by a racy backbone and satiny texture, finishing long and chalky. Stunning!

This year, Pete Fraser will launch the High Sands, Ovitelli and Hickinbotham together, giving a better chance to view the connectivity. Well, there is certainly a theme in the '23s. A degree of alcohol less, lower colour and a commanding, yet incredibly fine, structural framework. This is a very different High Sands, a reflection of the cool year, but also an evolving direction, leaning into elegance, soaring fragrance and savoury tension. Red cherry, tart raspberry, intensely floral, swirling with North African spices, musk and orange peel. The palate is coiled at this stage, but the fruit has flex and will bloom with time in bottle, radiating out from the core of mineral-feeling tannin and skein of vigorous acidity. This is truly magnificent now, but the future is one of dazzling possibility.

Vibrant ruby and purple, youthful and bright in the glass. Blackberry pastille, Chinese five spice, and pastrami aromas. Palate is instantly alive with power and intensity yet a youthful vibrancy. Red and black berry fruits sit in the central pylon, strung from there we see a mélange of powdered spices, curing meats and earthy undertones. Tannins are prodigious in their power but never stray beyond the required tension, allow the full textural joy of this wine to carry to an almost limitless end. A wine of juxtaposition, carrying a lightness of being that belies its power and intensity.